| | | | 24M more uninsured by 2026 under GOP health care bill | | The verdict is out: 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026 under the House Republican health care bill than under Obamacare, including 14 million by next year, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said today.
What this means: The long-anticipated score puts the writers and supporters of the GOP health care bill on the defensive. It is also certain to complicate the party's already troubled efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
But Republicans aren't shifting course: Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the administration disagrees "strenuously" with the CBO report, which he said failed to consider regulatory changes and grants to states that the administration believes will lead to an expansion of health care coverage. The CBO report is "just not believable," Price told reporters at the White House this afternoon.
Republicans on the Hill are arguing the nonpartisan CBO is unreliable and only taking a portion of their plan under consideration. "They are the official scorecard, but they've been wrong before," Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, said today.
Some Senate GOPers don't agree: Some Republican senators responded that they expect the bill to change in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said, "Obviously I am concerned about the number of people who the CBO has estimated would be at risk of losing their insurance."
Democrats promise a fight: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi responded to the CBO report this afternoon, saying they will continue to fight against passage of the bill. "I hope that they would pull the bill, it's really the only decent thing to do," Pelosi said during a presser with Schumer on the Hill. "Numbers are important. They see the numbers. They should know how that transfers into people's lives." | | Snowstorm shakes up DC's plans | | Washington could see heavy snow accumulations from the late-winter storm that's expected to wallop much of the Northeast beginning tonight. The capital could get up to six inches of snow through tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service -- and the federal government is responding by delaying some scheduled plans.
Chancellor Merkel's visit is delayed until Friday: The White House said German Chancellor Angela Merkel's planned visit to the White House on Tuesday has been delayed until Friday because of the snow. Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced the delay after being passed a note during the White House briefing, saying President Donald Trump and Merkel spoke on the phone.
Trump tweeted that he met with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld about the snow preparations, writing, "Everyone be safe!"
Meanwhile, the House canceled votes for Tuesday: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy canceled planned votes in the House for Tuesday. The Senate will stay open Tuesday, with plans to convene at 2 p.m. to consider repealing a Labor Department rule on the employer drug testing of applicants for unemployment benefits. The Senate Appropriations Committee, however, has delayed a hearing set for Tuesday. To keep things functioning Tuesday morning, Senate staff alerted all staff and press to move their cars from Senate parking spots on Monday so plows can come through. | | "It's a big, fat, beautiful negotiation." -- President Donald Trump on the GOP's health care bill during his first meeting of his Cabinet at the White House. | | | | Trump and his team: President Donald Trump posed for a photo with his Cabinet today after signing an executive order that he said is aimed at streamlining the executive branch. Trump said the executive order requires the examination of every federal department and agency "to see where money is being wasted, how services can be improved and whether programs are truly serving American citizens." | | Spicer: Trump didn't literally mean wiretapping | | From CNN's Jeremy Diamond: The White House walked back a key point of President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wasn't referring to wiretapping when he tweeted about wiretapping. "The President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities," he said today at the press briefing.
The deadline arrived for DOJ evidence: The Department of Justice asked the chairman and vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for "additional time" to collect evidence to support Trump's accusation. The panel had set a Monday deadline for the agency to provide the evidence, a source familiar with the matter has told CNN, and sent letters throughout the intelligence community this week to obtain records related to Russia. | | Steve King defends his controversial tweet | | Rep. Steve King doubled down today on comments he made over the weekend in which he appeared to criticize foreigners and immigrants, drawing complaints on social media and from some of his Hill colleagues that his remarks were insensitive.
King, a prominent Iowa Republican and a vocal advocate for cracking down on illegal immigration, tweeted Sunday, "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Asked by CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day" to clarify his comments, King said he "meant exactly what I said." More from CNN's Theodore Schleifer. | | 3 things you may have missed today | | Trump to host the Chinese President next month: President Donald Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit next month at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, a senior administration official told CNN's Jeremy Diamond. The official cautioned that the plan is only tentative at the moment.
Spicer said Trump wants the media's help: Trump plans to donate his salary at the end of the year -- and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wants the media's help in choosing where to donate it. More from Politico's Madeline Conway.
Biden is still boosting his cancer moonshot: Speaking at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, former Vice President Joe Biden used most of his address to talk about the success of his "cancer moonshot" initiative, which launched last year. More from STAT News' Rick Berke. | | | Japan's largest warship will set sail this summer to train with naval ships from the United States and India as part of the annual "Malabar" joint exercise. ... White House adviser Kellyanne Conway is denying she suggested there was wider surveillance of President Donald Trump during the campaign. ... Two days before he dismissed them, Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave no indication in a conference call with US attorneys across the country that some of their jobs were in peril. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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