The Senate is aiming to move swiftly on a national security supplemental early next year, even as the heads of both parties said they still must overcome hurdles before they can come to an agreement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a joint statement last night that negotiations are making “encouraging” progress.
“Challenging issues remain, but we are committed to addressing needs at the southern border and to helping allies and partners confront serious threats in Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific,” Schumer and McConnell said.
“The Senate will not let these national security challenges go unanswered.”
Sen. James Lankford (Okla.), who has been top Republican negotiator, said separately it will take weeks to resolve “multiple unresolved issues, Zoe Ma reports.
Schumer said senators will no longer hold any votes today, although the chamber will be in session to wrap up business for the year, Zach C. Cohen reports.
Lawmakers have been at an impasse over more than $60 billion in fresh assistance for Ukraine as its war with Russia approaches its third years Senators decision to abandon efforts to reach a deal before leaving Washington for a holiday break means Ukraine heads into the new year with dwindling weapons stockpiles and no guarantee of more US aid, Billy House and Steven T. Dennis report.
BIDEN’S AGENDA
- President Joe Biden travels to Milwaukee, Wis. today and delivers a 1:45 p.m. EST speech at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce.
- Biden returns to the White House around 6 p.m.
- Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Wisconsin.
CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE
- The House is out until January.
- Senators will meet at noon to wrap up business for the year. No votes are expected.
- For more details, read BGOV’s Congress Tracker.
Also Happening on the Hill
AN EXTENSION OF FAA AUTHORITIES through March 8 will head to Biden’s desk after the Senate passed the measure last night by unanimous consent. Read more.
SENATORS APPROVED the promotions of 11 four-star military officers, including key positions in the Middle East and intelligence community, that were still being held by Sen Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in protest over the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. Read more.
THE CHEROKEE NATION’S top lawyer won bipartisan confirmation to serve the Northern District of Oklahoma. Sara Hill will be one of the few American Indian judges in federal judiciary history. Read more.
- Also yesterday, Christopher Fonzone was confirmed to run the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, where the veteran national security lawyer will be the point person for thorny executive branch legal questions. Read more.
MERRICK GARLAND was subpoenaed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for information about Justice Department attempts to obtain communications from lawmakers, the House Judiciary chair said. Read more.
BIDEN vetoed a measure to repeal the CFPB’s small business data collection rule, getting rid of one hurdle to the effort to combat lending discrimination. Read more.
- The Senate will vote prior to Jan. 31 on whether to override Biden’s veto, Cohen reports.
People, Power, and Politics
BIDEN delivered a fresh warning about the stakes of the 2024 election, saying Democrats must rally to defeat Donald Trump or risk losing democracy.
- “Every head of state I’ve come in contact with has said ‘you’ve got to win, you’ve got to win.’ It’s less about me, unfortunately, I think than about the other guy,” Biden told donors at a campaign fundraiser yesterday in Bethesda, Md. Read more.
TRUMP stood by his condemnation of immigrants despite bipartisan criticism, saying last night that undocumented migrants were “ruining the fabric” of the US. Read more.
THE REPUBLICAN FRONTRUNNER was disqualified from Colorado’s election ballot by the state’s Supreme Court yesterday. Colorado’s highest court paused the ruling to allow time for Trump to appeal to the Supreme Court. Voters had argued that Trump should be barred from the ballot for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
- The case centers on a post-Civil War-era provision of the Constitution barring insurrectionists from holding public office. The Colorado case is the first constitutional challenge to Trump’s 2024 run to go through a full trial. Read more.
- A Supreme Court shaped by Trump is destined to play a pivotal role in determining whether he will land in prison or return to the White House. While his three appointees shifted the court sharply to the right, that hasn’t translated into legal victories for Trump. Read more.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-Ore.) asked for clarity from Clarence Thomas’ attorney about his remarks about a loan that the embattled Supreme Court justice used to buy a luxury motor coach. Read more.
What Else We’re Reading
THE ABSENCE of a presidential appointee undermines DHS’s ability to tackle mounting workforce challenges and advance the administration’s agenda, several professionals said. Read more.
THE US is weighing possible military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a sign that a new maritime task force to protect ships in the Red Sea may not be enough to eliminate the threat. Read more.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION is “tracking” the impending ban of nearly all Apple Watch sales due to an ongoing patent dispute, with power to veto the decision resting with the US Trade Representative. Read more.
FEES for overdrafts and nonsufficient funds continue to catch consumers by surprise, even after some of the nation’s largest banks cut back on the charges, a watchdog found. Read more.
THE WHITE HOUSE announced $600 million to fund environmental justice projects under a new structure designed to make it easier for community-based groups to get federal money. Read more.
ENVIRONMENTAL advocates are bracing for the SEC to release watered-down mandates to report corporate emissions in the wake of business lobbying against sweeping disclosures. Read more.
To contact the reporters on this story:
To contact the editor responsible for this story: