After president's ultimatum, House set to vote Friday on health care bill

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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives is set to decide Friday whether to push Republican leaders’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare through to the Senate.

After House GOP leaders postponed a vote Thursday when it was clear they lacked the votes to ensure the bill’s passage, the White House delivered a late-night ultimatum: Vote Friday or the president is prepared to move on to other business.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told Republican legislators if the House doesn’t act on Friday, the president is prepared to leave the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, in place, a GOP aide told ABC News.

It’s a move right out of the president’s own book, The Art of the Deal.

Trump answered questions from reporters Friday morning in the Oval Office on what he’ll do if the bill fails.

“We’ll have to see, see what happens,” he said.

On whether he thought the bill was rushed, he replied, “no.” He also stood by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., saying “yes” when asked whether he should remain in his position as speaker of the House if the bill fails.

At around 11 a.m. Friday, the House voted along partisan lines — with most present Republicans voting yes and all present Democrats voting no — to move the bill to the floor. Congress members will have four hours to debate the bill before voting.

It remains unclear whether the House GOP leadership will be able to persuade enough of their party’s lawmakers to vote “yes.”

This bill needs no less than 215 “yes” votes to pass the House, lowering the number from 216 because one Democrat will be absent for the vote.

Trump Friday morning tweeted that “after seven horrible years of ObamaCare (skyrocketing premiums & deductibles, bad healthcare), this is finally your chance for a great plan!”

The president also Friday morning called out the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative group of lawmakers that is opposing the bill unless amendments are made, suggesting that without the GOP bill, the women’s health care and family-planning organization Planned Parenthood would not be subject to funding cuts.

Asked Friday morning on ABC News’ Good Morning America, if the bill has enough votes to pass, Mulvaney could not say for certain.

“Don’t know,” Mulvaney said. “That’s up to the House to count their own votes.”

At least 32 Republicans had said they would oppose the bill, according to ABC News’ latest count. Because the GOP needs 215 votes for a simple majority to pass the bill in the House, it can afford to lose only 22 Republican votes, depending on whether all Democratic members are present, to move the legislation.

And even if the bill passes the House, its future in the Senate is unclear.

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