Republicans early Thursday morning teed up a final vote on the massive bill full of President Trump’s domestic priorities.
The chamber adopted the rule for the bill on a nearly party-line vote.
The breakthrough came after Republican leaders released a manager’s amendment to the bill’s text laying out agreements they had reached with moderate and conservative holdouts. The House Rules Committee, after a 20-hour hearing, then sent the bill to the House floor.
Meanwhile, at the White House, President Trump greeted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, about a week after the U.S. welcomed a group of white South Africans, Afrikaners, as refugees.
Trump defended the administrationâs Afrikaner refugee resettlement program, saying he will be discussing the âgenocideâ with Ramaphosa in a private meeting. He then surprised Ramaphosa with a video that purported to back up the administrationâs claims of white farmers being persecuted in South Africa. The two leaders were to have lunch then a bilateral meeting.
At the day’s start, House Democrats lost a member: Virginia’s Rep. Gerry Connolly died Wednesday morning after a short cancer stint. He was 75.
Follow along all day for updates to these stories and more.
