Beltway NewslettersPunchbowl News: Senate Republicans believe the upcoming government funding deadline may be the last opportunity to pass a major Ukraine aid package. “We’ve got three weeks to get this done,” said one unnamed Republican senator. “If we don’t, we’re telling Russia they can go have Ukraine.” Playbook: The Republican Accountability Project launched a six-figure ad campaign criticizing Speaker Mike Johnson over his role in Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 results. The Early 202: More than a half-dozen Republicans are running for Johnson’s old job. White House- President Biden is headed to Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minn. today for an announcement about billions in funding for climate-smart agriculture, infrastructure upgrades, and high-speed internet in rural communities.
- The White House confirmed that Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in San Francisco later this month.
- In a London speech on artificial intelligence today, Vice President Harris will argue that governments and the private sector have a “moral, ethical, and societal duty” to make sure AI is developed and adopted safely. She’ll announce a new AI Safety Institute within the Commerce Department, draft guidance on how the federal government uses AI, and commitments from 30 nations to back a U.S. declaration on the responsible military use of AI.
Congress- The Senate will move forward with three military nominees affected by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s hold. The group includes Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to be the U.S. Marine Corps’ second-in-command, a position that takes on added importance after Commandant Gen. Eric Smith was hospitalized reportedly following a heart attack.
- Here’s a team-up you don’t see often: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. were the only two Republicans who voted to confirm Jack Lew as U.S. ambassador to Israel on Tuesday.
- A bill from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. to reverse the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and limit corporate spending in elections is starting some drama in the Senate Republican Conference. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned colleagues not to sign onto the bill during a private lunch. — CNN
- Today’s big theme in the House? Public shaming. The chamber may consider separate measures to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. and censure Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Santos, for his part, is widely expected to survive his up or down vote, since it would require two-thirds of the House to boot him and Republicans are not generally expected to back his expulsion. It may help his cause that the House Ethics Committee announced on Tuesday that it would reveal the next steps of its investigation into the Long Islander on Nov. 17, giving members a reason to wait and see what the panel finds.
- Speaker Mike Johnson has tapped Trump White House, Fox, and RNC alum Raj Shah to head his communications operation. — Politico
- Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas reportedly won’t run for reelection next year. Granger, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, has served in Congress since 1997. — Fort Worth Report
PollsThe NRSC briefed Senate Republicans on a poll showing Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. defeating Kari Lake and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. in a three-way race. — Punchbowl News SportsA new coalition of college athletic conferences — the Coalition for the Future of College Athletics — launches today to lobby Congress to pass federal name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation. 2024- Dean Phillips has already missed a Nevada ballot deadline in his primary campaign while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West will face a tougher path to getting on ballots running as independents than as part of an established third party. — HuffPost
- Shout-out to the NRCC’s rapid response director Ben Smith, who is not Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith. We’re sure this won’t create any problems.
Foreign Policy- An Israeli airstrike hit a Gaza refugee camp, leaving “catastrophic damage.” — CNN
- Saudi Arabia is still prepared to continue normalization talks with Israel, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters, despite heightened tensions over the response to Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed back to Israel on Friday. — Axios
- During a hearing where he confronted anti-war protesters with “blood” painted on their hands, Blinken suggested the U.S. would support the Palestinian Authority taking over Gaza if Israel succeeds in rooting out Hamas.
- The U.S. basically stopped spying on Hamas after 9/11, leaving the responsibility largely to Israel. — WSJ
Big ReadMitt Romney tried to defeat Donald Trump from the outside. Mike Pence tried to co-opt him from the inside. Both of them ended up in the same place, David Weigel writes in an epitaph for Pence’s campaign and Romney’s Senate career, watching helplessly as Trump wrested the party away from the Reagan-style conservatism they devoted their life to advancing. One telling anecdote linking the two: When Romney was considering a Secretary of State job with Trump after his shocking 2016 upset, Pence advised him to grovel in front of the press and admit he was wrong about the president-elect’s qualifications. He didn’t take it. BlindspotStories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, according to data from our partners at Ground News. What the Left isn’t reading: A group of Republican governors pressed the NCAA to revise its policy regarding transgender college athletes. What the Right isn’t reading: Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman said Donald Trump belongs in jail. Principals TeamEditors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel |