3 Things To Know Today

1 President Trump Walks Out On Chuck And Nancy

As we told you yesterday, President Trump’s address – and the Democratic response - suggested a certain level of intractability between the parties involved. And it appears that’s correct as the President apparently walked out on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday. They had gotten together to see if there was a way to end the partial shutdown – and cut a deal on border security. Nope. Trump himself took to Twitter in the aftermath to say his meeting with congressional Democrats was "a total waste of time." “I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO,” he writes. “I said bye-bye, nothing else works!” That account was backed up by Vice President Pence as well as Schumer and Pelosi. One-quarter of the federal government ran out of money on December 22nd. Speaking of the border...the President is expected to head there today.

2 Trump Threatens To Cut CA FEMA Funding For Wildfires

Once again, President Trump is threatening to cut off federal funds to victims of the California wildfires. Trump made the pronouncement via Twitter to say that billions of dollars are sent to the state for fires that, with proper management, would never happen. "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely,” he added. “I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!” For the record, FEMA has approved nearly seven-thousand applications and 50-million-dollars in assistance related to the recent deadly Woolsey and Camp fires. This isn’t the first time he’s said such things, of course, and as with the previous protestations, no actual order to cut the money was published.

3 Deputy AG Rosenstein Stepping Down?

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – will he stay or will he go? Depends whom you ask. According to various reports, he’s on his way out…or, he’s ready to step down once a new attorney general takes over at the Justice Department. All this as former Bush 41 Attorney General Bill Barr has been tapped to lead the department by Trump – he faces confirmation hearings next week. To review, Rosenstein is coming up on two years as deputy AG and has previously overseen Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election. So what would Barr’s arrival and Rosenstein’s departure mean for the Mueller investigation? To ask South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, not much. Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, says there is "absolutely no indication” Barr will “tell Bob Mueller what to do, or how to do it."


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