Trump's decision on health care law puts spotlight on Mulvaney

Trump's decision on health care law puts spotlight on Mulvaney-thehill: President Trump’s decision to call for ObamaCare’s complete dismantling in court is shining the spotlight on Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff who reportedly pushed for the action.

Ben Ray Luján to announce New Mexico Senate run Monday

BenRay Luján to announce New Mexico Senate run Monday-rollcall: Rep. Ben Ray Luján plans to run for the Senate in New Mexico and is set to officially announce his candidacy Monday, according to two sources familiar with the Democrat’s decision. The seat opened after Democratic incumbent Tom Udall announced Monday he would not seek re-election.

Expanding access to health care matters

Expanding access to health care matters-thehill: Former Governor and Secretary of the HHS, Tommy G. Thompson (R-WI) writes an opinion piece on medical breakthroughs, highlighting TAVR technology and access issues.

White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections

White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections-politico: The Trump administration’s surprising move to invalidate Obamacare came despite the opposition of two key cabinet secretaries: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General Bill Barr. President Trump has tasked Republican lawmakers to come up with a new health care plan.

Udall says he will not seek reelection in 2020

Udall says he will not seek reelection in 2020-thehill: Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced on Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2020, leaving the Senate seat he has held since 2009 up for grabs.

New York Rep. José Serrano has Parkinson’s, won’t seek re-election

New York Rep. José Serrano has Parkinson’s, won’t seek re-election-rollcall: New York Democratic Rep. José E. Serrano announced Monday that he has Parkinson’s disease and will not seek re-election in 2020. The 75-year-old said he plans to finish his current term, which is his 15th full one in Congress, as the disease has not yet impacted his ability to work.

Barr: Mueller ‘did not establish’ Trump-Russia collusion, but obstruction questions remain

Barr: Mueller ‘did not establish’ Trump-Russia collusion, but obstruction questions remain-rollcall: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III “did not establish” that members of Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to affect the outcome of the 2016 election, but left it up to Attorney General William Barr to determine whether the president obstructed justice to stymie the investigation, the AG wrote in a letter to Congress on Sunday.

Colorado joins effort to elect presidents by popular vote, go around Electoral College

Colorado joins effort to elect presidents by popular vote, go around Electoral College-rollcall: Colorado has become the latest state, and the first swing state, to join a group pledging to elect presidents based on who wins the national popular vote. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that requires those states to select their presidential electors based on who wins the most individual votes nationwide, regardless of which candidate wins in the state.

GOP moves to rein in president's emergency powers

GOP moves to rein in president's emergency powers-thehill: Republicans are digging in for a long fight over reining in the president's emergency powers, setting up a potential clash with both the White House and Democrats.  President Trump on Friday vetoed Congress’s attempt to block his national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

Kirsten Gillibrand officially announces White House run

Kirsten Gillibrand officially announces White House run-thehill:  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Sunday officially announced she is running for president in 2020.  The Democratic senator, who announced an exploratory committee for a potential run in January, takes aim at President Trump and highlights a number of progressive causes in a launch video that asks "Will brave win?"

The 31 Trump districts that will determine the next House majority

The 31 Trump districts that will determine the next House majority-thehill: Republicans are eyeing a path to the House majority that takes them through Trump country.  The GOP has already put 55 districts held by Democrats on its target list for 2020. But Republican hopes are highest in the 31 districts that President Trump carried in 2016. That includes 13 districts where the real estate mogul bested Hillary Clinton by more than 6 points.

A believer in biotech and big data: How Ned Sharpless vaulted to the top of the FDA

A believer in biotech and big data: How Ned Sharpless vaulted to the top of the FDA-statnews:  Almost immediately after beginning his Bethesda, Md., day job as the nation’s top cancer researcher, Ned Sharpless built a roughly 7-mile detour into his weekly routine: a sojourn to the Food and Drug Administration campus for a pickup basketball game.  Whether or not the networking was intentional, Sharpless will soon be spending far more time with the FDA oncologists who once broke his finger. When Scott Gottlieb steps down after a nearly two-year tenure next month, Sharpless will take the helm of that agency, at least in the short term.

O'Rourke enters 2020 race

O'Rourke enters 2020 race-thehill:  Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman whose 2018 Senate bid against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) lifted his national profile, has jumped into the 2020 presidential race.

Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, to be named acting FDA commissioner

Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, to be named acting FDA commissioner-statnews: The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it would name Ned Sharpless, the director of the National Cancer Institute, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration next month. The announcement came just a week after the current commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, announced he plans to resign in early April.

Trump budget pitches capping seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs, cutting NIH funding

Trump budget pitches capping seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs, cutting NIH funding-statnews:  The White House on Monday proposed capping out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses for seniors covered by Medicare, re-emphasizing Trump administration support for a concept endorsed both by pharmaceutical companies and congressional Democrats.

Trump budget to propose slashing domestic spending, boosting defense

Trump budget to propose slashing domestic spending, boosting defense-washingtonpost: President Trump on Monday will propose major spending cuts across a range of domestic government programs while seeking a large increase for the Pentagon, a budget plan that’s already encountering withering opposition from Democrats who control the House, as well as some Republicans.

Five things to know about Democrats' sweeping election reform bill

Five things to know about Democrats' sweeping election reform bill-thehill:  House Democrats approved on Friday a sweeping elections reform measure that would reshape campaign finance rules, impose new voter registration requirements and compel presidential candidates to release their personal tax returns.

Gottlieb’s replacement? A roundup of likely, possible, and you-never-know contenders

Gottlieb’s replacement? A roundup of likely, possible, and you-never-know contenders-statnews: The sudden resignation of Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, leaves a giant hole atop an agency that oversees a quarter of the U.S. economy. Which, of course, leads to an equally big question: Who will replace him?

10 things you might not know about HR 1

10 things you might not know about HR 1-rollcall: As the House begins debate Wednesday on HR 1, the Democratic majority’s package overhauling voting, campaign finance and ethics law, some parts of the bill will likely get more attention than others, but several under-the-radar provisions in the 622-page legislation would nevertheless have sweeping impacts.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to resign

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to resign-stat: Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, will resign in one month, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.  Gottlieb had served as FDA chief since May 2017.

Congress poised to reject Trump border emergency

Congress poised to reject Trump border emergency-thehill: Congress is poised to block President Trump’s national emergency declaration, paving the way for the first veto showdown with Trump's White House.  The collision course was set when Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) became the fourth GOP senator to say he would vote against Trump's declaration to fund the U.S.-Mexico border wall.