memeorandum: Trumpcare Is the Worst-Designed Social Policy in History (Jonathan Chait/New York Magazine)

7:55 AM ET, July 25, 2017

Top Items:

Trump leaves Sessions twisting in the wind while berating him publicly — President Trump and his advisers are privately discussing the possibility of replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and some confidants are floating prospects who could take his place were he to resign or be fired, according to people familiar with the talks.

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, Associated Press, The Week, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Politicus USA

CNN:

Rudy Giuliani: Jeff Sessions ‘made the right decision’ to recuse from Russia probe — (CNN)Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Monday swatted away a report that he is a contender to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and said Sessions made the right decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, RedState, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Axios, The Daily Caller, Politico, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo and New York Times

Lesley Clark / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Trump messes with Sessions, and Senate Republicans are not pleased — President Donald Trump is getting a bitter Washington lesson when he messes with Jeff Sessions - you don't pick a fight with one of the Senate's guys. — It's a lesson that could cost him politically in a Senate …

Discussion: Power Line, NPR, Business Insider, Washington Times, TheBlaze, Mediaite and Daily Wire

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Cruz being considered to replace Sessions: report — President Trump and his advisers are floating possible replacements for Attorney General Jeff Sessions — (R-Texas), The Washington Post reports. — Cruz and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) are reportedly among …

Discussion: The Week, RedState and Balloon Juice

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump White House Tests a Nation's Capacity for Outrage

Discussion: The Atlantic, Just Security and Daily Wire

Associated Press:

The Latest: McConnell calls for GOP dissenters to back bill — https://www.apnews.com/aa59b766a4294989 a62c922112580af7 — Link copied! — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the ongoing effort by congressional Republicans to pass a health care bill (all times local):

Discussion: Bearing Arms, TheBlaze, The Texas Tribune, twitchy.com, Mashable, Vox, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon, Balloon Juice, Jezebel and The Week

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

McCain returning to Senate in time for health vote — (R-Ariz.) will return to the Senate on Tuesday after being diagnosed with brain cancer, giving the GOP push to repeal and replace ObamaCare a boost of momentum. — “Senator McCain looks forward to returning to the United States Senate tomorrow …

Discussion: Mediaite, CBS New York, Political Wire, Business Insider and SHUGERBLOG

Wall Street Journal:

Can Republicans Govern? — Some Senators want to talk forever about health care. Time for a vote. — Mitch McConnell is scheduling another showdown vote in the Senate—the third attempt—as early as Tuesday on a motion to proceed to debate on health reform.

Dylan Scott / Vox:
John McCain to return to Senate for pivotal health care vote

Discussion: Politico and Axios

Sam Baker / Axios: No one knows what the Senate's going to do. But it will do it today.

CNN:
John McCain to return to Senate Tuesday for health care vote

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and RedState

New York Times:
Senate Braces for Health Showdown With McCain on Hand but a Plan Unclear

Discussion: AOL, Daily Wire, IJR, The Week and The Daily Caller

Kevin Dolak / ABC News:
John McCain set for Senate return on Tuesday following cancer diagnosis

Discussion: The Week and Associated Press

Burgess Everett / Politico:
GOP seeks McCain's return for tight Obamacare vote

Discussion: The Atlantic

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
McCain to make dramatic return for Obamacare vote

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, Axios and Vox

Washington Post:

New communications director moves toward possible staff purge at White House … Anthony Scaramucci, the flashy financier President Trump hired to overhaul the White House communications operation, is exercising a broad mandate from the president and intends to follow through on threats …

Discussion: The Week, Political Wire, AOL and Booman Tribune

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Trump shames Sessions amid shake-up speculation — President Donald Trump continued his public humiliation of his attorney general on Monday, and West Wing aides wondered whether other senior officials would exit the administration following a shake-up in the communications department.

