View Online

Evening Report

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Shutdown drama consumes Washington as spending bill provokes conservative anger

THE DRAMA over a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown appears headed for the wire.

Congress has until Friday at midnight to pass a bill to keep the lights on in Washington, but Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) proposed continuing resolution (CR) is being met with fierce blowback from conservatives in his party.

Johnson's CR would fund the government through March 14, 2025. It was always the plan to pass a short-term measure to allow President-elect Trump and the incoming GOP majorities in the House and Senate to pass their own spending bills in 2025.

However, House and Senate conservatives are fuming over what they describe as a bloated omnibus, rather than a short-term patch.

Conservatives were unsparing in their criticism.

"It's a total dumpster fire. I think it's garbage," said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).

"We get this negotiated crap, and we're forced to eat this crap sandwich," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). "Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It's the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it's the right thing to do."

SENATE SNAG

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) threatened Tuesday to hold up the short-term funding bill unless congressional leaders agree to vote on amendments to offset the cost of new spending.

That could take the vote right up to the midnight deadline Friday, or beyond.

Via The Hill's Alexander Bolton:

"Paul has significant leverage to force colleagues to vote on spending cuts because congressional leaders are late in unveiling the continuing resolution…The House may not even vote on the package until Wednesday or Thursday, which means Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will need the cooperation of all 99 other senators to get it through the Senate by the end-of-week deadline."

AOC LOSES BID TO LEAD OVERSIGHT DEMS

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to lead Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in the next Congress.

The victory for Connolly, who is 74 years old and battling esophageal cancer, will put him on the frontlines in the Democratic efforts to hold Trump accountable in his second term.

It's a setback for the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez.

Via The Hill's Mike Lillis:

"Connolly's victory puts a halt, at least temporarily, to the meteoric rise of Ocasio-Cortez, a former bartender who stunned Washington in 2018 by defeating Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), then the chair of the Democratic Caucus, in a primary upset. In the process, she made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. And she's since built a national brand as an unapologetic defender of progressive ideals that's made her a superstar of the left."

💡Perspectives:

• New York: Democrats' Five Strategies for Coping With Trump 2.0.

• The Liberal Patriot: How pragmatic populists are helping Democrats.

• The Nation: What happened to the Democratic Party?

Read more:

• Senate prepares for Kavanaugh 2.0 with Trump pick Hegseth.

• Senate Democrats push plan to abolish Electoral College.

• Harris challenges young Americans: 'Stay in the fight.'

• Lawmakers unveil draft paid family leave bills.

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

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) announced that a grand jury handed down an indictment against suspect Luigi Mangione for the murder of a UnitedHealthcare CEO. A new poll shows 41 percent of adults under 30 found the murder to be acceptable.
The Biden administration is clarifying who can apply for an H-1B work visa, a key program to attract international talent that's been criticized as too complicated and susceptible to abuse.
The Federal Trade Commission banned surprise junk fees for ticketing platforms, such as vacation rental sites and hotel fees.
A top Russian general in charge of Russia's nuclear defense forces was killed by a bomb hidden inside his scooter.
Trust in the court system is at a record low, according to Gallup.

NEWS THIS AFTERNOON

Trump takes fight with news media to the courts

President-elect Trump on Tuesday sued the Des Moines Register and J. Ann Selzer over a poll that was released shortly before Election Day, the latest volley in the antagonistic relationship between Trump and the news media.

Trump's lawsuit alleges that Selzer's poll, which proved to be off by about 17 points, was an "intentional" effort to influence the election results. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, private correspondences within the paper leading up to the poll's release and an assurance the Des Moines Register won't release "any further deceptive polls."

"For too long, left-wing pollsters have attempted to influence electoral outcomes through manipulated polls that have unacceptable error rates and are not grounded in widely accepted polling methodologies," the lawsuit says.

The Des Moines Register survey found Vice President Harris leading Trump by 3 points in Iowa, sending shockwaves through the political world and provoking speculation that Harris could be headed for a blowout victory.

Trump ended up winning Iowa by 14 points. He swept every battleground state and became only the second GOP presidential candidate to win the popular vote in 20 years.

"We have acknowledged that the Selzer/Des Moines Register pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump's Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll's full demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer," said Lark-Marie Anton, a Gannett spokesperson. "We stand by our reporting on the matter and believe this lawsuit is without merit."

Trump is signaling he'll take up his feuds with the press in court during his second term:

• Trump and ABC News reached a $15 million settlement over anchor George Stephanopoulos's erroneous claim that Trump had been found liable for rape. Trump had previously called for ABC to have its broadcasting license revoked over how the moderators treated him during a presidential debate.

• In November, Trump sued CBS over its "60 Minutes" interview with Harris, claiming it was manipulated to make her look better.

• Trump sued journalist Bob Woodward in 2023 for releasing recordings of their conversations. Trump's attorneys asked a judge to advance that case Tuesday.

💡Perspectives:

• USA Today: Don't expect media bias to end.

• The Hill: ABC News settlement with Trump sends chill through media.

• The Hill: Post-election polling suggests a new reason behind Trump's victory.

• The Hill: How much impact could RFK Jr have as the head of HHS?

Read more:

• Harris campaign official: 'No value' in speaking to mainstream newspapers.

• CNN faces backlash over 'staged' Syrian prisoner rescue report.

• CEOs are feeling a lot more upbeat about the New Year.

• Warren asks for conflict-of-interest rules covering Musk.

BUSINESS

Corporate execs make pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago

As Trump's relationship with the news media hits new lows, it appears that his relationships with some corporate executives are beginning to thaw.

"The first term everybody was fighting me, this term everybody wants to be my friend," Trump said at his Mar-a-lago press conference on Monday. "I don't know. My personality changed or something."

• Trump met with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos on Tuesday. He'll meet with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Wednesday.

• Amazon, Meta, OpenAI's Sam Altman and others have said they'll make $1 million donations to Trump's inaugural committee.

• Trump and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Sonmet announced plans Monday for the Japanese firm to invest $100 billion in the U.S.

• Trump met Monday with TikTok CEO Shou Chew, as a Jan. 19 deadline looms for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. if its Chinese ownership doesn't sell its stake in the company. Trump has sent mixed signals about whether he'd move to stop the ban from happening.

ON TAP

3 days until the government funding deadline.

17 days until the new Congress begins and the House leadership elections.

20 days until Congress counts the electoral votes.

34 days until Inauguration Day.

IN OTHER NEWS

Biden administration seeks to squash drone panic

The White House and national security officials are looking to squash the panic over drone sightings on the East Coast, insisting there is nothing abnormal and nothing to fear.

In a joint statement released Monday night, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense said the sightings were a combination of "lawful" drone activity, airplanes and stars.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said:

"We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast."

It took several days for the Biden administration to directly address the sightings, which were being reported by government officials and local law enforcement.

In that time, a small panic brewed and conspiracy theories ran wild.

The Hill's Mike Lillis and Julia Mueller report that Democratic lawmakers are divided over the Biden administration response.

"I think their assurances should be comforting, even though they haven't given enough information as to the reason for the lack of transparency," said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Some lawmakers remain skeptical of the official government explanation:

"I think it's very misleading at best," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said in an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill".

House Intelligence panel members received a briefing Tuesday about the drone activity.

💡Perspectives:

• Salon: The White House should speak plainly to avoid panic.

• American Prospect: The end and beginning of the Lina Khan Era.

Read more:

• House task force releases sweeping end-of-year report on AI.

• Biden endorses congressional stock trading ban.