“Let me say here and now that I regret very deeply the harm that I’ve done both to people I care about and people I don’t really care about all that much. I am sorry. I apologize. It was wrong. What I did was wrong. I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry. Boy, am I sorry.”
— Then-comedian Al Franken, in his 1999 book, Why Not Me?
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) “is hosting a re-election fundraiser in early January, according to an invitation obtained by CNN, stoking further intrigue about a Senate seat that’s being eyed by Mitt Romney.”
“An executive at a leading Russian social media company made several overtures to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 — including days before the November election — urging the candidate to create a page on the website to appeal to Russian Americans and Russians,” the Washington Post reports.
“The executive at Vkontakte, or VK, Russia’s equivalent to Facebook, emailed Donald Trump Jr. and social media director Dan Scavino in January and again in November of last year, offering to help promote Trump’s campaign to its nearly 100 million users, according to people familiar with the messages.”
Politico: “The New York senator has made sexual assault the focus of her political career. Now, the world has caught up with her.”
“I am seriously, seriously, seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate.”
— Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in an interview with the Daily Beast.
Playbook: “While House Democrats have toiled away in the minority, when it comes to government funding fights they have always been relevant because House Republicans haven’t been able to secure enough votes to pass stop-gap funding bills. That changed yesterday. Republicans stood together and passed the two-week bill without the help of Democrats.”
“Will it last? Doubtful. Conservative Republicans aren’t eager to vote for whatever funding bill comes next — they’re already freaking out about the budget cap deal. They will put up more of a fight when it comes to a massive package to keep government funded through 2018.”
“The British publicist who arranged the June 2016 meeting with Russians and Donald Trump Jr. sent multiple emails to a Russian participant and a member of Donald Trump’s inner circle later that summer, multiple sources told CNN, the first indication there was any follow-up after the meeting.”
“The emails raise new questions for congressional investigators about what was discussed at Trump Tower. Trump Jr. has for months contended that after being promised he would get dirt on Hillary Clinton, the brief meeting focused almost exclusively on the issue of Russian adoptions, saying there was no discussion with the participants after that session.”
With former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), he hands his party “a conceivable, if extremely narrow, path back to a Senate majority in 2018,” the New York Times reports.
“Democrats are defending 25 Senate seats next year, 10 of them in states that President Trump won. But if Mr. Bredesen can mount a strong campaign, Tennessee would join Nevada and Arizona as states where Republican-held Senate seats could be in jeopardy. Republicans currently have a two-seat majority.”
“A win by Doug Jones, a Democrat, in the Alabama special election on Tuesday would provide a wider path to the majority.”
“Some of President Trump’s wealthiest New York friends have launched a last-minute campaign to pressure him for changes to the GOP tax bill, telling the president personally that the current plan would drive up their taxes and hurt his home state,” the Washington Post reports.
“Specifically, they have raised concerns about new limitations on their ability to deduct state and local taxes.”
Said Trump: “There are very, very few people that aren’t benefiting by [the tax package], but there’s that tiny little sliver, and we’re going to try to take care of even that very small group of people that just through circumstances maybe don’t get the full benefit of what we’re doing.”
Axios plots data from the most recent Pew Research poll which finds President Trump’s approval falling across the board.
According to Reuters, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney is reportedly mulling whether to go ahead with a multi-million dollar penalty for alleged mortgage fraud by Wells Fargo.
A new Pew Research survey finds that just 32% of the public approves of the way President Trump is handling his job — a new low — while 63% disapprove.
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) is expected to resign from Congress, Roll Call reports.
“It is unclear exactly why Franks is stepping down, but one Arizona Republican said there had been rumors of inappropriate behavior. The Republican said the congressman had apparently been making plans to run for Senate in 2012, but abruptly canceled those plans.”
The Hill: “As the news of his resignation broke, fellow Republicans approached Franks on the House floor, all stone-faced. Several fellow conservatives sat with Franks, bent their heads, and prayed.”
Steve Curtis, the former chairman for the Colorado Republican Party, was found guilty by a jury of voter fraud and forgery, according to the Denver Channel.
“The House passed a two-week stopgap spending bill one day before a deadline to avoid a government shutdown,” The Hill reports.
“House Republicans managed to pass the legislation on their own in the 235-193 vote, despite often coming short of securing a majority of the majority on measures to keep the government open in recent years.”
The Senate also approved the bill which heads to President Trump for his signature.
For members: Why a Shutdown Still Seems Very Likely
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Weekly Standard that the committee will never support Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R), who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls.
Said Gardner: “Roy Moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee. We will never endorse him. We won’t support him. I won’t let that happen. Nothing will change. I stand by my previous statement.”
Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) “seat wasn’t supposed to be up again until 2020. But his resignation Thursday amid allegations of sexual misconduct creates a 2018 special election in Minnesota. And Republicans, who hold a 52-48 majority, are now on the hunt for a top-tier candidate in a politically competitive state where President Trump lost by less than two percentage points last year,” NBC News reports.
“The unexpected opportunity could be a ‘total game-changer in terms of control of the Senate,’ said Republican strategist Alex Conant, a Minnesota native who worked in communications roles for the RNC and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential campaign. ‘If we field a strong candidate.'”
Daily Beast: Here’s why Democrats forced Al Franken to do the right thing—and why they may come to regret it.
President Trump “plans to keep pushing his legislative agenda in 2018 by releasing his long-promised infrastructure plan in early January,” Bloomberg reports.
“Infrastructure advocates question whether a Republican-led Congress will be able to pass a spending plan with enough federal funding if it’s already approved a tax measure that official estimates say would bloat the budget deficit. Some say the administration missed its best opportunity to deliver a meaningful public works initiative by not incorporating it into the tax bill, which is nearing approval.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.