“U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday he would probably end up supporting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s nomination for a second four-year term,” Reuters reports.
Jake Sullivan Spoke with Hostages’ Families
“National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke last week with relatives of U.S. hostages and others wrongfully detained abroad, after more than two dozen families expressed frustrations about their inability to get a meeting with him or President Biden,” Axios reports.
“Sullivan told families he’d been unaware they were seeking meetings with him.”
Pence’s Top Aide to Cooperate with House Probe
“The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence is cooperating with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection,“ the AP reports.
“Marc Short was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and accompanied Pence as he fled his post presiding over the Senate and hid from rioters who were calling for his hanging. Short is cooperating with the panel after receiving a subpoena.”
Omicron Is Fast Moving, But Maybe Less Severe
“The Covid-19 virus is spreading faster than ever in South Africa, the country’s president said Monday, an indication of how the new Omicron variant is driving the pandemic, but there are early indications that Omicron may cause less serious illness than other forms of the virus,” the New York Times reports.
“Researchers at a major hospital complex in Pretoria reported that their patients with the coronavirus are much less sick than those they have treated before, and that other hospitals are seeing the same trends. In fact, they said, most of their infected patients were admitted for other reasons and have no Covid symptoms.”
Senate GOP Nixes Proposed Debt Limit Fix
“Senate Republicans are rejecting a proposal floated by congressional Democratic leaders to attach a debt limit fix to the annual defense policy measure — typically treated as a must-pass bill,” Politico reports.
“Senior Democrats are discussing combining the two items in a single legislative vehicle in a bid to end their partisan skirmish with upper-chamber Republicans who have refused to help them adjust the nation’s borrowing limit. But the Senate GOP largely poured cold water on the idea Monday and warned that the move would endanger the defense bill.”
Chris Cuomo Preparing to Sue CNN for $18 Million
“Fired CNN host Chris Cuomo is set to sue the network if it balks at paying him at least $18 million to cover what’s left on his contract,” the New York Post reports.
Devin Nunes to Leave Congress
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) will soon announce he is retiring at the end of this month, Politico reports.
Nunes was in line to be House Ways and Means chairman if Republicans win the majority in next year’s election.
Fox News reports Nunes “got a job offer that he can’t refuse” — as CEO of Donald Trump new social media company.
Politico: “While the independent commission charged with redrawing California’s congressional map is still completing its work, an early draft tilted Nunes’ Central Valley district toward Democrats, potentially complicating his path to reelection.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I wanna get it done no matter how long it takes.”
— President Biden on whether he’ll pass his Build Back Better bill before Christmas.
Trump Says Firing Comey Was Key to His Survival
Former President Donald Trump told Fox News that his firing of former FBI Director James Comey was critical to his surviving four years in the White House.
Said Trump: “If I didn’t fire Comey, they were looking to take down the president of the United States.”
He added: “A lot of people tell me, ‘how you survived is the most incredible thing.’ I fired Comey. Had I not fired Comey you might not be talking to me right now…”
Republicans Are Trying to Destroy Democracy
Jeffrey Goldberg: “Stating plainly that one of America’s two major parties, the party putatively devoted to advancing the ideas and ideals of conservatism, has now fallen into autocratic disrepute is unnerving for a magazine committed to being, in the words of our founding manifesto, ‘of no party or clique.’ Criticism of the Republican Party does not suggest an axiomatic endorsement of the Democratic Party, its leaders and policies. Substantive, even caustic, critiques can of course be made up and down the Democratic line.”
“But avoiding partisan entanglement does not mean that we must turn away from the obvious. The leaders of the Republican Party—the soul-blighted Donald Trump and the satraps and lackeys who abet his nefarious behavior—are attempting to destroy the foundations of American democracy. This must be stated clearly, and repeatedly.”
Bob Dole to Lie In State at U.S. Capitol
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that former Sen. Robert Dole will lie in state in the United States Capitol Rotunda on Thursday.
Chris Cuomo Absent from Sirius XM Show
“Chris Cuomo was absent from his weekday radio show on SiriusXM, two days after being fired by CNN following a scandal involving his effort to help his brother deal with accusations of sexual harassment,” The Hill reports.
Vanity Fair: The Chris Cuomo drama isn’t over.
Update: Cuomo released a statement saying he was no longer doing his Sirius XM show.
Justice Department Sues Texas Over New Maps
“The U.S. Department of Justice is throwing its weight into the legal fight over Texas’ newly drawn maps for Congress and the state House,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“The Biden administration on Monday announced it has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas, joining what’s expected to be a protracted fight over the political boundaries the state will use for elections to come. It joins a collection of individual voters and organizations representing voters of color that have already sued the state over maps that help solidify the GOP’s dominance while weakening the influence of voters of color.”
Schumer Keeps Christmas Goal for Spending Bill
In a letter to his colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated his optimistic timeline for Senate Democrats to finish the Build Back Better bill, saying “our goal in the Senate is to pass the legislation before Christmas and get it to the president’s desk.”
Playbook: “But Christmas Eve is 18 days away and there are good reasons to believe that Dems will blow that deadline.”
Even if the bill passes the Senate by Christmas Eve, it will still need to go back to the House for a final vote.
Trump Social Media Company Forecasts 81 Million Users
“Donald Trump’s new social media company forecasts it may have 81 million users by 2026 – or nearly 7 million more people than voted for him in the 2020 election and, as it happens, the same number that voted for the winner, Joe Biden,” The Guardian reports.
Edwards Seeks to Require Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids
“Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ (D) plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the required immunization schedule for students at K-12 schools has energized a wave of opposition from mostly Republican state lawmakers, who are gathering in Baton Rouge Monday for an oversight hearing where they’ll attempt to thwart the proposal,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
Meadows Confirms Trump Was Very Sick
Mark Meadows, in his book The Chief’s Chief, writes that Donald Trump was much sicker than reported at the time and had “dangerously low” oxygen levels when he was admitted to the hospital for Covid-19.
Court Halts Filing for Races In North Carolina
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has halted candidate filing in U.S. House, state Senate and state House districts amid challenges to the latest redistricting maps, the Raleigh News and Observer reports.
