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The President refuses to take any responsibility for the Republican failure to repeal and replace Obamacare.

President Donald Trump has found a target to blame for the failure of his first legislative initiative as president: Democrats.

The larger impact of the failed American Health Care Act has yet to be seen, but it has been generally agreed that it was not the best showing by a man who prides himself with being the closer of deals.

Related: GOP Leaders Delay Healthcare Vote Due to Lack of Support

His book, "The Art of the Deal", brags: Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. Thats how I get my kicks.

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Related: Republicans Push Obamacare Repeal Forward As Industry Groups Voice Opposition

But according to Trump, there were no issues with his dealmaking. Democrats, he explained, were to blame because they refused to provide him with any of their votes.

We had no Democrat support. We had no votes from the Democrats, he said. With no Democrats on board, we couldnt quite get there.

House Speaker Paul Ryan yanked the bill Friday after his partys moderate and conservative lawmakers could not be persuaded to vote for its passing.

But Democrats had always been unified against it from the start. And Trump never once tried to use his persuasive deal-making skills on Democratic leaders. Many, even the more agreeable members of the party, confirmed they never received a call from the administration.

Trump later told reporters that he expected the opposition party to support any healthcare reform because the collapse of Obamacare would be on their heads.

The losers are Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer because now they own Obamacare, he said. This is not our bill. This is their bill.

See original here:
Trump Blames Democrats For Healthcare Fail - Essence.com

"Probably that champagne that wasn't popped in November may be utilized this evening," he said. "We'll see."

He was right.

Moments later, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that Republicans were nixing their high-stakes health care bill after failing to get enough support from within their own party. Obamacare would stay.

Democrats celebrated immediately, taking to social media and holding press conferences declaring a "sigh of relief" for the American public.

"In the words of my friend Joe Biden: This is a BFD," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement.

"Today is a great day for our country," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters. "It's a victory. What happened on the floor is a victory for the American people."

After President Donald Trump's upset win last year, Democrats were downright mournful. Not only did they lose the presidential election, but Republicans maintained control of both chambers in Congress and it was clear that the GOP's No. 1 target was going to be Obamacare.

Democrats say Republicans' inability to uphold their campaign promise should further embolden and amplify their party both in Congress and at the grassroots level.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, told CNN the bill's downfall was not only owed to Republican intra-party disagreement, but also to the liberal movement that's been pushing back against the new Republican government since Trump's first day.

Groups have actively been organizing phone and letter-writing campaigns to oppose the bill, and they've turned out in force at congressional town halls across the country.

"We showed (those constituents) there's going to be legislation coming through this House that we have to hold members accountable. This was, I think, the first real test of that," Swalwell said. "So yeah, we're fired up."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday that the health care disaster sets a poor precedent for Republicans in the new Congress, adding that they're unlikely to have much luck with the president's budget plan -- something many Republicans have already criticized.

"So they have to re-examine how they are going to govern," Schumer said on a call with reporters. "They have to be much more capable and competent. I can't believe a bill like this was put on the floor with so little initial support."

Fresh off their victory in the House, Democrats are also entering what will likely be an ugly fight, this time in the Senate over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Democrats were already planning to filibuster, and Republicans can still get around that by lowering the threshold needed to end a filibuster from 60 votes to a simple majority. But that would require changing the rules, thus repeating an intense and unpopular move that Democrats pulled four years ago.

Whether the health care bill fiasco will have a real impact on the Gorsuch nomination is unclear, but it could give Democrats some momentum as they head into the week.

"Let's not forget, had Mitch McConnell not held up (Supreme Court nominee) Merrick Garland for a year, we wouldn't have been talking about this," Schumer said Friday night on CNN.

Schumer argued that if Gorsuch couldn't get to 60 votes, then Republicans shouldn't change the rules, they should "change the nominee."

In a sobering press conference, Speaker Paul Ryan acknowledged the Republican setback Friday.

"I will not sugarcoat this," he said. "This is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard."

And it wasn't long before Republicans were fretting about next year's midterm elections.

"2018 will be tough," one senior GOP official told CNN.

Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, chairman of the House Democratic campaign arm, was already forecasting Friday which Republicans they could start targeting over the debacle. He told reporters there were 15 Republicans from competitive districts who voted to advance the bill in various committees during the legislative process.

"Their constituents deserve answers as to why they were voting yes on this bill which was horrible then, it was horrible today," he said. "And we'll continue to take this fight to the American people."

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts, told CNN now is a time for House Republicans "to reflect and be a little bit humble."

"If they want to do something constructive, they'll work with us to find ways to improve the Affordable Care Act," he said. "If they want to play politics and go down the same road again or drop their hands and do nothing, I think that's unfortunate because we have to wait for the Democrats to take over."

CNN's Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Sunlen Sefarty, and David Siegel contributed to this story.

Read more:
Emboldened Democrats look ahead to next fight - CNN

Vice President Pence tried Saturday to deliver a pep-talk to Americans after fellow Republicans failed effort to overhaul ObamaCare -- admitting that members are back to the drawing board but vowing that President Trump will keep fighting.

Pence spoke in the aftermath of House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday cancelling the final vote for the ObamaCare replacement bill, upon concluding he didnt have enough votes despite the chambers GOP majority.

