Sanders Questions: Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Trump Edition 

Republican Senators Graham, Cassidy, and Heller introduced their health care bill today that would reverse the gains made under the Affordable Care Act by taking health care from millions of people all to start a new system with lower quality care and higher costs. That’s a no-brainer for President Trump, right?

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden calls on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to answer the following questions:

1. Is the White House still pursuing a plan started by Michael Flynn to build dozens nuclear reactors across the Middle East backed by of his secret lobbying clients?

2. Does President Trump support a bipartisan deal reached by the Senate Finance Committee to extend CHIP for five years?

3. Actual election experts agree voter fraud is a nearly non-existent problem and President Trump’s voter commission head Kris Kobach said yesterday there is a “high possibility” the group won’t even make any […]

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American Bridge Statement & New Ad on Dean Heller’s Never-Ending ACA Repeal Fight

“Today, Dean Heller yet again broke his promise to protect Nevadans’ health care by pushing his disastrous plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act  — all to score partisan points. By signing his name to this latest legislation — which independent studies say would end Medicaid expansion, kick over 200,000 Nevadans off their health care and raise costs for millions more — Dean Heller is sealing his political fate. Count on Nevadans to hold Heller accountable at the ballot box next November for fighting to undermine their health care,” said American Bridge President Jessica Mackler.

Read more after the jump.

Prime Minister’s Visit Highlights Trump’s Malaysian Conflicts

President Trump, who pays himself millions in taxpayer funds and sells out presidential access on a multi-million dollar scale, is today set to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is himself “under the cloud of a corruption investigation.”

But not even Prime Minister Najib’s “corruption cloud” and accompanying Department of Justice investigation can distract from Trump’s own scandals — particularly as Najib’s visit puts Trump’s entangling Malaysian business conflicts of interest in high relief.

Trump’s Malaysian conflicts of interest epitomize his selling out the presidency for personal gain: the Trumps’ Trump Tower Vancouver partner, Malaysian national Joo Kim Tiah, was an invited guest at Trump’s inauguration, and he even trumpets his Trump family access on social media and in media interviews. There are consequences to Trump and his partners — especially foreign partners — using the presidency as a marketing tool — and none are […]

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Bridge Project Releases Warning Against Latest GOP Attempt to Gut Healthcare

Ad Targets Most Vulnerable Senator Dean Heller

Even though Americans want their leaders focused on job creation, Senate Republicans – including Dean Heller from Nevada – just can’t stop trying to take health care away from millions. A new Trumpcare plan, known as Graham-Cassidy-Heller, would subject countless families to the same devastating consequences of the last 5 failed plans.

To hold Dean Heller accountable for yet again breaking his promise to protect Nevadans’ healthcare, Bridge Project is out with a new digital ad highlighting the pain that the latest bill would inflict. The ad will serve as a model that can be implemented against other Republicans who support the Graham-Cassidy-Heller plan.

“Instead of focusing on the American people’s first priority – creating good-paying, middle class jobs – Donald Trump and Senate Republicans like Dean Heller are pushing yet another Trumpcare bill that would gut the American healthcare system,” said American Bridge President Jessica Mackler. “Americans […]

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Sen. Alexander​’s​ Scheme to Gut Essential Health Benefits Puts Insurance Companies First, Not Families

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after it was reported that Sen. Lamar Alexander was advocating for a mechanism from Trumpcare proposals that would cripple the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurance plans cover Essential Health Benefits – such as hospitalization, prenatal care, and prescription drugs: 

“The vast majority of Americans oppose gutting the Affordable Care Act’s landmark consumer protections that guarantee health insurance plans cover the most basic healthcare services. Sen. Alexander should recall how overwhelmingly this measure was rejected during the Trumpcare debate and focus on putting families – not insurance companies – first.”

