Senate sends budget deal to the House after standoff

The U.S. Senate early Friday approved the bipartisan two-year budget deal, sending the plan to the House in the next few hours for approval.

The plan was approved easily by the Senate after a 71 to 28 vote.

The House of Representatives Rules Committee held a meeting at 2:30 a.m. ET and prepared the budget package for debate later in the morning.
A last-minute maneuver by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delayed consideration of a bipartisan budget package to keep the government open past midnight. The result is at least a temporary shutdown.
While the government's authority to spend some money expired at midnight, there weren't likely to be many clear immediate effects. Essential personnel would remain on the job regardless, and it appeared possible -- if not likely -- that the measure could pass both the Senate and House before most federal employees were due to report for work.
If the measure passes in the wee hours of the morning, the government would open in the morning on schedule, said John Czwartacki, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, the agency responsible for coordinating any shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the plan in a statement shortly after the vote, writing that, "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future.”
The stalemate began when Paul repeatedly objected to a quick vote on the deal struck by his fellow Kentucky Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Paul said he was asking for a recorded vote on reversing the bill's spending increases.
"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," the Kentucky senator said. "Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can't in all honesty look the other way."
At one point, an exasperated Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took to the Senate floor to lambaste Paul for what Tillis described as "theater."
"We can right now provide certainty to people who expect government to be open or we can play this game until 1 a.m.," said Tillis, who reminded Paul that "you have to convince 51 or 60 senators that your idea is good enough to support."
"You can make a point all you want, but points are forgotten," Tillis added. "There aren't a whole of history books about great points in the U.S. Senate."
Shortly after 10 p.m., Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, made six separate unanimous consent requests to hold a vote on the budget. Each time, Paul objected.
"I don't know why we're burning time here," Cornyn said before accusing Paul of "effectively shutting down the government ... for no real reason."
"It makes no sense to me," Cornyn added. "It will not accomplish anything."
As Paul stood firm, the Trump administration announced it was preparing for a "lapse" in appropriations, suggesting that officials expected a short shutdown.
The massive budget deal, which includes a stopgap temporary measure to prevent a government shutdown, includes $300 billion for the military. The agreement also adds $89 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions.
The legislation is expected to pass the Senate, but still faces uncertainty in the House, where liberals, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are protesting a lack of protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children and the conservative House Freedom Caucus is lining up against provisions ending spending caps.
"This should pass the House," Fox News' Chad Pergram said. "They need a blend of about 150 Republicans and 70 Democrats, but sources tell Fox News it is always hard to depend on the other side."
Late Thursday, House GOP leaders advised members to prepare for votes "very roughly between" 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Friday.
President Trump has been urging Republicans and Democrats to support the Senate bill, tweeting that lawmakers must “must support our troops and support this bill.”
But the bill still faces opposition from members of both parties.
Democrats like Pelosi are pushing for the bill to include provisions for “Dreamers” -- immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents. Such protections are about to expire in early March, a result of President Trump ending the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he also won’t support the bill and predicted other Democrats would also vote no.
“So today, they are going to bring over from the Senate a proposal, they are going to lift the caps and they're going to say, let's vote on our budget. Well, I say to everybody -- don't collude with this administration,” Gutierrez said. “Vote against the budget.”
The House Freedom Caucus, the chamber’s fiscally conservative wing, also opposes the bill out of concerns that it would lead to more government spending.
“The … caucus opposes the deal to raise spending caps on discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over two years,” the roughly 30-member group said Wednesday. “We support funding for our military, but growing the size of government by 13 percent adds to the swamp instead of draining it. This is not what the American people sent us here to do.”
On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan gave his full support to the bill to try to rally others in chamber to also vote yes -- saying the military is at risk without the money, while acknowledging the deal includes partisan compromises and isn’t perfect.
“This is a bipartisan bill,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “On the net, this is a very good solution.”

Nancy Pelosi Cartoons

Senate leaders announce budget agreement, hike in Pentagon spending

Senate leaders announce agreement on a two-year, almost $400 billion budget deal that would provide Pentagon and domestic programs with huge spending increases; chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel reports from Capitol Hill.

Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a budget agreement Wednesday that includes a big boost in spending for the Pentagon and would keep the government running past a looming deadline.

“I am pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “We have reached a budget deal that neither side loves, but both sides can be proud of.”
Congress has until Feb. 8 to pass a spending bill, and the deal would fund the government through March 23. While Congress would still have to pass another spending measure before that deadline, the agreement announced Wednesday includes a longer-term pact to lift spending caps by roughly $400 billion for Pentagon and domestic programs over two years.
"The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military," President Trump tweeted Wednesday. "It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this bill!"
Defense Secretary James Mattis said Wednesday he was encouraged by the deal.
“I'm heartened that Congress recognizes the sobering effect of budgetary uncertainty on America's military and on the men and women who provide for our nation's defense,” Mattis said during the White House briefing.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also expressed optimism about the deal, though wouldn’t explicitly say whether the president would sign the agreement if passed.
“Look, we applaud the steps forward that they have made, but we're going to need to see what is in the final bill. We are certainly happy with the direction that it's moving, particularly that we're moving away from the crisis budgeting that we have been on in the past,” she said.
McConnell said the measure would rewrite existing defense limits that have "hamstrung our armed forces and jeopardized our national security."
The bill removes automatic spending cuts – known as sequestration caps – for both defense and nondefense programs. The caps were put in place in 2011 as part of the Budget Control Act to lift the debt limit.
The deal would lift the debt limit and also includes disaster relief for hurricane-stricken areas as well as a four-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The agreement, though, does not tackle immigration -- at a time when Congress is debating how to address those affected by the looming expiration of former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program gave a deportation reprieve to young illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
McConnell has committed to a freewheeling debate on immigration if the Senate is still open after Feb. 8.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday night approved their version of a stopgap spending bill to run the government through March 23 and bolster defense funding.
The House's top Democrat swung out against the latest plan.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California announced she would oppose the budget measure unless her chamber's GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect "Dreamer" immigrants.

