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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan walked past a bank of television cameras on his way to a meeting.

By Astead W. Herndon and Victoria McGrane Globe Staff June 13, 2017

WASHINGTON Debates over press freedom and secret deliberations of healthcare legislation roiled the US Senate Tuesday, indicating signs of strain about public scrutiny within a bastion of American democracy.

Republicans who control the Senate Rules Committee abruptly banned TV reporters from conducting videotaped interviews and filming in Capitol corridors without advanced permission then, after an outcry, appeared to quickly back down.

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The extraordinary media restrictions, implemented by the Republican-controlled Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Sergeant at Arms Office, came against the backdrop of unprecedented secrecy surrounding the Republican health care bill, which has been negotiated without any public hearings or public testimony.

At a press conference Tuesday, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell defended the closed door process.

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Nobodys hiding the ball here, McConnell said. Youre free to ask anybody anything.

If anything, physically attacking a reporter feels like a logical next step for the GOP.

The investigations and intense controversies of President Trumps administration have at times created big press scrums, making it difficult for Senators to walk through the halls. But a chorus of lawmakers, mostly Democrats but some Republicans as well, quickly denounced the idea of imposing blanket restrictions on press access in Congress the biggest symbol of open, democratic government in the world.

The chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama, issued a clarification after the ban was announced saying that no new restrictions had been imposed on TV cameras, and that Senate press officials had been asked to enforce existing rules. Later, he told television reporters the entire ordeal was a misunderstanding.

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It wasnt anything I did, Shelby told reporters in the late afternoon.

The firestorm about press access came at an inopportune time for the GOP, since the caucus is already under fire for refusing to submit their proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act to public scrutiny. The House version of the bill would cause 23 million Americans to lose insurance, according to the official estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.

The GOP leadership is currently crafting a bill without any public hearings or input, and without releasing any drafts of the proposal. Still, they plan to push for a floor vote before July 4.

Hannah Katch, a Medicaid expert at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said the hush-hush nature of the GOP health care bill is causing anxiety in health care markets.

I cant think of a reason to be so secretive about this process, unless they believe that the smallest bit of sunlight would stop the bill in its tracks, Katch said. If a member of Congress is proud of their bill and they want their constituents input and they believe it will improve the lives of their constituents, I see no reason to be so secretive.

Even some members of the Republican party said they would prefer more sunlight.

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican from Tennessee, said Tuesday that once legislation is crafted - that before the Senate votes a CBO score will be public and everyone will know whats in it.

Ive said from Day One and Ill say it again, the process is better if you do it in public and that way people get buy in along the way and understand whats going on, Corker said. Obviously thats not the route that is being taken.

South Dakota Senator John Thune, a member of the GOP leadership team, was among a group of Republican senators who had a lunchtime meeting with Trump about the bill. After the meeting, Thune defended the Republican health care process as an open one or, at least, open to Republicans.

Our members have all been involved, Thune said. We know what the issues are. Weve been litigating this for the last eight years. ... There have been multitudes of hearings and discussions about these issues.

The controversy over the closed-door process statements speak to the high stakes of the current political climate and the furious debate over the covert health care negotiations. Back in 2009, Senate committees spent more than 20 days publicly debating the President Obamas Affordable Care Act, considering more than 125 amendments and nearly 80 roll call votes. The full Senate spent 25 straight days debating the health care bill before passing it on Christmas Eve.

In the drive to repeal that law, an action that could leave as many as 23 million Americans without health insurance, Republicans have not released the text of their health care bill to the public, less than two weeks before leaders plan to hold a final vote. Some reports say the GOP leadership is considering not releasing the bills to the public at all, at least before it is scored by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

This has stunned health care professionals like Katch, transparency watchdogs, and Democratic lawmakers.

Ive never seen anything like this. Ive never seen anything close to this, said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren Tuesday, in a petition she sent out to her personal e-mail list, which was also blasted out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

No hearings, no debate, no bill to look at, Warren said. This scheme to repeal health care takes every norm of the Senate every concept of how we work together and just burns them to the ground.

Andy Slavitt, the former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama, said he fears that health care industry experts are being excluded from the process, which could lead to worse policy.

Its not just a matter of transparency, its a matter of including good thinking in the bill, Slavitt said.

Theres a serious process you have to go through for legislation thats going to effect a sixth of the economy and tens of millions of people, Slavitt said. You dont go through a process, which, all told, may total 20 hours. With no hearings. No markups. Only 20 hours of debate.

Democrats were not buying it. Throughout the day Tuesday, they attempted to tie Shelbys proposed press restrictions with the health care debate. For some, it signaled how far Republicans are willing to go to keep their health care plan in the dark.

I call on the majority to allow reporting in the Capitol to proceed as usual, said Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee.

This is no time for limiting press access in U.S. Senate. Russia hearings, Sessions testifying & (secret?) health care bill being drafted! Klobuchar tweeted.

Senator Chris Murphy, the Democrat from Connecticut, was more blunt.

The new press restrictions were about the Republicans trying to keep health care negotiations hidden, protect their Senators from tough questions Outrageous. Murphy said on Twitter.

According to reporters who were at the Capitol Tuesday, including a Globe reporter, the new edict was handed down around 11 a.m., when the director of the Senate Radio TV Gallery Director Mike Mastrian told TV crews that they needed to clear the hallway because they were engaging in an unauthorized stakeout.

Mastrian said current leadership of the Senate Rules Committee, meaning Shelby, had decided to invoke existing rules that require advance permission from both an individual senator and the Senate Rules panel before conducting an interview in the hallway.

As several members of the media pointed out to the director, the decision broke with decades of precedent. Capitol Hill journalists often wait outside hearing rooms to question individual lawmakers, which provides the public swift and accurate information about the goings on in Congress.

Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California tweeted Senators dont need to hide, as did moderate Democrat Joe Manchin, of West Virginia. Republican Senator Ben Sasse said this is a bad idea.

Originally posted here:
Senate Republicans abruptly restrict news cameras in Capitol then quickly back down - The Boston Globe

This article has been updated.

News on Tuesday that on-camera interviews might be significantly curtailed within the Capitol is an on-the-nose manifestation of something that had otherwise not attracted a lot of attention: The Republican effort to replace Obamacare was being put together almost entirely outside of the publics ability to see what was happening.

When White House press secretary Sean Spicer first addressed the Republican health-care bill that would eventually pass the House last month, he was effusive that his partys caucus on Capitol Hill would do things differently.

One of the things thats important to understand about this process, thats very different from when the Democrats did it, Spicer said, referring to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Everybody can read it, and its going to go through what they call regular order, he said. Were not jamming this down anybodys throat. Its going to go through a committee process. All parties involved, all representatives in the House will be able to have input into it. I think thats the way to conduct this process, is to do it to allow people to watch the process happen in the committees, allow members of Congress to have their input in it, to make amendments, to see that we get the best bill that achieves the goal for the American people.

He blamed the Democratic secrecy he was maligning for the final shape of the bill. When it was done the last time, it was jammed down peoples throats. And look what happened, he said,

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan made similar commitments. But thats not at all how the Republican bill has unfolded.

Now that the Republican health-care bill has passed the House, there's a whole other set of obstacles it faces in the Senate. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

After rushing the original version through committee in the House and getting an unfavorable assessment of its effects from the Congressional Budget Office, Republican leaders realized they didnt have the votes for their bill, the American Health Care Act, to pass. (This was compounded by broad public outcry against the bill.) It was tabled for a while, until two amendments were crafted to make the bill palatable to enough Republicans to hit a majority in the House. Those amendments were added at the last minute, and a vote to pass the AHCA was held before the CBO could assess its effects.

It was generally assumed that the bill didnt have much of a chance in the Senate. But that was before a small group of senators began working in private to develop a bill that might pass that body. And when we say in private, thats underselling the point.

Only a small group of senators know whats in the bill. An aide to one of the Republican senators working on it told Axios that no draft would be released because we arent stupid meaning, apparently, that they knew better than to open up the bill to public criticism before the vote. The plan, apparently, is to send the bill to the CBO for a score before it is then released to the public.

Senators were reportedly going to be informed about options for the contents of the bill during a luncheon on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, after which the bill would be finalized and sent for scoring, with the goal of a vote before July 4.

This is the point when senators learned more details about the proposed bill at which the prohibition on televised interviews was issued.

The prohibition apparently came from the Senate Rules Committee, run by the Republican caucus. But not every Republican on that committee was aware that any rules for interviews had been changed, nor was the ranking Democrat.

(Update: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) released a statement denying that any rules had been changed.)

It could be a coincidence that this issue emerged now. The Post reported last week about crowding in the Capitol as reporters jostled for interviews. This change does have the effect, though, that senators will be able to avoid answering questions on camera about a bill that they recognize is not popular. (A poll released last week found that only 17 percent of the country approved of the House bill.)

