--- title: John McCain Votes for GOP Health Care Bill, Then Bashes It 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. canonical: https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-25T20:00:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:25:24.839Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It og:description: "It’s a shell of a bill right now, we all know that" og:url: https://time.com/4873455/john-mccain-health-care-vote-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f2206b90c2e8b2/6988cd96cf40a87b8dc47b57/gettyimages-6768562522.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life And Times At Smithsonian American Art Museum On May 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It twitter:description: "It’s a shell of a bill right now, we all know that" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f2206b90c2e8b2/6988cd96cf40a87b8dc47b57/gettyimages-6768562522.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain Voted to Save the GOP Health Care Bill. Then He Bashed It > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac01a1ce-49c0-4c80-b9a4-a72c642b7b28&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: John McCain Returns To The Senate Floor Days After Brain Surgery [Watch (HLS stream): John McCain Returns To The Senate Floor Days After Brain Surgery](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sxCfWUfH.m3u8) (3:25)  _Published 2017-07-25. John McCain, in his return to the Senate chamber following a brain cancer diagnosis, vowed not to vote for the Republican health care bill in its current form._ by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Jul 25, 2017 8:00 PM UTC by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Jul 25, 2017 8:00 PM UTC [John McCain](http://time.com/4872245/senate-gop-health-care-vote-mccain/), in his return to the Senate chamber following a [brain cancer diagnosis](http://time.com/4865775/john-mccain-brain-cancer-tumor-glioblastoma/), 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/) 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/) ## Transcript Let's the leave the history of who shot first to the historians. I suspect they'll find we all conspired in our decline, either by deliberate actions or neglect. We've all played some role in it. Certainly I have. Sometimes I've let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes I've made it harder to find common ground. Because of something harsh I said to a colleague. Sometimes I wanted to win more for the sake of winning than to achieve a contested policy. Our system doesn't depend on our nobility. It accounts for our imperfections and gives us an order to our individual strivings. That has helped make ours the most powerful and prosperous society on earth. It is our responsibility to preserve that, even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than winning. I hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to co- operate. On our dependence on each other, to learn how to trust each other again and by so doing better serve the people who elected us. Stop listening to the bombastic loud mouths on the radio and television and the internet. To hell with them. [ APPLAUSE ] They don't want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood. Let's trust each other. Let's return to regular order. We've been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle. That's an approach that's been employed by both sides mandating legislation from the top down without any support from the other side, with all the parliamentary maneuvers that requires. We are getting nothing done, my friends. We are getting nothing done. Our health care insurance system is a mess. We all know it. Those who support Obama care and those who oppose it. Something has to be done. We Republicans have looked for a way to end it and replace it with something else without paying a terrible political price. We haven't found it yet and I'm not sure we will. All we've managed to do is make more popular a policy that wasn't very popular when we started trying to get rid of it. I voted for the motion to proceed to allow debate to continue on amendments we offered. I will not vote for this bill as it is today. It's a shell of a bill right now, we all know that. This country is big, boisterous, brawling, intemperate, restless, striving, daring, beautiful, bountiful, brave, good, and magnificent country needs us to help it thrive. That responsibility is more important than any of our personal interests or political affiliation. We are the servants of a great nation It's a privilege to serve with all of you. I mean it. Many of you have reached out in the last few days with your concern and your prayers and it means a lot to me. It really does. I've had so many people say such nice things about me recently and I think some of you must have me confused with someone else. [ LAUGH ] I appreciate it though. 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