Censure Almost Certain As Rangel Ethics Case Ends
The Associated Press reports: “Rep. Charles Rangel faces an almost certain censure by the House, a devastating defeat for a 40-year veteran who insisted to the end that he never meant to violate House rules. If the House votes for censure Thursday as expected, the New York Democrat will have to humbly walk to the front of the chamber to receive his punishment. He’ll stand in front of his colleagues while Speaker Nancy Pelosi — in one of her most solemn duties — reads him a resolution condemning his ethical misbehavior.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:45 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10:15 a.m. ET with Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH), who was defeated for re-election this past November, and he will meet with senior advisers at 10:35 a.m. ET. Obama and Biden will meet for lunch at 12 p.m. ET. The two will meet with newly elected governors at 1 p.m. ET, and will meet at 3 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The President and First Lady will host a Hanukkah reception at 6:35 p.m. ET.
DeMint Predicts No-Tax-Hike Agreement With Obama
The Associated Press reports: “A leading Senate conservative said Thursday he believes President Barack Obama is ready to embrace the notion of keeping Bush era tax rates in place for everyone at least temporarily, including the wealthy, with no New Year’s increases. Republican Sen. Jim DeMint told CBS’s ‘The Early Show’ he wants to ‘keep tax rates the same.’ The South Carolinian said he believes Obama ‘has come around to the idea that taxes can’t be raised in a recession.'”
Obama Gets Powell’s Backing On START Nuclear Deal
The Associated Press reports: “President Barack Obama rallied support for a stalled nuclear treaty from former Secretary of State Colin Powell Wednesday, as Republican lawmakers indicated a greater willingness to ratify the agreement with Russia by the end of the year. Both Obama and Powell warned of grave consequences if the Senate fails to ratify the New START pact, which would reduce how many strategic warheads the United States and Russia could hold and set up a system so each could inspect and verify the other’s arsenal.”
Bush Stem Cell Policy May Return
The Hill reports: “Congress is running out of time to pass legislation allowing federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, potentially setting up the resumption of a Bush-era policy that President Obama reversed with fanfare shortly after taking office. Without legislative action by year’s end, federal funding for the controversial research could once again be highly restricted, as it was under former President George W. Bush.”
Money Defines RNC Chairman’s Job, Panelists Say
Roll Call reports: “If a panel of four potential candidates for chairman of the Republican National Committee is any indication, the job at stake is all about money. Though the panelists refused to call out Chairman Michael Steele for his fundraising in the 2010 cycle, their emphasis on winning back donors who abandoned the RNC this year was an implicit criticism. Steele has been criticized in GOP circles for alienating donors and for spending too much money without raising enough funds to make up the difference.”
