From victory to vengeance: Trump scents blood in 2020 fight

The president celebrated the Mueller report – but then his latest effort to invalidate Obamacare left some feeling he ‘stepped all over that message’

It felt like a victory lap. At a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday night, surrounded by a sea of red Make America Great Again hats, a defiant Donald Trump held the podium before a raucous crowd.

Related: Trump Fed pick was held in contempt for failing to pay ex-wife over $300,000

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Trump’s push to repeal Obamacare prompts Republican turmoil – live

“I’ll take the usual please, Donald”:

The Fake News Media is going Crazy! They are suffering a major “breakdown,” have ZERO credibility or respect, & must be thinking about going legit. I have learned to live with Fake News, which has never been more corrupt than it is right now. Someday, I will tell you the secret!

Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border!

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the day’s political news.

•Republicans are said to be in turmoil over the Donald Trump’s push for Obamacare to be dismantled in the courts. Vice-president Mike Pence and new attorney general Bill Barr are among the skeptics, according to the New York Times, with concerns that scrapping the Affordable Care Act could be a boon for Democrats in 2020. On Wednesday House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly told his colleagues that Trump’s push made no sense. McCarthy is holding his weekly press conference at 11.30am, and may elaborate.

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Trump’s latest healthcare push exasperates Republicans – live

Key party member reportedly tells president renewed plan to scrap Affordable Care Act ‘makes no sense’

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9.00pm GMT

8.45pm GMT

Bringing this to readers just in case – in the unlikely event! – that you have not seen it, an impassioned speech from AOC on the Green New Deal (which, actually, is more popular than Republicans would ...

Remember when Republicans vowed to be the party to protect pre-existing condition coverage?

After the president and Republicans repeatedly promised to protect people with pre-existing conditions, the Trump administration on Monday evening said it supports a federal judge’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional, adding that it will seek to repeal the sweeping health care law in its entirety.

The Justice Department filed a brief letter in the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit telling the court that it agrees with Judge Reed O’C...

BREAKING: Bill Barr’s Justice Department just gave the middle finger to the rule of law

Last December, a Republican judge named Reed O’Connor handed down an opinion purporting to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. The case, Texas v. United States, was brought by several Republican officials who manipulated the process used to assign judges to cases in order to get this case into O’Connor’s courtroom.

O’Connor, a former Republican Capitol Hill staffer, has a history of striking down policies supported by Democrats on highly dubi...

Trump denies white nationalism is growing threat – live

President disagrees far-right threat is rising when asked about deadly New Zealand mosque attack. Follow the latest US politics news

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8.17pm GMT

More from Donald Trump’s remarks before vetoing the congressional resolution to block his national emergency at the southern border, where he doubled down on his portrayal of immigrants as invaders and criminals:

He called it...

Fox News condemns host Jeanine Pirro’s attack on Ilhan Omar – live

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s advisers are skeptical to say the least about his potential presidential bid.

De Blasio, who traveled to South Carolina this weekend, has said he won’t rule out jumping into the already crowded 2020 Democratic primary field.

Donald Trump will be unveiling his proposal for the federal budget today.

The president’s budget doesn’t carry the weight that it once did, Reuters reports. Congress is expected to largely ignore it. The proposed budget for 2020 comes a month after its deadline, which the White House has blamed on the government shutdown.

Trump’s plan for the 2020 budget year will propose cuts to many domestic programs favored by lawmakers in both parties but leave alone politically popular retirement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Washington probably will devote months to wrestling over erasing the last remnants of a failed 2011 budget deal that would otherwise cut core Pentagon operations by $71 billion and domestic agencies and foreign aid by $55 billion. Top lawmakers are pushing for a reprise of three prior deals to use spending cuts or new revenues and prop up additional spending rather than defray deficits that are again approaching $1 trillion.

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Pence attacks ‘hard-left’ Democrats in rant against socialism – live updates

Vice-president criticizes Green New Deal and Medicare for All and claims choice in next election is between ‘freedom and socialism’

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8.47pm GMT

The Democratic-led House oversight committee has issued a warning to Donald Trump’s counsel, demanding that the White House turn over documents related to security clearances for some of the president’s close advisers.

Elija...

Trump ‘unhappy’ with new shutdown deal – live updates

A House vote on the border security deal to avoid another government shutdown could come as early as tomorrow according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Hoyer says Hse could vote on border security pkg "maybe as early as tomorrow"

A number of Democrats will unveil legislation on Wednesday that will allow people between the ages of 50-64 to buy into Medicare. The idea of expanding Medicare has long been popular among Democrats. There were past proposals to allow people over 55 to buy in and, on the left, Medicare for All has become a rallying cry.

A new name to add to your Democratic health proposal lexicon: “Medicare at 50.” pic.twitter.com/50kdCCp4MQ

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