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White House expects a health care deal soon

Maybe if you took that approach you would find a lot of friends in the Democrats who would work with you.

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What a difference from the House committee, where the ranking Democratic member, Adam Schiff, has called on Nunes to step aside from leading the Russian Federation investigation.

It’s in response to the president’s tweet that indicated he would work to defeat caucus members in the 2018 midterms.

President Donald Trump’s promise for “historic” reform of the USA tax code could be scaled back to something less ambitious, such as just focusing on tax cuts, in the wake of his failure to repeal Obamacare, experts and legislators said. Combining the two lists, it adds up to 44 Republicans who could have cast “no” votes if they’d had the chance.

Perhaps the initial tax legislation will start in a better place, the process will be more deliberate, and President Trump will get immersed more readily in something (the tax code) central to his business dealings.

Should Republicans fail to pass anything, Democrats will campaign against the GOP’s first unsuccessful bill, the American Health Care Act, telling older and working-class voters Trump was ready to betray them with high or higher premiums, less subsidization, and no guaranteed coverage for mental health and substance abuse needs.

Ryan stands by the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Devin Nunes, who canceled a public hearing that could have embarrassed Trump after the White House stated its objection; went on a secret trip to White House grounds to gather what he considered exculpatory material and then released it publicly while keeping fellow committee members in the dark; and quarreled with the FBI for investigating Trump’s Russian Federation ties.

However, in contrast with Trump, Hannity exempted the Freedom Caucus from that critique. Already there are divisions between House and Senate Republicans over the so-called border adjustment tax that Speaker Ryan and his team favor.

Trump and his aides have suggested reviving the push for a healthcare bill.

What makes Trump’s latest maneuver so interesting, however, is that Ryan ― who Bannon tried to oust while running the ultraconservative Breibart site ― appears to back it. That’s how long they’ve had to come up with a plan they could all live with.

Passing a budget for next year could also prove challenging.

But by Thursday, it was clear he had settled on the House’s ultraconservative Freedom Caucus. Moderate Republicans are aghast at proposals to cut popular programs that fund environmental cleanup and meals for senior citizens. Trump, for his part, seems to be trying his best to make it seem as if he might try to forge a new coalition without the Republicans. “Trump is not”, said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. Trump’s bills wouldn’t reach the 218 votes needed for passage without the bloc’s support.

“I have confidence in Richard Burr”, Warner said in response to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly, who asked Burr if he could swear with his hand over his heart that he could conduct an impartial investigation even though he was a Trump supporter during the campaign. It wasn’t the Freedom Caucus alone that caused Ryan to pull it off the floor.

A House Freedom Caucus member is defending the group’s opposition to the failed GOP health care bill.

Some Republicans were so furious they were publicly saying things usually reserved for closed-door meetings. The group’s 30-odd members hail from deeply conservative, safe Republican districts and enjoy the backing of financially flush outside groups like Heritage Action.

Senate Republicans expressed alarm and urged efforts at consensus.

Yesterday morning’s tweet was yet another indication that Trump doesn’t understand the importance of coalition-building, or perhaps even that he believes his incredible “deal-making” skills will somehow compensate for the loss of Freedom Caucus votes. This battle that has been ginned-up between the President and conservatives isn’t about accomplishing the President’s policy – it is about Speaker Ryan and White House Chief of Staff Paul Ryan saving their jobs.

“Ryan … is never going to intentionally alienate a large swath of his caucus”, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

IMMIGRATION The Justice Department will appeal a ruling from a Hawaii federal judge that granted an injunction blocking Trump’s revised restrictions on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, it says in a court filing.

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Democrats view all that as campaign ad fodder.

Paul Ryan Looks To Unite GOP After Health Care Failure