Evening Report — Clock ticks toward government funding deadline

View Online Evening Report Tuesday, Dec. 10 © The Hill, Greg Nash 10 days: Congress speeds toward government funding deadline THE LAME-DUCK CONGRESS is barreling toward a Dec. 20 deadline to fund the government.   Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday he will "probably" release details about a stopgap measure this weekend.   Republicans are expected to push a short-term measure funding the government into January, when President-elect Trump takes office with majorities in the House and Senate.   Disaster relief funding has emerged as a potential point of contention, with Republicans skeptical of President Biden's request for more than $100 billion in disaster aid.   Most Republicans support robust funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but GOP lawmakers have no appetite for funding programs that don't go directly toward disaster relief.   "There's some of that in the president's proposal," said House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.). HOUSE VOTES TO ADVANCE ANNUAL DEFENSE BILL The House voted along party lines Tuesday to advance the $884 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).   Congressional negotiators released the 1,800-page text of the measure over the weekend.   A vote on the NDAA could happen as soon as Wednesday.   There is broad support in the bill for a double-digit pay raise for some troops.   However, the bill is laden with polarizing culture war provisions, including transgender restrictions and efforts to limit diversity programs, making it more partisan than usual.   Democrats pushed unsuccessfully to strip those elements from the final bill. MEANWHILE ... Congress is consumed by the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's Cabinet picks.   • Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump tapped to be his Director of National Intelligence, held her first meetings with GOP senators amid questions over her past meeting with deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad.   • Pete Hegseth is pushing forward with is effort to become the next leader of the Defense Department. Hegseth appeared Monday night on Fox News's "Hannity", where he praised female soldiers, backtracking on earlier comments where he suggested they should not be in combat roles.   "Some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women who serve, raise their right hand to defend this country and love our nation, want to defend that flag," Hegseth said.   • Kash Patel's promise to overhaul the FBI is worrying to some former law enforcement and Justice Department officials.   • The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports that GOP senators are feeling the weight of Trump's loyalty tests when it comes to confirming some of his more controversial nominees. The pressure campaign appears to be working:   "Sens. Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), two Republican senators who came under withering criticism last week for raising doubts about Trump's nominee to serve as secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, began changing their tunes Monday, sounding more upbeat about his embattled nomination." 💡Perspectives: • CNN: There is growing momentum for some of Trump's Cabinet picks. • The Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson versus the Constitution. • The Hill: Trump gets revenge by naming Dr. Bhattacharya to head the NIH. • The Hill: Hegseth's nomination shows we must make whistleblowing easier. • The Atlantic: The bizarre normalcy of Trump 2.0. Read more:  • Hungary's Orbán meets with Trump and Musk. • Johnson pours cold water on KOSA push. • Greene says she is safe after bomb threat. • Matt Gaetz to join One America News as an anchor. • Postmaster General covers his ears during House questioning. Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. CATCH UP QUICK Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received medical attention after falling Tuesday.    The Inspector General says Trump's Department of Justice improperly subpoenaed lawmakers and staff as part of an investigation into leaks during his first term. A wildfire in Malibu spurred mass evacuations and a shelter-in-place order at Pepperdine University. Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" ended by shattering its own record, pulling in an estimated $2.2 billion. NEWS THIS AFTERNOON ©  AP Photo/Susan Walsh Biden touts legacy as White House plots final days President Biden is looking back at his legacy and ahead to his final days in office.   Among the Biden administration's priorities for the 42-day stretch run, according to The Hill's Alex Gangitano:   • More student debt cancellations. • A $2,000 prescription drug cap will go into effect for Medicare Part D . • Another push to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza. • Additional funding for high-speed internet across the states; funding for CHIPS and Science Act incentives; and Inflation Reduction Act funding. • Work with the Senate to confirm more judicial nominees.   Biden's legacy has taken a hit during his final year in office, after he dropped out of the presidential race and pardoned his son Hunter Biden.   The Middle East is in crisis, and the Biden administration has been unable to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.   Biden on Tuesday addressed the Brookings Institute in Washington, where he argued that he's leaving President-elect Trump a healthy economy.   Biden also argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad was deposed due to U.S. support for allies in the region.   "For the first time every, neither Russia, nor Iran nor Hezbollah could defend this abhorrent regime in Syria. this is a direct result of the blows that Ukraine, Israel have delivered upon their own self defense with unflagging support of the United States." 