Washington (CNN) It was a dramatic turn of events Thursday night when four Republican senators gathered for an impromptu press conference in the Capitol to declare they would only vote for a last-ditch piece of health care legislation if they had a guarantee -- that it would never become law.

"I am not going to vote for a bill that is terrible policy and horrible politics just because we have to get something done," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The "skinny bill" would repeal Obamacare's individual and employer mandates, but a growing number of Republican senators say they don't want it to become their legacy when it comes to fullfilling their seven-year promise to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. It's an atypical legislative strategy in which Republicans would vote "yes" on legislation that no one wants to ultimately pass.

And so Republicans are actively lobbying their fellow Republicans in the House to make sure they will stand in the way of House Speaker Paul Ryan if he does bring it to the floor for a vote. Ryan issued a statement saying he would go to conference, but didn't guarantee there wouldn't be a vote on a Senate-passed "skinny bill."

Sen. John McCain didn't like what he heard.

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