Discussion: Axios, The Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, AOL, CNN, CNBC, FOX40, The Root, Outside the Beltway and Conservative News Today

Graham Lanktree / Newsweek:
REX TILLERSON DEBATES QUITTING AFTER ‘UNPROFESSIONAL’ TRUMP BASHES JEFF SESSIONS

Discussion: Common Dreams, Daily Kos, The Hill, TheBlaze, AOL, Booman Tribune, ABC News, Jezebel, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, NTK Network, Washington Free Beacon and IJR

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Boehner predicts Republicans will ‘never’ repeal and replace Obamacare — Former House speaker John A. Boehner, who has mostly avoided public commentary since leaving Congress two years ago, told a business gathering last week that Republicans are “not going to repeal and replace Obamacare” …

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
In 24 hours, the Senate will vote on a mystery health care bill

Discussion: Health Affairs Blog, Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:

A pro-Putin California congressman has been accused of violating US sanctions on Russia — A new complaint filed with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleges that California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and his staff director, Paul Behrends, violated the Magnitsky Act when they tried …

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Boos for Obama as Trump speaks at Boy Scout jamboree — The crowd attending President Trump's Monday evening speech to the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree appeared to boo former President Barack Obama — at one point. — “By the way, just a question. Did President Obama ever come to a jamboree?”

Discussion: Raw Story, Shareblue, CNN, Business Insider, Mashable, The Root and The Week

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trumpcare Is the Worst-Designed Social Policy in History — One of the most powerful indictments of the Republican health-care strategy is that, after its plan underwent large, involuntary revisions Friday evening, party leaders did not even pause. In case you missed this news …

Discussion: The Atlantic

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Speaker Ryan: Mueller is ‘anything but’ a Dem partisan — (R-Wis.) on Monday defended special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the Justice Department's investigation into the Russia election interference, saying he's “anything but” a Democratic partisan.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Last Tradition, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze and Talking Points Memo

Addy Baird / ThinkProgress:
The White House's hypocritical attack on Robert Mueller's team

Discussion: The Atlantic and Raw Story

CNN:

Videos suggest Russian government may be arming Taliban — Two videos obtained by CNN suggest the Taliban have received improved weaponry supplied by the Russian government — Russia's Foreign Ministry declined to comment but has previously called claims they are arming the Taliban “utterly false”

Discussion: Defense One and The Daily Caller

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:

Trump Needs To Be Smart About How He Fires Mueller — Trump must eventually fire Robert Mueller, a partisan tool carrying water for his Establishment pals as he oversees an utterly corrupt “investigation” where the only person we actually know committed any wrongdoing is his bestest buddy Jim Comey.

CNN:

San Antonio driver says he didn't know immigrants were in truck — San Antonio (CNN)Crowded inside of the boiling tractor-trailer, they took turns taking breaths from a hole in the semi. Some fainted. Others banged on the wall to get the driver's attention but he kept going …

Discussion: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, ImmigrationProf Blog, Jezebel and ThinkProgress

Los Angeles Times:
Migrants trapped in sweltering truck in Texas were ‘lying on the floor like meat,’ driver says

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Matthew Sheffield / Salon:

Alt-right activists say Trump and Bannon are giving them “space to destroy” by keeping FBI away — Top alt-right podcasters say the Trump administration is deliberately backing off investigating domestic extremists — While the neo-fascist alt-right is not entirely happy with President Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

The Agony and the Anxiety of The New York Times — Despite a historic run, unease is now gripping the paper as a large-scale reorganization (physical, personnel, and psychic) looms. “The mood at the paper is poisonous in a way I've never seen it in the past 15 years,” as one editor put it.

more at Mediagazer »

Michael J. Malbin / What to expect …:

Does the opening predict a wave? — Congressional candidates filed their six-month financial reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on July 15. But the one number that leapt off the page had little to do with finance. It immediately made me think about wave elections.

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

Jason Chaffetz, who recently stepped down from the House of Representatives and into a Fox News gig, wondered why congressional investigators are focusing on Jared Kushner instead of Chelsea Clinton. — Kushner, the president's son-in-law and White House senior adviser …

Discussion: Mediaite and Hullabaloo