Liu Yuejin, the deputy chief of China's National Narcotics Control Commission, said on Monday that the United States should look at domestic factors for its opioid crisis instead of blaming China, per CNN.
The big picture: Both Congress and President Trump have blamed Chinese suppliers for fueling the ongoing opioid crisis in the U.S., claiming that users are able to easily buy drugs like fentanyl online and receive them via mail, per The New York Times.
Key congressional Republicans are turning their attention to the debate over health care costs, but some of their colleagues aren’t ready to tackle that issue outside the context of their ongoing campaign against the Affordable Care Act. That could make it harder to get anything done.
Why it matters: Health care costs are one of the top issues voters say they care about, but any plan to address them would likely need to be bipartisan.
A source close to Republican leadership emails about the biggest political clouds hovering over the rest of the year:
"Only thing that matters now is a) how bad they get crushed on ACA premium increases; b) the final Mueller verdict; and c) how crazy Trump gets with the CR."
Between the lines: Republicans are worried about the potential for health insurance premiums to skyrocket in September, shortly before the midterms. Democrats are seizing on health care as their number one issue.
