The Hill’s 12:30 Report

The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump revives Twitter war with John Lewis | Dems’ boycott list grows | CBO says 18M could lose coverage after ObamaCare repeal | Round two of confirmation hearings | Secret Service’s inauguration prep

BECAUSE WHAT WOULD THE MEDIA EVEN TALK ABOUT IF TRUMP DIDN’T TWEET??: President-elect Donald Trump this morning tweeted that approval rating polls are rigged against him, as a series of polls show him with historically low approval as he enters office. “The same people who did the phony election polls, and were so wrong, are now doing approval rating polls. They are rigged just like before.” http://bit.ly/2j4L9mt Straws that broke the camel’s back:

— A new CNN/ORC poll this morning showed Trump with 40 percent approval — 6 points lower than it was after Election Day, and lower than the last three presidents. http://bit.ly/2k0Rpja

— An ABC News/Washington Post poll also released today found just 40 percent respondents approved of how Trump has handled his presidential transition, and 54 percent viewed him unfavorably. http://bit.ly/2jskS4T

— Interesting tidbit: “More people think Trump is treating the news media unfairly than vice versa. Trump has made news media sympathetic! Via Post/ABC poll:” http://bit.ly/2iD0pWg

It’s Tuesday — welcome back to an absurdly crazy week. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

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THIS A.M. — THIS IS SUCH AN AWKWARD FIGHT: President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday revived his Twitter war with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). “John Lewis said about my inauguration, ‘It will be the first one that I’ve missed.’ WRONG (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 also because he…’thought it would be hypocritical to attend Bush’s swearing-in….he doesn’t believe Bush is the true elected president.’ Sound familiar! WP.” Back-story: Lewis said last week that he doesn’t believe Trump is a legitimate president and said that for the first time since joining Congress he would boycott an inauguration. http://bit.ly/2k13zs3

LATEST LIST OF BOYCOTTS: So far, 43 Democrats have announced they’ll boycott this year’s inauguration. Updated list: http://bit.ly/2jsR2Ny

​JUST RELEASED — ​DON’T LOOK OVER HERE. NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Repealing portions of ObamaCare without enacting a replacement could leave 18 million people without health insurance the following year, according to a report released Tuesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). How they got that number and what it means for the fight over repeal: http://bit.ly/2iKyHdN

INAUGURATION PREP — IS THAT A….THREAT?: Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy and his agents are preparing for a wide range of threats to the public during the presidential inauguration. “I think people today are willing to do things they may not have been willing to do in the past,” Clancy told WTOP-FM, saying threats today are different from past inaugurations. In preparation for the inaugural parade, agents went door-to-door along the route, “knocking on the doors to each building and office.” http://bit.ly/2ixvrE5

INAUGURATION SET-UP: Here’s what the inauguration stands look like: http://bit.ly/2jFYrGA

CONFIRMATION HEARINGS — WHAT TO WATCH: Eight nominees are heading to Capitol Hill this week to face what is expected to be an hourslong grilling from lawmakers — and half are on Democrats’ hit list. Here’s what to expect:

Where we’re expecting the most fireworks: Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education, is about to walk into the fire. She will be facing Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). http://bit.ly/2iCZJQT

Who gets votes on ‘day one’?: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has stressed that he wants to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s national security team on the first day of his administration. Keep in mind that Republicans need help from Democrats, who could use the Senate’s procedural levers to drag out a nomination for days.

Will Democrats try to change the schedule?: Dems were successful last week in delaying at least Betsy DeVos, one of their top targets. You better believe they will try that again.

How will Tom Price handle grilling on investments, ObamaCare: Democrats are seizing on a report that Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), President-elect Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee, purchased shares in Zimmer Biomet, a medical device manufacturer, and then introduced legislation that would benefit the company. 

What does Heller do?: Sen. Dean Heller (Nev.), considered the most vulnerable Republican up for reelection in 2018, is facing pressure from outside groups to oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury pick, Steve Mnuchin, whom Democrats have nicknamed the “foreclosure king,” over his time running a bank that foreclosed on thousands. Heller told The Hill that he’s withholding his judgment on Mnuchin until he’s able to question him about his housing policies.

