The US Senate has narrowly voted to begin a debate on a bill to end the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. <br /><br />With the Senate deadlocked on 50-50, Vice-President Mike Pence used his tie-breaking vote. <br /><br />Scrapping the policy was a key Trump campaign pledge. <br /><br />Senator John McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, turned up to cast his “yes” vote. <br /><br />President Trump had earlier warned Republican senators that there may be repercussions if they didn’t push through the measures. <br /><br />So he was thankful for the support he got. He told reporters: “ I just want to thank some of the Republican senators who were really fantastic in getting this here, particularly John McCain for making the trip. But I think you’re going to have a great healthcare. This is the beginning of the end for the disaster known as Obamacare.”<br /><br />But speaking to demonstrators from the steps of the Capitol, Democrats called on Americans to protest against Republicans’ plans to dismantle the health law introduced by Barack Obama. <br /><br />It meant all Americans were required to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.<br /><br />It is unclear which aspects of the reform senators will now debate<br />
