It’s Tuesday, and Christmas is less than a week away! ? Here’s what’s coming up:
Dignitaries honor the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor during a memorial service at National Cathedral.
Vice President Harris is on a mission to highlight abortion access.
All the details about this year’s White House Christmas ornament from the White House Historical Association.
I’m Elizabeth Crisp, filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. Send me your tips: ecrisp@thehill.com and follow me on X, formerly known as Twitter: @elizabethcrisp.
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In Memoriam: Sandra Day O’ Connor |
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Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was “gracious and wise, civil and principled,” President Biden said Tuesday in remarks at the National Cathedral.
“One need not agree with all of her decisions to recognize that her principles were deeply held and of the highest order,” Biden said of the first woman to serve on the High Court.
O’Connor, 93, died Dec. 1. A public service was held in the Supreme Court building Monday, while today’s funeral was invitation-only, but broadcasted publicly. Biden, clad in a black suit and tie, appeared teary-eyed looking over O’Connor’s coffin, draped in cream-silk, as he expressed his feelings for “a truly grateful nation for her service.”
He praised her for what he said proves “a woman can do anything a man can do but many times a helluva — heck of a — lot better.” “Excuse my language, folks,” the president said in a moment of levity. “Sandra Day O’Connor, a daughter of the American West, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down barriers in the legal and political worlds and the nation’s consciousness,” he added. Chief Justice John Roberts, who also got emotional during the start of the ceremony, will eulogize O’Connor, who was appointed by a Republican but styled herself as an independent-minded jurist and became a key decisive vote on issues like abortion rights, LGBTQ and racial equality and free speech. Both Biden and Roberts had close ties to the first female Supreme Court justice dating back to when then-President Reagan nominated her for the high court in 1981. Biden was at the time the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that vetted her for the post.
Roberts helped prepare O’Connor for that hearing and was initially nominated to her associate justice seat upon her retirement in 2006. He was later nominated for chief justice. Notes on the ceremony: -
O’Connor handpicked many of the readings and music.
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The justice’s youngest son, Jay O’Connor, will speak. Here’s an interview he did with NPR’s “Morning Edition” in which he discussed his mother’s legacy.
- Biographer
Evan Thomas, author of “First: Sandra Day O’Connor: An Intimate Portrait of the First Woman Supreme Court Justice,” also will speak. Read the beautiful tribute he penned for the Washington Post following O’Connor’s death.
? Tune in to the ceremony live or watch a replay here.
? O’Connor’s family hasn’t publicly disclosed plans for her final resting place since her death, but her brother previously said that she wanted to be cremated with some of her ashes scattered at the family’s Lazy B Ranch in Arizona.
“Maybe the country wants her in another place,” Alan Day told The Arizona Republic in 2018. “But she’s expressed to me no less than six times that she wants her ashes scattered here on Round Mountain.” ? Learn more about O’Connor and access the most comprehensive collection of her work through the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy here. |
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Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins penned a touching tribute to her fellow Texas native O’Connor. Some highlights: “She learned to handle a rifle before she was 10 and to drive a truck as soon as she could see over the dashboard. Her first pet was a bobcat, and she tried to domesticate a coyote and failed.” “She chafed at the Chevy Chase Club’s policy that women couldn’t tee off on Saturdays until 11 a.m. She dealt with it by arriving at 10:30 a.m. each weekend and sitting right by the first tee, greeting every man who teed off ahead of her. Shamed, they changed the rule.” Read the whole piece here. |
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The New York Times reshared its final interview with O’Connor from 2008. Watch here. |
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No Christmas miracle at the Capitol, as negotiators abandon end-of year Ukraine-border talks:
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Senate Republicans say their Christmas wishes for a bipartisan deal to provide funding for the war in Ukraine and secure the U.S. southern border by the end of the year have been dashed.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton and Al Weaver have the details on where things went sideways just as the Senate tepidly set out to vote on a package this week. Sen. James Lankford (Okla.), the lead GOP negotiator, told reporters that too many unresolved issues remain on the table.
“We’re clearly not going to have text complete this week to be able to have a vote to be able to pull this stuff together. We’ll keep working until we get it done,” he said. “We’re all going to be back in January on this, but it’s going to take a while to be able to finish up all the text.” More from The Hill here. |
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Senate Republicans also are getting a jump on their Festivus “airing of grievances” following former President Trump’s recent remarks about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country.” (The Hill) |
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Not a lot of fans of Biden’s Israel strategy, but critics are split, polling shows: |
President Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is not winning over many Americans, a new poll found. But, they were also unsure what he could do to make it better.
The New York Times/Siena poll out today found 57 percent of respondents disapprove of Biden’s Israel policy, while just 33 percent approve of the administration’s strong support for Israel’s ongoing war with militant group Hamas, as scores of Palestinian civilians, including children, have died in the region. Poll respondents who disapprove of Biden’s response to the conflict aren’t on the same page, though. The poll found about a third of all respondents said they think the U.S. is too supportive of Israel. Slightly less than a third said the U.S. is being too sympathetic to Palestinians.
