Subject: Playbook Power Briefing: CBO says GOP bill would up uninsured by 22 million -- MUELLER expands probe towards Trump businesses -- MCCAIN tweets he’ll ‘be back soon’ -- SESSIONS says he will continue on as AG
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:51:10 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_6838887.xt.local>

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By ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman), ZACH MONTELLARO ([email-masked]; @ZachMontellaro)

        
Good Thursday afternoon. BREAKING -- "WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional Budget Office: Revised GOP health bill would increase number of uninsured people by 22 million in 2026." 

-- THIS DOES NOT help Senate Republicans in their quest to repeal and replace Obamacare. ADAM CANCRYN: "The CBO report does not include an analysis of Sen. Ted Cruz's amendment that would let insurers sell 'skinny plans' - health plans with fewer benefits that don't meet Obamacare insurance regulations - as long as they also sell ACA-compliant ones." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f93770df70debc3b3834226010db6bf8db81d4d200e8a7677667226f709051ed262925de8994b4c25793d7251043a163de

THE LATEST ON HEALTH CARE -- "Senate GOP's latest health care push sputters," by Jen Haberkorn, Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim: "A harsh reality is setting in among Senate Republicans: they're extremely unlikely to repeal Obamacare in the coming days. Republicans felt somewhat buoyed by Wednesday's White House meeting and a late-night senators-only gathering, which left them feeling like they're making progress and that nearly every GOP senator is trying to get to yes.

"But the math is increasingly working against them, with four Republican senators having announced opposition to starting debate - though the bill could further change - and more unannounced but likely nos. GOP leaders can only lose two Republicans and move forward. Sen. John McCain's diagnosis of a brain tumor also has the GOP one vote down, or at least leaves a huge question mark whether the beloved Arizona Republican would be able to make the trip back to Washington. ...

"Some Republicans are beginning to think that a failed vote - and the critical headlines and conservative blowback that would follow - may drive some senators back to the negotiating table. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still expected to hold a vote to try to begin debate on the repeal effort, likely on Tuesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f96f95e7e230a1ce1636e3f3e2c08c29eb23559f090505bf07e4241da3b46ae7a50f841d82ec45c441753b10fa262e2743 

SPOTTED IN THE CAPITOL THURSDAY -- Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum on the Senate side. They were not together.

STICKING AROUND -- "Sessions: No plans to resign after Trump criticism," by Josh Gerstein: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday he plans to stay on in his current job, even after President Donald Trump harshly criticized him a day earlier for recusing himself from the ongoing Russia investigation. 'I plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate,' Sessions said at a Department of Justice press conference. ... Asked how he could continue without Trump's confidence, Sessions did not appear to dispute that the president was displeased with him." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f91fa6e84329d0fd8ce6bf4da4cd76ecbae3bcbee76e5567d44234b5238ed7edb016f9d4f5d0d3e8b739dbe77408fbfa6f 

BLOOMBERG SCOOP -- "Mueller Expands Probe to Trump Business Transactions," by Greg Farrell and Christian Berthelsen: "The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year's election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump's businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.

"The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. Trump's businesses have involved Russians for years, making the boundaries fuzzy so Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be taking a wide-angle approach to his two-month-old probe. FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump's involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump's sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.

"Agents are also interested in dealings with the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross served as vice chairman before he became commerce secretary, as well as the efforts of Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law and White House aide, to secure financing for some of his family's real estate properties. The information was provided by someone familiar with the developing inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f952bb3dd613b835807339123947c71a4451d2216cd882a57910bdac4e3ce7c2a2ef30aec9f26399cf17c2573f7fb3599b 

MCCAIN TWEETS -- @SenJohnMcCain at 11:25: "I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support - unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by!"

