| | | | John McCain may have just killed health care repeal, again | | As official Washington began to wind down on a unseasonably sweaty Friday afternoon, Sen. John McCain dropped a bombshell that threatened to end the last-ditch attempt by Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
"I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal," the Arizona Republican said in a statement. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried."
And with that, McCain became the second Republican to formally announce his opposition to the legislation offered by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. It left Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with no room for error as he tries to gather 50 votes to get rid of Obamacare. Graham, it should be said, is a close friend of McCain's and frequent policy partner.
McCain's announcement is rightly read as the fulcrum on which this Graham-Cassidy bill tilts. Which -- for Trump, McConnell and other Senate leaders -- is deja vu all over again. McCain was the third and deciding "no" vote against the Republican repeal-and-replace effort in the summer, delivering a dramatic thumbs down on the floor of the Senate just days after returning to Washington from a diagnosis of brain cancer.
In the wake of that vote, McCain insisted he opposed any major legislation that didn't go through so-called "regular order": committee hearings, a markup process to refine the bill and a score on the legislation's cost from the Congressional Budget Office. In the days before his "no" announcement on Friday, McCain repeatedly called for regular order; Senate leaders had scheduled hearings on the bill next week in an attempt to satiate him. It wasn't enough.
For McCain, the decision is clearly one with his legacy in mind. Facing a dire cancer diagnosis, he wants to do everything he can to restore comity and normalcy to the chamber he has called his work home since 1987. He has also always relished the role of maverick, of the man no one could pin down and no one could force to do or say something he didn't want to do or say.
For his Republican colleagues -- and the Republican President -- it now looks as though their long-sworn promise to repeal and replace the ACA is dead. The chance to pass repeal and replace with just 50 votes expires at the end of this month and it's hard to imagine some other proposal sweeping in that could achieve their goals. And, while it's possible that both Collins and Murkowski decide to be for Graham-Cassidy -- or Paul decides to reverse course -- it's hard to see how that would come to pass.
Read my full take here.
--Chris | | DEM DIVISIONS ON DISPLAY ... AGAIN | | Speaking of health care...CNN's Greg Krieg writes:
The latest late push by Republicans to kneecap Obamacare is teetering after Sen. John McCain's decision to oppose it. But the past week's outbreak of internecine brawling underlines a raft of unresolved tensions. Among Democrats.
As recently as 10 days ago, it appeared the party was angling further down the long road to post-2016 reconciliation. When Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced his new "Medicare for all" bill on Capitol Hill on September 13, he was flanked by a collection of the party's most promising 2020 prospects. A third of the Senate Democratic caucus had signed on, and the detente forged by the battle to protect Obamacare was looking increasingly durable.
But that brief era of good feelings quickly cracked up under pressure from Republicans. When the majority began plowing ahead with the Graham-Cassidy bill, another controversial plan to radically overhaul the American health care system, Democrats began to lash out -- first and primarily at the GOP, but then, as its momentum grew, one another. Most of the venom was directed at Sanders.
Read Greg's full story here. | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
One under-the-radar stat in Thursday's new poll from CNN shows that Americans are the most positive they've been about the US economy in more than 16 years. And President Donald Trump is getting more and more credit for it. A broad 63% of Americans say the economy is in "very good" or "somewhat good" condition, matching the best number on this question, stretching all the way back April 2001.
Half of Americans still attribute the state of the current economy to former President Barack Obama, vs. only 38% of Americans who give the credit to President Trump, according to numbers from Quinnipiac University last month. But the number giving Trump credit has doubled since April – when two in three Americans said they believed Obama had more responsibility.
Look out for Ryan's full story on the CNN Politics website on Saturday. | | In August, Howard University announced ousted FBI Director James Comey "will kick off the school year with an address to the university and engage the Howard community through a lecture series designed to foster fruitful discussion and spur meaningful interaction."
The keynote address took place on Friday ... and it didn't go so well. Comey stood silently for over 15 minutes as some students yelled, "I love being black" and "Get out James Comey -- you're not our homey." Others raised their fists and shouted slogans such as "No justice, no peace, "We shall not be moved" and "white supremacy is not a debate."
For more, check out this story from CNN's Laura Jarrett and Katishi Maake. | | | There's a new Stars song out -- in advance of the band's new record There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light, which comes out next month. The tune is called "Alone." | | INSULTS BEYOND 'ROCKET MAN' | | Back in May, President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances." That seemingly positive sentiment was short-lived. Over the last few months, Trump has repeatedly used very blunt language when discussing the ongoing standoff with North Korea and its leader, who he nicknamed "Rocket Man."
Saba compiled a timeline of all Trump's tough talk directed at North Korea. It dates back to a 1999 interview with the late Tim Russert on "Meet the Press," during which Trump said North Korea was "sort of wacko." The most recent jab came early Friday morning, when Trump called Kim a "madman" after Kim called Trump a "frightened dog" and "mentally deranged US dotard." | | Last week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a new order designed to increase access to various public lands for hunters and fishers.
"To highlight #sportsmen contributions 2 conservation I installed Big Buck Hunter in the employee cafeteria. Get excited for #hunting season!" Zinke tweeted from his personal account Tuesday, with the above image.
CNN's Miranda Green looked into this further. She explains:
When the Department of Interior announced that it was expanding hunting access on public lands I wondered how environmentalists would react. Then when news broke that the department of the Interior was recommending shrinking the size of those public lands they just supposedly opened to hunters-- I wondered if hunters thought they were being fed a false promise. Turns out, I was right.
Read her full story here. | | Court is not in session today for Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's ongoing trial. But Laura and CNN's Sarah Jorgensen profiled the judicial renegade overseeing his case in New Jersey.
Laura writes:
Judge William Walls is a trip and already the breakout star of Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial. One minute he's dropping a 1970s movie reference, the next he's telling a lawyer to "shut up." Watching the the lawyers getting chewed out (regularly) in front of their clients and bosses from the Justice Department is cringeworthy at times, but this judge also has an incredible personal story. Imagine what it was like for him, a young black man in 1950, walking into Dartmouth College?
For more, read their full story here. | | Going into the weekend like...
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