Toomey mentioned that Trump reached out to him on Monday morning. A spokesman clarified that they spoke before Trump's White House remarks.

"I don't know exactly if we will get a different outcome this time. … I hope that if nothing else the accumulated pain from so many of these horrific experiences will be motivation to do something," Toomey said when asked about the bill's prospects.

"My view is if we have enough support in the Senate then we ought to have a vote. I intend to do everything I can to persuade Sen. McConnell if that's necessary," Toomey said. "It's important to me that we get that vote."

Toomey declined to give a timeline for when he wants a vote on his bill, arguing he and Manchin need to build support for the legislation. He also dismissed calls from Democrats for McConnell to reconvene the Senate during the August recess as potentially counterproductive.

"I don't think we'd accomplish anything if we did and it might end up actually being counterproductive," he said. "But this isn't going to happen tomorrow. If we force a vote tomorrow then I think the vote probably fails."