Trevor Matich, Elizabeth Schultz and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C ObamaCare Fight DOA:

• New GOP health bill lacks the votes to pass. GOP Sens. Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Mike Lee (Utah) announced on Monday night they will not support taking up a bill repealing and replacing Obamacare, effectively blocking the legislation. Their decision means Republicans in the Senate are well short of having the support to pass their legislation, and raises serious questions about whether President Trump will reach his goal of ending Obamacare.
• Trump to Republicans: Let’s repeal Obamacare. When all else fails, kill it. President Trump tweeted late Monday that Republicans should “just REPEAL” Obamacare after two key Republican Senators announced they would not support the bill, ending any chance the bill had of passing the Senate. Republican Senators Mike Lee, of Utah and Jerry Moran, of Kansas joined Senators Rand Paul, of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine. Republicans hold onto a 52-48 majority and the two senators’ opposition means the bill is effectively dead. “Republicans should just REPEAL failing Obamacare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!” Trump tweeted.

5am – D 70% say Trump isn’t presidential. What does it mean to be presidential? (ABC News) – Americans are highly disapproving of President Donald Trump in personal terms, with his tweeting habit a major irritant. Seventy percent say he’s acted in an unpresidential manner since taking office, 68 percent don’t see him as a positive role model, and 67 percent disapprove of his use of Twitter. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say that the more they hear about Trump, the less they like him, versus 29 percent who like him more. And 56 percent say unpresidential conduct by Trump is “damaging to the presidency overall.” Trump’s behavior comes in for some criticism even from his own camp. Nearly 4 in 10 Republicans polled, 38 percent, say his conduct has been unpresidential rather than “fitting and proper” for a president; so do 48 percent of evangelical white Protestants and 55 percent of non-college-educated white men, two core Trump support groups.

5am – E Animal News:

• Bill would bar circuses with performing animals from coming to Montgomery County (Washington Post) Another bill introduced at Tuesday’s council meeting would bar circuses with performing animals from coming to the county. The measure, sponsored by Rice and Leventhal, originated with the closing this spring of Ringing Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, long under fire from animal rights groups for its treatment of animals.

6am – A/B/C Is it okay to put your child on a leash? (Simple Most) Let’s face it. Parenting is hard! Kids don’t come with manuals. Everyone is learning as they go along. As long as a child is healthy, safe and loved, who are we to judge? Right?

6am – D As paperwork goes missing, private student loan debts may be wiped away (New York Times) Tens of thousands of people who took out private loans to pay for college but have not been able to keep up payments may get their debts wiped away because critical paperwork is missing. The troubled loans, which total at least $5 billion, are at the center of a protracted legal dispute between the student borrowers and a group of creditors who have aggressively pursued them in court after they fell behind on payments. Judges have already dismissed dozens of lawsuits against former students, essentially wiping out their debt, because documents proving who owns the loans are missing. A review of court records by The New York Times shows that many other collection cases are deeply flawed, with incomplete ownership records and mass-produced documentation.

6am – E House GOP unveils budget plan that attaches major spending cuts to coming tax overhaul bill (Washington Post) House Republicans unveiled a 2018 budget plan Tuesday that would pave the way for ambitious tax reform legislation — but only alongside a package of politically sensitive spending cuts that threaten to derail the tax rewrite before it begins. GOP infighting over spending, health care and other matters continues to cast doubt on whether the budget blueprint can survive a House vote. Failing to pass a budget could complicate leaders’ plans to move on to their next governing priority as hopes of a health-care overhaul appeared to collapse late Monday in the Senate. The House Budget Committee blueprint, which is set for a Thursday committee vote, sets out special procedures that could ultimately allow Republicans to pass legislation over the objections of Senate Democrats who can normally block bills they oppose. GOP leaders in the House, as well as top Trump administration officials, hope to use those procedures — known as reconciliation — to pass a tax overhaul later this year. The instructions in the draft budget, however, go well beyond tax policy and set the stage for a potential $203 billion rollback of financial industry regulations, federal employee benefits, welfare spending and more. Those are policy areas where Republicans have, in many cases, already passed legislation in the House but have seen Democrats block action in the Senate. House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) said the spending proposal is “not just a vision for our country, but a plan for action.”

6am – F Speed cameras installed on Beltway in Maryland (Fox 5 D.C.) A mobile speeding camera is now on the Beltway in Prince George’s County to deter speeders through construction zones. The camera system, which will be located on Interstate 495 near the Suitland Road Bridge, is expected to be around for at least three years during the course of a construction project. If you’re caught driving more than 12 mph over the speed limit, which with current speeds in the area is 67 mph or higher, you can expect a $40 ticket in the mail.

