Conservative governors are beginning to voice their disapproval over the House Republicans' struggling Obamacare replacement plan.
On Wednesday, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said the American Health Care Act looked too much like Obamacare.
A spokesman for Bryant said the governor has talked to the White House and to Secretary Price "and is confident his and other conservative voices are being heard."
Here's how the governor explained his thinking in a statement to Axios on Friday:
"Congress has offered its plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Republicans have waited eight long years to get this done. Let us hope we are near. I am concerned that the bill maintains many of the entitlements included in Obamacare. Conservatives in the House and Senate have similar issues with the bill, as does the Heritage Foundation."
Now it's Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevinwho's coming out against the current plan. According to the AP, he said that he agrees with Rand Paul and is "not impressed" with the plan that House Republicans wrote in collaboration with the Trump Administration.
We're hearing that additional conservative governors will come out against the current plan in the coming days.
Much of Silicon Valley has been up in arms over Trump's recent travel ban. Max Levchin, an entrepreneur and investor best known for helping found PayPal, had some pointed comments on the topic during an event hosted by FWD.us and his company, Affirm:
There's a notion of morality and humane treatment of refugees, and I think that's a problem that we have successfully—to our shame— ignored, even during the last administration, and we're now institutionalizing the ignoring. And I don't think that's good. I think that's profoundly inhumane.
You can sort of pretend like it's their crisis over there in foreign lands but these people are very human, they have very real problems. I don't think that's an immigration issue so much as a humanitarian issue.
Personal experience: Levchin himself came to the U.S. in 1991 on a refugee visa from the Ukraine with his family, though he notes he was lucky in that his family had a clear path to citizenship, unlike many other refugees.
If we want to be "America First," that doesn't prevent us from being humane and participating in parts of the world that need our help. —Max Levchin
Why it matters: Studies suggest that more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. Silicon Valley employees a large number of immigrants, including in executive positions, which helps fuel the vocal concern about U.S. immigration policy.
Trump's key economic advisors are pitted against each other on trade policy, with senior advisor Steve Bannon and trade advisor Peter Navarro on one side and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and his staff on the other, according to FT. One official said there was "a fiery meeting" recently in the Oval Office.
The FT says that Navarro is losing clout and being sidelined in the White House. As a European official put it: "His influence seems to be diminishing quickly."
Why it matters: FT nails the meaning in a quote from Thea Lee, a trade official at the AFL-CIO, who said, "At the moment it appears that the Wall Street wing of the Trump administration is winning this battle and the Wall Street wing is in favour of the status quo in terms of US trade policy."
On day 50 of the Trump Administration, Spicer hit the podium with his flag pin (apparently, mistakenly) upside down — a signal of "dire distress", according to the U.S. Flag Code. Predictably, Twitter went up in flames. Then #saveseanspicer started trending... But don't worry, he fixed it! More updates below:
Concerns are brewing in conservative pro-Israel circles about the State Department hiring Michael Ratney, who was a senior U.S. diplomat in Jerusalem under John Kerry.
Rex Tillerson has lunch with President Trump today at the White House. The Secretary of State and the President should have plenty to talk about given the widespread concerns in Washington's foreign policy community about whether this Administration takes the State Department seriously.
As Donald Trump reaches Day 50 of his presidency, halfway to the fabled hundred days, here are some of the "known knowns" about him — certainties we have learned since the inauguration:
The internet plays a central role in Americans' daily lives, but connection speeds vary widely depending on location. Data from Akamai Technologies' "State of the Internet" report highlights the persistent divide between the two coasts, where population tends to be dense, and midwestern states that tend to be more rural.
CNN reports that the FBI's counterintelligence team is still investigating the "odd" possible server connection between the Trump Organization and Russian-owned Alfa Bank but noted that the government has not obtained a FISA warrant on the Trump server.
What happened? The Alfa Bank server repeatedly looked up the DNS address for the Trump server, which CNN compares to "looking up someone's phone number" and notes that it "indicates an intention to communicate."
A wrinkle: Alfa Bank made up 80% of the DNS lookups to the Trump server, but another 19% came from Spectrum Health, a company owned by the husband of Betsy DeVos.
What's the explanation? Well, no one seems to know. It could have been spam emails gone wrong or a case of technological mistaken identity. Alfa Bank denied any connections to Trump, and Spectrum Health said it had not been contacted by the FBI or any government agency.
Summing it up: A cybersecurity expert on the communications between Trump, Alfa Bank, and Spectrum Health told CNN, "There is some sort of connection I can't explain, and only they are doing it. It could be completely innocent."
Watchdog groups are now homing in on the Trump Organization rather than Trump himself.
Democracy 21's Fred Wertheimer, a veteran of the campaign finance world, lays out the complaint:
"Democracy 21, joined by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the Campaign Legal Center ... called on the U.S Attorney for the Southern District in New York to take steps to prevent The Trump Organization from receiving any financial benefits from foreign governments that benefit President Trump and do not comply with the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. President Trump's refusal to give up ownership of The Trump Organization has resulted in any benefits the Trump Organization receives from foreign governments inuring to Trump."
Why this matters: Trump is going to face an endless stream of litigation throughout his presidency, but he's personally immune from conflict-of-interest attacks because of the unique status of the President. His company, however, is fair game.
Wertheimer explains the strategy: "The groups are focused on action being taken against The Trump Organization and not against Trump... We have gone to the U.S Attorney for the Southern District where The Trump Organization has its headquarters. U.S. Attorney Bharara and the Southern District office have reputations for independence and taking action regardless of the politics involved."
A lobbyist for Palantir — the famously secretive data firm co-founded by Peter Thiel — has been hired by the Defense Department, a spokesman for the Pentagon confirms. Justin Mikolay's new job as a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense was first reported by ProPublica.
The details: BuzzFeed News reported that Mikolay, who has been listed as a lobbyist for Palantir on some of the company's official disclosures, will be a close adviser to new Defense Secretary James Mattis. It's not his first time working at the Pentagon.
Why it matters: Government business is key for Palantir, including from the military. BuzzFeed reported that Mikolay worked on a key contract while at Palantir. It also raises questions for people watching to see what kind of links Thiel, a Trump backer, has to the administration.
Update: Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement that when Mikolay joined the Pentagon he "took action to ensure he would not participate in any matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on Palantir, consistent with conflict of interest statutes and government ethics regulations." Davis added that Mikolay had adopted "a screening arrangement to ensure all particular matters involving Palantir are forwarded to another senior defense official for appropriate disposition" and noted that similar moves "are not uncommon for civilian appointees who have worked previously in the private sector."
Washington, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon are filing in court to block part of Trump's travel ban 2.0, according to Politico. Washington and Minnesota got an injunction last month against the original travel ban.
The basics: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is asking a federal judge in Seattle to rule that the injunction set against the first travel ban also applies to similar provisions of the new ban. At a presser, Ferguson said "[Trump] cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court's restraining order and injunction."
Hawaii has also filed suit separately, and the judge in Honolulu allowed it to move forward for a hearing next Wednesday, hours before the new order is set to begin.
The number of people arrested crossing the border illegally dropped 44% in February, Trump's first month in office. That's a drop from 42,500 arrests in January to 23,500 arrests in February, according to the Associated Press.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly called it an "encouraging" trend since fewer families are putting themselves at risk. Kelly credited Trump for the decline and added smugglers are charging much more for border crossers, causing demand to taper off.
The two top lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee want to know how the Trump administration preserves electronic records. Their requests to White House Counsel Don McGahn — detailed in a letter sent Wednesday — and federal agencies were triggered by two issues:
When asked whether the president knew if Michael Flynn was acting as a foreign agent for the Turkish government when selected as Trump's National Security Adviser, Spicer said, "I don't believe that was known," adding that "you should ask them." He later noted, "This is what [Flynn] did for a living... He was a private citizen at the time..." More takeaways:
On WikiLeaks allegedly leaking CIA documents: The president believes "the systems at the CIA are outdated and need to be updated."
Is Trump the target of an intelligence investigation? "I am not aware..." Same question yesterday: "There is no reason to believe..."
Glass-Steagall bank regulations: Spicer said Trump is committed to restoring those rules.
Obamacare repeal bill: "Anybody who's been in Washington a few days or longer recognizes any piece of major legislation takes a lot of explanation," said Spicer, sidestepping questions of GOP disunity on the bill. Later added: "This bill will land on the president's desk. He will sign it."
Will Trump get rid of DACA? Spicer dodged. "The president has been clear on immigration."
Rep. Elijah Cummings, an influential House Democrat, met with President Trump on Wednesday. He told reporters after the meeting that he requested Trump acknowledge "most African-American folk are doing very, very well."
"And when we hear those words about carnage and we're living depressed situations, I told him that it was very hurtful to people."
.@RepCummings says he told Pres. Trump "it would be good for him to acknowledge that most African-American people are doing very, very well" pic.twitter.com/8SOBf8GXo2— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 8, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a Politico panel Thursday that "there is no evidence" that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, but he is leaving the conclusion for Congress to decide. Other takeaways:
When asked about the Mexican border wall, McConnell admitted that, "There are probably some places along the border where that's not the best [course of action]." And on whether he thinks Mexico will pay for it? "Uh... no," he laughed.
McConnell's take on Russia: "The Russians are not our friends, the sanctions shouldn't be lifted, and NATO is the most important military organization and should be defended," he stated. "I certainly have no real hope that we will have a better relationship with Russia..."
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg TV Thursday that Trump's economic team has "woken the animal spirits" with a "serious growth agenda," and with GOP control of the House and Senate, he has high confidence Trump will be able to help grow the economy:
"Stocks went up maybe rationally because of the growth agenda. Now they'll have to do it. It'll take time… but if he gets it done, even part of it, it'll be good for growth, good for jobs, good for Americans."
The Trump administration has a personnel problem. Multiple government agencies are in a state of staffing gridlock, with cabinet secretaries having their chosen employees routinely returned by the White House's Office of Personnel Management. Steve Mnuchin at Treasury, Rex Tillerson at State, General Mattis at Defense, it's a problem across the Cabinet.
Why this matters: The failure to fill lower-level staff directly impacts the ability of government to function. Career people are working away, but senior political appointees lack their own staff. They're less effective — and operating in a climate of distrust — until they've got their team around them.
With wiretapping, WikiLeaks and a rebellion on the right over Trumpcare specifics, the president has mostly had a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad week in the media. But even Democrats who have visited the White House tell us that behind the scenes, he's coming into his own with the art of the schmooze:
