*By Michael Teich*
Republicans are struggling to renege on a long-standing pledge they will likely not be able to honor ー the promise to repeal Obamacare.
"They can't walk away from a promise they've made for eight years," Politico reporter Adam Cancryn said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. Repealing Obamacare "would be even more difficult than it was last year," he added.
While Cancryn thinks it will be "a major shock at this point" if Republicans maintain control of both the House and Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has hinted that the party would consider an attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act if it manages to thwart a "blue wave."
Although the right failed to repeal Obamacare last year, their efforts to end the program were not penalized ー so they may try their luck again, Cancryn said.
"There may be a feeling that if we didn't pay for it the first time, then there's no real harm in taking another shot."
Even if Republicans were to successfully repeal Obamacare, the party is far from finding a solution to replace it, Cancryn added.
"There's no viable Republican health plan going forward."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-the-midterm-elections-could-shape-the-future-of-healthcare-in-america).
Lisa Hagen, politics reporter for U.S. News and World Report, joins Cheddar News to preview what to expect from President Biden's State of the Union Address on March 1.
Minh-Thu Pham, co-founder of New American Voices, joins Cheddar News to discuss the organization and why new citizens are key to defending U.S. democracy.
Joel Willett, a former CIA operative, joins Cheddar News to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin officially launching a "special military operation" in Ukraine
Ursula Perano, politics reporter at the Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the wave of 30 House Democrats retiring or not seeking re-election in November.
Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the high court's latest ruling in an Alabama gerrymandering case that could end up further chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.
GLAAD, the media watchdog for the LGBTQ community, released its “Where We Are on TV” report last week, with updated data on the entertainment industry. Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for the non-profit organization, joined Cheddar News to talk about the progress that has been made on media representation and what's at stake in the process of humanizing queer people in popular culture as a recent backlash in legislative trends demonstrated. "We just saw the news yesterday in Texas, a move from Governor Abbott that would try to pull trans youth away from their parents for receiving gender-affirming care," Ferraro said. "And television and entertainment can be a frontline to preventing such anti-LGBTQ legislation from moving forward."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun. Explosions and sirens were reported across the country early Thursday morning, as Russia launched a wide-ranging attack with shelling, tanks, and missile strikes. Lauren Baer, former State Department Senior Adviser and current Managing Partner at Arena, joined Cheddar to provide the latest update on the crisis.
A six-year battle over equal pay has finally come to an end-- as U.S. Soccer and The United States Women's Soccer Team have agreed to settle their lawsuit. Under the terms of the deal, the athletes will receive $24 million from U.S. Soccer, and a pledge from the federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. Lily Roberts, Managing Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Team at the Center for American Progress joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has hit back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany, and declaring that America will stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.