(CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will delay the vote on the Republican leadership's health care bill until after the July 4 recess. 
 
 McConnell told GOP senators that he wants to make changes to the bill, get a new Congressional Budget Office score and have a vote after the holiday, two sources told CNN. 
 
 Following McConnell's decision, President Donald Trump said negotiators are continuing to work and "getting very close" on a deal and that Obamacare was "melting down as we speak." 
 
 "We are going to talk," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Republican senators, who had been bussed from Capitol Hill to the White House. "We are going to see what we are going to do. We are getting very close." 
 
 Trump added, "For the country, we have to have health care and it can't be Obamacare, which is melting down. The other side is saying all sorts of things before they even knew what the bill was. This will be great if we get it done and if we don't get it done it is just going to be something we aren't going to like. And that is OK and I understand that very well." 
 
 McConnell's decision does not mean Republicans' plans for repealing and replacing Obamacare are dead, but it highlights the challenge facing the GOP leadership as they try to bridge the divide between conservatives and moderates in the party. While the additional time could allow for more negotiations to bring more lawmakers on board, it also means members of Congress could face pressure from constituents when they go home for recess with the future of health care hanging in limbo. 
 
 A senior Senate Republican aide told CNN that the plan for the moment is to hammer out a compromise bill by the end of this week, give members the full week of recess to digest and then vote on it when they get back. 
 
 "We know what everyone needs," the aide said. "Now we just need to make it work." 
 
 White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump spoke with McConnell on Tuesday morning and has been "fully engaged" with senators. 
 
 "For us, it is never been about the timeline but getting the best piece of legislation that helps the most," Sanders said. 
 
 The news followed a bustling morning in the Capitol, where Republican leaders, along with Pence, were meeting behind closed doors with the bill's opponents, as a number of senators came out against voting for a procedural step to advance their plans to repeal and replace Obamacare. 
 
 Mike Lee became the fifth member Tuesday to plan to vote against the motion to proceed on the health care bill as it is currently written, an aide told CNN. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Collins: Tinkering won't fix Senate bill Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Collins: Tinkering won't fix Senate bill 01:19 
 
 The motion is normally a routine procedural move, but its chances were growing increasingly grim due to the Republican intraparty division. 
 
 With Republicans only able afford the loss of two votes, the bill appeared to be teetering on the edge by lunchtime. 
 
 Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, told reporters the effort to get to 50 votes was "fluid" but maintained a degree of hope. "I wouldn't count McConnell out yet." 
 
 Meanwhile, Democrats on the Hill were organizing news conference after news conference, including a large showing of Democratic senators who gathered on the Capitol steps to lambast the beleaguered bill. 
 
 Behind the scenes, staffers for McConnell were trading potential legislative proposals with key offices, and McConnell himself met privately with Sen. Ted Cruz for nearly an hour. While the Texas Republican hadn't said how he'd vote on the motion to proceed -- he had previously been publicly opposed to the bill though open to negotiations. 
 
 Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, had been largely quiet since the bill went public last week. She's long been a question mark on how she would vote on the bill, and she told CNN Tuesday morning that she's "concerned about the bill in the form that it is now." 
 
 Asked later if there needs to be more opioid funding in the bill, Capito said that was just one of the issues. "That's not the only one," Capito told reporters. 
 
 Aides were also seen scurrying around in the Capitol trying to buttonhole members and their key staff about where things currently stand, with the idea being to have a menu of options ready for the Senate Republicans' weekly Tuesday lunch, where McConnell ultimately announced his decision to delay. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Schumer: Health care bill rotten at the core Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Schumer: Health care bill rotten at the core 01:06 
 
 The lunch, according to an aide, was expected to be at effort to both rally the troops and serve as a policy discussion. For McConnell's part, according to the aide, the message would be clear: A vote against the bill would be a vote to maintain Obamacare. If the bill failed, McConnell was set to argue, the only option would be to work with Democrats, which would lead to a less conservative outcome. 
 
 Pence expressed uncertainty earlier Tuesday on whether the bill would make it to the floor. "We'll see," he told CNN as he entered a meeting in the Capitol. 
 
 Pressed on what they are doing to salvage the bill, Pence responded, "lots of good discussions underway and we'll continue to work very diligently." 
 
 Also at the Capitol Tuesday was Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who was scheduled to hold meetings with Pence, McConnell and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida. 
 
 Rubio, like some senators, had been waiting to make his decision on the bill until he felt like he had enough input from his state's governor and other constituents. An aide to the senator said Rubio's staff invited staff from the offices of Scott -- as well as the Florida speaker and Senate president -- to Washington to be "embedded" in Rubio's office for the week and work with Rubio's team to analyze how the bill will affect Florida. 
 
 Over on the House side, Speaker Paul Ryan urged his members in a closed door session to give their Senate colleagues some space, according to a person in the room. 
 
 Ryan's point was that given the current state of play, it's not helpful for anyone in the House to come out and attack or criticize elements of the bill. Should the Senate pass the bill, Ryan argued, the House will get their chance, one way or another, to weigh in. Until then, he urged members to hold their fire. ||||| CLOSE In remarks prepared for a meeting with Senators at the White House, President Donald Trump told Republicans: "We can repeal, but we should repeal and replace, and shouldn't leave town" until the bill is complete. (July 19) AP 
 
 President Trump (Photo: Alex Brandon, Alex Brandon, AP) 
 
 WASHINGTON — One day after President Trump declared he wanted to let the current health care law fail, he pressed Republican senators to agree to an alternative plan to replace Obamacare before taking any August recess. 
 
 "I don't think we should leave town unless we have a health insurance plan," Trump said during a White House lunch attended by 49 of the 52 Republican senators. "We shouldn't leave town until this is complete, until this bill is on my desk." 
 
