Republican efforts to find a replacement for President Obama’s healthcare system have collapsed. Two Republican senators said they opposed their party’s proposed alternative, making it impossible for the bill to pass in its current form. The party has been divided on the issue, with moderates concerned about the effects on the most vulnerable. President Trump … Read more
The future of the Republican effort to squash Obamacare hung in the balance Monday with Senator John McCain, whose vote is needed to pass the legislation, recovering from surgery away from Washington. There are no votes to spare in the contentious effort to pass a new health care reform bill through Congress, where Republican leaders … Read more
Republican leaders unveiled a revamped health care bill Thursday aimed at salvaging President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority, but the fresh effort already faced skepticism from within the party’s conservative and moderate wings. The new Senate bill is intended to woo lawmakers from those rival factions, and reassure those who fear that repealing Barack Obama’s … Read more
Top US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell will try to pull a political rabbit out of his hat Thursday when he unveils a revamped health care bill, after unpopular earlier versions frustrated conservatives and moderates in his party. With opposition growing, and McConnell postponing the Senate’s August recess by two weeks to allow more time to … Read more
The US Senate will delay its summer break by two weeks to focus on breaking an impasse over health care reform and other pending work, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. A day after getting a firm nudge from President Donald Trump to pass a health care reform bill, McConnell blamed what he called a … Read more
US Senate Republicans, facing potential collapse of their “Obamacare” repeal effort, were making last-gasp changes Thursday aimed at uniting different factions of President Donald Trump’s party. Legislative action on a health care overhaul was put on hold after it became clear that conservatives and moderates could not unite around the controversial legislation. Since then, Majority … Read more
US Republicans eager to repeal “Obamacare” suffered a deeply embarrassing setback Tuesday when shrinking support forced them to postpone votes on their controversial health care overhaul, one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities. With the Senate bill delayed by a few weeks and maybe more, the timeline of the effort — and the overall viability … Read more
The largest US banks would withstand a severe recession and still be able to lend to American households and businesses, the Federal Reserve announced Thursday. The results of the first part of the central bank’s so-called stress tests showed 34 major lenders were on solid capital footing, the Fed said. The tests are conducted under … Read more
Democrats are slamming a Republican bid to dismantle financial rules put in place after the 2008 crisis as the “wrong choice” for the country. House Republicans approved a sweeping measure on Thursday that would ease rules on banks, weaken consumer protection and scrap federal bailouts for major financial institutions. “Growth!” US President Donald Trump cheered … Read more
There has been widespread international condemnation of President Trump’s announcement that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman called it “a major disappointment” while the European Union said it was “a sad day for the world”. However, senior Republicans and the US coal industry-backed the move. Mr … Read more
President Donald Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. He said moves to negotiate a new “fair” deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers would begin. Mr Trump said during last year’s presidential election campaign that he would take the step to help his country’s oil … Read more
President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget calls for a significant jump in the Pentagon’s vast budget, though it falls short of the historic spending bonanza sought by more hawkish Republicans. Pentagon budget documents released Tuesday call for $574 billion in general defense funding, with an additional $65 billion for supplemental wartime spending — for a … Read more
US President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted the probe into whether his team colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 election in his favor as the “greatest witch hunt” in US history. His comment on Twitter came after former FBI chief Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel with sweeping powers to head the probe. “This … Read more
Tirades, yells and cries of “liar” lit up a town hall meeting in New Jersey, where for five hours furious Americans tore into a Republican congressman for attempting to repeal Obamacare. Tom MacArthur came home to his swing district to face the music Wednesday after helping to write the amendment that allowed a controversial health … Read more
Former US president Barack Obama urged lawmakers to follow their conscience and protect vulnerable Americans, as a Republican-backed bill that tore up his namesake health care reform law heads to the Senate. Obama, speaking in Boston where on Sunday night he received a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said: … Read more
Republican senators are sounding sceptical of an Obamacare replacement passed by members of their own party in the House of Representatives. The measure brings President Donald Trump’s party a step closer to scrapping the law, but it will probably face major amendments in the Senate. One Republican senator said a final version will be “near … Read more
US lawmakers will vote Thursday to repeal and replace Obamacare, Republican House leaders said. The announcement comes after a new health care reform bill gained momentum on Wednesday when two key Republican representatives — Fred Upton of Michigan and Billy Long of Missouri — threw their support behind the measure following the addition of $8 … Read more
The US Senate confirmed attorney Jay Clayton as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission tasked with regulating Wall Street and America’s financial sector. Some Democrats joined Republicans to vote 61 to 37 in favor of Clayton, who was nominated by US President Donald Trump in January. Once Trump’s White House completes the … Read more
Republican leaders in the US Congress were on the brink of another humiliating health care defeat Tuesday, as they struggled to wrangle enough votes to pass Donald Trump’s latest bid to repeal and replace Obamacare. An earlier version of the Republican plan collapsed in March, when opposition from both moderates and conservatives torpedoed their own … Read more
Republican leaders in the US Congress were on the brink of another humiliating health care defeat Tuesday, as they struggled to wrangle enough votes to pass Donald Trump’s latest bid to repeal and replace Obamacare. An earlier version of the Republican plan collapsed in March, when opposition from both moderates and conservatives torpedoed their own … Read more