Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 8-1-17

White House And Political News
Republican ‘Skinny’ Obamacare Repeal Gets Shot Down By Senator John McCain, 2 Other Republicans
Sen. John McCain was one of three Republicans who helped shoot down the "skinny" repeal of Obamacare early Friday morn- ing, and two retired D.C. politicians reportedly helped talk him into the "no" vote.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Sen. Joe Lieber- man, I-Conn., both pressed McCain to oppose Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's efforts to advance a plan that ulti- mately aimed to repeal and replace portions of Obamacare, ac- cording to a Washington Post report.
Michelle Obama Teams With Spotify To Help Students Prepare For College
Michelle Obama talks with students at Dunbar High School last Thursday.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama showed that her in- vestment in the future of the youth in our country is a real commitment by attending the Beating The Odds Summit at Washington, D.C.’s Dunbar High School Thursday.
Mrs. Obama, as well as executives from Spotify, in- cluding Troy Carter, VP of
Creator Services, and Danielle Lee, VP of Partner Solutions, shared their experi- ences of overcoming obstacles and the lessons they have learned on their personal and professional journeys with 35 high school students, at a day- long event meant to inspire the college-bound students to con- sider majors or careers in the
tech industry. Reach Higher at Civic Nation also participated in the event.
The day included college transition workshops, a panel during which Spotify execs dis- cussed the important role music plays in culture and communities, as well as a per- formance by R&B artist Kevin Ross.
Nobody's Safe: White House Chief Of Staff Fired
The Republican promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act died again on the Senate floor early Friday morning.
The Republican majority in Congress has voted dozens of times since 2011 to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act.
But when presented with their first genuine opportu- nity to do so ― and despite pressure from Senate Major- ity Leader Mitch Mc- Connell (R-Ky.) and President Trump - the bill failed.
The final vote for the Health Care Freedom Act, designed to eliminate core components of the Affordable Care Act, went down on a 49-51 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining with all 46 of the chamber’s Democrats and both of its independents to defeat the measure.
Just before the vote, it be- came apparent that Republi- cans did not have the support they needed, as McCain came to the floor and told GOP leaders he planned to vote no. Collins and Murkowski had looked apt to vote no all week after op- posing the motion to proceed to the initial legislation.
For nearly an hour, Repub- licans ― including Vice President Mike Pence, who was on-hand to break a
tie ― tried to persuade Sena- tors McCain and Murkowski to no avail. They had made up their minds.
Sen. McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer, was only on hand because of a dramatic return Tuesday to open debate on the bill. After voting for the motion to pro- ceed to the bill, McCain de- livered an impassioned speech in which he indicated he didn’t support the health care plan.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) offered some assurances that he would es- tablish a conference commit- tee, but they apparently weren’t enough for McCain.
According to the Huffpost, the entire health care process has been marked by an in- credible breach of the normal congressional procedures.
Even the vote itself came in the wee hours of the morn- ing Friday, capping off an ex- traordinarily rushed, chaotic and secretive legislative process.
Senators had about three hours to weigh the conse- quences of legislation Mc- Connell hastily assembled Thursday and made public after 10 p.m. EDT. Mc- Connell pulled the bill and returned it to the Senate cal- endar, which enables him to bring it back up at a later date if he chooses.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was fired Friday following a rocky tenure, and replaced by John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security and re- tired four-star Marine gen- eral, The New York Times reports.
In typical fashion, Don- ald Trump tweeted the news about 5 p.m., and sent another thanking Priebus for his service, saying, “We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!” Priebus held the job about six months.
The news capped off a week of infighting and politi- cal turmoil at the White House, including Priebus being called a “paranoid schizophrenic” by the new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, who vowed to force his resig- nation, The Times noted.
Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus was forced to re- sign on Friday.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2017