Politics/elections

House Republican doctors released a "healthcare state of the union" video Wednesday that criticizes President Obama's signature healthcare law but does not mention repealing it.

The video shows floor speeches from frequent critics of the healthcare law, including Reps. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.). It shows lawmakers arguing that the Affordable Care Act will raise costs and criticizing its taxes on medical devices.

"There's a saying: If you want to discourage something, tax it … is that the same thinking we have about innovative medical devices?" Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) says in the video. "Are they all of a sudden not a good idea? Because that's exactly what this bill does, it taxes them."

A super-PAC that spent millions to elect Republicans to the House in 2012 is launching its first attack on a handful of House Democrats, attempting to tie them to cuts to a Medicare program resulting in part from President Obama's healthcare law.

"It's not their business," said Rep. Steve King, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) emphasized repealing the taxes in President Obama's healthcare law during a speech outlining the House GOP's priorities.

Although Cantor criticized the entire law, he focused his specific calls for repeal on the law's new taxes — specifically a 2 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers.

"President Obama’s health care law resulted in higher premiums and costs for families, and has made access to quality health care and innovation tougher," Cantor said. "If we want to reverse this trend, we should start by choosing to repeal the new taxes that are increasing the costs of health care and health insurance, like the medical device tax."

Mitt Romney's campaign donated nearly $90,000 to the Red Cross in the weeks after the Republican presidential nominee's electoral defeat, filings with the Federal Election Commission showed Sunday.

The donation was made on Nov. 30, weeks after Election Day, and not publicized by the campaign. 

Romney's presidential effort was disrupted by the landfall of Hurricane Sandy just days before voters headed to the polls. The storm, which battered New York and New Jersey, pulled President Obama and Romney temporarily off the campaign trail.

Romney then converted scheduled campaign rallies into "storm relief" efforts in key swing states, asking supporters to bring donations and supplies. Campaign workers helped pack and ship the disaster relief supplies to areas in need.

Labor could play a big role in the Massachusetts Senate primary between Democratic Reps. Stephen Lynch and Ed Markey.

A government watchdog group is claiming that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) failed to properly disclose its support for a 2011 trip in which Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act.

The DNC classified its payment to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, which Sebelius leads, as an "operating" rather than an "independent" expenditure, Cause of Action said.

The group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday. 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Monday that President Obama's signature healthcare law is the greatest threat to liberty in his lifetime.

Johnson, an outspoken conservative, said he ran for Senate mostly out of opposition to the Affordable Care Act. He criticized the law in an interview with the Atlas Society, a think tank inspired by the Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

"Well, I think Americans are a little bit like a bunch of frogs in that pot of water and the water's being brought up to a boil," Johnson said. "And I think we're losing freedoms across the board. The reason I ran really was in reaction to the passage of the healthcare law, which I think is really the greatest assault on our freedom in my lifetime."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will stay in her post, a White House official said Wednesday.

Several of President Obama's top Cabinet officials have either stepped down or announced their plans to do so relatively soon, as is common at the beginning of a president's second term.

But the White House official said Sebelius — along with Attorney General Eric Holder and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki — will be sticking around.

Donald Berwick, formerly a top healthcare official in the Obama administration, is reportedly considering a run for Massachusetts governor in 2014.

Berwick was controversial on Capitol Hill, but he remains a widely respected doctor and healthcare expert. He served as director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, before stepping down when his interim appointment expired.