Trump’s Federal Reserve pick withdraws from consideration – live

Stephen Moore, economist beset by legal and financial issues, pulls out following multiple reports by the Guardian on his past

  • Trump’s Fed pick underpaid ex-wife’s alimony for years – exclusive
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8.26pm BST

While Trump has often claimed to want to provide Americans healthcare, his administration has been pushing to gut the Affordable Care Act, best known as “Obamacare...

Medicare for All: activist dying of ALS testifies via eye movements at hearing

‘My story is tragic but not unique,’ Ady Barkan tells lawmakers as he pushes for healthcare overhaul

Ady Barkan has lost his ability to speak, but he has not lost his voice.

On Tuesday, the 35-year-old lawyer and activist, who is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, testified at a “historic” Capitol Hill hearing on Medicare for All.

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Elizabeth Warren’s plan to end student debt is glorious. We can make it a reality | Astra Taylor

We fully support the 2020 nominee’s student debt relief proposal. But to make it happen, we’ll need to kick our efforts into higher gear

This week, Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, announced a proposal to cancel student debt for millions of people and make public college free. This is a stunning, visionary plan that would transform our educational system and dramatically improve millions of people’s lives.

But like every other p...

Bernie Sanders boosted by Fox News town hall broadcast – live

The 2020 presidential candidate showed his brand of democratic socialism could have traction in Trump country

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1.59pm BST

Hello and welcome to our live blog coverage of the race to 2020. The political world is marveling this morning at how spectacularly Bernie Sanders upended expectations last night that his appearance in a Fox News town hall would somehow ...

Barack Obama represents the old Democratic party | Bhaskar Sunkara

The former president says he’s worried about ‘purity’ tests in the Democratic party. What he’s really worried about is his surrogates losing control of the party

Barack Obama is worried about the Democratic party. This weekend, he told a crowd at an Obama Foundation event in Berlin that the party is becoming a “circular firing squad” targeting those “straying from purity” on certain issues.

Leading figures around the party have indeed moved to the left since he left office two ...

The Hill to Die On review: Trump, Ryan and a Republican dumpster fire

Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer deliver a deeply sourced tale of ineptitude, cowardice and other common political traits

Donald Trump is now going all in for Obamacare repeal. His latest picks for the Federal Reserve include Stephen Moore, a tax-dodging deadbeat dad, and Herman Cain, a guy with a track record of alleged sexual harassment. Apparently, the president has learned little from the Republicans’ 2018 shellacking at the hands of America’s soccer moms.

Related: Trump float...

White House reversed more than 25 security clearance denials, says whistleblower – live

  • Security adviser Tricia Newbold made revelation last month
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6.45pm BST

Joe Biden’s spokesman hit back at media coverage of the former vice president’s treatment of women, stating photos alleging to show inappropriate behavior on Biden’s part are a smear campaign led by “right wing trolls”.

These smears a...

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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Judge blocks work requirements for Medicaid in Arkansas and Kentucky

Judge strikes blow to Trump administration, citing unresolved obstacles to getting healthcare in the states

A federal judge has ruled that Medicaid work requirements undermine the program’s mission of providing healthcare for the needy, dealing a blow to the Trump administration.

The US district judge James E Boasberg in Washington DC blocked work requirements for low-income people in two states, Arkansas and Kentucky, on Wednesday. He found that the states’ requirements pose numerous obstacles to getting healthcare that have gone unresolved by federal and state officials.

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