And Radical Republicans Complain That the Temporary Budget Doesn’t Hurt Enough

Government-licensed discrimination. Politico reports that Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that could allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community. The text of the order has not been released, but it’s expected to establish broad exemptions for people and groups to claim religious objections under virtually any circumstance. So, for example, a hotel desk clerk might be able to claim a religious objection to renting to a same-sex couple or a waitress might be able to refuse to serve a man she thinks may be transgender. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are not included in the federal Civil Rights Act. The signing, which is coinciding with the National Day of Prayer, will mark a major triumph for Vice President Mike Pence—whose push for religious-freedom legislation backfired mightily when he served as governor of Indiana—and his allies in the conservative movement.

Budget blues. Extremist Republicans are sulking over a moderate compromise proposed budget that would fund our government through the end of September. The 1,665-page $1.16 trillion budget, reached with cooperation from Democrats, would not fund Trump’s proposed border wall but would fund sanctuary cities, Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting. The EPA would only be cut by 1%, not the 31% Trump had asked for. The budget is expected to be approved by Congress by the end of the week. Trump is now saying that the country would benefit from a shutdown later this year.

Trumpcare 2.0. House GOP members are planning to meet Thursday to discuss the latest incarnation of Trumpcare. The bill is so cruel that lawmakers like U.S Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) who wrote previous repeal bills and U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) are opposing it. Long, who supported the first version of Trumpcare, on Monday said he now opposes the American Health Care Act because it wouldn’t guarantee that people with pre-existing conditions would be covered. TV host Jimmy Kimmel talked tearfully Monday on his show about his infant son’s heart problems that were discovered soon after his birth and praised the Affordable Care Act. “If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,” Kimmel said. The Center for American Progress Action Fund has launched a Trumpcare Toolkit to help you contact representatives on the issue.

Ethically challenged. Ivanka Trump must file financial disclosures in her new job at the White House. She didn’t talk to the Office of Government Ethics before becoming an adviser to her father.