Tag: Party leaders of the United States Senate

… Some Republicans are perplexed that Trump is prioritizing a DACA deal with Democrats over one last shot at Obamacare, which can be repealed on party lines for just two more weeks. We've got [16] days to deal with this," said Graham. Chan School of Public Health poll, most Republican voters still do want Congress to prioritize Obamacare repeal, naming it their top priority. Only 16 percent of Republicans said ACA repeal should not be a priority for Congress. Among Democrats, 60 percent say repeal-and-replace should not be a priority. HRSA's Sigounas said the award would be directed to nearly 1,200 health centers in order to expand access to mental health and substance misuse services. It's been more than a month since Trump said that he would declare a national emergency on opioids, with senior administration officials reportedly split over the cost and strategy. “ THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY PULSE — Where we're throwing virtual rice at Jason Millman, our wonderful deputy health care editor who's marching down the aisle this weekend. — Uninsured rate: 6 percent — ACA enrollment: 157,832 as of January, a 3 percent decline from the prior year after a 35 percent surge two years ago. CBO: Obamacare premiums expected to spike by 15 percent next year.

In Stunning New Deal with Democrats, Trump Agrees to Be Impeached. WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In his most stunning deal yet with Democratic leaders, Donald Trump agreed on Friday to be impeached by the end of 2017. Emerging from an Oval Office meeting with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a beaming Trump touted the deal for his imminent removal from office. “Chuck and Nancy and I got a deal done on impeachment,” Trump said. “It was a good deal and it was a fast deal.” Trump said that the Democrats had convinced him that agreeing to be impeached would make him soar in popularity. “People are going to love me for doing this,” Trump said. “They’re going to love it on all the channels.” In a barb aimed at House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trump said that the impeachment agreement was something he “never could have gotten done” with the Republican leadership. “I went around and around with the Republicans for months on health care,” he said. “This meeting with Chuck and Nancy took, what, five minutes, and I could get back to watching TV.” Hoping to capitalize on their momentum, Pelosi and Schumer said that they would meet with Trump next week to discuss the ouster of Vice-President Mike Pence.

Hannity blames McConnell: Now Trump 'has to deal with Dem leaders'. Fox News host Sean Hannity is blaming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for forcing President Trump to deal with Democrats. Trump also railed against McConnell after the Senate failed to pass legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Hannity's comments came after Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said following a Wednesday night dinner that Trump agreed to work toward a deal that would protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in exchange for new border security measures. The lawmakers said in a statement they agreed to "enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.” The White House quickly rejected that statement, saying that while border security and DACA were discussed, the president didn't agree to exclude funding for the border wall from the package. Trump also pushed back on the statement by the Democratic leaders, saying early Thursday there was no deal made to protect young immigrants. Trump's meeting with the Democratic leaders Wednesday came about a week after he reached a short-term deal with congressional Democrats to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. The deal shocked Republicans, who wanted a longer-term agreement.

Dems ready to deal with Trump — but it's complicated. But in a move that stunned Washington, the pair, joined by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), united on Wednesday to secure a short-term deal to fund the government, raise the debt ceiling and provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey — a proposal initially opposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Trump and Schumer built on the nascent alliance by agreeing to seek reforms that would altogether eliminate the need for Congress to hike the debt ceiling — yet another proposal opposed by the president’s Republican allies. “For me, it goes beyond that particular deal. Trump’s campaign largess has benefited Pelosi, as well. “We can brush off insults in ways that aren’t personalized, and I think it’s clear that Schumer and Trump were able to do that,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who represents parts of Brooklyn. “Both of them have been hard on each other, but were able to come together and reach an agreement and that is a typical thing that happens in New York: hardball tactics in negotiation still yield an agreement. King, who represents parts of Long Island, agreed. Pelosi also praised the Big Apple connection; Schumer, she said, “could speak New York to the president.” Yet Pelosi also sounded a cautionary tone, saying that while she hopes to work with Trump on immigration, tax reform and infrastructure, Democrats won’t sacrifice their ideals to do so. Ryan and McConnell both downplayed Trump’s deal with the Democrats, arguing the president wasn’t bucking the Republicans so much as he was seeking to demonstrate bipartisan cooperation in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and facing the threat of Hurricane Irma.

WASHINGTON -- Meet President Donald Trump's new best friends. He calls them "Chuck and Nancy," not Senate Minority Leader Schumer or House Minority Leader Pelosi. He met with them Wednesday morning, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Later that afternoon, appearing before supporters in North Dakota, Trump crooned about their "great bipartisan meeting." Both leaders have said they will support the resulting measure, which sailed through the Senate on Thursday. At a Thursday press conference, Pelosi said that an 18-month window would have destroyed "any negotiating leverage that we have." The Republicans have the Senate, White House, and the House. Seventeen GOP senators voted against the debt/ disaster/spending bill on Thursday. Republicans are adjusting too slowly to this new way of governing, and if they aren't careful, Trump will bulldoze right over them to get to a win." With Trump, you never can tell.

Why President Trump Cut a Deal with Democrats. Whatever the reason, President Trump's decision Wednesday to cut a deal with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over the objections of his Republican allies has the GOP fuming, and Democrats gleeful at their newfound influence. The agreement to fund a down-payment on hurricane disaster relief in the same legislative package that would raise the debt limit and keep the government open til December, sets up another major fiscal showdown at the end of the year. What's clear is that, above all else, Trump wanted a legislative victory—really, anything he could call a victory—and had essentially no concerns about its substance. His legislative agenda of health care and tax reform has been stalled for months, the former perhaps permanently, leaving his poll numbers suffering, Trump wanted to secure a feel-good moment. And it came at the expense of his own party. The GOP had always feared that Trump would try to cut deals with Democrats in search of positive headlines, and on Wednesday he did. Trump's lack of ideological rigidity and desire to get along with people in private already had him abandoning his calls for border wall funding in the so-called continuing resolution. Now, Trump handed Schumer and Democrats the agenda in December, allowing them to use the full magnitude of fiscal pressure points to push Trump to embrace their priorities. — Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon to CBS News on Catholic Bishops' support for DACA “No second thoughts."