HARI SREENIVASAN: Confusion reigns in Washington tonight over an effort to save the subsidies
in Obamacare.
Two senators, Republican Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray, had announced an agreement.
Then, the president entered the fray.
Lisa Desjardins has the story.
LISA DESJARDINS: From President Trump and the White House, multiple statements in 24
hours left heads spinning on exactly where he stands on a bipartisan health care fix.
First, positive words yesterday afternoon.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: And they're coming up, and they're fairly
close to a short-term solution.
LISA DESJARDINS: Then, last night at the conservative Heritage Foundation, a seeming rebuke.
DONALD TRUMP: While I commend the bipartisan work done by senators Alexander and Murray
-- and I do commend it -- I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare
mess, instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.
LISA DESJARDINS: He echoed the same concern this morning on Twitter.
Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded on the Senate floor, saying the president
is going back on his word and appears confused.
SEN.
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), Minority Leader: The president ought to know what he is talking
about when he tweets about bills, because, on this one, he has no understanding of what
it's about.
LISA DESJARDINS: Finally, this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
said the president is opposed to the deal as it stands now.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, White House Press Secretary: The bill is a step, a good step
in the right direction, but it is not a full approach, and we need something to go a little
bit further to get on board.
LISA DESJARDINS: The job of untangling it all fell to Republican Senator Lamar Alexander,
trying to craft this deal to stabilize health care markets.
He spoke with Mr. Trump this morning.
SEN.
LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), Tennessee: You know, some people think the president doesn't know
what he's doing around here.
I don't think that.
He told me that he wanted to encourage me, but that he will review it, as I would expect
a president to do.
LISA DESJARDINS: Soon after that, the president stressed his main concern.
DONALD TRUMP: If something can happen, that's fine, but I won't do anything to enrich the
insurance companies.
LISA DESJARDINS: So would the compromise enrich insurers?
Let's look.
The billions in continued subsidies here are to cover co-pays and deductibles for lower-income
Americans.
Insurance companies are meant to be a kind of middleman.
Insurers pay the doctor for those poorer individuals' costs, and the government sends insurers the
subsidies as a kind of repayment.
Without the subsidies, insurers legally still must cover these costs for poor Americans.
So, to make up the money, they have made it clear they would raise premiums.
And some already are.
Republican Senate sources say the president is worried that insurers could take advantage
of that money flow, but Senator Alexander insists the bill has provisions to police
them.
So, where do the bill's chances stand?
The president wants some changes.
Schumer says all or most Democrats will vote yes.
And Alexander, not one to overstate things, says this.
SEN.
LAMAR ALEXANDER: I would predict that before end of the year that this agreement in one
form or another will become law.
LISA DESJARDINS: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.
HARI SREENIVASAN: As the confusion played out in Washington, 19 state attorneys general
filed suit to continue the health care subsidies under Obamacare.
The president announced last week that he will cut off the payments to insurance companies.
In the day's other news: Attorney General Jeff Sessions insisted he never lied to the
Senate Judiciary Committee about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential
campaign.
At a hearing today, he bridled at Democratic Senator Al Franken's accusation that he'd
-- quote -- "moved the goalposts" on the nature of his discussions.
SEN.
AL FRANKEN (D), Minnesota: First it was, I didn't have communications with Russians,
which wasn't true.
Then it was, I never met with any Russians to discuss any political campaign, which may
or may not be true.
Now it's, I didn't discuss interference in the campaign.
JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. Attorney General: Well, let me just say without hesitation, that I
conducted no improper discussions with the Russians at any time regarding the campaign
or any other item facing this country.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Sessions has recused himself from the Justice Department's investigation
into Russia's election meddling.
President Trump had new criticism today for former FBI Director James Comey over the Hillary
Clinton e-mail probe.
He complained again that Comey decided to clear Clinton before she was even interviewed.
That's based on newly released draft statements by Comey from May of 2016.
FBI officials say it was already clear that no charges were warranted.
On another issue, the president faced fallout over the death of Army Sergeant La David Johnson
in Niger this month.
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson says she was with Mrs. Johnson when the president called.
The Florida Democrat told The Washington Post that Mr. Trump said -- quote -- "He knew what
he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway."
The sergeant's mother confirmed it, but the president denied it, and White House Press
Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders went after Wilson.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: This is a president who loves our country very much, who has the
greatest level of respect for men and women in uniform and wanted to call and offer condolences
to the family, and I think to try to create something from that, that the congresswoman
is doing, is, frankly, appalling and disgusting.
HARI SREENIVASAN: The Post also reported on another incident today.
It quoted the father of a soldier killed in Afghanistan as saying the president offered
$25,000 from his personal account, but never followed through.
We will get more detail on all of this after the news summary.
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