| | | | No health care vote tonight after all | | Without enough votes, the House delays: House Republican leaders said they hope to vote on legislation to repeal and replace part of Obamacare Friday, following a day of drama and multiple high-level, tension-filled meetings, a White House official said.
CNN's Dana Bash spoke with a source in the room at a meeting Thursday evening between administration officials and House Republicans. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told the Republicans assembled that President Donald Trump wants a vote on Friday -- and will move on even if the bill fails. With that, the White House signaled that negotiations were over.
Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have been lobbying members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, as well as moderate Republicans, in an attempt to reach the 216 votes they need to pass the bill. Republicans can't lose more than 21 members of their own caucus and still pass the bill, since no Democrats are expected to support it.
Though negotiations were ongoing Thursday, CNN's whip count indicated throughout the day that the bill would fail if put to a vote, with 26 House Republicans saying they will vote against the bill and four more indicating they are likely to oppose it. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said there are "30 to 40" votes against the bill at this point.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office came out with more bad news for those behind the GOP bill. Changes Republicans made earlier this week to the legislation will only decrease federal deficits by $150 billion over 10 years, below the benchmark of $337 billion in deficit reduction set by the CBO's estimates of the original measure. Here's a look at the analysis.
The White House is trying to project an air of confidence, but knows the score. After the vote's postponement was announced, one senior GOP leadership aide said: "Nothing has changed substantively with the bill since this morning. It's just a matter of the Freedom Caucus committing to the White House that they are a yes and not moving the goalposts again."
If you want a full breakdown of what's inside the House GOP health care bill and how it might affect you, CNNMoney's Nicole Ridgway and Tami Luhby have you covered. | | "Hey, look, in the meantime, I guess I can't be doing so badly, because I'm President, and you're not." -- President Donald Trump to Time's Washington bureau chief, Michael Scherer, defending his most controversial claims
in a wide-ranging interview. | | | | Trump welcomes truckers: President Donald Trump did a meet and greet with American truckers, then hopped into an 18-wheeler on the White House south lawn and pretended to drive it. | | Democrats taking a stand? | | Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, made it out of four days' worth of hearings generally without incident. Of course, this week's insane news cycle might have helped him avoid a great degree of public scrutiny, but he's made it through this part. The next step is a committee vote, after which Gorsuch would face a full Senate vote.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Gorsuch won't make it through the Senate, coming out against the judge and slamming his testimony as disingenuous. Schumer called on his fellow Democrats to join him in voting against Gorsuch, who can't make it to the Supreme Court without 60 votes. But with 48 seats including the independents who caucus with them, he couldn't afford many Democratic defections.
That is, unless Senate Majority Mitch McConnell changes the rules, a major move he may be reluctant to make unless he feels he has to. CNN's Ariane de Vogue has the full story. | | | #ThrowbackThursday from the National Archives -- to when President Harry Truman received a gold commemorative medal of the National Capital Sesquicentennial Commission from Nellie Tayloe Ross, then-director of the US Mint, in 1950. Ross was the first female governor in the United States, serving as the Democratic governor of Wyoming. Check out CNN's Brenna Williams' series highlighting female politicians who broke glass ceilings. | | 4 things you may have missed today | | Democrat makes big Russia claims: Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said he has new information on potential collusion between President Donald Trump's associates and Russia. Read more from CNN's Manu Raju and Theodore Schleifer.
DOJ investigating congressman: The House Ethics Committee announced the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Duncan Hunter, who drew national attention for using an e-cigarette during a House hearing. He is accused of using campaign funds for personal use. Read more from CNN's Tom LoBianco.
Senate rolls back telecom regulation: In a move Republicans hailed as a win in the war against regulatory burdens and Democrats decried as anti-consumer, the Senate moved against privacy rules put in place by the FEC under former President Barack Obama. Recode's Tony Romm has the story.
Keystone set to move forward: Trump will reportedly soon approve the Keystone XL pipeline after years of fierce debate. Its opponents -- of whom there are many -- prepare to draw familiar battle lines. Bloomberg's Jennifer A Dlouhy, Meenal Vamburkar and Andrew M Harris report. | | | House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes apologized to committee members. ... A Virginia gubernatorial candidate's campaign has been editing his Wikipedia page. ... Sen. Lindsey Graham said he'd support the nuclear option if needed for Judge Neil Gorsuch. | | | 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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