"We will have 218 votes,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Ryan issues Namath-like 'guarantee' on Obamacare repeal

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday he can "guarantee" the GOP’s Obamacare alternative bill will get the 218 votes needed to pass the House.

"We will have 218 votes,” he said. “This is the beginning of the legislative process. We'll have 218 when this thing comes to the floor. I can guarantee you that."


The GOP’s proposed American Health Care Act was met with criticism from conservatives and centrist Republicans. Although Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the bill is “a work in progress,” President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the bill “very quickly” and called it “tremendous.”

Ryan said the health care reform legislation would go through the committee process, instead of forcing it on “an unsuspecting country,” which he accused the Democrats of doing with the Affordable Care Act.

“I believe in regular order,” he said. “I believe in going through the process the way it was meant to go through.”



Ryan: 'I can guarantee' GOP health care reform bill will get through House House Speaker Paul Ryan talks about health care reform on Tuesday.