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USA Today NetworkChrissie Thompson, The Cincinnati Enquirer Published 8:53 p.m. ET July 22, 2017 | Updated 8:53 p.m. ET July 22, 2017

The Republican Party spent Wednesday desperately trying to save its healthcare plan after the GOP's Senate leadership was forced to admit that it doesn't have the votes to repeal and replace Obamacare. Video provided by TheStreet Newslook

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In remarks prepared for a meeting with Senators at the White House, President Donald Trump told Republicans: "We can repeal, but we should repeal and replace, and shouldn't leave town" until the bill is complete. (July 19) AP

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The late-night comics on Senate Republican's failure to agree on health care legislation. Take a look at our favorite jokes, then vote for yours at usatoday.com/opinion.

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President Donald Trump declared Tuesday it's time to "let Obamacare fail" after the latest GOP health care plan crashed and burned in the Senate, a failure for Trump, Mitch McConnell and a party that has vowed for years to abolish the law. (July 18) AP

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President Trump was not pleased that the Republican's effort to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed. USA TODAY

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President Donald Trump blasted congressional Democrats and "a few Republicans" Tuesday over the collapse of the GOP effort to rewrite the Obama health care law, and warned, "We will return." (July 18) AP

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The latest GOP effort to repeal and replace 'Obamacare' was fatally wounded in the Senate Monday night when two more Republican senators announced their opposition to legislation strongly backed by President Donald Trump. Time

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Republican leaders unveiled a new health care bill in their effort to deliver on promises to repeal and replace "Obamacare." They cannot spare losing many GOP votes as the party's own divisions put its top campaign pledge in serious jeopardy. (July 13) AP

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The Senate GOP has released its revised health care bill. Heres whats different and what stayed the same. Time

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In a high-stakes bid for conservative support, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to demands from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to allow insurers to sell low-cost, skimpier plans as part of a new health care bill. Time

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In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, President Donald Trump said that Republicans must come together on a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. (July 12) AP

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Rand Paul writes a new op-ed that says why he cannot support the Senate GOP healthcare bill. Elizabeth Keatinge (@elizkeatinge) has more. Buzz60

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Harvard professor David Williams is concerned about the current congressional debate over healthcare. He cites President Ronald Reagan's massive spending cut and the aftermath as evidence that cutting healthcare programs doesn't help people's health. USA TODAY

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Police on Monday said they arrested 80 people protesting the Senate Republicans health care bill in Washington, D.C. Time

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans to unveil a revised health care bill on Thursday and begin voting on the measure next week. This comes as the Senate also announced a two week delay to their August recess. (July 11) AP

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With all of the controversy surrounding the Republican Obamacare replacement bill, one GOP Senator is working on unveiling his own health care plan. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story. Buzz60

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A coalition of GOP senators is pushing to cancel the annual August recess, making more time for health care and other legislative priorities before the fiscal year's end. (July 11) AP

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Congress is back in session this week after a 10-day recess. And lawmakers are facing a pretty harrowing agenda. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said if GOP senators can't agree on the current health bill, they'll have to figure something else out. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul gave a town hall-style meeting in Louisville Thursday to talk to voters about the Republican answer to the Affordable Care Act. (July 6) AP

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Protesters gathered Wednesday outside the Capitol to voice their opposition to the GOP health care bill. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Democrats requested an additional analysis of the GOP health care bill's long-term effects on Medicaid from the Congressional Budget Office. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Speaker Paul Ryan says President Donald Trump's crude tweet about a cable news anchor is not an 'appropriate comment.' (June 29) AP

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Less than 5 months into his presidency, health care is moving Independents away from Trump and Republicans. Jose Sepulveda(@josesepulvedatv) has more. Buzz60

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A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows low support among Americans for the GOP healthcare bill. Susan Page, USA TODAY Washington bureau chief, explains the findings. USA TODAY

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Right now, GOP senators are trying to gather enough votes to pass their Obamacare replacement plan, but even fellow Republicans are having a time a hard time accepting the health care bill. USA TODAY

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Democratic leaders joined protestors outside the Capitol building Wednesday to protest the health care bill that Senate Republicans are working on. (June 28) AP

