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Vice President Pence on Saturday blamed House Democrats and a "handful" of Republicans a day after the White House and House GOP leaders suffered a stunning failure to secure support for their healthcare plan. Speaking at a construction supply depot in West Virginia, Pence appeared to shrug off the failure of President Trump's first major legislative push, dismissing the defeat as a sign that "Congress just wasn't ready" for healthcare reform. (Greenwood, 3/25)

One of President Trump’s signature promises is to allow the purchase of health insurance across state lines. This was supposed to be tackled in “phase three” of the administration’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, now in doubt because of the failure on Friday to advance the “phase one” bill in the House. Many experts are skeptical about whether buying health insurance across state lines would actually work — more on that below — but we were interested in claims made by administration officials such as Vice President Pence and White House press secretary Sean Spicer that this would be similar to buying life insurance and car insurance. (Kessler, 3/27)