IT'S OVER: Republicans will not vote on Graham-Cassidy health care bill

Bob Bryan

Republicans decided Tuesday against bringing the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill to the floor for a vote, a GOP aide told Business Insider, effectively killing the GOP's Obamacare repeal push for the foreseeable future.

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy said during a press conference with GOP Senate leaders that there were not enough votes to pass the measure.

"Well to be clear, due to events under our control and not under out control, we do not have the votes," Cassidy said.

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Graham said that "it's not if but when" Republicans will pass his healthcare bill, but said there was still work to be done before the bill was passed.

"We know what we're against," Graham said. "We've had a hard time articulating what we're for."

McConnell said that the GOP conference will move on from the healthcare push to the attempt to reform the tax code.

"Where we go now is tax reform," the leader said.

It did not appear that Republicans had the needed 50 votes to get the bill through the Senate after Sen. Susan Collins announced her opposition to the bill on Monday, making her the third Republican senator to defect.

The ability to use the fiscal year 2017 budget reconciliation option for an Obamacare repeal bill will expire on Saturday. Without thr ability to use reconciliation, Democrats would be able to filibuster any repeal bill put forward.

That means the GOP must either work with Democrats to get eight more votes on a healthcare bill or wait for mount another effort under reconciliation rules in either the fiscal year 2018 or 2019 budget.

"Look, we haven't given up on changing the American healthcare system, we're not going to do that this week," McConnell said. "But it still lies ahead of us."

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SEE ALSO: Susan Collins opposes Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, dooming the Republican Obamacare repeal

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