In a wide-ranging interview, he defended the one-page tax plan he unveiled on Wednesday from criticism that it would increase the USA deficit, saying better trade deals and economic growth would offset the costs.
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With the clock ticking, Congress on Friday managed to fulfill its basic function – keeping the federal government running.
Democrats also are seeking health care funding for Puerto Rico, which is expected to run out of Medicaid money this year, resulting in almost 1 million residents losing their medical coverage.
The spending debate came up just as Republicans started whipping votes on a bill that aims to partially repeal and replace the 2010 health care law – but some are suggesting more changes to come.
House Democrats had threatened to block the spending bill this week if Republicans attempted to vote on the health care legislation.
In the meantime, Democrats could at least take comfort in the difficulty that Republicans have had in rounding up the necessary votes. That means any attempt to fund the border wall, roll back environmental and consumers protections, or pull funding from Planned Parenthood would be met with unified Democratic opposition, Minority Leader Sen.
For Republicans, that could make the 2018 midterm elections tricky, the Arizona Republican said.
With little in the way of actual results so far, some Republicans have begun to fret openly about their thin record of accomplishments, and sound alarms about a backlash from voters if the GOP doesn’t begin to produce.
“I’m disappointed that it doesn’t go quicker”, Trump said of his interactions with Congress, in an interview airing on Fox News Channel.
“As your president, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms”, said President Trump. “It is a very tough system”. (They narrowly avoided needing them on today’s one-week extension.) This dynamic – which should feel familiar from the repeated similar fights during the Obama years – is part of why the process has dragged out for so long.
White House and Republican leaders had labored all day to wring votes out of resistant moderate GOP lawmakers for the health care measure. It was unclear whether Democrats will continue to insist other domestic programs get a similar funding increase. And it wasn’t because they were feeling generous. Democrats want to include funding for the subsidies in the funding bill, which Speaker Ryan said he will not stand for. And as a candidate, Trump promised to repeal Obamacare “on day one”.
The sweeping spending package would combine 11 unfinished spending bills into a single “omnibus” bill, becoming the first bipartisan legislation under Mr Trump’s presidency.
The one bright spot that stands out for many Republicans is Senate confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Moderates saw them as diminishing coverage because insurers could make policies for their most ill – and expensive – customers too costly for them to afford.
Getting a budget passed that covers the portion of the fiscal year that remains – between now and September depends on how much the Republicans tie it to their other priorities, Doggett says.
Lawmakers passed a weeklong stop-gap spending bill Friday that amounts to more of a defeat for the president than a victory.
Democrats were more critical of the Trump administration’s early work.
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House leaders have said they intend to introduce a funding bill Monday night, setting up a vote on Thursday.
