Friday Night Lights

Good News From the Parliamentarian:  Yesterday, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian, challenged several key elements of the Trumpcare bill including abortion coverage restrictions, a ban on payments to Planned Parenthood and changes to Medicaid coverage requirements indicating that in her view they are not budget issues and therefore should not qualify for passage through reconciliation, which at its core is a budget tool. Although this sounds arcane it is really significant because it means that these changes could only be implemented with sixty votes as opposed to the fifty-one (fifty plus Vice President Pence) needed for passage of the rest of Trumpcare.  MacDonough also suggested that she would block plans to allow states to spend any unused Medicaid funds on non-health projects, would not allow the provision that requires people with gaps in their health coverage to wait six months before buying a plan on the individual markets and would prohibit plans that drop some coverage requirements in later years.  Democrats also believe that she would not allow the state specific provisions that benefit Alaska and upstate New York that were included as sweeteners for Alaska Senator Murkowski and some upstate NY congressmen.  Senator Majority Leader McConnell still hasn’t revealed what version of health care legislation will be submitted for a vote on Tuesday but whether it’s a version of Trumpcare or a straight Obamacare repeal, the Parliamentarian’s ruling makes passing any health care legislation much more difficult.  Trump is right, health care is complicated.    

No More Spicey:  Sean Spicer resigned on Friday after Trump decided to appoint Anthony Scaramucci as the new White House Communications Director. Scaramucci, known as the “Mooch” is a former investment banker, hedge fund manager, Fox Business News commentator, author and occasional Trump surrogate.  He was also responsible for raising big bucks for Trump’s campaign and has been angling for a White House job for a while. Before getting the Communications gig, he was in a holding pattern at the Export-Import Bank.  Spicer and Chief of Staff Priebus vehemently opposed his hiring because of their reservations about his lack of relevant experience,  Bannon also expressed serious reservations.  The three were overridden by Ivanka, Jared and, most importantly, Trump.  Spicer stunned everyone by resigning immediately after the Mooch was appointed. The less than stellar Sarah Huckabee Sanders was appointed to fill Spicer’s shoes as press secretary.   In the press conference announcing his new role, the Mooch was charming, polished and obsequious as he expressed his undying love for Trump, so much so that he repeated the love part several times.  When asked if he agreed with Trump’s view that three million fraudulent voters had cast their votes for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election he responded if Trump believes it, it must be true.  A smoother talker in fancier duds but otherwise little has changed.  For the moment Priebus is clinging to his position but he may be next on the unemployment line.     

Rough Week for Sessions:  Last night the Washington Post reported that US intelligence agencies intercepted phone conversations between Russian Ambassador Kislyak and the Kremlin in which Kislyak reported discussing the presidential campaign and prospects for US-Russia relations under a Trump administration with then Senator Sessions during two of their meetings during the 2016 campaign.  Assuming Kislyak wasn’t embellishing his reports to earn brownie points with Putin, this is a bigly problem for Sessions. Sessions failure to mention meeting with Kislyak followed by his subsequent statements that his meetings were inconsequential and that he had no recollection of ever discussing the election or anything else with any Russians operatives is hardly a good thing. Back when Former FBI Director Comey testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee he said that one of the reasons that he didn’t go to Sessions with his concerns about Trump’s inappropriate requests was because he expected that Sessions would be recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Comey may have known about these intercepts. Earlier this week Trump expressed his frustration with Sessions because of his recusal from all things Russian so now it’s being suggested that the White House was the source for the WaPo story as part of an effort to further tarnish Sessions.  If  Sessions joins Spicer on that growing unemployment line, Special Counsel Mueller would get a new boss, assuming Trump could get another Attorney General through Senate confirmation.   

Canceled Dates: This one isn’t too surprising.  Don Jr and Paul Manafort’s lawyers have cut a deal to avoid having their clients appear in a high profile public hearing.  Instead of testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee next week both men have agreed to turn over documents and to be interviewed by staff in private in anticipation of future testimony.  Stay close to the dial or your i-phone app, there is still a chance for some must see TV next week.  Judiciary Chairman Grassley has subpoenaed a not very cooperative Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, to appear before the Committee.  Simpson’s firm produced the infamous dossier that contains some dicey but unverified information about Trump including details of his alleged p-date with prostitutes during a visit to Russia.   

Omitted Assets:  Jared Kushner is still expected to meet with the staff and leadership of the Senate Intelligence Committee next week and is now also scheduled for a similar meeting with the House Intelligence Committee.  Kushner seems to have real problems completing  forms.  Yesterday he submitted another revised ethics filing amended to include more than seventy assets that he “inadvertently” left out of his earlier financial filings. Apparently, the guy who is responsible for Middle East peace, the reinvention of government, updating technology and who serves as the shadow Secretary of State in his spare time is just not all that into details.