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Fight for thee and liberty: 'Defiant Ones' has the story of Two Kettles Together

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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Sen. Dean Heller, Nevada Republican, announced Friday that he would vote no on his party leadership's health care bill unless changes are made. He said his state could not absorb Medicaid cuts in the plan. (Associated Press)

Obamacare repeal plan needs Republican balance to pass

Senate Republicans must stamp out a series of fires to keep their Obamacare repeal mission alive this week, such as pinning down party holdouts and massaging arcane budget rules to appease pro-life activists and insurers.

June 25, 2017
Lobbyists who represent the health care industry argue that leaving them out of the bill-writing process is bad for America. (Associated Press/File)

Health care lobbyists locked out of Republican process

The health care bill was drafted behind closed doors by Senate Republican leaders, drawing howls from Democrats who said they were shut out of the process. Also left outside, however, was the army of health care industry lobbyists who helped draft Obamacare in 2009 and 2010 but didn't get a say this time.

June 22, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, meets with reporters following a closed-door strategy session, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Sen. McConnell says Republicans will have a "discussion draft" of a GOP-only bill scuttling former President Barack Obama's health care law by Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Obama slams Senate GOP plan to repeal his health law

Former President Barack Obama slammed the Senate GOP's plan to replace his health care law Thursday, saying it's time to "step back" and devise the type of plan that Americans need, as the signature program he crafted suffers from rising premiums and dwindling choices.

June 22, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised a vote on health care reform soon. (Associated Press/File)

GOP: Senate will unveil health bill on Thursday

Senate GOP leaders will release a "discussion draft" of their closely held plan to replace Obamacare on Thursday, kicking off a one-week scramble to mollify holdouts and gather the 50 Republican votes needed to pass a bill before the July 4 break.

June 20, 2017
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Obamacare repeal effort by GOP stonewalled by Democrats

In 2013, it was Republicans who sent the government into a shutdown over Obamacare. Democrats aren't there yet, but they are inching up their resistance efforts, ratcheting up their attacks and vowing to slow Senate business to a crawl, hoping to make the GOP's Obamacare repeal push as painful as possible.

June 19, 2017
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., speaks to members of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, May 30, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) ** FILE **

Democrats blitz airwaves as GOP debates health care

Democratic operatives and their progressive allies flooded the airwaves Monday with ads pressuring GOP senators to reject an emerging -- yet so far secret -- bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

June 19, 2017
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Jan. 21, 2015, file photo. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Lamar Alexander to HHS: Keep Obamacare payments flowing for now

Another prominent Republican is urging the Trump administration to guarantee critical Obamacare payments on a temporary basis, saying the individual insurance market is in free-fall and needs stability while the GOP works to reshape health care.

June 15, 2017
A police office stands watch behind police tape near strewn baseballs on a field in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, June 14, 2017, after a multiple shooting involving House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Ryan Costello: I missed my ride to GOP baseball practice by 2 minutes

Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania narrowly missed his ride for a GOP baseball practice in suburban D.C. Wednesday, only to get an "ugly jolt" when he saw TV reports that a gunman had opened fire at that very session, wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a congressional aide and two police officers.

June 14, 2017