memeorandum: What's in the CR for members — a pay raise, plus an Obamacare opt-out (Punchbowl News)

10:40 AM ET, December 18, 2024

Top Items:

David Smith / The Guardian:

Trump planning to target progressive non-profits, US watchdog warns — Congressional Integrity Project creates initiative to counter growing ‘authoritarianism’ and defend progressives — Donald Trump and his Republican allies are planning to target progressive groups they perceive …

Annie Karni / New York Times:

House Republicans Call for Liz Cheney to Be Investigated Over Jan. 6 Committee Role — Ms. Cheney defended her work on the select committee in a detailed statement, and called the report “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.” — House Republicans on Tuesday said their one-time colleague …

Discussion: Mediaite

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

Trump's Vengeance Tour Has Already Started — Going forward, how are we going to hash out how much the government spends and on what? Through a combination of public edicts from Elon Musk and harried Fox News appearances from Speaker Mike Johnson, apparently.

Discussion: New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Federalist, Breitbart, Alternet.org, Associated Press, Fox News and Washington Examiner

House Administration:
Chairman Loudermilk Releases Second January 6, 2021 Report

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
GOP report recommends Liz Cheney be criminally investigated over Jan. 6 work

Discussion: Reuters, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Mediaite, UPI, Daily Mail, HuffPost, Breitbart, New York Post, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., American Thinker, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, HotAir, Townhall and RedState

CNN:

In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report — The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters, CBS News, HuffPost, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Independent and Forbes

Politico:

Playbook: Mike Johnson's predictable pickle — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — IN CASE YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS — “Electoral college on track to elect Donald Trump as next president,” by WaPo's Amy Gardner — TO STATE THE OBVIOUS …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, New Republic, Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, Blaze Media, Michigan Advance, Twitchy, Bloomberg, Washington Times, Washington Examiner and Alternet.org

Tal Axelrod / ABC News:

Democrats' playbook to beat Republicans in 2 years: work with them now — “I think we are telling them that we're here to govern,” one Democrat said. — DCCC chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., speaks during the House Democrats' post-caucus meeting news conference in the Capitol, Sept. 18, 2024.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:

Trump Takes His Canada Trolling Up a Level in Bizarre Early Morning Post — ‘A GREAT IDEA’ — Donald Trump ramped up his campaign of mockery against Canada on Wednesday with a trolling Truth Social post in the early hours. “No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year?

Discussion: New Jersey Online, New York Times, Canada's National Observer, Bloomberg, Fox News, Politico and New York Post

Filip Timotija / The Hill:

Trump: Canada becoming 51st state ‘great idea’ — President-elect Trump questioned Canada early Wednesday, asking why the U.S. provides its northern neighbor with subsidies, and suggesting that it should become the 51st state. — “No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year?

Discussion: Politico, Canadian Press and Fox News

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Inside Disney's Decision to Settle a Trump Defamation Suit — Talks started and finished on the same day, after Disney decided that fighting the lawsuit could potentially hurt the company and protections for the press. — When Disney reached a settlement last week with President-elect Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: Politico, Newsbusters, The Independent, The Federalist, Bloomberg, HotAir and Slate, more at Mediagazer »

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

What Do Democrats Need to Do? Act Like an Opposition Party. — Democrats may be in the minority, but they are not yet an opposition. — What's the difference? — An opposition would use every opportunity it had to demonstrate its resolute stance against the incoming administration.

Paul Kiel / ProPublica:

How Billionaires Have Sidestepped a Tax Aimed at the Rich — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Fourteen years ago, Congress set out to remedy a basic unfairness in the tax code.

Discussion: Forbes

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal: Trump Pledged to Cut Taxes for Expats. This Republican Wants to Make It a Reality.

Brian Faler / Politico:
Trump's pick for IRS chief touted troubled tax credit to businesses

Discussion: Blaze Media and Axios

David R. Lurie / Public Notice:

The upcoming GOP assault on Social Security — 🌎 Public Notice is made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one, please click the button below to sign up and support our independent journalism. 🌎 — 👉 Subscribe to Public Notice 👈

Discussion: Alternet.org

Wendell Potter / New York Times:

I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit. — I left my job as a health insurance executive at Cigna after a crisis of conscience. It began in 2005, during a meeting convened by the chief executive to brief department heads on the company's latest strategy: “consumerism.”

Discussion: STAT

The Hill:

Republicans butt heads on daylight saving time after Trump directive — A Republican brouhaha is emerging after President-elect Trump called to eliminate daylight saving time, setting up battle lines between prominent GOP lawmakers in their hopes to lock the clock.

