Multiple GOP senators claim that Obamacare replacement bill is probably dead

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) claimed on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that the GOP's Obamacare replacement bill that became mired in the Senate due to intraparty disagreements will likely not survive to become law.

Host John Dickerson asked the Arizona senator to briefly comment on what's going to happen to the troubled health care bill. McCain responded with a grim outlook, but added that he's been wrong before.

"I think my view is it's probably going to be dead, but I am — I've been wrong," McCain said. "I thought I'd be president of the United States. But I think — I think I fear that it's going to fail."

McCain said he believes that going forward, the debate should involve bipartisan negotiations, even if the Democrats' amendments to the bill fall through.

"And then we should convene a Republican conference, say, 'What are we going to do?' Introduce a bill. Say to the Democrats, 'Here's a bill.' It doesn't mean they don't, that they control it. It means they can have amendments considered," McCain said. "And even when they lose, then they're part of the process. That's what democracy is supposed to be all about."

McCain's grim outlook on the bill's future was also echoed by Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-La.) who told Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday that "we don’t know what the plan is. Clearly, the draft plan is dead. Is the serious rewrite plan dead? I don't know."

The bill has faced opposition from within the GOP from the moment it was released to the rest of the senators for consideration. Four senators, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) immediately stood against the bill, saying in its current form that it was possibly more damaging than Obamacare itself.

The bill has also faced public skepticism and criticism from Republican moderates like Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Assuming that all 48 Democrats vote against the bill, the bill will fail if any three Republicans refuse to support the bill.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted out that he could not "imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new Health Care bill fully approved and ready to go!"

I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2017

Ten days ago, however, Trump tweeted that should the GOP find themselves unable to pass a health care law, then they should repeal it, and worry about a replacement later.

If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017