The Republican congressman and the president, after announcing the cancellation, sounded as if efforts to fulfill campaign promises to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law were essentially finished.

Ryan publicly said Americans would be living with ObamaCare for the foreseeable future, while Trump simply told The New York Times, Its enough already.

However, Trump and Pence on Saturday seemed to come back fighting.

ObamaCare will explode, and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE, Trump tweeted. Do not worry!

Pence later said at a business event in Charleston, West Virginia, that small-business owners in the state repeatedly tell him about the need to dismantle ObamaCare because it stifles growth and slows job creation.

President Trump is never going to stop fighting to keep his promises to the American people, he said

He also argued those who claimed victory in Republicans failure Friday are merely championing the status quo and said, I promise you, that victory wont last for long.

Pence also put pressure on West Virginia Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat, to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court justice.

However, he also made clear that Gorsuch, Trumps pick, would be confirmed one way or another, implying that Senate Republican leaders would invoke parliamentary tactics to win confirmation with a simple, 51-vote majority.

Pence was joined at the first event by Small Business Administration leader Linda McMahon, who helped start and run World Wrestling Entertainment.

Maybe we could have used a couple of WWE superstars on Capitol Hill yesterday, Pence, who did his share of arm-twisting for ObamaCare reform, said jokingly.

On Friday, after the vote was cancelled, Trump appeared to already be focusing on tax reform and returning to his plan to allow ObamaCare to continue -- with the expectation that the 2010 health care law would implode amid increasing costs and dwindling options for Americans.

Still, his tweet Saturday suggested a potential willingness to work on a bipartisan plan on overhauling the law -- albeit a scenario in which Democrats come to the GOP-controlled Congress to work together on improvements.

Late Friday, Tennessee GOP Sen. Bob Corker also suggested the fight to replace ObamaCare was not finished.

At some point, on behalf of the American people, we have to resolve the issues that are driving up costs, limiting choices, and causing the individual market to spiral downward, he said. I stand ready to work with the administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in order to fix our broken health care system.

Continue reading here:
Pence vows Trump will continue ObamaCare fight, calls out Democrats and Republicans - Fox News

Five Democratic lawmakers are raising ethics concerns about a Chinese conglomerates potential investment in a Manhattan office building owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trumps son-in-law and a senior White House adviser.

The lawmakers asked the White House in a March 24 letter to explain whether Kushner was involved in any talks about the possible partnership with Chinas Anbang Insurance Group Co. They also asked for additional details on Kushners divestment from his familys company, Kushner Cos.

This deal, if executed, would appear to present a clear conflict of interest, the lawmakers wrote to Stefan Passantino, White Housedeputy counsel. Anbang has close ties to the Chinese state, they added.

The White House didnt respond immediately to a request for comment.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month on a financing proposal that would make Anbang and Kushner Cos. partners in the marquee office tower, located at 666 Fifth Ave. Some real estate experts considered the terms of the $4 billion transaction unusually favorable to the Kushners. The property has struggled financially.

Anbang subsequently denied there was a planned deal, saying in a statement that there is no investment.

Kushner has said he sold his stake in the building to family members to comply with federal ethics rules.

Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tom Carper of Delaware, Gary Peters of Michigan andSherrod Brown of Ohio, along with Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, signed the letter.

They wrote separately to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who heads the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews foreign business transactions on whether they could jeopardize U.S. national security. The committee previously rejected a proposed Anbang property acquisition because of its proximity to a naval base in San Diego.

View original post here:
Democrats Question Potential Kushner Deal With China's Anbang - Bloomberg

Pretty much everyone thinks the Houses failure to pass the GOPs repeal-and-replace bill is a disaster for Republicans. The Democrats are giddy with glee, and Matt Drudge calls it a catastrophe. Perhaps they are right, but I doubt it.

Obamacare is in a death spiral. It is rapidly collapsing, and steadily becoming more unpopular as it fails more and more Americans. Congress will now move on to other tasks, like cutting taxes and building up the military. The Democrats had one chance to save Obamacare and they blew it: why isnt that the conventional narrative?

Minnesotas own Amy Klobuchar writes on Facebook:

So now what? Are we just going to walk away, as the White House suggested? Or are we going to work together to bring healthcare costs down? Theres so much we can do reduce prescription drug costs, help out people on the exchange, reform delivery systems, eliminate the medical device tax and more. We cant walk away from the American people. Moving beyond healthcare isnt an option.

Oh, yes, it is. If the Democrats have ideas on reducing prescription drug costs, helping people on the exchange, and so on, where have they been for the last seven years? And since when are Democrats interested in working together? They passed Obamacare with zero input from Republicans and zero Republican votes. When they had an opportunity this week to save Obamacare, not a single House Democrat was willing to vote for it.

Fine. Democrats are stuck with the Obamacare they passed. It wont be reformed, and it will limp along for the time being. But the day will come, before long, when Obamacares collapse is so complete and so manifest that repeal will be revisited. In the meantime, I see no reason why Republicans should take the hit for the Democrats disastrous overreach.

Is that too optimistic a view of the situation? Maybe. But that is how it looks to me.

Excerpt from:
Democrats' Celebration Is Premature - Power Line (blog)