"The Senate should not vote on anything else until it’s voted again on repealing Obamacare", White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday.

Mulvaney said that “yes,” it's official White House policy that the Senate shouldn’t hold a vote on another issue — not even an imminent crisis like raising the debt ceiling— until the Senate votes again on health care.

Source

Risky policy for the White House, if as is likely the Senate ignores WH policy then WH is shown to be weak.

If the Senate follows the WH policy then important legislation like debt ceiling, 2018 budget, infrastructure and tax reform will be delayed with possible consequences.

Even if the Senate manages to scrape together enough votes to pass healthcare then they have to go back to the House for agreement and they are in recess!

I never could remember how to spell non secateur...

Non US person doesn't care what Non US people think about a topic. Very rhetorically meta.

In other US news, some quality thinking going on over there:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7793016.html

You are going pruning?

In January, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) laid out a 200-day agenda at the joint Senate-House retreat in Philadelphia that projected House passage of ObamaCare repeal in March, a budget for fiscal year 2018 in April, tax reform by the August recess and reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in July.

Fast forward to July 31, and all of those priorities are in limbo.

Source

Quotes;
“The White House is providing zero leadership. Zero. If anything, they’re making things more difficult and that’s not going to change,” said former Rep. Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.), a longtime member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Another Republican strategist, Chip Saltsman, noted Trump hasn’t demonstrated a lot of steady, quiet work behind the scenes to get things done. “If that’s happened, we haven’t seen it,” he chuckled.

Shear genius.

These rather nasty and bullying threats are first to stop paying money to insurance companies to subsidise health insurance costs for the poorest people in the US.

Secondly to change the current practice where Congress (like private sector employers who pay 75% of their employee insurance costs) contributes to insurance costs for their elected members and also all employees who work in Congress. Not sure if the WH employees also get this same subsidy from Congress or it is paid from elsewhere?

Do you have a source for your 75% from private sector companies? I have friends employed in private sector jobs in the US and their employers are not paying 75%. Not with deductibles of 4000 or 6000.

Also, unlike a private company, congressional employees are federal government. Taxpayers are footing the bill. I don't think it is completely fair to compare their coverage to the private sector. But i suppose the question is how different are benefits in the legislative, judicial and executive branches of federal government when compared to a) other federal employees and b) private sector.

Withh all this nonsense it's becoming clearer that they just need to move to single payer, e.g., Medicare for all.

I got the 75% from here, must have misread it - actually says 72%. No idea if it is correct?

About "Taxpayers are footing the bill." maybe so but I assume the Govt. have to offer competitive salaries and benefits or people would not work for them?

I understand the United States Capitol Police (USCP) are part of Congress so giving the people who protect you a big pay cut does not seem like a good idea

After ten days of employment, Scaramucci has been removed from his role as Communications Director.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40782299

So he's done the fandango.

https://www.google.ch/amp/www.market...C-2DBCDDEBB73B

You really couldn't write this stuff...

The WH is in need of new doors, Revolving door's exactly :-)

Thunderbolts and lightning very very frightening indeed...

I just don't believe the 72% figure. That's a select, lucky group.


Watching this crap is like picking a scab. It hurts, you know it's not the best strategy, but you can't stop.

mama mia!

At this rate he'll have no staff left!

He's just a poor boy from a poor family.

Beelzebub doesn't need to put a devil aside for him, he's fully equipped with his own.

He got Reince Priebus out; his job was finished

Now Priebus is gone Trump has lost his best and major link to the Republican party; maybe Trump will turn independent?
If Trump tells his base that Republicans are the enemy then most of them will believe him