Today at 7:22 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 2:17 p.m. EDT
Today at 7:22 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 2:17 p.m. EDT
Today, former president Barack Obama is back at the White House, reliving the bruising battle to pass the Affordable Care Act and celebrating that it’s “pretty darn popular” 12 years later. “I had to show up,” Obama said of his first visit since 2017, as he delivered remarks laced with humor with President Biden looking on. Biden is announcing a new step to expand access by ending a “glitch” in Obama’ signature health-care law.
Welcome to Post Politics Now, a new live experience from The Washington Post that puts the day’s political headlines into context. Each weekday, we’ll guide you through the news from the White House, Capitol Hill and campaign trail with assists from some of the best political reporters in the business providing insights and analysis.
Your daily dashboard
- 10:30 a.m. Eastern: Speaking at a labor event, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed Democrats would hold onto the House. Watch here.
- 1:30 p.m. Eastern: Biden and Obama are delivering remarks on fixing the “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act. Watch live coverage here.
- 3:30 p.m. Eastern: White House press secretary Jen Psaki provides a briefing. Watch live coverage here.
- 8 p.m. Pacific: Polls close in the special election to replace Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who left the House to lead Trump’s social media enterprise. You can follow results here.
Got a question about politics? Submit it here. At 1:30 p.m. weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers.
The latest: Obama returns to the White House — with jokes
Former president Barack Obama is back in the White House for the first time since the end of his tenure in 2017, and he came back with jokes.
“Thank you, Vice President Biden,” Obama said as he started his remarks, smirking.
“That was a joke,” he clarified as the crowd laughed. “That was all set up. My president, Joe Biden.”
The former president said it was “good to be back in the White House” and noted several changes from the last time he was there.
“I heard some changes had been made by the current president,” Obama said. “Apparently, Secret Service agents have to wear aviator glasses now. The Navy mess [hall] has been replaced by a Baskin-Robbins.”
“And there’s a cat running around!” Obama added. “Which, I guarantee you, Bo and Sunny would have been very unhappy about .”
Obama noted that coming back, even if he had to wear a tie — “which I barely do these days” — gave him a chance to see once again the “incredible people” who serve the White House and the country every day.
Obama also joked about how hard it was to pass the Affordable Care Act — and how the website didn’t work when it was first rolled out.
“You’ve got a lot of testimony here, in case folks haven’t heard,” he said.
“The media was skeptical of past failures. There was a lot of misinformation, to say the least, flying around, and it’s fair to say that most Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get anything done,” Obama said. “But despite great odds, Joe and I were determined.”
2:07 p.m.
President Biden may hope former president Barack Obama’s Tuesday afternoon visit will boost the current president’s anemic approval ratings. The meeting’s focus on the Affordable Care Act also fits that strategy, as the ACA is more popular today than at almost any point since its passage in March 2010.A March 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll found 55 percent of Americans were favorable toward the legislation and 42 percent were unfavorable. That compares with 46 percent favorable and 40 percent unfavorable shortly after its passage in April 2010. The ACA became less popular over the following years, with unfavorable opinions reaching 53 percent in July 2014. But the law grew more popular during the 2016 presidential election, and Americans’ opinions on the ACA improved to net positive as President Donald Trump and Republicans tried to repeal it, and since then have continued to climb. Last October, a record 58 percent of Americans were favorable toward the ACA, and 41 percent were unfavorable.
Emily Guskin
,
Polling analyst at The Washington Post specializing in public opinion about politics, elections and public policy.
1:54 p.m.
Homecoming, with a little deja vu — Will Barack Obama overshadow President Biden on Tuesday afternoon when the former president, for an event on health care, visits his old haunt for the first time since leaving office? It’s possible, as Obama knows from experience.Like Biden, Obama was in his second year in office in December 2010 when Bill Clinton visited to lend his political clout to endorsing a White House tax deal with Republicans. Obama and that former president spoke to journalists in the Brady briefing room before Obama left for a holiday party. Clinton stayed behind — and kept talking and talking.In all, the verbose 42nd president fielded a dozen questions from reporters for half an hour, as though reliving his glory days. He happily ignored then-press secretary Robert Gibbs, who was trying to end the session.“I’m happy to be here,” Clinton said.The question is: Will Biden feel the same about Obama’s return?
David Nakamura
,
Reporter covering the White House
Take a look: Austin defends U.S. military’s help for Ukraine, rejects Gaetz’s criticism
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended the U.S. military’s effort to aid Ukraine during a House Armed Services hearing after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) accused military leadership of being too focused on a “woke” agenda.
The exchange occurred as Austin attempted to answer questions about Biden’s 2023 defense budget request — the administration is seeking $773 billion for the military, a $31 billion increase.
Gaetz interrupted him to question the U.S. military’s handling of the crisis in Europe, accusing Austin and the Pentagon of being too focused on being “woke” than on the war.
Austin replied by saying Gaetz appeared to be questioning the U.S. military’s power.
“This is the most capable, most combat critical force in the world, it has been and it will be so going forward, and this budget helps us to do that,” Austin said.
