Key movement in the last few minutes that suggests the motion to proceed on Obamacare repeal is likely to pass later this afternoon. We don’t have all the undecideds nailed down yet, but a key senator in the saga–Dean Heller (R-NV)–just came out with a statement saying that he will vote for the motion. Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who were seen as likely to move in tandem, have also just come out in support of the motion to proceed.

Just to give you a sense of the feel of things, via our reporters on the Hill: This has seemed to be moving in the direction of passing the motion to proceed. That’s the general sense from talking with senators, mainly because aside from Susan Collins, the moderate Republican from Maine, no other senators are taking a firm line against proceeding.

Senators are already spinning “skinny repeal” (what an awful phrase) as a legit option.

The Obamacare repeal effort is the most chaotic, rudderless, un-Senate-like piece of legislating since … the House revived its bill back in May. But snark aside, the level of confusion and the lack of a real plan for getting the bill (which bill??!) through the Senate is probably unprecedented. At least nothing like it in recent memory.

Tierney Sneed, Alice Ollstein and Cameron Joseph are all over it for us on the Hill today as the key procedural vote is expected this afternoon.

Here’s the very latest: an emerging possibility that the Senate will pass the narrowest of repeal bills and punt the whole process to conference committee.

What that means isn’t entirely certain, but lacking the votes to pass much of anything at this point, McConnell is trying to buy time AND muddy the waters. Once he gets to conference committee, they can remake a bill in negotiations with the House and then give muscling reluctant senators into compliance another shot later.

I mentioned yesterday that Anthony Scaramucci’s brief – as evidenced by his actions in a few days on the job – looked a lot more like chief advisor or even chief of staff than communications director, which is, paradoxically, a not terribly visible role. Sure enough, according to an overnight story in the Post, Scaramucci has a brief to purge ‘disloyal’ staffers and bring in more people from Fox News. Read More

Here is where we are today.

Just in from Sen. John McCain’s office:

“Senator McCain looks forward to returning to the United States Senate tomorrow to continue working on important legislation, including health care reform, the National Defense Authorization Act, and new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.”

Senate Republicans still don’t know which Obamacare repeal bill they’ll be voting on this week, or when. The votes don’t seem to be there for either of the two main options under consideration: “repeal and delay” or “repeal and replace.” And yet … they’re not dead either. Both options strip health insurance coverage from tens of millions, but the Senate GOP is trundling along as if it’s no big deal that they don’t know what they’re going to vote on.

Mitch McConnell seems to be calculating that if he can get a majority to vote as soon as tomorrow on a motion to proceed, which would kick off debate on a bill, he can pressure his conference with a combination of amendments, side deals and strong arming to get some bill – ANY bill – passed. All in all, it’s probably not a bad strategy. He hasn’t been able to make that work before now, but it may be the only viable strategy left. It worked for Paul Ryan in the House.

Things are so far gone now that senators are openly speculating whether Sen. John McCain’s surgical incision is sufficiently healed to withstand the pressurized cabin of a jetliner for the flight from Arizona to DC to cast a decisive vote, if needed. No one quite knows what bill he’d be casting a vote on.

Come for the GOP implosion, stay for the Carlos Santana.

We saw and heard from Jared Kushner today. It was a more polished presentation and a significantly better haircut. But at the end of the day, it was a carbon copy of President Trump: the collusion story is fake news that “ridicules” Trump voters.

I want to clarify and expand on something I noted yesterday. The President stands accused, now with a mounting array of evidence, of conspiring with a hostile foreign power to win the Presidency. He has now made clear that he will not permit any investigation of those accusations. Read More

With the flurry of news over the last 24 hours over President Trump’s expanding war on Robert Mueller, we’ve heard a growing chorus of voices comparing this battle to that between the Clinton White House and Independent Counsel Ken Starr during the Whitewater/Lewinsky investigations. The comparison is quite simply lazy, baseless and stupid. It is fair to note that I am a bitter critic of President Trump and during the 1990s was a strong supporter of President Clinton. So my perspective is not disinterested. But I think the facts of the matter are so elementary that the case can be argued on the merits in a very convincing way.

Let’s go through some basic facts.  Read More