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President Donald Trump says getting approval of a Senate health care bill will be 'very tough.' But he predicts that Republicans will at least 'get very close' and may 'get it over the line.' (June 28) AP

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Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel doesn't think the AHCA will pass through Congress and shares his ideas about how Obamacare could be improved, rather than repealed. He speaks with Susan Page, USA TODAY Washington bureau chief, on Capital Download. USA TODAY

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Sen. Mitch McConnell says 'good progress' was made during a meeting with members of the Senate at the White House to discuss the Senate healthcare bill. (June 27) AP

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House Speaker Paul Ryan is defending the Senate Republican health care plan. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story. Buzz60

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Less than a week after Senate Republicans unveiled their version of the American Health Care Act, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a vote on it has been pushed back until after July 4. USA TODAY

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the vote will be delayed on the Senate version of the GOP health bill as members continue to work out the details. (June 26) AP

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The main change is meant to encourage people not to let their coverage expire. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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The nonpartisan agency says the Republican plan will leave 22 million people uninsured over the next decade. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warns that the lives of thousands of Americans are at risk if GOP health bill passes. Buzz60

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Republican Senator Susan Collins expressed concerns about the healthcare bill and defended the funding of Planned Parenthood. Lindsey Granger has details. Buzz60

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President Donald Trump spoke to FOX News Channel's FOX & Friends, saying that he never taped former FBI Director James Comey, but he believes Comey changed his story once the possibility of recordings was raised. (June 23) AP

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The former president wrote a lengthy post about his concerns with Republican efforts to repeal and replace his signature health care legislation. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Meet the 13 Senators Deciding on Your Health Care Behind Closed Doors Time

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One Republican Senator says he needs to read and study the GOP health care bill before he votes for it. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story. Buzz60

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer said American's cannot afford to foot the bill for Obamacare any longer. USA TODAY

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Senate Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have been criticized for a lack of transparency. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

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Senator John McCain has had a way with words for years. And now, Bloomberg is reporting the senior Senator from Arizona says hes sure the Russians have seen the Senate Republican healthcare bill. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story. Buzz60

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the president 'clearly wants' Senate Republicans to put forward a health care bill 'that has heart.' (June 20) AP

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Repealing and replacing Obamacare has been a centerpiece of the Republican party for years. The House already passed their version of the American Health Care Act back in May and now it's the Senate's turn. Buzz60

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Republicans are fighting to save their healthcare plan

Trump to GOP: No health care plan, no vacation

Kimmel, Colbert and Noah on GOP's failure

Senate GOP scrambles after health care flop

Trump: 'Let Obamacare fail' after house bill stalls

Washington roiled by Obamacare repeal failure

Two more Republican Senators oppose health bill, killing it for now

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Mike Pence makes nice with John Kasich - USA TODAY

Vice President Mike Pence delivered remarks at the Retail Advocates' Summit in Washington, D.C. on July 18, 2017.

Vice President Mike Pence says that when it comes to deregulation, President Donald Trumps record is historic.

Trump "has signed more laws cutting through federal red tape than any president in American history and has already saved businesses and families up to $18 billion in red tape costs every year," Pence said in a speech at the National Retail Federation's Annual Retail Advocates Summit on July 18, 2017.

Looking at the first half of the statement, we wondered, has Trump surpassed his predecessors in deregulation? And, is the savings $18 billion?

Its not so easy to quantify laws that cut red tape. Experts we spoke with said that other presidents have cut through more red tape than Trump so far, citing the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, as well as President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagans deregulation of such previously heavily regulated industries as air travel, trucking, bankingand telecommunications.

However, many of these measures were taken through federal agencies, or constituted a single law, whereas Pence cited a record number of laws passed.

" Laws cutting red tape is a sufficiently ambiguous phrase that it is nearly impossible to say who has cut the most," said Jon Schaff, a professor of political science at Northern University."If you were going to judge Pences claim, youd have to go through all laws for all presidents and then decide whether each law was deregulatory in some manner and then how much did it deregulate. How does one judge such a thing? How much red tape was saved through welfare reform in the 1990s? Or simply getting rid of federal controls on speed limits on highways? Or tax reform in 1986?"

When we asked Pences office for clarification, spokesperson Marc Lotter said that Trump had signed 14 Congressional Review Act measures compared with one previously. Hes right.

