CBO Was Not ‘Way Off’ On ACA Score, King Won’t Back Down From Tweet And This Article Won’t Change Your Mind

March 13, 2017 10:37 a.m.

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March 13, 2017

The Gist: Aiming to erode public trust in the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office ahead of its report this week expected to show that the GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill will cause millions of people to lose their health insurance, Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials are rewriting the history of the CBO’s analysis of the Affordable Care Act.

Steve King Won’t Back Down From His Tweet About ‘Somebody Else’s Babies’

The Gist: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) on Monday morning doubled down on his Sunday tweet saying that “civilization” will not be restored with “somebody else’s babies.”

Preet Bharara Compares His Firing To Disbanding Of Public Corruption Panel

The Gist: After he confirmed on Saturday that he had been fired as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara published a tweet Sunday referencing a short-lived New York state panel tasked with investigating public corruption.”

From The Reporter’s Notebook

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price said on Sunday that he believes “nobody will be worse off financially” under the Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and dismissed a report that millions will lose coverage if it passes, TPM’s Esme Cribb reported. “I firmly believe that nobody will be worse off financially in the process that we’re going through,” Price told Chuck Todd on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Agree or Disagree?

Josh Marshall: “The real oddity with Bharara is not that his tenure is any more sacrosanct than any of the other 45. It’s why Trump would have taken the highly conspicuous and odd step of retaining him only to turn around and fire him. It could be as simple as the fact that there’s little consistency to anything Trump does (sufficient explanation). It could be that Steve Bannon or Jeff Sessions had other ideas and Trump’s initial decision was more impulsive than strategic (sufficient explanation). Or it could be something darker and more corrupt. We do not know.”

Say What?!

“I can’t answer that question. It’s up to people. People are going to do what they want to do with their lives.”

– House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said on Sunday that he can’t say how many people will lose health coverage under the Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as it’s ‘up to people’ to acquire coverage ‘if they want it.‘

BUZZING: Today in the Hive

From a TPM Prime member: “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can lose an election, even on a technicality, to Donald Friggin’ Trump and not be flawed. Now, I happen to big a big fan and I’m not embarrassed to have voted for her or supported her. I make no apologies. I like Bernie, too. I was proud to be a Democrat when Hillary and Bernie fought the primary largely on the high ground while the Republicans put on a circus. Now it may well be that the flaw in our candidate is that she was unprepared for the move into the big top atmosphere that Trump managed to create around the entire campaign. It’s funny, people kept waiting for Trump to “act presidential” during the campaign but it seems like, looking back, if he had tried that he’d have lost badly. We ran a very good candidate for president in a climate where there was no reward for being the kind of serious candidate and policymaker that Hillary is. Right candidate, wrong time. I don’t see how Bernie would have done any better, though.”

Related: Hillary Clinton Tweets Support For Women’s March On Washington

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What We’re Reading

This Article Won’t Change Your Mind (The Atlantic)

How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (ProPublica)

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