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A key House committee on Friday failed to advance House Republicans’ massive tax-and-spending bill after hard-line conservatives bucked President Donald Trump and blocked the bill over cost concerns.

The House Budget Committee rejected the bill 21-16, with Republican Representatives Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Josh Brecheen, and Andrew Clyde joining Democrats to vote against it. The four hardliners demanded deeper cuts to Medicaid and other government programs.

It’s incredibly rare for bills to fail at this step in the process, with the committee vote typically serving as a rubber-stamp to the bill before it moves to the House floor.
Negotiations will continue through the weekend, with the committee planning to meet again late Sunday night.

In deal news, Charter Communications Inc. has agreed to combine with closely held Cox Communications in a cash-and-stock deal that would unite two of the biggest US cable providers. The takeover values Cox at about $34.5 billion including debt, the companies said in a statement Friday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The deal includes about $12.6 billion of net debt and $21.9 billion in equity, the companies said. The combined company would be the top broadband operator in the US, and increase Charter’s subscriber base by more than 20%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan. It also comes at a time when cable companies are facing increasing competition.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg Balance of Power Co-Host Joe Mathieu
• Kabir Ahmed Shakir, Chief Financial Officer at Tata Communications and Bloomberg News Senior Editor Nina Trentmann
• Craig Moffett, Founding Partner of MoffettNathanson
• Katie Hubbard, EVP of Capital Markets for Walton Global

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