President Bill Clinton signed the Congressional Review Act in 1994, and it allows lawmakers to overturn regulations by federal agencies within 60 legislative days of their issue dates. It mainly applies when a new administration is aligned with the new Congress, and both oppose a certain set of last-minute regulations from the previous president.

Unlike executive authority -- which requires notice to the public and hearings, and produces outcomes that are often challenged in court -- Congressional Review Act measures only require an up-or-down majority vote in Congress.

"Pences office is clearly, unambiguously correct when it comes to Trump signing 14 Congressional Review Act resolutions to just one for all previous presidents though do note that it is called the Congressional Review Act, and really it would be more fair to say that Congress initiated those actions, and Trump was in a position to ratify their choices," said Philip Wallach, a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Savings through the Congressional Review Act

Has Trump already saved Americans $18 billion with his deregulatory measures?

Lotter directed us to research by the right-leaning policy group American Action Forum to back up the talking point.

The AAF calculated $1.1 billion in savings, using the Federal Registers estimated costs of regulations issued by the Obama administration that were repealed by Congressional Review Act measures.

"In addition, President Trump has formally delayed and signaled an intention to amend several other major rules. Combined, these actions could generate more than $18 billion in annual regulatory savings for businesses, investors, and consumers," the AAF said in the cited report. An updated AAF post places this estimate closer to $21.8 billion.

We first parsed through the $1.1 billion saved by the historic CRA measures, which checks out with the Federal Register data. What doesnt check out is Pences statement that these dollars have already been saved.

The reason it was possible for Trump to roll back these rules was that they had been put in place at the end of the previous administration, which also means that many of them hadnt yet taken effect.

Take the Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers, a rule that would require energy companies to report to the Federal Exchange Committee payments made to foreign governments. The AAF calculated its rollback would save $590.7 million annually, but those savings would only begin on Sept. 30, 2018, the rules required compliance date. The rollback of the Stream Protection Rule, calculated to save $81 million annually, would only start in 2020.

With compliance dates months or years in the future, businesses were unlikely to have sunk costs to comply with these rules according to Amit Narang, a regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen, a left-leaning government watchdog group.

The calculation of costs also ignores the benefits of these rules and industry innovation that may reduce the cost of compliance.

In the Office of Management and Budgets last annual report computing the costs and benefits of the federal regulations that were produced between 2005 and 2015, they found that benefits outweighed costs.

"In 2014 dollars, aggregate annual benefits are estimated to be between $269 and $872 billion and costs between $74 and $110 billion," the report said. "These ranges reflect uncertainty in the benefits and costs of each rule at the time that it was evaluated."

Arriving at $21.8 billion

We then went on to look at the larger chunk of costs the AAF analyzed to come up with total annual savings from executive actions (not just Congressional Act Review measures). These potential savings were calculated using the costs estimated by the Federal Register at the time the legislation was put in place.

Taking these cost estimates as full savings assumes that the Trump administration will be able to fully annul rules that experts expect would take years to achieve.

For example, the executive action to dismantle the Clean Power Act would theoretically save $8.4 billion annually, but it will take a years-long rulemaking process to complete. The executive order to roll back the Gainful Employment Rule, estimated to save $433 million annually, will be delayed due to a court challenge.

The last chunk of the $21.8 billion estimate came from rule delays, which brings us back to our concern with saying the administration has saved the costs from future regulations cut by CRA measures. These costs werent straining families and businesses to beginwith, because they were not yet in effect, and have simply been pushed further back.

The Office of Management and Budgets latest calculation of the Trump administrations annualized cost savings estimated these at $22 million, which is significantly lower than Pences $18 billion figure. We repeatedly reached out tothe OMB for more details on their projections but did not hear back.

Our ruling

Pence said Trump "has signed more laws cutting through federal red tape than any President in American history and has already saved businesses and families up to $18 billion in red tape costs every year."

Whether Trump has signed more laws cutting red tape depends upon how you count legislation. Trump did sign a record number of laws rolling back regulations under the Congressional Review Act, but thats not the only way to count deregulatory action.

