Overnight Healthcare: Ryan visits White House amid healthcare rubble
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) met with Vice President Pence and other senior officials at the White House on Monday as they map out a path forward after the disastrous collapse of their healthcare plan.
Ryan also spoke briefly with President Trump after meeting with Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to discuss their agenda, according to the Speaker’s office.
The meeting comes days after GOP leaders agreed to shelve the first major legislative initiative of Trump’s presidency, the American Health Care Act, after it ran into fierce resistance from rank-and-file Republicans.
The measure’s defeat sparked days of recriminations between the White House and Congress and left many wondering how Trump and Ryan would find progress with other large bills, such as tax reform. Read more here. http://bit.ly/2orNc60
White House won’t commit to defunding Planned Parenthood in spending bill
The White House refused to commit Monday to defunding Planned Parenthood in an upcoming must-pass spending bill, a sign it’s looking to avoid a government shutdown over the hot-button issue.
President Trump viewed the now-dead Republican healthcare bill as “an opportunity to defund” Planned Parenthood, according to press secretary Sean Spicer, who wouldn’t say whether the president would demand defunding in future legislation.
{mosads}”I don’t want to get ahead of our legislative strategy,” Spicer told reporters. “We’ll look at other opportunities, but this was definitely one that was a way to make that happen.”
The comments set a marker for talks on the government spending bill, which Congress must pass by April 28 to avoid a shutdown. Read more here. http://bit.ly/2osbmO4
Poe: Some Freedom Caucus members would vote against Ten Commandments
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who resigned Sunday from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, criticized the group Monday, saying some of its members would vote against the Ten Commandments.
“The Freedom Caucus has always been the opposition caucus … and now, when we are in the majority, it continues to be the opposition caucus against anything in the Republican Party,” Poe said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“We had not been included in the past, but we were included in the healthcare replacement bill.”
Poe said the group spent more than an hour with President Trump and members of the administration talking and making compromises for the American Health Care Act. Read more here. http://bit.ly/2nbtsUi
What we’re reading
Sen. Joe Manchin: Time for a new ‘war on drugs’ to tackle opioids (Stat News)
Why GOP state legislators are fighting to expand Medicaid (Vox)
Fact check: Trump says ObamaCare is exploding. It’s not (NPR)
State by state
Georgia to explore Medicaid changes after GOP health plan’s implosion (ajc.com)
Brownback’s office criticizes Medicaid expansion as Kansas Senate begins debate (Kansas City Star)
In case you missed it at The Hill
Lawmakers signal fight for healthcare reform is not over
Budget chief: ‘Powers that be in Washington’ won healthcare fight
Sanders will ‘absolutely’ work with Trump to lower prescription drug costs
Trump: Conservative lawmakers, groups ‘saved’ Planned Parenthood, ObamaCare
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