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Elizabeth Warren releases $20.5tn plan to pay for Medicare for All – live Top Democrats criticize Elizabeth Warren's Medicare for All plan – live
(about 4 hours later)
Fiona Hill, Trump’s former top adviser on Russia, is back on Capitol Hill after testifying in the impeachment inquiry. Elizabeth Warren defended her newly released plan to fund Medicare for all after Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement accusing the Massachusetts senator of proposing a roundabout way to tax the middle class in order to pay for the sweeping policy.
Former Russia Adviser Fiona Hill is back on Capitol Hill this morning and in the secure SCIF area. Working to confirm is she is here to review her transcript as other witnesses have Warren re Biden campaign calling her M4A "mathematical gymnastics" She cites numbers from Obama economists "if Joe Biden doesnt like that I'm just not sure where he's going." She adds any Dem who defends insurance profits "I think theyre running in the wrong presidential primary" pic.twitter.com/LdhyRrlWKz
Hill reportedly told impeachment investigators last month that Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, oversaw a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine to benefit Trump. Warren emphasized that the cost and revenue projections outlined in the plan were authenticated by former senior Obama administration officials. She said: “So if Joe Biden doesn’t like that, I’m just not sure where he’s going.”
Joe Biden appeared to take a swipe at some of his Democratic primary opponents hours after Elizabeth Warren announced her plan to fund “Medicare for all.” Warren argued that her plan built on the progress of the Affordable Care Act and added: “Democrats are not going to win by repeating Republican talking points.”
The former vice president advertised the beginning of Obamacare’s open enrollment, warning that “many Americans can’t afford to wait for far off promises.” At least one of the Washington Nationals, relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, does not intend to visit the White House to celebrate the team’s World Series championship.
When it comes to health care, many Americans can't afford to wait for far off promises. Obamacare's open enrollment begins today. Head to https://t.co/2Ls3d80By6 to find an affordable, quality plan that works best for you. #GetCovered NEW: Not all the Nats will visit the White House on Monday. Pitcher @whatwouldDOOdo, active on social issues including Syrian refugees and LGBT rights, tells @dougherty_jesse that he does not plan to attend. Story updated: https://t.co/MRXcQycFex
Warren said she would soon release a plan on how the country can shift from its current healthcare system to a single-payer framework, and it’s unclear whether the transitional period would be shorter or longer than the four years proposed by Bernie Sanders. The White House announced earlier today that the Nationals would meet with the president on Monday afternoon to celebrate their victory, but some winning sports teams have opted out of the traditional visit since Trump took office.
Bennet not sold on Warren plan at all When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series last year, most of the team’s minority players chose not to participate in the White House visit, while most of the team’s white players met with Trump.
Colorado Senator and 2020 Democratic candidate Michael Bennet isn’t impressed with Elizabeth Warren’s mathematics on Medicare for all, the Guardian’s Joanna Walters writes. Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said that it was “certainly possible” the House would vote to impeach Trump.
“Voters are sick and tired of politicians promising them things that they know they can’t deliver,” Bennet said in a statement just earlier today. Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway, Conway went on to attack House Democrats for pursuing an “unconstitutional” investigation and argued the passage of the impeachment resolution did not alter the illegitimacy of the inquiry.
“Warren’s new numbers are simply not believable and have been contradicted by experts. Regardless of whether it’s $21 trillion or $31 trillion, this isn’t going to happen, and the American people need health care,” it continued. Conway sarcastically asked: “Do you think you can actually apply due process retroactively?” She also applauded the two House Democrats who voted with every House Republican to oppose the impeachment resolution.
Bennet hasn’t qualified for the more recent Democratic primary debates but is still out on the trail. Nancy Pelosi said on Capitol Hill yesterday that the procedures outlined in the resolution were “fairer than anything that have gone before in terms of an impeachment proceeding.”
Instead of Medicare for all, the progressive plan for universal US health insurance paid for by the government, Bennet favors a more moderate public option that would give Americans the option to buy a government plan or keep their private sector insurance. Joe Biden’s campaign raised $5.3 million last month as Trump repeated false corruption claims against the former vice president and his son, Hunter.
