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Congress has taken the first step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act, and Sen. Chris Murphy on Thursday was on the front lines of Democratic efforts to stop, or at least slow, the process. ... His effort was shut down on a party-line vote, but Murphy and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine launched the first legislative shot over the bow of the Republican efforts to eliminate the ACA. (Radelat, 1/5)

The Senate on Thursday sidelined a Democratic amendment to the fiscal 2017 budget resolution that would have prevented the chamber from taking up legislation to raise health insurance premiums or out-of-pocket costs. The resolution would set up a separate bill to repeal the health care law. During an afternoon vote series, the amendment did not gain enough support to overcome an objection from Senate Budget Chairman Michael B. Enzi that it violated a section of the Congressional Budget Act. The vote was along party lines, with 52 Republicans voting to sustain the budget point of order and 48 Democrats voting to waive the point of order and add the amendment to the legislative package. (Shutt, 1/5)

Some of the most conservative members of Congress say they are ready to vote for a budget that would — at least on paper — balloon the deficit to more than $1 trillion by the end of the decade, all for the sake of eventually repealing the Affordable Care Act. In a dramatic reversal, many members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus said Thursday they are prepared later this month to support a budget measure that would explode the deficit and increase the public debt to more than $29.1 trillion by 2026, figures contained in the budget resolution itself. (Snell and Weigel, 1/5)

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky pressed House conservatives Thursday to block the budget resolution that starts the process to repeal the 2010 health care law because it would add trillions of dollars to the deficit. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told reporters that the group made no decisions Thursday but would stake out what it can support during a caucus meeting next week. The meeting between approximately two dozen caucus members and Paul was “ad hoc” and put together at the last minute, the North Carolina Republican said, adding, “I found it to be a very enlightening and good meeting that gave us food for thought.” (Bowman and McPherson, 1/5)