The Islamist group Hamas urged Palestinians to abandon peace efforts and launch a new uprising against Israel in response to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, Reuters reports.
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Most Americans Disapprove of Tax Plan
A new CBS News poll finds 53% of Americans disapprove of the Republican tax plan being considered by Congress – including four in 10 who disapprove strongly, and only one in five Americans expect their own taxes to go down.
“Few Americans think the plan will lead to lower taxes for them personally, and this is true of Republicans as well, despite their strong support of the plan. One-third of Republicans think their taxes will be lowered; most Democrats expect their own taxes will go up. By almost a 2 to 1 margin, independents are more likely to think they’ll go up rather than down.”
North Korea Says Nuclear War Is Inevitable
“North Korea says a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula has become a matter of when, not if, as it continued to lash out at a massive joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea involving hundreds of advanced warplanes,” the AP reports.
“In comments attributed to an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman, North Korea also claimed high-ranked U.S. officials, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo, have further confirmed American intent for war with a series of ‘bellicose remarks.'”
Republicans Hammer Mueller as Investigation Intensifies
“Republican activists and lawmakers are engaged in a multi-front attack on special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of possible connections between associates of President Trump and Russian agents, trying to stop or curtail the investigation as it moves further into Trump’s inner circle,” the Washington Post reports.
“For months, the president and his allies have been seizing on any whiff of possible impropriety by Mueller’s team or the FBI to argue that the Russia probe is stacked against Trump — potentially building the political support needed to dismiss the special counsel.”
“Several law enforcement officials said they are concerned that the constant drumbeat of conservative criticism seems designed to erode Mueller’s credibility, making it more politically palatable to remove, restrict or simply ignore his recommendations as his investigation progresses.”
Female Lt. Governor Likely to Replace Franken
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) “is expected to appoint his lieutenant governor and close ally, Tina Smith, to Al Franken’s seat if the Democratic senator resigns on Thursday,” Politico reports.
“But that appointment would be just the start of a huge upheaval in Minnesota.”
“Part of the reason Smith could be heading to the Senate, the sources said, is because she has indicated no interest in running for Congress in the past and would not run for the remainder of Franken’s term, which expires in 2020, in a 2018 special election. That would clear the way for a wide-open Democratic primary next year if Franken steps down.”
Haley Says Olympics May Not Be Safe for U.S. Athletes
United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley said that it was an “open question” whether American athletes would be able to attend the Olympics in South Korea in February given the tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the New York Times reports.
GOP May Link Debt Limit Hike to Spending Bill
Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), “a member of House GOP leadership and the head of a working group of House Republicans on the debt limit, said lawmakers were considering increasing the debt ceiling as part of the bill funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year, known as an omnibus,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“GOP leaders are likely to seek to raise the debt limit enough to last at least through next November’s midterm elections, lawmakers and aides said. They will have to act, likely by March, to avoid a default.”
Sanford Says Tax Bill Is Being Misleadingly Sold
Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) told the Washington Post that Republicans are not accurately portraying their tax bill: It isn’t a middle-class tax cut, it’s a corporate one.
Said Sanford: “Fundamentally the bill has been mislabeled. From a truth in advertising standpoint it would have been a lot simpler if we just acknowledged really on this bill, which is it’s fundamentally a corporate tax reduction and restructuring bill, period.”
Christie Says Opposing Flynn Was Why He Was Booted
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he was ousted as head of President Trump’s transition due in part to his opposition to the hiring of Michael Flynn as national security adviser, Politico reports.
Said Christie: “I thought it was a significant reason… Suffice to say, I had serious misgivings, which I think have been confirmed by the fact that he pled guilty to a felony in federal court.”
New Poll Gives Moore the Lead In Alabama
A new Strategy Research poll in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) leading Doug Jones by seven points in next week’s U.S. Senate special election, 50% to 43%.
How Democratic Senators Turned on Franken
Politico: “The Democratic women of the Senate had been talking among themselves about the Franken allegations for weeks… In calls and texts, the female senators eventually came to an unstated agreement, according to another aide familiar with their discussions: The next credible story of misconduct in a credible news outlet would prompt them to call for Franken’s resignation.”
Booker to Campaign for Jones In Alabama
Doug Jones (D) and his allies “are trying to finalize plans to bring in several high-profile current or former African American elected officials, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), to campaign for him this weekend in Alabama as he wages an aggressive final push to turn out black voters in a Tuesday special election with national stakes,” the Washington Post reports.
“Jones has been trying to piece together a delicate coalition built on support from core Democrats and some crossover votes from Republicans not drawn to their party nominee, Roy Moore (R). Crucial to that plan is strong turnout by African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Alabama’s electorate.”
Trump Jr. Wouldn’t Answer About Talk with Father
Donald Trump Jr. “cited attorney-client privilege to avoid telling lawmakers about a conversation he had with his father, President Trump, after news broke this summer that the younger Trump — and top campaign brass — had met with Russia-connected individuals in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign,” Politico reports.
“Though neither Trump Jr. nor the president is an attorney, Trump Jr. told the House Intelligence Committee that there was a lawyer in the room during the discussion, according to the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Schiff said he didn’t think it was a legitimate invocation of attorney-client privilege.”
Said Schiff: “I don’t believe you can shield communications between individuals merely by having an attorney present. That’s not the purpose of attorney-client privilege.”
White House Explains Trump’s Slurred Speech
The White House said President Trump’s slurred speech at the end of his announcement about Jerusalem was no more than a case of dry mouth, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said a spokesman: “His throat was dry. There’s nothing to it.”
Daily Mail: “Conspiracy theorists on Twitter launched into high gear, including Democratic partisans who speculated about every possible cause from a mini-stroke to cocaine use.”
“But a Virginia dentist… watched a video of the speech Wednesday afternoon and concluded that the speech quirk ‘sounds like a loose denture plate.'”
Franken Will Resign
A Democratic official who has spoken to Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and key aides tells Minnesota Public Radio that Franken will resign his Senate seat on Thursday.
More than 30 Democratic senators have now joined the calls for Franken to step aside, according to Axios.
However, Franken’s office tweets: “No final decision has been made and the Senator is still talking with his family.”
Bredesen Will Run for Senate In Tennessee
Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) is entering the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, the Nashville Post reports.
“According to multiple sources, Bredesen began calling major donors this afternoon to confirm that he is in the race. He has been mum about a campaign since Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) announced he would step down next year, only acknowledging that he was contemplating a run. A formal announcement of his intent to run has not yet been made.”
Trump Wants LePage to Run for Senate
President Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to run for the U.S. Senate, the Washington Post reports.
“Trump has told advisers he plans to call Mr. LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016, and ask him to jump in against Sen. Angus King (I-ME) in 2018 — and that he would endorse him. King is an independent who often caucuses with Democrats.”
GOP Leaders May Bump Up Corporate Tax Rate
“Republican leaders, convinced they need to find new revenue in order to fund last-minute changes to the giant tax package moving through Congress, are looking at decreasing the size of their planned corporate tax cut,” the Washington Post reports.
“The House and Senate passed separate tax-cut packages in recent weeks, and both bills would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. But GOP negotiators are now openly discussing the possibility of moving that rate back up to 22 percent to generate more revenue.”