New Strzok-Page texts call into question Obama's 2016 statement on FBI probes

Newly released text messages between FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page saying Barack Obama wanted to “know everything” the FBI was “doing” could raise questions about the former president's 2016 statement that he was not involved in discussing pending probes. 

The texts were part of a batch released by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., along with majority staff from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Strzok and Page, who worked for a short period of time on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, have been in the spotlight ever since a slew of anti-Trump messages between them surfaced last year. 

In the new text message chain from Sept. 2, 2016, Page mentioned Obama in the context of a briefing for then-FBI director James Comey.
“Checkout my 9:30 mtg on the 7^th,” Strzok texted Page.
“I can tell you why you’re having that meeting. It’s not what you think,” Page responded.
“TPs [talking points] for D [Comey]?” Strzok asked.
“Yes, bc potus wants to know everything we are doing,” Page said.

The message suggested that Obama would meet Comey regarding an FBI matter.
Yet, on April 10, 2016, Obama told Fox News’ Chris Wallace that he did not have any involvement in ongoing FBI investigations.
“I do not talk to the attorney general about pending investigations. I do not talk to FBI directors about pending investigations,” Obama said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department, or the FBI, not just in this case, but in any case.”
FBI LOVERS' LATEST TEXT MESSAGES: OBAMA 'WANTS TO KNOW EVERYTHING' 
It's unclear from the texts what exactly Strzok and Page were referring to with the apparent talking points for Comey. According to the Senate report, the text raises questions about Obama's involvement in the Clinton email investigation.
The conversation took place during an apparent lull in the Clinton email investigation, though it wasn't necessarily closed, either. In July 2016, Comey announced that Clinton was “extremely careless” in her handling of classified information on her private server but would face no charges. In late October, Comey announced that he would revisit the Clinton investigation.
The Strzok-Page conversation also occurred just days before Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, where he confronted him about cyber concerns amid reports and intelligence surfacing that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign.
A former deputy assistant to Obama, Colin Kahl, highlighted on Twitter a Daily Beast reporter who floated this meeting as relevant to that text exchange.
Also on Sept. 2, 2016, though, the FBI released a full transcript – with redactions – of its interview with Hillary Clinton as part of the  email probe, along with a memo summarizing the bureau’s investigation of her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
After the mention of “potus,” Strzok alerted Page to “NYTimes.com breaking,” which could have been the report, “FBI Papers Offer Closer Look at Hillary Clinton Email Inquiry.” 

Pence tweets support for gay US Olympian who trashed him: 'We are FOR YOU'

US Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon reportedly shot down the chance to meet with Vice President Pence, but Pence still cheered Rippon on Twitter Wednesday night.  (Reuters / AP)

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his support Wednesday night for openly gay U.S. Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, sounding a magnanimous note after the 28-year-old repeatedly criticized Pence on social media.

Rippon, who is believed to be the first openly gay man to compete for the U.S. at a Winter Olympics, took aim at Pence in January for what the skater said were the vice president's anti-gay views.

The Olympian also pointedly refused an invitation to meet with Pence, USA Today reported, although the vice president’s office denied that Pence had sought to meet one-on-one with Rippon.
“You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy?” the figure skater told USA Today when informed he might be able to meet with Pence when he arrived at the Games in South Korea. “I’m not buying it.”
During his successful 2000 congressional run in Indiana, Pence’s website stated his support for directing resources “toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior” – a plank that some critics have said referred to conversion therapy, rather than safer sex practices.
On Wednesday, Pence seemed to take aim at that story.
“Headed to the Olympics to cheer on #TeamUSA,” Pence tweeted. “One reporter trying to distort 18 yr old nonstory to sow seeds of division. We won’t let that happen! #FAKENEWS. Our athletes are the best in the world and we are for ALL of them! #TEAMUSA.”

Headed to the Olympics to cheer on #TeamUSA. One reporter trying to distort 18 yr old nonstory to sow seeds of division. We won’t let that happen! #FAKENEWS. Our athletes are the best in the world and we are for ALL of them! #TEAMUSA

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018

Pence, who was sent by the White House along with his wife, Karen, to lead the U.S. delegation at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang from Feb. 9-25, then addressed Rippon directly.

