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Good Monday morning and twenty-fourth day of partial government shutdown. President Trump and Congress marked history for all the wrong reasons this weekend: they exceeded the previous record for the longest stop in history. Congratulations on your distinguished dysfunction, the lawmakers. Tips, ideas, closing stories? Reach out and register.
On the 19th day of the partial government shutdown, President Trump addresses Sens journalists. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (RS.D.), Vice President Pence, Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Photo by Melina Mara / The Washington Post)
At the White House
HOW WILL IT COME ?: This weekend was marked by a series of angry tweets emanating from the House -Blanche and emanating from the White House. , a representation of Hamilton and some time at the beach in Puerto Rico for some Democrats, as well as television hits and television broadcasts aired Sunday for lawmakers.
Trump "showed more determination than calculation" and "offered no way to victory other than brinkmanship" according to Phil Rucker, Bob Costa, Josh Dawsey and Seung Min Kim from The Post newspaper. "Trump's advisors are trying to build an exit ramp while preparing for the stoppage to take longer. Current and former assistants said that there was little strategy at the White House; people are frustrated and, to use the words, "panic.
He even launched his wrath on Friday against his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who called for a compromise on the president's demands for $ 5.7 billion. Trump first used expletives in front of him. According to Felicia Sonmez and Cat Zakrzewski, one of the counselors told one of the councilors that the scene belonged to him "in the place of the Godfather".
Here are the options for the president:
1. Keep the government closed: Trump continues to call for wall funding and the Democrats remain united in their position against the wall, citing his immorality and futility. But the longer the government closes, the longer federal employees remain unpaid and the funding of various government services will continue to dry up, fueling negative public opinion.
- Three weeks later, Trump loses the battle of public relations. According to a poll published by the Washington Post-ABC News and published on Sunday: "More and more Americans are accusing President Trump and Republicans sitting at the Congress of Congressional Democrats of the now-record closure. of the government, and most reject the assertion of the president that there is a crisis of illegal immigration on the southern border, " report Scott Clement and Dan Balz
- At the same time, the political implications of the closure are different for Trump than for the Democrats. The media coverage of the closure distorts at least a portion of the coverage that would be devoted to blockbusters stories such as the FBI's opening of a counterintelligence investigation to determine whether the President worked for Russia. Democrats run the risk of appearing weak in border security and diverting attention from their long awaited inquiries by the president on Russia, his tax returns and his appointees.
2. State a national emergency: Trump investigates the declaration of a national emergency for the unilateral construction of the border wall. The White House plans to use funds to seize assets to divert funds from various Pentagon military construction projects, unused money into the budget of the Corps of army engineers, etc.
- The President reiterated that he had the right to declare a national emergency and the Republicans, who crucified Obama on the abuses of executive power, said that they would support the action. But Democrats "are studying how to potentially undermine court action, according to familiar House officials, the staff of President Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) And staff members of several House committees are currently developing a side strategy to convince the public president, that an emergency declaration is unjustified and would harm communities in which previously funded projects had been the subject of a raid to pay the wall By Mike DeBonis and Ellen Nakashima, of The Post
3. Senator Lindsey Graham's Plan: The Fox News Sunday, Senator from South Carolina and sometimes a whisperer of Trump, said that it should "open the government for a short time, about three weeks, before we close our eyes, see if we can get an agreement, if we can not, after three weeks, all "Paris are open – see if he can do it alone thanks to the emergency powers," said Graham, according to Sonmez and Zakrzewski of The Post.
3. Compromise: This is unfortunately the least similar result at the moment. On the hill, moderate Republicans gathered a framework providing for a temporary three-year solution to allow undocumented immigrant youth to obtain protection in exchange for additional funding from the border wall. But Democrats like Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) told Hill's Alexander Hillton that Republicans should accept more than three years and a path to citizenship for all "dreamers".
- Trump is not willing to accept a way forward. Graham met last week with Shahira Knight, Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House, and Jared Kushner "to discuss a broader immigration agreement that could include protections for undocumented children." in exchange for a $ 5.7 billion financing ". plan was soon presented to Trump, however, who rejected it. "[Vice President] Pence then told Graham and [Sen. Lamar] Alexander that Trump had appreciated their proposal, but was not interested in reopening the government until the Democrats would be willing to negotiate on the wall" , according to The Post.
4. There … but: A Democratic lawmaker announced the idea of ending the closure if TSA agents or air traffic controllers went on strike, claiming that most of them would not go out. between them could not miss the salary of a whole month. "People will start receiving notices of eviction from apartment buildings, late fees on most bills, and so on. Or they will leave and take another job, "wrote the legislator.
- There is a federal ban on strikes that has not been tested since "President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers who refused his order to return to work during contract negotiations in 1981" , according to The Atlantic. Go Government closed for "months or even years" could test the willingness of federal employees to remain in office. "
- A spokesperson for the TSA tweeted Sunday:" The TSA recorded a national rate of 7.7% of unplanned absences compared to a rate of 3.2% one year ago. "
5. Mexico: the country decides to pay for the wall. (I'm kidding.) Although Trump originally promised that the wall would be funded by our southern neighbor. Despite claims to the contrary, Trump promised that Mexico would fund the wall "at least 212 times during his campaign and dozens of others since taking office," according to David Nakamura's report on the subject.