Trump’s press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, told Fox News that the White House feels no need to create an impeachment war room because of the president’s own messaging against the inquiry.
Grisham said of Trump: “He is the war room.”
“He is the war room,” Stephanie Grisham says on Fox News. “We don’t feel the need for a war room.”
Asked when she might hold her first press briefing, Grisham, who assumed her role about four months ago, replied: “Whenever it’s time.”
Trump celebrated the stock market gains following news that the US economy added 128,000 jobs last month, stronger than the 89,000 predicted by economists. (Follow the Guardian’s business live blog for more updates.)
Wow, a blowout JOBS number just out, adjusted for revisions and the General Motors strike, 303,000. This is far greater than expectations. USA ROCKS!
However, a former Republican congressman noted the president was complaining yesterday that the impeachment inquiry was allegedly dragging down US markets.
Yesterday. Today. pic.twitter.com/8xjnEOtDNa
Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, said that transcripts of the closed-door interviews in the impeachment inquiry could be released “early next week.”
Asked about the timing of the release, Schiff told PBS NewsHour: “You know, I think early next week is probably the realistic time. And we still need to go through some of the transcripts and excise any potentially classified information or personal information. But they will be released very soon.”
Nancy Pelosi also told late-night host Stephen Colbert yesterday that public hearings in the impeachment investigation would begin “soon.”
The impeachment resolution passed by the House outlines next steps in the inquiry as it advances to a more public stage, but Democratic leadership was evasive yesterday when asked about the specific timing of hearings or transcript releases.
The accelerated timeline could help the House wrap up hearings in time for an impeachment vote potentially by the end of this month.
In releasing her “Medicare for all” funding plan, Elizabeth Warren also noted that she would soon release a proposal on how the US would transition from its current healthcare system to a single-payer framework.
Achieving #MedicareForAll isn’t going to be easy, but I’m in this race to fight for American families. In the coming weeks, I will also release a transition plan—and I will start lowering health care costs and increasing coverage as soon as I’m sworn in as president.
Bernie Sanders, who has centered his campaign around a Medicare-for-all proposal, has said the US would shift to his system over four years, so it’ll be interesting to see if Warren proposes a shorter or longer transitional period.
Progressive activists praised the release of Elizabeth Warren’s funding plan for her “Medicare for all” proposal, complimenting the Massachusetts Senator for not abandoning the expansive policy.
It is a window into how Warren operates that, even after a lot of DC pundits and corporate-funded thinktanks caused several other Democratic presidential candidates to abandon Medicare for All, she stuck by it and put out a smart plan showing how it can be done.
.@ewarren just released her plan to fund Medicare for All. It is, I think, the greatest piece of public policy jiu-jitsu that I have ever seen. But more importantly, it is a landmark moment in our multigenerational struggle for health care justice. https://t.co/6hmAXmIMw3
Some of the other Democratic presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, have attacked “Medicare for all” proposals for being too dramatic of an overhaul of the US healthcare system. Of course, candidates like Warren and Bernie Sanders have replied that a dramatic overhaul is exactly what the US healthcare system needs.
Elizabeth Warren has released a plan to pay for her Medicare-for-all proposal after some of her fellow Democratic presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, criticized her not laying out how she would fund the idea.
The New York Times reports:
Ms. Warren would use a mix of sources to pay for the $20.5 trillion in new spending over a decade, including by requiring employers to pay trillions of dollars to the government, replacing much of what they currently spend to provide health coverage to workers. She would create a tax on financial transactions like stock trades, change how investment gains are taxed for the top 1 percent of households and ramp up her signature wealth tax proposal to be steeper on billionaires. She also wants to cut $800 billion in military spending.
The plan crucially does not include tax hikes on the middle class, a question she has repeatedly faced on the debate stage. The release of the funding plan could also help Warren to address criticisms that her proposals are unrealistic.
A new Iowa poll found that the Democratic presidential primary in the early voting state is a tight race as Joe Biden has lost his lead.
