The Hill

Whole Hog Politics: What do Democrats really want?

News

On the menu: Tillis draws a top Dem opponent; Paxton, Cornyn headed for brutal battle; old is out for Dem challengers; fat suits; sign of the times 

Politics is like investing or shooting skeet: You don’t want to be on the target, you want to be just ahead of it.

In our crazy, fugazi, reverse-engineered parliamentary system, the principal questions at all times are which party will control the White House and then whether the president can eke ...

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Senate GOP divided over House demands for spending cuts

News, Senate

Senate Republicans are deeply divided over demands by House conservatives to cut at least $1.5 trillion, and possibly more, from the federal budget over the next decade, putting Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) in a tough position.

Thune acknowledged to reporters Thursday that his Senate GOP colleagues are divided over how much to cut from the federal budget to offset the cost of extending President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and other Trump priorities.

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Trump’s right that the system is rigged, but he’s not helping

congress, Donald Trump, healthcare, medicaid, Medicare, News, Opinion

I’m a Black woman with a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology, spent 10 years working for Congress. I now work for a philanthropy that believes diversity, equity and inclusion are among this nation’s greatest strengths.

So President Trump and I don’t have much in common, except for two things. First, we’re both from Queens, so we’re not afraid to say what’s on our minds. Second, we both agree that the government as it’s currently constructed isn’t working for everybody.

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Conservative group launches ads supporting ACA tax credits

Donald Trump, health care, News, obamacare
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Trump is disrupting everything — why isn’t Congress doing anything? 

News, Opinion

Much of what we know about President Trump's leadership is revealed by his personal behavior. For example, during his first month in office, while Elon Musk conducted mass firings and canceled government services to cut spending, Trump spent nearly $10.7 million of taxpayer money to play golf at his properties. 

The Department of Government Efficiency hasn't mentioned this. HuffPost calculated the expenditure based on Trump's tax-supported golf outings during his...

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Dr. Oz takes the helm of CMS

Donald Trump, health care, medicaid, Medicare, News
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Senate confirms Oz as head of CMS along party lines

health care, medicaid, Medicare, News, Senate

The Senate has confirmed Mehmet Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), making him the head of Medicaid at a time where its funding is at risk of being severely cut.

The Senate voted 53-45 along party lines to confirm Oz.

The heart-surgeon-turned-celebrity-physician faced intense questioning by Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee. Oz often dodged providing specific answers, providing generalities.

The fo...

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Senate Republicans eye budget resolution vote this week with reduced spending cuts

News, Senate

Senate Republicans are hoping to vote on a budget resolution this week that would pave the way for President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” encompassing tax cuts, border security and energy extraction.

Senators say the resolution calls for far fewer budget cuts to offset the cost of desired tax cuts than the analogous bill passed in February by the House, setting up a fight between the chambers about how much the legislation could add to the deficit.

The House and Sen...

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Senate Republicans eye budget resolution vote this week with reduced spending cuts

News, Senate

Senate Republicans are hoping to vote on a budget resolution this week that would pave the way for President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” encompassing tax cuts, border security and energy extraction.

Senators say the resolution calls for far fewer budget cuts to offset the cost of desired tax cuts than the analogous bill passed in February by the House, setting up a fight between the chambers about how much the legislation could add to the deficit.

The House and Sen...

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A ‘current policy’ budget baseline would have disastrous consequences

Congressional Budget Office, News, Opinion

Some Republicans in Congress have proposed changing the budget reconciliation process to begin using a “current policy” baseline that ignores expirations under law, instead of the traditional “current law” baseline.  

This would be a serious act of fiscal irresponsibility, making it easier for either party to circumvent important budgetary guardrails, thereby accelerating the growth of our national debt by many trillions for years to come.   

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