Here is the transcript of Trump's response to Jeanine Pirro asking, "Are you or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?" pic.twitter.com/cDxtJUSm81
Trump then went on to mention the New York Times raised the issue as" l & # 39; The most insulting article I've ever written. "The Times reported Friday that following the dismissal of FBI director James Comey, FBI officials had opened a counter-intelligence investigation on this issue. "Agents have also been investigating whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or unintentionally fell under the influence of Moscow," he said, adding that Adam Goldman, Michael Schmidt and Nicholas Fandos
Greg Miller of the Post followed with another scoop: "Trump has made extraordinary efforts to conceal the details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including taking possession of the notes of his own at least once. own interpreter and instructing the linguist. do not discuss what happened with other government officials, current and former US officials said. "
- The key quote:" As a result, US officials have stated that there was no detailed record, even in classified files, of Trump's face-interactions with the Russian leader at five locations in the last two years. Such a loophole would be unusual in any presidency, not to mention the one that Russia has attempted to put into place thanks to what the US intelligence services have described as an unprecedented campaign. electoral interference. "
inquiries and subpoenas. The chairpersons of democratic commissions of the oversight, intelligence and judicial committees issued a stern warning to the president to warn him against intimidation of congressional witnesses after that he was questioned by his former lawyer Michael Cohen and vaguely exposed damaging information about Cohen's stepfather Cohen is scheduled to testify on the hill next month about his work for Trump. 19659012] "The law of our country prohibits to deter, intimidate or compel a witness not to testify before the Congress," the statement said. "The president must make no statement and take no action to impede the efforts independent oversight and investigation of Congress, including seeking to deter any witness from testifying in response to a duly Congress. "
Democrats: Trump's meeting with Putin in Helsinki last summer, during which the president had a long in-camera conversation with Putin, before casting doubt on US intelligence, that Russia intervened in the 2016 elections at a press conference.
- "Rep. Eliot L. Engel (DN.Y.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, said in an interview that his group would set up a subcommittee on investigations, which would include searching for departmental records. of State on Putin's meetings with Trump, including a meeting in camera. door meeting with the Russian leader in Helsinki last summer, "according to Miller.
- Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) tweeted that Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Today's President of the Intelligence Chamber, had attempted last year " to assign the interpreter to the Trump-Putin meeting.The GOP has blocked us.We knew then that something was fishy.We now know that Trump took the notes.The cost of the obstruction GOP is the cost lost in time lost and additional damage to our democracy. "
- There are however some hesitations as to the assignment of the translator.
According to a national security reporter for Foreign Policy:
1 / Thread of news about it: I wrote about it after the Trump Summit in Helsinki, where I spoke to many diplomats and former interpreters Some are very uncomfortable with this idea, even the very critical trainers of Trump https://t.co/kzol0vfcvt
Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) January 13, 2019
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William Barr (REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst)
On the Hill
An Ordinary Affair: Tuesday, Confirmation Hearings for Trump & # 39; s The Attorney General William Barr's Application will begin at Capitol Hill, in which Barr "should resist Democrats' demands for explicit promises regarding the fate of Special Investigator Robert S. Mueller III's investigation of President Trump," Devlin Barrett of The Daily Post, Matt Zapotosky, Karoun Demirjian Report and Tom Hamburger.
Key Point: " At the hearing, Barr intends to publicly reiterate his commitment not to impede or interrupt Mueller's work, but he is determined not to wider or more specific promises as to how he will approach Russian investigators or any ethical review of his involvement, according to people preparing him for the hearing. "
A Point of Probable Disagreement: Democrats Should Attack on a Private Note, Barr wrote and sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein the following day. last summer in which he had described Mueller's investigation as "fatally misconceived" and argued that Mueller should not have the right to assign Trump.
As early as Tuesday : Democrats should force Senate vote on a resolution to prevent the Treasury Department from lifting sanctions against companies owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, according to Ken Vogel and Alan, NYT Rappeport
And today: Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Plans to meet with Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) to discuss the implications of the remarks made by King during Gabriel Gabriel's trip to the Times. asked how the terms "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" had become "offensive".
- On "Face the Nation," McCarthy stated that "King's language has no place in America. . . Measures will be taken. "
- The Black Caucus Congress called on Republicans Sunday night to remove King from office on the committee, according to CNN's Sophie Tatum:" If Republicans truly believe that these racist statements are n & ## They have no place in the government, so their party has to offer more than just temporary and superficial condemnations, "CBC President Karen Bass (California) said in a statement.
- Important note at 39 media attention: King's comments are only picked up by a cable television channel within 24 hours of his interview, compared to two and a half hours spent discussing the recruit's rep Rashida Tlaib. (D-Mich.) Secular commentary on Trump's imputation, according to Media Matters.
