Top Stories

  • House and Senate negotiators are working to wrap up the year-end spending deal by this weekend in an effort to meet a Dec. 20 deadline and avoid another stopgap extension or government shutdown. Lawmakers face big hurdles, including how to deal with President Donald Trump’s $8.6 billion request for funding for his U.S.-Mexico border wall, and Republicans are not confident that talks will end successfully this weekend. (Roll Call)
  • Current and former U.S. officials said Trump has communicated with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani and others on cellphones vulnerable to monitoring by Russia and other foreign intelligence services, raising the possibility that Moscow was able to learn details about Trump’s pressure on Ukraine. There is no indication that the president’s calls were shielded from surveillance, suggesting Trump has defied security guidance and practices followed by past presidents. (The Washington Post)
  • Trump administration officials disputed some of the details in the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report about calls between Trump and Giuliani and White House aides, with people familiar with the phone records saying a number that has been said to be “associated with” the White House Office of Management and Budget is actually a generic White House switchboard number. Democrats have said the calls suggested contact between Giuliani and the OMB at key moments in Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. (The New York Times)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

12/06/2019
Brookings hosts event on free markets 2:30 pm
12/07/2019
Democratic presidential candidates participate in forum on worker issues
12/10/2019
Politico hosts Women Rule Summit 8:00 am
CSIS hosts event on U.S.-Syria policy 5:00 pm
Trump holds campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania 7:00 pm
12/11/2019
DOJ inspector general testifies to Senate Judiciary Committee 10:00 am
Brookings hosts event Brett Kavanaugh’s impact on the Supreme Court 3:00 pm
View full calendar

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General

Trumpworld Lawyers’ Contracts to Dig Dirt on Biden
Lachlan Markay and Betsy Swan, The Daily Beast

In April 2019, as Rudy Giuliani and a number of his associates looked for dirt on President Donald Trump’s political opponents in Ukraine, two of those associates drafted contracts that they hoped would land them a quarter of a million dollars to push conspiracy theories about Ukraine in the United States. The agreements were never executed, but they spelled out just how two Trump-allied lawyers, Joseph diGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing, planned to advance the president’s allegations against his perceived political foes—and collect hefty retainer fees for their services.

Inside the Cell Where a Sick 16-Year-Old Boy Died in Border Patrol Care
Robert Moore et al., ProPublica

Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant, was seriously ill when immigration agents put him in a small South Texas holding cell with another sick boy on the afternoon of May 19. A few hours earlier, a nurse practitioner at the Border Patrol’s dangerously overcrowded processing center in McAllen had diagnosed him with the flu and measured his fever at 103 degrees.

White House & Administration

Trump’s Rollback of Transgender Rights Extends Through Entire Government
Lola Fadulu, The New York Times

Nicolas Talbott, a graduate student at Kent State University in Ohio who is transgender, was told in May that because of President Trump’s transgender ban in the military, he would no longer be eligible for placement as an Army officer. He could continue participating in the Reserve Officers Training Corps program, but the benefits that he joined for — health insurance and student loan forgiveness — were no longer available to him.

Trump pulled into feud between top health officials
Dan Diamond et al., Politico

President Donald Trump has personally tried to settle the long-running feud between his two top health appointees, telling his health secretary to fix the relationship with his Medicare chief, said three individuals with knowledge of the situation. Trump and Seema Verma, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, privately met in mid-November amid escalating tensions between her and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.

Senate

Senate Republicans puncture House GOP dreams for impeachment trial
Melanie Zanona and Burgess Everett, Politico

On Wednesday, a conservative backbencher in the House issued an explosive request to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham: Subpoena the phone records of House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff. On Thursday, Graham had a succinct response: “We’re not going to do that.”

Is U.S. sending more troops to Middle East? Hawley accuses Pentagon of double-talk
Bryan Lowry, McClatchy DC

Sen. Josh Hawley grilled a top Pentagon official Thursday about whether the U.S. military is weighing plans to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal had reported that the Pentagon was considering a plan to deploy an additional 14,000 troops to the Middle East. Hawley, R-Missouri, asked on Twitter Wednesday night whether the Pentagon was preparing for a land war.

Even Trump’s DOJ Wants to Close the ‘Boyfriend Loophole.’ Why Won’t Republicans Do It?
Emily Shugerman, The Daily Beast

In the months-old Senate battle over reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the debate keeps returning to one issue in particular: closing the so-called boyfriend loophole. Republicans say the provision—which would prevent abusive dating partners from accessing firearms—is too political and will never make it past a GOP-controlled chamber.

