Today’s edition of quick hits:
* With the federal government facing another shutdown deadline this week, the House passed another stopgap spending measure this afternoon, 231 to 188, which the Senate is likely to take up this evening. If it passes, the measure will push the next deadline to Jan. 19.
* The latest international rebuke: “Angry countries at the United Nations on Thursday defied White House threats to cut off foreign aid, as they voted overwhelmingly against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
* Afghanistan: “Cloaked in secrecy, Vice President Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Thursday to meet with Afghan leaders and visit U.S. troops, arriving four months after President Trump outlined a new strategy to break the stalemate in America’s longest war.”
* A disappointing outcome: “A federal judge has dismissed a pair of lawsuits claiming that President Donald Trump’s failure to divest himself of his real estate empire and other business holdings violates the Constitution’s provision banning receipt of foreign “emoluments” while in public office.”
* When it looks as if the Justice Department is being weaponized by the White House, there’s a problem: “On the orders of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Justice Department prosecutors have begun asking FBI agents to explain the evidence they found in a now dormant criminal investigation into a controversial uranium deal that critics have linked to Bill and Hillary Clinton, multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News.” * Sunshine is the best disinfectant: “The Republican chairmen of two Senate committees have received a statistical breakdown of sexual harassment settlements reached in the upper chamber over recent years but they haven’t yet released that information to the public, even though the House of Representatives has already released a decade’s worth of such data.” * After two days of deliberations: “The first six people to face trial in Inauguration Day protests that turned destructive were acquitted of all charges, a victory not only for the defendants but also for advocates who argued the government overreached in its effort to prosecute more than 200 people arrested as they marched through the nation’s capital.” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
