Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Ky.) looked to rally Republicans on Saturday in the wake of the Senate GOP's failure to pass an ObamaCare repeal bill last month.

“I choose not to dwell on situations where we come up a little bit short,” McConnell said during a surprise appearance at a Republican event in Kentucky, according to local radio station WFPL.

“Even on the night when we came up one vote short of our dream to repeal and replace ObamaCare, here’s the first thing I thought about: feel better, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE could be president," he added.

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McConnell's comments come as lawmakers have returned to their home districts for the August recess after Senate GOP efforts to fulfill their seven-year campaign promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare collapsed last week in the Senate, with a scaled-down repeal bill narrowly failing.

President Trump has recently pushed Senate Republicans to abolish the legislative filibuster and bring back efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 healthcare law, but Republicans appear poised to move on to other issues such as tax reform.