It’s Thursday. Should you pay attention carefully, you might be able to hear the GOP grumbling over the Senate invoice.
In as we speak’s concern:
- Senate referee guts big chunk of GOP invoice
- Solely eight days till invoice deadline. What now?
- Supreme Court docket offers blow to Deliberate Parenthood
- Birthright citizenship choice coming tomorrow
🚨️ ON CAPITOL HILL
So, this can be a huge deal:
The Senate parliamentarian dealt a significant blow to Republicans’ “huge, lovely invoice” this morning, disqualifying major Medicaid provisions from the megabill.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who serves because the nonpartisan referee for the Senate’s payments, has been sifting by means of the GOP laws to find out which provisions are compliant with the funds guidelines Republicans are utilizing to bypass the 60-vote threshold.
OK, so what did she minimize?: MacDonough rejected the proposal to restrict states’ use of well being care supplier taxes to gather extra federal Medicaid funding.
Why this can be a huge deal: This was an enormous moneymaker for the invoice — it might have generated a whole bunch of billions of {dollars} in financial savings — and Republicans have been relying on this income to offset different prices. With out this provision, it throws an enormous wrench into tips on how to pay for President Trump’s tax cuts.
*Cue Billy Mays* — however wait, there’s extra: The parliamentarian rejected a number of different provisions to limit Medicaid and Medicare protection for immigrants who usually are not U.S. residents. Details of the nixed provisions
Soo, uh, what occurs now?: That’s what we’re all ready to see. Republicans’ self-imposed deadline is simply eight days away. This choice may power Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-S.D.) to rethink bringing the invoice up for a vote this week.
How are Republicans taking the information, you ask?: Properly, this provides a significant wrinkle to their plans — particularly with the deadline in a couple of week.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) known as for the Senate Parliamentarian “TO BE FIRED ASAP.” 🔎More on his critique
Might Thune simply ignore this ruling?: Thune reaffirmed Thursday he *is not going to* overrule the Senate referee’s dedication.
However let’s not neglect that not all Senate Republicans are on board with these Medicaid cuts: Two GOP senators are a tough “no” on the invoice — and a few are undecided due to the Medicaid cuts.
As I prefer to remind everybody: MacDonough is *not* figuring out what can change into regulation. Her function because the nonpartisan referee is to determine what will be handed by means of reconciliation — the particular procure that avoids a Democratic filibuster.
The Senate can nonetheless go this language if they need, however they would wish to do it with 60 “sure” votes. Republicans don’t have sufficient votes to do this on their very own and Democrats do not plan to assist them.
📝 Running list of what the parliamentarian has rejected
➤ ALSO CHOPPED FROM THE BILL:
The parliamentarian rejected Republican language to limit federal well being care subsidies from going to abortion companies.
Which states this provision would have affected probably the most: “The supply would have had an ‘outsized affect’ on states equivalent to Connecticut, Michigan and New Mexico, the place insurers now cowl abortion companies voluntarily however would have incentive to drop abortion protection to change into eligible for federal cost-sharing fee underneath the Republican proposal, in keeping with a Commonwealth Fund evaluation.” Read more
🏛️ THE SUPREME COURT
Tomorrow goes to be nuts:
Supreme Court docket Chief Justice John Roberts introduced as we speak that every one six remaining circumstances shall be determined TOMORROW.
That features birthright citizenship, age verification for porn websites, opt-outs for classroom dialogue of LGBTQ points and a case associated to race in congressional redistricting. Anticipate a lot of protesters exterior the Supreme Court docket.
The most important ruling as we speak:
Deliberate Parenthood was delivered a intestine punch as we speak. The Supreme Court docket ruled 6-3 that South Carolina is legally allowed to chop off Medicaid funding for Deliberate Parenthood.
Bear in mind, this case is just not in regards to the legality of abortion entry, nevertheless it’s about Medicaid funding. The case determined “whether or not a Medicaid beneficiary has the ‘proper’ to select their most well-liked well being supplier and sue if they’ll’t.”
From The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel: “The ruling paves the way in which for the state to stop Deliberate Parenthood from receiving funding by means of Medicaid. The ruling solely applies to South Carolina, the place abortion is already outlawed after six weeks of being pregnant, however could possibly be a template for different states.” More on the case
Plus — we additionally bought a ruling on DNA testing for a demise row inmate: “The Supreme Court docket dominated Thursday {that a} Texas demise row inmate has the authorized proper to sue over the state’s legal guidelines governing DNA testing in a bid to check proof he says would block his execution.” Read more on the case
➤ 10 YEARS AGO TODAY:
The Supreme Court docket legalized same-sex marriage.
Associated reads:
The Hill: 10 years after Obergefell, homosexual marriage faces rising threats
The Washington Post: Homosexual marriages have doubled in 10 years since Supreme Court docket ruling
The Hill: Supreme Court docket turns to backlog of transgender circumstances after Tennessee ban ruling
🎤 IN THE PENTAGON
To be a fly on the Pentagon’s wall:
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth held a uncommon Pentagon press convention this morning to defend the U.S. strikes on Iran — and to tear into the media’s protection of the operation’s effectiveness. It was fairly contentious.
What’s Hegseth’s frustration?: An inner report was leaked, preliminarily assessing the injury of the U.S.’s Iran strikes. The report suggests the army operation might have set Iran’s nuclear program again by just a few months, however not many years as Trump has stated.
Hegseth burdened the report is ‘preliminary’: “Whether or not it’s faux information CNN, MSNBC or The New York Instances, there’s been fawning protection of a preliminary evaluation. It was preliminary — a day and a half after the precise strike — when it admits itself in writing that it requires weeks to build up the required information to make such an evaluation.”
He additionally took a verbal shot at his outdated colleague: Hegseth attacked Jennifer Griffin, his former colleague at Fox Information and longtime Pentagon reporter. “Jennifer, you’ve been in regards to the worst. The one who misrepresents probably the most deliberately,” he advised Griffin. She then defended herself. 📹 Watch the contentious back-and-forth
➤ WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ‘SLEEPER CELL’ WARNINGS:
TThe Trump administration has warned there could also be Iranian “sleeper cells” working within the U.S. The Hill’s Miriam Waldvogel wrote a helpful explainer on sleeper cell threats.
COMING UP
The Home and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All occasions EST)
In the present day: Closing arguments within the Sean “Diddy” Combs Details
1 p.m.: White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
3 p.m.: First and final Home votes. 📆Today’s agenda
4 p.m.: Trump participates in a “one, huge, lovely” occasion within the White Home. 💻 Livestream
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🥥 Have a good time: In the present day is Nationwide Coconut Day and Nationwide Bomb Pop Day!
😅 It’s OK. Nobody heard the remark anyway, proper?: NATO Secretary-Basic Mark Rutte tried to clarify his comment from earlier this week when he referred to President Trump as “Daddy.” Oh, and by the way in which, the White Home created a music video to “Daddy’s Dwelling.” 📹 Watch
🎥 What do you assume is the very best film since 2000?: The New York Instances requested greater than 500 influential administrators, actors, and so forth., to vote for the very best motion pictures of the twenty first century. 🎞️ Here’s the running list of the 100 best movies
👋 AND FINALLY…
Should you ever marvel how folks inform their canine aside once they look extremely related, these huskies are doing a *great* job at showing us the difference.