--- description: John McCain vowed not to vote for the Republican health care bill in its current form, even as he voted in favor of moving it forward. title: John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f2206b90c2e8b2/6988cd96cf40a87b8dc47b57/gettyimages-6768562522.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Health Care](/tag/health-care/) ## Health Care Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2017 8:00 PM CUT  Sen. John McCain speaks at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, May 2, 2017 in Washington. Sen. John McCain speaks at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, May 2, 2017 in Washington.Paul Morigi—WS Productions/Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2017 8:00 PM CUT [John McCain](http://time.com/4872245/senate-gop-health-care-vote-mccain/ "undefined"), in his return to the Senate chamber following a [brain cancer diagnosis](http://time.com/4865775/john-mccain-brain-cancer-tumor-glioblastoma/ "undefined"), vowed not to vote for the Republican health care bill in its current form, even as he salvaged the party’s drive to repeal Obamacare [by voting in favor of opening debate](http://time.com/4872721/health-care-vote-senate-process/ "undefined") on the legislation. “I will not vote for this bill as it is today,” McCain said before his fellow senators said with direct emphasis on each word. “It’s a shell of a bill right now, we all know that.” The Arizona Republican did in fact vote for what’s known as the motion to proceed, allowing it to pass thanks to a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. But he said that “changes urged by my states’ governor will have to be included to earn my support for final passage of any bill.” Throughout his speech, McCain urged lawmakers to come together and make progress on policy rather than engage in partisan squabbles influenced by the “bombastic loudmouths on the radio, television and the internet.” “To hell with them,” he said. “They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood. Let’s trust each other,” adding that the only thing the Senate has accomplished in 2017 is [confirming Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.](http://time.com/4732973/neil-gorsuch-sworn-in-supreme-court/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/"},"headline":"John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It","datePublished":"2017-07-25T20:00:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:43:46.038Z","description":"Despite voting to open debate, McCain said he won't vote for the bill in its current state","url":"https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/","keywords":["Health Care","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f2206b90c2e8b2/6988cd96cf40a87b8dc47b57/gettyimages-6768562522.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f2206b90c2e8b2/6988cd96cf40a87b8dc47b57/gettyimages-6768562522.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life And Times At Smithsonian American Art Museum On May 2","caption":"American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life And Times At Smithsonian American Art Museum On May 2","creditText":"Paul Morigi—WS Productions/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health-care/","name":"Health Care"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/","name":"John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It"}}]}] ```