“Not if we continue down this path. Not if we continue to embrace socialism,” Gaetz replied.
Gaetz also told Austin that the Biden administration predicted that Russia “would overrun Ukraine in 36 days.”
“Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we’ve done?” Austin countered. “And our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that?”
Take a look:
The latest: Ivanka Trump appearing remotely before Jan. 6 committee
Last week, former Trump White House adviser Jared Kushner appeared before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. On Tuesday, Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife and another former White House adviser, is following suit, appearing remotely, according to a person familiar with the committee’s schedule.
The Post’s Jacqueline Alemany reports that Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) issued a letter in January seeking Ivanka Trump’s voluntary cooperation, citing her presence in the Oval Office on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, during her father’s phone conversation with Vice President Mike Pence in which President Donald Trump attempted to persuade Pence to disrupt the congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory.
“The Select Committee wishes to discuss the part of the conversation you observed between President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on the morning of January 6th,” Thompson wrote. “Similarly, the Select Committee would like to discuss any other conversations you may have witnessed or participated in regarding the President’s plan to obstruct or impede the counting of electoral votes.”
Thompson told reporters on Monday night that the committee has conducted over 800 interviews so far and that more depositions and interviews are to come before public hearings commence in May.
Analysis: Obamacare by the numbers
With Obama back in the White House to discuss the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, we have rounded up key numbers that define the history of the 2010 health-care law.
- Number of times the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the ACA: 3. The first challenge came in 2012, when 26 states questioned the constitutionality of the ACA’s individual mandate. Their argument failed, and the court ruled that Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid is constitutional if it remains optional. The second challenge, King v. Burwell, tackled health insurance marketplaces, and the court struck it down as well, arguing that consumers who purchased insurance through the federal government’s HealthCare.gov are eligible for insurance subsidies. In the most recent challenge, 18 Republican-led states argued that a 2017 decision by Congress to remove the individual mandate meant that the law was unconstitutional and should be wiped from the books. According to The Post’s Robert Barnes: “Most legal analysts, both liberal and conservative, thought the lawsuit unconvincing.” So did the court.
- Number of Americans who have insurance thanks to the ACA: As of June, a record 14.5 million Americans have health-care coverage through the law’s insurance marketplaces.
- Number of states providing Medicaid through the ACA: 38 and D.C., per the Kaiser News Foundation.
- Number of times congressional Republicans have tried to repeal all or parts of the law and replace it: More than 50 times. They never succeeded.
- Number of congressional Democrats who lost their seats in the 2010 midterms: Sixty-three House members and six senators. While some of the losses can’t be directly connected to the passing of the ACA, the law’s impact on the results of the 2010 election was deep.
On our radar: The impact of fixing the ‘family glitch’
With Obama looking on, Biden on Tuesday will announce a tweak to the Affordable Care Act aimed at fixing what is known as the “family glitch.” The tweak will allow more people to qualify to buy health plans with federal subsidies.
The Post’s Amy Goldstein assesses the potential impact of the rewriting of the rules:
Slightly more than 5 million people nationwide are affected by the family glitch, according to estimates last year by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health-policy research group. Most are children and women, Kaiser found.
The White House estimates that perhaps 1 million people would switch to ACA health plans if the rules change, while many others would keep their job-based health benefits, even if they cost more. And an estimated 200,000 uninsured people would gain coverage, the administration officials said.
Amy quotes Larry Levitt, Kaiser’s executive vice president for health policy, saying that fixing the family glitch is “the single most significant step the Biden administration can take to improve affordability under the ACA without Congress.”
You can read Amy’s full story here.
Noted: DCCC is fundraising off news that Psaki is joining MSNBC
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a fundraising appeal this week asking supporters if they will “watch Jen Psaki on MSNBC.”
Psaki, the White House press secretary, has been in talks to join MSNBC after leaving the Biden administration. Per The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr, while Psaki is in advanced discussions to join the network, the deal has not been signed. MSNBC declined to comment on the matter.
In the email, the DCCC says Psaki is “incredible” and is “planning to join MSNBC’s intrepid team of journalists to hold” Republicans accountable.
News of her move caused alarm among reporters and transparency watchdogs, who argue that Psaki should not be delivering the White House news briefing if she’s already considering a role at a news organization.
Last week, during a White House news briefing, reporters asked Psaki if it would be “ethical” for her to serve as White House press secretary while negotiating with a media company about a future job.
“I have always gone over and above the stringent ethical and legal requirements of the Biden administration,” she replied. “And I take that very seriously.”
12:22 p.m.
House Republicans lose another dealmaker — Fred Upton’s farewell speech Tuesday was in many ways a throwback to a bygone era of congressional comity, rife with references to bills long passed and names of lawmakers — Mike Castle, Nancy Johnson, Amo Houghton — who subscribed to a moderate brand of Republican politics that has been all but extinguished.But Upton’s remarks also highlighted what the Congress of now is losing: a dealmaker who had his fingerprints on some of the most substantial bipartisan measures of recent years, including the 2016 21st Century Cures Act and last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. He also made mention of the “one that got away” — the bipartisan immigration deal Upton spent untold hours pushing over the past decade to no avail.With Upton making his exit, there will be one less Republican among a dwindling corps on Capitol Hill willing to compromise on issues such as giving the young immigrants known as “dreamers” legal status, boding ill for a future deal.