Axios: Senate’s ACA talks aren’t going as well as they seem
Caitlin Owens

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate HELP Committee disagree about the how far they should go in overhauling the Affordable Care Act’s “state innovation waivers” — a dispute that could spell trouble for the committee’s bipartisan talks about how to […]

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Sanders Questions: Yes, Trump Is A Republican Edition 

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden calls on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to answer the following questions: 

1. Will President Trump apologize for his patently false remarks that “thousands” of people in New Jersey were celebrating after the attacks on September 11th? 

2. Why did the Trump Organization hire a construction company owned by the Chinese government for work on a Dubai property when President Trump promised his company would not engage in foreign deals while he’s in office? Since we know he hasn’t fully divested from his businesses, did President Trump orchestrate this deal? 

3. Why did the White House hide the fact that President Trump met with the new Russian ambassador on Friday and then also quietly issue a memorandum delegating authority over the Magnitsky Act, an issue of key importance to Vladimir Putin, to Treasury and the State Department? Was this a request from the new […]

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Editorials Round Up: No Heart Edition

This week editorial boards across the country slammed President Trump for his cowardly and indefensible decision to rescind DACA. In this one heartless move, Trump put the lives  and futures of 800,000 young people in limbo as their fates rest in the hands of a Republican Congress more interested in building a wall than helping Dreamers. Adding insult to injury, thousands of DACA protectees received this news while dealing with the fallout of Hurricane Harvey and preparing for Hurricane Irma to hit.

Here’s what Americans read this week in their local newspapers:

9/1

San Francisco Chronicle: Trump’s Russia Reset Is A Bust

Thursday’s State Department order to close the San Francisco consulate and two other facilities by Saturday was a more potent response. But the administration did not force staff reductions and hoped to “avoid further retaliatory actions by both sides and move forward to achieve the stated goal of both of our […]

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Sanders Questions: Plane Envy Edition 

Florida is bracing for impact from Hurricane Irma while Texas and Louisiana are still in the midst of devastation from Hurricane Harvey and President Trump is jealous that the Emir of Kuwait has a bigger plane than him. 

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden calls on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to answer the following questions: 

1. Why is the Trump administration turning its back on survivors of campus sexual assault by rescinding protections under Title IX? 

2. After witnessing two historic hurricanes and the worst hurricane to hit Mexico in 100 years will President Trump unequivocally say climate change is real and it was a mistake to leave the Paris Accord?

3. Yesterday, Donald Trump Jr. told congressional investigators that he did not discuss his response to stories about the June 2016 meeting with his father, but reports indicate President Trump actually dictated his response aboard Air Force One. Which […]

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Reminder: You Can’t Believe Anything Donald Trump Jr. Says

Donald Trump Jr. has changed his story about collusion with Russia yet again, this time in testimony to investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee. He can be charged with a crime if he’s found to have lied to congressional investigators. 

It’s clear Trump Jr. must be counting on congressional investigators, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and the American people to suspend their disbelief and blindly accept his conflicting explanations. Unfortunately for Trump Jr. and his father, however, that’s simply not going to happen. 

Here are the three most likely lies from Trump Jr.’s testimony today: 

1. Trump Jr. now says he doesn’t remember if the White House helped craft his initial misleading response to reports about the June 9, 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russian officials. 

FACT CHECK: The President dictated his son’s response on-board Air Force One. 

2. Trump Jr. now says he had reservations about […]

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American Bridge Statement On Trump Administration Roll Back Of Campus Sexual Assault Protections

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden made the following statement in response to Secretary Betsy DeVos’ announcement that the Trump administration will re-write campus sexual assault protections under Title IX:

“Today, Betsy DeVos and Donald Trump showed us they stand with perpetrators of sexual violence over the victims. One in five women are sexually assaulted in college, yet the Trump administration thinks the answer is to make it even more difficult for victims to feel comfortable and protected when coming forward. This is disgusting and shameful, even for the man who bragged about where he likes to grab women.”

Read more after the jump.