Email insights: Mark Meadows endorses Mo Brooks, asks for support
Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and North Carolina 11th District U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows has endorsed Alabama 5th District U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the Alabama special election to fill the seat left vacant by former Sen. Jeff Sessions, when he accepted the Attorney General of the United States position in February. Meadows emailed conservatives of his endorsement asking them to also support Brooks’ campaign. Read Meadows’ email below: Dear Conservative, There’s been a lot of talk lately about what it means to be a true conservative. And Lord knows, we could use a few more “true conservatives” in the United States Senate. That’s why I am writing you today. I’m Congressman Mark Meadows, I’m the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. My friend and fellow Freedom Caucus member Mo Brooks is running for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat that was vacated when President Trump appointed Sessions as Attorney General. Mo Brooks is a fighter. He has the most conservative voting record in the Alabama congressional delegation. He’s got an A-rating from Numbers USA and the NRA. He has proven himself to be a proven constitutional conservative in the mold of Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul and Ben Sasse. We need more like him in the Senate. Mo’s not afraid to stand up to the Washington, DC establishment and this has not made him any friends with the K-Street crowd. They have already sworn to spend as much as ten million dollars on behalf of his establishment opponent. We need Mo Brooks to win this race, my friend. He understands the threats we face at home from an ever-expanding federal government. And he understands that it will take free-market, conservative solutions to fix all the messes President Obama and the Democrats created the last eight years. Mo is a battle-tested conservative who is committed to restoring America’s greatness. But if he’s going to make it to Washington, he needs the help of conservatives just like YOU. The Republican Primary is August 15th. The establishment sees Mo as a real threat. They would like nothing better than to see Mo defeated and they’re pulling out all the stops to make sure he doesn’t win. The road our country has been on these last several years is simply not sustainable. We need conservatives who will go to the Senate and be a part of the fight–not part of the club. A major course correction is needed –- and conservative leaders like Mo Brooks are needed in the Senate to make it happen. Below is a letter from Mo with more information about his campaign. I’m all in to help Mo Brooks defeat the DC establishment and send him to the Senate. I hope you are too. Will you join me? Sincerely, Congressman Mark Meadows Chairman, House Freedom Caucus Dear Conservative, I’m looking for your support in my race for US Senate. We face serious challenges right now–as serious as any point in our history. I believe we need representation in DC that is ready to shake things up, stand by our President, and get things done…not just be part of the lobbyist, establishment club. Before you make up your mind about who you’re going to support I want you to know a little bit about me. In Congress I was very proud to be a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of fiscal and social conservative members. And, my record as a proven conservative leader has been recognized by leading conservative organizations, including the following: Heritage Action (94% rating) NRA (“A” lifetime rating) Club for Growth (86% lifetime rating) Numbers USA (A+ 100% rating) American Conservative Union (89% lifetime rating, 94% rating for the 114th Congress) FreedomWorks (92% rating in 2016), and endorsed by Eagle Forum in 2016. If you’re interested in sending a proven conservative to represent you in the Senate, I’d ask you to visit my website and learn a little more about the kind of things I’ve fought for, and the things I will fight for as your United States Senator. For America, Congressman Mo Brooks, Conservative Republican for US Senate
House Freedom Caucus endorses Mo Brooks for U.S. Senate
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, is endorsing Congressman Mo Brooks in Alabama’s U.S. Senate Special Election. Breitbart News is reporting on an email sent this week by Brooks’ campaign touting Meadows’ support: “Mo Brooks is a fighter. He has the most conservative voting record in the Alabama congressional delegation. He’s got an A-rating from Numbers USA and the NRA. He has proven himself to be a proven constitutional conservative in the mold of Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul and Ben Sasse.” “We need more like him in the Senate,” Meadows said, adding: “Mo is a battle-tested conservative who is committed to restoring America’s greatness … “The establishment sees Mo as a real threat. They would like nothing better than to see Mo defeated and they’re pulling out all the stops to make sure he doesn’t win … “The road our country has been on these last several years is simply not sustainable. We need conservatives who will go to the Senate and be a part of the fight–not part of the club.” “I’m all in to help Mo Brooks defeat the DC establishment and send him to the Senate. I hope you are too,” the email concludes. Jeff Sessions previously held the Senate seat, before becoming U.S. Attorney General. Then-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, with newly named Gov. Kay Ivey announcing an Aug. 15 primary, with a general election Dec. 12. Nine other Republicans are in the running, including incumbent Strange, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, State Sen. Trip Pittman, and Christian Coalition head Randy Brinson. Democratic candidates include former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones. If there is no majority winner in the Aug. 15 primary, a runoff will be Sept. 26. The winner of the Republican primary will likely win the general election, given the state’s electoral history.