Mike DeBonis
,
Congressional reporter covering the House of Representatives
Take a look: Where 10 impeachment-supporting Republicans are now
With Tuesday’s retirement announcement by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), it’s worth a fresh look at what has happened to the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
As The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips notes in her analysis, Trump critics in the Republican Party tend not to stay in office for very long. You can read her updated piece here.
Take a look: In new ad, Senate candidate J.D. Vance asks, ‘Are you a racist?’
“Are you a racist? Do you hate Mexicans?”
That’s how Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, who’s running for the U.S. Senate opens a new campaign ad. The conservative commentator, previously best known for his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” quickly pivots to say the media calls “us” racists for wanting to build the border wall. Vance then blames Biden for “more illegal drugs and more Democrat voters pouring into this country.”
The ad is the latest attempt in a competitive GOP field to appeal to Trump voters. Former president Donald Trump himself has not endorsed a candidate in the race.
Josh Mandel, a former Ohio state treasurer in the GOP field, also released an ad Tuesday objecting to being called a racist. His target: critical race theory, an academic framework centered on the idea that racism is systemic.
“I didn’t do two tours in Anbar Province fighting alongside Marines of every color to come home and be called a racist,” Josh Mandel says in his ad, which you can watch here.
Noted: Democrats have ‘no intention’ of losing the House, Pelosi tells union members
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back Tuesday against prognosticators who say it’s likely that Republicans will take over the House after this year’s midterm elections.
Her remarks came toward the end of an address to a friendly audience at the North America’s Building Trades Unions’ conference in Washington.
“Now, let me just say this,” Pelosi told the labor group. “This is not a political meeting. This is a policy meeting. But just in case you’re wondering: Democrats in the House, Democrats in the Congress, have no intention of losing the election in November. Absolutely, no intention.”
She received sustained applause.
Noted: Trump’s Truth Social network isn’t winning
Things aren’t going very well for Truth Social, the social network of former president Donald Trump.
The Post’s Drew Harwell and Josh Dawsey detail the woeful rollout of the app, which has been hamstrung by multiple technical issues, noting that Trump has been fuming about the situation. Drew and Josh write:
The app — a Twitter look-alike where posts are called “truths” — has seen its downloads plunge so low that it has fallen off the App Store charts. The company is losing investors, executives and attention. And though his adult sons just joined, Trump himself hasn’t posted there in weeks.
The company is being run by Devin Nunes, the former congressman from California who gave up the seat to guide Trump’s venture. Coincidentally, his seat is on the ballot in a special election Tuesday.
You can read the full story here.
This just in: Upton, a Republican who has often crossed the aisle, is exiting U.S. House
Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.), a pragmatic Republican who has often crossed the aisle to work with Democrats, on Tuesday announced his plans to exit the House.
The Post’s Amy B Wang reports that Upton, who was one of 10 Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach President Donald Trump, announced his decision to retire on the House floor Tuesday morning and in an email to supporters. Amy writes:
Upton, who has served since 1987, also backed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and received death threats afterward for helping Biden get a legislative win.
“Even the best stories has a last chapter. This is it for me,” Upton said on the House floor. “Thanks, again, to the people of my district who placed their faith and confidence in me all these great years.”
You can read Amy’s full story here.
8:54 a.m.
Sen. Scott’s calculus in opposing Jackson — Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, said late Monday that he would oppose the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman on the court in its more than two centuries of existence. Scott cited her judicial philosophy and positions in his rejection while acknowledging groundbreakingking nomination.Politically, his move makes sense for a Republican looking toward 2024. Scott traveled to first-in-the-nation primary state New Hampshire last year, triggering talk of a White House bid, and in February, he said he would be happy to be former president Donald Trump’s running mate.“Everybody wants to be on President Trump’s bandwagon,” Scott said.Supporting Jackson when most Republicans oppose her nomination doesn’t get you on the Trump bandwagon.
8:15 a.m.
It’s complicated — Former president Barack Obama, 60, and President Biden, 79, have long had a complex relationship. When Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008, it gave Obama much-needed stature while reviving Biden’s national profile. The two were famously close in the White House, but as Obama’s presidency drew to a close, many believed that Obama wanted Hillary Clinton as his would-be successor, to the frustration of Biden’s circle.After Biden launched his own presidential run in 2019, he rarely appeared with Obama, in part because of the coronavirus but also to avoid being overshadowed — a pattern that has continued during Biden’s first year-plus in office. But now, as Democrats confront a difficult landscape in the November midterms, Obama’s appeal looms large, especially his ability to generate excitement among the party faithful and his popularity among Black voters.You can read my story about Obama’s return to the White House here.
Annie Linskey
,
National reporter covering the White House.
