TRUMP AGENDA: Dems to GOP on health care: We told you so
From NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald: “It's a strange place to be for the Democratic operatives and elected officials who saw their party devastated in part by Obamacare. And some can't help but feel a bit of cosmic justice as they watch Republicans stuck in a policy quagmire they know all too well.”
Who wins, who loses in the new GOP health care bill? Sam Petulla lays it out.
The Wall Street Journal: “Groups representing hospitals, doctors and seniors are urging House Republican leaders to put the brakes on their plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, saying it risks stripping too many people of insurance and in some cases would hurt industry finances.”
And the New York Times: “House Republicans have been left scrambling to marshal support from businesses and other interests that stand to benefit from lower taxes if the bill passes. Insurers are on the fence, and other powerful forces like pharmaceutical companies remain largely on the sidelines.”
The Washington Post reports that Trump is in deal-making mode. “Absent, for now, are the skewering tweets, the raging news conferences and the combative speeches. Instead, Trump is quietly courting wary conservatives in private meetings and keeping himself somewhat out of the picture as party leaders and his Cabinet officials defend the plan.”
And from the AP: “After spending months rehashing the brutal GOP primary campaign and bragging about his victory, President Donald Trump has quietly launched a charm offensive, reaching out to former rivals whose help he now needs.”
POLITICO: “In a private Oval Office meeting with conservative activists Wednesday, President Donald Trump sold Paul Ryan's health care bill as strong and necessary. But minutes later, his top aides offered some willingness to consider changing some of the core provisions, even as Trump himself suggested a fallback position — that they could try again in two years, and Obamacare will fail on its own, leaving Democrats to take the blame.”
The Lexington Herald-Leader: “A White House official on Wednesday said there are no plans for President Donald Trump to visit Louisville on Saturday. Media outlets in Louisville had reported earlier in the day that Trump was expected to visit the city this weekend. The Courier-Journal and WDRB both reported on Wednesday that a spokeswoman with the Louisville Regional Airport Authority had confirmed the presidential visit to Louisville on Saturday. Later Wednesday, a White House official said the president’s schedule isn’t finalized, but there is no plan to visit Kentucky this weekend.”
The New York Times looks at who’s being affected by rising Obamacare premiums.
Trump’s administration is looking at a $6 billion cut to HUD’s budget, the Washington Post reports.
From the AP: “Michael Flynn, who was President Donald Trump's former national security adviser until being fired last month, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth of lobbying work before Election Day that may have aided the Turkish government.”
The Washington Post reports that the latest Wikileaks disclosure shows just how rapidly the CIA’s digital operations have grown.
POLITICO: “U.S. and Ukrainian authorities have expressed interest in the activities of a Kiev-based operative with suspected ties to Russian intelligence who consulted regularly with Paul Manafort last year while Manafort was running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, came under scrutiny from officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department partly because of at least two trips he took to the U.S. during the presidential campaign, according to three international political operatives familiar with the agencies’ interest in Kilimnik.”
Worth keeping on the radar, from the New York Times: “Ethics Questions Dogged Agriculture Nominee as Georgia Governor”
Trump is expected to tap Jon Huntsman as the ambassador to Russia.