.@Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018

“@Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU,” Pence wrote. “Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!”
The positive Twitter messages drew a sharp contrast with Rippon’s posts on the same platform. Rippon, who previously told USA Today he “doesn’t think [Pence] has a real concept of reality,” tweeted that Pence had hurt members of the gay community.
“I personally have nothing to say to Mike Pence,” Rippon wrote in January. “Given the chance to talk after the Olympics, I would want to bring with me people who’s [sic] lives have been hurt by legislation he has championed.”
The vice president attracted the ire of some in the LGBTQ community by signing Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law as governor of Indiana in 2015, which critics claimed encouraged discrimination against gay people.

The VP has had little effect on my own life. I didn’t speak up for myself, I spoke up because it’s important to give a voice to those who feel they don’t have one.

— Adam Rippon (@Adaripp) January 20, 2018

Despite the bad blood, Rippon did seem open to meeting with Pence after the Games.
“If I had the chance to meet him afterwards, after I'm finished competing, there might be a possibility to have an open conversation,” Rippon told USA Today. "He seems more mild-mannered than Donald Trump.”

Pelosi gets most out of 'magic minute' in record-setting speech for DACA

There is no such thing as a filibuster in the House of Representatives.

But there is a “magic minute."

The “magic minute” isn’t a rule. It’s a special privilege spanning longer than 60 seconds afforded to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and other top leaders to speak on the floor for as long as they wish.
A key difference between the House and Senate is the Senate features unlimited debate. That leads to actual filibusters which impair legislative action. Floor time in the House is controlled. It must be. After all, you’re dealing with 435 members compared to 100 in the Senate. So time is at a premium.
The House restricts debate on most bills to an hour. Leaders allocate more time for major bills. Time is often doled out in one-minute increments. So-called “special orders” speeches at the end of the day run longer, but aren’t focused around actual legislative debate.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seized on the “magic minute” phenomenon at 10:04 a.m. ET Wednesday to rally support for a DACA agreement.
“I am going to go on as long as my leadership minute allows,” said Pelosi.
Pelosi’s “magic minute” wrinkled time and bent physics. It emerged as the super-duper, magnificent, unicorn, voodoo minute. It ballooned to a staggering eight hours and seven minutes.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi gave a speech Wednesday that spanned eight hours. She did not sit once and wore high heels the entire time.  (Fox News)

Pelosi held the floor all eight hours wearing black, stiletto heels. No sitting. Just talking. When Pelosi wrapped, she established a new record for the longest floor speech in House history. Pelosi bested House Speaker Champ Clark, D-MO, who set the old benchmark in 1909, two years before clasping the Speaker’s gavel. Clark spoke for five hours and 15 minutes.
But Clark was not shod in stilettos when he set his record.
Pelosi clutched a Kleenex for much of her speech. The heels were the least of her worries. Allergies proved to be an adversary.
“I thought I might be hungry. I thought I might be thirsty,” said Pelosi around at 5:34 p.m. “But I never thought I would get sniffles from the rug.”
It’s not unusual for House leaders to take advantage of the magic minute dispensation. Then-House Minority Leader and later Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, held forth for more than an hour in June, 2009 as the House prepared to vote on a climate bill known as “cap and trade.” Boehner’s oratory energized Republicans and infuriated Democrats. Former Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., even asked the House’s presiding officer, then-Rep. Ellen Tauscher D-Calif, why the Ohio Republican was permitted such protracted oration.
The stunt became known as the “Fili-Boehner.”
Pelosi - then serving as House Speaker - was poised to deliver her own closing argument on cap and trade to rebut Boehner. But Pelosi knew brevity was the soul of wit following Boehner.
“Just remember these four words of what this legislation means: Jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs. Let’s vote for jobs!”
And with that, Pelosi concluded.
Word of a budget deal leaked around the Capitol just as Pelosi began her speech Wednesday.
Around 10:30 a.m., the California Democrat sent out a statement, saluting the bipartisan budget pact forged by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to lift spending caps for the Pentagon and non-defense spending.
“The budget caps agreement includes many Democratic priorities,” declared Pelosi.
But there was a caveat. Pelosi noted the plan was bereft of a DACA accord.
“Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support.”

Rep. Champ Clark, D-MO, who set the old benchmark in 1909, two years before clasping the Speaker’s gavel.  (Fox News)