Also, Pence is counting eggs before they hatch in using an $18 billion estimate of total savings. The deadlines for compliance for most of the measures he annulled had yet to go into effect, and the fate of many of the executive actions that would back past regulation remains unclear.

We rate this statement Half True.

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Says President Donald Trump "has signed more laws cutting through federal red tape than any president in American history and has already saved businesses and families up to $18 billion in red tape costs every year."

Mike Pence

Vice President

a speech

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

2017-07-18

Read the original here:
Did Donald Trump cut $18 billion worth of red tape, as Mike Pence said? - PolitiFact

Donald Trump and those around him have made a long series of mistakes stemming from his campaign's contacts with Russians and subsequent inquiries into the matter, which raise the real possibility of his impeachment. But none of those compares to his biggest blunder: choosing Mike Pence as his running mate.

Pence is in a delicate position, which may be why he is seldom seen or heard from these days. On the one hand, his job as vice president obligates him to be a loyal member of the administration. On the other, he needs to maintain good relations with congressional Republicans, many of whom find Trump exasperating.

The vice president has to give every sign of appearing to support Trump in advancing his agenda, lest his boss turn on him. That means cheerfully endorsing the nonsense that flows nonstop from Trump's mouth, including brazen lies.

But Pence can't go too far. He needs to avoid being completely contaminated by a president who violates every norm of ethics, behaves like a stooge of Vladimir Putin and keeps wading deeper into a scandal that may bring indictments. Pence has to look loyal without making his toadyism too slavish.

Fortunately for him, he's blessed with great adaptability in advancing his interests. A sanctimonious churchgoer who could pair up with a casino magnate, adulterer and self-declared sexual assailant without alienating followers of Jesus is not to be underestimated.

Still, Pence has a tricky path to negotiate, as vice presidents serving unpopular presidents have often learned. Hubert Humphrey, once a darling of liberals, became their nemesis for refusing to break with President Lyndon Johnson on the Vietnam War and lost the 1968 election to Richard Nixon.

Al Gore defended Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal but criticized his behavior once the impeachment crisis was over. His association with Clinton was both too close and not close enough, and it contributed to his narrow 2000 defeat.

Unlike everyone else in the administration, Pence does not serve at Trump's pleasure. Trump can demand that he do his bidding, but he can't fire him. Because Pence has been a GOP soldier for so long, Trump can't really damage him among the Republican rank and file. All this gives Pence a measure of freedom to protect himself from his boss.

More important, the vice president retains the esteem of congressional Republicans, who see him as their best friend in the administration and a reliable voice for conservative principles. Unlike Trump, he understands them, their political needs and the realities of legislating.

He also doesn't throw them under the bus. Trump infuriated House Republicans who had voted for an unpopular Obamacare replacement bill by calling it "mean," even after celebrating it with them at the White House. Pence wouldn't do that. His ability to stay on the good side of both his boss and his party reflects his political savvy and talent for self-preservation.

That's why he presents such a threat to Trump. Nixon's best safeguard against impeachment was Vice President Spiro Agnew, because congressional Democrats so loathed Agnew. When Agnew resigned after being charged in a bribery investigation, Nixon lost that shield.

He replaced Agnew with Rep. Gerald Ford, whom he saw as another "insurance policy" because, as Nixon biographer Jonathan Aitken wrote, "Ford was regarded by both Nixon and by many of his fellow Congressmen as decent but dumb." The more unthinkable a vice president is for the top job, the more the president can get away with.

But this one is not unthinkable. Most Republicans in Congress would much rather deal with President Pence than with President Trump. He would be better at working with them and less prone to embarrassing them.

Anyone as conservative on abortion, gay rights and almost every other issue as Pence doesn't qualify as a Democratic dream. But Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would probably prefer a mentally stable right-wing puritan to an unpredictable, thin-skinned narcissist. It would be less stressful to worry that Pence will attack reproductive freedom than to worry that Trump will nuke North Korea.

Trump may soon wish he had chosen for his running mate someone like Chris Christie or Ted Cruz. If he continues to self-destruct and the investigations produce more damaging revelations, members of Congress in both parties will eventually exhaust their patience, take a long look at Pence and say, "What are we waiting for?"

Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at http://www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.

