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--> A midday take on what's happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*
*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha--breaks down crying hysterically.
The Hill's 12:30 Report -- Sponsored by Delta Air Lines -- White House to 'temporarily reinstate' Acosta's press pass after judge issues order | Graham to take over on Judiciary panel | Why the tax law failed to save House GOP | Florida Senate race heads to hand recount | Assange charges inadvertently revealed | Kavanaugh gets standing ovation | Michelle Obama
Michelle LeVaughn Robinson ObamaGOP pollster says Michelle Obama one of Democrats' best surrogates Michelle Obama would be tied with Biden as frontrunner if she ran in 2020, poll shows Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld dies at 85 MORE dishes on Malia's prom date | DC skating rinks open | Beanie Babies selling for $10K
BREAKING NEWS OF THE MORNING
Can't wait for their ~heartfelt~ reunion:
A federal district judge ruled this morning that the White House must reinstate the revoked press pass of CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta. http://bit.ly/2K9NT03
Some context on the ruling: "Subtext of the judge's order: You can kick a reporter out of the White House, but there are procedures you have to follow. So it wasn't necessarily a victory for the First Amendment." I.e.: "So hold your First Amendment horses." (Via The New York Times's Jim Windolf) http://bit.ly/2PuuKvI
Why it was revoked in the first place: The White House yanked the press pass after a contentious exchange between President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump nominates Jeffrey Rosen to replace Rosenstein at DOJ McCabe says ‘it’s possible’ Trump is a Russian asset McCabe: Trump ‘undermining the role of law enforcement’ MORE and Acosta.
^Throwback: Here's the argument that started this whole clash. Watch: https://cnn.it/2RVdtbK
Then CNN fought back: CNN sued after the Trump administration suspended Acosta's pass. Other news outlets, including Fox News, NBC News and The Associated Press, supported CNN's suit. http://bit.ly/2z8P6k1
REACTIONS:
From Jim Acosta: "Let's go back to work." Watch his full remarks after the ruling: http://bit.ly/2PBALXG
From the White House: The White House has agreed to "temporarily reinstate" Acosta's pass, but insisted "there must be decorum at the White House." The White House also said: It "will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future." http://bit.ly/2zb1sIk
Reaction from President Trump's Twitter feed
--> http://bit.ly/2qSz74N ;)
Twitter erupted: Here are some of the reactions: http://bit.ly/2PuzCAW
Happy Friday! T minus six days until the turkey!
I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com -- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
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ON CAPITOL HILL
Just Now - A new person to woo:
Via The Hill's Alexander Bolton, Sen. Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin GrahamCongress closer to forcing Trump’s hand on Saudi support Democrats brush off GOP 'trolling' over Green New Deal Warren: Officials have duty ‘to invoke 25th amendment’ if they think Trump is unfit MORE (R-S.C.) is poised to become the next Senate Judiciary Chairman. Why: Sen. Chuck Grassley
Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOn The Money: Smaller tax refunds put GOP on defensive | Dems question IRS on new tax forms | Warren rolls out universal child care proposal | Illinois governor signs bill for minimum wage Smaller tax refunds put GOP on defensive High stakes as Trump, Dems open drug price talks MORE (R-Iowa) announced he will step down as Judiciary Chair and take over as Senate Finance Committee Chairman. http://bit.ly/2DImmSX
Why this news is big: That would mean Graham would be in charge of the committee handling President Trump's judicial nominees. Graham would also have jurisdiction over the Justice Department and the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Let's start the bidding at: please, please, pleeease:
Via The Hill's Jordain Carney, President Trump announced his support for criminal justice reform yesterday, but his support may not be enough to get the legislation through the Senate. Why: Conservatives don't support the bill. GOP leaders have very lukewarm support and have been noncommittal about a floor vote. The likely path: http://bit.ly/2zXUsOu
But Republicans love the (tax) cuts?!:
--> http://bit.ly/2DHfJjS ;)
Republicans' major accomplishment of passing the new tax law didn't save them the GOP majority in the House. Why: While the economy was the biggest talking point for Republicans in the midterm elections, most voters didn't think the new tax law helped them personally. Even Republicans are divided on whether it helped or hurt the party. http://bit.ly/2Tk6RFA
IN OTHER NEWS
Salmonella contamination in turkeys -- I'm sorry, what??:
Via The Washington Post's Lena H. Sun, "Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and federal health officials are still trying to identify the source of a salmonella illness outbreak linked to raw turkey products that has spread to 35 states and sickened 164 people." Which brand/supplier?: That's still unclear. Fun. Details and map of what areas have been affected: https://wapo.st/2qOHZZt
We're comin' for you:
Via The Wall Street Journal's Aruna Viswanatha and Ryan Dube, the Justice Department is preparing to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The goal: To get Assange to a courtroom in the U.S. Where he is now: The Ecuadorean Embassy in London. https://on.wsj.com/2FlGaNA
On what charge?: "The exact charges the Justice Department might pursue remain unclear, but they may involve the Espionage Act, which criminalizes the disclosure of national defense-related information." https://on.wsj.com/2FlGaNA
NEW DEVELOPMENT -- WHOOPS: Via The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett, the Department of Justice inadvertently revealed preparations to charge WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. How: "The disclosure came in a filing in a case unrelated to Assange. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer, urging a judge to keep the matter sealed, wrote that 'due to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case, no other procedure is likely to keep confidential the fact that Assange has been charged.' Later, Dwyer wrote the charges would 'need to remain sealed until Assange is arrested.'" https://wapo.st/2K8Em9q
