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Pardon moi?: |
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© Getty Images Via The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt, President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has reportedly discussed receiving a preemptive pardon from the president before he leaves office. https://nyti.ms/2VpCvDQ For what? It’s unclear…: “Giuliani’s potential criminal exposure is unclear. He was under investigation as recently as last summer by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for his business dealings in Ukraine and his role in ousting the American ambassador there, a plot that was at the heart of the impeachment of Mr. Trump.” Is this normal for a president to do? Not normal, but it has been done before: “Such a broad pardon pre-empting any charge or conviction is highly unusual but does have precedent. George Washington pardoned plotters of the Whiskey Rebellion … Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard M. Nixon for all of his actions as president. Jimmy Carter pardoned thousands of American men who illegally avoided the draft for the Vietnam War.” The full story: https://nyti.ms/2VpCvDQ |
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| REACTION FROM RUDY GIULIANI — HE VEHEMENTLY DENIES HAVING THE DISCUSSION: |
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Giuliani tweeted, “#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies.”
Giuliani’s tweet: https://bit.ly/37mmhAV
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| It’s Tuesday — Happy December! I.e.: This weird year is almost over. 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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| SPONSORED CONTENT — CAPITAL ONE | |
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As Americans struggle to find affordable housing, homelessness is on the rise across the country. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, 400,000 new shelter beds are needed to accommodate everyone who is unsheltered and ensure appropriate social distancing. Capital One strives to combat that surge and help those facing housing insecurity find a permanent home by helping to create over 10,000 affordable housing units a year. Learn more about that commitment here. |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
When Americans could be vaccinated (!) : |
| “A top official of Operation Warp Speed — the U.S. government’s massive effort to develop and distribute a coronavirus vaccine — confidently predicted Monday that everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by June.” https://on.mktw.net/2VB9SDP Who said this: Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski (Ret.), the head of Operation Warp Speed’s supply, production and distribution In Ostrowski’s words: “100 percent of Americans that want the vaccine will have had the vaccine by [June]. … We will have over 300 million doses available to the American public well before then.” Watch his full comments on MSNBC explaining on the vaccine distribution: https://on.msnbc.com/36sIq0U |
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| FAUCI IS TELLING AMERICANS TO PREPARE TO GET VACCINATED: |
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“As the US prepares for the first round of vaccinations to tackle Covid-19, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called on the public to ‘be part of the solution’ and get vaccinated once it is available.”
Fauci’s full comments: https://cnn.it/2JyOv3b
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Ugh, hospitals are bracing again: |
| Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan, “Hospitals are facing rising pressure from a surge of coronavirus cases that is threatening to overwhelm their capacity, as the country braces for further escalation following Thanksgiving.” https://bit.ly/33x0Mw3 |
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| THE NUMBERS: |
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Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 13,556,283
U.S. death toll: 268,662 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y For context — three months ago today: 6,036,569 Americans had tested positive for the coronavirus and 183,689 had died. https://bit.ly/2JoCr4I |
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Unveiled this morning — The magic B-word: |
| A bipartisan group of more than a dozen House and Senate members unveiled a $908 billion coronavirus relief bill. https://bit.ly/36pse0w What’s in the bill: - “$160 billion for states and cities” - “$180 billion for unemployment insurance” - “$288 billion for more small business assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program.” More of what’s in the proposal: https://bit.ly/36pse0w Keep in mind: This bill is roughly double what Republicans want and half of what Democrats want. Will this bill go anywhere? — what’s happening today: “For the proposal to go anywhere it would need to get buy-in for leadership in both parties and both chambers. [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to talk about coronavirus relief on Tuesday for the first time since October.” |
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| LATEST WITH THE BIDEN TRANSITION | |
Getting traction — so what’s the GP on day 1?: |
| Via CNN’s Gregory Krieg, MJ Lee and Sarah Mucha, “President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team are preparing for an early, all-out push to pass an ambitious new stimulus bill, while also drawing up plans for a flurry of executive actions aimed at delivering on campaign promises and undoing the Trump administration's efforts to undermine key government agencies.” https://cnn.it/3o7WYck Biden’s priorities in his first 100 days: “Containing the Covid-19 pandemic, launching an economic recovery and tackling racial inequality…” Why his plan is still a little uncertain: The Georgia runoffs, of course. If Republicans win even one of the seats, the GOP will keep the Senate, and that will adjust Biden’s agenda. |
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| BY THE WAY: |
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Today marks 50 days until Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States.
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Joe Biden’s controversial picks: |
| Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage, “Tensions are brewing around some of President-elect Joe Biden’s picks for key posts in his administration, with protesting voices raised on the left as well as among Republicans.” https://bit.ly/37mDwlz Who: Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of State, and Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Why Blinken is controversial — transparency in a past job: “Blinken is a longtime part of the foreign policy establishment. … Highly regarded by colleagues, questions are nevertheless being asked about Blinken’s role at WestExec Advisors, a consultancy firm whose clients remain opaque.” Why Tanden is controversial — hyper partisan: For example, Briahna Joy Gray, who served as national press secretary for Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, tweeted: “Everything toxic about the corporate Democratic Party is embodied in Neera Tanden.” Speculation over Tanden’s nomination: “Josh Holmes, a GOP strategist and former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has suggested that Tanden’s nomination might be a ‘sacrifice to the confirmation gods’ — that is, a nominee that an incoming president knows will be rejected but who will draw heat away from other nominees.” |
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| HOW JOE BIDEN IS TAKING STEPS TO CREATE A DIVERSE CABINET: |
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But he is still receiving criticism and pressure. https://bit.ly/37jBUcg
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| SPONSORED CONTENT — CAPITAL ONE | |
Our commitment to growth in underserved communities |
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Through the Capital One Impact Initiative, we’re supporting socioeconomic mobility through our $200 million, five-year commitment to closing gaps in equity and opportunity. Read about our focus on creating a world where everyone has an equal opportunity to prosper. |
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This is without a doubt true: |
| The emoji on the left looks dead inside. 
© Twitter |
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I meaaaaan, this does look functional…: |
| This tweet has more than 68k likes so far.
© Twitter |
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| The Senate is in. The House is out. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are in Wilmington, Del. President Trump has no public events scheduled. 11 a.m. EST: Two roll call votes in the Senate. 12:30 p.m. EST: Senators meet for weekly caucus luncheons. 2:15 p.m. EST: Two roll call votes in the Senate.
The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3qfjbar 3 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence holds a White House coronavirus task force meeting in the Situation Room. |
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| 10 a.m. EST: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testify on their responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
Livestream: https://bit.ly/3lrGcTR
12:30 p.m. EST: President-elect Biden introduces his White House economic team.
Livestream: https://bit.ly/3mthZxZ
2 p.m. EST: Senate Republicans hold a news conference.
Livestream: https://bit.ly/3lqOYBy
2:30 p.m. EST: Senate Democrats hold a news conference.
Livestream: https://bit.ly/3mr2h6x |
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| NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...: | |
| Today is National Pie Day! |
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| And because you made it this far, here’s a very confused snake that can’t figure out why it isn’t moving. I find this amusing and I *really* dislike snakes:
© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/3lsVhVo |
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