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Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In an op-ed for USA Today, President Trump blasted the Democrats on health care. "The truth is that the centrist Democratic Party is dead," he wrote. (Associated Press)

Democrats’ bid to scuttle Obamacare change defeated

President Trump blasted Democrats on Wednesday for trying to overturn his administration's push to give consumers an off-ramp from Obamacare, warning that their defense of the 2010 law is a path to government-run socialized medicine. Published October 10, 2018

President Donald Trump pauses during his meeting to discuss potential damage from Hurricane Michael, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Donald Trump signs bipartisan bills to boost drug-pricing transparency

President Trump signed a bill Wednesday forbidding "gag clauses" that prevent pharmacists from telling customers they can save money in some cases by paying cash for their prescriptions, instead of relying on their insurance and making the co-payment. Published October 10, 2018

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks during an interview at The Associated Press in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

GOP defeats bid to cancel expansion of Obamacare-evading plans

Senate Republicans turned back a Democratic bid Wednesday to kill President Trump's plan to expand the sale of health plans that fall short of Obamacare's rules, saying Americans who buy insurance on their own need more options, not fewer. Published October 10, 2018

Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, attends a news conference in Washington on Sept. 13, 2018. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Paul Ryan: GOP has kept promises, deserves 2019 majority

Take-home pay is rising while unemployment falls, the military is getting stronger and help is on the way for Americans ensnared by addiction to opioids, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Monday, making the case for Republicans to retain control of Congress as he heads for the exits. Published October 8, 2018

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs after the confirmation vote of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018 in Washington. Kavanaugh was confirmed 50-48. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Obamacare defenders say Justice Brett Kavanaugh could determine fate of law

A pro-Obamacare group wasted little time Monday in linking Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court and the fate of the health care law, saying a ruling that strikes down its popular protections for sicker Americans is right around the corner and that Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is to blame. Published October 8, 2018

FILE - The main building of the National Institutes of Health is seen in Bethesda, Md., in this Aug. 17, 2009 file photo. Ten clinicians with a Boston-based nonprofit organization responding to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone are to be transported to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with the deadly disease. The clinician who became infected has already been evacuated and is receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Scientists look to non-addictive treatments for chronic pain

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health are "very optimistic" that sweeping opioid legislation moving through Congress will help them get moving on non-addictive treatments for pain, as the federal government tries to rein in the nationwide overdose crisis. Published September 30, 2018

Rep. Peter Roskam, Illinois Republican, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 17, 2014. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Major opioids bill clears House ahead of midterms

Sweeping legislation to combat the opioids crisis hopped closer to President Trump's desk Friday, as House lawmakers voted to expand Medicaid funding for treatment, spur the development of non-addictive painkillers and empower inspectors to root out deadly fentanyl from overseas. Published September 28, 2018

In this Sept. 12, 2018, file photo, Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in New York. Azar said premiums for a popular type of health plan under the Affordable Care Act will edge downward next year. Speaking in Nashville on Thursday, Sept. 26, Azar said premiums for a popular type of “silver” plan will drop by 2 percent in the 39 states served by the federal HealthCare.gov website. The number of marketplace insurers will grow for the first time since 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Obamacare premiums drop for first time

Average premiums for key Obamacare benchmark plans are set to drop for the first time in the program's history, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday, challenging Democrats' claims that the Trump administration had "sabotaged" the law. Published September 27, 2018

The website for HealthCare.gov on Friday, July 6, 2018, in Washington. (HHS via AP) ** FILE **

Trump admin. ramps up attacks on ‘Medicare for all’

The Trump administration cranked its criticism of "Medicare for all" to full blast Thursday, saying a government health plan would wipe out choices and expose patients to the whims of Washington. Published September 27, 2018

This Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018 photo shows an arrangement of Oxycodone pills in New York. A study in Tennessee released on Thursday, Aug 30, 2018, found learning disabilities and other special education needs are more common in young children who were born with symptoms from their mothers' prenatal opioid use. The results bolster evidence of long-term consequences for infants caught in the nation's opioid epidemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Opioid treatment expansion bill being finalized

House and Senate negotiators finalized a sweeping opioids bill late Tuesday that expands addiction treatment by expanding availability of Medicaid funding, but that leaves a bigger fight over patients' privacy and seniors' drug costs for a later day. Published September 25, 2018

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept 9, 2018, a health worker in protective gear works at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, Eastern Congo. The current Ebola outbreak in northeastern Congo has become a testing ground with one aid group for the first time treating confirmed Ebola victims in individual biosecure units used in emergencies involving highly infectious diseases. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro) ** FILE **

Rebel attack disrupts Ebola response in Africa

Aid groups said Monday they've been forced to suspend efforts to contain a new Ebola threat because of a rebel attack on a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reflecting an "increasingly worrisome" security situation amid an outbreak that has now killed 100 people. Published September 24, 2018

This Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, file photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York. In an innovative experiment, doctors prescribed fewer opioids after learning of their patient's overdose death in a letter from a county medical examiner. More than 400 “Dear Doctor” letters, sent in 2017 in San Diego County, were part of a study that put a human face on the U.S. opioid crisis for many doctors. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

Trump administration calls for compassion for opioid addicts

The Trump administration on Thursday called for a "cultural shift" in how Americans talk about opioid addiction, saying too many people are still unwilling or unable to seek treatment and urging communities to adopt new strategies to combat the overdose epidemic. Published September 20, 2018