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DC Daily: Pass it or be 'stuck with Obamacare,' warns Trump

Posted at 7:36 AM, Mar 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-23 20:20:02-04

Washington (CNN) -- White House officials and House Speaker Paul Ryan told Republicans in a closed-door meeting Thursday that they are finished with negotiations on their health care bill and President Donald Trump wants a vote Friday.

The dramatic scene followed 24 hours of tense negotiations and hushed meetings with the conservative House Freedom Caucus and others that failed to produce a closing deal. GOP leaders had already put off their plan to vote to repeal and replace Obamacare Thursday.

Trump had previously told Republicans they could lose their seats if they don't repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, the White House is saying if they don't pass the bill tomorrow, they may be "stuck with Obamacare."

 


 

What's happening today in the political world:

Thursday House vote on American Health Care Act delayed

-- A vote on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was delayed Thursday, following reports that GOP leaders could not lock in enough votes to ensure its passage in the House of Representatives.

The announcement comes on the heels of news that members of the House Freedom Caucus could not reach a deal with GOP brass on the bill and would not vote for the bill as it stands now.

A House vote could still take place Friday. Read more.


Democrats plan filibuster of SCOTUS nomination

-- Senate Democrats plan to filibuster Pres. Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, as another round of hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee continue Thursday, CNN reports.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bob Casey have both said they will vote no on the judge's nomination, with Schumer indicating Democrats will force a filibuster in the Senate. 

Gorsuch needs 60 votes to be nominated, though there are only 52 Republican leaders in the chamber. Read more.


House expected to vote on Trump's health care overhaul

-- Today, U.S. House leaders are expected to vote on the American Health Care Act, a bill to overhaul the Affordable Care Act commonly referred to as "Obamacare." If passed, the bill will be sent to the U.S. Senate.

Watch the a livestream from UPROXX here:

Thursday's vote is expected to be a close one, coming down to a handful of House leaders. Republican lawmakers reportedly worked late into Wednesday to try and secure the bill's passage, but were unable to do so, CNN reported.

President Trump tweeted out a call for constituents to urge lawmakers to repeal and replace the Obama-era health care law saying, "you were given many, many false stories. The fact is you were given many lies. Go with our plan. It's going to be terrific. You're going to be very, very happy." 

Vice President Mike Pence seconded the call to action saying, "Obamacare has failed - and Obamacare must go."

As of Wednesday night, a Republican leader count by CNN showed Thursday's vote could fall short of the necessary votes needed to send the bill to the Senate. Read more.


House Intel Chair won't reveal sources behind new wiretapping claims

-- House Intelligence chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, who said Wednesday that Pres. Trump's personal communications may have been collected under "incidental collection," told reporters he would not reveal where he received his information from.

When asked repeatedly about his sources, Nunes refused to discuss his source. Nunes did say he had not shown the Intelligence Committee the records of what he received.

Nunes' Democratic counterpart, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said the wiretapping investigation has cast a "cloud" over efforts to investigate allegations of Russian ties to Pres. Trump's 2016 campaign. Read more.


Trump and Pence express condolences following London attack

-- President Trump and Vice President Pence expressed their condolences to their British counterparts, following the deadly attack near a UK Parliament building Wednesday that left four people dead.

Four people were killed and another 20 were wounded in the attack outside a British government building. A police officer and the attacker were among the dead.

ISIS took credit for the attack Thursday morning, following the arrest of eight people in a series of raids around Britain.


Pres. Trump takes a moment to address Russia allegations

-- Pres. Trump quickly knocked back recent news regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into Russian ties with his 2016 campaign.

Following a report that Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort worked for a Russian billionaire to benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin's interests, the U.S. president called the news "totally biased and fake."

Wednesday, The Associated Press released a report that Manafort earned millions consulting for billionaire Oleg Deripaska, proposing a plan to "greatly benefit the Putin government" in multiple countries.

Manafort called the allegation "100 percent not true." Read more.