“THE MORNING MEETING” DAYBOOK
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2024
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DAYBOOK, all Eastern Time unless otherwise noted
JOE BIDEN
Returns from Delaware.
KAMALA HARRIS
DONALD TRUMP
No known public events at this time.
JD VANCE
No known public events at this time.
CONGRESS
Deals with a big mess, including at morning meetings of the House Conference and House Caucus.
“The Morning Meeting” topics:
* What happens next on the government shutdown?
* What does Trump do? What does Biden do?
* Will the Speaker survive? If not, who will get the job?
* What does this dust-up say about the Trump 2025 legislative agenda?
ESSENTIAL READING
* Wall Street Journal, scratching 1/100000000000th inch of the surface:
Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed.
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* Politico:
At least a dozen senators are pushing to see the FBI’s background check on Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Pentagon chief — a rare move for the committee that oversees his confirmation and a sign the former Fox News host still faces hurdles in the Senate.
Unlike some other committees, the Senate Armed Services usually limits access to these types of background checks to its two lead senators. But pressure is building from both Democrats and Republicans to provide more lawmakers with the ongoing report, whose contents could determine whether Hegseth makes it to the Pentagon.