How far might a Republican go to avoid answering questions about the health-care bill? One extreme example: Greg Gianforte of Montana assaulted a reporter rather than answer questions about the bill the day before being elected to the House from that state. By contrast, shutting off television cameras is downright passive.

A prohibition on cameras is a tangible demonstration of the lack of transparency thats carrying the day on Capitol Hill. At some point, the Republican bill will become public, and American voters can judge it for themselves. Until that point, though we (and many of our elected leaders) are in the dark.

We are coming up with something that I believe will be very good, President Trump said of the bill on Monday. Its not clear from that remark if hes seen the actual legislation either.

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The remarkable steps Republicans are taking to obscure what's in their health-care bill - Washington Post

A number of Republicans are already weighing challenges to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Several would-be GOP candidates turned up in Billings over the weekend, suggesting there could be a crowded Republican primary to select a Tester challenger. Montana Republican Party delegates met in Billings last Friday and Saturday to select new party leadership.

The would-be candidates include Troy Downing, of Big Sky; Scott Roy McLean, of Missoula; and Kalispell legislator Albert Olszewski; plus a couple other prospects who are sniffing around.

Yellowstone County District Judge Russell Fagg has only said hell consider a run for public office after retiring from the bench in October. Nonetheless, the former state Republican legislator took the opportunity to introduce himself to convention attendees last Friday.

Montana State Auditor Matt Rosendale kept a close eye on Senate prospects. Rosendale hasnt said whether he will run for U.S. Senate. Asked by The Gazette on May 31 if he would run for federal office, Rosendale said he would first focus on any insurance changes brought about by the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and then decide.

Another Republican eyeing a run, Kurt Allen Cole of Troy, missed the Billings event, but told The Gazette on Friday hes exploring a candidacy.

Debra Lamm, the newly elected chairwoman of the Republican Party, said conservatives haven't been happy with several Tester votes, including his opposition to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Tester's support for the Iran Nuclear weapons deal also rubbed Republicans the wrong way and stirred interest in political challengers.

Downing said the success of President Donald J. Trump and Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte, neither of whom had previously been elected, is a sign that voters are looking for an outsider.

I dont care how smart you are, how good you are, how well-intentioned you are. I think after a certain period you become so institutionalized, you no longer think like a normal American, Downing said.

Not by coincidence, Downing said politicians stop thinking like the electorate after about 12 years. Testers current tenure is 11 years. Downing, who lives in Big Sky, is the head of a California-based self-storage company. He been in the Big Sky area since 1998.

Cole, a former vermiculite miner who suffers from asbestosis after his years working for W.R. Grace in Libby, said there arent enough common men in federal politics. The 64-year-old Montana native has done ranch work, milled lumber and mined coal. Friends encouraged him to turn his practical experience to the Senate.

Scott is a Hamilton attorney specializing in estate and business law. He was previously a law clerk for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he worked closely with Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Olszewski was the first candidate to publicly show interest in challenging Tester. A state legislator, Olszewski is an orthopedic surgeon from Kalispell.

Interest in challenging Tester picked up after Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced June 5 that he would not run for U.S. Senate. Fox had been considered the most likely Republican pick.

Original post:
Republicans are already lining up to challenge Tester - Billings Gazette

This weeks awkward and fawning Cabinet meeting is no surprise, given the G.O.P.s reliance on the President to distract from the Partys reactionary agenda.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY OLIVIER DOULIERY / POOL VIA BLOOMBERG

Donald Trump is the first President in history to have a Cabinet meeting go viral. If you havent seen it yet, you must watch thevideo of Trump going around the tableon Monday morning and eliciting gushing testimonials and expressions of loyalty from his own appointees.

Mike Pence set the tone, saying, The greatest privilege of my life is to serve as Vice-President to a President who is keeping his word to the American people, assembling a team that is bringing real change, real prosperity, real strength back to our nation. Elaine Chao, the Transportation Secretary, thanked Trump for getting the country moving again.Sonny Perdue, the Agriculture Secretary, assured the President, I just back got from Mississippi: they love you there.Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, described working for Trump as great honor. And Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, thanked the President for the opportunity and the blessing that you have given us to serve your agenda and the American people.

So it wentpart North Korean Politburo rah-rah session and part opening scene from The Godfather. A willingness to genuflect before a thin-skinned egomaniac is the price of serving inor working closely withthis Administration. But why are so many powerful people willing to pay this price?

