Trump blasts Congress over failure of GOP health care bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blasted congressional Democrats and "a few Republicans" today over the failure of the GOP effort to rewrite the Obama health care law, and warned, "we will return."

Trump's early-morning tweet unleashed a barrage of criticism at Congress over the collapse of the GOP's flagship legislative priority. For seven years, the party has pledged to repeal President Barack Obama's law.

"Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard," Trump tweeted this morning, but said, "We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans."

He added, "As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned!"

Two GOP senators – Utah's Mike Lee and Jerry Moran of Kansas – sealed the measure's doom late Monday when they announced they would vote "no" in an initial, critical vote that had been expected as soon as next week. That meant that at least four of the 52 GOP senators were ready to block the measure – two more than Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had to spare in the face of unanimous Democratic opposition.

"Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful," McConnell said in a late-evening statement that essentially waved a white flag.

It was the second stinging setback on the issue in three weeks for McConnell, whose reputation as a legislative mastermind has been marred as he's failed to unite his chamber's Republicans behind a health overhaul package that's highlighted jagged divides between conservatives and moderates.

In late June, he abandoned an initial package after he lacked enough GOP support to pass.