And so Pelosi made her case for Ryan to consider a DACA plan.
Pelosi’s marathon speech may have focused on DACA. But the speech was laced with internal leadership politics on both sides of the aisle.
Ryan would like to address DACA. But that could create turmoil for Ryan among conservatives who characterize a DACA fix as “amnesty.”
Younger House Democrats have pined for a leadership change. They believe time passed by Pelosi and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-MD. They want to infuse the party with a younger generation of leaders. Pelosi turns 78 in March. Hoyer is currently 78. But Pelosi’s prolonged presentation put to rest any question about her fortitude and endurance.
“I don’t think anyone has ever questioned Leader Pelosi’s tenacity,” said 44-year-old Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who challenged Pelosi to be the top House Democrat in late 2016. Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., has also pushed for younger blood.
“My issue with the leadership team has nothing to do with stamina,” said Rice.
Pelosi solidified her position among liberals in the House by advocating for DACA.
Just before 4 p.m., former Vice President Biden arrived to speak to House Democrats. Many thought Pelosi may wrap then.
“I have no intention of yielding back,” said Pelosi.
A few minutes later, Pelosi turned to her colleagues sitting behind her in solidarity.
“If you want to see Biden, you can,” said Pelosi.
“We want to see you!” replied Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.
Still, some viewed Pelosi’s gambit as window dressing for DACA. After all, Pelosi was purportedly part of the talks with other top House and Senate leaders.
“I don't understand if you have four leaders agree to a bill why do you get to negotiate if you're not going to vote for the bill?” asked House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
McCarthy’s view of the speech.
“I think it’s going to make her Wikipedia page. It’s her biggest accomplishment this year,” said McCarthy.
When she finished, Pelosi told reporters Schumer “got what he wanted” on the budget deal. But she was still pushing – publicly at least – for DACA.
Would Democrats support the plan?
“I have no idea where members are,” Pelosi replied.
If the bill is to pass to avoid a shutdown, scores of House Democrats must vote yes to fill the void created by Republican defectors. Some Democrats interpreted Pelosi’s speech as a lengthy campaign against the bill. That could jeopardize the legislation. That’s why some Democrats are nervous about another shutdown over DACA.
When she came off the floor, Pelosi told a group of reporters the time  flew by.
“When you’re out there talking, it seems shorter. When you’re listening, it seems longer,” said Pelosi.
“Yeah,” hollered one reporter who viewed Pelosi’s speech. “We know.”

Democratic AGs swarm Trump administration with lawsuits

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra are helping lead a slew of anti-Trump administration suits.

Nancy Pelosi. Chuck Schumer. The Russia probe. The "deep state." Of all the obstacles that could potentially thwart the Trump agenda, add to that tempest the flood of lawsuits now being plotted by blue-state attorneys general who have made no secret of their disdain for the administration’s policies. 

The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), a political fundraising group, touts the AGs as “the first line of defense” against Trump’s agenda.

“The Trump administration has trouble understanding the rule of law and that’s the reason Democratic attorneys general are filing lawsuits and winning them,” Sean Rankin, DAGA’s executive director, told Fox News.
To be sure, outspoken state prosecutors stalled many of the administration’s 2017 goals in court with a record number of lawsuits. And they’re doubling down in 2018.
In late January, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the Trump administration over fracking rules. In early February, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his intent to sue the Trump administration for reversing the Obama-era Waters of the United States regulation. Several East Coast states may soon band together to try to undermine the newly passed tax overhaul.
The lawsuits may only be energized by the election-year environment.
Attorney general races are playing out in 32 states in 2018, with 14 seats held by Democrats and 18 by Republicans. Rankin said DAGA is focused chiefly on winning races in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin.

'This is not about the rule of law or holding the line to stop the feds from preempting state laws, this is about power.'

“For the first time, I believe, general voters, as well as elected officials, understand this is an office of considerable importance and not just a down-ballot race,” Rankin said.
Amid the lawsuit flurry, the association reported it increased its 2017 fundraising haul by $2.4 million from the previous year -- growing its donor base from fewer than 500 in 2016 to more than 5,000 in 2017. Beyond raising money, DAGA facilitates weekly phone conferences with the nation’s 23 Democratic attorneys general to discuss lawsuits and strategies.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the Trump administration over fracking rules.  (AP)

This is familiar territory. During the Obama administration, the GOP attorneys general routinely challenged policies on ObamaCare, immigration and the environment -- but filed far fewer lawsuits per year.
‘Nullification by other means’
The past year has been a bonanza of anti-Trump lawsuits. DAGA highlighted numerous cases in a year-end report. And while Democrats scored victories at the district court level, they had mixed results on appeal.

• Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson first sued over Trump’s travel ban on people entering the United States from terrorism hot spots in the Middle East. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin sued to block another version of the travel ban.
• After the Trump administration rolled back the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) -- which shielded from deportation about 800,000 illegal immigrants brought to the country as minors -- 16 Democratic attorneys general challenged the move.
• Becerra of California, Maura Healy of Massachusetts, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Ferguson of Washington challenged the Department of Health and Human Services' rollback of the ObamaCare contraception mandate.
• Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Healy and Schneiderman sued the Education Department over a student loan policy. 
• Another 14 Democratic attorneys general sued the Environmental Protection Agency alleging it isn’t enforcing smog rules.

“We would expect Democrats in Congress and Democratic governors to be part of the resistance, but we should expect more from chief law enforcement officials in their states than to seek nullification by other means of federal law,” Curt Leavy, president of the Committee for Justice, a conservative legal group, told Fox News. “Parts of the judiciary itself and many AGs see themselves as part of the resistance.”
‘Sheer volume’
Throughout 2017, Democratic attorneys generals filed 35 multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration, according to tracking by Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University and author of “Federalism on Trial: State Attorneys General and National Policymaking in Contemporary America.”
By contrast, Republican attorneys general brought 46 multistate legal challenges during all of former President Barack Obama’s two terms.
The “sheer volume” of Democratic lawsuits is “staggering,” said Scott Will, executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is a leading force in anti-Trump lawsuits.  (Office of the Attorney General)

“This is not about the rule of law or holding the line to stop the feds from preempting state laws; this is about power,” Will said in a statement. “Look, Republicans and Democrats had a history of banding together to prevent the federal government from preempting state laws, but those days are over and that is unfortunate.”

