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Blue slips. Remember those? They are actual slips of paper, and they are actually blue. Senators sign them to indicate their approval of judicial nominees from their home states. There is no actual rule about this, however, so whoever's chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee can play games with them pretty easily.

Here's how it works. If you require only one blue slip to proceed, that makes it easier for a president to get his nominees confirmed. If you require two blue slips, it's harder.

So when do you want to make it easier? When the president comes from your own party. When do you want to make it harder? When the president is from the other party. Here's how that's worked:

Patrick Leahy, the Democratic Judiciary Committee chairman from 2007-2014, applied the blue-slip rule impartially regardless of who was president. This was despite a vast level of obstruction from Republicans to all of Obama's nominees. On the one hand, good for Grassley. We could use more displays of integrity like this. On the other hand, Democrats lost out on a whole bunch of judges that they otherwise would have gotten confirmed.

By contrast, Republicans have a two-decade history of flipping the blue-slip rule whenever it conveniences them. Is there really much doubt that Grassley is going to nuke it just as soon as a single Democratic fails to return a blue slip on a Trump nominee and Fox News starts screaming about obstruction? I don't think so.

Read more:
Republicans Are Laying the Groundwork For Their Normal Blue Slip Hypocrisy - Mother Jones

By Julie Rovner May 22, 2017

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Back in January, Republicans boasted they would deliver a repeal and replace bill for the Affordable Care Act to President Donald Trumps desk by the end of the month.

In the interim, that bravado has faded as their efforts stalled and they found out how complicated undoing a major law can be. With summer just around the corner, and most of official Washington swept up in scandals surrounding Trump, the health overhaul delays are starting to back up the rest of the 2018 agenda.

One of the immediate casualties is the renewal of the Childrens Health Insurance Program. CHIP covers just under 9 million children in low- and moderate-income families, at a cost of about $15 billion a year.

Funding for CHIP does not technically end until Sept. 30, but it is already too late for states to plan their budgets effectively. They needed to know about future funding while their legislatures were still in session, but, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the local lawmakers have already adjourned for the year in more than half of the states.

If [Congress] had wanted to do what states needed with respect to CHIP, it would be done already, said Joan Alker of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families.

Certainty and predictability [are] important, agreed Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. If we dont know that the money is going to be there, we have to start planning to dismantle things early, and that has a real human toll.

In a March letter urging prompt action, the Medicaid directors noted that while the end of September might seem far off, as the program nears the end of its congressional funding, states will be required to notify current CHIP beneficiaries of the termination of their coverage. This process may be required to begin as early as July in some states.

CHIP has long been a bipartisan program one of its original sponsors is Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the Finance Committee that oversees it. It was created in 1997, and last reauthorized in 2015, for two years. But a Finance hearing that was intended to launch the effort to renew the program was abruptly canceled this month, amid suggestions that Republicans might want to hold the programs renewal hostage to force Democrats and moderate Republicans to make concessions on the bill to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Its a very difficult time with respect to childrens coverage, said Alker. Not only is the future of CHIP in doubt, but also the House-passed health bill would make major cuts to the Medicaid program, and many states have chosen to roll CHIP into the Medicaid program.

Weve just achieved a historic level in coverage of kids, she said, referring to a new report finding that more than 93 percent of eligible U.S. children now have health insurance under CHIP. Now all three legs of that coverage stool CHIP, Medicaid and ACA are up for grabs.

But its not just CHIP at risk due to the congested congressional calendar. Congress also cant do the tax bill Republicans badly want until lawmakers wrap up the health bill.

That is because Republicans want to use the same budget procedure, called reconciliation, for both bills. That procedure forbids a filibuster in the Senate and allows passage with a simple majority.

Theres a catch, though. The health bills reconciliation instructions were part of the fiscal 2017 budget resolution, which Congress passed in January. Lawmakers would need to adopta fiscal 2018 budget resolution in order to use the same fast-track procedures for their tax changes.

And they cannot do both at the same time. Once Congress adopts a new budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, said Ed Lorenzen, a budget-process expert at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, that new resolution supplants the fiscal year 2017 resolution and the reconciliation instructions in the fiscal year 2017 budget are moot.

That means if Congress wanted to continue with the health bill, it would need 60 votes in the Senate, not a simple majority.

There is, however, a loophole of sorts. Congress can start the next budget resolution before they finish health care, said Lorenzen. They just cant finish the new budget resolution until they finish health care.

So the House and Senate could each pass its own separate budget blueprint, and even meet to come to a consensus on its final product. But they cannot take the last step of the process with each approving a conference report or identical resolutions until the health bill is done or given up for dead. They could also start work on a tax plan, although, again, they could not take the bill to the floor of the Senate until they finish health care and the new budget resolution.

At least thats what most budget experts and lawmakers assume. Theres no precedent to go on, said Lorenzen, because no budget reconciliation bill has taken Congress this far into a fiscal year. So nobody really knows.

Link:
Republicans Race The Clock On Health Care But The Calendar Is Not Helping - Kaiser Health News

The Record and NorthJersey.com columnist Mike Kelly asks people about President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office and what they feel are the issues facing their region of the country. CHRIS PEDOTA/NORTHJERSEY.COM

A Republican approached me last week. He wanted to confess a deep secret he had been keeping for months.

I didnt vote for Trump, he said.

He was not the only repentant Republican to say this. By the end of the week, I heard the same sentiments from three other GOP loyalists.

A trend? Maybe. Maybe not. But something is clearly changing with Americas love affair with Donald J. Trump as some Republicans are privately asking if they have made a gross mistake. A few are even coming forward to suggest that Vice President Mike Pence would be a fine replacement. Or as conservative blogger Erick Erickson wrote last week: Republicans who are reflexively defending the self-inflicted wounds of this president have no need for him with Mike Pence in the wings.

Can Mike Pence escape the controversies engulfing the White House?

Kelly: Sleepy Bedminster settles into new role as Trump getaway

So much for loyalty. And its only May just four months into Trumps administration.

Even Kellyanne Conway, the presidents special adviser from Alpine, found herself mired in the doubting-Republican fray last week. The just-engaged-to-be-married co-hosts of the MSNBC show, Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, disclosed that Conway complained extensively off-camera to them last fall about trying to defend Trumps policies and gaffes as his campaign manager. Brzezinski, the progressive foil to her conservative fianc, Scarborough,even quoted Conway as saying, after one of her appearances on the show, that she would have to take a shower because it feels so dirty to be saying what Im saying.

Conway quickly denied that she expressed any disloyalty toward Trump. No surprise there. If she admitted her doubts, she would have been fired. My beliefs, commitments and loyalties are plain to see, she wrote in a Twitter statement.

You will recall that Conway once pledged her loyalty to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, when the Texas Republican was challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination. You might also recall that Conway has an odd habit of falling into rhetorical potholes. One of her most recent and notorious examples told to this columnist in response to a simple question on whether she believed that President Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower was her claim that microwaves could be used to secretly spy on unsuspecting people.

Conway tried to deny that statement too. But in this case, there was a video by The Record and for all the world to watch, just as there was a video when she wrongly suggested "alternative facts" would prove that Trump had a larger audience than President Obama at his inauguration.

Paradox of Kellyanne Conway: A smart political operative prone to rhetorical missteps

Kellyanne Conway alludes to even wider surveillance of Trump campaign

Kelly: What happened when I asked Kellyanne Conway about wiretapping

The point here is not whether Conway is loyal to Trump. Maybe after her experience with Ted Cruz, she felt the need for a conversion to the man with the golden hair and orange makeup. Or perhaps the world of consultants and advisers that Conway inhabits allows for political loyalty to become just a giant shell game. One day, youre shilling for Ted Cruz; another day, its Donald Trump. And next year? Who knows?

Dont expect Conway or anyone like her in the high levels of the Trump administration to make a public repentance yet. Look to the rank-and-file Republicans to lead the way.

President Donald Trump's Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway talks about alternative facts and Bowling Green with Record columnist Mike Kelly. Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com

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President Donald Trump's Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway talks about how shes been treated by critics, women, and the media, with Record columnist Mike Kelly. Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com

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President Donald Trump's Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway talks about selfies and Google with Record columnist Mike Kelly. Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com

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President Donald Trump's Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway talks about wiretaps with Record columnist Mike Kelly. Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com

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President Donald Trump's Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway talks about her childhood and conservative feminism at her home in Alpine, N.J., with Record columnist Mike Kelly. Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com

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Video: Kellyanne Conway on 'alternative facts' and Bowling Green

Video: Kellyanne Conway on critics and media

Video: Kellyanne Conway on 'what goes viral'

Video: Kellyanne Conway: 'There are many ways to surveil each other'

Video: Kellyanne Conway on her childhood and feminism

What seems to be happening is that Republicans are seriously starting to examine the deal they made with Donald Trump. All you have to do is listen to the snippets of conversation.

What Im hearing from many Republicans is that they never liked Trump. He did not seem to hold clear views on such moral issues as abortion. And then, there is his treatment of women. Remember that Access Hollywood tape about all the grabbing he likes to do with his pick-up gal-pals?

Nor did Trump seem to have a clear focus on the nuances of international politics. Remember those statements about threatening to nuke North Korea, then proclaiming he would be honored to sit down for a talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Republicans wondered smartly whether this was a new version of good-cop, bad-cop. That strategy works nicely on TV.North Korea is another reality.

Yes, Trump spoke off the cuff on issues many Republicans like that. And, yes, he embraced the Tea Partys faux-revolutionary mantra of draining the swamp in Washington and remaking the federal government into some sort of low-tax, low-budget operation that would still be able to pave roads and fight wars, but also offer all sorts of personal freedom to all those Americans who claim to feel oppressed by the evils of "big government."

Donald Trump(Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)

For a while, people actually believed this narrative. But now, we are seeing the unraveling of an unraveled man and his presidency.

Each week seems to serve up a new omelet of craziness. The most recent foibles range from Trumps disclosure of classified information to Russian officials to the presidents brazen admission that fired FBI Director James Comey because Comey refused to halt the Bureaus investigation of allegations that the Trump campaign may have illegally colluded with Russia in the presidential election. Trump's admission of why he fired Comey led Republicans in Congress to quietly wonder if Trump may have tried to obstruct justice.

In case you wondered, obstruction of justice is a federal crime punishable by impeachment. Having interviewed plenty of criminals here in New Jersey, this columnist knows all too well that only a fool would ever admit that he was trying obstruct justice. The FBI has a solid track record here in New Jersey of sending crooked politicians to jail for trying to impede their investigations. Trump seems to be daring them. (Memo to Trump: Daring the FBI to investigate you is not smart.)

100 days later: Road trip through a divided nation

Kelly: A journey through forgotten America

Maybe this cloud will pass over Trump. But more Republicans are now opening their eyes and realizing that the conservative agenda they hoped would be part of Trumps legacy is being slowly choked by a thicket of questions about corruption and incompetence.

On Friday, Politico reported that Trumps approval rating among voters had dropped to a new low, with only 41 percent of Americans saying they thought the president was doing a good job and 53 percent disapproving of him. No president in the last 60 years has managed to disappoint the nation as much as Trump has. Whats next? A 30 percent rating? A 20 percent? Chris Christie knows how easy it is to sink to that low.

Trump blames the media yes, the fake news produced by hard-working journalists like many of my colleagues at The Record and NorthJersey.com who have an annoying habit of working long hours to double-checkfacts and followup leads.

Kelly: Welcome to the Divided States of America

Kelly: Why Trump's latest dilemma is a crisis for journalism

What America is starting to realize at least those Americans not handcuffed to blind ideology is that we are seeing old-fashioned journalism at its best now, the daily grind of following the trail of facts. And so far, that trail has revealed a president who is rapidly becoming little more than a laughing stock.

Yes, Republicans are finally starting to open their eyes. A few are even admitting that they did not vote for Trump. Stay tuned. More will come clean.

Confession is a wonderful thing.

Sometimes it changes hearts.

To contact Record columnist Mike Kelly:

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

Twitter: @MikeKellyColumn

Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2qMqaeB

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Kelly: Why more Republicans are questioning their loyalty to Trump - NorthJersey.com

A closely-watched fight between the Internal Revenue Service and a popular bitcoin exchange took a new twist last week, as senior Republicans in Congress sent a sharply-worded letter that suggests the tax agency is overstepping its powers.

The letter concerns an IRS investigation into possible tax evasion by customers who use Coinbase, a San Francisco-based company that many people use to buy digital currencies. As part of the investigation, which began last year, officials demanded that Coinbase turn over information for every one of its accounts.

Coinbase and its customers are currently in court trying to block the demand, saying it's too broad, and now the letter from the Republicans is likely to give them extra ammunition.

"The summons is estimated to affect 500,000 active Coinbase customers and would result in the production of millions of pages of associated records, many of which contain personally identifiable information ... Based on the information before us, this summons seems overly broad, extremely burdensome, and highly intrusive to a large population of individuals ," says the letter, which is signed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Ut), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and by Vern Buchanan and Kevin Brady, who head the House Committee on Ways and Means. (my emphasis)

Get Data Sheet , Fortune s technology newsletter.

The Republicans' concerns echo those of Coinbase and its customers, who argue the IRS does not need every single Coinbase account to carry out its audit, and that the investigation sweeps in people who have clearly done nothing wrong.

The tax agency, for its part, has pointed out that only 802 Coinbase users filed a tax form related to bitcoin in 2015, which suggests large number of people have failed to declare capital gains related to bitcoin.

The IRS investigation also comes at a time when the price of bitcoin has been on an incredible tear, climbing from $13 in 2013 to a new high of over $2,000 last week. Those who profited from the higher priceseither by selling bitcoin for dollars or exchanging it for merchandiseare required to pay taxes on the gain.

Some Coinbase customers, however, have not sold any bitcoin at all while many others hold only a minimal amount, raising questions of why the IRS demanded information about every account.

One theory, according to a lawyer who spoke with Fortune late last year, is that the IRS's sweeping demand is a negotiating tactic to make Coinbase more cooperative, and that the two sides will reach an agreement to allow the agency to inspect some, but not all, of the accounts.

The letter from the Republicans, which asks the IRS to explain its strategy for enforcing tax payments on digital currency by June 7, is likely to put pressure on the agency to come to a deal with Coinbase.

See the rest here:
IRS Probe of Bitcoin Goes Too Far, GOP Warns - Fortune

To the editor: Republicans need to tell President Trump that for the good of the country its time for him to go. The political and security crises of these last two weeks alone have deeply wounded his presidency, and they were all self-inflicted. (Republicans need to screw up their courage and tell Trump to go, Opinion, May 17)

But Vice President Mike Pence, who would succeed Trump, is subject to concern over his integrity and complicity in these scandals. As conservative commentator Bill Kristol said in January, Trump corrupts, meaning those intimately involved with Trump and his presidential campaign will forever operate under a poisonous cloud of association with him.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would be in line for the presidency after Pence, and now a secret recording of him silencing his fellow Republicans from chattering about Trump and Russia taints him too.

Walter Dominguez, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Although it is becoming ever more apparent that Trump is unfit for the presidency, I have qualms about the prospect of his possible departure. If the erratic behavior and ignorance of this administration give way to a smoother operation, will the public relapse into docile acquiescence?

The Republican Party and Trump want to pursue the same policies. Presumably the GOP would have smoother sailing without Trump in enacting tax cuts primarily for the rich; fewer safeguards for workers, consumers and minorities; regulations that would speed up climate change and despoil the environment; and privatization of important government functions.

If Trump goes, will citizens continue to mobilize against these extraordinary assaults?

Grace Bertalot, Anaheim

..

To the editor: Max Boot is certainly correct about one thing: If Trump does resign, it will be because his fellow Republicans force him to. He will not resign because of anything House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) or any other Democrat says about him.

I expect Trump to weather the storm and fight back with everything he has.

As for the good of the country, both the Republicans and Democrats have proved they are far more interested in their own political parties. If and when Republican legislators feel that not removing Trump from office will hurt their own chances of reelection, only then will they finally act.

Charles Reilly, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: Republicans should definitely tell Trump it is time to go, but theyd be preaching to the choir. Trump has recently lamented that he misses his old life and shown contempt for the job by golfing more weekends than actually governing.

Perhaps all these admissions and Russian photos and leaks are from him. He is, after all, the master manipulator.

We can only hope that Trumps selfishness will motivate him to resign and return to the life he misses so much so we can return to the life that Americans miss so much.

Rosemary Chiaverini, Sherman Oaks

..

To the editor: Renfield picking imaginary flies out of the air in Dracula is no match for Trumps unhinged presidency.

A witch hunt? I think not. At no point does Trump take responsibility or offer contrition for his countless irrational missteps and lies.

Drowning in his own delusional desperation, might he just fire himself and ride out in a blaze of victimized glory? Dont be surprised.

Laurie Levin, Pacific Palisades

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

See the original post here:
How many Republicans might have been corrupted by President Trump? - Los Angeles Times