Thursday, November 20 | By Cate Martel |
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It's Thursday. Thanksgiving is one week from today! 🦃 |
Trump reportedly snubbed for Dick Cheney's funeral Bush-era GOP figures honor former vice president Delayed September jobs report shows gains Trump signs Epstein file bill. What happens now?
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Happening now at Washington National Cathedral: |
Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images |
Every living former vice president, two former presidents and dozens of dignitaries are at former Vice President Dick Cheney's funeral today in Washington. 💻 Watch it live — the funeral service started around 11 a.m. Former President George W. Bush delivered a eulogy at Washington National Cathedral. "No colleague, no legislator, no foreign leader who ever met Dick Cheney ever doubted that they were dealing with a serious man," Bush said, describing his former vice president as "funny and easygoing." Former President Biden and former first lady Jill Biden are also attending. This is a rare public appearance for Biden since leaving office in January as he has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. The funeral has been a reunion of the pre-MAGA GOP, bringing a stark contrast of how the Republican Party has changed. Think: former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), former Vice President Dan Quayle and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a vocal critic of the Iraq War that Cheney spearheaded who often clashed with the Bush administration, is in attendance. As is longtime liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, seated next to former Biden chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci. Meanwhile, President Trump and Vice President Vance were notably missing from the service. Axios reports that Trump was not invited and CNN reports Vance wasn't invited, either. Vance did offer his condolences to Cheney during a Breitbart event this morning. Cheney's daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is a vocal Trump critic and was a key member of the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, will also be speaking. Spotted at the funeral: |
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris
- Former Vice President Mike Pence — Harris and Pence were seen chatting before the service. I would love to hear that conversation.
- Former Vice President Al Gore
- Former Vice President Dan Quayle
- Former first lady Laura Bush
- Bush's former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser Karl Rove
- Former deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
- Quayle's former chief of staff Bill Kristol
- Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
- Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)
- Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
- Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.)
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
- Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
- Multiple Supreme Court justices
- Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy
- And many more.
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For what it's worth: Former President Clinton is not there. An aide says he has a scheduling conflict. And former President Obama hasn't been spotted at the service. |
Let's pretend it's the first Friday of October: |
The U.S. added a respectable 119,000 jobs in September, a substantially higher number than was projected. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.4. percent. What economists had expected: Economists expected a job gain of roughly 50,000 jobs in September with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.3 percent. That's good news, right?: Yes, though the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revised its August data, which is weaker than initially expected. Instead of the U.S. economy adding 22,000 jobs in August, it actually lost 4,000 jobs. Why are we getting this data now?: The BLS released its long-awaited September's jobs report today, more than six weeks after it was initially set to be released (!) due to the 43-day government shutdown. Why this report matters: "The delayed September employment data is the final monthly jobs report the Federal Reserve will see before its final policy meeting of the year, which is set for Dec. 9-10. The BLS announced Wednesday it would not release an October jobs report due to a lack of available data, and that the November jobs report would be released Dec. 16, 11 days later than initially scheduled, due to the shutdown." Read more 💬 Follow today's live blog 🎅 Related: The New York Times reports that retailers are hiring fewer holiday workers this year to be more economically cautious. It's frustrating job seekers. |
Signed, sealed, delivered — now, let's see 'em: |
President Trump says he signed the Jeffrey Epstein bill into law, requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all unclassified records and documents related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. What happens now?: The DOJ has 30 days to comply. What is still unclear: How much new information will actually be released. The DOJ could withhold or redact personal information. Republican senators are warning Attorney General Pam Bondi not to slow-walk the public release of the documents, reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton. The DOJ could potentially withhold the files, arguing they're part of an active investigation, but GOP senators say they think that would be a mistake. Every senator and all but one House lawmaker backed releasing the files. |
The House was Housing last night: |
"The House on Wednesday scuttled a resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and remove him from his committees over a swath of personal controversies, capping off days of Republicans battling one another over whether and how to punish other lawmakers," reports The Hill's Emily Brooks. What happened?: "In a 310-103-12 vote, lawmakers referred to the House Ethics Committee the resolution led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to censure Mills over allegations of dating violence, stolen valor and improper government contracts. Mills has denied many of those allegations." Read Brooks's reporting — it was a pretty wild evening in the House. |
➤ FLORIDA DEMOCRAT INDICTED: |
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds and using some of it to fund her campaign. Read more |
"A few hundred protestors, led by Rep. Al Green [D-Texas] are marching on Capitol Hill, chanting 'lock him up' and 'impeach, convict, remove!'" 📸 Photos, via Scripps News's Nathaniel Reed |
— The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is taking back its decades-old insistence that vaccines do not cause autism. The agency's website now makes several false claims about a connection. Read more — Amazon was ordered to automatically refund some customers as part of its $2.5 billion settlement. Check your email to see if you're eligible. — Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), who served on the National Security Council (NSC) in the first Trump administration, is demanding that Trump release the transcript of a "shocking" phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated. 👀 |
The Washington Post: CDC in turmoil after agency backpedals on debunking vaccines-autism link The Atlantic: The Trump Steamroller Is Broken: Infighting. Bad polls. Party divisions. Midterm fears. It's all back. The Wall Street Journal: Millions of Kids Are on ADHD Pills. For Many, It's the Start of a Drug Cascade. The New York Times: Family Affair: Commerce Secretary's Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy The Hill: Trump defense of Tucker Carlson interview with Nick Fuentes sparks chatter in GOP Jewish circles Politico: RFK Jr. is in a power struggle |
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) |
1 p.m. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 1:45 p.m. The Senate votes. 📆 Today's agenda 2 p.m. Trump meets with freed Israeli hostages and their families. 5 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda |
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🥜 Celebrate: Today is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day. 👽 E.T., is that you??: NASA released new images of a rare comet that sparked an online debate about whether it could be an alien spacecraft. |
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