ALTOONA, Iowa — Lowering expectations, Iowa’s two Republican senators say the long-promised repeal of “ObamaCare” is unlikely, and any final agreement with the Republican-controlled House is uncertain.

The comments Tuesday by Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst come as the Republican-controlled Senate moves forward on its work to dismantle the 2010 health care bill while facing conflicting demands within their own party and lockstep Democratic opposition. Both senators are active players in the health care debate.

“You can’t repeal it in its entirety,” Ernst told reporters after a joint appearance with Grassley in suburban Des Moines.

It was a frank admission from loyal conservatives representing a state Republican Donald Trump carried in November.

The Senate’s filibuster rule means that Republicans — who control the Senate with 52 seats — can’t repeal the entire law.

“You’ve got to have 60 votes and we don’t have 60 votes at this point,” Grassley said.

Grassley, in his seventh term, is a senior member of the Finance Committee, which oversees the law’s tax and Medicaid provisions. Ernst, elected in 2014, says she has been part of an informal GOP health care working group’s discussions.

“As much as I’d love to go back and scrap the whole darn thing, we’re simply unable to do that,” Ernst said.