Senate Bills Cut Social Programs, Boost Nih Research, Amtrak

“House Republicans are eyeing a new spending proposal that would tee up votes on three separate measures: to fund the government, appropriate disaster relief and allocate farm assistance,” The Hill reports. “But in a shift from previous strategy — and in a break from President-elect Trump’s request — the new plan does not include a measure to increase the debt ceiling, the sources said, a move that could spark the ire of the incoming president, who demanded that such language be included.” Punchbowl News notes the vote may need to wait until tomorrow — after the government shuts down.

Politico: “In extraordinary but little-watched court proceedings since Election Day, judges appointed by presidents of both parties have emphasized the need for accountability for the people who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to derail the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.” “These judges have sounded dire warnings about the fate of the country if the lessons of the 2020 election go unlearned, and they are bluntly bracing for a turbulent start to the second Trump presidency…” “The judges’ clarion calls are becoming markedly more frequent and pointed as Trump’s inauguration nears.”

“When the media decides to start hedging, or not telling the full story, combined with people being reluctant to engage in political opposition because they fear they will land in jail, that’s just not a democracy any longer. And it’s not like we’re six months away from that. It feels like we might be a month away from a world in which people start to retreat from politics for fear of criminal prosecution, and the media just uses kid gloves in dealing with the regime.

House Republicans are likely to split the government funding bill in pieces and hold separate votes on different parts of the bill, Punchbowl News reports. This would allow each piece to pass or fail on its own merit.

Cook Political Report: “Republicans’ success at the ballot box in 2024 was decisive but not overwhelming. The GOP owes its continued control of the House to a mere 7,309 votes spread across three districts. At the presidential level, Donald Trump owes his Electoral College victory to 229,766 voters out of 155.2 million cast.