Pelosi During Gov Shutdown Cartoons

OPM to furloughed workers: “barter” advice was a mistake due to error

OAN Newsroom
8:35 PM PT — Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018

The Office of Personnel Management apologizes after giving bizarre advice to furloughed workers.
The OPM told the Washington Post on Sunday in “inadvertently” sent a tweet last week suggesting workers “barter” with creditors during the government shutdown.
It claims it was a “Legacy Document from 2013 that was intended to provide a set of templates for workers.”
The federal government has been in a partial shutdown since Saturday, December 22nd.
The OPM says while most federal employees have yet to miss a paycheck, they recognize the fact furloughed employees are concerned about the financial implications of a shutdown.

Bernie Sanders staffers seek to address ‘predatory culture’ during 2016 campaign: report

FILE 2018, photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance' in Washington. (AP)

More than two dozen people who worked on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign have called for a meeting with the senator and his top aides — saying there’s been talk in recent weeks about a “predatory culture” that developed while he was running.
The former staff members sent Sanders and his principal campaign committee a letter, which was published online Sunday by POLITICO, citing an “untenable and dangerous dynamic” that they hope to “pre-empt” in the “upcoming presidential cycle.”
The men and women requested a meeting in person “to discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment” — but didn’t describe any specific incidents or accusations.
“In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign,” their letter says. “We the undersigned request a meeting with Senator Sanders and his leadership team … for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle — both in the primary and potential general election campaigns for 2019 and 2020.”
Specifically, the staffers said they hope to establish “a follow-up plan for implementing concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures.”
“It is critically important that Senator Sanders attend this meeting to understand the full scope of the issue from 2016 and how the campaign plans to move forward,” their letter continues.
Some of the signers told POLITICO that they hope the proposed meeting wouldn’t bolster the longstanding “Bernie Bro” argument, but instead serve as a leading example of what campaigns should do in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
“This letter is just a start,” explained one organizer. “We are addressing what happened on the Bernie campaign but as people that work in this space we see that all campaigns are extremely dangerous to women and marginalized people and we are attempting to fix that.”
The signers who spoke to POLITICO insisted that their call for action wasn’t just about Sanders, but the senator’s campaign committee welcomed it anyway.
“We thank the signers of the letter for their willingness to engage in this incredibly important discussion,” they said in response. “We always welcome hearing the experiences and views of our former staff. We also value their right to come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private letter.”

Texas AG ‘eager’ to defend court’s Obamacare ruling after judge issues stay

Ken Paxton, Texas' Republican attorney general considered the architect of the lawsuit to defeat Obamacare, said on Sunday that his office is "eager to defend" last month’s federal judge's ruling that declared the 2010 law unconstitutional.
Judge Reed O’Connor's Dec. 14 ruling is being challenged by 16 states. He said that the states are "unlikely to succeed" in court.
The Federal District Court in Fort Worth on Sunday issued a final judgment and granted a stay of the ruling. O’Connor reportedly said that the ruling should not go into full effect since many Americans would "face great uncertainty" during the appeal process.
Paxton said in the statement that the stay will give states a chance to develop plans "to address the health care needs of their residents for the day the ruling is ultimately upheld."
O'Connor, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, ruled that last year's tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under Obamacare by eliminating a penalty for not having coverage. The rest of the law cannot be separated from that provision and is therefore invalid, he wrote.
The New York Times reported that O’Connor—at the time of his original ruling—did not issue an injunction, so individuals were still able to sign up for the coverage.
Currently, about 10 million have subsidized private insurance through the health law's insurance markets, while an estimated 12 million low-income people are covered through its Medicaid expansion.
The White House said last month that it expects the ruling to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The five justices who upheld the health law in 2012 in the first major case -- Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's four liberals -- are all still serving.