Sen. Cramer blocks Armenian genocide bill at request of White House
Zachary Basu and Jonathan Swan, Axios

The White House directed Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to block an effort by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday to pass a resolution via unanimous consent formally recognizing Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian people, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Why it matters: This is the third time that the White House has directed a Republican senator to block the resolution, a symbolic measure already passed by the House that would infuriate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A beloved senator heads into retirement with no clear successor to fill the void
Paul Kane, The Washington Post

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) figured he should take advantage of his reputation as the Senate’s most beloved member to sell his colleagues on changing their ways. “Nothing first happens until somebody sells something,” Isakson recalled Wednesday.

House

Pelosi’s Leap on Impeachment: From No Go to No Choice
Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was planning to deliver back-to-back eulogies at funerals here and in South Carolina during a busy weekend of late September travel when she saw an explosive headline in The Wall Street Journal: “Trump Repeatedly Pressed Ukraine to Investigate Biden’s Son.” For months, Ms. Pelosi had resisted calls for impeachment.

Top Judiciary Republican Says White House Should Participate In Inquiry, With Caveats
Jason Breslow, NPR News

With Democrats in the House of Representatives formally moving to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump, the top Republican on the committee that will author those articles is saying the White House should participate in the impeachment inquiry. But participation should happen only, he says, “when there is an actual opportunity in which it is a situation in which they can present, do the presentation that they need to.”

GOP Rep. pitches LGBTQ rights bill with religious exemptions
Elana Schor, The Associated Press

As Democrats champion anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community and Republicans counter with worries about safeguarding religious freedom, one congressional Republican is offering a proposal on Friday that aims to achieve both goals. The bill that Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart plans to unveil would shield LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other public services — while also carving out exemptions for religious organizations to act based on beliefs that may exclude those of different sexual orientations or gender identities.

House leaders water down key liberal language in drug pricing bill
Sarah Karlin-Smith and Adam Cancryn, Politico

House Democratic leaders plan to weaken language progressives inserted in a sweeping drug price bill to discourage sharp cost increases ahead of a floor vote on the legislation next week, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. The move is likely to prompt fierce backlash from Democrats’ liberal wing, and put progressive support for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile bill at risk.

Following guilty plea, Duncan Hunter barred from voting in the House
Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call

The House Ethics Committee notified Rep. Duncan Hunter that his recent guilty plea means he should no longer cast votes in the House. The instruction is not mandatory, but the panel threatened action against him if he continues to vote.

Lev Parnas’ Attorney Addresses Devin Nunes on Twitter After He Can’t Confirm They Spoke: ‘Lev Remembers’
James Walker, Newsweek

The personal attorney of Rudy Giuliani’s indicted associate Lev Parnas has questioned Devin Nunes’ claim that he was not able to confirm whether he’d had a phone conversation with Parnas. Parnas’ lawyer Joseph Bondy said that Parnas “remembers” what the pair allegedly spoke about in a tweet directed at Nunes yesterday, responding to the California representative’s claim that he was “not able to confirm” whether the pair had any phone conversation.

2020

States’ Shift From Caucuses Is Challenge for Sanders, Warren
Ken Thomas and John McCormick, The Wall Street Journal

Sen. Bernie Sanders built his strong 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton on victories in a series of caucuses, the in-person gatherings that reward candidates who have organizing muscle and passionate followings. The same tactic had propelled Barack Obama to the Democratic nomination eight years earlier before he went on to capture the presidency.

Florida Democrats launch plan to boost vote-by-mail turnout in 2020
Gary Fineout, Politico

Florida Democrats, with a financial boost from former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, plan to spend nearly a half-million dollars on a campaign to urge Hispanic and African American voters to cast their ballots by mail in the 2020 presidential election. Party leaders say a 2018 effort to specifically boost voting by mail — as opposed to early voting or Election Day turnout — led to increased participation in last year’s election.

Biden: Media, rivals wrong that AOC represents direction of party
Axios

Former Vice President Joe Biden told “Axios on HBO” in Iowa that he has shaped the 2020 race, faulting the media and his rivals for thinking Democratic voters are more liberal than the reality. “You guys got it all wrong about what happened,” Biden said in an interview airing Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on HBO.

‘You’re a damn liar, man’: Biden lashes out at Iowan over Hunter claim
Marc Caputo, Politico

Joe Biden lashed out at an Iowa town hall Thursday after a man suggested the former vice president helped his son get a sweetheart deal in Ukraine and was “selling access” like President Donald Trump does. The fiery exchange with the man, who only identified himself as a non-Republican Iowa farmer, ended with Biden challenging him to a contest of push-ups, running or an IQ test before he yelled at him.

When Pete Buttigieg Was One of McKinsey’s ‘Whiz Kids’
Michael Forsythe, The New York Times

Among the hoops that candidates for plum consulting jobs at McKinsey & Company had to jump through in late 2006 was a bit of play acting: They were given a scenario involving a hypothetical client, “a business under siege,” and told they would be meeting with its chief executive the next day. How would they structure the conversation?