In his remarks on Monday, Priebus, the former head of the Republican National Committee, offered a clue to the answer. Priebuss use of the word blessing rightly earnedhim some ridicule, but his assurance to Trump that the machinery of government was working to further your agenda was much more significant. Clearly, Priebus and his fellow-Republicans want Trump to believe that the agenda being advanced in Washington today is his, and for the Presidents supporters to believe this, too. But thats not necessarily accurate.

In Trumps campaign speeches, his biggest applause lines came when he promised to prevent people from Muslim countries from entering the United States, when he pledged to build a wall onthe border with Mexico, and when he advocated protectionist measures to save American jobs. Trump generated support and momentum for his campaign by offering voters an inflammatory brew of Islamophobia and economic nationalism. Today, however, this agenda is largely stalled. The courts have rejected the anti-Muslim travel ban, and Congress has rejected the wall. Meanwhile, Trump himself has embraced the Saudi Arabian monarchy, which helped popularize Islamist extremism, and has backed off from his threats to withdraw from NAFTA and impose hefty tariffs on goods from Mexico and China.

In the place of Trumpism, the Trump Administration is promoting and facilitating a much less popular agenda, which will end up hurting many Trump voters: the anti-government agenda of post-Reagan Republicanism.Controversial policies that conservatives have wanted to introduce for years are making their way through legislative and administrative processes.To be sure, the progress has been uneven, and the Trump Administration still hasnt passed a landmark piece of legislation. But look closely.

Inthe Senate, a group of Republicans isquietly working on a health-care bill that, it seems, will largely mimic the toxic American Health Care Act, which the House of Representatives passed last month. (Under the A.H.C.A., subsidies for purchasing health insurance would be reduced; premiums would go up, especially for the sick and elderly; andMedicaid would be slashed.)Just as radical as the contents of the bill is the way that it is being developed in utter secrecy. Evidently, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, intends to keep it under wraps until a few days before he forces a floor vote, which was the same tactic that Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, used in the lower chamber. If things go according to plan, there will be no committee hearings, no input from outside groups, and no independent scoring of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office.

House Republicans, meanwhile,passed the Financial CHOICE Act, last week, which takes aim at the Dodd-Frank financial-reform act of 2010. The House bill would eliminate or weaken many elements of Dodd-Frank, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which helped uncover that Wells Fargo was ripping off many of its customers.On the campaign trail, Trump promised to crack down on Wall Street. But, after the election, he quickly abandoned that promise. On Monday, the Treasury Department issueda report on financial regulationthat endorsed loosening many of the post-financial-crisis restrictions that banks face.

Legislation is only part of the story. On the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch is already demonstrating why the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing groups were so giddy about his nomination. And, at regulatory institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board, Trump has appointed, or is in the process of appointing, officials who hew to the lines laid down by conservative think tanks and their corporate donors.

About the only areas that Trump has ruled off-limits are Social Security and Medicare. And even here Republicans are exploiting his ignorance, or lack of interest, in order to make cuts. Enacting the American Health Care Act woulddeplete the Medicare Trust Fund. AndTrumps own budgetwouldcut disability-insurance benefits, which are part of the Social Security system.

Trump isnt merely enabling the Republican right; with his daily pratfalls and incendiary statements, he is also drawing attention away from the Partys policy initiatives.Imagine for a moment if a more normal Republicana Marco Rubio or a Jeb Bush or a John Kasichwere in the White House. With no James Comey, Robert Mueller, or Jeff Sessions to chew on, the news networks would surely be focussing on health-care reform and the scandalous manner in which the G.O.P. is trying toram through a piece of legislation that would affect a sixth of the American economy and cause tens of millions of Americans to lose their insurance.

Back in the nineteen-seventies, Lord Hailsham, an eminent British jurist, popularized a term for this type of behavior: elective dictatorship. He applied it to the British system, in which a government that has a healthy majority in Parliament can ride roughshod over the opposition. With Trump in the White House and the Republicans running Capitol Hill, elective dictatorship appears to have crossed the Atlantic.

Small wonder, then, that so many Republicans are willing to kiss Trumps ring. Hes given the G.O.P. what it has long wanted: a White House willing to go along with its reactionary agenda, and a President who provides it with political cover. As long as Trump sticks to his side of the deal, he can expect to receive the loyalty he so prizes.

View original post here:
Why So Many Republicans Still Grovel to Trump - The New Yorker

MSNBC

Republicans lack public support for new health care scheme MSNBC Americans' support for the ACA has never been higher, and the health care reform measure is nearly 10 percentage points more popular than Donald Trump, the Republican president desperate to destroy the law that's lowered the uninsured rate to its ... and more »

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Republicans lack public support for new health care scheme - MSNBC