| | | | | Speaker Pelosi checks her watch while leaving a meeting of the House Democratic caucus at the US Capitol Wednesday. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images | | What Washington is Talking About:
It's day 33 of the shutdown; the US Conference of Mayors is in town for its 87th annual winter meeting; and the National Federation of Federal Employees is holding an "Occupy Hart" protest today in the Hart Senate office building.
What America is Talking About:
Netflix is now the first streaming service to join the Motion Picture Association of America; there's a chance we could see a delay in getting our tax refunds this year, according to the Washington Post; and Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann spoke with NBC and said he wishes he had "avoided the whole thing" but said he wasn't disrespectful and doesn't owe Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips an apology.
Poll of the Day:
A CBS News poll found two-thirds of Americans want President Trump to agree to a budget without wall funding, compared to 31% who want him to hold out. | | Credit: CBS News
A few other pull-out points from their poll: - 52% want Democrats in Congress to agree to a budget with wall funding and 43% want them to refuse.
- 71% said the border wall is not worth the government shutdown.
- 47% said Pelosi is doing a better job handling shutdown negations, 35% said Trump is, 10% said neither.
If He Doesn't Know How the Shutdown Will End, None of Us Do:
Majority Leader McConnell is on the cover of the latest issue of The New York Times magazine, and in his interview, he said he doesn't know how the shutdown will end. When it comes to President Trump declaring a national emergency, he said he doesn't think much of the idea. "I hope he doesn't go down that path," he said. "I'm perplexed as to how this ends."
That FBI Agents Association Report is a Doozy:
"The shutdown has eliminated any ability to operate," one agent working undercover counterintelligence cases wrote in the report. "The fear is our enemies know they can run freely." The report includes other examples of how the shutdown has hurt agents' efforts, including one joint terrorism task force coordinator who said they've lost sources that have taken months and years to get, and a task force that goes after drug traffickers that said it's run out of funds.
In a statement, the FBI noted the report was put out by the Agents Association and not the FBI itself. The FBI declined to comment on the claims made anonymously by agents in the report. You can read more about it here.
The Smithsonian is Hurting:
In a USA Today op-ed by Smithsonian Institution secretary David J. Skorton, he wrote that the Smithsonian is losing about $1 million a week in lost revenue from things like their restaurants, shops, and IMAX theaters.
"School trips cannot occur with museums closed," he wrote. "The research of curators and others in our museums is halted. Numerous expeditions and field campaigns related to biodiversity, human origins, and healthy forests and waterways have been canceled." In addition, more than 4,000 Smithsonian employees are furloughed.
RBG Reacts to Oscar Nod:
The filmmakers behind "RBG," the CNN film nominated for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards, were the ones to tell Justice Ginsburg it got an Oscar nomination. Betsy West and Julie Cohen said she "sounded strong and cheerful" and said she's "continuing to stay on top of work." Ginsburg has missed attending Supreme Court sessions since recovering from surgery in December.
The Clintons Are Going to be Grandparents Again:
Chelsea Clinton and husband Marc Mezvinsky announced Tuesday they're expecting their third child. "We cannot wait to meet our newest addition later this summer," she tweeted.
RIP the Beto's Blog Parody Account:
My personal favorite parody Twitter account of 2019 so far has been suspended. @BetosBlog posted screenshots of imagined blog entries from the former Texas congressman, and violated the company's policy on impersonation. Though parody accounts are fine, they have to indicate they're parodies, which @BetosBlog did not. Luckily, I have a screenshot of one of my favorite entries: | | Credit: @BetosBlog/Twitter
Street Art Sighting:
I spent the past weekend in Southern Florida and it is street art heaven down there. I shot so many cool murals I'm excited to share with you over the next few days. This Rock Rushmore mural in the Boynton Beach Art District by artist Chan Shepard was really fun. | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
Tag or DM me your political street art sightings @hunterschwarz on Twitter or Instagram, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com.
Kate Bennett is off. Her section will return this week. | | | | | | |
