Jared Kushner didn’t suggest Russian communications channel in meeting, source says https://t.co/nF6bM1FEt1<br />With his policy agenda stalled amid swirling investigations, the president on Tuesday pressured Senate Republican<br />leaders to change the Senate’s rules, end the filibuster and ease passage of his legislative priorities.<br />So what is known as “the nuclear option” — a unilateral change of Senate rules<br />that would deprive the minority party of virtually all its legislative power — would be unnecessary.<br />Republicans plan to use the same budget rules — known as reconciliation — to protect a tax cut measure from a filibuster as well.<br />“Senator McConnell agrees that both health care and tax reform are essential,” said Antonia Ferrier, a McConnell spokeswoman, “and<br />that is why Republicans in Congress are using the reconciliation process to prevent a partisan filibuster of these two critical legislative agenda items<br />President Trump may not be accepting media reports<br />that his son-in-law sought a back channel to the Kremlin, but the Kremlin let it be known that the Russians would welcome one.<br />Russian state media jumped into the fray Tuesday with a tweet<br />that might not be helpful to the president’s denials, saying that the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, does want an open channel to work on cooling down the war in Syria.
