AHCA CBO Score Squeezes The Senate, A GOP Candidate Allegedly Body-Slams A Reporter, And Advertisers Ditch Hannity

May 25, 2017 Top Stories --------------------------------------------------------------- [5 Points On How The New O’Care Repeal CBO Score Squeezes The Senate]( The Gist: That CBO report has now landed, and it doesn’t make GOP senators’ lives any easier. Wednesday’s report re-enforced the many problems and ugly trade-offs in the House bill that Senate Republicans have been struggling with for months. It also dropped in their laps a new problem that was a result of an amendment added to the House bill that was scored for the first time in Wednesday’s CBO report: What to do about people with pre-existing conditions, whose protections under the ACA are significantly rolled back in a provision that allow states to opt out of Obamacare’s insurer mandates? [Montana GOP Candidate Charged After Allegedly Body-Slamming Reporter]( The Gist: Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate to fill the open U.S. House seat in Montana, was charged with misdemeanor assault on Wednesday night after he allegedly body-slammed a reporter. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s office announced the charge in a statement on Wednesday night and said that Gianforte will have to appear in court by June 7. [Advertisers Ditch Hannity’s Show After He Pushes DNC Hack Conspiracy Theory]( The Gist: As Fox News host Sean Hannity partially backed away from his recent promotion of a conspiracy theory about the murder of a DNC staffer, several advertisers confirmed Wednesday that they have pulled out of Hannity’s show. From The Reporter's Notebook --------------------------------------------------------------- On Wednesday, TPM's Alice Ollstein attended an intimate breakfast with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. There, she was among the first to learn that the House is joining the Senate in [escalating efforts]( to get documents and testimony from former national security adviser Mike Flynn. As you remember, Flynn was fired by Trump in February after it came to light that he had lied about meetings with the Russian ambassador. We have [since learned]( that Russian officials bragged during the 2016 campaign that they could use Flynn to influence Trump. Agree or Disagree? --------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Marshall: "Some dissenting sources suggest that the phony email suggest that Lynch had agreed to go easy on Clinton didn’t play much role in Comey’s decision. It only got pulled in as an ex-post facto explanation once Comey’s decision-making came into question. [(Even if true, that in itself would be a highly disturbing development.)]( Regardless, the idea that the FBI and James Comey himself could have been punked by such an operation and taken such consequential actions on the basis of it is simply astonishing." Say What?! --------------------------------------------------------------- “I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind.” - Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, [during a town hall interview]( that aired on SiriusXM radio Wednesday night. BUZZING: Today in the Hive --------------------------------------------------------------- From a TPM Prime member: "In Jeff Sessions' sworn declarations, he filed for his current security clearance he left out his meetings with Kislyak. Omitting crucial information in that sworn document and his lying to the FBI agent who interviewed him for his clearance are both Federal crimes, felonies. His clearance should be pulled instantly, and prosecution for his attempt to deceive the Federal government should proceed forthwith. Martha Stewart went to prison for less. Of course Session is a special little snowflake who expects (probably rightly) that all this will be waved away. Laws are for little people." Related: [Sessions Didn’t Disclose Kislyak Meetings On Security Clearance Application]( Have something to add? Become a [Prime]( member and join the discussion [here](. What We're Reading --------------------------------------------------------------- Pro-Trumpcare Republicans Owned Millions in Health-Care Stock ([The Daily Beast]( Trump wasn’t always so linguistically challenged. What could explain the change? ([STAT News]( [unsubscribe from this list]( | [update subscription preferences]( | [view email in browser](