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Presented by bp: Tomorrow’s conversation, tonight. Know where the news is going next. | | | | |  | | By Mia McCarthy | | | |  Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy during his last day at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | ‘ACTIVELY STUPID’ — It’s not uncommon for year-end stories about Congress to speculate about whether it’s the worst Congress ever — such is the level of dysfunction and polarization in recent decades. Even so, the first year of the 118th Congress is in a league of its own. It began and ended ignominiously, starting with a 15-vote marathon in the House just to decide on a speaker, Kevin McCarthy, who failed to last even a full year before being ousted. He was deposed in early October — the first time in the 234-year history of the House that a speaker was removed from office — leaving the House practically frozen for three weeks while the razor-thin GOP majority decided on his successor. Congress approached new peaks of pettiness this year, with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of the eight Republicans to vote to vacate McCarthy from the speakership, accusing the former speaker of elbowing him in the kidney. On the same day, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) almost got into a physical fight with a witness during a hearing. A few weeks before that, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was captured on camera pulling a fire alarm as Democrats stalled for time to read a spending bill averting a showdown. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for his conduct and was censured by the House, making him one of three House members censured this year — the most in over 150 years. A censure is the House’s tool for expressing serious disapproval of member misconduct that falls short of the threshold for expulsion. As it turns out, the House had one of those, too — it expelled its first member in over 20 years, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was indicted on federal charges including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. All that dysfunction left little time for lawmaking: Just 22 bills were enacted into law this year — a relatively low number compared to the dozens of bills typically passed by Thanksgiving. While a few more bills could be added to that list with the Senate wrapping up next week, its legislative pace is lagging — it typically finishes each two-year Congress with hundreds of bills passed. In November, an exasperated Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) expressed his frustration openly on the House floor. “I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing — one — that I can go campaign on and say we did,” Roy shouted. “Explain to me one material, meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.” The second session of the 118th Congress isn’t necessarily looking any brighter. With Santos gone and McCarthy resigning at the end of the year, Republicans have an even slimmer GOP majority to work with in 2024. The spending deadlines normally met before the end of the year are now pushed to the start of next year, without any signs of agreement on funding levels. And with a new impeachment inquiry opened against President Joe Biden this week, the House could be caught up in further partisan warfare. Already, in the House, 40 members have announced they are either running for higher office or retiring. Seven senators are also calling it quits. The number of congressional retirees is expected to grow come January after members spend the holidays with their families and contemplate their political futures. Former Speaker pro tem Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is one of those departing, marking the end of almost 20 years in Congress. The chairman of the Financial Services Committee, McHenry referred to the past few months in Congress as “a very actively stupid political environment.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at mmccarthy@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Reporter_Mia.
| | | | A message from bp: Across the US, bp supports more than 275,000 jobs to keep our energy flowing. Like building EV charging hubs for fleets of electric buses in California and starting up new infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. See how else bp is investing in America. | | | | | — Giuliani ordered to pay $148M for spreading lies about Georgia election workers: Rudy Giuliani must pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers after accusing them of manipulating ballots in 2020, POLITICO reports. A federal judge determined on Thursday that the former New York City Mayor must pay $16 million each to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss for defamation claims, in addition to $20 million each for emotional distress. A Washington D.C. jury also found Giuliani must pay $75 million in “punitive” damages to prevent him and others from similar actions in the future. — Judges dubious of Mark Meadows’ bid to avoid facing charges in Georgia state court: A federal appeals court panel took a skeptical stance today toward an effort by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to have a federal court take and potentially dismiss the state charges pending against him for allegedly trying to tamper with the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. All three members of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel raised sharp questions about Meadows’ argument that his role as Donald Trump’s chief of staff requires federal courts — rather than the courts in Fulton County, Ga. — to oversee the case in which he, Trump and 17 others were charged in an alleged racketeering conspiracy. — Judiciary Democrats call for stronger transparency on amicus brief funding: Senior Democrats with oversight responsibility over federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, are calling for stronger transparency requirements for special interest groups that fund amicus briefs seeking to influence decisions. In a Dec. 14 letter to the Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for federal courts, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, said a POLITICO investigation published earlier this month illustrates the need for such reforms. Both Democrats are senior members of their respective chamber’s Judiciary committees.
| | | | Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here. | | | | | | | | | HALEY IN IOWA — Presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced today she will be participating in a CNN debate ahead of the Iowa caucus next month, POLITICO reports. It’s currently looking like a one-on-one debate between the former South Carolina Governor and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the only other qualifier who agreed to participate earlier this month. The Iowa debate is scheduled for Jan. 10 and will be hosted by CNN. The Republican National Committee hosted the previous four but recently allowed organizations independent of the committee to hold debates. CNN will also host another debate on Jan. 21 in New Hampshire ahead of their primary. In a statement announcing her participation, Haley also quipped at former President Donald Trump, who has declined appearing at the last four debates. “As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide,” Haley said. THE UNION VOTE — Biden secured the International Brotherhood of Teamsters vote in 2022. That vote might not be as secure in 2024. Longshot independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West were invited to pitch themselves to the union this week, POLITICO reports. This comes as President Joe Biden has pitched himself the most pro-union president in history and the Teamsters, which represents over 1.3 million members, are looking at their options in 2024. Other presidential candidates were invited across parties, including Republican candidate Asa Hutchinson and Democratic challengers Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips. It was the first time the Teamsters have held roundtable interviews with candidates from both parties and independents.
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Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah today. | Fatima Shbair/AP | FRIENDLY FIRE — The Israeli military today mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip, military officials said, according to The Associated Press. The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned. The deaths occurred in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce battles against Hamas militants in recent days. He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating. The deaths were announced as a U.S. envoy said the U.S. and Israel were discussing a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the besieged enclave’s postwar future, which, according to a senior U.S. official, could include bringing back Palestinian security forces driven from their jobs in Gaza by Hamas in its 2007 takeover. American and Israeli officials have been vague in public about how Gaza will be run if Israel achieves its goal of ending Hamas control. The notion that Palestinian security forces could return was floated as one of several ideas. It appeared to be the first time Washington offered details on its vision for security arrangements in the enclave.
| | | | POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show. | | | | | | | | | | | | | SANTA DOPPELGANGERS— It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… but what does that mean for those who look like a certain Christmas character year round? White-bearded older men all over the world resemble Santa Claus, causing children to mistake them for Father Christmas ahead of the Christmas season. Many of them embrace the look — wearing red in December, carrying leather books with them, or even wearing the iconic hat altogether. Others have even made careers out of Santa persona. Inspired by her own interactions with Santa lookalikes, Lindsay Crudele looks to answer the question: “how do people who resemble Santa feel about their jolly burden?” in this festive story for The Boston Globe.
| | |  On this date in 1976: Jamaicans head to the polls for a general election. The People's National Party, a social-democratic party, won 47 of 60 available seats. | AP | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
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