Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans are "two votes away" from passing healthcare legislation that would repeal and replace Obamacare and be "Bernie Sanders' worst nightmare."
In an interview with Breitbart Radio on Saturday, Graham touted the legislation as something Republicans should have jumped on from the beginning — handing healthcare — and a block grant of money — over to the states.
"The goal is to get the money and the power out of Washington. This is not about repealing and replacing Obamacare. This is about stopping a march towards socialism," Graham told Breitbart.
"We should have started with this. We should have been in session in August. We should have been working on this for weeks. But we are where we are. And we're just very, very close," Graham told Breitbart. "And if we pull this off, if we are able to replace Obamacare with federalism, then you have changed the trajectory of where the country is headed. It's the end of single-payer healthcare.
"This is Bernie Sanders' worst nightmare," Graham said.
Sanders recently introduced "Medicare for All," a single-payer model that is widely panned, including Democratic leadership.
Graham touted the efforts of President Donald Trump, who has been lobbying hard for this bill, as Republicans' last best chance to repeal Obamacare before the individual mandate kicks in on the Affordable Care Act in October.
"Number 45, Donald Trump, is on the phone. He's the Mariano Rivera of presidents," Graham said of the Hall of Fame-bound relief pitcher of the New York Yankees who wore No. 45, matching Trump as the 45th president.
"He's going to come in and close the deal with some of these governors who are showing reluctance," Graham said.
"We got 15 days left to do this. We are two votes short," Graham said.
One of those "nay" votes — Sen. Rand Paul, who has declined to support the bill because it doesn't go far enough.