President Donald Trump took Senate Republicans to task on Wednesday for failing to reach a deal on overhauling Obamacare, as a new report showed 32 million Americans would lose health insurance if senators opt to repeal the law without a replacement.
Trump gathered 49 Republican senators on Wednesday for a White House lunch after a bill to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act collapsed on Monday amid dissent from a handful of the party's conservatives and moderates.
After Trump's exhortation to keep trying, party members met with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price behind closed doors to try to come together on a major Republican promise of the past seven years—undoing former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature legislation, popularly known as Obamacare.
Trump had taken a hands-off approach to the healthcare debate last week and suggested on Tuesday that he was fine with letting Obamacare fail. Then on Wednesday he switched course and demanded senators stay in Washington through their planned August recess until they find common ground on healthcare.
"We can repeal, but we should repeal and replace, and we shouldn’t leave town until this is complete," Trump said at the meeting.
Trump made the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, which he has called a "disaster," a central promise of his 2016 campaign.
Even with Trump's new push, Republican leaders in the Senate face a difficult task getting moderates and conservatives to agree on an overhaul that can pass.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had planned to hold a straight repeal vote next week, but several Republican senators have already said they oppose that approach.
Senator John McCain's absence due to health issues has added to McConnell's vote-counting troubles. McCain, the Republicans' 2008 presidential nominee, has a brain tumor and his office said he is reviewing treatment options that may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
Leaving the closed-door meeting, where senators had sent their staff away in order to talk frankly, Senator John Kennedy said attendees had paused to pray for McCain. Kennedy said everyone is negotiating in "good faith," but he did not know if they would reach agreement.
Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative who has proposed letting insurers offer cheaper bare-bones plans that do not comply with Obamacare regulations, said: "We still have some issues that divide us."
Almost all other senators rushed off after the meeting without comment.
