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But it's unclear if that will win him any love from either side.

Democrats who fear he'll flip his vote at the last minute are still attacking him. President Donald Trump's allies are attempting to turn him into an example of the political cost of abandoning his own party's White House, launching television ads targeting Heller on Tuesday. They later backed down after Heller and other GOP senators complained.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to delay the health care vote until after the July 4 recess means Heller will still be viewed by both sides as a potentially dividing vote -- ensuring that the pressure won't subside anytime soon.

Local Republicans, meanwhile, smell blood in the water and are weighing whether to take on Heller -- the only Senate Republican up for re-election in the 2018 midterms in a state that Hillary Clinton won -- in the primary.

Danny Tarkanian, the son of the legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, is considering a run against Heller in Nevada's Republican primary.

"A lot of people are looking to find somebody to run against Heller, so there's a lot of chatter out there," Tarkanian told CNN.

Tarkanian has run for office unsuccessfully five times in recent years in Nevada. But he has won Republican primaries four of those five times and would enter the race as an already widely known figure. He initially wanted a rematch with Rep. Jacky Rosen, who won their head-to-head House race last fall. But when news broke last week that Rosen was set to challenge Heller, that "changed everything," Tarkanian said.

He said he is "probably going to end up" running again for the House seat -- but is "not closing the door on anything."

Heller's critics in Nevada argue he could suffer from the same fate as Rep. Joe Heck in his 2016 Senate race against Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto. Heck criticized Trump in October, weeks before the election, only to back away from that criticism later once it became clear he was at risk of alienating Trump's core supporters. Heck narrowly lost the race.

Wayne Allyn Root, a conservative talk radio host, said during a radio interview Sunday he had received more than a dozen emails urging him to run against Heller in the primary -- though he said he didn't have time for such a run.

"He needs to be primaried. We can't take him anymore," he said.

Heller's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The political pressure being heaped on Heller comes after a Friday news conference alongside the popular Republican governor Brian Sandoval, during which Sandoval railed against the Senate GOP health care bill, saying it would harm the 210,000 Nevadans who gained health insurance through Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid.

Sandoval provided political cover for Heller that could ease the nerves of moderates in Nevada -- if not in Washington.

But Heller was already endangered headed into the 2018 midterm elections. In 2012, Heller won less than 46% of the vote in a razor-thin Senate race. Headed into 2018, Democrats have identified him as their best pickup opportunity on an otherwise challenging map.

Heller is still facing attacks from Senate Democrats' campaign arm, Emily's List and other progressive organizations that say they do not trust him to maintain the opposition to the health care bill.

The pro-Trump super PAC America First Policies launched digital advertisements against Heller over the weekend and said it would spend a total of $1.3 million on a campaign that included television and radio ads attacking his position. In the end, it pulled the ad buy, but not before repeatedly hitting Heller for his actions.

The 30-second narrated television ad depicted Trump and Heller -- and does not mince words: "Call Senator Heller. Tell him America needs him to keep his promise: Vote 'yes' to repeal and replace Obamacare."

The Trump-aligned super PAC's decision to wade into the race -- a move that started over the weekend with a digital ad saying Heller is "now with Nancy Pelosi," a hated figure among conservatives -- crystalized the tightrope Heller must walk headed into his re-election bid.

The decision to aggressively target Heller appeared to mark a major tactical difference between Trump's allies and Senate Republican leadership.

McConnell called White House chief of staff Reince Priebus over the weekend to express his displeasure, a source familiar with the call told CNN Tuesday.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, told CNN's Manu Raju, "I think the more constructive thing for me to do is to continue to talk to my friend and colleague and convince him that this bill is not perfect, but it is much better than the status quo and it is also much better than a meltdown of the Obamacare exchanges, which will put million of people at risk."

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Sharks circle around Republican Sen. Heller in Nevada - CNN

As every publication and individual person who has been following this story also simultaneously noted/realized, GOP House leaders famously canceled a planned health care vote earlier this year before passing a slightly modified version of their bill about a month later. So this does not mean that the Obamacare replacement effort is dead. It does, however, seemingly mean that the objections that many Republican senators raised to their chamber's billespecially after its CBO score was released Mondaywere not just empty posturing. (As Nate Silver notes, a GOP health bill was going to always be more difficult to pass in the Senate than in the House because the party holds a smaller majority in the upper chamber.)

For the bill's opponents, the delay means a chance to exert more pressure on vulnerable Republican moderates, who will (presumably) be returning to their states to march in parades and whatnot over the Fourth of July holiday. On the other hand, as Politico reported, Monday's CBO score also indicated that the bill would be $188 billion cheaper than Republicans had planned forwhich in practice means that the party's leaders now have $188 billion to give out to placate wavering members.

Read the original post:
Republican Senate Leaders Will Delay Vote on Health Care Bill That Everyone Hates - Slate Magazine (blog)

East Room

4:08 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I thought I'd ask you folks to come say hello, and we'll discuss healthcare. We have really no choice but to solve this situation. Obamacare is a total disaster.

It's melting down as we speak. Rates are going up. In fact, it's very interesting, Lisa, that you're sitting next to me because, in Alaska, it was 206 percent -- a 206 percent increase in Alaska. And I used to use Arizona as the standard; that was 116 percent. So it's really meltdown, and we're going to try and solve the problem.

So I invited all of you, and I think we have either 52 out of 52, or 50 out of 52. And John, either one is pretty good, I think, as a percentage.

So we're going to talk and we're going to see what we can do. We're getting very close. But for the country, we have to have healthcare. And it can't be Obamacare, which is melting down. The other side is saying all sorts of things before they even knew what the bill was. This will be great if we get it done. And if we don't get it done, it's just going to be something that we're not going to like. And that's okay, and I understand that very well.

But I think we have a chance to do something very, very important for the public -- very, very important for the people of our country that we love.

So I'll ask the press to leave. I greatly appreciate you folks being here. We love you very much. You're very kind and very understanding. (Laughter.) But we will now ask you to leave. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, what do you think of the Senate bill?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the Senate bill is going to be great. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Such an understanding lot.

END 4:10 P.M. EDT

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Remarks by President Trump at a Meeting with Republican Senators - The White House (blog)

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had picked an employment lawyer who has represented companies and business groups for a vacancy on the National Labor Relations Board.

The selection of William Emanuel, 75, to fill one of the two vacancies at the agency brings it closer to having a Republican majority, which is expected to undo a series of recent decisions seen as favoring unions.

The five-member NLRB oversees union elections and disputes between workers, unions, and employers.

Emanuel, a Los Angeles-based partner at law firm Littler Mendelson, has worked with Republicans in Congress and major trade groups from an array of industries, and has for decades defended employers in cases before the board.

He is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, an influential group of lawyers credited with pushing Trump to nominate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to the high court.

Emanuel said in a statement that it is an honor to be nominated.

Industry groups such as the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association hailed Emanuel's nomination, saying he would help repair damage done to businesses by rulings from the NLRB during the Barack Obama administration.

Trump last week said he intended to nominate fellow Republican Marvin Kaplan, a lawyer with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to another vacancy on the board. The positions require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

The NLRB has been controlled by Democrats for nearly a decade and they currently have a 2-1 majority.

When it has no vacancies, the board typically includes three members from the president's party and two from the opposing party. Under Trump, lawyers and business groups expect the board to roll back a series of policy changes adopted during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

They include rules designed to speed the union election process and a 2015 decision that made it easier for companies to be held liable for legal violations by contractors, staffing agencies, and franchisees.

It was not clear when the Senate could vote on Trump's nominees but several lawyers and other experts said the process could stretch into the fall.

Kaplan previously worked for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives crafting employment-related legislation.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Trott)

WASHINGTON Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, on Tuesday appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which has begun interviewing witnesses in its probe of how Russia may have influenced the 2016 election.

