President Trump announced via Twitter this morning that Rep. Tom Marino removed his name from consideration to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This follows reports emerged that Marino steered a bill through Congress that significantly weakened the government's ability to crack down against the opioid epidemic.
Trump said "that he will declare a national emergency next week to address the opioid epidemic and declined to express confidence in Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), his nominee for drug czar, in the wake of revelations [joint WashPost/'60 Minutes'] that the lawmaker helped steer legislation making it harder to act against giant drug companies," reports the Post lead story.
Why it matters: The report "detailed how a targeted lobbying effort helped weaken the Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to go after drug distributors, even as opioid-related deaths continue to rise."
President Trump "goes there, on just about every topic imaginable," as NBC's Brian Williams put it, during a pair of Q&As, two hours apart yesterday — one in the Cabinet Room and one with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Rose Garden.
Why it matters: It's almost impossible for the media to cover these press conferences — or for Republicans to discern what he wants and how he plans to get it — because Trump spreads fake news while calling real news fake. This isn't new. And, yes, 35% of voters don't seem to care. But that doesn't make it any less dangerous.
A shorter nine-month course of antibiotics might be just as effective in fighting multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) as the current two-year standard, according to early results from an international clinical trial, per the New York Times. The trial saw a 78% success rate, compared with 81% for the two-year treatment.
Why it matters: Each year, nearly 500,000 people become sick with MDR TB, leading to about 200,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A shorter medication regime would benefit the infected populace, which is centered in the developing world.
President Trump, situated between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis during his Monday morning Cabinet meeting, said he "feels strongly" about his decision to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, stating that he's "tired of being taken advantage of."
Trump also revealed that he is not giving up on health care, stating: "Obamacare is finished, it's dead, it's gone...There is no such thing as Obamacare anymore." He added that Senate Republicans are currently working on a short-term fix to insurance markets after he "cut off the gravy train" by ending subsidies — a move that has threatened to throw the Affordable Care Act markets into chaos.