💡Perspectives: • The Hill: Hopefully the Hunter pardon is the first of many. • The Liberal Patriot: How Dems misread the political environment. • The Progressive: What Wisconsin taught us. Read more:  • Susan Wild absent from Ethics Committee meeting after Gaetz leaks. • Democrats, advocates urge Biden to sign ERA before end of term. CONGRESS Dems dig in against Trump threats Democrats are lashing out at President-elect Trump for threatening the Jan. 6 select committee with prosecutions over their handling of the investigation into the Capitol Hill riots.   "In America, we jail people only for having committed criminal offenses that they are found guilty of by a unanimous jury of their peers. We don't jail people for doing their jobs and living up to their constitutional oaths of office," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the select committee.   Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the head of the House Democratic Caucus, called on Congress to make Vice President Pence's testimony public after Trump accused the committee of hiding or destroying records.   "We should know exactly what Donald Trump said leading up to Jan. 6, 2021." MEANWHILE ... Congress and the justice system continue to process politically adjacent cases, with debate raging over whether President Biden will or should issue preemptive pardons.   • Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed court documents seeking to keep the hush-money case against Trump alive, saying he would accept halting the proceedings while Trump is in office.   • Wisconsin prosecutors filed 10 additional felony charges against two attorneys and an aide to Trump for their plan to submit paperwork falsely claiming that Trump won the state in 2020.   • The New York attorney general's office said it will not drop its multimillion-dollar civil fraud case against Trump, despite his request.   • Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) says he doesn't want or need a preemptive pardon from Biden. "I don't think it's a good idea. I would urge the president not to do that. [It's] unnecessary, but I also think it's unwise." IN OTHER NEWS ©  AP Penny, Mangione cases become cultural flashpoints Two high-profile cases have become cultural flashpoints in the U.S. divide over race and class.   • FORMER MARINE DANIEL PENNY was found not guilty Monday in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless Black man.   Penny accosted Neely on the subway after Neely made death threats against other passengers. Penny's lawyers said he sought to subdue Neely and protect other passengers in the subway car when he put Neely in a chokehold.   Republicans are cheering the jury's decision, believing Penny was wrongly prosecuted by a politically motivated district attorney who sought to make an example of him.   Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told the Daily Caller that Penny should sue Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the case against him. Bragg also prosecuted President-elect Trump in the hush-money case that resulted in 34 felony convictions.   "Alvin Bragg is an absolute catastrophe. First, he indicted Donald Trump in a partisan case, and then he indicted Daniel Penny for saving the lives of other subway passengers from a deranged lunatic threatening to kill everyone," Cruz said. "Penny should sue Bragg for malicious prosecution and hold this rogue Soros prosecutor accountable."   Democrats see race as the driving factor in Penny's not guilty verdict, arguing that he wantonly killed a homeless man suffering from mental health issues.   "Jordan Neely was unarmed. He needed support and care. Instead, he received a death sentence. His family grieves while the man who took his life walks free," Rep. Jasmine Crockett (R-Texas) posted on X.   • ALSO ON MONDAY, LUIGI MANGIONE, 26, was arrested by police in Pennsylvania after a days-long manhunt for a suspect in the shooting death of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.   The case struck a chord on the left and populist right, tapping into the anti-elite sentiment and frustration with a health care system that many view as cruel and financially punitive toward patients. Some have celebrated the killing.   Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) chastised those who cast Thompson's death as a just slaying.   "Some attention in this case, especially online, has been deeply disturbing, as some have looked to celebrate instead of condemning this killer. In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero." THE LATEST ON MANGIONE • Mangione is accused of murder, forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime and false identification to law enforcement authorities.    • Mangione yelled "completely out of touch" and "an insult to the intelligence of the American people" as law enforcement officers dragged him into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday.   • Mangione had a privileged upbringing in a prominent Maryland real estate family. He attended a private high school in Baltimore before enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania.   • He had an interest in online technology, health and wellness communities.   • He suffered from chronic back pain and was carrying a manifesto against the health care industry. Read more:  • What we know about the suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting. • Suspect withdrew from a life of privilege and promise. • McDonald's customer who spotted Luigi Mangione details encounter • Mangioni was an Ivy Leaguer with anti-capitalist leanings. • What is a ghost gun? Stay Engaged Did I miss a story? Drop me a line. Follow TheHill.com for the latest and recommend us to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next time. Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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