GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- U.S. Rep. Justin Amash has long decried the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and pledged to push for repeal of the landmark 2010 healthcare law.

When his party secured control of Congress and the White House in the 2016 election, it appeared the Cascade Township Republican would finally get his wish.

But in what was widely publicized as the first House vote on repealing Obamacare on Jan. 13, Amash was one of nine Republicans joining House Democrats in voting against the resolution.

In a series of 14 tweets, the congressman explained his seemingly incongruous "no" vote:

He expanded further on his decision during a town hall meeting with constituents in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

First of all, Amash said, the vote in question is being misrepresented as a vote about Obamacare.

"The budget resolution does not contain anything related to ACA, Obamacare or anything else," he said. "It doesn't mention them.

"What it does do is include reconciliation instructions, so a later bill can be brought up to repeal ACA or Obamacare, whichever you want to call it."

The vote in question was actually on Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which establishes the federal governments budget for the 2017 fiscal year.

But much of the debate on the bill was tied to the fact that it includes reconciliation instructions necessary to allow for a later vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act itself.

After being introduced, the Senate approved the resolution in a 51-48 vote on Jan. 12. The next day, the House passed the bill in a 227-198 vote, with all Democrats and nine Republicans (including Amash) opposing it.

While Democrats rejected the resolution because it sets up future repeal of Obamacare, Amash is focused on the spending plan set in the new budget.

"This was the most massive budget in U.S. history," he said. "The biggest. Spends the most money. It adds over $9 trillion to the national debt in a decade, and it never balances. Never.

"It is the only budget we've passed, since I've been there, that never balances."

Amash called his fellow Republicans "shameful" for passing a spending plan like that as one of the first actions after securing control of Congress and the White House.

Though the budget reconciliation is a necessary step for repeal of the federal healthcare law, the congressman said it could be accomplished through any budget resolution.

"It doesn't have to be this budget resolution," he said. "So there's absolutely no reason that it has to be attached to a budget resolution that adds over $9 trillion in debt over the next decade."

When asked to clarify his opinion on the repeal of Obamacare, Amash told the crowd he will continue to push for repeal.

"What I support is a repeal with the states taking over a replacement," he said.

When some in the crowd expressed dismay at the concept, Amash explained his position calls for states to provide replacements prior to the repeal kicking in.

"You can have a repeal that is triggered by state replacement," he said. "In other words, you pass legislation to repeal. As states replace the legislation, then the repeal is triggered in that state."

Many of the about 250 gathered for the forum -- there more scores more who were barred entry due to the room's capacity limit -- continued voicing their disagreement.

But Amash stuck by his guns, echoing his stance on education and saying he believes providing citizens with healthcare is a task better left to individual states.

"It makes sense to have states competing with each other for the best type of healthcare system," he said. "States have the opportunity to try different things and the best ideas rise to the top."