According to the New York Times-Siena College poll, Elizabeth Warren leads the Iowa race, attracting the support of 22 percent of the state’s Democratic voters. Bernie Sanders is a close second at 19 percent, and Pete Buttigieg is just behind him at 18 percent. Biden narrowly comes in fourth at 17 percent.
No other candidate hits 5 percent, but a number of contenders are hoping to make a splash at tonight’s Liberty and Justice Dinner in Des Moines, as Barack Obama did in the 2008 race.
However, it’s worth noting that a clear group of frontrunners has emerged just 100 days from the caucus, and any of the four top-polling candidates appears capable of winning at this point.
Just a day after the House passed a resolution outlining next steps in the impeachment inquiry, a new poll has come out showing Americans are evenly divided on whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office.
According to the Washington Post-ABC News poll, 49 percent of Americans say Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 47 percent say he should not.
However, that 49 percent backing impeachment overwhelmingly comes from Democrats, reflecting the nearly party-line vote in the House yesterday on the impeachment resolution.
These numbers could shift once the House committees leading the inquiry advance to public hearings, as yesterday’s resolution outlines, and Americans are able to hear directly from witnesses for the first time.
Good morning, live blog readers!
There are no depositions scheduled in the impeachment inquiry today, but investigators are already planning for three major interviews next week — assuming the witnesses show up, which is not guaranteed.
The AP reports:The AP reports:
Deepening their reach into the West Wing, impeachment investigators have summoned former national security adviser John Bolton to testify next week. But they also are seeking testimony of two other political appointees — John Eisenberg, the lead lawyer for the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a senior associate counsel to the president. ... The swell of cash was raised from 182,000 donors who made an average donation of about $28, according to figures provided to The Associated Press by Biden’s presidential campaign. It comes after his internet fundraising operation stumbled over the summer, leading critics to suggest he lacked grassroots support for his campaign.
The lawyers’ role is critical because two witnesses have suggested the NSC legal counsel — when told that Trump asked a foreign leader for domestic political help — took the extraordinary step of shielding access to the transcript not because of its covert nature but rather its potential damage to the Republican president. ‘All of the Trump attacks have started to catalyze. More people understand what is at stake,’ deputy campaign manager Pete Kavanaugh said in an interview. ‘People out there are seeing Joe Biden getting attacked day after day. They understand he needs to fight back.’
News of Bolton’s requested interview made headlines earlier this week, but the testimony of Eisenberg and Ellis could prove even more damaging for the president. The fundraising boost comes amid growing anxiety over Biden’s campaign from would-be allies in the Democratic establishment, who have fretted about his prospects following underwhelming debate performances, middling fundraising success and withering attacks from rivals in his own party and from Trump.
As the lawyers who were notified of concerns about Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president shortly after it took place, Eisenberg and Ellis could provide insight into the immediate aftermath of the conversation — and why they went to such great lengths to keep it from becoming public. Trump’s baseless attacks may continue to provide momentum to Biden’s campaign, especially given that the impeachment inquiry will soon advance to public hearings.
Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on: If witnesses publicly confirm that Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, it could incentivize voters to offer the former vice president their support -- and maybe even some donations.
Trump will hold a campaign rally in Mississippi at 7 p.m. C.T. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is reportedly closing her three field offices in New Hampshire as her campaign devotes the vast majority of its resources to Iowa.
Democratic presidential candidates are in Des Moines, Iowa, for the Liberty and Justice Dinner. The campaign’s HQ in Manchester will remain open with a scaled down staff, and the campaign says that their entire field organizing team has been laid off.
Congress is on recess. Harris’ campaign said in an internal memo earlier this week that it was pursuing a massive overhaul in response to the candidate’s dwindling fundraising and polling numbers. A number of employees in Harris’ Baltimore headquarters are being laid off, and many campaign staffers have been redeployed to Iowa.
The blog will have plenty more coming up, so stay tuned. However, the California senator is still struggling to gain traction in the first caucus state. A new poll out today showed Harris hitting only 3 percent in Iowa.
