House Set To Vote On Obamacare Repeal Today, Comey Defends Pre-Election Decisions, And The Fatal Path To America

May 4, 2017 9:15 a.m.

Start your day with TPM.

May 4, 2017

The Gist: After eight years of railing against the Affordable Care Act, dozens of symbolic repeal votes, and weeks of struggling to put together a viable alternative despite controlling every lever of government, Republican House leaders said late Wednesday afternoon that they have finally secured the votes needed to pass their own health care overhaul. It is expected to be a nail-biter of a vote, and last-minute defections are possible.

Comey Forcefully Defends Sending Letter On Clinton Emails Before Election

The Gist: FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that it makes him “mildly nauseous” to think announcing the discovery of new emails potentially related to the agency’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server influenced the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. But he said that even in hindsight, he would make that same decision again.

Trump’s State Dept Taps Former Cadet Accused Of Multiple Sexual Assaults

The Gist: A staffer hired by the Trump administration for a prominent role in the State Department has been accused of sexual assault by five cadets at The Citadel military college, where he was a student, according to reports.

From The Reporter’s Notebook

House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has shied away from investigating President Donald Trump’s conflicts-of-interest, but the congressman was quick to criticize former President Barack Obama for reportedly accepting $400,000 for a speech. Chaffetz said that Obama accepting that sum for a speech after vetoing a bill to curb presidential pensions shows “hypocrisy.”

Agree or Disagree?

Josh Marshall: “You’re not hearing it a lot – or perhaps I’m just missing hearing it as clearly as I thought I would or should. But the new version of Trumpcare is actually worse than the old one. There’s every reason to think the number of people who lose coverage will be at least 24 million people and perhaps more. If you were worried about the fate of those 24 millions in the previous bill, worry more about this. “

Say What?!

“They do not have the big diverse populations that we have. They do not have the inner-city populations that we have.”

– Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) on Wednesday blamed America’s size, diversity and “inner cities” for its lack of universal health care.

BUZZING: Today in the Hive

From a TPM Prime member: “I am beginning to believe it may be the best thing to happen if the House passes this poisonous bill and takes the change in name to Trump Care and watches it get derailed in the Senate. Either way, the republicans will go home and tell their constituents that they got rid of their healthcare to the boos of the cheering crowds. This is so screwed up. The republicans tell us that they cannot go back home without repealing the ACA or they will be primaried. Well guess what? I would not be worried about being primaried but being opposed by any out spoken democrat that can talk to the people about not having healthcare.”

Have something to add? Become a Prime member and join the discussion here.

What We’re Reading

A Path to America, Marked by More and More Bodies (New York Times)

‘Straight Up Pork Barrel Politics’: How The Green Card Lottery Was Invented To Help The Irish (Washington Post)

Start your day with TPM.

TPM Staff

Have a tip? Send it Here!