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Major Republican initiatives are bogged down for reasons that have nothing to do with the personality flaws of the tweeter in chief, and everything to do with the broader, more fundamental fecklessness of his party.

According to Politico, a Trump confidante says that the man in the Oval Office or more often at Mar-a-Lago is tired of everyone thinking his presidency is screwed up. Pro tip: The best way to combat perceptions that youre screwing up is, you know, to stop screwing up.

But he cant, of course. And its not just a personal problem.

It goes without saying that Donald Trump is the least qualified individual, temperamentally or intellectually, ever installed in the White House. As he veers from wild accusations against President Barack Obama to snide remarks about Arnold Schwarzenegger, hes doing a very good imitation of someone experiencing a personal breakdown even though he has yet to confront a crisis not of his own making. Thanks, Comey.

But the broader Republican quagmire the partys failure so far to make significant progress toward any of its policy promises isnt just about Trumps inadequacies. The whole party, it turns out, has been faking it for years. Its leaders rhetoric was empty; they have no idea how to turn their slogans into actual legislation, because theyve never bothered to understand how anything important works.

Take the two lead items in the congressional GOPs agenda: undoing the Affordable Care Act and reforming corporate taxes. In each case Republicans seem utterly shocked to find themselves facing reality.

The story of Obamacare repeal would be funny if the health care and, in many cases, the lives of millions of Americans werent at stake.

First we had seven seven! years during which Republicans kept promising to offer an alternative to Obamacare any day now, but never did. Then came the months after the election, with more promises of details just around the corner.

Now theres apparently a plan hidden somewhere in the Capitol basement. Why the secrecy? Because the Republicans have belatedly discovered what some of us tried to tell them all along: The only way to maintain coverage for the 20 million people who gained insurance thanks to Obamacare is with a plan that, surprise, looks a lot like Obamacare.

Sure enough, the new plan reportedly does look like a sort of half-baked version of the Affordable Care Act. Politically, it seems to embody the worst of both worlds: Its enough like Obamacare to infuriate hard-line conservatives, but it weakens key aspects of the law enough to deprive millions of Americans many of them white working-class voters who backed Donald Trump of essential health care.

The idea, apparently, is to deal with these problems by passing the plan before anyone gets a chance to really see or think about whats in it. Good luck with that.

Then theres corporate tax reform an issue where the plan being advanced by Paul Ryan, the House speaker, is actually not too bad, at least in principle. Even some Democratic-leaning economists support a shift to a destination-based cash flow tax, which is best thought of as a sales tax plus a payroll subsidy. (Trust me.)

But Ryan has failed spectacularly to make his case either to colleagues or to powerful interest groups. Why? As best I can tell, its because he himself doesnt understand the point of the reform.

The case for the cash flow tax is quite technical; among other things, it would remove the incentives the current tax system creates for corporations to load up on debt and to engage in certain kinds of tax avoidance. But thats not the kind of thing Republicans talk about if anything, theyre in favor of tax avoidance, hence the Trump proposal to slash funding for the IRS.

No, in GOP world, tax ideas always have to be presented as ways to remove the shackles from oppressed job creators. So Ryan has framed his proposal, basically falsely, as a measure to make American industry more competitive, focusing on the border tax adjustment which is part of the sales-tax component of the reform.

This misrepresentation seems, however, to be backfiring: It sounds like a Trumpist tariff, and has both conservatives and retailers like Wal-Mart up in arms.

At this point, then, major Republican initiatives are bogged down for reasons that have nothing to do with the personality flaws of the tweeter in chief, and everything to do with the broader, more fundamental fecklessness of his party.

Does this mean that nothing substantive will happen on the policy front? Not necessarily. Republicans may decide to ram through a health plan that causes mass suffering, and hope to blame it on Obama. They may give up on anything resembling a principled tax reform, and just throw a few trillion dollars at rich people instead.

But whatever the eventual outcome, what were witnessing is what happens when a party that gave up hard thinking in favor of empty sloganeering ends up in charge of actual policy. And its not a pretty sight.

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Republicans, a party not ready to govern - The Seattle Times

Republicans will introduce their much-awaited bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week, a senior House Republican aide told NBC News on Sunday.

"We are in a very good place right now," said the aide, who asked not to be identified.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, told NBC News: "We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people."

A draft bill obtained by NBC News would repeal much of the current law, also known as Obamacare, within the next few years and set in place a Republican vision of health care.

