Senate Republicans decided on Tuesday to not vote on their latest ObamaCare repeal legislation.
"We don't have the votes so it's probably best we don't do the vote," said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) after the GOP conference met at its regular weekly luncheon, according to The Hill. "We've lost this battle, but we're going to win the war."
The last-ditch bill sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) would have dismantle ObamaCare’s insurance subsidy program and Medicaid expansion and convert their funding into block grants to states.
"We don't have the votes," Cassidy acknowledged after meeting with his colleagues on Tuesday for more than an hour.
"We made the decision since we don't have the votes, we're going to postpone it," he added, expressing disappointment.
Graham said the health care debate will resume after Congress tries to move a tax reform package and expressed confidence his bill will eventually muster 50 votes, according to The Hill.
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) delivered the final death blow to the bill on Monday, announcing she could not support it because of its cuts to Medicaid and its lack of protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also voted "no", explaining the bill would have left too much of ObamaCare in place.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he would be voting no on Friday, in large part because of a process he said was rushed and excluded Democrats.
In July, U.S. Senators voted 55-45 to reject a key proposal that would have repealed much of ObamaCare.
That occurred after the House of Representatives passed an ObamaCare replacement bill in May by the narrowest of margins, 217 to 213 in the 435-member body.
A month later, Senate Republicans delayed their effort to vote on the legislation after a number of members said they opposed the bill.