* Nicole LaFond reports that, since McConnell delayed the vote on BCRA (his Obamacare repeal bill), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Shelly Capito (R-WV) have joined Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dean Heller (R-NV) as moderates who are prepared to vote against the bill.
* Trump summoned GOP Senators to the White House today to talk over their healthcare bill. Who knows what they’re saying behind closed doors. But this is one of those pictures that’s worth 1000 words.
Best picture from the Trump health care meeting? pic.twitter.com/zAIiJv5qRW
— Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) June 27, 2017
* As we await what the Senate Republicans will do on health care, I thought a couple of pieces of twitter wisdom were worth sharing.
I’m unfamiliar with the economic theory that says tax cuts for billionaires trickle down to working people in the form of health insurance.
— Jason Kander (@JasonKander) June 26, 2017
Trumpcare would reduce the price of insurance the same way removing the doors and the engine would reduce the price of a car
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 24, 2017
* This story from David Fahrenthold is not major news. But it sure does speak to the lengths to which Donald Trump will go to lie in order to prop up his ego. This is NOT normal!
* Mark Joseph Stern isn’t holding back on what he thinks about the latest addition to the Supreme Court.
On Monday, Justice Neil Gorsuch revealed himself to be everything that liberals had most feared: pro-gun, pro–travel ban, anti-gay, anti–church/state separation. He is certainly more conservative than Justice Samuel Alito and possibly to the right of Justice Clarence Thomas. He is an uncompromising reactionary and an unmitigated disaster for the progressive constitutional project. And he will likely serve on the court for at least three more decades.
On the other end of the spectrum, Scott Lemieux writes that Sotomayor is one of Obama’s best legacies.
* Pew Research finds that, “U.S. Image Suffers as Publics Around World Question Trump’s Leadership.”
Although he has only been in office a few months, Donald Trump’s presidency has had a major impact on how the world sees the United States. Trump and many of his key policies are broadly unpopular around the globe, and ratings for the U.S. have declined steeply in many nations. According to a new Pew Research Center survey spanning 37 nations, a median of just 22% has confidence in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs. This stands in contrast to the final years of Barack Obama’s presidency, when a median of 64% expressed confidence in Trump’s predecessor to direct America’s role in the world.
* Finally, in case you don’t already know, I’m a huge fan of Jason Mraz. This is one of those songs where it helps to get comfortable, close your eyes and soak it all in.