CRUISING THROUGH -- "Wray's FBI nomination approved by Senate committee," by Seung Min Kim: "The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 20-0 in favor of [Trump's FBI pick Christopher] Wray, a former Justice Department official who has been in private practice for the last dozen years. His nomination now goes to the Senate floor, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he intends to get Wray confirmed before the August recess. 'He committed to doing the job by the book and without any regard to partisan political influence,' said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9eb67856de9e0c70c18985ea43cfe72c44214abfaf032767dbd43c371555bae622055cd87f3147cc5cdc243f7da6b29f8 

THE NEXT TURN -- "Hill investigators, Trump staff look to Facebook for critical answers in Russia probe," by CNN's Tom LoBianco: "Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, met with Facebook officials in California more than a month ago as part of his committee's investigation into potential collusion or election interference, and he's convinced the company can explain whether anyone from the Trump campaign helped Russians boost fake news articles targeting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Warner is testing the theory popular among Democratic operatives that Russia was behind spikes in fake news that were anti-Clinton and that Russia
 had help targeting those articles from U.S. political operatives. ... 

"A digital staffer who worked with the Trump campaign, Gary Coby, said Facebook would know exactly what the Trump campaign was doing -- and that the campaign was not coordinating with Russian operatives -- because Facebook staff worked side by side with the Trump digital campaign staff. 

"But both the Democrats and Trump's digital staff are likely to face a tough battle trying to get answers from Facebook, which has previously fought government requests citing personal privacy and free speech concerns. 'We've been in touch with a number of government officials, including Sen. Warner, who are looking into the 2016 U.S. Presidential election,' a Facebook spokesman told CNN. 'We will continue to cooperate with officials as their investigations continue. As we have said, we have seen no evidence that Russian actors bought ads on Facebook in connection with the election,' a reference to a line of inquiry Warner is investigating." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f994e041ea456409d9ad1c890b2326f44c2fd749668498cc8f514ab2f004c2517ef15cd6c0f67115f8af2e367273fa0100 

WHAT FOGGY BOTTOM IS READING -- "Treasury fines ExxonMobil $2 million for violating Russia sanctions while Tillerson was CEO," by Victoria Guida: "The Treasury Department said Thursday it is fining Exxon Mobil Corp. $2 million for violating sanctions related to Russia in 2014, when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was CEO of the company. In May of that year, the presidents of ExxonMobil's U.S. subsidiaries 'dealt in services of an individual whose property and interests in property were blocked,' Treasury said in a statement. They signed eight legal documents related to oil and gas projects in Russia with Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft OAO who had personally been sanctioned by Treasury's
 Office of Foreign Assets Control following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, according to the agency." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f93c2cb8580a73a8c49a0f2aa57ebc415e8a0bd3429d68c1ff237e4f3e42bb362163b3f30dda92b9869a40888ba20b5cb2 

MAN OF THE HOUR -- "Not Deep Throat: The Trump Scandal Figure Who's Too Open For His Own Good," by TPM's Allegra Kirkland: "In person, [Carter] Page appears as on-edge as he does during his frequent TV interviews. The Navy veteran periodically scanned the perimeter of the Starbucks from under the rim of a faded New York Yankees hat, lowering his voice to ensure no potential eavesdroppers could hear what he had to say. Page wouldn't discuss his personal life except to acknowledge that he has never married, saying he doesn't want anyone he names to end up on one of those 'wire diagrams' mapping out the connections the Trump team has to Russian operatives. And he said it 'goes without saying'
 that the investment management firm that he runs from a Midtown Manhattan co-working space, Global Energy Capital LLC, has lost business as a result of the investigations. Despite these preoccupations, Page is not concerned about the prospect of legal consequences for his foreign contacts." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9980d6b6f54c770bc8c25667f9e48e2490a056ce0b8a4a69d8733084bf389f5eb47828f21df77e8aae72b7e464e252044 

WE'LL SEE -- @elonmusk: "Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins."

SAM STEIN in THE DAILY BEAST -- "Team Trump Used Obamacare Money to Run PR Effort Against It": "Under Secretary Tom Price's stewardship, HHS has filmed and produced a series of testimonial videos featuring individuals claiming to have been harmed by Obamacare. Those "viral" videos have had decidedly limited reach, often gathering somewhere between 100 and 200 views each. But the Department has made a heavy investment in them nonetheless. To date, it has released 23 videos. A source familiar with the video production says that there have been nearly 30 interviews conducted in total, from which more than 130 videos have been produced. ... 