Discussion: Silver Bulletin and Fortune

Gina Kolata / New York Times:

In Trump World, RFK Jr. and Elon Musk Highlight Debate Over Obesity Treatment — Statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk tap into a dispute over whether lifestyle changes or drugs are a better way to treat obesity. — For Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the activist whom President-elect Donald J. Trump …

Erum Salam / The Guardian:

Ice deports mother and children, including newborn twins, to Mexico — Despite the infants being US citizens, Christina Salazar and all four of her children were put on a plane on 11 December — After his wife and children, including newborn twins, were suddenly deported to Mexico …

Bryan Walsh / Vox:

The drone hysteria is a glimpse of the future — If, like me, you live in the Northeast, you've likely found it impossible to escape the story of the month. — No, not the killing of a major health care executive on the streets of Midtown Manhattan. — No, not the sudden …

Discussion: The Dispatch, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Ordinary Times, Joe.My.God., NBC News, The Onion and New York Times

Brendan Borrell / New York Times:

He Built a Wellness Empire While Adventuring With R.F.K. Jr. — Dr. Mark Hyman, a “functional medicine” proponent and longtime friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is finding powerful allies in his bid to treat disease with blood tests and supplements. — Dr. Mark Hyman didn't hesitate …

Peter Laffin / Washington Examiner:

A conservative comeback in the culture war — The only time I ever agreed with MSNBC's Joy Reid was when she declared the Left victorious in the culture wars following the hyper-woke Grammy Awards on CBS in February 2023. — “Culture wars are over, and the Left won, like total defeat,” …

Punchbowl News:

What's in the CR for members — a pay raise, plus an Obamacare opt-out — Two provisions that directly impact lawmakers were quietly added to the CR: a pay raise and an Obamacare opt-out. … It's complicated, but Congress has proactively blocked lawmakers from getting a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 2009.

Discussion: Raw Story

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Why conservatives condemn Luigi Mangione and celebrate Daniel Penny — The American right has spent the past week performing an interesting tap dance: condemning the left for cheering on one alleged killer while turning another into a right-wing celebrity. — In the first case …

Marina Dunbar / The Guardian:

Feeling at home? New app lets US homebuyers see neighbors' politics — Oyssey startup allows users to access neighborhood political affiliations and other social data — America's political divide is likely to get even wider thanks to a new real-estate platform that lets potential buyers …

Matt Egan / CNN:

‘One of the dumbest ideas’: Abolishing the FDIC could backfire on Trump and his allies — New York CNN — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created during the Great Depression to restore trust in a financial system shaken by the failure of thousands of banks.

Discussion: Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes — TP-Link is the bestselling router on Amazon—and has been linked to Chinese cyberattacks — U.S. authorities are investigating whether a Chinese company whose popular home-internet routers have been linked …

Discussion: New York Post, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Trump to nominate ex-NFL star Herschel Walker as Bahamas ambassador — President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Herschel Walker, the former professional football player and Heisman Trophy winner who lost a scandal-ridden bid for Senate in 2022, as ambassador to the Bahamas.

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Daily Mail, Sun-Sentinel, WHDH-TV, Breitbart, New York Post, Joe.My.God., Front Office Sports, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Mediaite, WTTG-TV, CBS News, Reuters, Townhall, Fox News, Washington Times, IJR and HuffPost

Emily Peck / Axios:

High tariffs proposed by Trump could wipe out corporate profits … - Of course, companies won't sit idly by and let that happen — those costs will likely be passed along to American consumers. … - That's on top of tariffs of 60% or more on goods from China, and 10-20% tariffs on imports from the rest of the world.

Discussion: New York Times

ProPublica:

Are Abortion Bans Across America Causing Deaths? The States That Passed Them Are Doing Little to Find Out. — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — In states with abortion bans …

New York Times:

Tiny Coffins: Measles Is Killing Thousands of Children in Congo — Problems with getting vaccines to families have left many children unvaccinated and in danger of contracting the virus. — Werra Maulu Botey, in black polo shirt, with the coffin of his daughter, Olive, who had just died of measles …

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

How Disney conspired with government officials to steal over $100 million from theme park workers — Working at the “Happiest Place on Earth” can be a nightmare. — A landmark 2018 report by researchers at Occidental College found that workers at Disneyland were paid such low wages that they struggled to make ends meet.

Discussion: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Orange County Register

Chuck Todd / NBC News:

The next great reform movement is poised to begin now — Analysis: The last era of one-term presidencies transitioned into an era of intense political and policy reform. Voters are also poised to support some big changes now. — The last time the United States had three one-term presidents in a row …

Ben Casselman / New York Times:

The Economy Is Finally Stable. Is That About to Change? — President-elect Donald J. Trump's proposals on tariffs, immigration, taxes and deregulation may have far-reaching and contradictory effects, adding uncertainty to forecasts. — After five years of uncertainty and turmoil …

Rolling Stone:

Biden Must Free the Man Who Exposed Trump's Tax Avoidance — Joe Biden must commute the sentence of Charles Littlejohn, the IRS whistleblower who leaked Donald Trump's tax records, before Trump can get revenge — President Joe Biden should commute the sentence of Charles Littlejohn …

Discussion: Alternet.org

New York Times:

A Weary Biden Heads for the Exit — Still stinging from the election, President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump after warning repeatedly that he was a threat to American democracy.

Discussion: RedState, IER and Power Line

Associated Press:

Musk and Trump are viewed roughly the same by Americans, an AP-NORC poll finds — Elon Musk, clad in tuxedo and black tie, took the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort shortly after the election with all the swagger of the winning candidate himself.

Discussion: The Hill and Wide World of News