Balance of Power: McCain Returns for Obamacare Vote
Balance of Power: McCain Returns for Obamacare Vote
(Bloomberg) -- Talk about a Hollywood ending: Republican Senator John McCain, who was diagnosed last week with brain cancer, returns to Washington today just as lawmakers try again to repeal Obamacare.
McCain has been a reliable vote for the Republican leadership on healthcare. His return hardly guarantees success, but it's an emotional jolt the beleaguered initiative needs.
For all its flaws, Barack Obama's namesake law has helped people in places like Ohio and West Virginia, which makes a vote against it excruciating for senators even in states that supported Donald Trump. Call it Obama's revenge: His administration wagered - correctly as it's turning out - that a broad national benefit already in place is hard to take away.
Adding to the drama is the fact Senate Republican leaders haven't even said what they'll vote on - a straight repeal (sure to fail) or some sort of tweaked version of repeal and replace (whose odds are only slightly better).
Obama beat McCain for the presidency in 2008 but was one of the first to wish him a speedy recovery. So ironies abound and a dramatic ending awaits. If the repeal effort fails this time, it might be over for good.
Global Headlines
Democrats get a crack at Kushner | As eager House Democrats confront Trump's son-in-law about his contacts with Russia, the chamber is set to back a law that would stop the president lifting sanctions against Moscow without Congress's support. Jared Kushner's session with the House Intelligence Committee will be his second day on Capitol Hill fielding closed-door questions. Kushner has denied colluding with the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign.
Shutdown showdown | House Republicans are setting Washington on course for another round of budget brinkmanship that could shut down the government in September. Including $1.6 billion for Trump's Mexican border wall in their $788 billion spending bill is guaranteed to draw opposition from Democrats. And Trump has urged his party to fight, saying in May a “good” shutdown may be required to advance his agenda.
Polish populists vs the courts | Prime Minister Beata Szydlo vowed to rein in Poland's “unaccountable” judges despite a presidential veto setting back her plans. Her party aims to tighten political control of the courts, provoking the EU and the U.S., who say it would undermine democracy. Opposition parties are meeting to discuss continuing protests after the president said he expects to endorse a revised version of Szydlo's court changes soon.
China-India spat simmers | The nuclear powers show no signs of backing down, a month into a renewed border spat in the Himalayas. Foreign Minister Wang Yi again demanded India withdraw troops from the area, while the vice chief of India's army called China an increased security threat, setting the scene for a tense meeting of top security officials later this week in Beijing.
Israel pulls metal detectors from shrine | The government is taking down scanners from a hilltop Jerusalem site sacred to both Jews and Muslims after their installation set off violent clashes that killed five Palestinians and three Israelis. The agreement is part of a bigger deal to end a standoff with Jordan, which let Israeli embassy personnel return home after a security guard shot dead two Jordanians when he was stabbed at the mission compound.
What's behind world's best-performing stock? | According to Lorinc Meszaros, the former gas-pipe fitter behind Konzum Nyrt., the secret is “God, luck, and Viktor Orban,” Hungary's prime minister and a former school chum. The company, whose activities range from construction to wine, saw its share price fall 99 percent last year. It has since skyrocketed, helped by almost $900 million in government contracts.
And finally.... Turns out that among the world's 10 most-populous countries, it's an Islamic nation that has the most female ministers, Indonesia with 26 percent. A gender quota for politicians has helped: almost a fifth of lawmakers in the national parliament are female. But there's still a way to go before it can match countries like Rwanda and Cuba, where women make up more than 40 percent of legislatures. And Indonesia's labor market has one of the lowest participation rates for women in Asia.
--With assistance from Karl Maier
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey