just passed. And now we move forward toward truly great health care for the American people," Trump said. "This was a big step. I want to thank Senator John McCain — very brave man."

Trump continued to celebrate the vote at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio that doubled as a victory lap.

"We're now one step closer to liberating our citizens from this Obamacare nightmare and delivering great health care for the American people" he said.

At its most basic, the Republican legislation is aimed at undoing Obamacare's unpopular mandates for most people to carry insurance and businesses to offer it. The GOP would repeal Obamacare taxes and unwind an expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor, the disabled and nursing home residents The result would be 20 million tovoting take us where it will." The expectation is that he will bring up a series of amendments, including a straight-up repeal and fuller replacement legislation, to see where consensus may lie.

Yet after seven years of empty promises, and weeks of hand-wringing and false starts on Capitol Hill, it was the Senate's first concrete step toward delivering on innumerable pledges to undo former President Barack Obama's law. It came after several near-death experiences for earlier versions of the legislation, and only after Trump summoned senators to the White House last week to order them to try again after McConnell had essentially conceded defeat.

"The people who sent us here expect us to begin this debate, to have the courage to tackle the tough issues," McConnell said ahead of the