BEIJING Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad said on Wednesday the United States would like to see Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Liu Xiaobo treated elsewhere for cancer, and that the two countries must work together on human rights.

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Trump pushes US labor board toward Republican control - Reuters

House Republicans emerged from a closed-door meeting Tuesday signaling that they will miss another self-imposed target to vote on a budget this week, as long-running disputes between conservative budget hawks and powerful committee chairmen leave the party politically crippled.

Defense hawks are demanding tens of billions of dollars more for the Pentagon, and other top lawmakers are protecting their turf. That leaves budget writers struggling to deliver enough cash to meet all those needs while finding enough room to cut the top number.

Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black, Tennessee Republican, said she sees a path to writing a 2018 spending plan but added that it will take more time.

My goal is to get a budget this year, and we are working hard at it and we are very close, she said. We have a majority here. We need to pass a budget.

Some had hoped her committee would hold votes on a budget this week. Republicans already have broken the April 15 deadline set in law for passing a budget.

Instead, the spending committees have begun to work on the annual appropriations bills without a budget.

Mrs. Black is looking at a basic division that would give domestic programs $511 billion in discretionary spending and reserve $621 billion for defense. Many lawmakers appear comfortable with those numbers.

But House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, Texas Republican, said the Pentagon will need at least $640 billion higher than Mrs. Blacks figure and far more than President Trumps request of $603 billion.

Mr. Thornberry and other defense hawks say the Defense Department has been crippled by years of belt-tightening and needs the infusion to stay ahead of enemies.

I would like to see [a] $640 billion top line for base budget, Rep. Trent Franks, Arizona Republican, told The Washington Times. I believe thats whats needed.

Im not sure everybodys with me on that, he said.

Even Mr. Trumps $603 billion figure would blow through a $549 billion defense spending cap that lawmakers agreed to as part of a 2011 law that triggers automatic across-the-board cuts, or sequesters, if the caps are breached.

Congress has voted to raise the caps in the past, but doing so requires at least 60 votes in the Senate to avert a filibuster. Democrats, who control 48 seats in the upper chamber, would need to sign off on the terms of any increase.

I think the interesting thing is were appropriating and yet we dont have an agreement with the Senate, said Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina Republican and chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. And so I think its critically important that we have some bicameral discussions on what those numbers should be.

More money at the Pentagon means less elsewhere in the budget, and lawmakers are struggling to find places to cut.

Rep. Michael K. Conaway, Texas Republican and chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said the fight isnt so much over defense spending but over what gets cut to clear the way for a $621 billion figure.

The food stamps program, where Mr. Trump has suggested deep cuts, falls under his jurisdiction.

Part of being on the team is you fight your fight as hard as you can, you make your positions known as hard as you can, then when the positions made you soldier on and get it done, Mr. Conaway said.

The spending debate is particularly sensitive this year because its tied directly to tax reform, one of the Republicans defining agenda items for the rest of the year.

Republicans need to write a 2018 budget in order to set up the reconciliation process that would allow them to overhaul the tax code without having to face a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. Its the same process they are using to try to repeal Obamacare, based on the 2017 budget.

But passing a budget is always tough because it demands limits to spending.

If lawmakers cut too deeply from nondefense programs in the pursuit of cutting taxes, then the political ads practically write themselves, said Rep. Charles W. Dent, Pennsylvania Republican.

You run the risk of the very simple political attack. Were cutting taxes, business taxes, and then were [at] the same time potentially weakening safety net programs for lower-income people, he said.

House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, said the Republican delay pushes Congress closer to a government shutdown, which could happen if lawmakers cant agree on spending bills by the end of September.

It is deeply concerning that Republicans seem more focused on the budget process merely as a vehicle for enacting partisan tax reform through reconciliation rather than because budgets are how Congress sets priorities for our nation, Mr. Hoyer said.

See the rest here:
House Republicans to miss budget deadline as defense hawks clash with fiscal conservatives - Washington Times