House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) sounded frustrated on Tuesday as he fretted that "Obamacare will stand" in the aftermath of the failed Senate Republican attempt to repeal the law.
"I'm worried that Obamacare will stand and the law will continue to collapse and people will get hurt in the process," Ryan said at a press conference.
Ryan's House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act in May to repeal and replace Obamacare, and Ryan said he was proud of the legislation. Senate Republicans have struggled to get their own legislation passed to make good on a nearly decade-long promise to repeal Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) abandoned the bill on Monday night when Sens. Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Jerry Moran (R., Kan.) joined Sens. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) in opposing the bill. Their nays, along with all Democrats in opposition, effectively killed the bill.
President Donald Trump tweeted that Republicans should pass a full repeal and then later replace it with the help of Democrats, but that may be even more difficult to do than the repeal-and-replace measure that just failed.
Ryan said the Senate needed to get a bill passed to get the process moving again and get out ahead of the problems caused by Obamacare.
"Obamacare is in the middle of a tailspin," he said. "This law is collapsing."
Ryan pointed to lack of insurer choices around the country and spiking premiums in the Obamacare system.
"Options are disappearing," he said. "Many counties in American now have no health insurers left, so that is just the stark reality of the moment, and so we're hopeful that the Senate can take the pause that they need to take and move forward on this issue so we can get something done."