Evangelist Franklin Graham has slammed the Republican party for failing to repeal and replace and Obamacare and said both parties need to "lay their pride and greed aside" and work to better their country.
In a heated Facebook post, the 64-year-old son of Billy Graham expressed his disappointment in Republicans for pulling the American Health Care Act bill after failing to garner enough votes to pass the bill.
"Doesn't it just make you sick?" he asked. "I'm so disappointed in the Republican Party-again-for not working together to get America the health care plan we need, as they had promised."
Graham added, "And the Democrats' glee over what they're trumpeting as a failure is shameful. Their driving desire to block all things Republican branded, no matter what it means for the American people, is sickening. Can't they see we have huge issues looming over us as a nation?"
Before any positive change can take place, the United States needs bipartisan problem-solving, the leader of Samaritan's Purse contended.
"They need to lay their pride and greed aside, and work together to come up with solutions that will help our country," he said. "That's what we're paying them to do, and that's what we need to begin expecting them to do. They should tackle these issues as Americans, not as politicians."
In standard Graham fashion, the evangelist urged his 5.5 million Facebook followers to "pray for the leadership of both parties, that God would soften their hardened hearts and give them His wisdom."
Throughout his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to overhaul the Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare - which was passed on strictly partisan lines in 2010 and signed into law by then-President Obama.
However, on Friday, House Republican leaders opted to pull the American Health Care Act from the House floor - the bill intended to replace Obamacare - after failing to garner enough support within its own ranks to pass legislation.
Nevertheless, the New York Times reports that House Republican leaders and the White House have restarted negotiations on legislation to repeal Obamacare despite the stinging defeat.
The House Republican whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, said of Democrats, "Their celebration is premature. We are closer to repealing Obamacare than we ever have been before."
In a statement, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said House Republicans were determined to use the next version of the repeal bill as a means to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood clinics.
"We're not going to retrench into our corners or put up dividing lines," he said. "There's too much at stake to get bogged down in all of that."
