Beltway NewslettersPunchbowl News: House Republican leadership is “flying blind” into the vote on expelling Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. later this morning, having not whipped the vote. Multiple members of leadership also haven’t said how they will vote, including Speaker Mike Johnson, but House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. said he would oppose the expulsion. Playbook: “You can read through the B.S. And believe me, you know, anybody who thinks that there are secrets in this town, there are not,” Scalise said about disparaging information allegedly spread about him during his run for the speakership. The Early 202: “People increasingly think it’s over. It’s a dumpster fire,” one person close to Ron DeSantis said of his 2024 bid in a story on his campaign’s problems six weeks out from the Iowa caucuses. White House- President Biden issued a notably short statement on the death of Henry Kissinger, describing the former diplomat as someone with whom he often “strongly” disagreed but who possessed “fierce intellect and profound strategic focus.”
- Angola became the third African country to sign onto the Artemis Accords, a non-binding agreement on safe space exploration. The announcement came as Biden met with Angolan President João Lourenço.
Congress- In an interview with Semafor’s Kadia Goba, Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y. and his wife defended his conduct after a Syracuse student news outlet published a video of him threatening a former staffer with obscenities at a holiday event at the Spy Museum Thursday night. “You fuck with my family, I’ll end every relationship that you have!” Williams says in the 24-second recording to a stone-faced man, who insists he has not “done anything.” Williams said he confronted two former aides over “incredibly vile” comments made about his wife and daughter earlier. The staffer shown in the footage told Semafor they had never made disparaging remarks.
- The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a bill designed to relieve double taxation of Taiwanese businesses operating in the U.S. and American companies operating in Taiwan in a resounding 40-0 vote.
- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. saved Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa from choking to death at a lunch. Somehow, this meant owning the libs: “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats,” Ernst tweeted.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a forward for a book published by a Louisiana politics blogger in 2022 that “spread baseless and discredited conspiracy theories and used derogatory homophobic insults.” — CNN
- Ninety Democrats joined most House Republicans in voting to pass a bill that would permanently freeze $6 billion in funds that Iran gained access to as part of a prisoner swap deal earlier this year.
- Comedian Dave Chapelle took a tour of the Capitol and met with the Congressional Black Caucus. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. snagged a selfie with him.
Twitter / Anna Paulina LunaOutside the BeltwayThe Florida Republican Party chairman is being criminally investigated over sexual battery allegations. Courts- Montana’s ban on TikTok won’t go into effect in January after a federal judge blocked it in order to allow a lawsuit filed by the social media company to play out. The ban “likely violates the First Amendment,” the judge said.
- Donald Trump will again be limited in what he can say about court staff involved in his New York civil fraud trial, after an appeals court reinstated the narrow gag order.
Economy- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters “the signs are very good” that the economy will manage a soft landing after Thursday showed inflation continued to slow. A key stat: Over the last 6 months, the Fed’s preferred measure of prices has increased at just a 2.5% annual rate.
- Why is inflation losing steam anyway? The White House Council of Economic Advisers is out with an interesting post arguing that 80% of the decline can be explained by “supply chains in some form.” We asked CEA Chair Jared Bernstein what that meant for the economy going forward. His answer: “Forecasters tell us there is likely more disinflation in the pipeline and that’s consistent with our work.”
- European Union members are “so worried” about the prospect of another Donald Trump term that they are considering making concessions to the Biden administration in a fight over steel imports so the dispute doesn’t boost the former president’s election prospects. — Bloomberg
National SecurityThe inspector general of the General Services Administration told lawmakers it is investigating the selection process that led to Maryland being chosen as the site of the new FBI building, potentially prolonging an already dragged-out fight. 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: The state of Texas sued Pfizer, accusing the company of making “unsupported claims” about its COVID-19 vaccine. What the Right isn’t reading: A former employee at Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J. filed a lawsuit against the club alleging she was sexually harassed by her boss and forced to sign an NDA by Trump lawyer Alina Habba. Principals TeamEditors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel |