Friday, January 10 | By Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch |
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| ▪ GOP leaders flock to meet with Trump ▪ President-elect to be sentenced today ▪ At least 10 dead in Los Angeles fires ▪ Biden sends $500 million to Ukraine |
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©️ The Associated Press | Jacquelyn Martin |
Senate gears up for confirmation fights
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This weekend, all roads lead to Mar-a-Lago. President-elect Trump, who has called his Florida club "the winter White House" will spend the remainder of the week hosting groups of Republicans — and some Democrats — at his residence for meetings ahead of a busy week in Congress of budget reconciliation and Cabinet confirmation hearings. Trump, who together with President Biden and former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama, on Thursday attended former President Carter's Washington, D.C., funeral and hosted a group of GOP governors at Mar-a-Lago that night. The president-elect will host House Freedom Caucus members in Florida today. On Saturday, Trump will meet with House committee chairs and welcome a broader section of House Republicans on Sunday. On the agenda: Freedom Caucus member Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) told The Hill that the crux of his group's meeting will be discussing the president-elect's agenda — which occasionally clashes with the caucus's own — and balancing those sometimes-conflicting priorities. Moore said the members will ask of Trump: "How can we help you achieve what you want to achieve for the country, but at the same time manage for the fiscal conservatives who don't want to raise the debt too high, don't spend too much?" Then there's Trump's preference to pass most of his legislative agenda — from tax cuts to border security measures — in one "big, beautiful bill" under the process of budget reconciliation. Republican lawmakers at a Wednesday meeting pushed Trump to consider two separate bills, splitting off border security and energy provisions into a separate package. The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Al Weaver report that Senate Republicans see several potential landmines in the House that could derail Trump's tax agenda, specifically calls for lifting the state and local tax cap and raising corporate taxes. That's a big reason why they're insisting on two bills, but Trump rebuffed their arguments at the Wednesday meeting. GOP senators think they'll get another chance to pursue their preferred strategy, betting that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will hit roadblocks with members of his conference in the weeks ahead. "The House is a very thoughtful body but sometimes it can be dysfunctional. They have a lot of personalities over there that they've got to get together with a very small majority to agree to it," said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a staunch Trump ally who has strong relationships with both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). ▪ Axios: Trump is preparing to invite the entire Senate Republican Conference to Mar-a-Lago for a mega-MAGA party in the coming weeks. ▪ CNN: Vice President-elect JD Vance resigned from his Ohio Senate seat at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The Senate's first order of business is starting the confirmation hearings for Trump's Cabinet nominees. Scheduled for next week: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for secretary of Homeland Security; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State; Chris Wright for Energy secretary; former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for secretary of the Interior; former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) to be Environmental Protection Agency administrator; former Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) for CIA director; former Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for U.N. ambassador; attorney general nominee Pam Bondi; and possibly Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary. The confirmation hearing for Brooke Rollins, Trump's nominee for secretary of Agriculture, is being delayed until her FBI background check is completed. ▪ Time: Democrats may signal a fresh strategy at the first Trump confirmation hearings next week. ▪ The 19th: Here's what to know about the Cabinet confirmation process. Also scheduled for a meeting with the president-elect: Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), who could become the first sitting Democratic senator to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Looking to his swing state constituents, Fetterman has established himself in his first Senate term as a moderate willing to work across the aisle. "I think that one, he's the president, or he will be officially," Fetterman told CBS News. "And I think it's pretty reasonable that if the president would like to have a conversation — or invite someone to have a conversation — to have it. And no one is my gatekeeper." ▪ The Hill: Fetterman, a co-sponsor of the Laken Riley Act, on Thursday was among Senate Democrats who backed advancing the legislation, already passed by the House. ▪ NBC News: Democrats can't get wrapped up in "freaking out" over every controversial move Trump makes, Fetterman said in November. Carter's legacy: The five living presidents won't be back together as a group until Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. On Thursday, they gathered at Washington National Cathedral for the roughly two-hour service, packed with heartfelt and vivid remembrances that recalled Carter as a powerful president and politician — as well as a thoughtful man of faith. Biden, at the late Carter's request, delivered a eulogy at the funeral, arguing there is "an obligation" to "to give hate no safe harbor," and to stand up to "the abuse of power." "What are the values that animate our spirit to operate from fear or hope? Ego for generosity? Do we show grace? Do we keep the faith when it's most tested?" Biden added. "For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story, in my view, from my perspective, Jimmy Carter's life." ▪ The Hill: Notable moments from Carter's funeral. ▪ CNN: Carter's funeral captures the American story at a fraught political moment. ▪ The Washington Post: Making good on a mutual promise between Carter and former President Ford to eulogize one another, Ford's son read his father's eulogy for Carter on Thursday. |
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Smart Take
with Blake Burman |
| Did DOGE just get a downgrade? As The Hill's Alex Gangitano reports, Elon Musk said in an interview on the social platform X, which he owns, that when it comes to the new Department of Government Efficiency, "I think if we try for $2 trillion [in spending cuts], we've got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion]." Musk said $2 trillion in federal savings would be the "best case outcome." If Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and their team could identify $1 trillion in savings and carry it to the finish line, that would be a massive feat. However, the expectations here could be shifting. For example, after the last spending bill passed in December, Ramaswamy posted, "The last 72 hours highlighted the positive impact that DOGE can have, but it also laid bare the massive lift ahead next year. We're ready for it." Jan. 20 is rapidly approaching. Are DOGE's ambitions starting to scale back? |
Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation. The Hill & NewsNation are owned by Nexstar Media Group. |
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- Trump is trying to schedule a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has not spoken as president-elect. "He wants to meet," he told Fox News Thursday.
