(CNN) Vice President Mike Pence, a key player in the administration's efforts to lobby Congress to repeal Obamacare, seemed unfazed on Friday by the latest hiccup.

Speaking to a crowd in Anderson, Indiana, about tax reform and health care, Pence indirectly addressed Republican Sen. John McCain's decision Friday afternoon to vote "no" on the latest proposal. McCain's announcement left Senate Republican leadership scrambling to cobble together enough support to move ahead.

"The vote could come as early as next week and this is not going to be easy," Pence said. "Even now, the opposition is forming up and some have gone so far to announce their opposition already. But President Trump and I are undeterred."

Pence said more than once that the Senate was supposed to be voting on the new repeal-and-replace option next week, and he described the bill as being drafted by "friends of mine," mentioning Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the architects of the latest effort.

"We cannot in good conscience abandon this cause," Pence said to applause in his home state.

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