I will keep America moving forward, always forward, for a better America, for an endless enduring dream and a 1,000 Points of Light. This is my mission, and I will complete it. George H.W. Bush
RUSSIAN RIFT: Maverick Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham look to continue their foreign policy criticism of whomever the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue may be. Both Senators are pushing for full investigations into the Russian hacks and will challenge Trump on his negative assessments of the U.S. intelligence community. Other Senators are not ready to criticize Donald Trump in this realm, exposing a rift between those who aren’t quite ready to stand up to the president-elect.
TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY?: After spending sixteen months on the campaign trail insisting that Mexico would pay for a border wall, President-elect Trump acknowledged that the U.S. taxpayer may end up footing the bill after all. Using a bill passed during the Bush Administration, Republicans believe they can attach wall funding to a spending package in April potentially forcing a government shutdown showdown with the Democrats. Don’t worry - Trump took to Twitter insisting that Mexico will foot the bill at the end of the day.
THE RACE TO REPLACE: In what could be the biggest surprise of the early legislative session is the Republicans plan for a 2017 ACA replacement bill. Previously it was expected that the replacement would take two to three years to be unveiled, but the looming threat of +20 million people without health care seems to have lit a fire under the new Congress. HHS Secretary-designate Tom Price and Hill Republicans will have their work cut out for them in the coming months.
NOMINATION AMALGAMATION: In five days multiple Senate committees will be all hands on deck on what is slated to be an unprecedented and busy day on Capitol Hill holding hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees. The not-so-secret goal of holding five of the hearings in one day is to prevent any one pick from dominating the news cycle - some of Trump’s nominations have attracted unwelcome scrutiny and Senate Leadership is hoping to put it all out there on one day making coverage difficult.
SCHUMER SHOOTS FIRST: The war of words between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already begun over the SCOTUS vacancy. After Schumer announced that Democrats will not settle for just any nominee, McConnell claimed that America will not support the blocking of a nominee. The list of potential Trump nominees makes Senate Democrats cringe potentially forcing McConnell to pull the “nuclear option.”
PICKING UP THE PIECES: The race for DNC chair is starting to resemble the race for the Republican presidential nomination as South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigeig has joined the crowded field. The race which is now up to eight people concludes in late February. Even though Buttigeig will get some support from those looking for a Washington outsider, he is still a long shot behind top contenders MN Rep. Keith Ellison and outgoing Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
