Newsletter: Essential Politics: Healthcare stumbles, California’s budget is law

Set aside all of the rhetoric for a moment about what did, or didn’t, happen on Capitol Hill in the last 24 hours, and there’s one unmistakable truth: Republican efforts to scrap the Affordable Care Act aren’t popular enough right now to pass.

That might change. But for now, it’s a big setback for GOP leaders and President Trump.

Good morning from the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and we’ve got a newly enacted state budget to talk about — one that grows California’s cash reserves to a level unseen in modern history.

More on that in a moment. But first, the Republican healthcare agenda faces what could be its biggest dilemma to date.

HEALTHCARE VOTE: NOT NOW, BUT WHEN?

If there’s one thing that’s true about legislative politics — on the state or national level — it’s this: You don’t bring up your priority bill for a vote when you don’t have the votes.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell clearly saw what was about to happen on Tuesday and put the brakes on his Republican caucus’ healthcare overhaul plan early in the day. By day’s end, Senate Republicans had been summoned to the White House.

Trump didn’t exactly offer a spirited defense in brief remarks to reporters at that meeting, where he said it’s “OK” if the bill fails.

In truth, the writing was on the wall as early as Monday, thanks to the nonpartisan analysis showing millions of Americans would lose their health coverage under the plan.

What happens next, as Lisa Mascaro writes, will be a test of McConnell’s political dealmaking chops — an effort possibly helped by having plenty of money to spread around, due to the bill’s projected savings. Still, there are huge questions about its effects.

TRAVEL BAN RULING? QUICKLY FORGOTTEN

By now, the president may be getting used to the fleeting nature of news and his political fortunes. The healthcare debacle came just one day after Trump’s limited victory in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The justices’ decision to allow part of his travel ban to take effect, limiting entry for foreign visitors and immigrants, was touted by the White House. As David Savage wrote, the court took a “pragmatic approach” to the dispute over Trump’s powers over immigration policy.

Still, some remain unclear about what the justices meant by allowing entry into the country for those with a “bona fide” connection to the U.S.

COURT TAKES A PASS ON CALIFORNIA GUN LAW

Overshadowed by the decision to consider the travel ban case, the high court also took action on a big case affecting Californians: The justices refused to hear an appeal that sought to nix the state’s rules on carrying concealed guns in public. The case was being closely watched by those on both sides of 2nd Amendment court cases.

The justices also put off cases about immigration and borders on Monday, the last day of the court’s current session.

TRUMP’S SYRIA WARNING

The dire warning sent by the Trump administration on Monday night — a possible new chemical attack by the Syrian government — came with a threat of possible U.S. retaliation.

But the surprise announcement presents a problem for the president, write Brian Bennett and Noah Bierman. Stepping back, the warning serves as a test of Trump’s credibility after months of accusations against the nation’s intelligence community and other perceived enemies.

CALIFORNIA HAS A BUDGET. THE SPENDING STARTS ON SATURDAY

There was a time in Sacramento when governors made a big deal over the signing of a state budget. Elaborate ceremonies, detailed briefings by budget staffers, vetoes of spending proposals that drew quick condemnation from lawmakers.

That was then. This is now.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s return to the state Capitol in 2011 marked a shift in tone. On Tuesday, the governor signed the $183.2-billion spending plan into law. He issued a two-sentence statement, and that was it.

(Fun fact: Brown used his line-item veto power zero times on this year’s budget. Which governor holds the record for fewest uses of what statehouse denizens call the “blue pencil”? Yes, it’s Brown.)

The plan spends more on schools and a handful of programs designed for low-income Californians. It puts more into the state’s rainy-day fund. And it strikes a compromise on the use of new tobacco taxes approved by voters last November.

Take a look at some of the key numbers in this, the state’s biggest budget in history.

THE SHRINKING STATE TAX BOARD

As part of the budget, Brown signed a law on Tuesday that will break up California’s historic but scandal-plagued tax collection agency.

The plan strips the state Board of Equalization of most of its powers and duties. State officials are now scrambling to create an entirely new department by July 1 — that’s Saturday, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

The board is the target of an investigation by the state Department of Justice, and its employees and members have been accused by auditors of mismanagement, including putting $350 million in sales taxes in the wrong accounts and improperly interfering with decisions to open field offices and transfer staff.

SINGLE-PAYER BACKERS TARGET RENDON

Last Friday’s announcement that the state legislative push for single-payer healthcare was effectively dead continues to cause big political aftershocks. These are all focused on the man who made the decision, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount).

On Monday, Rendon pushed back against progressive activists who were incensed by his decision to shelve SB 562. He told Melanie Mason that the bill “was essentially a $400-billion proposal without a funding source….This was not a bill, this was a statement of principles.”

Still, the measure’s backers — led by the California Nurses Assn. — kept up their campaign of criticism, with a demonstration at Rendon’s district office in South Gate on Tuesday and another planned at the state Capitol on Wednesday.

MCCARTHY TO GOMEZ: UM, ARE YOU ON YOUR WAY?

There’s no precise rule book about when the winner of a special election to Congress starts his or her job. Case in point: Rep.-elect Jimmy Gomez.

On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) made it clear that he wants to know why Gomez hasn’t been sworn in, saying the seat’s “elongated vacancy” is “an abdication” of his responsibilities.

Twenty-one days have passed since Gomez won a special election in the state’s 34th Congressional District. Gomez, a current Democratic state assemblyman, told The Times after the election he would try to delay his Assembly resignation to vote on a closely watched climate change bill in Sacramento. After all, his could be a key vote if legislative leaders struggle to get more moderate Democrats on board.

Gomez says he offered to stick around Sacramento only until June 15, and that he had a family conflict this week. We’ll keep you posted on our Essential Politics news feed on when the soon-to-be-congressman boards his flight to D.C.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- Critics of state Sen. Josh Newman have turned in more than enough signatures to force the freshman Democrat from Fullerton into a recall election.

-- Prototypes of a border wall with Mexico could go up near San Diego this summer. Or not.

-- CNN has found itself squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s war with the news media.

-- Brown, along with California’s two U.S senators, said on Tuesday the GOP healthcare bill cuts “right into the heart of what is already a divided nation.”

-- In the first six months of California’s right-to-die law, 111 people took their own lives.

-- Sen. Kamala Harris has endorsed Eleni Kounalakis for lieutenant governor. Kounalakis has been a strong supporter of Harris, donating to her campaigns for the Senate and for California attorney general.

-- Rep. Grace Napolitano will miss House votes for several weeks while her husband receives cancer treatment.

LOGISTICS

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