Trump impeachment: House prepares for crucial vote amid whistleblower row – live

Fury erupts over Republican naming the alleged whistleblower who triggered the congressional investigation into Trump and Ukraine

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The House has passed a major piece on healthcare legislation during the Judiciary committee impeachment hearing break.

The bill, HR 3, passed by 230 votes to 192 mostly along party lines. It would lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing government to negotiate prices with manufacturers. It makes major changes to the US government’s Medicare program by capping out of pocket drug cost expenses under to the program to $2,000 and creates new dental and vision benefits.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill would cap Medicare recipients’ out-of-pocket costs for medicines at $2,000 a year. It would use about $360 billion of its projected 10-year savings from lower drug costs to establish Medicare coverage for dental care, hearing, and vision, filling major gaps for seniors.

But the legislation has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, and the White House has issued a veto threat. Still, Democrats saw a victory in the message their bill sends to voters.

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Thursday accused her more moderate rivals of failing to stand up to the rich and pledged to fix a “rigged” US economy, as she sought to re-energize her stalled campaign.
Warren delivered pointed criticisms aimed at several others vying to win the Democratic nomination to face Donald Trump in the 2020 election, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Reuters writes.

In a speech to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Warren also faulted unnamed Democrats for soft-pedaling their rhetoric for political reasons.

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House releases transcripts from key witnesses in Trump impeachment inquiry – live

Committees release depositions with Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley and say Volker and Sondland transcripts will follow

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8.45pm GMT

Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield has cast doubt over the feasibility of Elizabeth Warren’s payment plan for Medicare for all.

“At a...

‘I took a stand’: the centrist Democrat navigating impeachment in a divided district

Abigail Spanberger caught in delicate balance of advancing policy agenda and ensuring Trump is held accountable

At a middle school auditorium three hours south of the capital, where an intensifying impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump consumes all aspects of political life, the Virginia congresswoman Abigail Spanberger greeted a restive crowd of constituents with a PowerPoint presentation on the American system of government.

Related: Make no mistake: Medicare for All would c...

Trump suggests House intelligence chair should face ‘arrest for treason’ – live news

  • Trump hits out at Adam Schiff over impeachment inquiry
  • Sanders to roll out new proposal on chief executive pay

Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator, has written a Washington Post op-ed imploring fellow members of his party to oppose Trump’s re-election.

Two years ago I stood in the Senate chamber and said: ‘There are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles.’ ...

Now, two years later, it is my former Republican Senate colleagues who have a decision to make. Or, as I see it, two decisions to make. The first is difficult; the second is easy. ...

“TrumpCare” does not exist – this has not stopped some firms from advertising insurance products under this banner, according to a new report from Axios.

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House committee to vote on impeachment procedures – live

House judiciary panel to consider procedures for future hearings in first step towards possible impeachment of Trump

The Trump administration has reportedly given up efforts to write an Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) replacement bill.

After campaigning to repeal the law for eight years, Republicans have struggled to piece together a cohesive strategy for caring for the staggering 27.5m Americans locked out of the healthcare system.

A little live fact-checking from the Guardian’s reporter Joan Greve.

It appears this is the Al Green quote (from May) that Trump is referring to, which is different in both wording and meaning than the president claims here. https://t.co/FdpxlXsJeY pic.twitter.com/zlN1iTKrva

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Trump cancels key services for unaccompanied child migrants – live

Officials say language classes and recreation programs for immigrant children staying in federal shelters ‘not directly necessary’

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4.19pm BST

The Trump administration is canceling English classes, legal aid and recreational programs for unaccompanied immigrant minors staying in federal shelters, the Washington Post reports.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement is wit...