BATTING .125: Pressure from the Trump Administration is mounting on the Republican leadership. In search of a win beyond last week’s House Pyrrhic victory in passing the CHOICE Act overhauling Dodd Frank, the Administration is pushing tax reform in the House and healthcare in the Senate. House conservatives are fighting back, saying they need to drop the border adjustment tax (BAT) if they are going to get reform done. The dilemma is conservatives don’t want to vote for an additional tax, but without it they may have to vote to increase the debt ceiling to cover the budget request - and that’s not in their DNA.
HEALTHCARE HEATS UP?: The Senate is inching closer to a health care compromise and is trying to meet a soft deadline of late June set by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Senate parliamentarian warned that some language preventing women from using federal subsidies in abortion clinics may need to be stripped, but some Republican Senators can’t live with that and are looking for a workaround. With Trump in search of some momentum you can bet he’s hustling for it to be completed before McConnell’s deadline, pushing both moderate and far right Republicans to compromise - but may have to settle for an agreement and then finish after the July 4th recess. There’s no chance of any Democratic support as word spreads that Republicans aren’t even showing a draft of the bill until after the CBO score.
SESSIONS TAKES THE STAGE : AG Jeff Sessions takes the CSPAN stage as he testifies in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today following the most damning part of former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony - alluding to AG Jeff Sessions’ interactions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Rumors are swirling that Comey may have known about more than just two forgotten meetings and everyone wants to hear Sessions version of those purported meetings with Russian officials as well as his role in firing Comey. We think Sessions will push back hard and continue the anti-Comey narrative emanating from the White House.
JOBS WEEK: The Trump Administration will be focusing on “workforce development and job growth” this week through a series of events starring Ivanka Trump, that hopefully attracts more attention than infrastructure week. The events will highlight skill based education, workforce training, family leave, women in the workplace and college affordability. Despite unemployment reaching new lows, the gap in mismatch of skills and business needs is growing. Trump sees this opportunity as a chance to make some tangible long term changes in the U.S. workforce.
MARYLAND AND DC SUE TRUMP: The Attorney’s General of DC and Maryland filed a suit in federal court against President Trump for violating the Constitution. Presidents are barred from accepting funding from a foreign government without the approval of Congress, but we are in unchartered waters. Never has a president had such a global business before running for office, this was part of his appeal, but the process of divesting from all his businesses has been arduous and tangled and questions remain over his passing of the torch to his sons. Now, foreign officials and parties with vested interests are bringing their business to Trump hotels and golf courses in hopes of currying favor with the powers that be. The AGs say this assertion is hurting local business and worse, is a crime - but it’s also a way to flush out Trump’s tax returns.
TRUMP - DEUTSCHLAND "UNTER ALLES?”: Our Senior Geopolitical Analyst Dan Christman writes about the emerging dimensions of President Trump’s foreign doctrine and how his relationship with Germany will shape global affairs. You can read the full piece here.
HOME HEALTH PAYMENT SYSTEM CHANGE: IT'S ALL GONNA BE OK - AMED, LHCG, HLS & KND: Our Senior Health Care Policy Analyst Emily Evans writes: We crunched the numbers; move to new home health payment model probably not negative for AMED, LHCG, HLS; KND contract business may be hurt You can read the full piece here.
