| | | | In (BIG) non-impeachment news... |  | | President Donald Trump may think Congress is focused only on impeachment.
But there are signs of life on the Hill beyond impeaching Trump this week. The House did its part to avoid a government shutdown (by passing a $1.4 trillion spending bill), plus is planning to vote on Trump's marquee trade bill, USMCA, in coming days.
That spending bill is chock full of money for different projects, delivering wins for both parties.
There's money for the border wall (to the tune of $1.37 billion -- the same amount that was allocated last year). There's also a $22 billion increase in defense spending, plus a new position within the Department of Homeland Security designed to oversee immigrant detention.
Not to mention $425 million in grants for election security and $25 million for gun research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Plus, lawmakers agreed to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone younger than 21 and to repeal several health care taxes.
The House also approved a defense authorization bill on Tuesday that creates Trump's much-touted Space Force and 12 weeks of paid family leave for federal workers. That is headed for Trump's desk to be signed into law.
The USMCA bill hit a bump over the weekend with Mexican negotiators, but is back on track for debate and a vote later this week. Once it passes the House, it would head to the Senate, where it'll be taken up after impeachment.
The Point: Impeachment may steal the show, but it's certainly not the only thing happening in Washington ahead of the holidays.
-- Lauren | | "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials. "
-- President Donald Trump, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about impeachment. He wrote the letter "for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record."
Chris details this and 29 other blistering lines from Trump's unhinged letter. | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH IMPEACHMENT? | | Tomorrow's the day: On Wednesday, the House will take up articles of impeachment against Trump. That vote is expected to happen sometime in the late afternoon to early evening.
The House Rules Committee spent the day Tuesday debating the parameters for the impeachment vote and floor debate. | | Pete Buttigieg, uniter?
"Never Trumpers" are getting organized in advance of 2020
A great JVL piece on why Trump is never going to go away
"Who is John Galt?"
This photo essay on a California homeless camp is breathtakingly sad
The top 10 movies of 2019, as chosen by everyone | | | "The Gospel of Mary," by Josh Ritter and Milk Carton Kids. Whoa boy. | |  | How a one-term pledge could sink Joe Biden | | Chris explains why a pledge to serve only a single term would spell almost certain disaster for the former vice president's 2020 campaign.
Want to get us a gift for the holidays? Subscribe to The Point on YouTube! | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Thursday's Democratic debate: Is back on as scheduled. The labor dispute that threatened to prevent all seven candidates from participating in the debate has been resolved.
Julián Castro: Won't be on the debate stage in Los Angeles, but he will be in LA. He plans to tour Skid Row and later participate in a town hall on worker solidarity and migrant justice.
Pete Buttigieg: Draws the ire of the online, progressive left with his moderate views, which more often align with older voters.
Joe Biden: Is physically able to be president, according to his physician. | | 45 How many days Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide who testified to special counsel Robert Mueller, was sentenced to jail. He was also given three years' probation. | | | | | | |
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