The draft legislation would provide expanded tax credits and health savings accounts for individuals while reducing federal spending on tax subsidies and Medicaid and practically eliminating the employer and individual mandates to provide and carry health insurance.

It wasn't clear Sunday night to what extent the draft legislation, dated Feb. 10, may have changed in the last three weeks, but at the time, an aide to a House Republican said: "This is the bones of what's going to happen."

President Donald Trump met with health insurance chief executives at the White House last week to try to win their support for the Republican revamp.

Only 12 percent of Americans said they had a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in health insurance companies in a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in December. In contrast, 54 percent said they had "very little" or "none at all."

Under the draft bill, Americans who need assistance to buy health care would receive a tax credit with an option to receive it in advance on a monthly basis based on age. A person under 30 would be eligible for a $2,000 tax credit, while a person over 60 would be eligible for a $4,000 credit.

The measure would also create state-based high-risk pools for people who don't have access to insurance. The federal government would start providing $15 billion to help fund the high-risk pools next year, but the funding would decrease to $10 billion by 2020 and beyond.

And the legislation would greatly expand the use of health savings accounts, a tax-deductible way to buy health insurance, which has become a top Republican priority.

The largest funding mechanism would be a tax on the most expensive employer-provided health insurance plans.

The anticipated release of the plan follows a series of town hall meetings across the country during which angry constituents berated Republican lawmakers over health care policy, pouring particular scorn on the idea of tax credits and health savings accounts.

Some Republican senators have already threatened to vote it against it, including Rand Paul of Kentucky, who lambasted the bill-writing process as overly secretive last week.

"The only copy we've seen is from the media," Paul said. "Now we're told it's being classified and the hearing is like a security clearance hearing you have to have security clearance and permission and have to be on the committee to see the bill."

Making good on promises of "repeal and replace" has proven difficult for Republicans, since members of the party are divided on what a replacement should look like and how much it should cost. Republican leaders, meanwhile, have promised not to "pull the rug" out from under people who are covered by current law.

But the senior House aide told NBC News on Sunday that there was a large staff meeting at the White House on Friday to resolve outstanding issues, while heath care committees in Congress worked over the weekend to incorporate technical guidance.

See the rest here:
Republicans to Introduce Health Care Replacement Bill This Week ... - NBCNews.com

Roll Call

Furor Over Russia's Hacking Puts Congressional Republicans on Hot Seat Wall Street Journal (subscription) In the controversy over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, here's where the key players stand: Russian President Vladimir Putin must be pleased, President Donald Trump is furious, and congressional Republicans are in the hot seat. House Republicans Shouldn't Get Too Comfortable in MajorityRoll Call all 7 news articles »

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Furor Over Russia's Hacking Puts Congressional Republicans on Hot Seat - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker offered some limited praise of the new plan. | AP Photo

President Donald Trump's scaled-back order restricting travel from six majority-Muslim nations won over one of his biggest GOP critics Monday, even as few other Republicans rushed to endorse the plan.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has hounded Trump on his ties to Russia and called the presidents first attempt at a travel ban a potential self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," embraced the White House's changes.

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This executive order will achieve the goal of protecting our homeland and will, in my view, pass legal muster, the South Carolina Republican said in a statement, adding that "the new order will withstand legal challenges as its drafted in a fashion as to not be a religious ban, but a ban on individuals coming from compromised governments and failed states."

But Graham, so far, appears to be the only convert. Other Republicans who had criticized the first travel order issued in January and quickly halted in federal court offered few words of support. Graham and Sen. John McCain had criticized Trumps first travel order in a joint statement, but Grahams support, notably, came in a solo press release.

McCain later tweeted that Iraq was not included in the new executive order and that Iraqis are our allies in the fight against #ISIL. Removing Iraqi citizens from the travel ban came after entreaties from Graham, McCain and other prominent Republicans including Trump's secretary of state and defense secretary in light of Iraqis contributions to the fight against terrorism.

Other top Republicans were noticeably reticent to offer full-throated support for the new order. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, who criticized Trumps January travel ban, offered some limited praise, at least for the roll-out of the new plan.

I am very encouraged by the interagency approach the administration has taken to develop and implement the revised executive order, said Corker, adding that he was pleased that Iraq was removed from the countries subject to visa restrictions. The Tennessee Republican also said reviewing the nations screening and vetting procedures is an appropriate step and that he is hopeful these programs will then be reinstated.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer emphasized Monday that the new travel order is based on the same principles that guided the first but this time, he said, all stakeholders, including lawmakers, were extensively briefed on the contents.

"We made sure that everybody knew what we were doing," he said, adding, "I think we did a phenomenal job of rolling it out."

But the White Houses engagement didnt immediately draw an outpouring of support from the presidents allies on Capitol Hill.

House Republicans, in particular, appeared to be reserving judgment, offering sparse cover to a president who sprung his first travel ban on them with little warning, stoking turmoil and energizing grassroots Trump opponents. The relative silence was notable given the Trump administration's apparent confidence that the communication problems plaguing the execution of its initial immigration order had been fixed this time around.

"There should be no surprises whether it's in the media or on Capitol Hill," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told reporters at a press briefing on the order, after which no questions were taken.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was a notable exception to the GOPs reticence, offering a quick endorsement of Trumps new plan.

This revised executive order advances our shared goal of protecting the homeland, said Ryan, who criticized the rollout of Trumps initial travel ban. I commend the administration and Secretary Kelly in particular for their hard work on this measure to improve our vetting standards.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) also signaled support.

Backing for Trump among Republicans was slightly more robust in the Senate.

The new immigration order also excised language from Trump's first version, which signaled a preference for refugee applications from Christians residing in majority-Muslim countries and would not affect existing visa holders, a tweak welcomed by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

That change "should ensure the unintended consequences from the last order do not reoccur," Grassley said in a statement.

Other elements of Trump's initial immigration order, including a 120-day pause in the admission of refugees from around the world and a deep cut in the number of refugees admitted during the current year, remain intact.

Inquiries with a slew of moderate Republican lawmakers who had expressed concerns about Trumps first travel order were not immediately returned.

Meanwhile top Democrats quickly condemned the new immigration limits as little more than a warmed-over regurgitation of Trump's original travel ban, a hastily rolled-out plan that faltered in federal court and provoked mass protests at international airports across the country. They continued to refer to the effort as a Muslim ban, and they were emboldened further when Spicer told reporters Monday that the principles of the executive order remain the same."

A watered-down ban is still a ban," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "Despite the administrations changes, this dangerous executive order makes us less safe, not more, it is mean-spirited, and un-American."

Newly elected Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who called for stricter evaluation of the refugee screening process on the campaign trail in 2015, on Monday slammed Trump's order as "a backdoor Muslim ban" and "immoral," respectively.

A few conservatives who backed Trump's earlier order offered early praise for the revised edition. Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar called it refreshing to see a President that isnt ashamed to uphold the most important job of the government ... protecting the American people.

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Republicans in no rush to back Trump's new travel ban - Politico

Speaker Paul Ryan, right, and his House Republicans are reportedly planning to introduce its Obamacare replacement bill this week.

Congressional Republicans will introduce their much-anticipated bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week, NBC News reports, citing a senior House aide.

Draft legislation would provide expanded tax credits and health savings accounts for individuals, while cutting spending on tax subsidies and Medicaid, NBC writes. It would also practically eliminate the employer and individuals mandates to provide and carry health insurance. That legislation may have changed but a House Republican aide earlier called it the bones of what would happen.

Also read: Trump embraces HSAs as a pillar of repeal and replace, but they will need work.

SEC nominee targeted: A coalition of progressive groups is planning to announce a campaign to derail President Trumps nomination of Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Washington Post reports. Organizers say the campaign will include a six-figure digital advertising buy. As the Post says, it comes amid broader efforts by Democrats to highlight Trumps choice of finance-industry insiders for key administration positions despite his antiWall Street rhetoric when he was a candidate.

Knives out for Priebus: Politico writes that administration officials are increasingly putting blame on Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, as the White House struggles to gain its footing nearly two months into the new presidency. More than a dozen Trump aides, allies and others close to the White House said Priebus was becoming a singular target of criticism within the White House.

One senior administration official said theres a real frustration among many, including Trump himself, that things arent going as smoothly as hoped for. The White House, meanwhile, pushed back on the story, with Trump chief strategist Stephen Bannon saying the presidents agenda is being implemented in record time, which shows you what a great job Reince is doing.

Also see: Opinion: With wiretapping tweets, Trump undermines the presidency.

Regulation tally: Federal agencies and the GOP-led Congress have delayed, suspended or reversed more than 90 regulations in the month and a half since Trump took office, according to a tally by the New York Times. The Times called the effort one of the most significant shifts in regulatory policy in recent decades, with dozens more rules possibly being eliminated in the coming weeks.

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Republicans to introduce health bill this week | Knives out for Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff - MarketWatch