Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has backed down on his promise to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state. Shumlin first won election in 2010 with a pledge to make Vermont the first state in the country with a single-payer system. But on Wednesday, Shumlin said the tax hikes needed to fund the system had proven too high.

Gov. Peter Shumlin: “I’m not going to undermine the hope of achieving critically important healthcare reforms for this state by pushing prematurely for single-payer when it’s not the right time for Vermont. This is the greatest disappointment of my political life so far, that we couldn’t advance this ball as quickly as we had wished. But we shall persevere, we shall get it right, we shall push on.”