- With federal gun control on ice, advocates for gun safety initiatives to try to curb school shootings now look to other options.
- The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies said Wednesday they had reached a tentative agreement for a six-year contract, a week ahead of a Jan. 15 deadline.
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©️ The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite |
TRUMP TO BECOME A SENTENCED FELON: The president-elect will be sentenced in a New York court this morning, as planned, after the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his last-ditch effort to delay the result of his conviction on charges of falsifying business records. He is not facing jail time and can appeal his conviction, a five-justice majority noted in an unsigned order. Trump's various 11th-hour legal motions landed this week in six courts. On Thursday, a federal appeals court rejected a bid from the president-elect's two co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents criminal case to block public release of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's final report. Smith intends to resign before Trump is inaugurated. Separately, a federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department can publicly release a report about Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss but the court kept in place a judge's order requiring a brief delay to allow for further appeals. The ruling means Trump can ask the Supreme Court to block the release of the report in that separate prosecution, which was dropped after Trump's election in November. Senate Democrats publicly warned Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and other high court conservatives not to interfere in Trump's criminal sentencing today. They're furious that Trump on Tuesday phoned Alito, a conservative ally, ostensibly to gauge loyalty to Trump by a former Alito law clerk considered for an administration job. Alito denied he discussed anything with Trump related to pending or past legal cases involving the high court. The Hill: Separately, Supreme Court oral arguments today will be crucial to TikTok's future and a U.S. legislative battle pitting national security against the First Amendment. The Chinese-owned company and information platform is challenging a House-passed bill that could ban the video-sharing platform nationwide in little more than a week. Title IX: A federal judge in Kentucky on Thursday blocked the Biden administration's attempt to redefine sex as "gender identity" in a federal civil rights law known as Title IX, striking down the change nationwide. The judge struck down new Biden administration regulations that had sought to expand nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ students. Transition: Unsuccessful Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown, an Army combat veteran, is Trump's choice to be under secretary for Memorial Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Trump plans to nominate California civil rights lawyer, talk radio host and Fox News analyst Leo Terrell to be senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice. The president-elect said he will nominate as U.S. ambassador to Sweden Christine Jack Toretti, a businesswoman and GOP fundraiser. She did not clear the Senate confirmation process in 2019 and 2020 when he picked her to be ambassador to Malta. ▪ The New York Times: Incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, 67, says in an interview, "I feel pretty comfortable that I can instill order at the staff level." ▪ The Atlantic: "The army of God comes out of the shadows." A charismatic Christian movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation amounts to a sprawling political machine with influence inside Trump's circle of advisers and supporters. |
- The House meets at noon on Monday. The Senate convenes Monday at 3 p.m.
- President Biden will be updated at 11:30 a.m. about the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires.
- Vice President Harris will join the president for the Los Angeles fire response briefing. She canceled a planned trip to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany because of the fire emergency in her home state.
