The Note: Trump's ready to make a deal

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March 29, 2017

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Trump's ready to make a deal

The Big Story

After the wipeout, President Trump is ready to make a deal. That's what he told senators Tuesday night, adding that he had "no doubt" that a deal on health care would be an "easy one" and "happen very quickly." If he's serious – and honestly, nobody knows if he is – there is a path emerging to cut a deal that includes Democrats. The only problem is it would cost him big league with his own party, and would have him operating, essentially, as a president who doesn't have control of Congress. As some lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, have outlined, working with Democrats would require first taking repeal of Obamacare off the table. Then it would mean going small – finding different coalitions to take on different chunks of health care reform. If this doesn't sound Trumpian, it certainly doesn't sound like the inclinations of those he's surrounded himself with in the Trump White House. As for Capitol Hill, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise on Tuesday declared that "the resolve of our conference to repeal Obamacare and replace it has never been stronger." So there's that. But Trump may be the right man to make this kind of move – one that might bring him closer to his personal political inclinations than his hard-right start would suggest.

The Sleeper Story

Last week was an epic fail for Trump and his party, but this week is continuing to show progress. The executive branch is moving quickly on environmental and immigration issues. President Trump even got a new bill to sign into law on Tuesday, one that didn't get much attention as it moved through the House and Senate. But the overturning of Internet privacy protections that were just put in place by the Obama administration last year could easily become bigger over time. Republicans voted to allow Internet service providers to collect personal and browsing information about their users – essentially allowing Verizon and Comcast to compete with Google and Facebook in the targeted online advertising world. Maybe consumers won't notice, or won't care. But, with net neutrality rules likely to change next, and other FCC moves on deck, the nature of the Internet could be changing under GOP control of Washington.

The Shiny Story

Tuesday's White House briefing brought us the press secretary criticizing the body language of a reporter he said had an "agenda," as well as this memorable Sean Spicer quip: "If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection." As for the president himself, he's back with his tweet-obsession with the Clintons and John Podesta. It is what it looks like it is: a distraction. The fact is that, with new – and real -- connections emerging still (hello, Jared Kushner and the Russian banker), the oversight process in the House is all but dead. The White House is mixed up with the committee and who will be permitted to testify in front of it. "You're going to have to take no for an answer," Spicer told the reporter, April Ryan, that he tangled with Tuesday. The problem, for now, is getting answers at all.

TLDR

Maybe the president isn't willing to give up on health care after all, but he faces a choice of abandoning his party's goal of full Obamacare repeal if he wants to get Democrats to the negotiating table.