Today in Trumpworld -- June 20

TRUMP’S SCHEDULE:

10:30 a.m.: President Donald Trump will receive his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.


11 a.m.: Trump will meet with national security adviser H.R. McMaster with a “drop-in” by Vice President Mike Pence and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

12:30 p.m.: Trump will hold a legislative affairs lunch in the presidential dining room.

6:45 p.m.: Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will depart the White House en route to the Naval Observatory, where they will dine with Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence.

OTHER HAPPENINGS: Voters in Georgia’s sixth congressional district will pick their replacement for former Rep. Tom Price in what has turned into the most expensive House race in history. POLITICO’s Seven Things to Watch.

TRUMP’S TWITTER THIS MORNING: “Democrat Jon Ossoff, who wants to raise your taxes to the highest level and is weak on crime and security, doesn't even live in district. … KAREN HANDEL FOR CONGRESS. She will fight for lower taxes, great healthcare strong security-a hard worker who will never give up! VOTE TODAY”

THE NEW NORMAL: From the Washington Post’s Philip Rucker and Ed O’Keefe: “The Senate bill to scale back the health-care law known as Obamacare is being written in secret by a single senator, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and a clutch of his senior aides. Officials at numerous agencies of the Trump administration have stonewalled friendly Republicans in Congress — not to mention Democrats — by declining to share internal documents on sensitive matters or refusing to answer questions. President Trump, meanwhile, is still forbidding the release of his tax returns, his aides have stopped releasing logs of visitors to the White House and his media aides have started banning cameras at otherwise routine news briefings, as happened Monday. Trump even refuses to acknowledge to the public that he plays golf during his frequent weekend visits to his private golf courses. More and more in the Trump era, business in Washington is happening behind closed doors. The federal government’s leaders are hiding from public scrutiny — and their penchant for secrecy represents a stark departure from the campaign promises of Trump and his fellow Republicans to usher in newfound transparency.”

HEALTH CARE ZERO HOUR APPROACHES: From POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Jennifer Haberkorn: “Senate Republicans are preparing to vote on Obamacare repeal next week, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, potentially leaving rank-and-file lawmakers with no more than a week to review legislation that would affect millions of Americans and one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Senators are expected to see the text of the bill as soon as the end of this week, those sources said, provided this week's work goes smoothly. The timeline could change based on the response from individual senators toward the proposal at party meetings, but Republicans are increasingly optimistic they can hold a vote next week if this week's lunch talks go well.”

SPICER WATCH: From POLITICO’s Tara Palmeri: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer is leading a search for his own replacement on the briefing room podium as part of a larger plan to shake up the White House communications operation, according to two people with knowledge of the effort. Last week, Spicer and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus reached out to Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham about the role of press secretary and Daily Mail editor David Martosko about the role of communications director, according to a White House official. Spicer and Priebus have had preliminary discussions with Ingraham, and Martosko met with chief strategist Steve Bannon last week, according to the White House official. Ingraham declined to comment. In a phone call, Martosko said ‘I can't hear you,’ and then hung up. He did not respond to an email inquiry.”

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