Trump's push to replace Obamacare faces trouble

Washington

PRESIDENT Donald Trump's effort to roll back Obamacare faced growing obstacles on Monday as Republicans who control the US Senate remain sharply divided over how to keep down the costs of their healthcare bill and prevent millions from losing critical coverage.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told Fox News Sunday that Mr Trump, who made repeal and replacement of Obamacare a central plank of his 2016 campaign, still expected the Senate to pass a healthcare bill either before the scheduled start of Congress's August recess "or maybe a little bit into" the recess.

Other Republicans voiced pessimism.

"My view is that it's probably going to be dead," Senator John McCain of Arizona said of the healthcare legislation on the CBS programme Face the Nation. Some conservative senators, such as Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said they cannot support the proposal unless it goe…