The Hill Articles: December 20, 2017

Pence: We’re ‘fully cooperating’ with Mueller investigation Federal law clerks demand changes to judiciary’s sexual misconduct policies Confederate statues to be removed from two Memphis parks Maxine Waters: ‘What is Trump so afraid of’ in Russia investigation South Korea military fires warning shots at North Koreans searching for defector: report Lieu: I hope Trump learns from Watergate that no one is above the law House Dem warns: ‘We can be certain’ Russia will interfere in 2018 Rep. Kennedy welcomes second child Poll: Most Americans dissatisfied with way things are going Jake Tapper to GOP senator: ‘You gave me and Anderson Cooper a huge tax break’ RNC outraises DNC in record-breaking November Trouble brewing as GOP struggles with spending bill votes Overnight Tech: EU court deals major blow to Uber | Silicon Valley Dem loses out on top Judiciary spot | Trump hails AT&T bonuses Group of House Republicans has been quietly investigating the DOJ and FBI for weeks Ex-‘Law and Order’ producer trolls Trump judicial nominee for failing to answer basic legal questions Dems call 2017 a ‘complete failure’ for GOP Overnight Cybersecurity: House plan for long-term surveillance law bill ‘dead for now’ | North Korea expands money-making hacks | Five arrested in ransomware bust Pence: Ryan should stay in Congress, we’re ‘just getting started’ US finalizes hefty duties in Bombardier-Boeing trade case Comcast announces $1,000 bonuses after passage of tax bill Overnight Regulation: Labor board burns through Obama-era rules | European court deals blow to Uber | DeVos issues new rules to help defrauded students Overnight Finance: Congress passes tax bill, sending it to Trump | Trump, leaders take White House victory lap | How GOP prevailed on tax cuts | Tax bill winners, losers | House GOP looks for path forward on funding bill Overnight Defense: GOP struggles for spending bill votes | Pentagon issues memo on transgender recruits | Pentagon acknowledges ramped-up Yemen strikes Overnight Energy: Congress opens Arctic refuge to drilling | Mistrial in Bundy case | Trump looks to boost domestic mineral production Trump issues first commuted prison sentence Trump gives green light to selling lethal arms to Ukraine DeVos to reduce loan forgiveness for some defrauded students Flake skips WH tax event: ‘I can only take so many of those stand around and clap things’ McKayla Maroney signed $1.25M USA Gymnastics deal to resolve abuse claims Top regulator urges banks to boost fintech services, sees little threat in bitcoin Overnight Health Care: Congress repeals ObamaCare mandate | Senate GOP pushes off ObamaCare fixes until January | Republicans struggle with abortion language in bills Listen: GOP’s long-awaited tax victory, and today’s latest news Lawmakers push Microsoft to ban private arbitration in all discrimination cases US military carried out more than 120 airstrikes in Yemen in 2017 Senator responds to being called a ‘prop’ during GOP tax celebration Stocks sink slightly after tax bill passage Red-state Dem: GOP tax bill ‘one of the shittiest bills’ ever Trump calls for strategy to boost domestic mineral production Top Intel Dem warns Trump not to interfere with Mueller probe McConnell says he’ll bring DACA bill to floor in January if negotiators reach deal Haley echoes Trump on UN resolution: ‘Let them vote against us, we’ll save a lot’ Care coordinators could help with the opioid addiction, but Trump won’t provide the funds WATCH: House GOP to regroup Wednesday night on funding bill  Glenn Thrush to return to NY Times after sexual harassment allegations North Korean hackers are now robbing individuals, credit card terminals: report A Department of Energy foundation: An idea whose time has come Florida state senator resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations Amnesty for the ‘best and brightest’ will still cost taxpayers Senate Republicans look to address concerns about abortion language in ObamaCare bills Somalis allege ‘inhumane conditions and egregious abuse’ in deportation attempt McFarland nomination stalls amid questions over contacts with Flynn Top British official forced out over porn cover-up Sales of existing homes hit highest level in nearly 11 years Political winners and losers from the Trump tax-cut bill Cyber jobs are available but Americans don’t realize they are qualified AP analysis: At least 9,000 civilians died in battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS Maryland’s Republican governor to offer bill protecting state from GOP tax bill Phoenix airport terminal to be named after McCain McConnell: ‘Year of extraordinary accomplishment’ for Trump Franken to resign in early January Emily’s List: 25,000 women have reached out to us to run for office Language of persecuted Rohingya may be digitized Proactive threat assessment, not surveillance, will make schools safer Poll: National park fee hikes likely to reduce visits FBI deputy to be questioned in closed-door session by House panels Trump, GOP take victory lap after passage of tax bill McConnell to reporter: I understand ‘your job is to use the Democratic talking points’ on tax bill Susan Rice: Giving up U.S. moral authority makes mockery of ‘America first’ Children — the smallest victims — need extra help after disasters GOP poll: Republican up 9 in Tennessee Senate race Va. House district now tied after ballot review by panel of judges Trump hails AT&T for giving $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 employees because of tax bill passage Trump might sign tax bill at Mar-a-Lago: aide House GOP plan for separate bill on surveillance law ‘dead for now’ O’Reilly attorney: We have no choice but to ‘litigate fully and aggressively’ Artificial intelligence doesn’t require burdensome regulation WH: Trump wants Congress to pass bipartisan ObamaCare fixes in January Franken to give multiple ‘final speeches’ before leaving Congress Dem senator deletes tweeted picture of him giving thumbs-up with Trump Trump wants to visit border wall prototypes ‘very shortly’ Standing up for Blake Farenthold, as he always stood up for