2018 is the new 2000 (gulp):
Via The Hill's Max Greenwood, Florida's Senate race between Sen. Bill Nelson
Clarence (Bill) William Nelson2020 party politics in Puerto Rico There is no winning without Latinos as part of your coalition Dem 2020 candidates court Puerto Rico as long nomination contest looms MORE (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R) is heading to a hand recount after close results in the machine recount. The margin between the two candidates: 0.15 percentage points. When the hand recount must be completed: Sunday. http://bit.ly/2PwGDkM
Important to know about hand recounts: "A manual recount does not mean that every ballot is counted by hand. Instead, local election officials will sort through so-called overvotes and undervotes – ballots on which voters marked either more or fewer than the maximum number of selections allowed." http://bit.ly/2PwGDkM
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael KavanaughBudowsky: Roberts Court faces its own state of emergency The 10 Dems most likely to win the 2020 presidential nomination Five things to watch as Barr takes the reins of Justice, Mueller probe MORE got a standing ovation last night:
BuzzFeed's Zoe Tillman posted video of Justice Brett Kavanaugh receiving a standing ovation at the conservative Federalist Society's annual convention at the Mayflower hotel in Washington, D.C., last night. Watch: http://bit.ly/2BcoJuP
IN LOCAL NEWS
It's the holiday season, the holiday season!:
Via PoPville, ice skating rinks are beginning to open in Washington, D.C. Today: The rink in Navy Yard opens. Tomorrow: The National Gallery of Art's rink opens. Details: http://bit.ly/2FsdNgO
NOTABLE TWEETS
Gritty loves the snow:
Zamboni dust! IT’S FALLING FROM THE SKY. pic.twitter.com/DY7p5Wu0PA
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) November 15, 2018
Watch: http://bit.ly/2A039bk
Keep in mind: Gritty is the Philadelphia Flyers' new mascot. He's gone pretty viral in the past few months. Back story: http://bit.ly/2Q6X1Io
Howdy, y'all:
Someone figured out that @tedcruz drastically ramped up his use of “y’all” around election time in Texas (at least on twitter.) pic.twitter.com/dQ1K9HXoh1
— Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) November 16, 2018
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ON TAP
The House voted this morning. The Senate is out. President Trump is in Washington, D.C., and Vice President Pence is in Australia.
11:30 a.m. EST: President Trump signs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Act in the Oval Office.
1 p.m. EST: President Trump presents the Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House.
3:15 p.m. EST: President Trump meets with Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahonTrump donates 0,000 from salary to alcoholism research White House announces reduced delegation to travel to Davos amid shutdown ‘We Can Do It!’: Women and bipartisanship MORE.
Saturday: President Trump will visit California to meet with people affected by the wildfires. https://abcn.ws/2Tktnhe
Nov. 30: President Trump attends The Group of 20 (G-20) Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires. Op-ed: http://bit.ly/2QIZuFW
WHAT TO WATCH
Today: The Project on Government Oversight is hosting a summit in Washington, D.C. Featured speakers: Former Sen. Carl Levin
Carl Milton LevinListen, learn and lead: Congressional newcomers should leave the extremist tactics at home House Democrats poised to set a dangerous precedent with president’s tax returns The Hill's 12:30 Report — Sponsored by Delta Air Lines — White House to 'temporarily reinstate' Acosta's press pass after judge issues order | Graham to take over Judiciary panel | Hand recount for Florida Senate race MORE (D-Mich.) and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Details and livestream: https://oversightsummit.org/
Sunday morning: Sens. Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Campbell BrownOvernight Health Care — Presented by National Taxpayers Union — Trump, Dems open drug price talks | FDA warns against infusing young people's blood | Facebook under scrutiny over health data | Harris says Medicare for all isn't socialism On The Money: Smaller tax refunds put GOP on defensive | Dems question IRS on new tax forms | Warren rolls out universal child care proposal | Illinois governor signs bill for minimum wage Michelle Obama would be tied with Biden as frontrunner if she ran in 2020, poll shows MORE (D-Ohio), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis
Thomas (Thom) Roland TillisDems ready aggressive response to Trump emergency order, as GOP splinters Business, conservative groups slam Trump’s national emergency declaration GOP senator dedicates heart photo to wife from Senate floor for Valentine's Day MORE (R-N.C.) and Jeanne Shaheen
Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenCongress must step up to protect Medicare home health care Dems slam EPA plan for fighting drinking water contaminants Bipartisan Senators reintroduce legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia MORE (D-N.H.) will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Tuesday: Sen. Ben Sasse
Benjamin (Ben) Eric SasseOvernight Health Care — Sponsored by America's 340B Hospitals — Push for cosponsors for new 'Medicare for all' bill | Court lets Dems defend ObamaCare | Flu season not as severe as last year, CDC says Senate approves border bill that prevents shutdown The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Kidney Care Partners — Lawmakers scramble as shutdown deadline nears MORE (R-Neb.) Will appear on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...
Today is National Fast Food Day. And for weekend planning purposes, tomorrow is National Baklava Day and Sunday is National Apple Cider Day.
Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres should team up more often:
Former first lady Michelle Obama signed copies of her new book at a Costco, and Ellen DeGeneres came along to help. Hint: She didn't help. The video is hilarious: http://bit.ly/2B9SRqx
FUNNY TIDBIT -- MICHELLE OBAMA DESCRIBES WHEN MALIA'S PROM DATE PICKED HER UP AT THE WHITE HOUSE: That's not intimidating or anything. Watch: http://bit.ly/2Bb2sgW
It's finally time to cash out on those Beanie Babies:
Via Apartment Therapy, Beanie Babies from the 1990s are selling on eBay for up to $10,000. Which plush toys are worth the most: http://bit.ly/2QSIFIM
And to get your weekend off to a cozy start, here's a puppy thoroughly enjoying its ducky slippers: http://bit.ly/2PxaOIw
