Gibbs to Leave as White House Press Secretary  —  Updated Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary and close confidante to President Obama, said Wednesday that he will step down and become an outside political adviser to the president and his re-election campaign.

U.S. Alters Rule on Paying for End-of-Life Planning  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

19 Democrats vote against Nancy Pelosi  —  Nearly 20 Democrats abandoned their party's pick for speaker of the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sign of their concerns about supporting the unpopular former speaker and of the difficulty she will have in marshaling her forces …

Exclusive: President Michele Bachmann?  —  Sources: Tea Party Favorite Is Mulling a Presidential Bid in 2012  —  Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat …

Tea Party leaders not swayed by Lugar meeting  —  Washington (CNN) - Hoping to head off a primary challenge from the right, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, sat down with Tea Party leaders last month but did little to persuade them of his conservative credentials.

Repealing health-care reform would cost hundreds of billions of dollars — and Eric Cantor knows it  —  House Republicans are in a pickle: One of their new rules says that new legislation must be paid for.  But the health-care bill reduces the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.

WikiLeaks: ‘Voluptuous’ nurse cable costs diplomat his job  —  WASHINGTON — In what appears to be the first diplomatic casualty from the latest WikiLeaks revelations, the U.S. ambassador to Libya has returned to Washington and is likely to leave his post, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

GOP Rep. Mulvaney, Against Raising Debt Ceiling, Admits He Doesn't ‘Know’ What Will Happen If It Isn't Raised  —  In recent weeks, a number of high-profile Republicans have stated their intention to vote against any increase to the U.S. debt limit.  From Sen. Mike Lee (UT) to Rep. Michelle Bachmann …

Biting the Bullet on Majority Rule  —  Ruth Marcus says filibuster reformers should watch what we wish for: … This is the most frequent objection I hear to Senator Udall's proposal, but I don't think it makes sense.  The 113th Senate will change the rules to adopt a majority voting procedure …

Post-Midterm Approval Ratings Don't Predict Re-Election Chances  —  Barack Obama got some good news to start his new year: his Gallup approval rating ticked up to 50 percent yesterday, against 42 percent disapproval.  That's the first time it has been at the 50 percent threshold since early June.

The Constitution is dead.  Long live the Constitution.  —  Every patriotic fiber of my body tells me that reading the Constitution aloud at the commencement of congressional sessions is a good idea.  Heck, a pop quiz might even be in order.  It is vital that members of Congress fully immerse themselves …

Fiscal Shock  —  I see that the Washington Post editorial board is shocked, shocked to discover that the incoming Republicans aren't serious about deficit reduction.  Who could have suspected?  —  I was going to be snarky all the way here, but actually let's be serious …

KFC employee screams insults at customer  —  A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer.  —  The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26 …

‘Earmarks’ to nowhere: States losing billions  —  WASHINGTON — Almost 13 years ago, Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., directed $375,000 in federal funding “to improve State Road 31” in Columbus, Ind., a city at the edge of his district.  —  The McIntosh “earmark” seemed routine at the time …

Donald Trump For President 2012?  A Conversation With The Donald.  —  Rumors have been circling the Web buzzing that real estate billionaire Donald Trump will run for U.S. President on the Republican ticket in 2012.  I spoke with The Apprentice star this morning to find out what he'd do as the United States' 45th President.

Q.&A. With Gov. Mitch Daniels  —  Following are excerpts of my recent interview with Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana:  —  Q. ...  what is it that government essentially does too much of now?  What's the common theme here of things that you can get government to stop doing without adversely affecting people's lives?

The incumbent's advantage  —  In theory, I'm the perfect customer for the Nissan Leaf.  I don't drive frequently.  I don't need a car with much space.  I never need to go farther than 100 miles at a time.  —  But the Nissan Leaf wouldn't work for me at all, as I don't own a garage …

GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan: “I Can't Tell You The Answer” To Specific Spending Cuts  —  3 hours and 30 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  This morning on NBC, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) discussed the spending cuts that Republicans plan to enact in the new Congress.