[af_vet_1981]

Jeff Duncan said it passed and that it was a first step. I assume he was one of the twenty or so willing to support the President in the negotiations. This link confirms that:

U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, was leaning from "no" to "yes" at the time the bill was pulled.

According to his spokesman, Duncan was impressed by an 11th-hour leadership compromise to repeal Obamacare's "essential health benefits," which required insurance providers to cover maternity care, emergency room visits and mental health services — a major driver of premiums.

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Mount Pleasant, who is also a Freedom Caucus member, announced Friday during House floor debate that he would vote "no." He represented the wing of the GOP that became the biggest roadblock to the leadership's wishes. At least 25 other members of the Freedom Caucus were prepared to vote against the bill, arguing it didn't do enough to drive down costs.

[Alberta's Child]

This is a very important item there:

At least 25 other members of the Freedom Caucus were prepared to vote against the bill, arguing it didn't do enough to drive down costs.

If this is true, then it wasn't even ideology that was driving the Freedom Caucus. They probably had the exact same take on the AHCA bill as I did: It would be politically disastrous to pass a bill that didn't offer relief in the form of lower premiums to employers and individuals immediately.