7am – A/B/C Do you plan to demand a full repeal of Obamacare from your lawmaker?

7am – D INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst

•  Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins will play a second straight season under the franchise tag after he and the team failed to get a long-term deal done by the 4 p.m. Monday deadline. This means Cousins will earn $23.9 million this year under the franchise tag.
• Team president Bruce Allen said in May, the Redskins wanted to sign Cousins to a long-term contract and offered him $53 million guaranteed or $72 million for injury. The team’s aim was to have Cousins finish his career with the Redskins, Allen said.
• By not coming to terms on a contract, Cousins is counting on himself having another good year and upping his worth next offseason. He’s coming off a year where he threw for 4,197 yards and 25 touchdown passes. The team came up short of the playoffs by one game.

7am – E Coast Guard to block off Potomac River while Trump is golfing (The Hill) The Coast Guard plans to close off 2 miles of the Potomac River where it shares a border with President Trump’s National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., due to safety concerns, The Washington Post reported Monday. The newspaper reports that many types of waterway vehicles would be restricted from entering the area if Trump or top White House officials are playing on the golf course, including kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, sailboats, jet-skis, motorboats and more. Regular recreational river users, including injured veterans and Olympic athletes, are intensely against the new banned zone. The new policy would block off an area known as Riley’s Lock, which is regularly used by a kayaking program for wounded and disabled veterans, as well as summer camps to take off for their river-related activities, the Post reported.

8am – A INTERVIEW – ELIZABETH SCHULTZ – Fairfax County School Board Member

TOPIC: Debate continues over J.E.B. High School name change

• The people who want to change the name believe the school should not be honoring Stuart, who was a Confederate general. Overshadowing the board’s decision is the fact that other Fairfax County schools are named after Confederate leaders. Whatever decision the board makes on Stuart will set a precedent and could have an impact on the names of Shrevewood Elementary, Mosby Woods Elementary, and on Robert E. Lee High School
• “The most important fact is that no “compelling need” has been demonstrated. Apparently, there are a few offended community members, but no one has suggested that the learning environment has been harmed because of the name of the school” – Tom Davis (Washington Post)
• The board set a vote for July 27 on whether J.E.B. Stuart High School should be renamed.

8am – B/C Should J.E.B. Stuart High School’s name be changed? Does it offend you?

8am – D INTERVIEW – LARRY KUDLOW – CBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm and author of “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity”

TOPIC: GOP Budget

• House Republicans unveiled a 2018 budget plan Tuesday that would pave the way for ambitious tax reform legislation — but only alongside a package of politically sensitive spending cuts that threaten to derail the tax rewrite before it begins.
• For the moment, it doesn’t look like they can pass a healthcare reform bill, but for what moment? Perhaps in August recess, they could work on controversial features and possibly turn four votes around… should not throw their hands up and give up
• When you cut the capital gains tax, you get stronger economic growth, more investment, and higher revenue; some Republicans are taking step backwards and keep Obama’s tax hikes in place

8am – E The Secret Life of a USC Medical School dean (Los Angeles Times) In USC’s lecture halls, labs and executive offices, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito was a towering figure. The dean of the Keck School of Medicine was a renowned eye surgeon whose skill in the operating room was matched by a gift for attracting money and talent to the university. There was another side to the Harvard-educated physician. During his tenure as dean, Puliafito kept company with a circle of criminals and drug users who said he used methamphetamine and other drugs with them, a Los Angeles Times investigation found. Puliafito, 66, and these much younger acquaintances captured their exploits in photos and videos. The Times reviewed dozens of the images. Shot in 2015 and 2016, they show Puliafito and the others partying in hotel rooms, cars, apartments and the dean’s office at USC. In one video, a tuxedo-clad Puliafito displays an orange pill on his tongue and says into the camera, “Thought I’d take an ecstasy before the ball.” Then he swallows the pill. In another, Puliafito uses a butane torch to heat a large glass pipe outfitted for methamphetamine use. He inhales and then unleashes a thick plume of white smoke. Seated next to him on a sofa, a young woman smokes heroin from a piece of heated foil. As dean, Puliafito oversaw hundreds of medical students, thousands of professors and clinicians, and research grants totaling more than $200 million. He was a key fundraiser for USC, bringing in more than $1 billion in donations, by his estimation. Puliafito resigned his $1.1-million-a-year post in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.