Huge blow for Donald Trump as he is forced to pull health bill to replace Obamacare following Republican backlash

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has suffered a huge defeat after his big campaign pledge to replace Obamacare was 'ditched' in Congress.

Republican leaders ordered a vote on his 'Trumpcare' bill be pulled moments before it was due to take place as it became clear it was losing support.

Republican leaders of the House of Representatives pulled the legislation due to a shortage of votes despite desperate lobbying by the White House.

However, the White House and House leaders were unable to come up with a plan that satisfied both moderates and conservatives.

Trump told the Washington Post: "We just pulled it."

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who has championed the bill, met with Trump at the White House before the bill was pulled from the House floor after hours of debate.

Ryan said he recommended that the legislation be withdrawn from the House floor because he did not have the votes to pass it, and that Trump agreed.

"I will not sugarcoat this. This is a disappointing day for us," Ryan said at a news conference.

"Doing big things is hard," Ryan added, noting that he got close but failed to muster the 216 votes needed to pass it.

Ryan said he did not know what the next steps would be on healthcare, but called Obamacare so flawed that it would be hard to prop up.

Without the bill's passage in Congress, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement, the 2010 Affordable Care Act - known as Obamacare - would remain in place despite seven years of Republican promises to dismantle it.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare was a top campaign promise by Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

The House failure to pass the measure called into question Trump's ability to get other key parts of his agenda, including tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure spending, through a Congress controlled by his own party.