Jason Westin

It must have been such a drag for Ryan and whomever reads the polls for Señor Trumpanzee to see the brand new Gallup poll, showing the Affordable Care act with majority approval for the first time ever-- 55%. Approval is up 17% among independents and up 10% with both Democrats and Republicans. How bipartisan! Gallup's analysis of the data suggests that "politically, it creates a major obstacle to Trump and Congress' ongoing efforts to change or replace the law.

A few weeks ago Digby and I went to dinner with Ted Lieu and Ro Khanna, two of Congress' most dedicated legislators-- guys actually looking for ways to make people's lives better. We asked David Dayen to come as well so he could explain the intense research he has been engrossed in involving pharmacy benefit managers. His piece, "The Hidden Monopolies That Raise Drug Prices," is running in the new issue of the American Prospect and it's worth reading in its entirety.

Sunday, Texas conservative Ted Poe resigned from the Freedom Caucus because of TrumpCare. He was for it. The Caucus was, by and large, against it. Maybe Poe was afraid of Trump's wrath but that is odd in a Houston area district that wasn't especially pro-Trump. Romney won Poe's district with 63%, around the same that McCain won it with. Trump only managed 52.4%.

Budgets are about making choices and setting priorities. Thursday morning OMB Director Mick Mulvaney called Trump's first budget proposal "an America First budget." In reality, it's a Trump first budget that doesn't make America great but would make America second rate.

Here's the whole CBO report on Ryan's Trumpcare proposal. The way Ryan, Pence and Price wrote the bill, 14 million people would lose their health insurance immediately and then coverage would be reduced by 21 million in 2020 and down by 24 million in 2026.

Dr. Jason WestinIn the earlier post about the Ryan ACA repeal today we promised to introduce you to a doctor running for Congress in Harris County, Texas. TX-07 is one of those gerrymandered, traditionally Republican Texas districts where well-educated voters don't like Trump.