OnPolitics Today: Manic Monday

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It’s Monday, OP readers, and  there is so. Much. To. Talk. About. Today. 

So we’re just going to dive right into it.

For real this time

First off. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise: The latest Obamacare repeal is basically dead. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine officially came out against the Graham-Cassidy bill this evening, making her the third Republican to say they wouldn’t vote for the legislation. She joins Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. John McCain of Arizona in her dissent (though her vote appears to be based on a Congressional Budget Office score that says “the number of people with comprehensive health insurance that covers high-cost medical events would be reduced by millions.” The Senate’s special budgetary process that would allow them to pass healthcare legislation with only 50 votes (and Vice President Pence serving as the tiebreaker) expires on Saturday.

Time to move on, Republicans.

Son of a…

As is often the case, we don’t know what the president was expecting when he made a “son of a b—-” comment at a political rally to describe people who were kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. But it was probably not this: #TakeAKnee trending to show solidarity. Widespread protests on Sunday, whether it was kneeling, locked arms, or not going out on the field during the anthem at all. Today, the NFL stood behind its players. And the White House? It defended the president’s statement. “Look, this isn’t about the president being against anyone,” Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “But this is about the president and millions of Americans being for something, being for honoring our flag, honoring our anthem and honoring the men and women who fought to defend it.

#ButHisEmails

So. It turns out that Jared Kushner has a private email address that he’s been using to conduct official White House business. While it was set up during the transition, Kushner has totally used it since he became a federal employee. Which means those messages are subject to the Presidential Records Act. Which means that Kushner has to save them, all “fewer than 100” of them.

Kushner’s lawyer says that the Trump son-in-law hasn’t broken any laws, and that most of the messages were merely forwarded  news articles or political commentary, often initiated by someone else, but it’s still enough to raise red flags. Because, you know. #HerEmails.

Elsewhere in politicsland

• Supreme Court removes travel ban case from calendar pending new review

• House stalls on tax relief for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria victims that Sandy victims did not get

• Roy Moore vs. Luther Strange: Five questions on the Alabama Senate primary runoff

• Trump’s recent silence on Puerto Rico devastation has social media astir

• Sen. John McCain: Doctors gave me ‘poor prognosis’ on cancer fight

 

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