Democrats flip deep-red Missouri state House seat, signal problems for GOP

Democrat Mike Revis won the special election in Missouri on Tuesday, flipping a deep-red seat.  (Revis for Missouri Facebook)

Democrats flipped a Missouri House seat in Tuesday’s special election in a district that President Trump won by 28 points in 2016, signaling problems for the GOP ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Democrat Mike Revis won the election with nearly 52 percent of the vote while Republican David Linton received 48 percent. Tuesday’s election marks a 31-point swing to Democrats in the district compared to the 2016 presidential election.

“Representative-elect Mike Revis’s victory tonight will undoubtedly send another shockwave through the GOP as we continue to run the best candidates focused on addressing local issues and improving their neighbors’ quality of life,” Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Jessica Post said in a statement.
“The DLCC continues to be impressed by our dedicated and talented slate of candidates, who have stepped up to run in these precedent-setting special elections."
Revis, a 27-year-old procurement manager, ran on a platform as a centrist Democrat with particular focus on education, access to health care and support for the labor community, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, told the newspaper that Revis’ win was “enormous” and made possible only due to “a lot of grass-roots support and a hardworking, authentic moderate candidate from his community.”
The election result might signal the changing tide for the GOP that is heading into the midterm elections this year against a highly-mobilized Democratic opposition united against the president.
In December, embattled Republican Roy Moore lost a deep-red Senate seat in Alabama to Democrat Doug Jones, making him the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in the state.
Last month, Democrat Patty Schachtner flipped a state Senate seat in Wisconsin that had been held by Republicans since the start of the century in a district that Trump carried by 17 points in the presidential election.
Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called the results a “wake up call” for the party.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said the party should take interest in why it lost the election. “Typically, we’ve held this seat, and we lost this seat last night. So, yeah, I think we should pay attention to it,” Ryan told reporters last month, The New York Times reported.
But as problems continue to mount for the Republicans, in three other special elections in Missouri on Tuesday, Republicans held their seats – continuing the GOP’s supermajority in the state House.

Some Muslim immigrants should be watched 'long-term,' draft DHS report says

An initial draft of a Department of Homeland Security report from last month called for authorities to carefully monitor large numbers of Sunni Muslim immigrants fitting a broad "at-risk" profile, saying it might be necessary to “continuously evaluate persons of interest” even after they are living in the United States.
The document, obtained exclusively by Foreign Policy magazine, analyzed 25 terrorist attacks in the U.S. from 2001 to 2017 to determine which kind of immigrants should be tracked on a “long-term basis."
Risk factors identified in the report, which focused specifically on Sunni Muslims, included being young, male and hailing from countries in South Asia, the Middle East or Africa.
The draft report, which was created for U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting commissioner Kevin McAleenan, caused consternation among current and former DHS officials, Foreign Policy reported.
Some told the magazine the results were misleading in part because the report focused only on Sunnis, rather than other religious groups.
“First, this report would steer policymakers to implement unfair and discriminatory surveillance of particular ethnic groups,” a DHS official told the magazine. “Second, the analysis, which is misleadingly packaged as a comprehensive analysis of post-9/11 terrorism, could lead policymakers to overlook significant national security threats.”

"This report would steer policymakers to implement unfair and discriminatory surveillance of particular ethnic groups."

- DHS official

In a strongly worded statement, CBP officials emphasized that the document was an initial draft and not a final intelligence assessment.
“The initial draft assessment … not only is still undergoing internal CBP review, but, at the time of its improper disclosure, did not reflect a large number of substantive comments and revisions that have since been made to subsequent versions of the document as a result of CBP’s internal and external review process,” a CBP spokesperson told Foreign Policy.
Last month, the DHS and DOJ released a report that revealed nearly three out of four individuals convicted on international terrorism charges in the U.S. were foreign-born.
President Trump reacted to that report by tweeting: "We have submitted to Congress a list of resources and reforms we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based.”

Schiff apparently pranked by Russian radio hosts who promised 'naked Trump' photos

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee held an eight-minute phone conversation last year with Russian radio hosts posing as a Ukrainian politician who promised to provide compromising images of President Trump.

The conversation involving Rep. Adam Schiff, which took place on April 10 of last year, was first reported by The Atlantic last month. On Tuesday, the Daily Mail published purported audio of the call.