Trump points to 'wall' built around Obama's DC home during fight for border wall funding

President Donald Trump signing criminal just reform legislation in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington.  (AP)
President Trump pointed to the wall former President Obama built around his Washington D.C., home as a reason Congress should fund his barrier on the southern border.
“President and Mrs. Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their D.C. mansion/compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!,” Trump tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
The former president and his wife, Michelle, bought the 8,200-square-foot mansion for $8.1 million in 2017, according to reports.
The house is in the Kalorama section of Washington, an exclusive enclave for diplomats, lobbyists and politicians, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared, as well as Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
The Obamas bought the house after leasing it when Obama left office in 2016.
They made a number of renovations to the property at the time, including the wall.
Trump has been battling with congressional Democrats over funding for his wall on the southern border.
The president wants $5 billion for the barrier, but Democrats are offering only $1.6 billion for border security — and nothing for a wall.
The stalemate led to a partial government shutdown.

Dumb Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cartoons

Russian, Turkish officials meet in Moscow to discuss U.S. troop withdrawal

OAN Newsroom
6:10 PM PT — Saturday, Dec. 28, 2018

Russian and Turkish officials meet in Moscow to discuss the upcoming withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
Foreign and defense ministers from the two countries met on Saturday and discussed ways to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism in the region.
Syria’s army entered Manbij for the first time in recent years on Friday, after Kurdish fighters called on Syrian forces to protect it from Turkey. However, the U.S. military cast its doubts on those claims, saying Syrian troops were only moving closer to the city.
Although few details were publicly announced, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the talks were “very useful,” regarding the U.S. withdrawal.
Sergei added Russia and Turkey have an “understanding” on how to continue ongoing efforts on the ground in Syria under the latest circumstances.
President Trump announced he would withdraw roughly two-thousand U.S. troops from Syria earlier in December. Although he’s received push-back, the President has maintained his stance, and says the U.S. has wasted “millions of dollars” in addition to costing the lost of American soldiers.

Ocasio-Cortez slams McCaskill after departing Dem calls her a 'thing' and a 'shiny object'

U.S. Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to comments made by outgoing Sen. Claire McCaskill earlier this week in which she called the New York Democrat a “bright shiny new object.”
"Not sure why fmr Sen. McCaskill keeps going on TV to call me a 'thing' and 'shiny object,' but it's pretty disappointing," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday.
"McCaskill promised she'd '100% back Trump up' on his anti-immigrant rhetoric & lost. In MO, almost all progressive ballot issues won," her tweet continued.
During an interview with CNN, MacCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, said of Ocasio-Cortez that she was “confused why she’s the thing,” referring to the attention Ocasio-Cortez has received from both major parties and the news media since defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a June primary race, then beating Republican Anthony Pappas in November.
DEFEATED SEN. McCASKILL RIPS DEMOCRATIC PARTY OVER 'PURITY' DEMANDS, 'FAILURE' WITH RURAL AMERICA
“But it's a good example of what I'm talking about -- a bright shiny new object, came out of nowhere and surprised people when she beat a very experienced congressman,” McCaskill said.
McCaskill also cautioned Democrats to be wary of cheap rhetoric from rising Democratic stars like Ocasio-Cortez and said Republican senators privately think President Trump is "nuts."
Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, has made climate change, income inequality and ending the “school-to-prison pipeline” her top priorities.
In a follow-up tweet, Ocasio-Cortez mentioned McCaskill again.
OCASIO-CORTEZ TAKES TIME OFF FOR 'SELF-CARE,' LAMENTS LOSS OF YOGA SESSIONS DUE TO POLITICS
“I'm also not sure why McCaskill is covering for the GOP by saying they 'secretly think Trump is nuts.'
"Nobody cares," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "Trump is melting down our institutions and inciting division between people. At any time GOP could have checked him and choose not to. They're accomplices."

After Trump touts ‘Big progress’ in trade talks, China expresses willingness to work with US through ‘storms’