The latest conflict came after Hamas’s Oct. 7 deadly ambush of Israeli civilians and their capture of more than 240 hostages. Several groups have called for a cease-fire in the war amid humanitarian concerns for civilians in Gaza.
More from The Hill here. |
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White House ornament honors Ford presidency: |
© David Wiegold / White House Historical Association |
Each year, for the past four decades, the nonprofit White House Historical Association has sold an *official* White House Christmas Ornament. Each is unique and typically honors a specific president or historical event. Here’s a breakdown of what’s special about the 2023 ornament (which you can still order here): The look: This year’s ornament is a decorated wreath with a nod to the White House’s hand-crafted ornaments during the Gerald Ford administration.
Ford, who died in 2006 at the age of 93, was a naval officer. This year’s ornament pays homage to the Pentagon with blue and white balls and has depictions of “dolls, cherubs, doves, stars, flowers, gingerbread men and candles,” per the official description. More details from the Historical Association. On the back of the ornament are five emblems honoring Ford’s memory. -
A “Troop 15” inscription honors Ford’s Eagle Scout status — the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He is the only president to have achieved the designation.
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A football with the number “48” recognizes the number Ford wore while playing for the University of Michigan.
- A golden retriever pays homage to the Ford family dog, Liberty, who had a litter of puppies while in the White House.
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A pin marks the bicentennial, which took place during Ford’s presidency and included a state dinner that the Fords held for the occasion in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
- An image of the USS Gerald R. Ford highlights the aircraft carrier named in his honor.
Ford, an unelected Republican vice president who became president in 1974 after former President Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal, lost his own White House bid against President Carter in 1976. |
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Harris is hitting the road, Jack: |
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Vice President Harris is taking a hike … across the country to promote the fight for reproductive rights as part of President Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports that Harris’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour will kick off in Wisconsin on Jan. 22 – the 51st anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that the conservative flank of the Supreme Court upended last year.
“Extremists across our country continue to wage a full-on attack against hard-won, hard-fought freedoms as they push their radical policies – from banning abortion in all 50 states and criminalizing doctors, to forcing women to travel out of state in order to get the care they need,” Harris said in a statement. “I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body – not the government.”
Why it matters: The tour and its launch in battleground Wisconsin demonstrate the role Harris will play on highlighting abortion rights as a key campaign issue while conservative states implement more restrictions and Republican rivals take hard-line approaches on the wedge issue. Read more here. |
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Big yikes on the DeSantis front… From The Hill’s Julia Mueller: “Internal turmoil is threatening to torpedo [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-Fla.)] already struggling presidential campaign as he heads toward a make-or-break moment in next month’s Iowa caucuses.”
Former President Trump weighed in on DeSantis’s campaign woes in a post on Truth Social: “The Ron DeSanctimonious ‘team’ of misfits and grifters has largely quit his campaign to go on to greener pastures. It has been a terrible experience for them as they have watched their candidate fall violently from the sky like a wounded bird.”
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The House is out, and the Senate came in at 11 a.m. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. (all times Eastern) |
8:30 a.m.: Biden received the Presidential Daily Briefing. 10:30 a.m.: Biden arrived at the White House after spending Monday in New Castle, Del.
11 a.m.: The memorial service for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor began at the National Cathedral, with Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts scheduled to speak among others. (Watch here; Full program here.)
12:45 p.m.: Biden is expected to head back to the White House. 1:30 p.m.: Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby will brief reporters. (Watch here) 2:15 p.m.: Senate is expected to begin today’s votes.
3:40 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for a campaign reception in Bethesda, Md., where he will speak to donors and will be joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D). 6:05 p.m.: Biden will be back at the White House.
7 p.m.: Former President Trump will hold a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa.
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? Today is National Hard Candy Day! Before you dive into chocolates, cookies and other yummy holiday desserts in the coming days, tide yourself over with a sucker or other hard candy treat.
? Pecking order: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and his upcoming successor Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) are of different political parties and have certainly had their policy differences over the years. But, Edwards has agreed to bequeath his hens to the incoming governor when he flies the coop (a.k.a. the Governor’s Mansion) next month.
? The now-infamous “Capitol Hill sex tape scandal” has its very own Wikipedia entry — just in case you are looking for a way to broach the awkward topic over the holidays. Recap: Aidan Maese-Czeropski, a former aide to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is out of a job, but the story is not going anywhere just yet. Needless to say, the Democratic lawmaker is NOT happy about the whole embarrassing, as The Hill’s Al Weaver reports.
? Looking for something to do Thursday evening? The Library of Congress will be showing the holiday classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” for free. Get your tickets here and be sure to check out the library’s beautiful Christmas tree while you are there. (P.S.: Next Thursday the Library will host a screening of “Home Alone,” and you can get tickets for that one here.)
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Check out this puppy that has already adopted its own pet … And a reminder that the holidays are a wonderful time to adopt an animal in need of its fur-ever home or donate to a shelter near you! Many animal charities offer holiday matching and are tax deductible.
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