In the conversation, a caller identified himself as Andriy Parubiy, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament. In fact, "Parubiy" was two people, Vladimir "Vovan" Kuznetsov and Alexey "Lexus" Stolyarov, who have previously prank-called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
During this call, "Parubiy," claimed that Trump met Russian model and singer Olga Buzova while in Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, and that the two had had a brief affair.
"She got compromising materials on Trump after their short relations," the caller told Schiff.
"OK, and what's the nature" of the material? Schiff asked.
"Well, there were pictures of naked Trump," the caller said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was made aware of the "images" by Ksenia Sobchak -- a Russian journalist he described as "the goddaughter of Putin."
"Parubiy" assured Schiff that he could provide records of Sobchak and Buzova discussing the images. He also claimed that the former national security adviser Michael Flynn met with another Russian singer, Arkadiy Ukupnik, in a Brooklyn cafe to discuss keeping the supposed images under wraps.
"On that meeting, Ukupnik told Flynn that all those compromising materials will never be released if Trump will cancel all the Russian sanctions," the caller told Schiff, who responded that "obviously we would welcome the chance to get copies of those recordings."
A spokesman for Schiff told The Atlantic that the committee reported the call to "appropriate law enforcement and security personnel" and told them "of our belief that it was probably bogus."
Kuznetsov and Stolyarov were described by Atlantic writer Julia Ioffe as having ties to the Kremlin, having hosted shows on state-run TV channels and meeting with elected officials.
"We wanted to talk to someone who specifically works on intelligence and give him a completely insane version of events," Kuznetsov told The Atlantic of the call to Schiff. Stolyarov added that the pair had given Schiff "a bunch of disinformation" and described the call as "completely absurd."
The Atlantic reported that when Kuznetsov and Stolyarov called McConnell, he told them that new sanctions against Russia were unlikely. When they called McCain, he had "sounded like he didn’t know what to do — like, at all," according to Kuznetsov.
"This would never happen in Russia," Stolyarov told the magazine of the prank calls. "People wouldn’t be so trusting, especially if they are a member of parliament or a civil servant."
Kuznetsov added that the pair would like to target Hollywood stars, but they are "much harder to reach than American senators."

MSNBC Cartoons

MSNBC star Katy Tur blasted for 'condescending' take on GOP tax cut bonuses

Katy Tur has worked for NBC News since 2012.  (NBC)

MSNBC host Katy Tur was hit with backlash on Twitter Monday after she downplayed the value of $1,000 bonuses a pair of working-class Ohioans received from their employers as a result of the GOP tax cuts.

President Trump called the workers to the stage during a campaign-style event at a manufacturing plant outside Cincinnati in an effort to promote the success of the tax cuts.

"Gentleman at Ohio Trump event says he's going to save to start a family with his 1,000 dollar one time bonus," Tur tweeted after the first worker spoke. "Average cost to give birth to one child in Ohio is $5,836."
When a woman said she would use her bonus to help buy a home and pay for her children's college tuition, Tur was on the spot once again.
"In Hamilton Co, Ohio (where they are) avg home is $277,582," she tweeted. "Avg cost of private college nationally ~35,000. Public $19,000."
Some tweeters pointed out how a $1,000 bonus could be spent. Philip Klein of The Washington Examiner pointed out that the money "may actually go a long way to paying for live birth. Could also cover about 2 years of diapers."
Others, such as FoxNews.com opinion writer Stephen L. Miller, mocked Tur for appearing to parrot Democratic talking points while still others accused her of being out of touch.
Tur, who hosts the afternoon "MSNBC Live" and covered the Trump campaign for NBC News in 2016, attempted to defend her position when challenged by conservative radio host Steve Deace.
"The Trump tax law cuts taxes for the rich and corporations more than the middle class," she wrote. "Also individual tax cuts expire. Corporate tax cuts don't."
That set off a new round of criticism, with one Twitter user accusing her of "dishonest spin."
Tur did not revisit the issue in later tweets.

Canada's Trudeau corrects woman for using 'mankind' at town hall

Liberal Idiot

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau corrected a woman on her language when she asked a question during a town hall Friday.

The unidentified woman asked Trudeau whether the Canadian government could ease regulations on volunteering with religious organizations, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

"So, that’s why we came here today to ask you, to also look into the policies that religious charitable organizations have in our legislation so that it can also be changed because maternal love is the love that’s going to change the future of mankind,” said the woman, who was reportedly affiliated with the World Mission Society Church of God.

Justin Trudeau correcting a girl for saying "mankind" because it's offensive is truly amazing pic.twitter.com/SDCcpSXhkB

— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) February 5, 2018

Trudeau immediately corrected her.
“We like to say ‘peoplekind,' not necessarily ‘mankind,' because it’s more inclusive,” he said.
The crowd clapped after Trudeau’s comments.
The Canadian government has cracked down on language inclusivity over the last week.
Canada’s Senate passed a bill Thursday to make the country’s national anthem gender neutral. The bill changes the second line of “O Canada” from “true patriot love, in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command.”

Intelligence Committee approves release of Dems’ rebuttal to FISA memo

The House Intelligence Committee on Monday approved the release of the Democratic rebuttal to the highly-publicized GOP memo that alleges government surveillance abuse during the 2016 campaign.

"We think this will help inform the public of the many distortions and inaccuracies in the majority memo," California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters.