House Freedom Caucus chairman says there’s ‘no deal’ on the GOP health care legislation after White House meeting
The Latest on the upcoming health care vote in the House (all times local): 1:35 p.m. The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus says there’s “no deal” on the GOP health care legislation after a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump. The assertion from Congressman Mark Meadows of North Carolina throws plans for a vote on the bill later Thursday into doubt. Two dozen or so Freedom Caucus members have opposed the legislation pushed by GOP leaders, saying it doesn’t go far enough to repeal “Obamacare.” But the group had been negotiating directly with the White House in hopes of reaching agreement to eliminate additional requirements on insurers. Without a deal with the Freedom Caucus, and with moderate-leaning members defecting, it seems unlikely GOP leaders will have the votes they need to go forward with a vote later Thursday as they had planned. ___ 10:06 a.m. Former President Barack Obama is celebrating the seventh anniversary of his landmark health care law, saying in a statement on Thursday that “America is stronger because of the Affordable Care Act.” Obama does not directly address GOP efforts to repeal his law, which are coming to a head Thursday as House leaders push toward a vote on their repeal legislation. Republicans remain short of votes. The former president does say that if Republicans are serious about lowering costs and expanding coverage, and are prepared to work with Democrats, “That’s something we all should welcome.” But, Obama says, “we should start from the baseline that any changes will make our health care system better, not worse for hardworking Americans.” He notes 20 million Americans gained coverage under his law. ___ 9:40 a.m. President Donald Trump is urging people to call their lawmakers to express support for the Republican legislation to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” Trump posted a video on Twitter Thursday asking people to get behind the plan. He says that people were “given many lies” about the Affordable Care Act. Trump added that the legislation was “terrific” and “you’re going to be very, very happy.” The GOP legislation was on the brink hours before Republican leaders planned to put it on the House floor for a showdown vote. Trump was spending the final hours trying to close the deal with conservatives who have opposed the plan. ___ 9:00 a.m. The GOP’s long-promised legislation to repeal and replace “Obamacare” stands on the brink, just hours before Republican leaders planned to put it on the House floor for a showdown vote. The stakes are high, and Republicans are staring at the possibility of a failure that would throw prospects for their other legislative goals into uncertainty. Speaking to members of the conservative Freedom Caucus mid-day Thursday, Trump is pitching concessions to representatives who want to limit the requirement for health plans to include benefits including substance abuse and maternity care. But those changes appear to be scaring off at least some moderate Republicans. In a count by The Associated Press, at least 26 Republicans say they opposed the bill, enough to narrowly defeat the measure. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
House GOP health bill facing fresh House committee test
The White House and Republican leaders are talking to rank-and-file lawmakers about revising the GOP health care overhaul, hoping to keep a rebellion by conservatives and moderates from snowballing and imperiling the party’s showpiece legislation. Four days after a congressional report projected the bill would pry coverage from millions of voters, signs of fraying GOP support for the legislation were showing. The measure would strike down much of former President Barack Obama‘s 2010 overhaul and reduce the federal role, including financing, for health care consumers and is opposed uniformly by Democrats. In a fresh test of Republicans’ willingness to embrace the legislation, the House Budget Committee was considering the measure Thursday. Republicans expressed confidence the bill would be approved, but the vote could be tight. The panel can’t make significant changes but was expected to endorse non-binding, suggested changes to nail down votes. The bill would eliminate the tax penalty that pressures people to buy coverage and the federal subsidies that let millions afford it, replacing them with tax credits that are bigger for older people. It would cut Medicaid, repeal the law’s tax increases on higher earning Americans and require 30 percent higher premiums for consumers who let coverage lapse. Overt GOP opposition grew after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected Monday that the legislation would push 24 million Americans off coverage in a decade and shift out-of-pocket costs toward lower income, older people. Obama’s law has provided coverage to around 20 million additional people House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Wednesday that leaders could now make “some necessary improvements and refinements” to the legislation. But he declined to commit to bringing the measure to the House floor next week, a schedule Republican leaders have repeatedly said they intended to keep. At a late rally in Nashville Wednesday, President Donald Trump said: “We’re going to arbitrate, we’re all going to get together, we’re going to get something done.” Vice President Mike Pence met with House GOP lawmakers and pressed them to unite behind the legislation. “‘It’s our job to get it out of here and get it to the Senate,’” Pence told Republicans, according to Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla. That would let Trump pressure “Democrats in these red states to come on board,’” Ross said, referring to Republican-leaning states where Democratic senators face re-election next year. But insurgents still abound. Conservatives want to end Obama’s expansion of Medicaid to 11 million additional low-income people next year, not 2020 as the bill proposes. They say a GOP proposed tax credit to help people pay medical costs is too generous, and they want to terminate all of Obama’s insurance requirements, including mandatory coverage of specified services like drug counseling. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus, continued pushing for changes. He claimed at least 21 members of his group would oppose the measure as written; the bill would fail if 22 Republicans join all Democrats in opposing it. But underscoring the push-pull problem GOP leaders face in winning votes, moderates feel the tax credits are too stingy, especially for low earners and older people. They oppose accelerating the phase-out of the Medicaid expansion and are unhappy with long-term cuts the measure would inflict on the entire program. Terminating the Medicaid expansion in 2020 and not 2018 “is sacrosanct to me,” said moderate Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J. In a new complication, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the measure lacked the votes to pass in the Senate, where Republicans hold a precarious 52-48 majority. That left House members angry over being asked to take a politically risky vote for legislation likely to be altered. Moderates “don’t like the idea of taking a vote in the House that may go nowhere in the Senate,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. Amid the maneuvering, a federal report said more than 12 million people have signed up for coverage this year under the very statute that Republicans want to repeal. That figure underscored the potential political impact of the GOP’s next move. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
