Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a victory for the party's progressive wing in a battleground state. bit.ly/4wHDgbm
Michael McAuliff
@mcauliff.bsky.social
Covering politics and policy in Washington for Crain's Modern Healthcare. Priors include HuffPost, New York Daily News, ABC News. Signal @mcauliff.06
El-Sayed's profession of doctor and epidemiologist kind of gets lost under the lefty-centrist/AIPAC-Gaza flash points, but we can guess Dems will spotlight that now in hopes of pushing the debate towards healthcare and affordability.
Dr. Lucky Tran@luckytran.com · 11h agoCongrats @abdulelsayed.bsky.social! If he wins in November, he will be the first Senate member with an advanced public health degree, which we so desperately need right now!
"This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6. That book is now closed." Judge Amit Mehta reluctantly dismisses the Oath Keepers case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
In a conference call hosted by the White House Faith Office on July 30 with thousands of religious leaders around the country, Blanche said he was committed to achieving policy solutions so that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision “becomes permanent in every single state.”
Kelcie Moseley-Morris@kelciemmorris.bsky.social · yesterdayThe recording of Blanche's call with faith leaders hosted by the White House Faith Office was still live as of a few hours ago, but has since been taken down.
Susan Collins on Blanche: "I will vote against this nomination." Cites politicization of DOJ, the "anti-weaponization fund," the anti-abortion promise, prosecutions of senators.
A plan to eliminate the ABA's longstanding DEI requirement for law schools hit a snag when the organization's policy-making body rejected the change. The vote could escalate tensions between the ABA and the Trump administration reut.rs/4hOAegA
Ted Cruz on Talarico beating Ken Paxton in polls: "I've always said that this is a competitive race. I believe Ken Paxton will win because Talarico's views are wildly out of step with the values of the voters of Texas, but at this point, most of the voters don't know Talarico's views." #TXSen
Hospital execs are not fond of admitting things have turned toxic for them in DC, as it has for many health sectors. But they are fighting back, and showing some signs of at least stalling some of the not-great policies headed their way.
Washington turned ugly for hospitals. Here’s how they fight back
The hospital sector’s political might is being tested as lawmakers and agencies tout policies the industry has successfully resisted for years.
modernhealthcare.com
This is partly why my core field of public health ethics exists. Aristotle noted there is virtue in discerning the least worst option. Harm reduction can be an ethical priority. h/t @hearing-girl.bsky.social
Sunny Moraine@dynamicsymmetry.bsky.social · 2d agoI get the sense that a lot of people feel on some level that there must be a way to optimize things to the point where there’s a Good Option where no one has to suffer anything and it’s like… No, no, sometimes the best available option that does the least damage still sucks ass, welcome to adulthood
FLAG: Trump gets to keep tax immunity for himself, his sons, and the Trump Organization under the new 'deal' struck by Todd Blanche. The new order also reaffirms that Trump won't have to pay any taxes he might have owed the IRS.
Cornyn and Tillis release a joint statement saying Blanche's statement about the anti-weaponization fund "we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon" Ring the bell. This is a done deal. Blanche will be confirmed
No, Yahoo Finance, influencers are not making about as much as nurses, on average. Because nurses have health insurance and fucking PTO and a fucking pension and OMG I'm going to throw everything at the wall and burn it all down.
Luke Steuber@coolhand.bsky.social · 4d agoI’m with the boomers on this one. Burn it all down
It's important to note the FBI's own public service announcement, published late Thursday evening, prominently notes "at least seven states" have reported since last weekend attempts to compromise water systems (Rockwell PLCs) "and some of that activity degraded water operations"
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d agoTrump: "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."
Pope Leo received singer and songwriter Patti Smith in private audience this morning. The Pope and Smith are both Chicago natives. She was accompanied by @antoniospadaro.bsky.social, undersecretary for the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture and Education.
New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
Listening to a call with Nebraska folks on how work requirements are going. sounds like it's chaotic, with a lot of confusion. things like a pregnant woman (an excepted category) showing up to an appointment and being told she's not covered, 90 minute phone waits, a difficult process overall.