The vote was unanimous, he said.
Schiff said Democrats have given the DOJ and the FBI a copy of their counter-memo and have asked them to tell them what redactions should be made for national security reasons.
On Friday, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee released the memo from Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., which claimed the FBI and DOJ would not have sought surveillance warrants to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page without the infamous, Democrat-funded anti-Trump dossier.
The White House responded by saying the memo “raises serious concerns about the integrity of decisions made at the highest levels of the Department of Justice and the FBI to use the government’s most intrusive surveillance tools against American citizens.”
President Trump – as he did for the original GOP memo – has several days to consider whether he should block the release for national security reasons.
The Nunes memo has fueled accusations from Republicans of bias against Trump by top FBI and Justice Department officials.
Schiff said Monday said Democrats want to make sure the White House "does not redact our memo for political purposes."
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, suggested Friday the president would be open to releasing the counter-memo.
“The administration stands ready to work with Congress to accommodate oversight requests consistent with applicable standards, including the need to protect intelligence sources and methods,” Sanders said of the Democratic memo.

"Hey, we caught ‘em. Oh its so fun. We’re like the great sleuth."

TRUMP: 'DID WE CATCH THEM IN THE ACT OR WHAT?'
Schiff -- referencing how Nunes has said the GOP memo was “phase one” of the process to release information on government surveillance abuses -- argued the Democratic memo is “phase two.”
Earlier Monday, during a speech in Ohio, the president celebrated the release of the GOP memo.
“Oh, but did we catch them in the act or what,” the president said. “You know what I’m talking [about]. Oh, did we catch them in the act!”
He added: “They are very embarrassed. They never thought that they were going to get caught. We caught ‘em. Hey, we caught ‘em. Oh its so fun. We’re like the great sleuth.”

Pelosi blames ‘incompetent’ Republicans for 5th stop-gap budget bill

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi faulted GOP "incompetence" as second government shutdown looms.  (AP)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Monday placed blame squarely on Republicans for being forced to pass yet another stop-gap funding bill amid Washington gridlock over immigration and border wall funding.

The fifth stop-gap, which will fund the government until March 23, has to be approved by Thursday in oder tom avert a shutdown.

“The reason Congress is facing a 5th stop-gap budget bill is because the Republican majority is incompetent,” Pelosi said in a statement. “And it is their incompetence that is placing in doubt how quickly our men and women in uniform can have the resources they need to keep our country safe.”
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told Fox News he expects the bill to pass with Republican votes only during the House vote tomorrow. Democrats have conveyed their displeasure with legislation—once again-- that doesn’t address former President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young immigrants from deportation.
There is also talks within the Senate to increase spending “caps,” providing a boost to domestic and Pentagon programs. It would then be followed by a more detailed spending bill, which would be negotiated over an extended period of time.
"We are making real headway in our negotiations over spending caps and other important issues," said Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The bill would be paired with a full-year, $659 billion Pentagon spending bill – an idea Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quickly shot down, claiming it “would be barreling head first into a dead-end."
Last month, the government briefly shutdown after leaders on Capitol Hill failed to come to an agreement after weeks of finger pointing and casting blame across the aisle for many of the same reasons: DACA and border wall funding.
The two-year deal would increase caps on spending stemming from the failed 2011 budget deal, in which Republicans would seek roughly a $80 billion increase per year in defense spending, while offering Democrats about $60 billion in nondefense programs. However, details are kept close and subject to change.
In addition to hurricane aid funding, health care and money for President Trump’s border wall, the final cost would near $400 billion. The total cost of the 2018-19 budget years would mimic the deficit impact of last year’s tax measure over that period.
The Congressional Budget Office said Trump’s tax reform will account for about $700 billion in the red for 2018, before seeing any fresh increase from the legislation. And, with next year’s deficit already estimated to reach $975 billion, the potential agreement would represent the first $1 trillion-plus deficit since Obama’s first term.

Anti Trump Dossier Cartoons

Democratic National Committee fundraising hits wall as GOP sits flush ahead of midterm elections

The Democratic National Committee entered the midterm elections year "dead broke," with a paltry $400,000 in party coffers, according to federal records.

The committee finished 2017 with roughly $6.5 million in available cash and about $6.1 million in debt, according to recently released Federal Election Commission filings. That leaves a balance of just $422,582 to start a year that will culminate in midterm elections, in which Democrats are hoping to recapture a majority in the House.

The DNC’s fundraising challenges have been well known since shortly after the 2016 elections, when President Trump defeated front-running Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The committee has been rocked by turmoil, including the resignation of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz amid leaked emails some say showed DNC brass "rigged" the primaries so Clinton would defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In addition, the selection in February 2017 of former Obama administration official Tom Perez to replace Wasserman Schultz, over Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, sparked discord about the party continuing to hew to its establishment power base. More recently, the DNC has emerged as a key figure in the Russia collusion investigation, amid revelations it helped fund the so-called “anti-Trump” dossier that apparently led, at least in part, to the start of the probe.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez speaks at Ralph Northam's election night rally on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, November 7, 2017.  (REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein)

Party officials say the funding figures are not as dire as they may appear, as donors are more likely to give to individual candidates than to monolithic groups like the DNC or its counterpart, the Republican National Committee.
GOP LAWMAKER BLASTS DOSSIER WHICH MEMO SAYS LED TO TRUMP SPYING OPERATION
“Democratic candidates across the country are out-hustling and out-organizing Republican incumbents, many of whom have not faced a competitive challenge in a very long time and are struggling to find those old campaign muscles,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Friday, pointing to Republican incumbents trailing their Democratic challengers in fundraising in dozens of House races.
Still, the DNC’s money woes come at critical time, as it tries to retake the House and mount a longshot bid to retake the Senate.
The RNC raised $132 million through last year, double the DNC’s $66 million, which along with group’s minimal cash led The Intercept reporter Ryan Grim, among the first to report the story, to tweet that the DNC is “dead  broke.
Democratic Party aides said in response to the new numbers that the DNC's 2017 haul was more than what the party raised in previous off-election years, including the year ahead of the 2006 midterms, when Democrats regained control of Congress and years when former President Barack Obama helped raise money.

