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| T-MINUS 4 DAYS UNTIL A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | |
Step 1: Cue up ‘Closing Time’ on the intercom: |
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--> http://bit.ly/2SVb9lD;) Via The Hill’s Niv Elis, House Democrats are planning for a prolonged shutdown that would begin Saturday if President Trump and Congress are unable to agree to a spending bill. http://bit.ly/2ULaAMS The plan — Step 2: If the shutdown goes until Jan. 3 when Democrats take over the House, they will have a new funding bill. They will likely try to pass a measure with no funds for Trump's border wall, setting up a clash with the GOP-led Senate. |
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Maybe the president should start a group text to talk to Congress: |
| A few days before the looming government shutdown, President Trump called out Democrats who say that the U.S. border is secure. http://bit.ly/2QxOpLL He tweeted: "Anytime you hear a Democrat saying that you can have good Boarder Security without a Wall, write them off as just another politician following the party line. Time for us to save billions of dollars a year and have, at the same time, far greater safety and control!" http://bit.ly/2SUztDZ |
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| WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE SHUTDOWN FIGHT: |
| He's pretty isolated with even members of his party. How so: http://bit.ly/2A5NBmW |
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Where things stand -- just don't get ~too~ attached to your government being open: |
| Lawmakers are returning to Washington this week with no clear plan to avert a partial government shutdown. When the government would shut down without a deal: Midnight Friday. When is the soonest Congress can resolve the issue: The House doesn't return until Wednesday evening. The holdup: President Trump is demanding $5 billion in border wall funding. What Democrats are willing to agree to: $1.3 billion for border funding, but no more than that. What agencies will stay open regardless: The Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and energy programs. Those agencies have been funded through Sept. 30, 2019. http://bit.ly/2rHly96 What agencies would shut down: The departments of State, Transportation, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Agriculture, Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security. Yeah, but: Law enforcement agents deemed "essential" will still work. http://bit.ly/2rHly96 |
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| WHY MITCH MCCONNELL NEEDS TO TREAD CAREFULLY: |
| Most Senate Republicans see a shutdown as a mistake heading into a tough 2020 cycle, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is up for reelection. Keep in mind: Republicans are defending 22 Senate seats (!) in 2020. What to expect from McConnell: http://bit.ly/2QX6MJy |
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| It's Monday -- Christmas Eve is a week from today! I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com-- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn |
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Breaking -- A two-year senior slide sounds nice: |
| Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced on Monday that he will not run for reelection in 2020. Yeah, but: He will finish the rest of his term. http://bit.ly/2EAb3wI From Alexander: "I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020. The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as Governor and Senator than anyone else from our state." |
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Which company do you think will control our free will first, Amazon or Google?: |
| Google announced plans to open a new campus in New York. Where: On Hudson Street and Washington Street in Manhattan. When the company campus will open: By 2022. How much Google is investing in this new campus: $1 billion. http://bit.ly/2QFbPz3 Last week: Google announced last week that it is opening another $1 billion facility in Austin, Texas. http://bit.ly/2rCmVWu Keep in mind: Amazon also recently announced a new headquarters in New York City. https://on.mktw.net/2CinPxy |
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Meanwhile -- Facebook, Google and Twitter may not have been so helpful in the Russia investigation: |
| Via The Hill's Harper Neidig and Morgan Chalfant, "A report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee's probe into Russia's online disinformation campaigns aimed at U.S. voters accused Facebook, Google and Twitter of impeding the investigation." How so: According to the firm The New Knowledge, the companies submitted incomplete data and may have misled lawmakers about Russian trolls. http://bit.ly/2PFLN9r Read the report: http://bit.ly/2SV9RqN |
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A Michael Flynn associated has been charged: |
| Via The Washington Post's Rachel Weiner, "A former business partner of Michael Flynn is being charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy for attempting to get Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen extradited from the United States." Who: Bijan Kian. This morning: Kian appeared in federal court in Alexandria, Va. https://wapo.st/2S82QTl |
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What else is happening in Congress this week -- 'It's Always Infrastructure Week in Philadel-- Washington: |
| Via The Hill's Jordain Carney and Juliegrace Brufke, the Senate is debating a White House-backed criminal justice bill this week after years of the legislation stalling. Happening at 5:30 p.m. today: The Senate has a vote related to the measure. It needs 60 votes to advance. http://bit.ly/2R3w88o What's in the bill: "The legislation combines a House-backed prison reform with a handful of changes to sentencing and mandatory minimum laws. Senators rolled out a modified, final version of the legislation last week with changes aimed at winning over more GOP support, including increasing the list of offenses that make an individual ineligible from the 'earned time' credits that cut down on a sentence." http://bit.ly/2R3w88o |
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Interesting read -- 'A complete guide to all 17 (known) Trump and Russia investigations': |
| Via Garrett Graff in Wired. The list of investigations: http://bit.ly/2URDmeY |
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2018's most Googled politician -- any guesses??: |
| No, it's not Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The winner: Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee who lost to Republican Brian Kemp. http://bit.ly/2Er3fwc |
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I laughed…: |
| From Journalist Jim Swift: "We're on teething watch with the twins. I told my wife we should call it the Molar investigation. She was not amused." http://bit.ly/2URfSXh Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) tweeted that "President Carter divested from his peanut farm": MSNBC's Garrett Haake added, "And to think, he could have held it in a shell company. (I'll show myself out.)" http://bit.ly/2EBaAKq |
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What everyone was watching over the weekend: |
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This video has almost 15 million views so far. Watch: http://bit.ly/2SbNddX |
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| The Senate is meeting this afternoon. The House is out until Wednesday. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C. Noon: President Trump received an intelligence briefing. 12:30 p.m. EST: President Trump has lunch with Vice President Pence. 1:45 p.m. EST: President Trump meets with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. 3 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence meets with the deputy prime minister of New Zealand. 3 p.m. EST: The Senate meets to work on criminal justice reform. 5:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EST: President Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in a Christmas reception at the White House. 5:30 p.m. EST: The Senate votes. The chamber's full schedule today: http://bit.ly/2QYUujI 7:45 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence leaves for Cape Canaveral, Fla. |
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| 3 p.m. EST: The Senate debates criminal justice reform. Watch: https://cs.pn/2A1pOVg For no good reason except that it's almost the holidays: Here's a livestream of a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla. Watch: http://bit.ly/2EzEzm6 |
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| Today is National Maple Syrup Day. |
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Getting traction -- he got two minutes for ruffing: |
| A 5-month-old puppy played fetch on the ice during a St. Louis Blues practice. Watch: http://bit.ly/2LkM8h6 |
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Today in 'You Should Probably Come Up With A New Hobby': |
| Surveillance video shows a person attempting to steal a television that was delivered to a home in Prince George's County. Watch -- smooooooth: http://bit.ly/2EuxgeT |
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| And to break up your Monday afternoon, here's a panda enjoying a bamboo snack: http://bit.ly/2LkjLzu |
