Case due before court seeks to strike down landmark Affordable Care Act – which could leave millions of Americans adrift
This month, Congress is expected to begin confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s nominee for the supreme court, Amy Coney Barrett. If confirmed, she could be the decisive vote in a case being heard days after the election, which seeks to strike down the landmark Affordable Care Act – a move that could leave millions of Americans without healthcare in the middle of a pandemic.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett: what will she mean for women's rights?
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US politics
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Frmo Erum Salam in Houston and Sam Levine in New York:
Texas is already one of the hardest places in America to vote, and Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, on Thursday made it even harder.
Related: Outrage as Texas governor orders closure of multiple ballot drop-off sites
A procedural vote on a bill that would stop Trump’s Justice Department from intervening in a lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act has failed.
In a rare move, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a procedural vote to consider the measure, in an attempt to force Republicans – many of whom had said they support protections for people with pre-existing conditions – to prove it with their votes. The bill would “protect the health care of hundreds of millions of people of the United States and prevent efforts of the Department of Justice to advocate courts to strike down the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” per Senate Democrats.
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Democrats on the attack after Trump tax return revelations – live
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5.21pm BST
In her MSNBC interview, House speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized Senate Republicans for moving forward with the supreme court nomination of ...
Trump says overturning Roe v Wade ‘certainly possible’ with Amy Coney Barrett – live
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5.29pm BST
Biden spoke briefly then answered a f...
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Donald Trump said that Medicare beneficiaries will soon be receiving a $200 card in the mail to help them afford their prescriptions.
“Nobody’s seen this before. These cards are incredible,” Trump said. “I will always take care of our wonderful senior citizens.”
While unveiling his “America First Healthcare Plan” in a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, Donald Trump is veering away from healthcare and is trying to paint the Democratic party as “socialism”.
“Under the Democrats plan, costs would skyrocket,” he said. “Seniors, they’ve been paying their entire lives.” Trump said, seeming to talk about healthcare, but then seemed to veer off saying that the Democrats support “socialism and open borders”.
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Trump had us thinking mainstream Republicans were moderate. How naive | Emma Brockes
Mitt Romney and his ilk were once critics of the president. But now, when it suits them, they’re backing him again
One unlikely effect of Donald Trump being in office has been a rise in the reputation of more moderate Republicans. In 2012, when Mitt Romney was running for president, he seemed like the incarnation of monied interests – a man who would defend beyond all other principles the right of the American millionaire to be taxed at 13%. He was out of touch, and cynically motivat...
Trump says he will announce supreme court pick ‘Friday or Saturday’ – live
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3.27pm BST
In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Democrats are framing the supreme court battle as a fight to protect ...
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3.08pm BST
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death adds even more weight to November’s elections, with both Democrats and Republicans saying that voters will not only decide the presidency but the lo...
Why is a Trump official charging taxpayers thousands for a ‘girls’ night’?
In 2018, Seema Verma spent $2,933 on a girls’ night, according to a 17-month investigation by congressional Democrats – but it isn’t the worst of her claims
They say money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a really expensive girls’ night – which is exactly what Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, has been spending on – and charging the taxpayer for it too.
In 2018, Verma spent $2,933 organizing a “girls’ night” at a reporter’s house and char...
Trump heads to Michigan as row over Woodward coronavirus revelations continues – live
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Here’s where the day stands so far:
Senior administration official Seema Verma is facing questions over her consultant fees that were paid with taxpayer dollars.
Politico reports:
When Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, went to a reporter’s home in November 2018 for a ‘Girl’s Night’ thrown in her honor, taxpayers footed the bill to organize the event: $2,933.
When Verma wrote an op-ed on Fox News’ website that fall, touting President Donald Trump’s changes to Obamacare, taxpayers got charged for one consultant’s price to place it: $977.
That Seema Verma is still running CMS says everything that needs to be said about how seriously this administration takes shameless graft and transparent corruption from its own appointees—which is to say, not at all:https://t.co/f8PD9LNu3E
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