THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Not his life, but the many lives currently sustained by Medicaid and the ACA who got a brief from Mitch "Killer Turtle" McConnell's efforts to end them as quickly and brutally as possible. The vote on the Turtle's Killer 'Health Care' Bill has been put off at least a week because of Walnut's surgery.

The Senate will delay votes on a bill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, announced Saturday night, because of a new obstacle to winning enough support for one of the Republican Party’s most cherished goals.

Mr. McConnell said the Senate would “defer consideration” of the bill, scheduled for this week, because Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, would be absent, recovering from surgery that he had on Friday to remove a blood clot above his left eye.

Mr. McConnell had said that he wanted to begin debate on the bill and pass it this week, using special fast-track procedures. But without Mr. McCain, Senate Republicans would not have the votes they need to take up or pass their bill to repeal and replace major provisions of the health care act that was the signature domestic achievement of President Barack Obama.

It was unclear how long the delay will be. “The leader has not announced a date” for the Senate to take up the legislation, said an aide to Mr. McConnell. “Just that we will defer.”

The announcements, first by Mr. McCain, then by Mr. McConnell, dealt another setback to the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which once seemed inevitable after years of promises by congressional Republican leaders that they would dismantle it.

With control of the White House and both houses of Congress, Republican leaders foresaw a quick strike coming as soon as January or February. But the House struggled to pass its version of the bill, and the Senate has had even more troubles. Mr. McConnell had to postpone the first votes before the July 4 recess when it was clear he did not have enough support for a procedural motion to take up the bill.

A revised measure unveiled last week was supposed to win over more Republicans, but it was greeted quickly with two Republican defections: Senators Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative. Both have said they oppose the bill in its current form, for very different reasons, and will not vote even to begin debate.

That left Mr. McConnell without a vote to spare. Mr. McCain’s ailment cost him the final vote — at least for now.

Now, if only the Turtle could suffer something long term and life threatening.