What a dumpster fire in the Wisconsin Democratic Party. And the irony is Wisconsin has one of the best-run state parties.
NBC News@nbcnews.com · 6d agoNEW: Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes says that he is dropping out of the Democratic race for governor in Wisconsin.
NEW: Trump appears ready to sacrifice his handpicked AG nominee to preserve a blatantly corrupt IRS legal settlement that 2 GOP senators are demanding changes to. Sen. John Cornyn says Trump tanked a deal he had with DOJ last night, talks now "shut down" www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump Threatens To Withdraw His AG Nominee Until 2 GOP Senators Are Gone
“I guess the president’s going to have to decide what the split looks like,” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said of Trump vowing to force Todd Blanche through next year.
huffpost.com
Someone posted this in slack and I actually thought it was The Onion. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Exclusive: RFK Jr. will host a new cooking show with celebrity chefs
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an exclusive interview, says he will be 'reintroducing' Americans to cooking again in a new series.
usatoday.com
Bill Cassidy didn’t say how he would vote on Blanche, but said he’s very worried about weaponization of DOJ, and if Blanche can’t satisfy Tillis and Cornyn, maybe he shouldn’t be attorney general.
Richard Fiesta of the Alliance for Retired Americans: "As older Americans struggle to keep up with the rising cost of food, housing, and healthcare, the Trump Administration has made the reckless decision to raise Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums for as many as 25 million Americans.”
Michael McAuliff@mcauliff.bsky.social · last wk.Schumer, hitting CMS ending a Medicare Part D subsidy pilot: "Trump’s crusade against Americans’ healthcare costs continues every single day. Listen to this: yesterday, Trump doubled prescription drug costs for millions of seniors by making cuts to Medicare drug plans." @birdy.bsky.social yesterday:
sounds like Bill Cassidy is a yes on Sean Kaufman to be Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. We should hear from him soon in today's markups.
Schumer, hitting CMS ending a Medicare Part D subsidy pilot: "Trump’s crusade against Americans’ healthcare costs continues every single day. Listen to this: yesterday, Trump doubled prescription drug costs for millions of seniors by making cuts to Medicare drug plans." @birdy.bsky.social yesterday:
Medicare drug plan subsidy to expire
Since 2025, Medicare Part D enrollees have had access to extra subsidies to defray higher premiums.
modernhealthcare.com
Perhaps TNR found the sentence to end the Iran War. "It’s the fastest energy transition in history—and ironically the pace has only accelerated of late thanks to Donald Trump’s madcap war on Iran, which is acting as a de facto carbon tax across the entire planet. Call it Trump’s Green New Deal."
The Strongest El Niño in History Is Coming. Get Ready. - The American Prospect
Donald Trump has no ideas, but America is ready for a U-turn on climate change.
prospect.org
Doctors are already seeing impacts from the ACA subsidy cuts and the Big Ol' Bill's Medicaid cuts. I looked at Iowa, a purple/red state, to see how docs are dealing, and they are more patients without insurance, more going to the ER, and some are terrified about the future.
In the heartland, doctors already feeling pain from Trump’s cuts
"It feels like sometimes you’re just kind of like going against something and you can’t really ever win,” said Dr. Kimiya Nourian of Iowa City, Iowa.
modernhealthcare.com
The Trump administration is planning a backstage census change that's likely to depress participation from minorities, causing selective undercounts so the GOP can "steal congressional seats" and skew financial allocation against blue states. @crampell.bsky.social has the scoop.
Inside Trump’s Stealth Trick to Rig the Census—and Congress
The administration’s latest power grab is disguised as boring technical guidance.
thebulwark.com
We've got a fantastic announcement: The Downballot has just released a new version of our one-of-a-kind "hexmap," which shows every congressional district as the same size. @donnermaps.bsky.social has been hard at work updating it for all 10 states with new maps. Check it out here! 🧵
The Downballot releases our latest House 'hexmap,' updated for redistricting
By making every district the same size, we eliminate that misleading sea of red
the-downballot.com