It’s been a busy weekend inside the West Wing of the White House, with all hands on deck planning for five highly consequential days of President Donald Trump’s administration this week.
Conversations with senior administration officials and Republicans close to the White House offer CNN this lay of the land and a reality check:
No House vote on health care is expected this week. Despite a flurry of activity last week, there is no expectation of a vote actually happening before Friday. Officials would still like to see a vote happen, and the White House might still talk about it in the coming days, but legislative action is “highly unlikely, and we know that,” one official says. A senior administration official said there is now less pressure to get a vote to repeal and replace Obamacare this week. Last week, White House and congressional sources said the White House was eager to make another run at the issue before Trump reached “100 days” in office, despite concerns among GOP leaders that the votes simply weren’t there in the House. “If we have the votes it will happen. If not will keep working,” the official said.
The government will not shut down, officials said. That’s a directive straight from Trump. Top administration officials explained to the President this weekend that the most likely scenario is a short-term fix that would last a week or so until a deal is reached. “There’s no interest in a shutdown,” an official says, adding they will “do what it takes” to avoid one.
A flurry of executive orders are coming this week. There will be at least four, and possibly as many as six, as the West Wing tries to show action, officials told CNN. Orders are expected on veterans’ issues, energy, agriculture and trade. This is the top way the administration “hopes to show action” this week given the absence of legislation, an official said. “You will see the President all the time this week, multiple times a day, showing his accomplishments and work,” the official said, acknowledging privately that the best way to counter the argument that the first 100 days have been unsuccessful is to “have the President everywhere.”