China’s foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday that Beijing is willing to work with the United States through “storms” in their relationship toward the goal of global stability.
The statement from ministry spokesman Lu Kang mentioned the consensus agreement that U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached during the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina earlier this month, Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Trump wrote in a Twitter message that “big progress” was being made in U.S.-China trade talks and that a potential deal was coming together “very well.”
“Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Following the call, President Xi expressed hope that the two countries could advance toward a more cooperative relationship, Reuters reported Saturday.
The U.S. and China have been involved in a tit-for-tat trade battle throughout the course of 2018. The countries – the world’s two largest economies – have slapped tariffs on one another’s goods, though Washington and Beijing agreed on Dec. 1 to postpone further hikes in an effort to negotiate a deal that satisfies both sides.
If no trade deal is reached, the U.S. is ready on March 2 to increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent, which could potentially have a significant effect U.S. industries – such as electronics, furniture and machinery -- that depend on Chinese imports, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A tariff increase also could stall China’s economy, potentially slowing global growth, the report said.
A U.S. delegation of trade officials is expected to travel to Beijing in early January for negotiations with the Chinese. If those talks make progress, more negotiations will follow in Washington soon after, the Journal reported.
At the G-20 meetings, Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce on tariff hikes in hopes of reaching a trade deal.

Women's March event canceled over concerns of being 'overwhelmingly white'

Protesters gather on the National Mall in Washington. in the first Women's March in Jan. 21, 2017. (Fox News)

Organizers of a Women’s March rally slated for Northern California next month have canceled the event, saying they were concerned that participants would have been “overwhelmingly white."
In a news release, organizers for the march in Eureka – about 270 miles north of San Francisco – said Friday the "decision was made after many conversations between local social-change organizers and supporters of the march.”
“Up to this point, the participants have been overwhelmingly white, lacking representation from several perspectives in our community,” the news release continued.
According to Census Bureau data from July, Humboldt County, where Eureka is the county seat, is 74 percent non-Hispanic white.
“I was appalled to be honest,” Amy Sawyer Long told the Washington Times. “I understand wanting a diverse group. However, we live in a predominantly white area … not to mention how is it beneficial to cancel? No matter the race people still want their voices heard.”

“I understand wanting a diverse group. However, we live in a predominantly white area … not to mention how is it beneficial to cancel? No matter the race people still want their voices heard.”
— Amy Sawyer Long

The rally, which had been planned for Jan. 19, would have commemorated the third anniversary of the original Women’s March, which was held Jan. 21, 2017, the day after President Trump took office.
The group said it is exploring shifting the rally to March to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The Women’s March movement has been marred by complaints from some black and Latina women, who've raised concerns that their input is often disregarded or overlooked, the New York Times reported.
The cancellation of the march in California follows a previous one in Chicago.
Women's March organizers in that city cited high costs and limited volunteer hours as reasons for nixing the annual rally, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“There’s no march, there’s no rally,” said Sara Kurensky, Women’s March Chicago board member. “We’re going to provide ways for people to organize and take action in their local communities.”
WOMEN’S MARCH LEADER CLAIMS SHE WAS KICKED OUT OF PROGRESSIVE GROUP FOR BEING JEWISH, REPORT SAYS
Meanwhile, the Women’s March national leadership has faced accusations of anti-Semitism because of ties to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
In a speech in February, Farrakhan praised a Women's March co-President Tamika Mallory and declared “the powerful Jews are my enemy.”
Leaders of Women’s March Inc. have come under scrutiny for not condemning Farrakhan’s rhetoric fast enough. The Nation of Islam is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
ALYSSA MILANO WON’T SPEAK AT WOMEN’S MARCH UNLESS ORGANIZERS CONDEMN LOUIS FARRAKHAN
Earlier this month, a Washington state chapter of the Women's March disbanded in protest because of the national group's links to anti-Semitism.
Marches and rallies are still planned for Jan. 19 in Washington, D.C., and dozens of other cities nationwide and internationally.

Nancy Pelosi Hawaii Cartoons

 

Pelosi Relaxes During Gov't Shutdown at Expensive Hawaii Resort

Zachary Petrizzo

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Posted: Dec 28, 2018 3:15 PM

Most of us would imagine that Nancy Pelosi would be in Washington, D.C., working to strike a deal with President Trump to re-open the government. Right? 
Instead, the Democratic House leader was recognized at a luxury resort in Hawaii on Thursday.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Pelosi, who has put blame squarely on President Donald Trump for the current government shutdown, was spotted Thursday vacationing in Hawaii at the Fairmont Orchid resort, where room accommodations range from $899-a-night for a standard room to $4,899-a-night for the presidential suite.
The resort, on Hawaii's Big Island, features a golf course, six restaurants, and a 10,000-square-foot oceanfront pool. It also features a "Spa Without Walls," where the 110-minute Ali'i Royal Experience is available for $369 and a 50-minute couples massage runs $549, according to the spa menu. While at the spa, guests can snack on a gluten-free grilled prawn summer roll for $19.
Trump canceled his Christmas trip to Florida and remained in the White House, saying on Christmas Eve that he was "waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal." The president left the White House on Christmas to travel to Iraq and meet with American troops stationed overseas.

