IT'S OVER: Republicans will not vote on Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, move on from Obamacare repeal for now

Republicans will not bring the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill to the floor for a vote, effectively killing the GOP's Obamacare repeal push for the foreseeable future, a GOP aide told Business Insider.

Reports Tuesday said the two leading authors of the bill - Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy - asked GOP leadership to pull the bill after it appeared there were not enough votes to pass it.

It did not appear that Republicans had the needed 50 votes to get the bill through the Senate after Sen. Susan Collins announced her opposition to the bill on Monday, making her the third Republican senator to defect.

The ability to use the fiscal year 2017 budget reconciliation option for an Obamacare repeal bill will expire on Saturday. Without thr ability to use reconciliation, Democrats would be able to filibuster any repeal bill put forward.

That means the GOP must either work with Democrats to get eight more votes on a healthcare bill or wait for mount another effort under reconciliation rules in either the fiscal year 2018 or 2019 budget.