Welcome to the online version of Of the policy desktopA night bulletin that provides the latest report and analysis of the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign.
Happy Friday! In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur points out that an imminent deadline for Obamacare is dividing Republicans in Capitol Hill. In addition, Kristen Welker breaks down the political consequences so far of the Jeffrey Epstein saga. And Scott Bland answers this week’s reader’s question about the redistribution efforts of Texas Republicans.
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– Adam Wollner
The next great medical care fight that is dividing the Republicans
By Sahil Kapur
After approved the megabill of President Donald Trump that included steep cuts to Medicaid, the Republicans have another great medical care fight in their hands.
The leaders of the Republican party face increasing calls from their members to extend a fund cube for the low -price health care law that will expire at the end of this year, since some seek to avoid the increases of insurance premiums and millions of Americans who lose their health coverage.
But the cause faces the opposition of the conservatives who hate Obamacare and do not want to lift a finger to protect it. Some argue that it would be too expensive to continue with premium tax credits, which cost more than $ 30 billion per year and were initially adopted as part of a COVID-19 response.
The budgetary office of the non -partisan congress projects that around 5 million Americans will lose their insurance by 2034 if the money expires.
The division: The representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of PA-PA., That represents a swing district that Trump lost in 2024, said that Congress should continue those fiscal loans from ACA to avoid price increases.
“I think we have to be doing everything to keep the low costs in all areas: medical care, edible, energy, all of the above. So I’m currently working to address that while we talk,” he said.
But the representative Andy Harris, R-MD., President of the Freedom Caucus of the Hard House on the right, said that “absolutely” wants that financing to end.
“It will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. I can’t pay it,” he said. “That was a policy of the Covid era. Newsflash to America: Covid is over.”
For now, the main Republican leaders maintain their dry dust on whether, or how, they will address the problem.
“I think that reaches the end of the calendar year, so we will have a discussion on the subject later. But it has not yet emerged,” said the president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, Republican of La-La. “But it’s on radar.”
A half -period warning: The veterans Republican surveyers Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward recently published a memorandum that warns that extending the tax credits of medical care is widely popular, even with “solid majorities of Trump’s voters and [s]Ala voters. “They warned that the Republican party will pay a” political fine “in competitive districts in the mid -period elections of 2026 if the financing expires in time.
Read more from Sahil →
Republicans prepare for the political impact of the Epstein saga
Kristen Welker analysis
The Jeffrey Epstein saga is the political headache that will not disappear for President Donald Trump, since the dripping of new reports about their last relationship with the convict sexual offender and the repeated attempts to divert have only fed the story.
It is the first time that we have really seen Trump’s base with him to this point. Although the impulse of gathering around its leader remains as each new story breaks, regardless of how Trump tries to change the subject, the calls to his administration to free more information from the Epstein archives are only becoming stronger.
The problem transcends the policy: it is a devastating reminder of the victims of the crimes committed by Epstein and those that allowed it.
As for how Capitol Hill is being developed, the Democrats and even some Republicans are trying to keep Trump’s feet on fire. Both parties believe that the Republican Party could pay a political price on the subject, since they seek to defend their majorities from Congress in the marshes next year.
That includes representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., One of our guests at “Meet The Press” this Sunday.
“People will be apathetic again. They will say, we choose President Trump. We gave him the majority in the Chamber and the Senate, and they could not even release evidence from a sex trafficking ring.
And the Democrats, including representative Rost Khanna de California, another of our guests this Sunday, argue that the issue has relevance on multiple fronts. They notice that divides Trump and his base while making a relatively popular attraction for transparency, a broader democratic attack piece that the administration is not being open with the US people.
While it is not surprising that the Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove how the Trump administration is handling Epstein’s archives, according to a recent survey from the University of Quinnipiac, 71% of the independents also disapprove. And the Republicans are approximately divided, with 40% approval and 36% disapproval of the management of the administration problem.
The political cost for Republicans is not yet clear. Will the enthusiasm of the voters depress that Republicans are fighting to motivate so that Trump is not on the ballot? Will the party force the defense at a time when you need to consolidate the public feeling about its taxpieces and historical expenses, which the Democrats are already assembling as a key problem in the middle of the period? Could the Democrats exaggerate their hand if you eclipse your message on the most important topic for many voters, the economy?
We will discuss this and more about “Meet The Press” this Sunday. In addition to Khanna and Massie, the president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, R-La., And Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C. will also join us.
✉️ Mailbag: even the redistribution of districts is larger in Texas
Thanks to all those who sent us an email! This week’s reader’s question is about the attempts of the Republicans to draw new Maps of Congress in Texas.
“Is it legal what Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans want to do for Trump?”
To respond to that, we turn to the Editor of the Senior Scott Bland policy. Here is your answer:
The redistribution of districts occurs every decade after the decenal census, so that each State has representation in the House of Representatives that reflects its official population and each district in a state has the same number of people.
But this is not the first time someone moves to change the maps in the middle of the decade.
In fact, this is not even the first time that happens in Texas. In 2002, Texas Republicans obtained total control of the state legislature, and decided the following year to draw a new map to replace one that had been imposed during that decade, and increase the advantage of the Republican Party in the State.
“I am the majority leader and we want more seats,” said Texas Republican Republican, journalists at that time.
However, what flies in Texas does not necessarily fly everywhere. The Colorado Republicans also tried to redraw maps in their state in 2003, but the Supreme Court of the State ruled that the State Constitution forbade to visit the maps more than once per decade.
While the Democrats are anxious to fight against the effort of the Republican Party to draw more red seats in Texas, such obstacles could get in their way. As the president of the New York Democratic Party, Jay Jacobs, he told Politico this week: “I understand those in New York that they are seeing what is happening in Texas and Ohio want to compensate for their unfair advantage.”
But, he added, “the [state] The Constitution seems quite clear that this process of redistribution of districts must be done every 10 years. “
🗞️ The other main stories today
- 🗣️ Working for the weekend: The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said he will hold commercial conversations with Trump in Scotland on Sunday. Read more →
- ➡️ Santos Saga: Former representative George Santos, RN.y., informed the prison, beginning a sentence of more than seven years after declaring himself guilty of a list of federal charges that included electronic fraud, identity theft and money laundering. Read more →
- ⚖️ In court: The Trump administration sued New York City for its “sanctuary” laws, continuing a month effort to take energetic measures against localities that try to protect immigrants in the United States illegally from federal detention efforts. Read more →
- 🛣️ On the way again: Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit a steel plant in Canton, Ohio, Monday as part of his efforts to promote the “great and beautiful bill.” Read more →
- 🎰 The player’s remorse: Some main Republicans regret having inserted a tax increase on players in Trump’s Megabill, with several legislators who supported the legislation that now asked to retreat that policy. Read more →
- 🗳️ Campaign current: Trump issued two new guaranteed Senate candidates: former representative Mike Rogers in Michigan and the president of the National Republican Committee, Michael Whatley, in North Carolina.
- 🚫 Act of high wires: The former Barack Obama White House assistants are dealing with how to contain the accusations of unprecedented “betrayal”, the National Director of Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has leveled, even when they download them as Asininos. Read more →
- Follow the updates of live policy →
That’s all of the politics desk for now. Today’s bulletin was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan EBS.
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