I suspect she is not only relaxing in Hawaii but also doing some high dollar fundraising to secure herself a Speakership come January. Fundraising remains one of the mandatory obligations that any Speaker regardless of their political party must do and must do it exceptionally well.   
The president, on the other hand, has been in Washington, D.C., striving and willing to make a deal, but it seems as though Pelosi is on vacation... LITERALLY!

I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security. At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

Reactions on Twitter were swift and critical of the soon to be Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi:

Well, aloha, Nancy. Happy to see the "government shutdown" is not curtailing your Christmas vacation! #BuildTheDamnWall #GovernmentShutdown #SecureTheBorder #BuildThatWallNOW https://t.co/0tAPa5PLHa

— Graham Ledger (@GrahamLedger) December 28, 2018

A reminder, despite that parts of the government are shutdown abortion-giant Planned Parenthood will continue to receive taxpayer dollars.

Nancy Pelosi Is Spending Shutdown at Hawaii Resort via @freebeacon https://t.co/6uSUYRRbNw

— March for Life Action (@MFLAction) December 28, 2018

Meet the new Speaker, same as the old Speaker -- Marie Antoinette... https://t.co/yqn4qBFTur

— Charlie Hurt (@CharlesHurt) December 28, 2018

Anti-Trump Dem says break-in at his office 'probably not related to my politics'

U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, a critic of President Trump, says a break-in at his Houston office was "probably not related to my politics." (Office of Congressman Al Green)

The Houston office of Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green was broken into Thursday morning, but it doesn't appear that anything was taken, authorities said.
Whether the crime was politically motivated was unclear, they said. But the congressman expressed his doubts.
"My belief is that this is probably not related to my politics," Green told Houston's KPRC-TV. "[I] can never be sure until we have someone apprehended and get additional information."
Houston police responded to a report of a break-in around 8:50 a.m. inside a commercial building where Green's office is located, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Surveillance video obtained by Houston's KPRC-TV shows two burglars dressed in black with their faces covered making a hole in a wall leading to Green's office. The suspects allegedly made more holes and hit several other adjacent businesses, including a pharmacy and law office, reports said.
Green, 71, has served in Congress since January 2005. He represents Texas' 9th Congressional District, which covers the southwestern portion of the Houston metropolitan area. He has previously called for the impeachment of President Trump.
The U.S. Capitol Police - which is in charge of protecting members of Congress - was notified of the incident.

Sealed response submitted in secret Supreme Court case over unnamed company fighting subpoena

The federal government filed a sealed response Friday to an unnamed foreign company’s fight to get the Supreme Court to weigh in on a mysterious grand jury subpoena rumored to be connected to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
The filing’s contents are hidden from public view and it does not mention Mueller’s office, but was filed before a Dec. 31 deadline set by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Details of the clash between the company and prosecutors remained unclear, but Politico reported it may involve Mueller’s team due to its secrecy.
A federal court last week ruled against the company’s effort to quash the subpoena. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held the company in contempt and rejected its arguments that its governmental ownership makes it immune from a grand jury subpoena.
The court also rejected that company’s request that it should be excused from responding to the subpoena because it violated the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and that the subpoena was unenforceable, the Hill reported.
Mueller’s team has not publicly commented on the dispute, while lawyers for President Trump said the case does not involve the president.
“We’re not involved in it — we’re not aware of the nature or scope of the litigation,” Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s lawyers, told the New York Times.
Aside from Mueller's probe into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, the special counsel has reportedly investigated actions involving other countries as well, including Turkey, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Hill.
If the Supreme Court decides not to deal with the case, details of the fight and the identity of the company could remain secret, according to Politico.

House probe of FBI-DOJ's alleged anti-Trump, pro-Clinton bias hits unceremonious end -- with no report

House Republicans unceremoniously ended their investigation into the way the FBI and the Department of Justice handled Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and the bias allegations against President Trump.
The House probe was led by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Judiciary Committee and sought to look into allegations that the FBI and the DOJ were biased against Trump during the 2016 presidential election and favored Clinton’s candidacy.
Two Republicans chairing the committees – Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Robert Goodlatte, R-Va. – said in a letter Friday that the DOJ must appoint a special counsel to investigate the “seemingly disparate treatment” of the investigations into Clinton’s use of private emails and Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
The letter came less than a week before the Republicans formally lose control of the House to Democrats, while both Gowdy and Goodlatte are retiring from politics.
The Democrats have long criticized the Republican-led probe as a distraction from Mueller’s Russia investigation, with U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, taunting Republicans for their unceremonious end of the probe.
“This is how the House Republican effort to undermine Mueller by ‘investigating the investigators’ ends. Not with a bang, but with a Friday, buried-in-the-holidays whimper, and one foot out the door,” he wrote in a tweet.
But both Gowdy and Goodlatte reject criticism that their investigation undermined the Mueller probe.
“Contrary to Democrat and media claims, there has been no effort to discredit the work of the special counsel,” they said. “Quite the opposite, whatever product is produced by the special counsel must be trusted by Americans and that requires asking tough but fair questions about investigative techniques both employed and not employed.”
The lawmakers sent the letter to the Justice Department and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., saying that their investigation “revealed troubling facts which exacerbated our initial questions and concerns.” The House investigation didn’t produce a full final report of the panel's findings.
Republicans say top FBI officials were biased against then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, pointing to Peter Strzok, the disgraced FBI official who was ousted from Robert Mueller’s team and later from the agency after his anti-Trump text messages with his colleague and lover Lisa Page were revealed.
STRZOK, PAGE AND THE FBI TEXTING SCANDAL EXPLAINED
The pair exchanged more than 50,000 text messages throughout the 2016 presidential election, with many of them expressing anti-Trump sentiments. In one message, Page asked Strzok if Trump could become president, prompting his reply: “No. No he won't. We'll stop it.”
Goodlatte and Gowdy also refer to the report by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog earlier this year that claims Strzok’s anti-Trump text messages raise questions about the agency’s bias, while fired FBI Director James Comey repeatedly broke the protocol.
The lawmakers also stress in the letter that the probe into Clinton’s use of emails was too lenient and cleared her of any wrongdoing without sufficient inquiry into the controversy.
The letter urges Congress to continue the investigation, saying that “while Congress does not have the power to appoint a special counsel, Congress does have the power to continue to investigate,” and notes that “the facts uncovered thus far” merit the continuation of the probe.

Mueller Cartoons

Giuliani accuses Mueller of destroying evidence, calls for investigation

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:36 PM PT — Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018

President Trump’s attorney is calling for an investigation into special counsel Robert Mueller.
In an interview Thursday, Rudy Giuliani accused Mueller’s office of destroying evidence by allowing text messages sent between former FBI officials Peter Stzrok and Lisa Page to be erased.
Giuliani claimed those text messages would have shown the mind and tactics of one of Mueller’s lead prosecutors at the start of the Russia probe.
He said a second special counsel should be appointed to investigate Mueller’s possible role in the missing texts.
“How about destroying the 19,00 texts of Stzrok and Page right in the middle of them texting each other — ‘we hate Trump, we’re going to get Trump, we’re going to prevent him from being president, we’re going to have an insurance policy if he becomes president’ — and then all of a sudden, just coincidentally, they’re in charge of the investigation that could potentially remove him from office…that should be investigated fully,” stated Giuliani.
His comments come after a Department of Justice inspector general report found the government phones of Stzrok and Page had been wiped clean by technicians.

