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Republicans’ seven-year “repeal and replace” effort died in a fiery legislative crash two months into the Trump administration last week. Various tactical missteps helped produce this legislative failure, but the most fundamental reason the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prevailed has nothing to with the legislative tick-tock: In its own imperfect way, the ACA has insured 20 million people who would otherwise have gone uncovered. It has helped tens of millions of others who face financial or health challenges. And in doing so, it has quietly embedded itself within the fabric of American life — and has become very difficult for politicians to kill. (Harold Pollack, 3/29)

One common fear after President Donald Trump's inauguration was that the agenda of the following four years would be driven by fake news -- an administration of "alternative facts." In his first press conference, White House press secretary Sean Spicer doubled down on President Trump's inaccurate claim that the crowd for his inauguration was the largest in history. The president has also repeated his unsubstantiated (and roundly debunked) claim that, were it not for millions of fraudulent votes, he would have won the popular vote in the election. That kind of talk works, as far as it goes. It gets attention. It stokes emotion. It distracts from the administration's substantive failures. But that kind of talk doesn't get any work done. When it came time to generate an actual bill, which could pass both chambers of Congress and hold up to judicial review … well, that's when bluster sputters out and the gears of lawmaking grind into action. (Conor Sen, 3/29)

[W]hile the quality of "strong leadership" was something Trump sought to reinforce throughout his campaign, a new poll finds that the number who see it in him appears to be dropping. Following his stinging defeat on the health care bill, 50 percent of the 1,500 U.S. adults in a poll released Wednesday said Trump was either a "very strong" or "somewhat strong" leader in a question about leadership qualities. That's down from 54 percent last week; in the first results after his inauguration, 61 percent said Trump was a strong leader. (Jena McGregor, 3/29)

It has become a tired, familiar act. Members of the House Freedom Caucus say they are the only true conservatives, while other congressional Republicans are RINOs, “Republicans in Name Only.” In the latest episode, the Freedom Caucus and its outside allies—including Heritage Action and FreedomWorks—denounced the GOP health-care bill as “ObamaCare Lite.” (Karl Rove, 3/29)

The Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus are getting more than their fair share of the lumps. When it comes to threatening to shutter the federal government in a budget showdown over impossible political demands, this group has been a menace to good governance. But in this case, they were right. (Robert Robb, 3/29)