In an admission that Paul Ryan's repeal bill doesn't have the votes it needs to pass, House leaders are now busily rewritingit ahead of tomorrow's vote. Which means they are rewriting the rules governing a huge portion of the American economy, at the hands of punch-drunk Hill staffers surviving on caffein and whatever's left in the vending machine. This from the party who said the year-plus debate over Obamacare was rushed.
I try really hard not to send more than one of these emails a day, but these are extraordinary circumstances, so I wanted to update you with the latest news: House conservatives in the Freedom Caucus went directly to Trump and told him that what they need to get to yes is an elimination of the provisions of Obamacare that insurance plans must have a basic level of quality and cover a set of essential benefits. Ryan has been telling them they can't repeal that part because it can't pass the Senate politically -- because of Democrats and moderate Republicans -- or pass the Senate legally -- because of the Byrd Rule -- which requires such changes need 60 votes. But Ted Cruz has been telling them that's a lie, and they believe Ted Cruz.
Trump, of course, doesn't care one way or another, so he's open to the idea of a major last-minute rewrite that can't pass the Senate, but one that at least saves face in the House.
Meanwhile, the Koch brothers are now saying they're wiling to spend millions to back anybody who votes against Trumpcare and gets challenged by Trump in a primary. Nice to see democracy become a bidding war. But, bizarrely, the Kochs are now spending money to save Obamacare from getting repealed.
Here's Matt Fuller's latest dispatch on the state of play: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/freedom-caucus-wins-major-rewrite-of-health-care-bill-at-11th-hour_us_58d31ae2e4b0b22b0d19c317?tzc1bj7m5wjx3fecdi
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Thanks as always for reading. We'll see what goes down tomorrow.
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