Leaders need votes for health bill on eve of House showdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Their top legislative priority dangling in peril, President Donald Trump and Republican leaders cajoled recalcitrant GOP lawmakers today to back their health care overhaul.

A day ahead of a long-awaited House showdown roll call, conservatives insisted they had the votes to torpedo the measure and the number of lawmakers publicly expressing opposition snowballed.

Trump huddled at the White House with 18 lawmakers, a mix of supporters and opponents, Vice President Mike Pence saw around two dozen and House GOP leaders had countless talks with lawmakers at the Capitol. The sessions came as leaders rummaged for votes on a roll call they can ill afford to lose without wounding their clout for the rest of the GOP agenda.

Asked by reporters if he'd keep pushing a health overhaul if the House rejects the measure, Trump said, "We'll see what happens."

In a count by The Associated Press, at least 25 Republicans said they opposed the bill, more than enough to narrowly defeat the measure. That number was in constant flux amid the flurry of eleventh-hour lobbying by the White House and GOP leaders.

Including vacancies and absentees, Republicans will likely need 215 votes to prevail.

Most opponents were conservatives asserting that the GOP legislation demolishing former President Barack Obama's health care law did not go far enough. They insisted it must repeal the law's requirements that insurers pay for specified services like maternity care and cover all comers, including the sickest, which they say drive up premiums.