DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/HEALTHCARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As President Trump prepares to kick off his bid for a second term this week, he is anxiously searching for a way to counter Democrats on health care, one of their central issues, even though many of his wary Republican allies would prefer he let it go for now. Since he announced his previous run four years ago, Mr. Trump has promised to replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with ‘something terrific’ that costs less and covers more without ever actually producing such a plan. Now he is vowing to issue the plan within a month or two, reviving a campaign promise with broad consequences for next year’s contest. If he follows through, it could help shape a presidential race that Democrats would like to focus largely on health care. While the president has acknowledged that no plan would be voted on in Congress until 2021, when he hopes to be in a second term with Republicans back in charge of the House, he is gambling that putting out a plan to be debated on the campaign trail will negate some of the advantage Democrats have on the issue.”
–Peter Baker, Michael Tackett and Linda Qiu, “Trump Wants to Neutralize Democrats on Health Care. Republicans Say Let It Go.,” The New York Times online, June 16, 2019