Can Scott Pruitt dodge Dems’ fire?: Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump’s EPA pick, has one rule during his Wednesday confirmation hearing: Do no harm. He’s likely to be confirmed, but Dems are planning multi-pronged attack on Pruitt, whose repeatedly challenged the agency he’s been tapped to lead in the courts.

LOTSA DAY ONE TALK: President-elect Donald Trump talks about actions he’ll take on “Day One.” Well, day one has now been defined as Monday morning. http://bit.ly/2jsxuZI

WHEN YOU USE YOUR EX FOR A FREE HAIRDO: Via The Washington Post’s Emily Heil, “Hair stylist to Marla Maples: No free services in exchange for Inauguration Day ‘exposure'” http://wapo.st/2jsX94w

 

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Tim Gostony
Obama should resign a day early to make Biden the 45th President just to ruin all of Trump’s merchandise https://twitter.com/timgostony/status/820336273000841216

Laura Barron-Lopez
OH House Dem to staffer in hallway: “Oh, they need to shut the hell up. Our election was undermined and a person lost because of it.” http://bit.ly/2ixzxvN

North Highland’s Drew Hawkins
I don’t care who you are. This is just funny. http://bit.ly/2jslMyk

 

ON TAP:

The House is out and the Senate is in. President Obama is at the White House today. President-elect Donald Trump has meetings at Trump Tower in New York, then will be heading to Washington, D.C., for a dinner.

Noon: White House press secretary Josh Earnest gives his final (!) press briefing. Live-stream: http://bit.ly/2jGbjfN

2:30 p.m. EST: “Gloria Allred and a woman accusing Donald Trump of sexually inappropriate conduct to announce lawsuit against Trump today.” http://bit.ly/2jtbDBd

3 p.m. EST: The Senate is in. In addition to the myriad of confirmation hearings, the Senate will also take up a House-passed bill aimed at bolstering government oversight and transparency. More on that: http://bit.ly/2jsjlM1

4:45 p.m. EST: The Senate votes.

Tomorrow: President Obama gives his final news conference. http://reut.rs/2j56gF2

 

SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:

2:15 p.m. EST: Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Interior secretary, testifies at his Senate confirmation hearing. Live stream: http://cs.pn/2iCEoaj

2:30 p.m. EST: Vice President-elect Mike Pence speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Live stream: http://cs.pn/2jUvqpK

5 p.m. EST: Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Education secretary, testifies at her confirmation hearing. Live-stream: http://cs.pn/2ix7j4r

10 a.m. EST tomorrow: Wilbur Ross, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, testifies in his confirmation hearing. Live stream tomorrow: http://cs.pn/2jv7EE1

10 a.m. EST tomorrow: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) testifies during her confirmation hearing for United Nations ambassador. Live-stream tomorrow: http://cs.pn/2jUJOyk

10 a.m. EST tomorrow: EPA nominee Scott Pruitt testifies at his Senate confirmation hearing. Live-stream tomorrow: http://cs.pn/2jUwtpN

10 a.m. EST tomorrow: Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s pick for Health and Human Servicse secretary, testifies in his Senate confirmation hearing. Live-stream tomorrow: http://cs.pn/2ixhaHs

 

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:

Today is National Hot Buttered Rum Day.

SOME OF THESE ARE LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY: Via CBS, here are the funniest memes from President Obama’s time in office. http://cbsn.ws/2jkoGm8

NO, THIS ISN’T EVEN A CODE WORD FOR SOMETHING ELSE!: Via BuzzFeed’s Remy Smidt, teens and middle-schoolers across the country are making homemade slime and selling it in an underground market. Yes, slime. Why slime: It’s been viral on Instagram. http://bzfd.it/2jsWxvx Best line:

— Business problems: “Lani Whitmer, a 12-year-old from California, told BuzzFeed News that the market at her school is flooded. ‘There’s a lot of other people who sell slime and it’s really annoying because then you don’t get as many customers as you want,’ she said. She sells her slime for a dollar an ounce, sometimes less.” This is so funny.

And because you read this far, here’s a pig getting woken up in the nicest way possible: http://bit.ly/2k1a0LX

 

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