Erin Kelly, Eliza Collins, and Deirdre Shesgreen

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — In a stunning defeat for Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday canceled a vote on the GOP bill to replace Obamacare because he did not have enough votes from his own members to pass the legislation.

"We came really close today, but we came up short," Ryan said at a news conference after he pulled the bill from the House floor. "I will not sugarcoat this: This is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard."

Ryan and other Republican leaders said they will now move on from health care to tax reform, Southwest border control and other issues, essentially giving up on their No. 1 legislative priority for the foreseeable future.

"Obamacare is the law of the land," Ryan said. "It’s going to remain the law of the land."

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The failure to pass the bill is a major blow to both Ryan and President Trump in their efforts to rack up Republican accomplishments now that they control both Congress and the White House. It was the first big legislative test for Republicans since they won back the White House and retained control of the House and Senate in last fall's election.

It also underscored just how divided the Republican Party is, with factions of hardline conservatives and moderates rebelling against their own leadership.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare was a major campaign promise made by Trump and scores of GOP House members and candidates in last year’s election. But they were never able to agree on the best way to achieve their goal.

Trump threw his weight behind the Republicans' replacement bill, cajoling and strong-arming House members to vote for the bill. Ryan also made it his top legislative priority, exhorting members to take action on what he called their best chance to replace Obamacare’s government mandates with a patient-driven system.

"We were very close," Trump told reporters after the vote was canceled. Ryan said he had told Trump at a midday meeting that they should scrap the vote and Trump had agreed. But Trump said he did not blame conservatives in his own party who would not vote for the bill. “I’m disappointed, because we could have had it," he said. "I’m a little surprised, to be honest with you.”

He also blamed Democrats, saying that passing the bill without them was a "very difficult thing to do." He said Democrats now "own" Obamacare and must take responsibility for its problems.

"They own it; 100% own it," Trump said. He said he will do what he talked about on the campaign trail and “let Obamacare explode.”

Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana, a member of the House GOP leadership team, declared health care dead for the year. Moreover, he said, it will be harder to get tax reform done now in the wake of the GOP’s failure to pass their health proposal.

"It’s a sad day for America," Messer said.

But Democrats rejoiced. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called it "a victory for all Americans."

"Democrats, united by our shared values, have stood strong against the disastrous TrumpCare bill," she said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill failed because Trump couldn't close the deal.

"They can’t write policy that actually makes sense, they can’t implement the policies they do manage to write, they can’t get their stories straight, and today we’ve learned that they can’t close a deal, and they can’t count votes," Schumer said. "So much for the Art of the Deal."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus that helped kill the bill, said Republicans should not give up on getting rid of the Affordable Care Act. Many members of the caucus said the GOP leadership's American Health Care Act did not go far enough in repealing Obamacare's government mandates.

"Obamacare is a disaster, and repealing it remains one of my top priorities," he said after the vote was canceled. "Now, House Republicans owe it to our constituents to immediately get back to the drawing board and bring forward a bolder effort to replace the failing Obamacare with a plan to reduce costs by increasing choice and competition."

Lawmakers debated the bill on the House floor for more than five hours Friday before Ryan made the decision to cancel the vote.

The debate began after the House Rules Committee adopted changes to the bill that had been negotiated Thursday between Trump and House Republicans that would, among other things, eliminate minimum requirements for insurance plans to cover 10 "essential health benefits," including maternity care, emergency room trips and prescription drugs. The changes were offered in an attempt to attract support from the Freedom Caucus. But many of those caucus members remained unsatisfied, and the changes did not sit well with moderate Republicans.

Ryan had originally planned a vote for Thursday but put it off to provide more time to negotiate with the Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Group, a moderate faction of House Republicans who feared the bill would make health care too costly for their their low-income and older constituents.

Trump, who negotiated directly with members of the two GOP factions, announced Thursday night that he was done talking and wanted the House to go ahead and vote.

Ryan went to the White House early Friday afternoon to inform Trump that he did not have enough GOP votes to pass the bill. He canceled the vote shortly after returning to the Capitol.

Contributing: Paul Singer, Nicole Gaudiano, Craig Gilbert, Maureen Groppe and Donovan Slack