Let me be clear – Rep. King's language is reckless, false and has no place in As a leader of @HouseGOP I will not allow that to be defended. Measures will be taken. pic.twitter.com/bgyso5VsPx
– Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) January 13, 2019
Global Power
THE CLOSURE FOREIGN : The Longest interruption in the history of the US government has dominated the information cycle for nearly a month. But all over the world, most non-Americans are looking around the world for the word "permission" and are wondering how a government could shut down .
Thus, over the weekend, Power Up contacted the foreign correspondents of the Post stationed around the world to see what the international community was saying about the current political moment in the world. ;America. (Or, of course, if the observers take the trouble to follow.) Here are what our colleagues told us from Beijing, Moscow and London …
Natalia Abbakumova and Amie Ferris -Rotman in Moscow:
- Russia showed a keen interest in closing the US government with daily news reports. Most reports focus on the impact on the economy and national security, but the focus is particularly on the manifestations of state employees.
- Never an opportunity to miss a schadenfreude the main Russian state network, Rossiya, showed images of "thousands" of government employees who would not receive a salary during the closure.
- Last week, a popular Russian talk show mocked Trump's insistence on a wall with Mexico : "Trump is just a tough guy.It's a tough guy. Maybe it's even harder than, say, Chuck Norris? " Yevgeny Popov, co-host of the show "60 Minutes", invited his studio listeners to complain.
- The closure has little consequence for Russia – with the possible exception of the lifting of the sanctions against the companies held by Deripaska. Similarly, the new sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia and Syria have also been postponed – much to the delight of the Russian state
Anna Fifield in Beijing ]:
- The celebrations of the 40th anniversary of US-China relations were already going to be delicate as the two countries were plunged into an acrimonious trade war. But this month's commemorations have been complicated by the closure, which has greatly reduced the ability of public servants to participate in all public activities.
- At an elaborate luncheon at the China Grand People's Palace last week Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan delivered a speech in which he praised the cooperation between the two countries over the past four years. past decades and urged them to focus on common interests in the future.
- But after Wang's remarks, the US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, sits right next door. Because of the closure, he did not return the favor. One official said that the ambassador would do rather the "bare minimum" to avoid appearing rude: it would offer a toast after the press was inaugurated, said the official under the guise of anonymity to discuss the delicate diplomatic maneuver.
Anna also reported an editorial in the Global Times of China, a nationalist tabloid that often reflects the views of the Communist Party, entitled "The United States Closure Reveals a Failing Democracy." A passage reads: " The United States faces considerable challenges in all areas, but its democracy and government are unable to provide a solution to a widening income gap, opposition between different classes, a growing polarization of partisans The government … mechanism, conceived more than 100 years ago, works badly. "
Karla Adam in London :
- Normally, American politics is a hot topic in bars and lounges in London . But these are not normal times. The next departure of Great Britain from the European Union, also called Brexit, is the owner of the airwaves. But there are many similarities between the political crisis in Washington and London, both of which strive to find a way out of the current stalemate.
- In the United Kingdom, t here is the perspective of what some have described as a Trump-style judgment . If the current parliamentary blockage persists and nothing happens by the end of March, Britain will leave the EU. without agreement, which many legislators consider as chaotic, even catastrophic .
- Trump is widely disliked by many British, but some also admire his immigration policy.
- "I think Donald Trump is fantastic," said Penelope Becker, a 61-year-old Brexit voter. "He is really concerned about the realization of his manifesto for which the Americans voted," she said. Likewise, she hopes that, in the coming weeks, the British legislators will follow what the British public has voted and that on March 29, Britain will actually leave the European Union.
President Trump stops talking to reporters as he walks toward him. Marine One Board of Directors on January 10th. (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post)
In the Media
- What John Bolton Reads : "The White House Searched for Options to Hit Iran" by Dion Nissenbaum on the Wall Street Journal. A quote of choice from this article: "This has certainly shaken people," said a former head of the US administration. "People were shocked. It was amazing to see how they were riders in Iran. "
- What John Bolton is and also reading :" "They ruined everything." In an attempt to derail Trump's erratic withdrawal from Syria by Anne Gearan, Josh Dawsey and John Hudson of the newspaper The Post
- What Frontier Workers Observe : "At the US-Mexico border, a tribal nation fights the wall that separates them "from Christopher Livesay and Melanie Saltzman to
- What the voters who searched for Google Tulsi Gabbard might be reading :" Tulsi Gabbard has already praised his work for the anti-gay group that supported CNN's "conversion therapy" from Andrew Kaczynski.
- What the 2020 Democratic hopes read : "Julián Castro, former Housing Secretary, announces the direction of the presidency by 2020" of Maggie Astor.
Viral
In honor of the first snow of the year for DC, enjoy this video of the time @NationalZoo the panda Tian Tian had the best day of snow of all time pic.twitter.com/e95tFAhUVJ
– Erin (@erinruberry) January 12, 2019
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