happened to the republican party that had to answer to the tea party for overshepbd spending in the bush years, self-correct, and they won elections again in 2014 on this notion that obamacare was going to be a job killer and break the economy and also strong reaction to the bailouts at the end of the bush years. is so see they have obviously pivoted away from overhauling medicare and entitlement spending because that is the driver of our debt. the president doesn t believe in touching those programs. they have accepted truly that most republican voters now are trump voters. trump is a big spender. this is no longer a priority of their base. their base is looking for a stronger safety net from the government, both in retirement programs, in opioid recovery treatment programs. everything. so you are really looking at a party that has turned away from fiscal austerity and into
replace that. he wants to switch obamacare subsidies, which right now pay people based on their income to pay people based on age. so, it would be a significant overhaul. while he certainly won t be writing legislation as hhs secretary, it gives you some sense of the philosophy the trump administration is going to have. talk to me about the future of medicare. so many americans care about that. trump said during the campaign he would not make cuts to medicare but my understanding is price has actually said republicans are eyeing major changes to medicare, right after the election he said this, prior to his selection as hhs secretary. so, what happens to medicare? that s the biggest question right now, i think. the obamacare fight is going to be huge, but if republicans are serious about overhauling medicare, that s going to be a huge fight. as you pointed out, price said in the days after the election that he thinks the new congress should overhaul medicare. he s a supporter of hou
palace intrigue like this. we have breaking trump cabinet news tonight. according to a high-level source familiar with the decision-making process, tells nbc news that six-term republican georgia congressman tom price is expected to be the donald trump pick to be secretary of health and human services. he has been a severe critic of the affordable care act saying it interferes with the ability of doctors and patients to make medical decisions. he was quoted in a story saying budget committee chairman tom price says he expects lawmakers to push forward with an overhaul within the first six to eight months of president-elect donald trump s administration, overhauling medicare has been a major goal for speaker paul ryan
donald trump pick to be secretary of health and human services. he has been a severe critic of the affordable care act saying it interferes with the ability of doctors and patients to make medical decisions. he was quoted in a story saying budget committee chairman tom price says he expects lawmakers to push forward with an overhaul within the first six to eight months of president-elect donald trump s administration, overhauling medicare has been a major goal for speaker paul ryan since 2011. congressman price voted for the ryan budget, which would turn medicare into a voucher program, essentially repealing medicare as we know it. joining us now by phone, kelly o donnell, who covers capitol hill. kelly, here is someone with some actual experience and expertise
costello. thank you so much for joining us. checking our top stories now. just about 30 minutes past the hour. any minute now, former vice presidential candidate paul ryan will roll out the republicans budget plan on capitol hill. the wisconsin republican says it will cut spending by $4.6 trillion and balance the budget in ten years all without raising taxes. how? with more oil drilling, repealing obama care, overhauling medicare and simplifying the tax code. in just an hour, 115 cardinals begin the long process of selecting a new pope. today is all about tradition and ceremony for the catholic church. one final public mass wrapping up before the conclave. and then the cardinals will lock themselves inside. anchor chris cuomo and miguel marquez join us from rome. chris, let s start with you. tell us what happens in the next 15 minutes. all right, carol. this time, we have good