Study: ‘Medicare for all’ projected to cost $32.6 trillion

Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for all" plan would boost government health spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years, requiring historic tax hikes, says a study released Monday by a university-based libertarian policy center. The latest plan from the Vermont independent would deliver significant savings on administration and drug costs, but increased demand for care would drive up spending, according to the analysis by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia.

5 Metrics that suggest Democrats are poised for big wins 100 days to the midterms

We're now just 100 days away from the midterms, and the big question on everyone's mind is whether Democrats will net-gain 23 seats and gain control of the House of Representatives. A look at five different metrics suggests that Democrats are favored to take back the House, though each of them suggest a different level of confidence.

Guantanamo commander: We’ve gotten no word of incoming prisoners

The commander in charge of Guantanamo prison operations said Friday that he has received no orders to prepare for new war-on-terror detainees, leaving uncertain when or if the prison would grow despite President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to detain more terror suspects at the base. Underscoring the uncertainty, Rear Adm.

The Latest: Republicans request Kavanaugh documents

The Latest on a dispute over records associated with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court : Senate Republicans are requesting documents from Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh's time in the Bush White House but they're doing it without the support of Democrats who believe more documents should be produced. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Friday evening that he has requested access to Kavanaugh's White House Counsel's office emails, all paper files maintained by him in that position and all documents relating to his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

On trade policy, Trump is turning GOP orthodoxy on its head

President Donald Trump's trade policies are turning long-established Republican orthodoxy on its head, marked by tariff fights and now $12 billion in farm aid that represents the type of government intervention GOP voters railed against a decade ago. President George W. Bush increased the number of countries partnering with the United States on free trade agreements from three to 16. President Ronald Reagan signed a landmark trade deal with Canada that was later transformed into the North American Free Trade Agreement and expanded to include Mexico.

The Latest: Schumer appeals to Bush on Kavanaugh documents Source: AP

The Latest on a dispute over records associated with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court : The Senate's top Democrat is appealing to former President George W. Bush in a fight over documents related to Supreme Court nominee and former Bush aide Brett Kavanaugh. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Friday released a letter to Bush urging him to make public "the complete record of Judge Kavanaugh's service."

Senators spar on access to Kavanaugh’s staff secretary work Source: AP

More than a decade after he served as what's been called the president's "inbox and outbox," Brett Kavanaugh's role as White House staff secretary to President George W. Bush has become a flashpoint as Republicans push his confirmation to the Supreme Court. Democrats want to see records from the time, portraying the potentially millions of documents as vital to understanding his approach to the law.

Pumped-up Trump teases ‘unthinkable’ GDP numbers in freewheeling…

The president said Friday's GDP numbers will be 'terrific' as economists agree the numbers could be as high as 4.2 But, they caution, it's likely a one-time thing caused by countries massively importing U.S. goods to beat Trump's tariff hikes He touted his deal-making power at NATO: 'These are kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, and a dictator or two' And he falsely bragged the media cover him much more than they covered President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush President Donald Trump is predicting Friday's GDP numbers will be 'terrific' in a freewheeling, campaign style speech that saw him brag about winning the women's vote, tout his deal-making power with NATO, and criticize one of his favorite enemies - the press.

The hypocrisy of the Democratic Russia hawks

With his interference in the 2016 election, Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved something that none of his murderous Soviet predecessors were able to accomplish: He has turned Democrats into Russia hawks. A few months after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan addressed the 1992 Republican National Convention and said: "I heard those speakers at that other convention saying 'we won the Cold War' - and I couldn't help wondering, just who exactly do they mean by 'we'?" He had a point.

President Trump considers revoking security clearances for former U.S. officials

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is exploring "mechanisms" to revoke security clearances for former U.S. officials who have criticized him for his handling of the Russia investigation and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday. Sanders said the administration is reviewing clearances for former CIA director John Brennan, former FBI director director James Comey, former national intelligence director James Clapper, former CIA director Michael Hayden, former national security adviser Susan Rice and former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe.

Senate set to confirm Wilkie for Veterans Affairs secretary

After months of tumult, Pentagon official Robert Wilkie is expected to become secretary of Veterans Affairs when the Senate votes Monday to confirm him, taking on the task of fulfilling President Donald Trump's promises to fire bad VA employees and steer more patients to the private sector. The long-time public official says he will "shake up complacency" at VA, which has struggled with long waits in providing medical treatment to millions of veterans.

Trumponomics is all about the short run

It's hardly a surprise that Donald Trump broke with longstanding presidential practice and publicly criticized the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates. Trump told CNBC on Thursday that he was "not thrilled" with signals from the Fed that it planned to raise interest rates.

Thiessen: Trump remarks were an embarrassment, not a disaster Posted at

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting to get a different result, which is one of the many reasons President Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed so insane. Trump is trying to do something that both of his immediate predecessors tried to do: turn over a new leaf with Russia.

Can Trump’s Republican Critics Find Strength in Numbers?

While more Republicans than usual criticized Trump's dizzying news conference with Vladimir Putin earlier this week, the possibility of a sustained backlash inside the party is already dwindling. It's splintering against the same rocks that quickly ended the uprising last summer over Trump's comments on white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia: the refusal of congressional Republicans to offer more than cursory questioning of his behavior, much less impose any consequences for it.

Kavanaugh’s role in Bush-era detainee debate now an issue in…

Brett Kavanaugh was adamant as he sat in the witness chair at his 2006 confirmation hearing to be an appeals court judge. Kavanaugh was being questioned by Democrats about his knowledge of President George W. Bush's torture policy and treatment of detainees while he served as associate White House counsel.

Trump comments ‘very disappointing,’ Arkansas governor says; Westerman also critical

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, left, and Donald Trump. Photo credit: Hutchinson - Staton Breidenthal/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Trump-Jim Cole/AP President Donald Trump's comments Monday regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin and that country's election interference in the 2016 U.S. elections were "very disappointing," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday in an interview.