| | | | The Republican health care struggle is real | | CNN's Jim Acosta and Stephen Collinson write: Republicans struggled to climb out of a political hole opened up by a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report concluded that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured over the next decade under the party's Obamacare repeal plan. "The headlines are terrible," said one senior GOP source involved in the health care process, describing the CBO's conclusions.
The GOP tries to discredit the report: The White House and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill sought to discredit the analysis while highlighting the parts of the assessment they like such as its conclusion that premiums, on average, would go down. But the analysis has exacerbated divisions in the Republican Party cleaved by the health care debate -- which has deep political implications for the credibility of President Donald Trump's young presidency and for the leadership of House Speaker Paul Ryan. | | Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's Chris Cuomo this morning that the CBO's prediction is an example of how the office is "terrible" at making such calculations. "This is exactly what we thought the CBO would come forth with. They're terrible at counting coverage," he said.
He also dismissed a Politico report saying the White House's own analysis of the replacement plan revealed even more significant losses than the CBO projects. "I don't know if the document exists because I have not seen it," he said. "And if there's a document, it would have used the CBO numbers because they are the only ones around, and we think they are deeply flawed, so you can't put too much credit on that document." | | Moderate Republicans turn against it: The report has rattled moderate Republicans in the House, who are uneasy about the prospect of voting for a proposal that increasingly appears dead on arrival in the Senate.
Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said publicly that she wouldn't be able to support the GOP health care legislation. "I plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured," the Florida congresswoman tweeted. And Republican Rep. Leonard Lance, a moderate from New Jersey who Democrats believe will be vulnerable in 2018, told CNN he believes the House bill will fail in the Senate.
So what's going to happen? White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer warned Republican lawmakers today against abandoning the health care plan, arguing the measure presents the best -- and, potentially, only -- chance to repeal Obamacare.
"This is the only vehicle that seeks to achieve what people on our side have been talking about since 2010. This is it," Spicer told reporters at the White House. | | "I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens." | | | | Let it snow: The streets turned slippery and slushy in Washington, but the snowstorm that passed through the city turned out to be relatively contained. A beautiful blanket of snow covered the city's most recognizable buildings. | | The White House wants deep cuts to State, UN funds | | The White House instructed the State Department and the US mission to the United Nations to cut their budgets for UN programs nearly in half, including US peacekeeping and development assistance, two senior US officials told CNN.
The dramatic cuts, which include a 37%, or $20 billion, slash in funding for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, reflect a desire by the Trump administration to reduce US commitments to international organizations. More from CNN's Elise Labott and Zachary Cohen. | | EPA cuts may be deeper than previously reported | | Cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency could be more significant than originally reported, according to a source close to the EPA. Two sources told CNN in February that President Donald Trump might propose slashing as much as a quarter of the EPA's budget, a cut that one former EPA official said would be "devastating." Now it seems the cuts could be bigger than that -- but no specifics, yet.
Discussions are ongoing regarding these cuts, which are expected to include grants to states aimed at protecting air, water and land. More from my report with CNN's Rene Marsh. | | 3 things you may have missed today | | Schumer warns funding the border wall could lead to a shutdown: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Republicans that if they try to attach border wall funding to a must-pass bill to keep the government open, they'd risk provoking a government shutdown. More from Politico's Elana Schor.
Democrats see no wiretapping evidence: Senate Democrats participating in the investigation into Russia's interference in the US election said they doubt President Donald Trump has evidence he was wiretapped, but the issue could easily be settled. "I have seen absolutely no evidence of President Trump's claim about President (Barack) Obama," said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. More from CNN's Manu Raju and Tom LoBianco.
US Marine Corps' top general testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee: The US Marine Corps' top general vowed to prosecute those found responsible for posting photos of naked female service members on social media -- but said investigators are having trouble identifying individual users. More from CNN's Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen.
| | | Obama tried to take Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill. Now Trump is visiting his grave. ... President Donald Trump phoned Sen. Ted Cruz to trade views on the White House-backed health care bill that the Texas conservative is increasingly criticizing. ... Ivanka Trump's brand has discontinued its line of high-end bracelets, necklaces and rings in favor of a focus on more affordable fashion jewelry. ... | | | 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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