At a lunch gathering with Republican senators Wednesday, President Donald Trump addressed Nevada Republican Dean Heller by asking rhetorically, "He wants to remain a senator, doesn't he?"
Heller, seated on Trump's right side at the table, has been a vocal critic of the Senate's healthcare legislation, one of about 13 Republicans who vowed to vote against it if it had gone to a vote.
"This was the one we were worried about," Trump gestured to Heller. "You weren't there. But you're going to be, you're going to be. Look, he wants to remain a senator, doesn't he?"
Heller faces a reelection battle in 2018.
Trump was making a last-ditch bid to salvage healthcare, deploying a mix of threats and flattery as he told Republican senators to pass healthcare reform before their summer break.