Download "Recalculating: Steve Chapman on a New Century" in the free Printers Row app at http://www.printersrowapp.com.

schapman@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SteveChapman13

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More here:
A President Mike Pence is looking better every day - Chicago Tribune

Mike Pence stands beside Trump as he makes a speech in the East Room on July 17th.

By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

In the first months of the Trump administration, Mike Pence appears to have performed a miraculous balancing act: pledging loyalty to his boss while gliding away from incessant scandal and turbulence, hair unruffled, a confident smile on his face. In an epically chaotic administration, he was the sane one, the competent one. He was taking the best of Trumpthe baseand discarding the worst. In May, he started his own PAC, and hes already been cultivating big G.O.P. money, fueling speculation about his political future. The thought of President Pencewhether in 2024 or much soonerpleased many conservatives, and made Democrats afraid. He has sort of been above the fray . . . It seems hes escaped any of the fallout, David Woodard, a G.O.P. political consultant and professor of political science at Clemson University, told me. Pence has kind of a lunch bucket mentality of a day-to-day working member of the administration . . . quietly working and not much in the forefront.

Last week, however, Pence seemed to stumble on the wire. When the Donnygate scandal hit at the start of last week and Donald Trump surrogates took to the airwaves to offer full-throated defenses of the president, Mike Pences aides took a more selfish line. The vice president was not aware of the meeting, Marc Lotter, Pences press secretary, said of the controversial rendezvous between senior members of the Trump campaign, a Russian attorney and alleged ex-Soviet spy last June. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about a time before he joined the ticket. Lotter added, The vice president is working every day to advance the presidents agenda.

But Pence, for almost the first time, was wobbling. The denial incited a flurry of headlines suggesting that Pence sought to put daylight between himself and the president and was reportedly viewed by some in the White House as an affront to President Trump. Pences team promptly sought to quash the narrative that he was anything but loyal to his boss, lambasting it as offensive. But the strong word underlined how eager Pences team is to put the episode in the rearview.

Then came health care. Pence had made a show of rolling up his sleeves and diving into the specifics, a businesslike soldier for the presidents agenda. But his trip to the National Governors Association summer meeting last Friday was widely panned. He was a highly imperfect messenger for the bill, given that hed expanded Indianas Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act, himself, and some of his statements from the podiumfor instance, that millions wouldnt lose coverage under the Senate health-care bill and that the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare has resulted in disabled Americans being denied carewere risible falsehoods. His attacks on John Kasich of Ohio made him look out of his depth. This is a dramatic change to what most of us have reacted to within the last four years, Brian Sandoval, Nevadas popular Republican governor, told reporters. Democratic Governor Dan Malloy of Connecticut characterized Pences tactics as ham-handed.

His number one success while he was governor was implementing the plan called Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0. And that was a Medicaid expansion program that looked just like any other Medicaid expansion program, Michael Leppert, a Democratic lobbyist in Indiana, said in an interview. He will have a hard time reconciling that, and that reconciliation is where I think youre probably going to find most of his mistakes coming from. What message hes trying to deliverand whats real.

Pence also missed the crucial defections. Pence, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who was the White Houses point person on health care, was reportedly supposed to be monitoring Mike Lees stance on the legislation. But he failed to foresee the Utah senators decision on Monday night to oppose the bill, announced jointly with that of Jerry Moran, which effectively killed the legislation.

When it comes to forcing difficult policy details down the throats of skeptical senatorsno, he wouldnt be on my list of top 10,000 people to do that, Scott Pelath, the Democratic minority leader in the Indiana House of representatives, said in an interview. I think there are things that he could add to the Trump administration. If I was in those shoes I could think of a list of ideas to use him to move a national message, but sending him up before Congress is not it.

For the G.O.P., Pence has thus far been a kind of security blanket, comfortable but not exactly a savior. He doesnt have to impress, as long as he doesnt implode. Among Republicans, Pences ability to dodge the roving spotlight in the Russia saga has been welcomed. The perfect conservative counterweight to Trump and a known quantity on Capitol Hill, the vice president is viewed as a stabilizing force who will steward the conservative agenda through Congress. Voters who are not really thrilled with Trump but resigned to him like having Pence in there because hes kind of a steadying rock for them. And the fact that hes doing day-to-day work and doesnt appear in any controversies is kind of reassuring, Woodard says. Barry Wynn, the former South Carolina Republican Party chairman, echoes the sentiment. I think he is doing the right thing by supporting the administration, but not being involved in the hand-to-hand combat about Russia, Wynn, who also served on the National Finance Committee, said during an interview. I think its the right thing for him, but I also think it is the right thing for the administration to protect their effectiveness. . . . They need somebody within the administration thats going to be truly effective and concentrate on those issues that they are trying to move forward.

