| | | | GOP health care bill down to the wire | | The vote is approaching: Unless something changes, the American Health Care Act goes to the floor of the House on Thursday. And The White House is still working on it.
Major factions are making their final arguments. President Donald Trump has predicted a win, while the House Freedom Caucus has said it can take the bill down. On the Senate side, GOP leadership projected confidence in the bill's chances.
With leadership's backing, a host of changes got added to the bill late Monday to make it more palatable to some. The package of amendments was unveiled last night, with many of the new provisions aimed at toughening Medicaid rules for adults, but making some allowances for the disabled and elderly covered by the program.
And on Tuesday, Trump met with Republicans behind closed doors, reportedly ribbing Rep. Mark Meadows, the House Freedom Caucus chairman. "We won't have these crowds if we don't get this done," Trump said, according to a source in the room. He also told the members that he thinks many GOP candidates will lose in the next cycle if health care fails, a source in the room told CNN's Phil Mattingly.
Still, Meadows seemed unfazed after the meeting. The Freedom Caucus gathered for a loud, early afternoon session, and Meadows left the room saying the group still had enough votes to block the bill.
So what's next? The next 48 hours will reveal if the bill's changes, along with Trump's personal lobbying, will truly be enough to get the legislation over the finish line. | | "Senator, I would have walked out the door. It's not what judges do." -- Judge Neil Gorsuch to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham about what he would do if President Donald Trump asked him to overrule Roe v. Wade. | | | | Trump signs bill to boost NASA's mission: This afternoon, President Donald Trump signed the NASA Authorization Act, which relates to the space agency's future and policy in the coming years. Trump was surrounded by NASA employees, Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz when he signed the bill in the Oval Office. The bill increases NASA's overall budget. It also refocuses efforts on deep space exploration and a manned mission to Mars in 2030, which the Obama administration pushed. | | Gorsuch in the hot seat: Round two | | A quick recap: During the second day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, the SCOTUS hopeful said he will "apply the law faithfully and fearlessly" when asked if a blanket religious test is consistent with the First Amendment, a reference to President Donald Trump's embattled travel bans restricting travel from Muslim-majority countries.
Gorsuch also spent a bulk of the time trying to prove his judicial independence and said the Trump administration never asked him to promise to rule certain ways on certain decisions.
Sen. Chuck Grassley argued that "no one -- not even the President -- is above the law" and asked Gorsuch if it would be problematic for him to decide against the President. Gorsuch stressed he wouldn't have any trouble ruling against the President who nominated him.
"That's a softball, Mr. Chairman," Gorsuch responded. "I have no difficulty ruling against or for any party other than based on what the law and the facts in the particular case require." Read more from CNN's Ashley Killough and Ariane de Vogue. | | | Gizmodo's Brendan O'Connor reacts to a sweeping Business Insider report by Oliver Darcy on the Independent Journal Review. He brings up this point: Is it out of the realm of possibility for IJR's Benny Johnson, who was suspended, to one day be part of the White House press operation? | | 5 things you might have missed | | Explaining the laptop ban: The United States -- and now the United Kingdom -- have restricted the use of electronics on flights bound from some countries in the Middle East. A US official tells CNN the government has intelligence showing an al Qaeda affiliate was trying to hide explosives in laptop batteries. Read more from CNN's Barbara Starr and Rene March.
A timeline of Trump's Russia comments: Here are 80 times President Donald Trump talked about Russian President Vladimir Putin, including the nine times he claimed to have spoken to, met or made contact with him. CNN's KFile has the story.
Paul Manafort facing fresh allegations: A Ukrainian lawmaker says he found evidence the former Trump campaign manager tried to mask payments from the ousted Ukrainian leader Victor Yanukovych's political party. Read more from CNN's Atika Shubert and Bharati Naik.
The GOP plan insures fewer than just repeal: The CBO estimated -- to opposition from the White House and some members of Congress -- the GOP health care plan would mean 24 million fewer people would have insurance. Another CBO report said a straight repeal of Obamacare would mean 23 million. The New York Times' Margot Sanger-Katz walks you through it.
Security positions coming from the industry: A lot of the top names President Donald Trump has put forward for positions in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security have worked in the defense industry. The Intercept's Lee Fang rounds up the appointments. | | | The US military launches investigation of Syria mosque strike. ... Retired three- and four-star generals come out swinging for the State Department. ... Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron cracks a joke about President Donald Trump's wiretap claim. | | | 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. | | | | | |
Post a Comment