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When Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina, fresh off helping torpedo his party’s bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, showed up at the Berkeley County Republican meeting on Saturday, he was met with applause and praise in one of the most conservative corners of his district. So less than a week later, after President Trump on Thursday warned the Freedom Caucus that he would “fight them” when they face re-election next year, Mr. Sanford was hardly cowering in fear. Instead, he and other members of the Freedom Caucus returned fire. (Martin and Steinhauer, 3/30)

In a series of tweets that began in the morning, the president warned that the powerful group of hard-line conservatives who helped block the party’s health-care bill last week would “hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast.” The president vowed to “fight them” as well as Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, a warning that his allies said was intended in the short term to make members of the Freedom Caucus think twice about crossing him again. But Trump’s pledge was met with defiance by many in the bloc, including some members who accused him of succumbing to the establishment in Washington that he had campaigned against. (Wagner, DeBonis and Costa, 3/30)

The White House is so troubled by the failure of outside groups to promote the health care plan backed by President Donald Trump that a senior aide is being dispatched to rectify the situation. Katie Walsh, a longtime top lieutenant to chief of staff Reince Priebus, is leaving the administration to join the nonprofit group America First Policies. (3/30)

The departure of deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, a key ally of Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus, caps a rough stretch for Trump, who has seen his young administration dogged by allegations of Russia ties, his travel ban executive order blocked twice in court, and the health care bill he supported go down in flames. (Goldmacher, Nussbaum, Palmeri and Isenstadt, 3/30)