| | | | This isn't a game... |  | | Donald Trump, petulant and impetuous, never lets a slight go unanswered. Because, at the end of (every) day, it's all about him -- and what he wants.
Witness Trump's last-minute decision Thursday to cancel House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned trip to Afghanistan as a way to punish her for her request that he postpone his State of the Union speech until after the government is reopened.
To be clear: Pelosi's move, like Trump's, was political. She wanted to drive home two things to the President: 1) Congress is on equal footing with the White House, according to the Constitution, and 2) The shutdown could be made to impact him, too.
There was some hope -- amid Trump's silence in the wake of Pelosi's SOTU letter -- that he might not take the bait, that he might, for once, see that engaging in a tit-for-tat political knife fight with Pelosi didn't help the 800,000 furloughed federal workers or the country more broadly.
But that hope, like the hope that Trump would act more presidential once he was the GOP nominee or once he was elected president or once he was sworn in or once, well, you get the idea, was doomed from the start.
Trump is Trump. Over and over again -- in both the campaign and in the White House -- Trump has shown that his first priority is doing what he believes is best for him (or gives him the most immediate satisfaction), not the right thing for the country.
Whether you blame Pelosi for provoking or Trump for his totally unpresidential response, the result is the same: The chances of a compromise that would resolve this already-longest-ever government shutdown went from "not very good" to "very, very bad" on Thursday.
And, what's all the more remarkable -- and by "remarkable" I mean "terribly, terribly depressing" -- is that what we are talking about is an inability to keep the government open, the single most basic task of our elected officials. This ain't complex foreign policy or some sort of broad-scale deal on entitlement reform. This is keeping the lights on. Basic stuff. Easy stuff.
The Point: This political pissing match represents a failure of our government the likes of which we haven't seen -- even in an era in which it feels like every political norm has already been smashed.
-- Chris | | "The date of the State of the Union is not a sacred date. It's not constitutionally required. It's not the President's birthday."
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi justifying her letter to President Trump asking him to reschedule this year's State of the Union address because of the government shutdown. | | | MEET YOUR NEW CONGRESS: SUSIE LEE | | Rep. Susie Lee was one of the freshman Democrats who marched into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office urging him to re-open the government this week. McConnell was on the Senate floor at the time, but Lee is still hoping to pressure McConnell into funding the government. She's also among the lawmakers foregoing a paycheck during the shutdown.
Lee, just elected this November to represent Nevada's southernmost district, was an education and advocate for homeless people ahead of her run for Congress -- and still plans to focus on issues like student loan debt while in Washington. She's also a bit of a Salt-N-Pepa fan.
Lauren Dezenski: In four words, describe your first few weeks in office.
Susie Lee: Be nice. Do something.
LD: What's your top priority in your first term?
SL: Tackling student loan debt that is debilitating our youth. I come from an education background and I was just appointed to the Committee on Education and Labor and the Veterans Affairs Committee. I hope to use my position on both of these committees to fix this problem. Student loan debt is reaching a crisis level, preventing young graduates from being able to fully enter our economy, because they are overburdened with repaying loans. Veterans are particularly vulnerable as they are often targeted by predatory for-profit schools and lenders.
LD: What's your expectation on what happens with the current partial government shutdown?
SL: My hope is that Mitch McConnell will simply bring the funding bills to the floor of the Senate for a vote and let the Senate do its job. I don't see how they can oppose these bills, because these are their bills that they just passed in December. Once we reopen the government, there will be room to negotiate details of a more comprehensive immigration plan that includes improved border security.
LD: What was the biggest lesson from your campaign?
SL: People are craving to hear a positive agenda, they are more interested in knowing what I am planning on doing. I also learned that, regardless of party, people want to see their congressional representatives work together. The hyper-partisan agenda makes them distrust all elected leaders.
LD: Do you have a favorite pump-up song? What is it?
SL: "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa.
LD: Tell me about your favorite food from your district.
SL: Anything on the menu at DW Bistro.
Thank you to reader Carter Umphress for today's member suggestion! Is there someone we should talk to from your district? Email lauren.dezenski@cnn.com with your suggestions -- and thanks to all of you who have already reached out! | | | Chris was in a Starbucks -- working, of course! -- on Wednesday and they were playing the "Hamilton" soundtrack. Which served as a good reminder that the government -- and its elected officials -- wasn't always a flaming trash heap! Give it a(nother) listen. | | Pennsylvania's Tom Marino is headed for the exit.
The first congressman to represent the newly redrawn 12th district -- and the co-chair of the Pennsylvania arm of Trump's campaign in 2016 -- is leaving for the private sector after eight years in the House. Marino was just elected to his fifth term in November. Now his last day will be January 23.
What happens next? Special election!
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf now has 10 days to call for a special election to fill the seat -- and that election must take place at least 60 days after Wolf calls for it. | | Sherrod Brown: The senator from Ohio has made a hire in Iowa -- another indication that he'll probably run for president.
Beto O'Rourke: The former congressman from Texas is still on a road trip as he mulls a presidential run -- and still writing Medium posts about his trip. Today he detailed the most intense fog he's ever seen.
Eric Swalwell: The congressman from California plans to spend Martin Luther King, Jr. day in Atlanta to observe MLK Day events and to later meet with the Gwinnett County Democratic Party, according to his campaign.
Tulsi Gabbard: The congresswoman from Hawaii has issued a video apology for her anti-LGBT views in the early '00s, saying "I'm deeply sorry for having said them." | |  | The dark horse in the Democratic 2020 race | | As big names like Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand enter the 2020 race, is there any room for a relatively unknown Midwesterner in the crowded Democratic field? Chris on why Sherrod Brown is the one to watch.
Make room to subscribe to The Point on YouTube! | |
REAL NEWS ABOUT FAKE TWEETS | | We've found the juiciest wrinkle out of the Wall Street Journal's reporting that Michael Cohen paid thousands to rig online polls in Donald Trump's favor and and elevate Cohen's own character to benefit Trump's presidential campaign.
Enter: @WomenForCohen, created in May 2016 (and still alive, though the last tweet was sent on Dec. 28, 2016).
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan notes some interesting factoids about the account: - 776 tweets in 2016
- Most used hashtags:
#Trump2016 and #NeverHillary - The account's busiest day was August 17th 2016, after Cohen had this encounter with @brikeilarcnn. It tweeted 77 times that day.
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