The Note: Trump’s legislative blues

Trump was "frustrated" by Democrats claiming victory over the spending bill.

ByABC News
May 3, 2017, 7:36 AM

— -- NOTABLES

--TRUMP UPSET DEMOCRATS MADE HIM LOOK BAD IN SPENDING DEAL: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney defended President Trump's tweets Tuesday morning calling for a "good shutdown" in September and said the president was "frustrated" by Democrats claiming victory over the government funding bill. “What you heard the president express this morning was frustration over how he was treated as part of the negotiations," Mulvaney said during a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday. ABC's ALEXANDER MALLIN, BENJAMIN SIEGEL and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have more: http://abcn.ws/2p2RX6e

--ANALYSIS - ABC’s RICK KLEIN: “This is what winning looks like,” President Trump declared in the Rose Garden, in an odd, meandering event that was supposed to honor the Air Force Academy football team. But the display from the White House in the wake of the spending deal has been about what happens not when the president wins, which is a debatable question in an agreement where he got few of his biggest priorities funded. Rather, this is what it looks like when the president loses; what he lost was a news cycle. Trump’s bizarre call for a government shutdown and a rewrite of Senate rules marks just the latest wild direction the president has taken his rhetoric and his pledges as he kicks off his second 100 days. And the stark admission from the president’s budget chief is that it came about because the Democrats “went out to try to spike the football and make him look bad.” Capitol Hill was perplexed by the outburst. There’s never good timing for that but this is a week when the president needs members of Congress to trust his word, with support for his health care push slipping, for the third time and counting. This is one of those weeks – and there have been many in the Trump presidency – where the search for a strategy results in the conclusion that the strategy is most likely chaos. And to repeat, the president said he’s winning.

--TRUMP MAKES ANOTHER FINAL PUSH FOR OBAMACARE REPEAL: President Trump is getting personally involved, again, in an effort to get the Republican Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill passed in the House, ABC’s JONATHAN KARL reports. According to a senior White House official involved in the effort, the president spoke to 15 Republican House members yesterday who have either said they are opposed to the bill or are still undecided. The official tells ABC News that the president will meet with “a handful” of skeptical House Republicans at the White House later this morning. The White House and Congressional Republicans are discussing a possible amendment to bill to address concerns of those now opposed. The White House is still hopeful the bill will pass this week, although the senior official acknowledged that it is incredibly close and that if it passes, it will be by a “razor-thin” margin.

--KEY REPUBLICAN OPPOSES HEALTH BILL BECAUSE OF PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS COVERAGE: A top House Republican announced opposition to the GOP health care bill Tuesday, citing concerns about pre-existing conditions, as Republican leaders continued to tout the proposal and hunt for votes, write ABC's BENJAMIN SIEGEL, MARY BRUCE and JOHN PARKINSON. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, the former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over health care, told a Michigan radio station Tuesday morning that he won't be voting for the bill. According to ABC News' whip count, at least 21 Republicans are opposed to the amended health care bill, putting the GOP on the verge of losing a potential vote. http://abcn.ws/2pW71aA

--POWERHOUSE POLITICS PODCAST - HOW ANDREW JACKSON'S CELEBRITY PAVED WAY FOR TRUMP: President Donald Trump clearly sees himself in former President Andrew Jackson. From Jackson’s populist appeal to his “nasty” campaign style, Trump has consistently argued it’s an apt comparison -- and Steve Inskeep says, “There’s something to it.” Inskeep is the host NPR’s "Morning Edition" and the author of “Jacksonland,” a history of Jackson’s presidency. ABC's RILEY BEGGIN has more: http://abcn.ws/2qqjz9P

SPEED READ with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY

HILLARY CLINTON BLAMES FBI DIRECTOR, WIKILEAKS FOR HER ELECTION LOSS. Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton opened up Tuesday about her election loss in an interview at a Women for Women event in New York, admitting that her campaign made some mistakes while also taking jabs at President Donald Trump, reports ABC's RYAN STRUYK. She said she was on her way to winning the election if not for a last-minute letter to Congress from FBI Director James Comey and the release of campaign emails from WikiLeaks. http://abcn.ws/2qBuLx4

TRUMP AND PUTIN DISCUSS SYRIA, NORTH KOREA AND TERRORISM ON CALL. President Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday, his third call with the Russian leader since he took office. According to a White House readout of the conversation, the two spoke about efforts to end terrorism in the Middle East, attempts to de-escalate tensions with North Korea and the ongoing civil war in Syria, note ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and ADAM KELSEY. http://abcn.ws/2qoxpd4

GOP SENATORS CRITICIZE TRUMP'S OVERTURES TO CONTROVERSIAL LEADERS. Following a series of moves by Donald Trump that showed a willingness to engage with controversial world leaders, a pair of Republican senators are speaking out against the president's actions. Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., voiced opposition Tuesday to Trump's recent phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the invitation to Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the White House, and the president's response Monday that he would be "honored" to meet with Kim Jong Un, reports ABC's ALI ROGIN. http://abcn.ws/2qws4NZ

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOP PLAN AND PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. Health care coverage for pre-existing conditions has been a major sticking point in the negotiations around the new GOP health care plan -- and a source of mixed messages from Republicans and Democrats about what the bill would actually do. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Monday that the bill would cover pre-existing conditions as well as Obamacare did. ABC's RYAN STRUYK has more: http://abcn.ws/2p6RZdV

CONGRESSMAN WONDERS WHETHER CHELSEA CLINTON WANTS TO 'TRY TO DO BETTER THAN HER MOMMY DID'. Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks Tuesday trashed Chelsea Clinton’s tweet targeting the congressman's position on pre-existing medical conditions. Upon learning that the former first daughter had tweeted about him Tuesday morning, Brooks seemed genuinely intrigued, reports ABC's JOHN PARKINSON. “Oh, really? Chelsea? I've got a Chelsea,” Brooks said curiously in the Capitol basement, putting on his glasses to read Clinton's tweet. http://abcn.ws/2oVERfz

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING - ALL OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S 'COOKIES': 'SMART,' 'TOUGH' AND EVEN 'DISHONEST.' For President Trump, cookies come in a variety of flavors -- "smart," "tough" and even "dishonest." And depending on what mood he's in, it may even be a combination, such as "warm, smart [and] tough." Much like the nicknames that George W. Bush was famous for during his presidency, Trump appears to be fond of applying the moniker "cookie" with various descriptors to world leaders and others, explains ABC's CHRIS DONOVAN. http://abcn.ws/2pDEiV0

NEARLY 77 MILLION SERVED WATER FROM CONTAMINATED SYSTEMS, REPORT SAYS. In 2015, more than 76 million Americans were served by community water systems that had some reported drinking water violations, including more than 18 million people receiving water with too much lead and copper, according to new report released Tuesday by the environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council. The report highlights different groups of contaminants reported in public drinking water and the increased risks for the strained and aging systems of smaller communities, just as proposed cuts to drinking water programs loom at the Environmental Protection Agency. ABC's MARYALICE PARKS has more: http://abcn.ws/2qqdFFM

WHO’S TWEETING?

@realDonaldTrump: FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony…

@realDonaldTrump: ...Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?

@aterkel: Scoop from @AlexCKaufman @kate_sheppard: Trump admin may withdraw from Paris climate deal by next week http://huff.to/2pXID8z

@jialynnyang: SCOOP: Justice Dept will not charge Baton Rouge officers in fatal shooting of Alton Sterling http://wapo.st/2oUWwo1 @mattzap @WesleyLowery

@RachelAbramsNY: Ivanka Trump has the president's trust and a big portfolio. But what will she do with it? http://nyti.ms/2qrz3dR @jodikantor @maggieNYT

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