me Top Hollywood stars call on Congress for DACA fix Former FCC chair calls for regulating tech giants Atlanta airport shutdown a call to make Christmas a season for (flight) sharing David Cross makes sweet and sticky prediction about 2020 election Trump suggests US will cut off aid for countries that vote for UN resolution Watch live: Trump gives remarks after Congress passes tax reform bill WATCH: Lawmaker says funding bill in ‘state of flux’   Collins lets McConnell slide on promise to shore up insurance markets in 2017 Senate GOP pushes off ObamaCare bills until January The CDC’s word ban list is harmful to the health of the American public Judge declares mistrial in Nevada Bundy case Pentagon memo details process for accepting transgender recruits Rural counties at risk ahead of Census count For the sake of patient care and job creation, fully repeal the medical device tax Arizona seeks to impose Medicaid work requirements ‘Homeland’ showrunner: US feels ‘much scarier in real life’ than on our show How Republicans beat the odds on taxes Trump and the Republicans abandoned ‘pocketbook populism’ Congress votes to open Alaska refuge to oil drilling Trump says markets have not ‘fully digested’ benefits of tax proposal Congress repeals ObamaCare mandate, fulfilling longtime GOP goal House approves tax bill, sending sweeping measure to Trump Trump to reporters before prayer: ‘You need it more than I do’ DOJ drops appeal to prevent immigrant teen’s abortion Coinbase investigating insider trading in bitcoins CNN poll: Dems lead by 18 points on generic ballot Rand Paul threatens to filibuster long-term surveillance extension The most surprising winners from Trump’s ‘America First’ tax plan are not American The Hill’s 12:30 Report Trump: GOP tax bill ‘essentially’ repeals ObamaCare Court asks EPA when it will move forward with smog rule compliance Breitbart editor: Moore was a ‘weak candidate’ Tom Hanks: I would vote against screening new movie at Trump’s White House UN human rights chief decries weakened advocacy, says he won’t seek second term New comptroller of currency calls for moderate fixes to post-crisis banking rules Gun owners and Republicans don’t really want concealed carry reciprocity bill Ending veteran homelessness requires better leadership  Presidential pollster creates electoral strategy game US sanctions Chechen president Kadyrov under Magnitsky Act Ticket prices for New Year’s Eve at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort rise: report Lawmakers urge Tillerson to declassify Qatar counterterrorism agreement Trump lauds McConnell after tax win: Could not have asked for a better partner Two more women join defamation suit against O’Reilly, Fox News House Dems outpaced GOP by nearly $3 million in November NY state lawmaker introduces net neutrality bill Advocacy group: Nearly a third of Trump judicial nominees are anti-LGBT Crime rates lower, despite Trump’s warnings E! News host leaves network after learning she was paid half of male co-host’s salary State Dept: 8 Americans killed in Mexican tour bus crash Roy Moore made a lousy cowboy GOP senator: McConnell pledged to bring up DACA bill in January House GOP leaders ditch government funding plan amid infighting Delta CEO says airline may have lost up to $50M due to Atlanta power outage Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn: ‘I’m staying’ at the White House Missing train safety deadlines gambles with riders’ lives Nadler wins top Dem spot on Judiciary Health panel Dems demand answers from Azar on banned words Ryan: Medicare overhaul not the focus next year Quincy Jones: I wouldn’t visit Trump White House Romania arrests five for spreading ransomware in Europe, US Cruz: Only rich people in Manhattan and San Francisco will see higher taxes Trump blasts media for critical coverage of tax reform Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim sells off half of NY Times shares Wrong changes to key intelligence program may put us at risk GOP senator on tax bill: People will see that ‘we came through’ Trump Jr.: People at ‘highest levels’ who won’t ‘let America be America’ Paul Ryan on whether the tax bill will add to the deficit: ‘Nobody knows the answer to that question’ Seth Meyers suggests more words for Trump administration to ban Dem rep: ‘Democrats are not opposed to tax reform; we’re opposed to harmful tax reform’ France to ban oil and gas production by 2040 Steve Israel: The GOP just bet their majority on a tax plan no one likes Fallon: GOP tax bill is ‘payback’ for majority voting for Clinton LGBT rights group projects Trump CDC banned words on Trump Hotel GOP rep: I have read ‘wide swaths’ of tax bill, not the whole thing European court orders Uber to be regulated like taxis How we can lower drug costs and protect free markets at the same time De Blasio in Iowa: ‘I’m not running for president’ Rosie O’Donnell lashes out at GOP senator over tax bill: ‘Do you think your family is proud of you?’ John Dingell at GW Hospital after fall Palm Beach putting restrictions in place ahead of expected Trump visit After harassment allegations, Nevada congressman must step down now Savannah Guthrie to Paul Ryan: ‘Are you living in a fantasy world?’ Scaramucci labels Bannon a ‘loser’ UK to guarantee high-speed internet to entire country Ryan: GOP learned from health-care failure in passing tax overhaul Poll: Roughly a third would vote to reelect Trump Support for Trump impeachment hearings at 41 percent in new poll New York Daily News rips GOP tax plan: ‘Art of the Steal’ Joe Lieberman: The end of lawmaker entitlement — and their hush fund Race in America is changing; Census Bureau must catch up Listen: GOP on cusp of tax win, and today’s latest news Labor board burns through Obama-era rules Democrats hunt for an upset in Pennsylvania GOP senator: Senate to take up DACA bill in January Trump touts ‘biggest in history’ tax-cut bill after it passes in Senate Senate passes tax bill, pushing it closer to Trump’s desk Protests break out in Senate ahead of tax bill vote Schumer chides distracted Republicans on Senate floor during tax vote: ‘You’re messing up America’