Whether Pences entanglement with Trump has tarnished his reputation is a matter of debate among Republicans. One G.O.P. strategist speaking on the condition of anonymity, recently told me, I think, to some degree, no matter how hard he tries to stay above the fray, he is going to be forever linked to Donald Trump, and added, I dont think Pence would get a free pass by other potential Republican candidates if he were to run in 2020 or beyond. But last week, as Donnygate was unfolding, another top Republican consultant close to the Hill dismissed the idea that Trump Jr.s meeting with Russians at Trump Tower hurt the vice presidents standing. No impact, he wrote in an e-mail, adding that Pence is as strong as ever and that its all noise.

Republicans, they know him, they trust him, they consider him kind of a friend, Wynn said. I think he has built up a tremendous amount of loyalty and trustworthiness with all of those members. Rick Wilson, a G.O.P. strategist and known Never Trumper, suggested that Republican lawmakers have endeavored to protect Pence from the emanating Russia scandal. I think some of them are doing some scenario planning, some of them just want somebody that they know speaks their language, and some of them want somebody that understands the tribal culture of the Hill, which he does, Wilson told me in a recent interview. So a lot of them are protecting him and keeping him sort of a little bit above the fray because they would like to have a backup plan just in case.

Where conservatives see a strength, however, Democrats see a credibility problem. When Pence denied knowing about Michael Flynns lobbying work, Representative Elijah Cummingsthe ranking member of the House Oversight Committeerebuked the defense. During an interview with CNNs Chris Cuomo, the Maryland Democrat said that his committee sent a letter to Pence last November about Flynns Turkish ties. Either hes not telling the truth, or he was running a sloppy shop because we have a receipt, Chris, that says they received the letter. Now, I know things get mixed up in the mail. I got that, he said. My belief is they really wanted this guy to be part of their operation, period.

Its worth remembering that, as of last summer, Pence was not exactly a political shooting star. In fact, getting plucked out of Indiana to join Trump on the Republican ticket as the vice-presidential nominee, arguably, saved his political career. Following his notorious flip-flop on the Religious Freedom Restoration Actwhich almost cost the midwestern state millions of dollars and was viewed by some on the right as a betrayala prolonged lead-poisoning crisis in his own backyard, an H.I.V. outbreak that ravaged rural Indiana on his watch, and his decision to sign an anti-abortion law that was ultimately ruled unconstitutional, Pence was battling middling approval ratings and was vulnerable to losing his gubernatorial re-election campaign when Trump tapped him as his running mate.

In Indiana, a lot of people would say that he might be the luckiest politician of all time. Hes certainly one of the luckiest politicians people in Indiana know, Leppert said. Everyone, Republican, Democrat alike, saw [the governorship] as him preparing to run for the next level . . . there should have been some level of expectation that he wouldve thrown his hat into the ring to run for president in 2016 had he not had that political setback that R.F.R.A. served . . . and actually, he had a re-elect campaign that was going to be all he could handle in Indiana before he got the nod for the V.P.

In 2015, shortly after he signed the R.F.R.A., Pence appeared on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos to defend the controversial law. When asked multiple times whether it was legal for a florist in Indiana to refuse to sell flowers to a gay couple for their wedding, the then governor demurred and employed many of the same tactics he has employed to dodge impropriety as vice presidentdismissing the question as misinformation and shameless rhetoric and arguing, The issue is, Is tolerance a two-way street or not? Ultimately, Pence refused to say the law didnt discriminate against the L.G.B.T.Q. community and the interview incited a deluge of criticism that prompted the law to be re-written. But the botched appearance also revealed the limits of Pences gymnastic obfuscation skills, prefiguring the current moment. Even the most artful balancing act cant last forever.

