Links to today’s show transcripts:
Will House Republicans “Jump Off the Cliff” and Cut Healthcare for 24 Million Americans?
As Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan face a showdown with Republicans, both moderate and conservative, on whether to repeal Obamacare, the party has been scrambling to rewrite the legislation in order to appease members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus and win its passage. The latest version of the bill strips away provisions that would require health insurers to provide basic services including maternity care, newborn care, emergency services, mental health and addiction treatment. The Democratic Caucus has been united in opposition to the bill, which is projected to leave 24 million fewer people insured by 2026 than under Obamacare. The bill also includes over $275 billion in tax breaks for wealthy Americans. Guest is John McDonough, professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is the former executive director of Health Care for All in Massachusetts, which played a key role in the passage of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform bill, which was known as Romneycare. He later became a top aide to the late Senator Ted Kennedy and worked on the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Attorney for “Frozen Trucker”: Neil Gorsuch May Have Been Most Hostile Judge I’ve Ever Encountered
As confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch wrap up and Senate Democrats vow to filibuster his nomination, we look at Gorsuch’s ruling in a case known as the “frozen trucker.” Truck driver Alphonse Maddin was fired after he disobeyed a supervisor and abandoned the trailer that he was driving, because he was on the verge of freezing to death.
Watch: Sen. Al Franken Grills Neil Gorsuch on Frozen Trucker Case in Extended Questioning
This segment features an extended excerpt of Senator Al Franken (D-MN) grilling Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing about the so-called frozen trucker case of Alphonse Maddin. Gorsuch ruled it was right for Maddin to be fired after he disobeyed a supervisor and abandoned the trailer that he was driving, because he was on the verge of freezing to death. “It is absurd to say this company is in its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving in an unsafe vehicle,” says Sen. Franken. “It makes me question your judgment.”
Florida’s First Black State Attorney Faces Death Threats After Refusing Death Penalty for Cop Killer
A battle over the death penalty is brewing in Florida, where Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala has announced her office will no longer seek the death penalty in any murder cases, including in the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and Orlando police officer Debra Clayton. Ayala’s announcement sparked immediate backlash from the police union and Florida Governor Rick Scott, who called on her to recuse herself from the Loyd case. When she refused, Scott signed an executive order removing her from the case and reassigning it. Now Ayala, the first African-American state attorney in Florida history, has been receiving death threats, including from local government employees.
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