Good morning. The House of Representatives is up against the clock to pass a government funding bill, lest the government shuts down right before Christmas — an outcome they are praying to avoid. Donald Trump and his allies are making demands that some House members are fighting, and now they’re at a crossroads. We’re also covering Trump’s upcoming plans for Israel and birthright citizenship. Let’s jump in.

Mentioned in this edition: JD Vance, Elon Musk, Mike Johnson, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lina Khan, Kamala Harris, Herschel Walker, Josh Hawley, Victoria Spartz, Matt Gaetz, Ron DeSantis, Lara Trump, Pope Francis, Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni, Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, Tom Homan, the government funding bill, the Constitution, Israeli hostage negotiations, and more

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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

💰 Trump, Vance, and Musk helped tank Johnson’s 1,500-page funding bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was forced to withdraw his massive government funding bill — which had been blasted by conservatives — and replace it with a significantly shorter bill after Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Elon Musk voiced their disapproval. However, the Trump-approved bill failed, too, after conservatives revolted over a provision to extend the debt ceiling. The most ardent GOP opponents are meeting with Vance today — but it’s still unclear how the House will pass something before funding expires, threatening a government shutdown.

🔵 AOC lost her bid to run the House Oversight Committee. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was defeated by the more senior Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) for the top spot on the Oversight Committee. Her loss highlights the difficulty Congressional Democrats will have in allowing new blood to rise to the top; the party heavily values seniority and has no term limits for committee chairs (unlike Republicans).

❌ The FTC is banning “hidden fees.” Lina Khan, the outgoing Federal Trade Commission chair, announced the FTC would mandate organizations, such as hotel chains and event hosts, to reveal the full price at the beginning of purchase, instead of trying to sneak added charges on later. Khan, whose activism is held in low esteem by establishment Republicans, has found strong support among the New Right, including from Vice President-elect JD Vance.

🗣 Trump’s team has begun deportation talks with Latin American governments. Via back-channels, Trump’s team has communicated with the governments of El Salvador and Mexico in an effort to begin work on the planned mass deportation campaign. He will need buy-in from Latin American governments in order to have a place to send the deportees.

🦅 THE EXECUTIVE

• President Joe Biden said Congress should ban members from trading stocks.

• The electoral college cast its votes for the 2024 presidential election; with zero faithless electors for the first time since 2012, Trump beat Harris 312-226.

• A group of Senate Democrats introduced a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College.

• Trump appointed former star football player and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.

🏛️ CONGRESS

🔒 This section is for members only

Mentioned behind the paywall: Josh Hawley, Victoria Spartz, Matt Gaetz, the House Ethics Panel, the child tax credit, and the House Ways and Means Committee.

🗓️ WHAT’S AHEAD

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Mentioned behind the paywall: The government funding bill, Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio, Lara Trump, President Biden, Pope Francis, and Giorgia Meloni.

Trump reshuffles his Israel team for a tougher approach

In his first term, President-elect Donald Trump managed to do something many had derided as impossible: he achieved the normalization of relations between Israel and four Muslim-majority countries: the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan (with the latter still in the process of finalizing a deal)…

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How Trump could end “automatic US citizenship” for illegal migrant children

President-elect Donald Trump is considering signing an executive order to eliminate birthright citizenship. In a statement from last May, Trump declared that on Day One, he would ensure the “correct interpretation of the law” would end “automatic US citizenship” for the children of illegal migrants…

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