GOP share of Latino vote steady under Trump, bolstered by evangelicals and vets

Republicans are holding onto a steady share of the Latino vote in the Trump era. With a president who targets immigrants from Latin America, some analysts predicted a Latino backlash against the GOP. But it hasn’t happened. Data from AP’s VoteCast survey suggests Republicans are holding on to support from Latino evangelicals and veterans. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

There is a larger bloc of reliable Republican Latinos than many think, as the GOP’s position among Latinos in America has not weakened during the Trump administration — this, despite presidential rhetoric against immigrants and the party’s shift to the right on immigration.
In November’s elections, 32 percent of Latinos voted for Republicans, according to AP VoteCast data. The survey of more than 115,000 midterm voters — including 7,738 Latino voters — was conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Other surveys also found roughly one-third of Latinos supporting the GOP. Data from the Pew Research Center and from exit polls suggest that a comparable share, about three in 10 Latino voters, supported Trump in 2016. That tracks the share of Latinos supporting Republicans for the last decade.
The VoteCast data shows that, like white voters, Latinos are split by gender — 61 percent of men voted Democratic in November, while 69 percent of women did. And while Republican-leaning Latinos can be found everywhere in the country, two groups stand out as especially likely to back the GOP — evangelicals and veterans.
Evangelicals comprised about one-quarter of Latino voters, and veterans were 13 percent. Both groups were about evenly split between the two parties. Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist in California, said those groups have reliably provided the GOP with many Latino votes for years.
“They stick and they do not go away,” Madrid said. Much as with Trump’s own core white voters, attacks on the president and other Republicans for being anti-immigrant “just make them dig in even more,” he added.
The Rev. Sam Rodriguez of Sacramento, California, one of Trump’s spiritual advisers, said evangelical Latinos have a clear reason to vote Republican. “Why do 30 percent of Latinos still support Trump? Because of the Democratic Party’s obsession with abortion,” Rodriguez said. “It’s life and religious liberty, and everything else follows.”
Pedro Gonzalez has faith in Donald Trump and his party.
The 55-year-old Colombian immigrant is a pastor at an evangelical church in suburban Denver. Initially turned off by Trump in 2016, he’s been heartened by the president’s steps to protect religious groups and appoint judges who oppose abortion rights. More important, Gonzalez sees Trump’s presidency as part of a divine plan.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Gonzalez said of the president. “He was put there.”
Some conservative Latinos say their political leanings make them feel more like a minority than their ethnicity does. Irina Vilariño, 43, a Miami restaurateur and Cuban immigrant, said she had presidential bumper stickers for Sen. John McCain, Mitt Romney and Trump scratched off her car. She said she never suffered from discrimination growing up in a predominantly white south Florida community, “but I remember during the McCain campaign being discriminated against because I supported him.”
The 2018 election was good to Democrats, but Florida disappointed them. They couldn’t convince enough of the state’s often right-leaning Cuban-American voters to support Sen. Bill Nelson, who was ousted by the GOP’s Spanish-speaking Gov. Rick Scott, or rally behind Democrats’ gubernatorial candidate, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who lost to Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis.
Still, in the rest of the country, there were signs that pleased Democrats. Latinos voted at high rates in an election that saw record-setting turnout among all demographic groups. Latinos normally have among the worst midterm turnout rates, and while official data won’t be available for months, a number of formerly-Republican congressional districts in California and New Mexico flipped Democratic.
That’s why Republicans shouldn’t take comfort in being able to consistently win about one-third of Latinos, said Madrid. They’re still losing two-thirds of an electorate that’s being goaded into the voting booth by Trump.
“That is contributing to the death spiral of the Republican Party — even if it holds at 30 percent,” Madrid said. “That’s a route to death, it’s just a slower one.”
Gonzalez, the pastor, sees the trend in Colorado. He distributed literature across Spanish-speaking congregations supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton, who was crushed by Democratic Rep. Jared Polis as the GOP lost every race for statewide office.
Gonzalez understands the anger among some Latinos at the GOP and Trump for what he says is a false impression of a solely hardline immigration stance. “In the community that is not informed, that is following the rhetoric of the media, there’s a view that Donald Trump is a bad guy,” Gonzalez said. Evangelicals “understand that he’s there to defend values.”