 But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was already hedging about whether that's possible. 
 
 He promised to hold a vote next week to debate a bill to simply repeal Obamacare – without a replacement – but it's not clear whether he even has the votes to do that. 
 
 "It's pretty obvious we've had difficulty in getting 50 votes," McConnell said. 
 
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 The president also issued a warning to Republicans who want to delay taking action. "Any senator who votes against debate says you are fine with Obamacare," he said. 
 
 Trump made his demands while seated next to Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who is considered vulnerable in next year's congressional elections and has opposed Republicans' health care plans. Trump backers have also threatened a primary challenge of Heller over his recalcitrance. 
 
 In an apparent reference to the political minefield Heller is facing on health care, Trump said: "Look, he wants to remain a senator, doesn't he?" 
 
 Two of the three GOP senators not in attendance – John McCain of Arizona and Johnny Isakson of Georgia – are recovering from surgery. The third missing senator, Richard Burr of North Carolina, said he couldn't attend because he was presiding over the Senate at lunch. 
 
 The less-than-perfect attendance at the White House underscores the difficulties for Trump and Republicans, even though they control both chambers of Congress. McConnell has been unable to secure enough support to repeal and replace Obamacare. He is willing to repeal the law and hold a vote on it next week – but there are already three Republican senators who say they won’t vote to bring it to the floor. 
 
 In making his plea to Republicans, Trump also tore into his critics, singling out Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York, who has said the GOP health care plan is a matter of life and death for Americans who might lose coverage. "He was saying death, everyone's going to die – Death! Death! Death!" Trump said. "That's the only thing they're good at." 
 
 The president also denounced predecessor Barack Obama as well as the health care law that bears his name, telling senators “Obamacare was a big lie," and "it was a lie directly from the president." 
 
 Trump is making an aggressive push to achieve some kind of victory on health care, after several days of mixed messages. 
 
 After GOP leaders announced Monday night they would pull a bill to "repeal and replace" the 2010 health care law signed by Obama, Trump said he was inclined to simply leave the current law in place, predicting it would "fail" and force Democrats to cooperate on a new plan. 
 
 "We’re not going to own it – I’m not going to own it – I can tell you, the Republicans are not going to own it," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, "We’ll let Obamacare fail and then the Democrats are going to come to us, and they’re going to say, 'How do we fix it?'" 
 
 Yet by Wednesday morning, Trump – who has sent conflicting signals throughout the health care debate over the course of the year – changed his tune, telling senators: "We can repeal, but we should repeal and replace ... I'll sign it." 
 
 Still, as he announced Wednesday's lunch meeting, Trump already appeared to be distancing himself from his party or the fate of the repeal and replace efforts, repeatedly referring to Republicans as "they" and the health care plan as "their" bill. 
 
 Tweeting ahead of his lunch with the Senate Republicans, Trump said "they MUST keep their promise to America!" 
 
 I will be having lunch at the White House today with Republican Senators concerning healthcare. They MUST keep their promise to America! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017 
 
 "The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime," Trump said in another post. "The Dems scream death as OCare dies!" 
 
 The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime.The Dems scream death as OCare dies! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017 
 
 Trump campaigned on a pledge on a campaign to repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that does not cut Medicaid, covers "everybody," and provides people with preexisting conditions similar coverage as current law. 
 
 He cheered passage of a House plan – which passed by a narrow 217 to 213 margin – and even hosted a party in the White House to celebrate its passage in early May. 
 
 The Congressional Budget Office said the House bill would lead to 23 million fewer people having health insurance by 2026 as compared to Obamacare. And the health care issued moved to the Senate, Trump declared the House bill too "mean," and urged GOP senators to make changes. 
 
 Now, Democrats are saying the Republicans should work with them, instead of Trump, given the president's recent comments. "Do they want to take the path of President Trump, who yesterday said he wanted our healthcare system to fail, or do they want to work with Democrats on legislation to improve the law?" said Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York. 
 
 Trump held a similar White House meeting with the Senate Republican caucus last month. At that confab, the president sat between GOP senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – both of whom were in opposition to the Republican alternative to Obamacare. 
 
 Republicans have had a variety of objections to a health care plan that had been pushed by McConnell. 
 
 Some, including Collins and Murkowski, protested rollbacks in the Medicaid program. Some of the more conservative Republicans, such as Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said the GOP plan did not go far enough in repealing Obamacare, particularly its tax provisions. 
 
 It was a Monday night announcement by Lee and Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas that forced McConnell to shelve the Republican repeal and replace plan 
 
 As Republican senators planned to head to the White House, Moran told reporters: "I don’t know what the next step is." 
 
 Contributing: Eliza Collins 
 
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– President Trump has warned senators that he will be "very angry" if they fail to repeal ObamaCare as promised. In an interview with televangelist Pat Robertson, the president said "a lot of people will be very upset" if Senate Republicans don't pass the legislation this summer, Politico reports. "I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me," Trump said. "It has to get passed. They have to do it. They have to get together and get it done." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is expected to present a revised version of the bill to senators Thursday morning, "has to pull it off," Trump said. "He's working very hard. He's got to pull it off." McConnell urged senators Wednesday to drop procedural objections to the bill and let a vote move forward, saying, "If we sit on our hands, families will continue to suffer," the Hill reports. McConnell can only afford to lose two Republican votes, and Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he can't support the revised bill because it is "the same as the old bill, except it leaves in place more taxes," the Washington Post reports. McConnell also faces opposition from moderate senators and conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz, who's pushing for an amendment that would allow insurance companies to sell plans that don't meet federal coverage requirements. (McConnell has cut the Senate recess by two weeks.)