| | | | | The US Capitol glowed brightly last night as the Senate voted to pass a stop-gap measure in the hopes of preventing a government shutdown before Christmas. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images | | | Question: Will Trump Sign? Answer: Maybe: The question lingering over Washington today is whether the President will okay the stop-gap plan to prevent a government shutdown
Barack Obama Plays Santa at Children's Hospital: And it's a very different experience than the first lady's visit to the same hospital. A tale of the photos.
Well, *Someone's* Happy About Trump's Syria Decision: Care to take a guess which country? | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump this afternoon signs the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the only public event on his schedule today.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
The guessing game whether Trump will sign the stop-gap spending measure which could prevent a government shutdown, which the Senate passed last night. The measure still needs to pass a House vote. Trump is holding out over funding for the border wall.
Shutdown, Delayed... For Now?:
In what was a predicted move to delay a government shutdown, last night the Senate passed a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government funded. Now, the measure heads to the House. Should it pass there, the President just needs to sign it ... and whether he will do so is something no one can seem to determine. Trump tweeted this late this morning: "When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn't happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!" If Trump doesn't sign the CR, it means the shutdown goes forward. It ain't over 'til it's over, guys -- and the President has until midnight on Friday. He is currently with House GOP leaders at noon today, stay tuned ...
Syria Decision Fallout:
Yesterday, the White House held a briefing call on the situation in Syria, hoping to clarify the President's surprising and, for some military experts and politicians, confusing decision to remove U.S. troops from that region, declaring ISIS defeated. (Even one of Trump's staunchest allies, Sen. Lindsey Graham, had harsh words about Trump's dicey decision to pull out of Syria.) The call, however, was on background, which means reporters could only say in their stories they spoke with "administration officials," and not use names. But ... | | Credit: @jdawsey/Twitter
Trump Tweetstorm Marks Defensive Posture:
This morning the President unleashed an early tweetstorm, discussing his feelings about the decision to withdraw troops in Syria ("Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight....."), the border ("With so much talk about the Wall, people are losing sight of the great job being done on our Southern Border by Border Patrol, ICE and our great Military. Remember the Caravans? Well, they didn't get through and none are forming or on their way. Border is tight. Fake News silent!"), and the wall ("The Democrats, who know Steel Slats (Wall) are necessary for Border Security, are putting politics over Country. What they are just beginning to realize is that I will not sign any of their legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border Security. U.S.A. WINS!" ). | | "Oh, No." The Day Trump Learned To Tweet:
This is the headline of a great piece by Politico's Ben Schreckinger today, which goes back in time a bit to look at that day in 2013 when Donald Trump first learned how to use Twitter. "The moment I found out Trump could tweet himself was comparable to the moment in 'Jurassic Park' when Dr. Grant realized that velociraptors could open doors," recalled (Justin) McConney, who was the Trump Organization's director of social media from 2011 to 2017. "I was like, 'Oh no.' "
Trump Unfollows Ann Coulter:
One Twitter move Trump has also mastered is the unfollow, and there's conveniently a bot you can follow that tracks the President's -- and the President's family's -- moves on Twitter. Last night, Trump unfollowed conservative firebrand Ann Coulter. Considering the President only follows 45 people, the break with Coulter was significant. Brian Stelter figured out likely why: | | Credit: @brianstelter/Twitter
Acting Attorney General *Can* Act on Mueller Investigation:
The Justice Department has determined Matt Whitaker, the acting Attorney General, appointed by Trump, does not need to recuse himself when dealing with the Russia investigation helmed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Ethics officials at DOJ say Whitaker can continue to oversee Mueller's investigation, something that had stirred concern among some members of Congress and judicial experts, mainly because Whitaker had been vocal in the not-so-distant past about his feelings that the special counsel investigation into Trump had "gone too far." | | Best and Worst Food of 2018, By People Who Know:
I really enjoyed this roundup from Brightest Young Things of all the notable food critics in town dishing (sorry) on what they liked best about the year in food, and what they didn't like. It also includes their favorite cocktails, and which specific dishes they loved and where they ate them. Good stuff. A sampling (sorry, again) from my personal favorite DC food critic/writer, Jessica Sidman of Washingtonian: | | Credit: screenshot, brightestyoungthings.com
| | What Washington is Talking About:
Republicans are reeling from President Trump's decision to pull out of Syria, including Sen. Lindsey Graham who called it "Obama-like"; the House Intel Committee could vote today on sending a transcript of their interview of Roger Stone to Robert Mueller's investigation; and the Senate passed a short-term bill to avert a shutdown.
What America is Talking About:
The US population is growing at the slowest rate since 1937; Harvey Weinstein appeared in court today in New York, where a judge ordered him to return for a pretrial hearing on rape charges in March.
Poll of the Day:
Good news for the children of Republicans this year: your parents may be spending more on presents. A Quinnipiac poll found 19% of Republicans plan to spend more on gifts this year than last, compared with just 5% of Democrats. | | Credit: Quinnipiac
Our Grace Sparks found that historically, members of the party not holding the White House plan to spend less over the holidays, per polling data going back to 2001.
"One likely explanation is that members of a party report that they will spend more or less money when they think the economy is doing well or doing poorly," she wrote. "Right now, 29% of Republicans described the nation's economy as excellent, compared to only 2% of Democrats, from the same Quinnipiac poll."
Someone's Happy the US is Leaving Syria: | | Credit: @RusEmbUSA/Twitter
"Outrage is Our Brand":
Outgoing Speaker Ryan decried the state of politics during his farewell address Wednesday. You can read our liveblog and fact check of the speech here.
Ryan said "being against someone has more currency than being for anything," and the tone in Washington has gotten "amplified by technology, with an incentive structure that preys on people's fears, and algorithms that play on anger." He said, "Outrage is a brand," and declared that the state of politics has sapped it of its meaning and discouraged good people from entering public service. He also shaved for the occasion. | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Speaking of Shaving:
Did you know Ryan was the first speaker of the House since 1925 to have a beard? I wrote here how facial hair has made a comeback in politics. Abraham Lincoln was our first president with a beard, and he grew one after he got a letter from a young girl during his 1860 campaign suggesting it because "All the ladies like whiskers, and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President."
How Facebook Responded:
Facebook has been in damage control mode since the New York Times story about how the social media site shared data with third parties. FB published a blog post Wednesday denying it.
"We worked closely with four partners to integrate messaging capabilities into their products so people could message their Facebook friends — but only if they chose to use Facebook Login," they wrote. "These experiences are common in our industry — think of being able to have Alexa read your email aloud or to read your email on Apple's Mail app."
The Constitution, Written in Corporate Logos:
The digital studio Hello Velocity created a font made from corporate logos called Brand New Roman, and they're selling pocket Constitutions written in it. They cost $30, and for each purchase, you can send one to a House member. "We think it's important that the country's founding document be written in the language of the land: capitalism," the studio's website says. | | Credit: Hello Velocity
Street Art Sighting:
A sign featuring Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman labeled "Bone thugs - no harmony" was posted on the Trump Chicago. It identified Trump as "Bonespurs" and the Prince as "Bonesaw."
| | Credit: Linda Kiens
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE. | | | | | | |
