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GOP 'accelerating the replacement' of Obamacare

(Carolyn Kaster / AP)

House and Senate Republican leaders met Tuesday to get on the same page before the GOP leaves for its retreat tomorrow. While no final decisions were made about the timing for repealing and replacing Obamacare, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander said everybody agrees they need to be done at the same time.

"We're accelerating the replacement part of the package, because we want — both the House and the Senate, and the president — want to do repeal and replacement at the same time," Alexander said after the meeting. He said the timing of both repeal and replace is "governed by getting it right, making sure we do no harm."

A leadership aide said they talked about putting pieces of replacement in the repeal bill, which Republicans have said they plan to pass through a budget process called reconciliation. "It's going to be repeal plus, they're going to fit as much as possible into reconciliation," the aide said.


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Cisco spikes AppDynamics IPO

The first tech IPO of 2017 is no more.

AppDynamics, at the 11th hour, has sold to Cisco Systems for a whopping $3.7 billion in cash and assumed equity awards, according to a press release published on Tuesday. The San Francisco-based company, whose tools help businesses spot and fix bugs in their applications, was due to price its IPO on Wednesday night and begin trading on Thursday.

Last minute deal: A source close to the deal says that Cisco and AppDynamics have been in talks for several weeks, but that the final agreement wasn't signed until just a few hours ago. In fact, the senior AppDynamics team was still meeting with IPO investors in Los Angeles as of noon local time this afternoon, at which point they canceled all further meetings and hopped a flight back to San Francisco. At this moment, there are still AppDynamics employees in New York, who had been sent ahead of the Wednesday night pricing.

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50 infrastructure projects for Trump

Dave Schwarz / The St. Cloud Times via AP

The projected cost of $137.5 billion in 2017 falls just below Trump's trillion dollar promises, per McClatchy. Half the money to back the projects would reportedly be backed privately.

Here are a few prime suspects for upgrades:

  • I-95 upgrades in North Carolina
  • New terminal in Kansas City airport
  • High-speed railway between Dallas and Houston
  • Replacing the nation's radar-based air traffic control system
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Reuters: Trump to limit immigrants from 7 Muslim nations

Evan Vucci / AP

The list of countries that will have new limitations on immigration and refugees because of executive orders Trump is expected to sign on Wednesday, per Reuters: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Why it matters: Trump promised during the campaign to ban immigration from countries afflicted by terrorism. This looks like a start, and it's sure to draw fire in Congress.

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Haley confirmed as UN ambassador

Evan Vucci / AP

The Senate has confirmed Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations with a 96-4 vote.

The nays: Sanders, Coons, Udall, Heinrich

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Zuckerberg shuts down the rumors

AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File

Does Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, plan to run for U.S. president?

"No," he told BuzzFeed on Tuesday when asked. "I'm focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative" (the philanthropic organization he's started with his wife).

With that said, it's unclear exactly how BuzzFeed phrased the question and whether Zuckerberg means he has no current plans or never will—details that are crucial in today's carefully crafted communications with the press.

But the signs were there! Speculation over Zuckerberg's potential interest in public office began to swirl earlier this month when he announced he would be traveling to each state around the country to meet with locals. Vanity Fair even rounded up the clues.

  • Zuckerberg had also previously convinced his board to include a clause that would allow him to take a government job without losing control of Facebook.
  • He's hired a former White House photographer, he's dialed back his atheism, and he hired Obama's former campaign manager to run policy efforts for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Alternative scenario: If anything, Zuckerberg is more likely taking a deeper interest in the political system, which he knows he'll have to work with (and sometimes against) to achieve the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's goals, which are lofty.

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Toyota announces $600m investment in U.S. plant

Erin McCracken / Evansville Courier & Press via AP

Toyota will invest $600 million and add 400 new jobs at its SUV assembly plant in Indiana, per the AP. The project will be completed by fall 2019.

The Trump effect?: POTUS met with the heads of the Big Three automakers this morning, but Toyota claims the investment was planned before the election as part of a broader $10 billion investment in the U.S. over the next 5 years.

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White House says leave kids alone

It is a longstanding tradition that the children of Presidents are afforded the opportunity to grow up outside of the political spotlight. The White House fully expects this tradition to continue. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
— White House statement
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Got a warrant? It’s not enough for overseas data

Microsoft just scored a major win in a landmark cloud computing case centered on how law enforcement agencies can access data storied outside U.S. borders.

What it means: It sets a key precedent that law enforcement can't rely on U.S. warrants to access data stored internationally—a win for tech companies storing huge amounts of consumer data and a set-back for law enforcement trying to access that data to solve crimes.

The backstory: Law enforcement wanted to access a consumer's emails stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland as part of a drug case. Microsoft argued the data in question was subject to Irish rather than U.S. law and that a U.S. warrant wasn't enough to access that data. Six months ago, the court sided with Microsoft, and the government appealed. Today, a split federal appeals court declined to hear the appeal.

What's next: Both Microsoft and dissenting judges say Congress needs to address the legal gap to keep up with the cloud computing era. The 30-year old law governing data access is no longer relevant to the way consumers access data stored in the cloud today, said Aaron Cooper of BSA, which represents software companies. "Congress needs to step in to create a balance that respects foreign borders and law enforcement as well as consumer privacy," he told Axios.

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Beijing to U.S.: Don't mess with the South China Sea

Kin Cheung / AP

A senior Chinese foreign ministry official, Lu Kang, told NBC News today that the U.S. should stay out of the fight over who owns the South China Sea.

What prompted the comment: WH spokesman Sean Spicer said yesterday the U.S. was not going to let China take over the "international territories" in the South China Sea

"That's not international territory, that's Chinese territory," Kang said.

Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson has also made it clear that the U.S. won't let China keep building islands in international waters.

For more details on the issue see the Axios Facts Matter on the South China Sea.

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Trump whittles SCOTUS list down to 3

Win McNamee / AP

Trump has narrowed his picks for the next Supreme Court justice down to three judges, and expects to make a final decision by the end of the week. The AP reported more details on the frontrunners — all white men who were nominated by George W. Bush for their current positions:

  • William Pryor, 54, is an Alabama-based judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He faced intense opposition to his nomination under Bush, but was confirmed 53-45.
  • Neil Gorsuch, 49, sits on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Schumer voted for his confirmation back in 2007, and he has ties to Trump's sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry.
  • Thomas Hardiman, 51, is a Pittsburgh-based judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

What's next: Trump is scheduled to meet with a group of Senators, including Sen. McConnell and Sen. Schumer, this afternoon to discuss the SCOTUS vacancy. Schumer told CNN last week that the Democratic party would retaliate against anyone Trump nominates for the Supreme Court, and it's unlikely he'll change his mind on Trump's top 3.

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