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Top Stories
Trump Hired Tom Price To Blow Up Obamacare—What Will He Do Now?
The Gist: Time and time again, then-Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearings that he would merely act as an “administrator” of the health care laws they passed. Well, the first major test of that promise has arrived, and perhaps, not on the terms Price expected when he used the “administrator” rhetoric to ward of Democrats’ questions about his plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Trump Goes On Nighttime Twitter Rant About Russia Probe, Health Care
The Gist: As the failure of the House Obamacare repeal bill settled in and House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) continued to defend his trip to the White House, President Donald Trump tried to take back the narrative with a series of angry tweets.
Dem Rep. Says All Intel Committee Meetings This Week Were Cancelled
The Gist: Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed Tuesday morning that the committee’s chair, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has cancelled all of the committee’s meetings this week.
From The Reporter’s Notebook
President Donald Trump’s approval rating reached a new low in Gallup’s daily polling average, TPM’s Matt Shuham reported. According to Gallup, 36 percent of respondents to its daily polls approved of Trump’s performance in office, while 57 percent disapproved.
Agree or Disagree?
David Kurtz: “With so much incompetence taking root, it’s not difficult to envision a scenario where those base appeals must become more amped up, extreme, and scurrilous to be ‘effective.’ It threatens to turn into a vicious cycle the likes of which we’ve never seen in this country. “
Say What?!
“I’m sure that the Democrats do want me to quit, because they know that I’m quite effective at getting to the bottom of things.”
– House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Monday night said that Democrats want him to step aside from the committee’s Russia investigation because he is “effective.”
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “Let us hold aside whether or not Trump/Price actually sabotage the operation of the program. Say it chugs along and is fine in the blue states and those with their own exchanges (where most of the population is) but continues to have lots of single insurer markets and high/higher premiums in states who work against its success, and in rural counties which have always struggled to have any insurance competition. People usually blame the President and their Governor. Many administrations have suffered the bad effects of errors from the previous administration (e.g. the BP oil spill which was due to the Bush admin approving a rig with known deficiencies) and have either not tried to evade current blame, or have tried and failed. This is the doctrine of “the buck stops here”. These folks will want Trump to ‘do something.’ I doubt that Trump will be able to pass the buck. He has announced that he will neglect his duty to make the program work, with the plan of holding citizens hostage and asking the Dems to pay ransom. But the geography of the hostages is noteworthy. Just as much of the damage in AHCA was to Trump voters, most of the hostages will be in places where the citizens vote red. When their premiums go up, they wind up doing some blaming of Trump–either for failing to pass a “great” bill or for concocting a terrible bill. They are already red voters and this stuff probably depresses turnout. Over in blue districts, folks are glad they still have something and will want it made better.”
Related: Spicer: ‘I Don’t Think We’ve Seen The End’ Of GOP Push On Health Care Policy
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What We’re Reading
Feminist Hypocrisy Is The New Trend In Startup Narratives (BuzzFeed)
Can Programs That Help the Military Save the Federal Arts Agencies? (The New York Times)
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