The O.G. Never Trumper, Romney effectively renounced his past denunciations of the president-elect, whom he had previously called a con man, when Trump began publicly courting him for secretary of state. (He did not get the job.)

A long time ago, in the year 2016, the R.N.C. chairman threw everything he could to prevent Trump from becoming the partys nominee. Days after Trump won, Reince stood by his side as his chief of staff, possibly getting the least humiliating outcome for an erstwhile Trump foe.

The House Speaker spent months trying to maintain a safe distance from Trump, condemning his statements (even as he declined to renounce him) and at one point canceling a rally appearance with Trump after his past p****-grabbing comments came to light. Flash-forward two months, and Ryan was praising Trump in front of a cheering crowd in Wisconsin, thanking him for clinching the first Republican presidential win in the state in decades.

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The O.G. Never Trumper, Romney effectively renounced his past denunciations of the president-elect, whom he had previously called a con man, when Trump began publicly courting him for secretary of state. (He did not get the job.)

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park.

A long time ago, in the year 2016, the R.N.C. chairman threw everything he could to prevent Trump from becoming the partys nominee. Days after Trump won, Reince stood by his side as his chief of staff, possibly getting the least humiliating outcome for an erstwhile Trump foe.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From PBS.

The House Speaker spent months trying to maintain a safe distance from Trump, condemning his statements (even as he declined to renounce him) and at one point canceling a rally appearance with Trump after his past p****-grabbing comments came to light. Flash-forward two months, and Ryan was praising Trump in front of a cheering crowd in Wisconsin, thanking him for clinching the first Republican presidential win in the state in decades.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Digital Colorization by Ben Park; From Getty Images.

Read the original:
Mike Pence's Master Plan Goes Up in Smoke | Vanity Fair - Vanity Fair

The best days for American retailers are ahead, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday at a summit hosted by the National Retail Federation.

"I promise you that," Pence told the crowd.

More than 200 retail representatives from across the country, including small-business retailers, national executives and state officials, attended the Retail Advocates Summit in Washington, D.C.

This year's convention focused on the importance of tax reform for retailers and their employees.

"As retail goes, so goes America," Pence said. "This president is going to work with this Congress, this year, and pass the largest tax cuts since the days of Ronald Reagan." The current tax code creates "huge barriers" to creating more retail jobs, he added.

"The internal revenue code is [currently] two times as long as the Bible, with no good news," he joked.

The GOP has promised to simplify the tax code, making the language "fairer" and "simpler."

On Tuesday, Pence took the opportunity to speak about Trump's latest efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare. He opened the event by detailing Republicans' latest push in health care probably not the conversation many retailers were expecting to have.

Lately, Republicans have been facing heated pressure from big businesses, including retailers, to move on from health-care legislation to passing some sort of tax reform.

Many executives have stressed the importance of securing a major reduction in the corporate tax rate, which currently stands at 35 percent. On Tuesday, Pence suggested to the retailers a cut to 15 percent.

Though both White House and Republican leaders have proposed steep cuts, analysts say divisions within the GOP and the stalemate on health care have diminished the prospect of aggressive action.

Retail executives in particular remain concerned about one of House Speaker Paul Ryan's proposals: a border adjustment tax, also referred to as BAT.

But Pence didn't mention BAT a definite elephant in the room during his Tuesday speech.

The consumer-facing industry has been leading the fight against the proposed measure, which would tax imports into the United States.

In May, for example, a group of retail CEOs met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to express frustration regarding the import tax, with many arguing this plan would cause companies to hike prices and pass the burden on to consumers. Present at the May meeting were executives from Coca-Cola, Dollar General and J.C. Penney.

The estate tax, however, did come under fire. "[U]nder President Trump we will repeal the death tax once and for all," Pence said, to a heavy round of applause. This is important to retailers because some closely held businesses are subject to the estate tax.

"Less regulation, lower taxes, better infrastructure," he said. The president wants retailers to be able to compete on a "level playing field" with companies all across the world, he said.

[We] "will put retailers back on the path to jobs and growth and back to competitiveness."

CNBC's Ylan Mui contributed to this report.

Read more details on Pence's Tuesday speech.

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'As retail goes, so goes America,' VP Pence tells a room full of retailers - CNBC