Opinion: Phew.

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, July 28, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Phew. The effort to take health insurance from millions of people — an effort opposed by doctors, nurses, scientists, public-health workers and a strong majority of the American people — failed last night. It failed by the slimmest of margins: a single vote. It failed because every single Democratic senator voted against it, as did three Republicans, including an ailing John McCain of Arizona. Above all, it failed because Congressional Republicans and President Trump [never developed]( a real health care plan. They developed a make-believe plan, made up of [lies about Obamacare]( and talking points about their own plan that were unconnected to reality. “No repeal. No replace,” Peter Suderman of the libertarian Reason magazine [wrote](. “Despite years of promises, Republicans had no shared health policy goals.” Without a real plan, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and other Congressional leaders couldn’t sell people on substance. They knew their bills were a slapdash attempt at keeping a promise — repeal Obamacare! — that would deprive millions of people of health coverage. So they instead tried to rush through a bill with unprecedented secrecy. The final vote, on a bill released only hours before, occurred after 2 a.m. This process, a more shocking violation of democratic norms than anything Anthony Scaramucci [has done]( this week, is what finally flipped McCain. “We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them it’s better than nothing, asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition,” McCain [said]( in his floor speech on Tuesday. “I don’t think that is going to work in the end,” he said. The other two Republican no votes came from Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who understood that the various bills would do terrible [damage]( to middle-class and lower-income families in their states. The three of them, and the 48 Democratic senators who remained unified throughout this process, deserve our [gratitude](. Many Americans — people with serious health problems, along with their many relatives and friends, who have watched this long spectacle with [great anxiety]( — are relieved this morning. Elsewhere: Today is the 52nd anniversary of the Senate passing Medicaid and Medicare, Emma Sandoe [notes](. Happy birthday indeed, Medicaid and Medicare. “Thank you my old friend,” John Weaver, the longtime McCain aide, [tweeted]( last night. It’s also worth re-reading the [tweetstorm]( earlier this week from Adam Jentleson, a former top aide to Harry Reid, which laid out McCain’s dilemma. Are these repeal efforts finally dead? Who knows. But John Harwood of CNBC [notes]( that the Trump agenda is badly off schedule: “This is the point in the calendar at which GOP Congress had said both Obamacare repeal/replace and tax reform would be signed into law.” In The Times: I invite you to browse the [selected works]( of Michiko Kakutani, who yesterday announced she was stepping down as chief book critic after 38 years here. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including Hillary Rosner [on climate science]( under threat. Editorial [Congress Defies Trump on Russia]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Despite the president’s reluctance for more sanctions, a bipartisan effort approves them, and limits his ability to end them. Op-Ed Columnist [Jeff Flake Plants a Flag]( By DAVID BROOKS With a new book, a Republican senator protests for all to read. Op-Ed Columnist [The Desperation of Our Diplomats]( By ROGER COHEN Why is Trump hollowing out the State Department? Contributing Op-Ed Writer [What If Hitler Had Invaded Britain?]( By TIMOTHY EGAN The question of whether the swastika could have flown over the Thames is much more than Hollywood fiction. Op-Ed Contributor [Chelsea Manning: President Trump, Trans People in the Military Are Here to Stay]( By CHELSEA MANNING I know the harms caused by official discrimination and denial of who we are. We’re not going back there. Op-Ed Contributor [I Am a Transgender Female Captain in the U.S. Army]( By JENNIFER SIMS Enabling soldiers to pursue their gender identity allows them to feel a part of the team, and be all they can be. ADVERTISEMENT Julianna Brion [Op-Ed Contributor]( [The Climate Lab That Sits Empty]( By HILLARY ROSNER An important project to monitor greenhouse gas emissions worldwide is likely to go unfunded yet again. Editorial [Call It ‘Sneaky Repeal,’ Not ‘Skinny Repeal’]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Ending the individual mandate would raise premiums and eliminate insurance for 16 million people. Editorial [A First Step, Finally, to Fix Subways]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD A proposal from the M.T.A. chairman calls for overdue maintenance, and still leaves a debate over how to pay for it all. Editorial [VW and Clean Diesel’s False Promise]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD With more German automakers tied to emissions lies, the cost in lives is becoming clearer. Op-Ed Contributor [Sessions’ Gratuitous Attack on Gay Workers]( By RIA TABACCO MAR The latest blow to civil rights comes at a moment of tremendous promise for L.G.B.T. equality. Op-Ed Contributor [With Sessions, Trump Is Picking on the Wrong Guy]( By QUIN HILLYER The attorney general insists on probity and the letter of the law. Republicans know that. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Immigration as a Security Threat]( By WALEED ALY We can chart Australia’s public conception of immigration from being a central aspect of its multicultural character to a threat to be managed. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Letters [The Machinations in Congress on Health Care]( Readers condemn Republicans for “putting on a show” rather than addressing the problem and urge bipartisan cooperation. Letters [Protesting Trump’s Transgender Ban]( Two doctors and the mother of a transgender man call the ban on military service “cruel,” “discriminatory” and “ill informed.” SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. 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