Rand Paul contended that “if we get what we have” from Ryan, “he will not have the votes” in the Senate. | AP Photo Paul: GOP lacks votes to begin 'real' negotiations on health care

Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that Republicans lack sufficient votes to even begin “real” negotiations on House leaders’ Obamacare replacement plan.

“We are still in the pre-negotiation period,” the Kentucky Republican told host John Dickerson on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”


Paul, who has panned House Speaker Paul Ryan’s American Health Care Act as “Obamacare-lite,” outlined the pathway toward legitimate negotiations with fellow Republicans.

“The real negotiation period comes — and I promise this is the way it's going to work: We will get Obamacare-lite, Ryan's plan, unless there's enough conservatives in the House to say no,” he explained. “If there's enough to say no, when they start voting on the rules of debate, if they bring down the rule, if they stop him in the tracks, then a true negotiation begins. No negotiation right now counts, until they determine to have enough votes to stop Obamacare-lite.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said earlier Sunday that the current version of the House bill would not only fail in the Senate but could also cost House Republicans their majority in 2018. Ryan was more optimistic Sunday about the bill’s fate, insisting it could muster 51 votes in the Senate and dismissing objections from Republicans as efforts to negotiate.

But Paul contended that “if we get what we have” from Ryan, “he will not have the votes” in the Senate.

“And we have to get to that point before true negotiations begin,” he added.

Paul, whom President Donald Trump tried to nudge toward supporting the bill via Twitter, said Trump isn’t firm in his support of the legislation and is open to seeing how he can reach a consensus.

“And what I have told the president is what I am telling everybody: We are united on repeal, not so much on replacement. We do not agree with the fundamental three or four things that Ryan has: subsidies, taxes, mandates and insurance bailout,” Paul said. “That is Obamacare. We don't want that.”