US Chamber takes lead in selling Trump, GOP ‘big, beautiful bill’ after Medicaid fight

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead in helping congressional Republican sell President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act to a skeptical public after this year’s bruising battle over deep Medicaid cuts tarnished the public image of President Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment.

The U.S. Chamber, one of the nation’s pre-eminent business groups, plans to hold 100 round-table discussions about the trillions of dollars in assorted tax cuts and tax incentiv...

ACA premiums set to spike 

*{box-sizing:border-box}body{margin:0;padding:0}a[x-apple-data-detectors]{color:inherit!important;text-decoration:inherit!important}#MessageViewBody a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}p{line-height:inherit}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{mso-hide:all;display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden}.image_block img+div{display:none}sub,sup{font-size:75%;line-height:0}#converted-body .list_block ol,#converted-body .list_block ul,.body [class~=x_list_block] ol,.body [class~=x_list_block] ul,u+...

Election 2028 is on — Democrats see opportunity and a wide open primary

The big field in the race for the 2028 presidential sweepstakes is already off and running. Two of the top Democrats vying for the job are former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The election of either one would address the urgency of putting a woman in the White House for the first time. 

Harris’s decision not to run for governor in her home state of California indicates she will make another White House run. But that’s not the only sig...

RFK Jr. ‘reviewing’ ouster of preventive task force members 

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he is “reviewing” whether to remove all members of an influential advisory committee that offers guidance about preventive health services. 

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is composed of medical experts who serve four-year terms on a volunteer basis. They are appointed by the HHS secretary and are supposed to be shielded from political influence. 

The task force reviews reams...

Why Democrats keep losing: Too many Baptists, not enough bootleggers

Democrats need alliances between Baptists and bootleggers. So do Republicans, but right now, they have plenty of those alliances, which is a key reason, and maybe the key reason, that they are riding so high.

Let me explain. In the twentieth century, the U.S. had fierce debates about laws restricting commercial activity on Sundays — above all banning the sale and purchase of alcohol. Many Americans favored those laws on moral grounds. They thought that ceasing secular work ...

Cooper’s North Carolina Senate bid will put Medicaid front and center

Democrats are hoping health care will be a winning issue across the 2026 midterm elections and see North Carolina as the top potential pickup opportunity in their long-shot play to regain control of the Senate.  

They think Cooper's record as governor — working with and pressuring the GOP-dominated Legislature across two terms until he could expand Medicaid — makes him the perfect messenger.   

In his campaign launch video, Cooper previewed what will likely be a c...

A blue wave in the 2026 elections? It’s not likely, and here’s why.

Democratic strategists have been counting the days to the 2026 midterms ever since Nov. 5, 2024. Republicans, meanwhile, have kept their foot on the gas since reclaiming full control of Washington this January, well aware that political winds rarely blow a political party's way after two years of unified governance.

But Democrats are bound to be disappointed at the 2026 midterm results, finding that the wave elections of old resemble little more than faint white caps off a qui...

Senate GOP must think ahead this time and remove the Senate parliamentarian now

During President Trump’s push for his "big, beautiful" budget bill, either a betrayal or a political blunder occurred as an unelected bureaucrat became the most powerful person in the U.S. Congress. Before we go any further with a new budget — a process that is already underway — that needs to change.   

Trump campaigned with the message that federal engagement on the abortion issue should be cut back. Although I disagree given the life-and-death stakes...

Six months in, Trump’s numbers are stronger than in his first term

Six months into his second term, President Trump and Republicans are in better shape than eight years ago.

Unquestionably, President Trump remains a divisive political figure. However, he has expanded his base and continues to hold it. In contrast, Democrats have been unable to capitalize on Trump’s political vulnerabilities and have lost ground compared to 2017.

With the House’s passage of his rescission package, Trump scored another major win. He ...

Democrats divided over looming government shutdown fight

Democrats are deeply divided over how hard to press their leverage with President Trump and his Republican allies on getting concessions in a bill to fund the government that needs to pass by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.

Senate Democrats held a tense lunch meeting Tuesday to discuss their plan for how to vote on the first spending bill to reach the floor — the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill — as well as their strategy for how to handle the end-o...