| | | | The Republican repeal dream is nearly dead | | For the last seven years, virtually every Republican candidate and elected official had a simple and effective message on the Affordable Care Act: We need to repeal it and replace it.
On Wednesday, the first part of that promise died when the repeal-then-replace measure failed, by a 55 to 45 margin. Seven Republicans -- Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Susan Collins (Maine), Dean Heller (Nevada), John McCain (Arizona), Rob Portman (Ohio), Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) -- voted against the measure, which would have repealed Obamacare but left it in place for two years as a replacement system was put in place.
That defeat came less than 24 hours after the repeal-and-replace measure pushed by Senate leaders met the same fate. That legislation only got 43 votes.
Neither of those two outcomes was a surprise -- which, in and of itself, speaks to the pitfalls Republicans have encountered as they try to make good on their campaign promises on health care.
The simple fact -- as these two "repeal" votes show -- is that there is not a majority of Republicans in the Senate willing to vote to entirely scrap Obamacare. That, given just how much Republicans talked about repeal over the past seven years, is astounding.
Republicans' best hope now is, quite literally, a half measure -- referred to appropriately as "skinny repeal" that would focus exclusively on ending the individual and employer mandate as well as repealing a tax on medical devices. (The Congressional Budget Office hasn't scored the "skinny repeal" but estimated that a similar plan submitted several years ago would leave 15 million more people uninsured than Obamacare and cause insurance premiums to rise 20%.)
If a "skinny repeal" passes the Senate -- and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn expressed confidence Wednesday it could -- then the GOP will almost certainly declare victory even though the bill would still need to be approved by a conference committee and then re-voted on by the House and Senate before going to President Trump.
But, remember: Full repeal was the goal. That will not now happen. Welcome to the realities of governing. For more coverage, check out CNN's Lauren Fox and MJ Lee story from Wednesday: "The Republican health care strategy: Pass bill first, fix it later."
-- Chris | | PICKLE, DEVOS & THE RETURN OF THE ON-CAMERA BRIEFING | | Newly installed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci kept his Twitter promise of turning the cameras back on for White House briefings.
And even without Sean Spicer, the return of the on-camera briefing proved to be interesting, to say the least.
First, now-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders cracked a joke about the Mooch.
"Now, I know Anthony is probably a little bit disappointed that he is not up here today. But since he did some TV this morning, he was able to go ahead and get his hair and makeup done. So I think he'll be OK." (He cracked a response later on Twitter).
Then, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos showed up -- because Sanders announced that Trump had donated his second-quarter salary, $100,000, to the Education Department.
DeVos said the money will go toward hosting a camp focused on science, technology, engineering and math.
But perhaps the most memorable moment of the briefing was when we, the press, were introduced to 9-year-old Trump fan Dylan, who goes by "Pickle."
He wrote in the letter (pictured above): "I like you so much I had a birthday about you. My cake was the shape of your hat." He also asked how old Trump is, how big the White House is and how much money Trump has.
He wrote: "I don't know why people don't like you." To which Sanders, who read the letter aloud, said: "Me either, Dylan." | | VP Mike Pence is on a roll with his tiebreaking votes.
CNN's Ryan Stryuk has the latest:
Republicans in the Senate may not be finding a deal on health care, but Mike Pence is sure getting a lot done in the Capitol. For the fourth time in just six months, the vice president swooped in to cast a tiebreaking vote, ending the 50-50 deadlock with the 51st vote to advance the GOP health care bill. That vote puts Pence on a historically record-setting pace for breaking ties -- all the way back to John Adams in 1789. But Pence has some catching up to do if he wants the all-time record: John Calhoun holds the top spot with 31 tiebreaking votes in the 1800s.
Read more in Ryan's story here. | | THE ART YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WANTED | | In case you wanted a reminder of the days when President Donald Trump was everything besides president:
A sketch he drew of the New York skyline in 2005 is going up for auction on Thursday, according to Forbes. Starting price? $9,000.
It's being auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Here's the description from the listing:
Donald Trump hand-drawn and signed sketch of the New York City skyline, with Trump Tower at its center. Composed and signed ''Donald J Trump'' in gold marker, artwork measures 11.5'' x 9'', nicely matted against gold and framed to 18.5'' x 16''. Light smudge and abrasion to right side, otherwise near fine condition. Originally drawn by Trump for a charity event, and very rare, with only a handful of such drawings known. | | | Lots of people know the Hold Steady. Fewer know the solo work of its frontman -- Craig Finn. You should. "Faith in the Future" was one of Chris' favorite albums in 2015. And his new-ish "We All Want The Same Things" is equally brilliant. | | REUNITED & IT FEELS SO GOOD | |  | | President George Bush posted this picture on Twitter of him alongside Dan Quayle, his VP from 1989 to 1993. | | SESSIONS FOR SENATE (AGAIN)? | | POLITICO's Kevin Robillard reported Wednesday that Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, has offered to drop out if Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to reclaim his old seat.
You know, given all of President Donald Trump's recent feelings of "disappointment" at Sessions.
Robillard reports: "I support President Trump's policies, but this public waterboarding of one of the greatest people Alabama has ever produced is inappropriate and insulting to the people of Alabama who know Jeff Sessions so well and elected him so often by overwhelming margins," Brooks wrote in a statement e-mailed to reporters on Wednesday. Brooks goes on to propose all the candidates drop out of the contest simultaneously so Sessions "can return to the Senate where he has served us so well. President can then appoint whomever he wants as Attorney General."
In other Senate race news, Indiana Rep. Luke Messer -- of Vice President Mike Pence's former Indiana district -- tweeted his 2018 bid. He will run against Sen. Joe Donnelly. | | TRUMP TWEETS NO MORE TRANSGENDER TROOPS | | Among Trump's Twitter storm on Wednesday were a series of tweets announcing his plan to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the US armed forces.
His announcement was quickly met by criticism from both sides of the aisle, including from veterans like Sen. John McCain, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Ted Lieu.
Meanwhile, the White House remained defensive of Trump's choice. At one point during the White House briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders threatened to end the briefing because many of the questions were about the ban.
CNN's Emanuella Grinberg and Paul P. Murphy, spoke to some transgender troops on why they serve. Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King said: "I felt like I had just gotten fired via tweet." | | | Former House speaker John Boehner is "living his best life," as FamousDC pointed out on Twitter Wednesday. Here he is, replicating the Beatles' famous Abbey Road photo in London. | | Former President Bill Clinton and best-selling author James Patterson are headed to Hollywood to pitch a film adaptation of their novel "The President is Missing," which will hit bookshelves in June 2018.
The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Ford and Kim Masters reported Tuesday:
"CAA's Richard Lovett is handling the rights to the project, which is being treated as a top-secret property. Sources say a 10-page proposal was sent out to buyers and top producers on Monday. It was sent via an expiring link and watermarked. Not everyone who received the proposal will be invited to have a meeting with Clinton and Patterson, however.
Sources say that Clinton and Patterson themselves will meet with interested producers this week. J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg and George Clooney are among those who will be taking in-person meetings with the pair. Producer Steve Bing, known to be a close friend of Clinton, is also said to be getting a meeting." | | | VP Biden is pointing to you, and so are we! Happy hump day, tell everyone you know to subscribe. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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