Tipsheet: Trump sows fresh confusion on shutdown

View in your browser     The Memo: Trump sows fresh confusion on shutdown BY NIALL STANAGE President Trump declared the partial government shutdown could last for more than a year during a White House news conference on Friday. On the other hand, he said, it could end next week. His remarks sowed confusion rather than clarity about a possible way out of the impasse, which on Saturday enters its 15th day. Read the full story here     Trump threatens to extend partial government shutdown for years BY JORDAN FABIAN AND ALEXANDER BOLTON  President Trump on Friday threatened to keep roughly a quarter of the federal government closed for years amid a dispute over border-wall funding, the latest sign the president and congressional Democrats remain far apart on resolving the two-week-long shutdown. Read the full story here     Democrats launch ‘drain-the-swamp’ agenda BY MIKE LILLIS House Democrats on Friday introduced a sweeping government reform package designed to weed Washington of corruption and bolster voting rights across the country — two of the party’s principal campaign promises — as its top legislative priority. Read the full story here     Court extends Mueller grand jury BY LYDIA WHEELER AND MORGAN CHALFANT Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Washington-based grand jury has been granted an extension days before it was set to expire by the head judge on the federal district court for the District of Columbia. Read the full story here       Trump says he may call a national emergency to build border wall BY TAL AXELROD   President Trump said Friday that he is considering calling a national emergency to build a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border. Read the full story here     Senate throws hundreds of Trump nominees into limbo BY JORDAIN CARNEY The Senate has sent hundreds of nominations back to the White House, throwing their fate into limbo.  Read the full story here     Supreme Court to take up gerrymandering cases BY LYDIA WHEELER The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering after punting the issue last term. Read the full story here     House Homeland Security Committee chairman asks Nielsen to testify on ‘flawed’ border agenda BY TAL AXELROD Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Friday requesting her to testify in front of the committee regarding the Trump administration’s border security agenda. Read the full story here     Trump administration presses ahead with Alaskan drilling plan despite shutdown BY TIMOTHY CAMA The Trump administration will press forward with key steps toward opening more areas in northern Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling despite the ongoing partial government shutdown. Read the full story here     House formally moves to intervene in ObamaCare lawsuit BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL House Democrats have officially filed a motion to intervene in defense of ObamaCare in court against a Republican-led lawsuit. Read the full story here     Blockbuster jobs report puts fears of the economy's demise to rest BY SEAN SNAITH Opinion | Nine-and-a-half years into the economic expansion, to see job growth accelerating at this clip should allay fears that the economy has begun its initial descent in recession. Read the full story here     End the shutdown with huge bipartisan immigration deal BY JOSEPH MINARIK Opinion | If the White House and new Congress pursued comprehensive reform in current talks, it could help them agree to finally reopen Uncle Sam. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: A freshman, a viral video and a profanity revive Trump impeachment talk BY ELISE VIEBECK AND MIKE DEBONIS House Democratic leaders spent two years trying to keep talk of impeachment out of the headlines to win back their majority. All it took was a freshman lawmaker, a viral video and a curse word aimed at President Trump to put it right back. Read the full story here     The New York Times: What the Shutdown Would Look Like if It Happened in Other Industries BY KEITH COLLINS, ANJALI SINGHVI AND TROY GRIGGS With the government in shutdown, a large number of federal employees have found themselves either on unpaid leave or working without pay. This is the effect the shutdown would have if the same number of people were laid off from American industries and companies. Read the full story here     Bloomberg: Bolton Plans to Tell Israel That There’s No Timeline on Syria Pullout, Source Says BY MARGARET TALEV AND NICK WADHAMS U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will tell Israeli leaders that there is no timetable for an American military pullout from Syria, two weeks after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces. Read the full story here     NBC News: For some Democrats, the real dirty word is 'impeachm---' BY JONATHAN ALLEN It didn't take long for newly empowered House Democrats to lose control of their message on the possible impeachment of President Donald Trump: less than a day. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: New House Dems get early political lesson BY LAURIE KELLMAN The education of the star-studded class of House freshmen has begun. Lesson one: Speaking with the bluntness of a candidate can produce swift and uncomfortable results. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.