Politics

• WashPost: WH Prepping for Shutdown Lasting Until April
  
  Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney asked various government agencies to make a list of programs that would be severely impacted by the ongoing shutdown if it goes into March and April, according to The Washington Post.
• Gen. Kelly Joins Ex-DHS Chiefs in Call to End Shutdown
  
  President Donald Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly broke from the administration on border security, joining four other former Department of Homeland Security secretaries in a call for President Trump and Congress to end the shutdown, NBC reported.
• Ohio Gov Mike DeWine Will Sign Abortion 'Heartbeat Bill'
  
  A bill that would make abortions illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, would get Ohio's new Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's signature.
• Conservatives Slam NY's 'Ghoulish' Late-Term Abortion Law
  
  The New York state's Democrat-led Senate and Assembly passed the Reproductive Health Act on Tuesday, leading to outrage from conservatives for approving the bill that makes abortions legal up until a baby's due date.
• Fox Poll: 75 Percent See Shutdown as an Emergency
  
  A four-point increase since the same question was asked in September, 43 percent of registered voters support President Donald Trump's border wall in the latest Fox News Poll released Wednesday.
• NKorea's Kim Expresses Satisfaction for Pre-Summit Negotiations, Praises Trump
  
  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke highly of U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing satisfaction over results of recent talks between the country's delegation and U.S. officials to discuss the second summit between him and Trump, state media said on Thursday.Kim said he...
• Sen. Graham: Pelosi Set 'New Low for American Politics'
  
  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to call off President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech is "absurd, petty, and shameful," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Wednesday.
• SC Faith-Based Group May Deny Gay Foster Parents
  
  A faith-based foster care group in South Carolina has been granted a religious exemption to continue its practice of denying gay couples or families to serve as foster parents, according to The State.
• Asst. Sec. Mitchell Resigns, Mike Pompeo Might Be Next
  
  Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Aaron Wess Mitchell's resignation was considered far more than a routine departure by the diplomatic corps and by State Department correspondents, Newsmax's John Gizzi reports.
• Federal Workers Arrested in Protest Outside McConnell's Office
  
  Furloughed federal workers and union leaders protesting the government shutdown outside of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office were were arrested Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.
• Trump: US Doing Well in Trade Negotiations with China
  
  President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was doing well in trade talks with China."I like where we are right now," Trump said in response to a question about trade negotiations with China by reporters at a White House event.Trump has vowed to increase...
• AP-NORC Poll: Shutdown Drags Trump Approval to Yearlong low
  
  A strong majority of Americans blame President Donald Trump for the record-long government shutdown and reject his primary rationale for a border wall, according to a new poll.
• Report: Calexico Angered by Barbed-Wire Fence Fix-Up
  
  A barbed-wire reinforced section of border fence in Calexico, California, has residents crying politics, according to The New York Times.
• Kellyanne Conway Rips 'Petty' Pelosi for SOTU Disinvite
  
  Disinviting President Donald Trump from delivering his State of the Union address Jan. 29 in the House Chambers would be "petty" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway said Wednesday.
• Jared Kushner to Push for Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan
  
  White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is set to make a push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan before the 2020 presidential campaign heats up.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Adviser: American Billionaires Are 'Policy Failures'
  
  Dan Riffle, the new policy adviser for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is revving up the engines with an anti-billionaire blast on Twitter.
• Sean Spicer: 'B-Rate' Reporters Brought End to Press Briefings
  
  Sean Spicer says "B-rate" reporters have turned daily White House press briefings into a "circus."
• NY Times' Maggie Haberman: Trump Not About to Dump Giuliani
  
  New York Times' Maggie Haberman says despite some recent miscues by Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump is not about to dump the former New York city mayor as a lawyer.
• Poll: Disapproval Rating for Trump Hits New High
  
  President Donald Trump's disapproval rating has hit an all-time high of 57 percent, with only 40 percent approving of the job he is doing.
• Poll: 71 Percent Say Border Wall Not Worth Shutdown
  
  Sixty-six percent of Americans want President Donald Trump to agree to a budget without funding for a wall on the southern border, while 52 percent want Democrats to reach a deal on a budget that includes funding for the barrier, according to a CBS News poll released on...
• AP Sources: Trump, Others Agitated by Giuliani's Performance
  
  Rudy Giuliani's latest media blitz, which was filled with a dizzying array of misstatements and hurried clarifications, agitated President Donald Trump and some of his allies, who have raised the possibility that the outspoken presidential lawyer be at least temporarily...
• John Kerry: Trump Should Resign
  
  Interviewed Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, former Secretary of State John Kerry offered advice for President Donald Trump: "Resign."
• Gen. McChrystal Passed on Shot to Kill Iran Intel Chief
  
  Fearing "the contentious politics," Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal passed on a chance to kill the head of Iranian intelligence 12 years ago.
• Trump Presses Ahead on State of Union, Requests Walk-Through of House Chamber
  
  President Donald Trump signaled he's pressing ahead with his planned State of the Union address by requesting a walk-through of the House chamber for the Jan. 29 speech, a week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested it be delayed due to the government shutdown.The...
• Harvard Poll: Majority Opposes Border Wall or Barrier
  
  Building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is opposed by 55 percent of registered voters, while 51 percent oppose a security barrier, the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll revealed Tuesday.

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