Day 181: Threats

I'm just going to dive straight into this one...

• Trump is threatening to gut the Affordable Care Act by refusing payments to insurance companies. This would have a severely destabilizing effect on the insurance markets, and the blood would be on Trump's hands alone. The deadline to make these payments is Thursday.
• The CBO has scored Republican's attempt to repeal Obamacare directly, and estimated 32 million people would lose health insurance as a result. That's 10% of the US population. And yet they're still trying? Worse, premiums can be expected to double in ten years. These guys do not care about people at all.
• There was apparently a meeting tonight between key senators who stood in the way of Zombiecare. I imagine it was mostly bluster by Trump, but these guys just won't let it lie, will they? I hope to have an update tomorrow on the details of the meeting.
• Trump has ended a covert CIA program to arm Syrian rebels, something that is sure to please Russia (senior officials described it as a major concession). Because Trump has zero interest in actual policy, it's almost certain that somebody asked him to do so (most likely Putin).
• In a mixed bag, the Supreme Court let the expanded definition of relatives constructed by a Hawaiian judge stand, but limited his ruling on refugees. I'll take it.
• Republicans are trying to undo the 17th amendment to the constitution, so that state legislatures can pick the senators representing their state at the federal level. This would be tantamount to destroying the democracy of the USA.
• You may have heard of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill baby in the UK. A special committee in the US has taken the first steps towards granting Charlie and his parents permanent residency in America, which could sidestep a UK court's ruling to withdraw Gard from life support all together. However, because the amendment is attached to a highly contentious immigration bill, this is merely a cynical attempt to solidify support by bartering the life of this baby.
• Given the strict disclosure requirements to obtain a security clearance, House Democrats have asked the FBI to investigate if various members of the Trump family have violated those requirements (they obviously have).
• The US military is renting space in Trump tower at a cost of $130,000 per month. This, despite the fact that he has not stayed at the place since assuming the mantle of President. This fucker is milking the Presidency for as much money as he possibly can. (Sorry, paywall at WSJ)
• Trump seems to think that only two things are important: that he gets rich, and that other people think he's powerful. In the vein of the latter, he is obsessed with sanctions and tariffs on other countries. Case in point: a day after certifying Iran's compliance with a treaty, he slapped further sanctions on them.
• Kris Kobach continues to be a terrible person.