Progressive Breakfast

GOP May Bring Back AHCA

Republicans may put a new health care bill on the House floor. HuffPost: "The deal, brokered between House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Tuesday Group co-chairman Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), would allow states to get waivers eliminating the so-called community rating provision ― the rule that prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions ... Leadership is expected to discuss the amendment on a conference call this Saturday with GOP members ... Republicans are trying to say their amendment will cover people with pre-existing conditions [but] insurers would be able to effectively deny coverage by pricing sick people out of the market ... The amendment wouldn’t seem to address the big concerns moderates have expressed ― like raising the cap on how much insurers can charge seniors or cutting $880 billion from Medicaid."

Trump team eager for vote next week, reports CNN: "But the White House's timeline may be too optimistic, another source said. 'We'd all like to have it done by then, but not sure that's feasible ... I think they have that in mind. But we need to manage expectations. We've learned a lesson on arbitrary deadlines.'"

Curiel To Hear DREAMer Deportation Case

Homeland Security claims deported DREAMers left voluntarily. LAT: "Federal officials acknowledged Wednesday that Juan Manuel Montes’ protected immigration status was not due to expire until 2018 ... [But they] denied Montes’ claim in a federal lawsuit that he had been deported, saying Wednesday he had voluntarily left the U.S. for Mexico ... Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions ... said 'DACA enrollees are not being targeted,' ... [But] he stopped short of saying that Dreamers were guaranteed protection."

Montes case goes to judge at whom Trump leveled bigoted attack. CNN: "A federal judge whom President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized last year will hear the case of a man who claims he was unfairly deported by US authorities despite having protected status ... Trump claimed [Judge Gonzalo] Curiel could not impartially hear the [Trump University] case because of his [Mexican] background ..."

Trump Silent On Miners' Health Benefits

"Retired Miners Lament Trump’s Silence on Imperiled Health Plan" reports NYT: "Unless Congress intervenes by late April, government-funded health benefits will abruptly lapse for more than 20,000 retired miners ... The president has offered no public comment on the issue, even as he has rolled back regulations on mine operators ... 'To me, that was kind of a promise he did make to us,' [retiree David] VanSickle said about Mr. Trump, whom he supported last fall. 'He promised to help miners, not just mining companies.' ... [Sen. Mitch McConnell] introduc[ed] legislation to pay for a once-and-for-all extension of the health benefits ... the House Republican leadership has suggested that it, too, might support a permanent fix ... but only if it can settle on a revenue source to offset the full cost..."

"Donald Trump’s ‘Buy American’ Initiative Is a Lie" says The Nation's John Nichols: "...the executive order is full of loopholes that are designed to protect Wall Street interests and multinational corporations—at the expense of American workers and communities. The biggest of those loopholes involves the fact that dozens of countries currently get waivers that allow them to avoid following 'Buy American' policies ... Lori Wallach, the director Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch project [notes,] 'If President Trump is serious ... he could immediately withdraw with 60 days written notice from World Trade Organization procurement rules with no penalty and invoke his executive authority to reverse all 59 trade pact Buy American waivers.'"

Trump planning an executive order on steel imports. Politico: "President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as Thursday directing the Commerce Department to investigate whether steel imports into the U.S. should be blocked on national security grounds ... it’s unclear whether the order will single out a specific country or be global in scope."

Progressives See Opportunity in Montana

Progressives demand Democratic investment in Rob Quist. NYT: "...grass-roots liberals are not about to let party leaders lapse back into traditional red state, blue state assumptions. Instead, the Democrats’ enthusiastic base is demanding to compete on terrain that once seemed forbidding, a formula for disputes now and in 2018 about where to put the party’s money and field operations ... to the frustration of Democrats here, [Democrat Rob] Quist has received no defense from national third-party groups — and he’s running against [Greg] Gianforte, who was just beaten statewide [for governor.]"

DNC "unity tour" with Chair Tom Perez and Sen. Bernie shows "the strength and the seams" says W. Post: "...Perez and Sanders fell in and out of sync. Perez had spent weeks talking up Jon Ossoff ... Sanders was less interested in the Ossoff race. 'He’s not a progressive,' he said. He was endorsing Democrats based on their economic populism; they could differ from progressives on social issues but not on the threat of the mega-rich to American politics ... By Tuesday night, the tour was starting to click ...Perez himself introduced Sanders, and the senator told their audience to 'bring millions of people into the political process'..."

Breakfast Sides

WH may upend negotiations to keep government open. Politico: "The White House, under internal pressure to show legislative achievements ahead of the 100-day mark, is gearing up for a government shutdown fight to secure money for a border wall, more immigration enforcement officers and a bigger military ... the fight could lead to a government shutdown next Friday ... Officials could also strike a one-week compromise, giving them more time for a broader agreement."

House committee to hold Wednesday hearing on gutting Dodd-Frank. The Hill: "The [Financial Services] committee will discuss [Chairman Jeb] Hensarling’s CHOICE Act [which] would eliminate many key provisions of Dodd-Frank, while making others almost unrecognizable ... The bill would eliminate the 'too big to fail' label [that] subjects firms to tougher federal oversight and regulation ... Hensarling’s bill would also significantly reduce the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau..."

Bloomberg launches three-part series, "How a Melting Arctic Changes Everything": "Many scientists who study the Arctic say that there’s simply no way such dramatic change at the top of the world can avoid affecting life below it. There’s already a cliche: What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic."