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Democracy Dies in Darkness
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FRIDAY, MARCH 24 , 2017
In a do-or-die moment, Republicans come undone negotiations could produce what seven years of talking have failed to produce, which is a consensus bill that all factions of the party can support. The difficulties Republicans are confronting are entirely of their own making. For seven years, Republican politicians have made one overriding bargain with their conservative constituency, which was that they would repeal Obamacare as their first order of business if they ever had the power to do so. Now that they have the power, they still haven’t found a way to make good on that promise. The other reality that has become clearer as Republicans have struggled to turn a TAKE CONTINUED ON A2
HOUSE IN FLUX BUT WILL DECIDE FRIDAY Maneuver seen as risky gamble for president, Ryan BY AND
KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the Freedom Caucus, speaks to reporters after meeting for hours about the Republicans’ bill.
In Senate, an even tougher test Without major changes, a number of Republicans say the bill has no chance to pass. A6
Support elusive on tough votes Paul Ryan lacks the tools that previous House speakers used to sway recalcitrant lawmakers. A2
M IKE D E B ONIS J ULIET E ILPERIN
President Trump delivered an ultimatum to House Republicans on Thursday night: Vote to approve the measure to overhaul the nation’s health-care system on the House floor Friday, or reject it and the president will move on to his other legislative priorities. The president, through his aides in a closed-door meeting, signaled that the time for negoti-
ations was over with rank-andfile Republicans who were meeting late at night on Capitol Hill to try to find common ground on the embattled package crafted by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (RWis.). The move was a high-risk gamble for the president and the speaker, who have invested significant political capital in passing legislation that would replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act. For Trump, who campaigned as a VOTE CONTINUED ON A6
Filibuster against Gorsuch promised
How terror overtook a regular day in London The roar of a vehicle, screams, gunshots: ‘It was horror’ BY
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Trump orders vote on health-care bill
THE TAKE | DAN BALZ
Thursday was supposed to be a glorious anniversary for President Trump and the Republicans. Seven years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Republicans were poised to take the first concrete step toward repealing and replacing that law. Instead, Thursday produced an embarrassing setback that left the way forward far from certain. Legislative sausage-making is never pretty, but what has been happening all week with the signature legislative priority of the GOP seems beyond the norms. Faced with possible defeat on the floor, House Republican leaders postponed a scheduled vote until Friday, hoping that another day of
SU V1 V2 V3 V4
GOP doesn’t have votes to block move vowed by Senate’s top Democrat
I SAAC S TANLEY- B ECKER R OBERT B ARNES, E D O ’ K EEFE AND A NN E . M ARIMOW
london — A baroness was in a
committee room, listening to a presentation about African development. A lord was in the Gilded Chamber, waiting for a 3 p.m. session on topics including school gardens and the digital economy. A member of Parliament was walking through an underground passageway, on his way to a vote. Then, on the south bank of the Thames, a traffic light turned from red to yellow to green, and a gray Hyundai began racing across Westminster Bridge toward the center of the British government. This was the beginning of an afternoon of carnage that would leave four unsuspecting victims dead and at least 28 others injured in the deadliest terrorist strike in this capital since 2005. The assailant was eventually shot and killed by police. On Thursday, a stunned Britain learned that he was a 52-year-old born in this country — a man who had been investigated for extremist ties in the past, and was believed to be motivated by radical Islamist ideology. He was identified as Khalid Masood. This account of his trail of destruction is based on the recollections of eyewitnesses as well as of individuals who experienced the attack’s aftermath in Parliament and on the streets outside. It was a brisk Wednesday afternoon in London, almost springlike, when the vehicle began roaring across Westminster Bridge about 2:30, according to witnesses interviewed by British and European media. One person later recalled it zigzagging. PedestriBRITAIN CONTINUED ON A13
Police identify attacker Officials say British citizen Khalid Masood had a criminal past. A13
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MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
For remaining blossoms, it’s showtime Sarah Bui poses for Brian Le on Thursday in Washington under cherry blossoms that survived a recent cold snap. Forecast, B8
Putin critic gunned down in Kiev had feared for his life BY A NDREW R OTH AND N ATALIE G RYVNYAK
kiev — In the plush, crimson-
decked lobby bar of Kiev’s fivestar Premier Palace Hotel, Denis Voronenkov, a Russian lawmaker who had defected to Ukraine, knew he was in danger. “For our personal safety, we can’t let them know where we are,” he said Monday evening as he sat with his wife for an interview with The Washington Post. Less than 72 hours later, he was dead, shot twice in the head in broad daylight outside the same lobby bar. It was a particularly brazen assassination that recalled the post-Soviet gangland violence of the 1990s. His wife, dressed in black, sobbed as she
PERSPECTIVE | JERRY BREWER
Hoyas make tough call, fire Thompson as coach
stooped down to identify Voronenkov’s body, which lay beneath a black tarp in a pool of blood. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, just hours later, called the attack an “act of state terrorism by Russia.” As of Thursday evening, police had not identified the assailant, who died in police custody after being shot by Voronenkov’s bodyguard. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, called the accusation a “fabrication.” In the weeks before his death, Voronenkov, a former member of Russia’s pliant Communist Party, had told friends he was being targeted. Hackers had been trying to pry into his Twitter account
The decision Georgetown had to make, the one it didn’t want to make, the one it wished for patience and tradition and a family’s coaching magic to absolve, came rumbling down Thursday afternoon. In a humble and almost apologetic statement, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia parted ways with men’s basketball coach John Thompson III, separating from a legacy that has uplifted and defined the program for 45 years. To announce the thorny conclusion to an awkward situation, DeGioia used John overwrought phrases such as “profound regret” and “deep appreciation” while ex- Thompson III plaining the dismissal of the son of John Thompson Jr., the son who made Georgetown hoops so glamorous that eight NCAA tournament appearances in the past 13 years felt shabby. It was a kind goodbye, a softer way to fire someone, which is an appropriate way to treat one of
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IN THE NEWS
THE ECONOMY
THE NATION
RICK BOWMER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Future of Bears Ears Utah Republicans have launched an intense lobbying effort to rescind the new national monument’s designation. A8 Cancer and DNA Most cancer-causing mutations are the result of random mistakes when normal cells divide, a study reported. A3
Vanita Gupta, who led the Justice Department’s civil rights division in the Obama administration, will run the nation’s largest rights coalition. A4 The Pentagon is considering its response to retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who worked on behalf of Turkish interests without U.S. permission. A4 A bat-killing fungus has been detected in six Texas counties, leaving state and federal wildlife officials concerned. A10 Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced
the start of a program that lets department employees bring their dogs to the office. A18 The California frogs popularized by Mark Twain are having sex again, and wildlife researchers couldn’t be happier. A22 THE WORLD
Afghan forces withdrew from a key district in Helmand province, possibly allowing the Taliban to retake it. A12 A Mexican reporter was fatally shot in the northern state of Chihuahua, the third journalist to be killed in the country this month. A12
A federal agency has ruled that Trump International Hotel’s D.C. lease with the U.S. government is in “full compliance.” A14 A small U.S. agency that facilitates exports received no funding in President Trump’s budget blueprint. A14 The White House held a coveted West Wing office for Ivanka Trump in case she decided to carve out a niche there. A16 THE REGION
Ray LaHood, a former U.S. transportation chief, was chosen to lead an independent panel that will look into Metro’s finances and governance issues. B1
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan read to second-graders at a Bethesda school. B1 Metro’s board gave final approval for service cuts and fare increases beginning July 1. B1 Maryland’s governor added Metro system repairs and the Purple Line to a list of state transportation projects seeking federal funds. B2 Convictions in cases involving seven indicted Baltimore police officers may be vacated. B8 OBITUARIES
Chandler Robbins, beloved by birdwatchers as the father of modern ornithology, died at 98. B5
Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch ended Thursday on a confrontational note, with the body’s top Democrat vowing a filibuster that could complicate Gorsuch’s expected confirmation and ultimately upend the traditional approach to approving justices. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he will vote no on President Trump’s nominee and asked other Democrats to join him in blocking an up-or-down vote on Gorsuch. Under Senate rules, it requires 60 votes to overcome such an obstacle. Republicans eager to confirm Gorsuch before their Easter recess — and before the court concludes hearing the current term of cases next month — have only 52 senators. Republicans have vowed Gorsuch will be confirmed even if it means overhauling the way justices have long been approved. Traditionally, senators can force the Senate to muster a supermajority just to bring up the nomination of a Supreme Court justice. If that is reached, the confirmation requires a simple majority. In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer said: “If this nominee cannot earn 60 votes — a bar met by each of President Obama’s nominees and George Bush’s last two nominees — the answer isn’t to change the rules. It’s to change GORSUCH CONTINUED ON A5
Questions for other nominees Senators grill Sonny Perdue on proposed USDA cuts. A10 SEC pick backs open markets. A17
Inside WEEKEND
Out of West Africa Cuisines rooted in the region can be found hiding in plain sight. ST YLE
Get serious “Get Out” shows how the horror genre can tackle serious issues. C1 BUSINESS NEWS ........................ A14 COMICS........................................C5 OPINION PAGES..........................A19 LOTTERIES ................................... B3 OBITUARIES ................................. B5 TELEVISION..................................C4 WORLD NEWS.............................A12
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