In Iraq, Trump meets soldier who rejoined Army for him

During his surprise trip to Iraq this week, President Trump shook hands with an Army soldier who said he went back into the military for the president.
“And I’m here because of you, so we have something in common,” Trump said with gratitude at the dining hall at al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, on Wednesday.
“Keep America great,” the soldier said to Trump, while taking a selfie with the president.
The soldier serves with the Brave Rifles, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, currently stationed at Fort Hood.
Addressing troops at the airbase in western Iraq late Wednesday, Trump defended his decision to pull forces from neighboring Syria, declaring of Islamic State militants: “We’ve knocked them out. We’ve knocked them silly.”
Trump told his audience in Iraq that the decision to withdraw the roughly 2,000 troops from Syria illustrated his quest to put “America first.”
Trump campaigned for office on a platform of ending U.S. involvement in foreign trouble spots, such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Pentagon also is said to be developing plans to withdraw up to half of the 14,000 American troops still serving in Afghanistan.
“We’re no longer the suckers, folks,” Trump said at al-Asad Air Base, about 100 miles west of Baghdad. “We’re respected again as a nation.”
The base where Trump spoke is about 155 miles from Hajin, a Syrian town near the Iraqi border where Kurdish fighters are still battling Islamic State extremists.
“I made it clear from the beginning that our mission in Syria was to strip ISIS of its military strongholds,” said Trump, who wore an olive green bomber-style jacket as chants of “USA! USA!” greeted him.
“We’ll be watching ISIS very closely,” said Trump, who was joined by first lady Melania Trump, but no members of his Cabinet or lawmakers. “We’ll be watching them very, very closely, the remnants of ISIS.”
Trump said he had no plans to withdraw the 5,200 U.S. forces in Iraq. That’s down from about 170,000 in 2007 at the height of the surge of U.S. forces to combat sectarian violence unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.
Trump said that after U.S. troops in Syria return home, Iraq could still be used to stage attacks on ISIS militants.

How the partial government shutdown came to be: A look behind the scenes

“We must cultivate our garden.” – "Candide" by Voltaire
The cultivation of the third government shutdown of 2018 began with a late-night Senate quorum call on Dec. 19.
Not an ersatz quorum call where a clerk reads “Mr. Alexander” and then falls silent for 15 minutes before uttering the next name on the scroll, “Ms. Baldwin.” Heaven knows when they would ever get to “Mr. Barrasso” or Mr. Bennet.”
No. The Senate was in a live quorum call in an effort to coerce senators to the chamber to eventually vote to fund the government. In this instance, the Senate was truly trying to determine whether Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and their 96 colleagues were present. A moment later, the Senate determined there wasn’t a quorum in the chamber. So the next vote was to “instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the attendance of absent senators.”
In other words, if you’re a senator, you had better hop-to because they are about to bring the heat.
The live quorum call and Sergeant at Arms request was a crafty maneuver by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who planned to advance the stopgap spending bill without new border-wall funding. But McConnell wanted all 100 senators -- or as many were around late that Wednesday -- to be on hand so no one could complain he pulled a fast one. McConnell submitted the legislation to a voice vote. That is to say, not a roll-call tally, but a vote where everyone in favor hollers yea and those opposed shout nay.

McConnell wanted all 100 senators -- or as many were around late that Wednesday -- to be on hand so no one could complain he pulled a fast one.

A few senators called yea. None declared nay.
And with that, the Senate had approved the emergency spending bill. It would keep the government funded through Feb. 8.
But the House had to sync up.
The House Rules Committee is the way station for most legislation en route to the House floor. The Rules panel does just what it says it does. It establishes “rules” for debate. Parameters of how the House will handle a given bill, such as a time allotment and what amendments, if any, are even in order. If you don’t have a “rule” from the Rules Committee, you can’t consider the bill. The same goes if the full House defeats the “rule” on the floor.
The House GOP leadership controls the Rules Committee. The leadership mandates time and amendment restrictions. But late on Dec. 19, Republican members of the Rules Committee realized they had a problem. The Senate had just approved a bill without new wall funding. The Senate did so without debate or even a roll call vote. Orders from the Republican high command were to prepare a “rule” for the Senate-OK'd measure and put the legislation on the floor the next day. But there was a lot of angst among GOPers on the Rules Committee. Many of them didn’t want to craft a rule without border-wall funding. Moreover, rank-and-file Republicans were reluctant to consider a bill without new wall money. Hard-line Trump administration officials were coaxing Republicans to put up a fight for the wall. They argued that the GOP should back a bill with no new wall dollars only if it had a “majority of the majority” in the House. After all, this was a last-ditch effort.
Rules Committee Republicans faced a conundrum. They sensed a potential revolt by GOPers. They could follow marching orders and create a “rule” based around the construct of the Senate bill. The rule itself would likely require a weird coalition of some Republicans and lots of Democrats just to pass. Same with the bill. Or, the rule could crumble on the floor and go down to defeat. That would be a true embarrassment to Republicans and spark a mutiny.
Why did the Republican leadership misread the rank-and-file so badly? Why the noise about a border wall when the GOP was ready to fold? Why hand over the keys of the castle to the Democrats early?
You thought the comments about the macaroni-and-cheese dish by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were ugly on Twitter? This was about to get uglier.
“We decided to stay and fight,” said one House Republican.
Seven members of the House Rules Committee showed up to the 11 p.m. ET meeting on Dec. 19. Not a single Democrat on the committee surfaced. The panel first heard concerns from Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., about the disposal of nuclear waste. Then members of the Freedom Caucus made their appeals about the wall.
The hour grew late. It was after midnight. Key administration officials were out of pocket. The same with senior House Republican leaders.
The Rules Committee Republicans recessed their meeting. Not adjourned. But recessed “subject to the call of the chair.” That means they were coming back -- but exactly when wasn’t clear. But that’s what you do on Capitol Hill when there’s uncertainty. You recess the House, Senate or a committee “subject to the call of the chair.” Most significantly, the committee filed no “rule” for the Senate-passed stopgap spending bill. It would be up to the House Republican leadership to decide how to proceed on Thursday morning.

That’s what you do on Capitol Hill when there’s uncertainty: You recess the House, Senate or a committee “subject to the call of the chair.”

House Republicans met in a conference at 9 a.m. the next day, Dec. 20. Multiple sources tell FOX News that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., asked GOPers to approve the Senate bill. The speaker explained how passing the interim spending bill now without new border-wall funding would make Democrats look bad in February. Democrats would be trying to launch their new House majority while bogged down in a spending fight with the administration just after President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Mr. Trump phoned the Speaker a few moments into the conference meeting. Ryan excused himself. The gig was up. House Republicans would aim to pass a bill that funded the government but included $5 billion for the border wall.
“It was one last chance to stand up for our majority,” said one House Republican.
Later that night, the House approved the funding measure with wall money. The House and Senate were out of alignment. There was almost no way the Senate could tackle a bill with the wall. The partial government shutdown was all but a fait accompli.
Some questions:
McConnell put the “clean” spending bill on the floor Dec. 19. The Kentucky Republican repeatedly doubted there would be a shutdown. Did McConnell misread President Trump? Did the president and the White House mislead McConnell? Did House Republican leaders mislead McConnell?
How did Ryan and other House GOP leaders initially misread the White House and the desire of rank-and-file Republicans? Did they inflate the vote count of what a “majority of the majority” could support? Did the White House mislead Ryan into thinking the president would sign a Band-Aid bill without wall money?
And then there’s House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She argued for weeks that Republicans couldn’t pass a bill on their own with wall funding. Pelosi is the best vote counter in Washington in decades. How did Pelosi misinterpret things? Or did Pelosi’s bravado backfire and provoke Republicans to vote yea? Regardless, the outcome on the wall vote was a shot across the bow of the speaker-in-waiting from the soon-to-be loyal opposition.
“We must cultivate our garden,” declared Candide. House Republicans knew what awaited them if they caved again with no new wall dollars. President Trump and most GOPers had long cultivated the expectation of a border wall. Perhaps even better yet, they cultivated a skirmish with Democrats if they refused to fund the wall. For if Republicans didn’t “cultivate their garden” when it came to the border wall, they may well find themselves cultivating something else: an insurrection with the conservative base.