memeorandum: Trump: Senate GOP ‘very close’ to agreement on health bill (Jordan Fabian/The Hill)

7:30 PM ET, June 27, 2017

Top Items:

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

McConnell warns Trump, GOP on health bill failure — Mitch McConnell is delivering an urgent warning to staffers, Republican senators and even the president himself: If Obamacare repeal fails this week, the GOP will lose all leverage and be forced to work with Chuck Schumer.

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Magazine, TheStreet, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

How the Logic of Tribalism Is Driving the Health-Care Debate — I'm just thinking out loud here. But it seems to me this is one of those moments in American politics where no one can simply say what they really think or want. As Yuval noted yesterday, big chunks of the GOP-controlled Congress …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Townhall.com, Mother Jones and Vox

Axios:

Senate delays health care vote until after recess — Senate Republican leaders have done an abrupt about-face on the health care bill: They're now planning to delay the vote to take up the bill until after the July 4 recess, according to two senior GOP aides.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, Politicus USA, Vox, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump: Senate GOP ‘very close’ to agreement on health bill — President Trump said Tuesday afternoon that Senate Republicans are getting “very close” to an agreement that would allow them to pass their embattled plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare. — “I think the Senate bill is going to be great …

Discussion: RedState, Axios and Political Wire

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

The new health care deadline: Get a deal by Friday — Senate Republicans have been tasked with reaching a new health care agreement by Friday, two senior GOP aides say. A new draft bill can then be sent to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis over next week's recess, and then the Senate will vote on the bill when it returns.

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senate GOP yanks Obamacare repeal bill — Senate Republicans on Tuesday delayed their plans to vote on repealing Obamacare this week, amid strong resistance from moderate and conservative Republicans to even beginning debate on the GOP bill. — Republicans plan to re-write their health bill …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Slate, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Root, Media Matters for America, The FADER, The Week, Politicus USA and New York Times

New York Times:

Vote Delayed as Republicans Struggle to Marshal Support for Health Care Bill — WASHINGTON — Facing intransigent Republican opposition, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has told senators he will delay a vote on his legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: Refinery29, The Hill, Chicagoist, Outside the Beltway, Fusion, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Mashable and The Week

New York Times:
As Trump's Tactics Fall Short, Pence Takes Lead on Health Bill

Discussion: Political Wire

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Pro-Trump group launches TV, radio ads against Heller over health bill

Discussion: ABC News, The Nation, BuzzFeed, Washington Post and The Week

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Mitch McConnell Isn't Playing 13-Dimensional Chess

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Magazine, IJR, AOL and BostonGlobe.com

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Facing GOP opposition, Senate leaders postpone vote to overhaul Obamacare

Discussion: Center for American …, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Denver Post, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Washington Blade, bradford-delong.com, The Week, The Root, CNN, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, NPR, Balloon Juice, The Nevada Independent, KTLA and Vox

Alexander Burns / New York Times: How Governors From Both Parties Plotted to Derail the Senate Health Bill

Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Senate GOP isn't backing down from health care vote

Discussion: The Hill and Politicus USA

Diamond Naga Siu / Politico: Republican senators hit by calls from voters worried about Obamacare repeal bill

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
Pressure Ramps Up On O'Care Repeal Holdouts As A Fifth Senator Bails

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Refinery29, Politico and Axios

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
Senate Republicans Put Off Health-Care Vote

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Week, Daily Kos and The Hugh Hewitt Show

CNN:
McConnell delays vote on health care bill until after July 4 recess

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, FiveThirtyEight, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and The Week

David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

A Time Magazine with Trump on the cover hangs in his golf clubs. It's fake. — The framed copy of Time Magazine was hung up in at least four of President Trump's golf clubs, from South Florida to Scotland. Filling the entire cover was a photo of Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Deadline, Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, Axios, Mashable, The Root, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Business Insider, AOL, USA Today, IJR, Gizmodo, The Week, twitchy.com and Project Veritas

John Bowden / The Hill:

Trump golf clubs displaying fake Time magazine cover — The Trump Organization's golf clubs in America and Europe have been displaying a fake Time magazine cover depicting the president, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. — A Time magazine cover depicting Trump with the headline “Donald Trump

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story and Occupy Democrats

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Trump blasts media after CNN retraction: ‘They are all Fake News!’ — President Trump on Tuesday blasted several publications after CNN retracted a story published last week tying a top Trump ally to a Russian investment bank. — “So they caught Fake News CNN cold, but what about NBC, CBS & ABC?”

Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
CNN Journalists Resign: Latest Example of Media Recklessness on the Russia Threat

John Hayward / Breitbart:
Gorka: O'Keefe CNN Video Fake News Scandal ‘Complete Vindication for the President’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Power Line

Washington Post:

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort files as foreign agent for Ukraine work — A consulting firm led by Paul Manafort, who chaired Donald Trump's presidential campaign for several months last year, retroactively filed forms Tuesday showing that his firm received $17.1 million …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Austin Wright / Politico:

Roger Stone set to testify next month in House Russia probe — Longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone is set to appear July 24 before the House Intelligence Committee, which is examining contacts between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign, according to Stone's attorney.

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Trump lawyer's firm steered millions in donations to family members, files show — Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal Jay Sekulow approved plans to push people to give to his Christian nonprofit, which then paid big sums to his family … More than 15,000 Americans were losing …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Above the Law, Friendly Atheist, Mediaite, Raw Story and Right Wing Watch

Christopher Wallace / Fox News:

Obamas under fire from the left for never ending, sizzling ultra-luxury vacations — The Democratic base is growing increasingly frustrated with former President Barack Obama's actions after leaving office, including a seemingly endless tour of millionaire and billionaire luxury retreats …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Buzz Bissinger / Vanity Fair:

Cover Story: Serena Williams's Love Match — A STAR IS BORN Serena Williams, photographed in Highland Beach, Florida. — Last January, on the eve of the Australian Open, Serena Williams handed her fiancé, Alexis Ohanian, a paper bag containing six positive pregnancy tests.

Discussion: USA Today, The Guardian, East Bay Times, The FADER, Refinery29, Washington Post, Mashable, SFist, AOL and Fusion

Richard L. Hasen / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed Gorsuch is the new Scalia, just like Trump promised — President Donald Trump shakes hands with Neil Gorsuch, his choice for Supreme Court associate justice, in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 31. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

Discussion: Slate, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Shakesville and Washington Post

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
A Cautious Supreme Court Sets a Modern Record for Consensus

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

The Daily Beast:

White House Threatened Syria While Trump Yawned, Insiders Say … Hours before the White House issued an ominous warning to Syria's dictator against launching another chemical assault, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave the same message to Bashar Assad's patron in Moscow, The Daily Beast has learned.

Discussion: Reuters, ThinkProgress, IJR, Raw Story, The Atlantic, Axios, The Guardian, Shareblue, BuzzFeed, NPR, Defense One, Politico and Balloon Juice

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

Trump praises female reporter's ‘nice smile’ on call to Irish PM … President Trump singled out a female journalist during a phone call with the new Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, on Tuesday, telling Varadkar, “She has a nice smile on her face. So I bet she treats you well.”

Discussion: Shareblue, Raw Story and Mediaite

Eli Stokols / Wall Street Journal:

Trump, EPA Move to Rescind Obama Administration's Clean Water Rule — President Donald Trump's administration is moving ahead with plans to dismantle a rule that sought to protect clean drinking water by expanding Washington's power to regulate major rivers and lakes as well as smaller streams and wetlands.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

US EPA:
EPA, U.S. Army Move to Rescind 2015 “Waters of the U.S.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Washington Post

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

Sarah Palin Suing New York Times For Defamation — Sarah Palin is suing The New York Times for defamation, according to documents filed on Tuesday obtained by The Daily Caller. — The lawsuit has to do with an editorial the NYT ran on June 14 that falsely smeared Palin as inciting …

Scott Wong / The Hill:

Chaffetz calls for $2,500 legislator housing stipend — Just days before he resigns from Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz — (R-Utah) said Monday that House and Senate lawmakers should receive a $2,500 per month housing allowance — something he explained would help ease housing costs …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Conservative News Today, Washingtonian, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, The Daily Banter and Political Wire

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

Obama Choked on Russia Long Before the 2016 Election — It's no wonder Putin thought he could meddle in the U.S. He had gotten away with everything else he tried. — “I feel like we sort of choked.” That is the killer quote in an extraordinary Washington Post investigation …

Discussion: Shakesville, The National Interest, Washington Post, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Breitbart, Mediaite, NBC News, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and Conservative News Today

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:

Seattle's Painful Lesson on the Road to a $15 Minimum Wage — The experiment has hurt low-wage workers, cutting their earnings by $125 a month. — In the summer of 2014, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a bill increasing the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. “No city or state has gone this far.

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TheBlaze, Hit & Run and Weekly Standard

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Fight between GOP House chairs imperils budget deal — A fight between House Republican chairmen is threatening to upend a tentative budget deal enabling the chamber to take the first steps toward tax reform, forcing the budget panel to cancel plans to begin work this week.

Discussion: Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Motherboard:

Behind the Scenes of Disney's Donald Trump ‘Hall of Presidents’ Drama — After much turmoil at the House of Mouse, Disney announced Trump will speak in its famous Hall of Presidents attraction. — Note: If you have not done so already, read Motherboard's first report on the Trump/Disney drama …