North Korean propaganda fliers found in mountains near Seoul: report

North Korean propaganda fliers were reportedly found Saturday in the mountains near South Korea's capital as the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics approaches.

The leaflets found near Seoul show the logo of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang and their two mascots standing beneath the Olympic rings, Reuters reported Monday, citing NK News.

“Welcome, guests from Pyongyang!” the fliers read. The report said the fliers were likely dropped from balloons flown across the border from North Korea. The leaflets also welcome North Korean athletes, cheerleaders and performance artists, the report said.
On the opposite side of the fliers, the Winter Olympics mascots appear to be running together, saying “Let’s Go to Kaesong! Let’s go to Mount Kumgang!”
The message refers to the closed inter-Korean industrial zone and the failed inter-Korean tourist area located in North Korea, Reuters reported.
The discovery of the fliers comes as North Korea announced plans to send a high-ranking delegation to South Korea this week as part of its rapprochement with South Korea during the Olympics.
The Koreas' reconciliatory mood follows a year of heightened tensions over North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile programs. Some experts say the North may want to use its Olympic-related overture as a way to weaken U.S.-led international pressure and sanctions.

Kimmel says libs excel as late-night hosts because job requires 'intelligence'

What a Idiot.

Why are so many late-night talk-show hosts liberal? Just ask Jimmy Kimmel.

“Because it requires a level of intelligence,” Kimmel, host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” told an audience Saturday night.

The occasion was an episode of “Pod Save America,” an openly progressive podcast created by former Obama administration officials Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Daniel Pfeiffer.
It describes itself as “a no-bulls--- conversation about politics that breaks down the week’s news and helps people figure out what matters and how to help.”
Social media users quickly jumped to criticize Kimmel for equating conservative politics with a lack of intelligence.
“Really? Because Kimmel's a host and is stupid enough to think political party is a proxy for intelligence. Tribalism makes people dumb,” Shoshana Weissmann wrote.
National Review magazine columnist Dan McLaughlin tweeted: “This is what Kimmel, a college dropout, really thinks of anyone who isn't liberal & watches his show.”
“That moment when Jimmy Kimmel called half the country (and his potential audience) unintelligent,” Josh Jordan wrote.
‏Kimmel has long attacked Republican-minded people, saying last year that he would not be too upset if Republican-leaning viewers stopped watching his show over his views on health care and guns.
“As a talk show host, [losing viewers is] not ideal, but I would do it again in a heartbeat," Kimmel told CBS.
"I don't say I don't mind. ... I want everyone with a television to watch the show. But if they're so turned off by my opinion on health care and gun violence, then I don't know, I probably wouldn't want to have a conversation with them anyway," he added. "Not good riddance, but riddance."
Kimmel also received assistance from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in helping to criticize the GOP's Obamacare replacement plan, which was introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., according to the Daily Beast.
Schumer reportedly “provided technical guidance and info about the bill, as well as stats from various think tanks and experts on the effects of [the bill].”

After defeat of ISIS, US redeploying forces from Iraq to Afghanistan

The U.S. military is pulling its forces from an American-led coalition base in Iraq and shifting them to Afghanistan following the defeat of Islamic State group militants in the country.

Western contractors at the base say U.S. troops began the drawdown over the past week, with groups of soldiers leaving the base on daily flights. The exact scale of the redeployment was unclear.

According to various estimates, as of 2016, there were more 5,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Iraq, with nearly 4,000 deployed to support and assist local groups fighting ISIS militants. The remaining personnel included special operations forces, logistics workers and troops on temporary rotations, the BBC reported.
Iraqi officials reportedly said their government reached an agreement with the U.S.-led coalition to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.
The reported military buildup in Afghanistan is the latest sign of a growing U.S. focus on Afghanistan as the primary conflict.
The White House reportedly signed off in August on deploying an additional 4,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The U.S. Army is also floating plans to increase the total U.S. force in the country by 1,000 in a bid to boost Afghan forces' fight against the Taliban, the Washington Post reported.
President Donald Trump introduced a new Afghanistan strategy in August, hinting at relaxing the rules of engagement, acceleration of strikes and other military actions aimed at producing “an honorable and enduring outcome” in Afghanistan.
He warned against premature drawback of troops, referencing to the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw forces from Iraq in 2011.
“A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill, just as happened before September 11th.”
Since Trump took office, the number of troops has nearly doubled in Afghanistan – from 8,500 in early 2017 to 14,000 today.