The TAKE with Rick Klein
Do Chuck and Nancy need Donald more than the president needs his Democratic friends?
We’re about to find out. The empty chairs flanking President Donald Trump marked the beginning of a shutdown blame game that’s likely to play out Trump-style over the next 10 days.
Republican leaders were in the Roosevelt Room with Trump Tuesday. But the president looked as isolated as he may be feeling.
There’s an irony in Trump basking in what he called “somewhat of a love-fest” from Republicans on Capitol Hill, only to return to the White House to say he would “absolutely blame the Democrats” if there’s a government shutdown.
The Democrats are only as powerful as Republicans let them be.
With the GOP in control of the House and Senate, Republicans can keep government open by keeping their own members in line. It’s how they intend to pass the tax bill.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi‘s decision to boycott negotiations is a Trumpian move, right down to how their own past words can be used to show how they once disapproved of their current actions.
They recognized that the president wasn’t in deal-making mode, and called him out on it: “The President said, “I don’t see a deal” — three hours before our meeting,” Schumer said.
The White House likes to act as if all the typical political rules still apply to others. The president, meanwhile, has made clear repeatedly there are no rules he believes apply to him.
The RUNDOWN with John Verhovek
Even with an uncertain road ahead of him, Roy Moore is doing what Roy Moore has always done: he’s betting on the people of Alabama to carry him over the finish line.
Moore is expected to start a string of campaign appearances today in this final two week push, signaling that his campaign believes the allegations of sexual misconduct and the steady parade of Washington Republicans that have called on him to step aside is not enough to sink his shot at a U.S. Senate seat.
It’s also worth noting that the last two weeks will not feature a debate between Moore and his Democratic opponent Doug Jones, even as both candidates have been publicly saying it’s time to move on to a discussion of the serious issues facing the people of Alabama.
Thirteen days is a long time in politics — especially in the Trump era, where weeks feel like months and bombshell stories feel like everyday occurrences, and Moore’s gamble that he can coast on his reputation in the state is no sure thing, as most polling shows the race remains close.
For now, the Moore campaign seems to believe that time will only benefit them and that, eventually, the firestorm that has erupted from the allegations against their candidate will continue to fade in the minds of voters.
The TIP with John Parkinson
When the Congressional Black Caucus meets at noon today – its regularly scheduled weekly meeting – fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against veteran Rep. John Conyers will likely be on the agenda, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.
Jeffries would not say whether the caucus will take action to remove Conyers from the group.
A senior Democratic leadership aide said some members of the CBC met Tuesday night at the Capitol, but it’s clear from talking to other members of the caucus that it was an informal meeting as lawmakers returned from Thanksgiving break.
Returning to the Capitol Tuesday night, Rep. Jackie Speier, who has taken an unofficial leadership role in tackling the sexual harassment plague on Capitol Hill, stopped just short – barely – of calling on Conyers to resign.
“I do believe that persons that conduct themselves in a manner that is sexually harassing should not be representing this institution,” Speier told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday night.
“There are lots of individuals who have been icons in their industries that have engaged in this kind of behavior and have fallen from their high perch,” she added. “That’s part of accountability.”
According to a senior Democratic aide: “[Leader] Pelosi is continuing to apply steady pressure to this wound in effort to push him out.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I will only tell you that we will take care of it.” – President Trump addressing the media after it was revealed North Korea completed their most successful ICBM test to date.
NEED TO READ
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