Castro hits fundraising threshold for December debate
Tal Axelrod, The Hill

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro’s presidential campaign announced Thursday it has hit the fundraising threshold for the December primary debate “.@JulianCastro has hit the 200K donor threshold for the December debate,” Liza Acevedo, the Castro campaign’s deputy national press secretary, tweeted.

Democrats woo Bullock for Senate. They’re over Beto.
Burgess Everett and James Arkin, Politico

Washington Democrats are no longer pining for Beto O’Rourke. They’re far more infatuated with another ousted presidential candidate: Steve Bullock.

Pompeo had off-the-books meeting with Republican donors in London this week
Shimon Prokupecz and Kylie Atwood, CNN

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended an off-the-books sit-down meeting with a conservative group that included a small number of wealthy Republican donors, which was not on his official schedule while he was in London to attend this week’s NATO Summit. The gathering, hosted by the Hamilton Society, conveniently took place in the hotel where Pompeo was staying, situated in a small events space on the second floor.

States

West Virginia corrections employees suspended after Nazi salute photo
Doha Madani and Gemma DiCasimirro, NBC News

Officials are investigating a group of West Virginia corrections trainees who were photographed seemingly making a Nazi salute in their uniforms. A blurred copy of the photo was provided to NBC News by the state’s Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety on Thursday.

Georgia ethics chief says nonprofit gave Abrams unreported aid
James Salzer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The state ethics commission’s director told the panel Wednesday that a voting advocacy nonprofit connected to Stacey Abrams acted as a political committee during the 2018 elections and should have both registered with the state and reported how much it raised and spent. David Emadi, the executive director of the commission, also raised questions about whether the New Georgia Project Action Fund — which is affiliated with another nonprofit Abrams founded but no longer leads, the New Georgia Project — illegally coordinated with her campaign.

California Bans Insurers From Dropping Policies Made Riskier by Climate Change
Christopher Flavelle and Brad Plumer, The New York Times

California’s wildfires have grown so costly and damaging that insurance companies — a homeowner’s last hope when disaster strikes — have increasingly been canceling people’s policies in fire-prone parts of the state. On Thursday, however, California took the highly unusual step of banning the practice, a decision that exacerbates the insurance industry’s miscalculation of the cost of climate change.

Advocacy

Indictment Details How Emirates Sought Influence in 2016 Campaign
David D. Kirkpatrick and Kenneth P. Vogel, The New York Times

The donors referred to their campaign contributions as baked goods, usually “baklava.” They called Hillary Clinton “Our Sister” or “the Big Lady.”

Fastest-growing Washington lobbying firms benefit from Trump ties and revolving door hires
Yue Stella Yu, OpenSecrets

For many well-connected Washington lobbying firms, business is booming after President Donald Trump’s 2016 election. At least 22 lobbying firms saw revenue more than double in the Trump era compared to the previous three years, with many signing high-dollar contracts with big-name clients, an OpenSecrets analysis found.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Asking the hard questions to implement the National Defense Strategy
Sen. James M. Inhofe and Rep. Mac Thornberry, Roll Call

Two years ago, the National Defense Strategy, or NDS, shifted America’s military focus to a new era of great-power competition, especially with China and Russia. Welcomed with broad bipartisan support, this groundbreaking document calls on us to make tough choices to reshape our military, reform the Department of Defense, and recommit to strengthening alliances and attracting new partners around the world.

Buttigieg’s Untenable Vow of Silence
The Editorial Board, The New York Times

Pete Buttigieg worked nearly three years for the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, and he has presented that experience as a kind of capitalist credential — distinguishing him from some rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, and inoculating him against Republican attacks. “They’ll try the socialist thing,” Mr. Buttigieg told an Iowa audience in September, referring to a likely line of attack by President Trump and his allies against whichever Democrat emerges as his opponent in next year’s election, “but the thing is, I got started in the private sector.”

Trump’s Supporters Are Displaying the Will to Win. Democrats Are Not.
David Frum, The Atlantic

What on Earth was the point of the first day of the House Judiciary Committee hearings on impeachment? The House Intelligence Committee hearings in November told a coherent story. Public-spirited career personnel and a Purple Heart Army officer were aligned on one side; venal and untruthful political operatives aligned on the other.

Research Reports and Polling

Warren and Biden lose ground, Sanders moves ahead in California’s shifting 2020 Democratic race
Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times

The Democratic presidential contest in California remains extremely fluid — but not enough, at least so far, to provide an opening for Michael Bloomberg, who entered the race two weeks ago and was banking on winning big in the delegate-rich state, a new poll for the Los Angeles Times has found. The survey by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that both Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — the commanding front-runner in a September California poll — and former Vice President Joe Biden have lost ground among the state’s likely Democratic primary voters over the last two months.

Morning Consult