| SUPREME COURT: Justices during oral arguments on Wednesday appeared poised to consider setting new abortion limits as they weighed a Mississippi law that takes direct aim at Roe v. Wade. A majority of the court posed sharp questions about how firmly rooted Roe’s viability standard is in the Constitution. The Mississippi law, which bans virtually all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, conflicts with the nearly five-decade-old rule that says states cannot prohibit abortion prior to when a fetus can live outside the womb, known as fetal viability, which occurs around 24 weeks. “If you think that the issue is one of choice, that women should have the choice to terminate their pregnancy, that supposes that there is a point at which they’ve had the fair choice, the opportunity to choice. And why would 15 weeks be an inappropriate line? Viability, it seems to me, doesn't have anything to do with choice. But if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked. Roberts, along with Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, are who many court watchers consider key votes in a case that anti-abortion activists view as their best chance in decades to undermine the 1973 decision. As The Hill’s John Kruzel notes, Kavanaugh asked multiple times why the court is better suited than Congress or the states to play referee in this situation. “One interest has to prevail over the other at any given point in time,” Kavanaugh said to the U.S. solicitor general, who argued against the Mississippi law. The Hill: Five revealing quotes from Supreme Court abortion case. Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog: Majority of court appears poised to roll back abortion rights. The Hill: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggests the Supreme Court wouldn't “survive the stench” of political calculation if abortion rights are undercut. 
© Associated Press/Jose Luis Magana ***** CONGRESS: Senate Republicans are grappling with a push by some in their conference to force a government shutdown in an effort to stop Biden’s vaccine mandate for private businesses ahead of the Friday deadline to extend funding. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) (pictured below) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) are leading the charge to block funding for the administration to enforce its employer vaccine (or testing) mandate for large employers. The plan to delay a spending bill could push any shutdown into the weekend and potentially into next week (The Hill). As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, the two senators refused to back down from their plan to drag out consideration of a stopgap spending bill during a GOP steering committee meeting on Wednesday. However, most Senate Republicans opposed their plan, saying they will almost certainly be blamed for any shutdown and, in any case, the Senate will be voting next week on a resolution to nullify the employer vaccine mandate under the Congressional Review Act. “There was not full agreement, that’s for sure,” Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (Mo.) told reporters. 
© Pool via Associated Press/Tom Williams McConnell insisted on Wednesday that all will be alright once all is said and done. “I think we’re going to be OK,” McConnell told reporters heading into the meeting (CNN). Also at issue is how long any stopgap spending bill would last. As The New York Times notes, the spending levels in an expected continuing resolution were set while Trump was in office, with Republicans hoping to extend it as long as possible. “I’d like February, March would suit me — April, May,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the top Senate GOP appropriator. “I think it gives us more time to seriously sit down.” The Wall Street Journal: Government shutdown deadline approaches as deal eludes lawmakers. Politico: McConnell's latest challenge: stopping a shutdown over vaccine mandates. The Hill: McConnell leaves GOP in dark on debt ceiling. The Hill: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) blocks quick votes on stalemated defense bill. > GOP v. BBB: Republicans are ramping up attacks on the state and local tax (SALT) provision in the Build Back Better agenda, arguing that the move would lower taxes for high-income households with the hope that it will help them in the 2022 midterms. The SALT plan under discussion, which was pushed for heavily by members from high-tax states such as New York and New Jersey, would undo the $10,000 cap on the deduction. However, some progressives and moderates are concerned that a rollback of the cap would benefit wealthy Americans, with their GOP counterparts lying in wait to attack them. As The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda writes, Republicans are highlighting the potential benefits to high-income households in the massive social spending package in an effort to kill the changes. Cristina Marcos, The Hill: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faces headaches from far-right House GOP. The Hill: McCarthy pleads with Republicans to stop infighting: “Congress is not junior high.” Politico: House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to retire from Congress in latest blow to Democrats. The Hill: GOP resistance to Biden FCC nominee could endanger board's Democratic majority. > Jan. 6: The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol voted unanimously Wednesday night to refer Jeffrey Clark, a Trump Justice Department lawyer, for prosecution, the second such censure by the panel. The committee is now planning to convene a second hearing for Clark on Saturday, after his lawyer asked for a change to plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, with the vote continuing the contempt process (The Hill). The Hill: Media giants side with Stephen Bannon on request to release Jan. 6 documents. | 
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