05 August, 2017
That is likely contributing to their defiance, which is emerging now after an accumulation of frustrations, culminating in the failure of the health care bill Friday.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said the Senate health committee will hold bipartisan health care hearings on how to fix the individual market.
"To ensure that we have robust economic growth and promote fiscal discipline, the Trump administration believes it's important to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible", said White House spokesman Sarah Sanders.
By tomorrow, 164 million Americans will live in the 26 states that are wholly controlled by Republicans, 109 million will live in states where power is shared between the parties, and only 50 million will live in the six states controlled by the Democrats. Republican efforts in the Senate to repeal and/or replace Obamacare have hit a wall of opposition from recalcitrant Republicans who are unwilling to vote for anything but a ideal bill.
Trade had been seen as an area where Trump and congressional Democrats could work together because Trump is more aligned with Democrats on the issue than with the traditional Republican free-trade approach.
Despite having control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives since the November 2016 elections, Republicans have not delivered on their biggest campaign promises.
The group has been meeting privately for months to sketch out a game plan on tax legislation. It also includes a chart outlining state-by-state estimates of how many full-time jobs a tax overhaul would create and how much more income median households would have after taxes.
Republicans are hopeful that a tax bill will be an easier lift than health care, and lawmakers say the pressure to deliver tax legislation has intensified after failing on long-promised health care legislation. We doubt it. He's repeating his threat to withhold billions of dollars in government payments to insurers, thus forcing a collapse of the Affordable Care Act. They may win a tactical victory against President Trump, whose inexperience and personality make him vulnerable. Nevertheless, given this media pummeling, Trump's approval ratings, especially among Republicans, have held up remarkably well.
But, the prospect of a bipartisan bill this time fizzled quickly earlier this week.
And after a recent humiliating defeat in the Senate on health reforms, party insiders are warning Trump can expect similar setbacks unless he learns to work constructively with Republicans on Capitol Hill. "Both Republicans and Democrats agree on this".
Overall, the Democrats' trade proposals underscored the influence of the party's liberal wing in pushing it in a populist direction that rejects multinational trade deals in favor of more protectionist policies that elevate US workers' interests.
The Senate plans to debate tax reform after Labor Day.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of SC deemed Trump's treatment of Sessions "unseemly" and "a sign of great weakness on the part of President Trump".
Assuming Democrats are savvy enough to get that message across, and adept enough to get a lot of new folks registered to vote - not a given, by any means - the next round of congressional elections could turn out to be a Little Big Horn for Republican candidates.
The Senate wrapped up its pre-recess business Thursday.
Already, staff is working on draft legislation.
Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, announced plans he and the panel's senior Democrat, Sen. We should not sit idly by in the post-nuclear world imposed by Reid and accept the dysfunctional confirmation process or allow these significant problems to remain unaddressed.
"In my opinion, any solution that Congress passes for a 2018 stabilization package would need to be small, bipartisan, and balanced", Alexander said.
Whether or not Republicans can pass a tax bill - and whether or not their voters will forgive them for not passing a health care bill - are two questions that will hang over the GOP majority for the rest of 2017.