"Funding for those videos would come from the Department's 'consumer information and outreach' budget, which was previously used for the purposes of advertising the ACA and encouraging enrollment. The Trump administration has requested $574 million for this specific budget item, though HHS declined to detail how much it has devoted to specific line items. Two sources familiar with the videos say that HHS continues to draw money from the outreach fund, even though its objective has switched from promoting the ACA to highlighting the law's critics and its shortcomings. Getting the subjects to HHS' studio also cost taxpayer money. In this case, the White House itself found individuals, often
 through local news stories and Republican Party connections, and flew them to Washington, D.C., to participate in roundtables to discuss Obamacare. From there, they were whisked across town to HHS headquarters." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f999d6be3926a0e45cd8c0c9aa5f146280b3b8f9d50478d2ff9e8bf70983df83c7d4ee4fc85fcfe3d358adb3cb7180cd51 

TRUMP AT THE PENTAGON -- "Trump on more U.S. troops in Afghanistan: 'We'll see,'" by Jacqueline Klimas: "President Donald Trump, arriving at the Pentagon to huddle with national security leaders Thursday, said 'we'll see' if more U.S. troops are going to be sent to Afghanistan. ... 'And we're doing very well against ISIS. ISIS is falling fast, very fast,' he continued."  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9dee935d467f96a46d4f4d5c6edb7b1941da36113b5bdabe1ac8aa5202c193b3ec08599efe3b83fe7fe6700d32d2dd8a5

FOR THE TRUMP WIN COLUMN -- "Trump administration helps shutter massive online crime market," by Eric Geller: "The Trump administration and international partners have taken down the largest marketplace for illegal goods on a shadowy section of the internet known as the 'dark web.' The marketplace, AlphaBay, at one point had 200,000 users and 40,000 sellers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a press conference in Washington. In early 2017, more than 100 sellers offered the synthetic opioid fentanyl, and 238 offered heroin. Sessions said that AlphaBay sales had been traced to multiple opioid deaths in the United States." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f977cf11dd82aabca6c145e3d012f1aff4dd898b5a851ec3e9da891f4ee84424b6aecc6126a6616069a9b7f90252053780 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS ERIC? -- "Eric Trump lands in Scotland to take businessmen for round at Aberdeenshire golf links," by the Scottish Sun's Mary McCool and Sarah Daly: "Businessman Eric Trump, 33, touched down in Aberdeen with 30 businessmen as he prepares to play Trump International Golf Links at Menie. The vice-president of the Trump Organisation will also visit Turnberry and Doonbeg as part of the trip. The Trump jet was spotted by a local at Aberdeen airport earlier today." With two pix http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f91e8b8866f35594bde1247a88c1c849c7514f8d9ab948bbf3622f7f01ad75b9c126a3d735b89a5173a650c8d678c6a662 

CLICKER -- "A Guide to Russia's Diplomatic Properties in Washington," by Foreign Policy's Emily Tamkin and C.K. Hickey http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f96eecf7e5fce4e3f6a10542baa256ea5421ba083794e1550bb215d880497ebae8fee4e8c0a5022125171d05f77d6761a6 

FOR OBAMA ALUMS -- "After six months of Trump, Obama's legacy holds on," by Danny Vinik in The Agenda: "Trump promised to reverse his predecessor's policies. From health care to the Iran deal, they're largely intact." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f94128ed5d063daed2aceb5dec6831982704d2fce0b58d69bb99cf9e98250849bddebf405694df703f51bcbcb4883292a0

RIC GRENELL will be ambassador to Germany, per AP's Julie Pace. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f90289dfed25b536c9088982e01a1f5f98cc7b4d54823b61560fcf985ef84bac3f6ebde7feea2a14bce6335ff58757324a 

NEW BOOK -- JAMES CLAPPER, the former director of national intelligence under former President Obama, is writing a book that will publish in 2018. The book will be published by Viking. The release http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9a2f032db4baa0cb782dcfe97d7c0f5c96a9c127c877366da098eb5532c15343c9c278d8dbdbefca96217020f8d3eccbe 