Impeachment investigators have scheduled two more depositions next week. They intend to speak to Wells Griffith, the senior director for international energy and environment at the national security council, and Michael Duffey, the associate director for national security programs at the office of management and budget, on Tuesday.
JUST IN: Impeachment investigators have announced two scheduled depositions for Tuesday: pic.twitter.com/Lhe5tpRcn8
Duffey was previously asked to testify in the impeachment inquiry, but his boss at OMB, Russ Vought, tweeted that no one from the agency would be cooperating with the investigation.
Given that it seems unlikely Griffith or Duffey will appear for the depositions, House Democrats appear to be running out of witnesses willing to cooperate with the investigation before it advances to public hearings.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the national security council, reportedly told impeachment investigators that he was told not to discuss Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president.
Politico reports:
[Vindman] told lawmakers that he went to the [White House] lawyer, John Eisenberg, to register his concerns about the call, in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, according to a person in the room for Vindman’s deposition on Tuesday.
Eisenberg recorded Vindman’s complaints in notes on a yellow legal pad, then conferred with his deputy Michael Ellis about how to handle the conversation because it was clearly ‘sensitive,’ Vindman testified. The lawyers then decided to move the record of the call into the NSC’s top-secret codeword system—a server normally used to store highly classified material that only a small group of officials can access.
Vindman did not consider the move itself as evidence of a cover-up, according to a person familiar with his testimony. But he said he became disturbed when, a few days later, Eisenberg instructed him not to tell anyone about the call—especially because it was Vindman’s job to coordinate the interagency process with regard to Ukraine policy.
Einsenberg’s alleged instruction not to discuss the call will likely be cited by House Democrats as evidence of a cover-up by the Trump White House.
Eisenberg will almost certainly be asked about this direction to Vindman if he shows up for his deposition with impeachment investigators on Monday -- although it remains unclear whether the White House lawyer will actually appear.
Trump has announced that he intends to nominate Stephen Hahn as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
The Washington Post reports:
But in a surprise move, acting FDA commissioner Norman ‘Ned’ Sharpless, will immediately return to his previous position as the director of the National Cancer Institute, and Brett Giroir, a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services, will oversee the FDA until Hahn is confirmed, according to individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues.
Sharpless has been acting commissioner since April, when the previous commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, stepped down. However, Sharpless’ term as acting agency head expires Friday. His time at FDA could be extended only if the White House officially nominated a successor, which it cannot do because the Hahn paperwork isn’t finished, according to people familiar with the situation.
If confirmed, Hahn, the chief medical officer of Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, will help oversee the FDA’s efforts to crack down on vaping. Trump announced back in September that his administration would ban most flavors of e-cigarettes, but the FDA has not yet issued its policy on the matter.
Democratic presidential candidates have started arriving in Des Moines for tonight’s Liberty and Justice Dinner, a major campaign event in the first caucus state.
.@CoryBooker arrives for the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty & Justice Dinner in Des Moines—> pic.twitter.com/NmvYOolGCG
The dinner comes on the same day that a poll was released showing a tight race in Iowa — with Elizabeth Warren narrowly leading over Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden.
Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro announced this morning that his campaign had met its goal to raise $800,000 in the last ten days of October.
I’m excited to announce that last night we surpassed our $800K fundraising goal.With the help of 50K donors, we raised more than $1M for the month of October, one of our biggest months yet.Thank you so much to everyone who helped us get there. pic.twitter.com/lHAuUDSEKm
Maya Rupert, Castro’s campaign manager, said in a statement: “We set an extremely ambitious goal to keep Secretary Castro’s voice in this race, and our supporters met the challenge and delivered one of the best months of the campaign to date. ... We will keep lifting up important issues others choose to ignore, and demonstrating by example why Secretary Castro is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump.”
Castro’s team said last month that the former San Antonio mayor and cabinet secretary would have to drop out of the race unless the campaign saw a spike in fundraising.
Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker pulled the same gimmick a month earlier and also met his fundraising goal.