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©️ The Associated Press | Jeff Gritchen, The Orange County Register |
FISH, WIND AND FIRE: Trump continued Thursday to rail against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, as "incompetent" in their handling of the state's fire emergency. This week, he urged Newsom to resign. The governor — a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 — is busy navigating the wildfires disaster and rejected the president-elect's political brickbats, The Hill's Niall Stanage writes in The Memo. On Tuesday, Newsom declared a state of emergency as the fires raged in the southern part of the state. However, the governor has come under criticism from Trump for not signing a declaration to pump more water through the state to prevent the fires. "One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground," Trump posted to Truth Social late Wednesday evening. "It's ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!" Currently, regulations limit the amount of water that can be pumped from the nearby Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in order to protect a fish called the smelt. During his first term, Trump issued a declaration that pumping more water from the delta to supply farms would not hurt the fish. He made a similar argument Wednesday, claiming the smelt were "essentially worthless." CATASTROPHIC, DEADLY, COSTLY: Residents near Los Angeles have had no time to reflect on what comes after apocalyptic infernos are finally extinguished, leaving behind communities that resemble charred, bombed-out war zones. Roaring winds continued to fan the blazes overnight. On Thursday afternoon in West Hills, a fast-moving inferno now known as the Kenneth fire, torched more than 960 acres in just a few hours. In affluent Pacific Palisades, 20,000 acres have burned to ash. The state, with federal backup, is battling multiple blazes from the ground and air. Deaths have risen to at least 10. More than 9,000 homes and other structures are destroyed. More than 130,000 people are under mandatory evacuation in a sprawling metro area of nearly 4 million. "These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. The total loss from the disaster could reach nearly 4 percent of the state's annual gross domestic product, he added. Biden granted Newsom's request Wednesday for a major federal disaster declaration for California and will receive an update briefing from federal officials this morning. |
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| ©️ The Associated Press | Efrem Lukatsky |
UKRAINE ASSISTANCE: The Biden administration announced the final batch of military aid it will send to Ukraine, amounting to about $500 million. The last package comes as the White House prepares to announce another round of sanctions on Russia, expected at the end of this week. U.S. officials have argued they are trying to give Ukraine the most feasible leverage ahead of possible negotiations to end the war this year. Ukraine, meanwhile, is leaning into Kursk and attempting to hold onto the Russian territory amid intense pressure from Russian and North Korean forces. After weeks of Russian and North Korean advances in Kursk, Ukraine launched a minor offensive on Sunday to push forces back and retain a grip on the roughly 230 square miles Ukrainian troops still hold. Less than two weeks remain until Trump takes office with a promise to end the war, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to be doubling down on Kursk as both a strategic necessity and a strong hand in negotiations, despite lingering questions about the operation's tactical success. Zelensky on Thursday said Trump's return to the White House would open "a new chapter" and reiterated a call for Western allies to send troops to help "force Russia to peace." STILL TALKING, BUT NO DEAL: U.S. and Arab mediators made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to end the violence or see hostages released. As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 23 people on Thursday. ▪ Axios: The Lebanese Parliament on Thursday elected the commander of the armed forces, Gen. Joseph Aoun, as the country's next president. Lebanon hasn't had a president for more than two years, exacerbating the country's deep political and economic crisis. ▪ NBC News: Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful." ▪ The Hill: The House on Thursday passed legislation that would impose sanctions on officials at the International Criminal Court, rebuking the tribunal that charged top Israeli leaders with war crimes for their offensive against Hamas in Gaza. ▪ NPR: What's next for Canada? Five questions will help decide the future after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation. ▪ Politico: If Trump has his way and institutes tariffs, "everything the American consumers buy from Canada is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive," Trudeau warned on CNN. |
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- A big idea to solve America's immigration mess, by The New York Times editorial board.
- Trump's plan to politicize the Fed will spur inflation, by David Wilcox, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion.
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©️ The Associated Press | Carolyn Kaster |
And finally … 👏👏👏 Kudos to winners of this week's Morning Report Quiz. Thanks to savvy readers who played along with some historical details about America's territorial expansions. Here's who went 4/4: Steve Jennings, R. Milton Howell III, William Moore, Amanda Jacquette Fisher, Wiley Pearson, Paul Schnabel, Rick Schmidtke, Stan Wasser, Harry Strulovici, Blair Marasco, Jonathan Simon, Khani Ewing, Ray Jackson, Richard Baznik, Jack Barshay, Mark Roeddiger, Steve James, Jerry LaCamera, Carmine Petracca, Robert Bradley, James Morris, Peter Sprofera, Linda L. Field, Mark R. Williamson, Luther Berg, Savannah Petracca, John Trombetti, Phil Kirstein and Lynn Gardner. They knew that former President Andrew Johnson acquired Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. Former President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory from France for approximately $15 million. President William McKinley annexed Hawaii in 1898. But it was former President Dwight Eisenhower who signed the law that made the Hawaiian Islands a state. President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 signed a treaty transferring the Danish West Indies to the United States in exchange for $25 million in gold coins. The territory is now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. |
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