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "Jake Tapper's Taliban Book 'The Outpost' Nabbed by Millennium Films (Exclusive)," by Tatiana Siegel  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f99674f8889361d1f8a4abea393108295477613495fd273b93ee44eae7d4d6d685de32c9737470cf8d1e5539789c45af2c 

DESSERT -- FUN CLIP from the Marx Brothers' 1935 comedy "A Night at the Opera," where a comically large amount of people cram into one room. Remind you of a certain meeting that's been in the news recently? http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f97122fafe67ef37ecc76372ca8ba694d648c93b0361a1ff8e6e44156ce673c19ba793f6a5da269957ca31d85989527afd (h/t Jay Branegan) 

TRANSITIONS -- Robert Rivkin will be the next deputy mayor of Chicago. He is currently a lawyer at the firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9623400bcdd2b4014dfbbb12e2576a82a06db604eb01ec67c6c221e7300d03841679a0eb1b7a7cd18f312428d12ed1c6e ... Tess Seger is joining the Iowa Democratic Party as its new communications director. She was previously at SKDKnickerbocker in LA and is also a GW grad. ... Chad Wilkinson is launching Liberty Media Strategies, a PR and crisis comms firm; he will continue as a consultant for CapitalHQ Public Relations and Breitbart News for the foreseeable future. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9387e26bae832f762fb053ff44af9338939667b07aa60068782df60c822a571c95d01c5ecaf241fc2fc1ed6ff56458507 

REMEMBERING ARNE PANULA -- The Catholic Information Center announced that their longtime director Fr. Arne Panula died last night. Details on the wake and funeral are forthcoming.

SPOTTED IN ASPEN last night at former Rep. Jane Harman's house at her annual party for speakers, moderators, and other guests at the Aspen Security Forum (http://bit.ly/2vmuYqZ) -- Harman wore an American flag dress: DHS Secretary John Kelly, John Brennan, Mike and Jeanine Hayden, John McLaughlin (who did a magic show for partygoers -- "he's pretty damn good actually," per a Playbooker at the party), Avril Haines, Wolf Blitzer, Michael Crowley, Ned Price, Raj De, Kori Schake, Andrea Mitchell, Julia Ioffe, Shane Harris, Michael Isikoff, Walter Isaacson, David Sanger, Ellen Nakashima, and Clark Ervin, who runs the forum. Tex-Mex food was served: ribs and chicken, enchiladas, corn on the cob,
 and margaritas.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Emily Cosci, director of scheduling for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Army officer Joseph Cosci welcomed their first child, Marshall Robert Cosci, on Monday. Pic  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9a1a8beaadf1cde0dc642ab9aedc2618f72860bba1cfefc6b9ae4c0e24cff2d7cd93652f545256a2e197f96d140c95112

ENGAGED -- "CNN Newsroom" afternoon anchor Brooke Baldwin recently got engaged to producer/director James Fletcher. He popped the question on her birthday at sunset in Hanalei Bay in Kauai. Fletcher worked on political campaigns and ads in the U.K. and is a David Cameron and Boris Johnson alum. He currently writes speeches and produces live events. She emails us: "We met at a holiday party in NYC Dec. 2015 -- which led to a dinner (he's from London). He was like... when can I see you again? I basically said -- in a month. I work for CNN. They send me to NOLA for New Year's, wanna come?! He said yes. So our first date was in NOLA. Then our second date was me going to London and that was
 kinda it." Instapic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f9f73d4758dba11e903bfd54306660177bea4f22cce1d19be2331c12e1acc73d59830f2ec41c3fd04fa3c4f22d631ca930 ... Pics right before he proposed http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f920c56d74b8597cdee55789eab04e59aca6a26ed237c582369fc9b0b9877b0370f872a34d1aec1f8a914193b88ff0da0c ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7a1bce564d5997f96238860c075118c32981aa6255b782287afe9caa047a42c34d693422b18e4910d81ca0b89acbfb65db06d97e053b8cc2

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