Rep. Charlie Dent says his party is "probably a little short" of the votes they need to pass their healthcare plan.
"Well, I don't know. I haven't done a whip count," the Pennsylvania Republican said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," according to Politico. "I suspect if you looked at the numbers now, they are probably a little short. I can't tell you how many votes."
Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan who championed the bill, insist that it will be passed Thursday.
"After careful deliberation, I cannot support the bill and will oppose it," Dent announced in a statement released Thursday. He added that the proposed healthcare plan "will lead to the loss of coverage and make insurance unaffordable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals."
On Thursday, Dent criticized the "arbitrary deadlines" that party leaders established for the repeal of Obamacare, and the fact that the vote falls on its seventh anniversary is "more symbolism, to me, over substance, and we ought to get back to the substance of this issue."
Dent went on to say that it's "ridiculous" to think the Senate will approve the House version of the plan without making alterations.
"If I have one more senator tell me this bill is dead on arrival, I think my head's going to explode," Dent said. "The Senate, let's face it, it's a very slow-moving body. They have two speeds, slow and glacial. And on rare occasions, they can move at lightning speed. You know, every day is the same over there: They start slowly, then they wind down from there. So if anybody thinks that they're going to move super quickly on this thing, I just don't buy it."
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