President Trump again threatened to close “large portions” of the southern border on Friday if Mexico does not halt all undocumented immigrants from entering the country.
This comes after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sent a letter to Congress with an “urgent request” for assistance ahead of a “system-wide meltdown” the agency faces due to a tide of migrants overwhelming the border.
Also this week, Democratic lawmakers are calling for the full release of the Mueller report, which is more than 300 pages long.
Speaker Pelosi criticized Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the report as “condescending” and “arrogant” and said “it wasn’t the right thing to do.”
Seeking to alleviate those concerns, Barr sent a letter Friday to lawmakers saying the Justice Department will deliver the special counsel’s report by mid-April, with parts redacted. He also offered to testify before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on May 1 and 2.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, who has led the committee’s own investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is now facing calls from Republican colleagues to resign as chairman for pushing a “false narrative” of collusion.
And President Trump reopened a fight over Obamacare that many believed, including some congressional Republicans, he already lost.
Vowing to make health care a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, the president tweeted, The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”
This comes as the Justice Department shifted legal positions this week and argued the entire Affordable Care Act should be invalidated.
However, the president faced another legal defeat on the issue Thursday when a federal judge struck down the administration’s push to allow health insurance plans outside the ACA that avoid the law’s coverage requirements.
The president announced he asked a small group of Republican senators “to take a look, form a really great plan,” including Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott.
The issue of health care is again emerging at the center of the 2020 Democratic platform. Most candidates have embraced the idea of universal health care, most notably Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders who is advocating a “Medicare for All” plan.
With the latest news and analysis from Washington, don’t miss Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) on “Face the Nation” (@FaceTheNation).
We’ll talk with Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders), I-Vt. The Democratic presidential candidate is back in Burlington after a campaign swing through California last weekend.
We’ll hear also from Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott (@SenRickScott), who introduced an amendment to protect health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
For discussion on the latest developments in the 2020 presidential race:
And as always, we’ll turn to our panel for some perspective on the week that was:
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