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DC Daily: Trump urges Senate to dump 60-vote rule, calls GOP 'fools' wasting time

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Here's your rundown of the political world for today, Saturday, July 29, 2017.

President Trumps calls for Senate to dump 60-vote rule

-- In a series of tweets Saturday, President Donald Trump called on the U.S. Senate to dump three-fifths vote rule and move to a 51-vote simple majority.

"Republican Senate must get rid of 60 vote now! It is killing the R Party, allows 8 Dems to control country. 200 Bills sit in Senate. A joke!" the president tweeted.

Trump went on to lambaste the Republican senators, following the failure of a GOP-backed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a complete replacement.

"Republicans in the Senate will never win if they don't go to a 51 vote majority now. They look like fools and are just wasting time...." Trump tweeted.

Trump went on to blast Democratic senators as well, saying, "If the Senate Democrats ever got the chance, they would switch to a 51 majority vote in first minute. They are laughing at R's."

The effort to repeal Obamacare came to a head early Friday, when Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and John McCain joined with Democrats and opposed a "skinny repeal" of the health care law.

Priebus: Trump "wanted to go a different direction"

-- Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff this week, a move Priebus says he will support.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Priebus said he submitted his resignation to President Trump on Thursday, despite reports Friday that he was not planning to resign.

"The President wanted to go a different direction," Priebus told Blitzer. "A president has a right to hit a reset button. I think it's a good time to hit the reset button. I think he was right to hit the reset button."

"I'm always going to be a Trump fan," Priebus continued. "I'm on Team Trump and I look forward to helping him achieve his goals and his agenda for the American people."

Not everyone in the Republican party is on board.

Robin Hayes, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, told CNN the move reflects poorly on the Trump Administration.

"I am extremely disappointed," Hayes said. "Reince gave his heart and soul to the administration. This is not an appropriate reward. And it sends a message to other potential folks who could help them: Watch out."

Read more.

North Korea: Entire U.S. mainland in range

-- Following reports of a second intercontinental missile test by North Korea, the nation says Friday's test showed the capability to hit major U.S. cities.

The country's state media reported Kim Jong Un saying "the whole US mainland" is within reach and called Pyongyang's weapons program "a precious asset," CNN reports.

President Trump condemned the missile launch Friday and said the U.S. would act to ensure its security.

"Threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people," Trump said in a statement. "The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region."

The test drew widespread condemnation from Japan, South Korea, and China, a longtime North Korean ally.

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