Republicans have embarked on a deranged quest to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a bill that everyone but Paul Ryan seems to hate. Three times a week, Slate reporters Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann will discuss the latest twists and turns in this bizarre legislative saga and update listeners o…
In the final episode of Trumpcare Tracker, Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann ponder the latest, mysterious developments in the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. Senate leadership is still pushing for a vote next week, even though nobody knows which bill they’ll be considering. On Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn told reporters that senators knowing what’s in the bill before it goes to the floor is “a luxury we don’t have.” If it does indeed proceed, it will be a vote-a-rama for the ages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann recall the sudden collapse of the Republican health care bill on Monday night and wonder if master tactician Mitch McConnell can still bring it back from the dead. Could President Donald Trump change senators’ minds, and is there any hope for a bipartisan compromise? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss the latest developments in the Republican attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. They ask whether John McCain’s surgery makes the bill more or less likely to pass; they analyze the incentives administration officials are offering to moderates; and they break down Vice President Mike Pence’s spectacularly ineffective (and thoroughly debunked) pitch for the bill at the National Governor’s Association meeting this weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss the latest draft of the health care legislation, which Republicans released on Thursday. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s bold tactic was to try to sway conservatives with policy concessions and to throw money at moderate holdouts. They ask why Senate moderates still haven’t definitively come out against the bill and whether Republican leadership will use a partisan source to score the bill if they decide the Congressional Budget Office would take “too long” to do the job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss the latest developments in the Republicans’ quest to repeal and replace Obamacare. Will Ted Cruz’s amendment pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian? Does this legislative saga prove that politics are local once again? And can Lindsey Graham craft a bipartisan compromise to fix Obamacare? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell is joined by Vox reporter Dylan Scott to discuss how a week in their home states affected Republican senators’ attitudes toward the health-care bill. Is there any hope for the legislation when the most common feelings are ambivalence or fervent opposition? (Jordan Weissmann is on vacation.) Email: trumpcaretracker@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jordan Weissmann talks with Harold Pollack, a professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago, about the devastating effects the Republican health care bill will have on disabled Americans and other vulnerable citizens. In recent weeks Pollack has written about how Trumpcare will probably kill thousands every year and why Americans with disabilities should be terrified by the legislation. (Jim Newell is on vacation.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss the latest developments in the Republicans’ efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare. Ted Cruz has a plan that could break the legislative logjam, President Donald Trump puts repeal and delay back on the table, and moderate Republicans aren’t falling for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss Mitch McConnell’s surprise decision to delay the Senate vote on health care reform. Was the CBO score the final nail in the coffin? What side deals can McConnell make to persuade the holdouts in his party? And should Democrats be nervous that Obamacare is about to be repealed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann read the entrails of GOP senators’ statements in an attempt to calculate if Republicans have enough votes to get their health care bill passed. Then they look at waivers—might they really allow states to use health care funds on stadiums or anything else?—and assess the effectiveness of the Republicans’ six-month lockout to encourage young, healthy people to maintain continuous insurance coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann take a close look at the health-care bill Republican senators released on Thursday. Jim describes the scene on Capitol Hill, then they talk about what surprised them about the proposed legislation and assess its chances of passage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann hash out the latest rumors about the secretive Republican health-care reform process. Could the Senate parliamentarian halt the legislation’s progress? If so, might Republican leaders simply ignore her? How does Sen. Mitch McConnell’s abiding affection for the filibuster come into play, and will abortion politics scuttle the entire project? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann try to work out if Mitch McConnell actually cares about health policy and why moderate Republicans would vote for such a harsh bill. Then they get into the complicated question of the many ways the Senate legislation threatens to mess with Medicaid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim Newell and Jordan Weissmann discuss how Senate procedural tactics could shape the Republican health-care legislation. And why did Donald Trump suddenly decide the House version of the American Health Care Act is “mean”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the first episode of Slate's Trumpcare Tracker, congressional reporter Jim Newell and Moneybox columnist Jordan Weissmann discuss the secrecy surrounding the Senate health-care bill. Is this a sign of the Republicans’ legislative genius—or is it pure arrogance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices