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Friday, December 15

White House prepares for Gaza fighting to last months

The White House is preparing for fighting between Israel and Hamas to drag on for months as President Biden strengthens calls for Israel to protect civilians in Gaza.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday. He reportedly discussed a timetable for winding down operations, but he did not share details publicly.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby had said Sullivan and officials discussed "possibly transitioning from what we would call high-intensity operations, which is what we're seeing them do now, to lower-intensity operations sometime ... in the near future."

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, among those with whom Sullivan met, said Thursday the war "will last more than several months."

On Friday, Sullivan maintained "there is no contradiction between saying the fight is going to take months and also saying that different phases will take place at different times over those months, including the transition from the high-intensity operations to more targeted operations," The Associated Press reported.

The administration continues to reject calls for a cease-fire. Biden said this week he wants Israel "to be focused on how to save civilian lives. Not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful."

More coverage from The Hill:

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told health care providers there's an "urgent need" to boost vaccination rates for flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says there's a "greater than 99% chance that 2023 will rank as Earth's warmest year on record."
The Hill's Saul Elbein digs into resistance within the Democratic Party to the Biden administration's plan to increase natural gas exports.

NEW THIS AFTERNOON

CBO predicts inflation will hit Fed target in 2024

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates annual inflation will slow to the Federal Reserve's target of 2 percent price growth next year, coming in between 1.9 percent and 2.2 percent throughout the year.

Some of CBO's other projections for 2024: a drop in gross domestic product growth of 1 percentage point and about a half-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate by the fourth quarter.

Read more on CBO's report here.

Biden sits down with Conan

Comedian Conan O'Brien made an appearance in the White House Press Briefing Room on Friday (VIDEO)

President Biden will be on an episode of the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast airing Dec. 20. It'll be available on the SiriusXM app, SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Radio channel and major podcast platforms.

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📊 FRIDAY FIGURES

The Hill / Decision Desk HQ team up for Election Center

Decision Desk HQ and The Hill have teamed up on a 2024 polling and forecasting hub for White House, Senate and House races.

You can find polling averages and prediction maps for different contests at elections2024.thehill.com.

🌽 WITH ONE MONTH TO GO before the Iowa GOP caucuses, we're closely watching numbers coming out of the Hawkeye State.

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ Polling Average finds former President Trump at 50.9 percent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 18.7 percent and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 16.8 percent.

Those averages are based on 38 polls to date.

For other national GOP primary polls, approval ratings & more, click here

Check out Decision Desk HQ's polling average methodology here.

WHITE HOUSE

Biden, Obama team up on ACA promo video

President Biden and former President Obama released a video promoting the Affordable Care Act on Friday, on the final day of open enrollment for ACA marketplace plans and on the heels of renewed threats to the ACA from former President Trump.

"ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act, BidenCare — whatever you call it — yes it is still a thing," Obama said. "The other side's been trying to repeal it every year since its existence, but we'll keep fighting to protect it."

A recent Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll found health care and the economy were the only issues of those surveyed that at least 60 percent of voters in each swing state considered "very important" when deciding who to vote for in the presidential election.

IN OTHER NEWS

Haley on for Jan. 10 debate

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced she'll participate in CNN's GOP presidential primary debate ahead of the Iowa caucuses. Haley also pressed the frontrunner, Trump, to participate, saying, "As the debate stage continues to shrink, it's getting harder for Donald Trump to hide."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also announced plans to attend the debate.

Powell, Chesebro give one-sentence apologies

Former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro each issued an apology letter, clocking in at one sentence long, as part of their plea deals in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.