White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders held an off-camera news briefing at the White House on Wednesday, July 19:

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Transcript will be available later tonight at this link.
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In February U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed to a format for ongoing trade discussion and economic dialog.  The outcome of their discussions was a 100 day road map to include way-points for economic dialog.
An outcome from the way-point approach was a showing of good faith with China opening their market to U.S. Beef export and the purchase of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), while allowing greater access to its financial services sector to U.S.   However, significant trade imbalance remains and ongoing U.S./China economic dialog was scheduled.
Today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, USTR Robert Lighthizer and White House Adviser Jared Kushner  attended the next phase US – China Comprehensive Economic Dialog meeting.

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*NOTE* after Wilbur Ross delivered his brutally honest remarks the Chinese contingent to the talks cancelled a 5:00pm press conference.
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“For seven years you promised the American people you would repeal Obamacare. People are hurting and frankly inaction is not an option.”
~ President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump held a luncheon for Senate Republicans on Wednesday and delivered stern remarks toward their failure to reach agreement on repealing or overhauling Obamacare.  President Trump demanded they keep their campaign promises and find a new healthcare approach.

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President Trump told the 49 senators who came to a White House luncheon today they should not leave Washington for a planned August recess until they can find common ground on healthcare and do the job Americans are paying them to do.
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Earlier in the year President Trump established a commission to review U.S. election integrity.  Earlier today the first meeting of that Commission on Providing Election Integrity took place.
The meeting video is below which begins with remarks by Vice-President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump. (A Transcript follows):

[Transcript] 11:28 A.M. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, good morning. Please be seated. On behalf of the First Family, welcome to the White House. And welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
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The Washington Post is reporting tonight on a very suspicious, very nefarious, and very secret meeting between comrade President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
O.M.G. The story is so hot The Washington Post received 637 retweets in three hours.  And even more incredibly, the New York Times had a stunningly incredible 116 twit comments and 238 retweets in three hours. I.Kid.You.Not.

The new story is so jaw-dropping CNN actually interrupted their Russia, Russia, Russia coverage to break news with… wait for it….. OMG, Russia, Russia, Russia.  Additionally, a group of highly influential Democrat internet investigators have unearthed footage of the previously undisclosed meeting.   WARNING. Content is very graphic:
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It would appear Mitch McConnell, and the larger congress, just lit the fuse on “the big ugly“.  Winter is coming.

• President Trump has requested all Republican Senators to attend a White House luncheon, held entirely in their honor, tomorrow.  • President Trump has also announced a MAGA rally to be held in Youngstown Ohio, next week.   • Not coincidentally this rally announcement comes on the same day Ohio governor John Kasich writes an op-ed in the New York Times gleefully celebrating the defeat of the senate healthcare reform and  ObamaCare repeal. • HHS Secretary Tom Price is NOT HAPPY.
Oh yeah, the Big Ugly is coming.  President Trump is not a politician.

The failure of congress to pass Obamacare reform means the tax reform agenda for the middle class is now far less likely.  The UniParty Congress know this.  The UniParty Congress is doing the bidding of the lobbyists.
The escalating costs of ObamaCare, specifically because of the Medicaid expansion, means increased tax revenues are needed to pay for the program.  John Kasich, and his crew of like-minded governors (there are eleven) demand their state get more federal dollars.  This means more income tax revenues are needed.  This means no middle-class tax relief.
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Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers the White House press briefing for Tuesday July 18th.  (Audio and Transcript Below):

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[Transcript] 2:34 P.M. EDT – MS. SANDERS: The second door was already open. You guys must be ready for me.
I apologize for the delays. Good afternoon. Today, the Trump administration continued to shine a spotlight on the people, products, and principles that have made this country great with an event hosted by Secretary Zinke, celebrating the American outdoor recreation industry.
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Many years ago we accepted the UniParty.  Shortly thereafter CTH broke away from political identity framed around arguments of party and personality; we chose to focus on policy and outcomes.  Washington DC is a singular party, a UniParty. We have been explaining, countering and fighting “The Big Club” in DC for years; always following the money.
President Trump is the first political entity in our lifetime that not only comprehends the faces of the false arguments (the personalities of false choice and controlled opposition), but more importantly sees the architects behind the Potemkin villages represented by those faces. When it comes to domestic economic policy, the architects are the BIG CLUB.
So, what is “The Big Club“?  …What “Deep State” is to intelligence, military intervention and foreign policy – the “BIG CLUB” is to matters of domestic economics…
Politicians do not write laws. Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer do not sit in their offices writing out scripts of laws and legislation; no politician does. Politicians are the faces who sell legislation that unseen hands create. The Big Club represents the hands that actually create legislation; lobbyist hands.
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Various senators deliver remarks following the collapse of their ability to reform and replace ObamaCare with any alternative.  Beginning with the controlled opposition position of Rand Paul and continuing with Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP leadership (at 15:00 of video).

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What these insufferable politicians well understand is that any substantive tax reform will necessarily also be compromised by the flawed dynamics inside ObamaCare. That will have a negative downstream impact on any hope for economic growth. However, they are not stupid – they know this – that is their unified UniParty goal.
The increasing taxpayer costs to keep big government ObamaCare operational, for non-taxpaying medicaid recipients, means the middle-class is once again sacrificed at the altar of the Big Club.
American workers on the individual market will not only see increased insurance rates, but their income tax rates will also be higher as the need to subsidize the lower-income non-working group (medicaid) remains.
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President Donald Trump expresses strong “disappointment” in the GOP healthcare bill failure:

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As we have said since before last year, the senate will not vote on a ‘repeal only’ bill because: A.) repeal takes 60 votes, and B) there are not even 50 republican votes for a repeal.
Again, as we have said from the beginning, changing the senate rules to a 51 vote threshold for legislative passage is not workable because: A.) it takes 67 senators to agree to change the rule (eliminate the Byrd Rule), and B.) The senate doesn’t want to change the rules.
The GOP have never voted to repeal Obamacare because the GOP doesn’t want to repeal Obamacare.
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