The Note: The divide over the health care bill

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here. March 8, 2017 MORE POLITICS > The divide over the health care bill The Big Story Get ready for Trump at war. That's what it will take if President Trump hopes to salvage his health care bill – and it is his bill now – against the accumulated weight of the AARP, the House Freedom Caucus, GOP senators including Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, Heritage, the Club for Growth, tea party groups and even, yes, Breitbart News. This is new ground for a president who had expected to enjoy the fruits of united government. This conservative rebellion threatens to stall his entire legislative agenda, and we haven't even heard the cost or the coverage consequences yet. Remember that repealing and replacing Obamacare was supposed to be the unifying part of Trump's lawmaking, given the nearly unanimous agreement the slogan drew among Republicans. But this is developing into a clear example where Republican leaders can't match legislation to their words, and the more complicated rhetoric offered by the president. Call it Obamacare-lite, or Ryancare, or Trumpcare. But don't call it law – not like this, not anytime soon, unless Trump puts his full weight into this push. The Sleeper Story "I'm not here to speak for myself," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday. "I'm here to speak for the president of the United States and our government." That would mean that the official government position is that President Obama ordered Trump to be wiretapped. It would also mean that the White House is standing by the veracity of that claim without offering evidence, and without an attempt to ascertain whether evidence even exists. (Isn't it supposed to work the other way – investigation first, allegation later? And what does "separation of powers" have to do with it when everything alleged here happened inside the executive branch that the president now controls?) The relative silence from the White House means the story will likely fade, particularly given the crush of other news. But it shouldn't. This is a major test of whether the Trump administration will feel the compulsion to set the record straight to make sure presidential declarations are true, seriously and literally. The Shiny Story "Notice how thick that is," Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said in the White House briefing room Tuesday, pointing to a printout of the original Obamacare bill. "Look at the size," declared Sean Spicer. "This is the Democrats. This is us." Of all the talking points one might employ to argue for a bill, how is the number of printed pages even remotely relevant to anything? We know President Trump likes to use piles of paper as props. For him, though, thicker has typically been better, as when he showed off the mounds of legal documents used to extricate him from his businesses, or when he bragged about the mass of his tax returns (not that they were offered up for inspection). The White House can't seriously think conservative critics are going to be convinced this way. (How many pages would it take to establish Medicare for all? Or single-payer?) As for the public, health care red tape is infuriating. But it has never been the length of legislation that affects people's lives. TLDR The president has backed the health care bill, but with conservatives calling it Obamacare-lite, he has his first real legislative battle on his hands. Top 'Trumpcare' takeaways, changes After weeks of wrangling within their ranks, House Republicans have released a proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act. Called the American Health Care Act, the proposed bill would keep certain popular provisions, like allowing children to remain on parents' insurance until age 26 and not denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. But, it also proposes sweeping changes to health insurance programs that will affect Americans at many income levels and ages. ABC's GILLIAN MOHNEY explains how the new bill dubbed "Trumpcare" will likely affect consumers: http://abcn.ws/2lZsMAw READ MORE   Trump has not spoken to FBI director about wiretapping claims, Spicer says White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has not spoken to FBI Director James Comey in the wake of Trump's unsubstantiated allegations that his phones were wiretapped at the direction of President Obama. Spicer reiterated the White House's earlier announced plans to have the House and Senate investigative committees look into the matter, writes ABC's MEGHAN KENEALLY. "There is clearly a role that congress can play in their oversight," Spicer said at the press briefing. http://abcn.ws/2lBhart READ MORE   WikiLeaks docs allege CIA can hack smartphones WikiLeaks released Tuesday what the whistleblower group claimed were thousands of secret CIA files showing how U.S. spies hack smartphones, as well as exposing a major secret listening post in Germany. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment, and the CIA in a statement would not say whether the files are real, ABC's BRIAN ROSS, JAMES GORDON MEEK, RANDY KREIDER and LIZ KREUTZ report. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," said CIA spokesperson Jonathan Liu. However, several current and former intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ABC News the documents appear to be authentic, and, in fact, likely have origins at the National Security Agency where most national security hacking of overseas targets occurs. http://abcn.ws/2lBRpas READ MORE   HHS Secretary dodges on whether new health care plan is guaranteed to cover all Americans Dr. Tom Price, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, told ABC News this morning that it is "certainly the goal" for health care to be less expensive and to provide coverage for all, but didn't guarantee that would be the case. Of the GOP's proposed Obamacare replacement, Price said he and his colleagues are trying to "fix a system that isn't working," ABC's MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN notes. http://abcn.ws/2mFfNaT READ MORE   White House calls reported Trump meeting with Russian ambassador 'absurd' The White House is downplaying reports that then-candidate Donald Trump met the Russian ambassador to the United States at a 2016 campaign event, just before Trump delivered a speech that called for "an easing of tensions" with Russia. Kislyak was seated in the front row as Trump delivered a 45-minute foreign policy address at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, ABC News reported Sunday. A White House official Tuesday said that the Russian ambassador did not attend the speech at Trump's invitation and that the Trump team was not responsible for inviting or vetting guests. "We have no recollection of who he may have shaken hands with at the reception and we were not responsible for inviting or vetting guests," the official said. "To state they met or that a meeting took place is disingenuous and absurd." ABC's MATTHEW MOSK, ALEXANDER MALLIN and ADAM KELSEY have more.: http://abcn.ws/2mXANKD READ MORE   FOLLOW ABC NEWS You Might Like This email was sent to bamsdum.xiomi@blogger.com Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored. Newsletter Unsubscribe If you no longer wish to receive the newsletter "Political Unit: The Note" at this email address, you may click here to unsubscribe. Add me to the ABC News Do Not Email List This email contains an advertisement from ABCNews, 7 WEST 66th Street, New York, NY 10023. To unsubscribe from all types of future commercial email from ABC News regarding its products and services, click here. © 2017 ABC News Internet Ventures. All rights reserved. ,

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