Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Mastercard

Presented by Mastercard

IN CONGRESS

Spotted — Dems doing warm up jogs around the Senate chamber *immediately imagines ‘80s workout gear*:

Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Democrats are hitting a make-or-break week in their ambitious effort to pass President Biden's climate and social spending bill by Christmas.” https://bit.ly/3s2I1xK

What to expect in the next 10 days (i.e. their self-imposed deadline): Lots of negotiations and discussions with the Senate parliamentarian.

Dems are checking off their to-do list to prepare for passing Biden’s bill: They already passed a government funding bill and a short-term fix to the debt ceiling. Now this week, “they are expected to [complete] two other items: Raising the debt ceiling and passing a sweeping defense policy bill. That will position Democrats by the end of the week to have a clear floor schedule to try to pass the Build Back Better Act by Christmas.”

How this could play out: https://bit.ly/3s2I1xK

NEW POLLING SHOWS SOME TROUBLE FOR THE BIDEN AGENDA:

“Just 41% of the survey's respondents said they support the Build Back Better bill, the roughly $2 trillion bill currently being negotiated in Congress,” according to a new NPR/Marist poll. https://n.pr/3DUBOGa

The best tweet I’ve seen today:

Watch: https://bit.ly/3dJOW6s

It’s Monday. 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.

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NEWS THIS MORNING

It’s the year of the Musk:

Elon Musk has been named Time’s Person of the Year for 2021. https://bit.ly/3lXmJ0E

Excerpt: “The richest man in the world does not own a house and has recently been selling off his fortune. He tosses satellites into orbit and harnesses the sun; he drives a car he created that uses no gas and barely needs a driver. With a flick of his finger, the stock market soars or swoons … Lately, Elon Musk also likes to live-tweet his poops.”

Read the full profile on Musk: https://bit.ly/3lXmJ0E

Ugh, these poor people:

Via The Washington Post’s Rachel Pannett, Annabelle Timsit, Paulina Firozi and Marisa Iati, “Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said there were 64 confirmed deaths across the state as of Monday morning, following the string of deadly tornadoes that hit Kentucky and several other states over the weekend.” https://wapo.st/31X8kdJ

Yes, but: It could be weeks until we know the full death toll. At least 105 people are still unaccounted for, according to Beshear.

Photos of the destruction in Dawson Springs, Ky.: Via The Weather Channel’s Justin Michaels: https://bit.ly/3dMrV2N

Video of the destroyed Amazon warehouse in Illinois: https://bit.ly/3DS4f7V

THIS MORNING — MCCONNELL PRAISED BIDEN FOR HIS QUICK RESPONSE:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tweeted, “Thank you @POTUS for your rapid approval of Kentucky’s Major Disaster Declaration. Our entire congressional delegation came together to support @GovAndyBeshear’s request. I appreciate the Administration’s quick work to speed resources to help deal with this crisis.” Read McConnell’s request to Biden: https://bit.ly/3DQkulG

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

Go home, omicron — ‘Across the World, Covid Anxiety and Depression Take Hold’:

Via The New York Times’s Roger Cohen, “Uncertainty bedevils plans. Panic spreads in an instant even if, as with the Omicron variant, the extent of the threat is not yet known. Vaccines look like deliverance until they seem a little less than that. National responses diverge with no discernible logic. Anxiety and depression spread. So do loneliness and screen fatigue. The feeling grows that the Covid era will go on for years, like plagues of old.”

The full story: https://nyti.ms/3s2EEH4

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 49,926,839

U.S. death toll: 797,350

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 484 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 2.06 million doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The Hispanic vote is becoming more Republican:

Via The Hill’s Rafael Bernal and Alex Gangitano, “Democrats are worried they could be losing their electoral grip on Hispanics, the country's second-largest voter bloc by ethnicity.” https://bit.ly/3ENgR1c

New polling: “A Wall Street Journal poll released last week showed Hispanic voters evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and while that poll’s data faced substantive questions over its tiny sample size, its results sounded alarm bells among Democrats nonetheless.”

What this means: https://bit.ly/3ENgR1c

Oh, is he now?:

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is visiting New Hampshire today, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. https://bit.ly/3oPmo1P

Why: “to cheer Manchester's development grant [and] commuter rail potential,” according to the paper.

Nothing wrong with an innocent lil’ trip to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state.

Oh yeah, this is totally random, too:

Via The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Brett Samuels, “Former Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to New Hampshire last week and stops in other high-profile early primary states are fueling speculation about a potential 2024 presidential run — and questions about whether he can win over the GOP voters he angered on Jan. 6.” https://bit.ly/3oRwoYw

‘TRUMP-INSPIRED CHALLENGERS TARGET GOP GOVERNORS’:

Via The Hill’s Reid Wilson: https://bit.ly/3ym0Nku

A MESSAGE FROM MASTERCARD

This holiday season, shoppers are returning to small businesses all across America.

Mastercard is empowering entrepreneurs with digital payment solutions, data insights and tools to grow and thrive.

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Ah hahahahaha:

ON TAP:

The Senate is in. The House meets for a pro forma session. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.

10 a.m. EST: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

10:20 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris received a briefing on electric vehicles and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

11 a.m. EST: President Biden received a briefing on the tornadoes that happened on Friday night.

11 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris delivered remarks on electric vehicles. National climate advisor Gina McCarthy and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also speak.

1:15 p.m. EST: President Biden signs an executive order on “delivering the government services and experience the American people expect and deserve.” If that doesn’t mean anything to you: It is intended to cut back on bureaucracy for passport applications, name changes, etc. Details: https://bit.ly/3DQ7mgv

3 p.m. EST: The Senate meets.

3:30 p.m. EST: Vice President Harris convenes CEOs to discuss private sector investment in Central America.

5:30 p.m. EST: A confirmation vote in the Senate. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3ETz4dt

WHAT TO WATCH:

12:30 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3oO0lZ7

IN LIGHTER NEWS:

Today is National Cocoa Day!

This made me laugh:

The ‘it’ color for 2022:

Pantone introduced its Color of the Year for 2022. “Very Peri, a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red.” The color: https://bit.ly/3yoUcpr

And because you made it this far, here’s a bird with a clever mode of transportation: