Healthcare bill’s collapse escalates Republican infighting
WASHINGTON: The failure by President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans to dismantle Obamacare has infuriated the party’s conservative flank and is intensifying intra-party warfare ahead of the 2018 US congressional elections.
Donors and activists upset by the collapse of the latest Senate healthcare bill said it hardened their determination to back conservative candidates in next year’s elections, even if that means ousting Republican incumbents.
“I am fed up. I’m beyond frustrated,” said Mica Mosbacher, a Houston- based Republican fundraiser, who added she was “extremely disappointed in Ted Cruz,” a Republican US senator from Texas who had threatened to oppose the latest healthcare bill because he wanted to see changes. Texas is scheduled to hold the first nominating primary of the midterm elections in March 2018.
Trump vowed during the 2016 election campaign to scrap the 2010 Affordable Care Act, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, which Republicans see as a costly government overreach. Democrats say it has extended health insurance to millions.
The latest bill to overturn Obamacare failed on Tuesday after three Senate Republicans, including moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul, said they could not support it. Republicans narrowly control the chamber by 52- 48.
In November 2018, all 435 seats of the US House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate will be up for election. In the Senate, that includes 23 Democrats and eight Republicans, with several in both parties in fights expected to be competitive.
If a large number of Republicans are forced to defend their seats against challengers from their own party in primary fights, Democrats will seek to exploit weakened candidates in the general election in their effort to wrest control of the House and Senate from Republicans.
A shift of either chamber into Democratic hands would make it even more difficult for Trump to pass his agenda of tax reform, toughening immigration laws and rolling back Obamacare. Republicans have not delivered a significant legislative win on any topic since Trump took office in January.
Mosbacher said she was “leaning toward supporting” Cruz’s primary opponent, Stefano de Stefano, even though she served as fundraiser for the incumbent’s 2012 campaign.
Whoever prevails in that fight would likely face Beto O’Rourke, a well- funded Democrat, in the general election. Texas last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1988.
The conservative group Club For Growth has already begun interviewing Republican primary challengers it will consider backing next year.
“We’ll continue to push for full repeal of Obamacare, and we’re disappointed Republicans have been unable to deliver on their seven-year promise,” said Rachael Slobodien, a spokeswoman for Club for Growth. — Reuters WASHINGTON: The Trump administration plans to admit up to 45,000 refugees to the United States in the fiscal year starting Oct 1, a former US official said, a ceiling that would keep admissions to their lowest level in over a decade.
The White House settled on the figure after a contentious debate between officials who wanted a lower ceiling and those who wanted a higher one, said the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
On one side of the debate were officials who tended to look at the issue through a domestic political prism given President Donald Trump’s focus on curbing immigration during the 2016 US presidential campaign.
On the other were foreign policy experts who argued that taking refugees into the United States is vital to ensure other nations keep their borders open.
The plan to set the cap at 45,000 was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal newspaper.
The former official, who favored a higher number, said the decision will undermine the US ability to persuade nations such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon that have accepted huge flows of Syrian refugees to keep admitting them as well as to convince donor nations to keep up financial contributions for refugees.
“We have no standing to play that role when we cut our own humanitarian assistance and when we are halving our refugee admissions,” said the former official.
In his two travel ban executive orders, Trump directed the United States to accept a maximum of 50,000 refugees for permanent resettlement in the fiscal 2017 year ending Sept 30, less than half the 110,000 President Barack Obama authorised.
In part because of court challenges to those orders, the United States ultimately accepted more than 50,000 refugees during the current fiscal year. According to State Department data, the United States took in 51,392 refugees through August.
If the United States accepts 45,000 in fiscal 2018, it would be the lowest level admitted since fiscal 2006, when it took in 41,223, according to State Department data.
A State Department spokesman declined comment on the 45,000 figure, saying only that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke would consult Congress yesterday.
“Each year, the president makes an annual determination, after appropriate consultation with Congress, regarding the refugee admissions ceiling for the following Fiscal Year. Secretary Tillerson and DHS Acting Secretary Duke will consult with Congress tomorrow,” he said. — Reuters
I am fed up. I’m beyond frustrated. Mica Mosbacher, a Houston-based Republican fundraiser