Trump Tells Congress Health Care Vote Must Happen Today (Video & Polls)

President Trump issued an ultimatum on Thursday to recalcitrant Republicans to fall in line behind a broad health insurance overhaul or see their opportunity to repeal the Affordable Care Act vanish, demanding a Friday vote on a bill that appeared to lack a majority to pass.

The demand, issued by his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, in an evening meeting with House Republicans, came after a marathon day of negotiating at the White House and in the Capitol in which Mr. Trump — who has boasted of his deal-making prowess — fell short of selling members of his own party on the health plan.

U.S. Republican lawmakers struggling to overcome differences over new healthcare legislation confronted a stark choice after President Donald Trump delivered an ultimatum: pass the bill on Friday or keep Obamacare in place.

Trump, a real estate magnate who touted his dealmaking prowess in the 2016 presidential campaign, faced the first major test of how well his skills would translate in Congress. Days of negotiations failed to produce a deal amid opposition from moderates and conservatives in his own Republican Party, and it was far from clear the bill had enough support to pass.

Infographic: How U.S. healthcare stacks up under the ACA and AHCA

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney emerged from a meeting with House Republicans with an ultimatum. If the House-led effort to replace Obamacare fails, the United States is stuck with Obamacare, according to several Congressional reporters on Twitter.

Mulvaney was joined by a group of administration officials including senior advisors Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Kellyanne Conway for an evening meeting with House Republicans in an effort to break the logjam on the bill. Most House Freedom Caucus members refuse to vote for the bill without major changes. Moderate House Republicans have also protested the bill.

Former President Barack Obama, who has remained on the sidelines for much of the contentious debate surrounding the Trump administration’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, urged lawmakers Thursday to preserve and build on his signature legislative achievement.

The lengthy statement, released on the seventh anniversary of the passage of the bill — and on the same day that House members are set to vote on its repeal — celebrated the merits of Obamacare and described the legislation as a watershed moment in determining that health care is “not just a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody.”