Republicans Relive Healthcare Nightmare
“Republicans suffered through a recurring nightmare this week: their inability to replace or at least unwind the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare program,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“For the past decade, President Trump and the party have raged against the 2010 law, only to see legislative attempts to decouple it from the American economy fail. This week was no different, as a Republican proposal to replace ACA subsidies with sending federal funds directly to some households for out-of-pocket healthcare costs failed to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate.”
“For some Republican lawmakers, a sense of déjà vu took hold this past week amid worries that the issue might once again cost the party its political majorities.”
U.S. Pours More Firepower Into the Caribbean
“The U.S. military is moving more weapons and units into the Caribbean that give President Trump powerful new options to escalate his pressure campaign on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and potentially bring him down,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“After weeks of deadly boat strikes and the seizure of an oil tanker, the Pentagon is sending assets that could enable land strikes, disable Venezuela’s defenses and enforce an oil embargo—posing a direct threat not only to Maduro but to his regional allies such as Cuba.”
Judge Orders Return of Evidence Against Comey
“A federal judge ruled Friday that the Justice Department unlawfully accessed evidence central to its case against former FBI director James Comey, delivering what could be a death blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to reindict one of his most prominent perceived rivals,” the Washington Post reports.
VA Plans to Eliminate Tens of Thousands of Jobs
“The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to abruptly eliminate as many as 35,000 health care positions this month, mostly unfilled jobs including doctors, nurses and support staff,” the Washington Post reports.
“The cuts come after a massive reorganization effort already resulted in the loss of almost 30,000 employees this year.”
Quote of the Day
“There’s this creepy obsession that he seems to have on me that just feels pretty obnoxious. I’ve never been one to dwell on the words or attacks of bullies.”
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), quoted by the Washington Post, on President Trump calling her “garbage” and saying she should be deported to her native Somalia.
Trump Waves the White Flag on U.S. Attorneys Gambit
“For months, President Donald Trump has used unconventional tactics to install loyalists as top federal prosecutors across the country, and battled challenges to their authority. Now, he appears to be conceding defeat,” Politico reports.
“The Trump administration has signaled in recent days that it may refocus its efforts on trying to eliminate a Senate procedural tool used to block U.S. attorney nominees, rather than continuing to challenge the disqualifications in court.”
Biden Has Raised Little For a Presidential Library
“Former President Joe Biden has raised only a small fraction of the money needed to construct a presidential library, leaving uncertainty about when a library might be built and its viability as a stand-alone project,” the New York Times reports.
“In filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Biden’s library foundation revealed that it had not received any new donations in 2024, the final year of his presidency. The foundation was instead seeded entirely with $4 million left over from his 2021 inauguration.”
Colorado Officials Reject Trump’s ‘Pardon’
“President Trump’s pledge to pardon Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted of tampering with voting machines, touched off a furious new battle on Friday over the fate of perhaps the last high-profile 2020 election denier still behind bars,” the New York Times reports.
“Democratic leaders in Colorado dismissed the pardon as an empty attempt to bully a Democratic state into freeing one of the president’s political allies. They argued that Mr. Trump had no legal power to overturn Ms. Peters’ conviction in state court.”
Finger-Pointing Amid Pressure to Ramp Up Deportations
“White House pressure to ramp up deportations has sparked rising tension and finger-pointing inside the Department of Homeland Security, with the agency’s secretary, Kristi Noem, and her top adviser blaming subordinates for not hitting arrest quotas and undermining their relationships inside the West Wing,” NBC News reports.
“Noem and her close adviser Corey Lewandowski have sought to deflect blame from themselves for any White House frustration with the pace and scope of the deportations, pinning it instead on the leaders of the agencies in charge of immigration enforcement — acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.”
Exchange of the Day
President Trump took questions from reporters:
REPORTER: What is your message to the 24 million Americans who will see their insurance premiums go up?
TRUMP: You make it sound so bad. Obviously you are a sycophant for Democrats, you are obviously a provider of bad news for Republicans.
Trump Confronts His Political Reality
David Graham: “One of the secrets to Trump’s success has been his control over other Republican figures, because of either their political and personal affinity or, failing that, the ability to bully them into submission with rhetorical attacks or threats of primary challenges.”
“But as the end of Trump’s political career approaches, his grip over the GOP is showing some cracks.”
For members: Trump Already Looks Like a Lame Duck
Obamacare Changed the Politics of Health Care
Jonathan Chait: “Fifteen years after its passage, the ACA is a gigantic political pain point for the GOP. You would think Republicans would have made their peace with the law by now and turned their attention to other issues.”
“But unlike pretty much every other conservative party in the industrialized world, where the legitimacy of universal health coverage is largely a given, the GOP seems resigned to bleed out on health care.”
Tucker Carlson Keeps Attacking Republicans
“Tucker Carlson knows a thing or two about stirring up controversy,” the New York Times reports.
“But even so, his ongoing feud with fellow members of the Republican Party — and critics who have suggested he’s antisemitic — has been striking. This week it boiled over on one of the nation’s most popular podcasts, as a schism over the Charlie Kirk assassination continued to aggravate an already rattled Trumpworld coalition.”
“Indeed, Mr. Carlson’s broadsides were just the latest evidence of a deepening divide in Republican politics. And he has been at the center of many of those fights, with trolling, ad hominem attacks, and accusations of betrayal — including by President Trump — riddling airwaves and social media feeds, with no signs of stopping.”
Indiana Handed Trump His Biggest Defeat Yet
Russell Berman: “Over the past few days, I’ve asked both Republicans and Democrats here to explain why Indiana has become the new hotbed of GOP resistance to Trump…”
“I received several answers. Most, however, said that the push for mid-decade redistricting simply ran afoul of the small-c conservatism on which many Indiana Republican legislators still pride themselves… Republicans told me that state Senate opponents of redrawing the maps tended to be more institutionalist than MAGA, echoing a divide that still crops up among the party’s lawmakers in Washington.”
The Indiana Vote Is an Inflection Point
Jonathan Chait: “In rejecting yesterday a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump, Indiana’s Republican-controlled senate did not merely deny Republicans two new U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections. They also engaged in a mass revolt against the president. The stakes of their defiance reach far beyond the midterms. This vote was possibly the most significant blow yet against the authoritarian ambitions that have defined Trump’s second term.”
“The significance of Indiana’s noncompliance lies not in the specifics of what was refused—attempts to gerrymander electoral maps are hardly unprecedented, even though a mid-decade battle violates norms—but in the act of refusal itself. Trump’s authoritarian project relies on the cultlike hold he has over his party.”
House GOP Will Allow Vote on Obamacare Subsidies
“House GOP leadership will permit a floor vote to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies — an olive branch to moderate members who have been clamoring for a chance to go on record in support of an extension,” Politico reports.
U.S. Forces Raid Ship Headed to Iran From China
“A U.S. special operations team boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related articles headed to Iran from China, a rare interdiction operation at sea aimed at blocking Tehran from rebuilding its military arsenal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The ship was several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka when the operatives boarded it and confiscated the cargo before letting the vessel proceed.”
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