Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Internet Abuzz As Kamala Cancels CA Trip; Biden Was Always Set to Return to DC Thursday Night
[Biden] looked haunted and strange as he shuffled gingerly across the White House lawn with Jill and his grandson Beau and mostly ignored the reporters who were shouting questions at him.
Scott Jennings Wrecks Dems Attack on Trump and Musk With Brilliant Truth Bomb
Democrats didn't care about Biden's incapacity. They only cared if they could win. That's why they replaced Biden with someone who didn't get one vote for the top position in the primary.
Heading back to Delaware seems to be a bitter pill for Dr. Jill to swallow, and I imagine it's going to be a cold, cold holiday season in the White House this year.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
After two failed CR attempts — one fat, one skinny — how will the drama of government funding unfold on Friday with the midnight deadline looming? Will there be a last-minute, short-term solution found? Will a partial shutdown commence when the clock strikes twelve? We'll keep you posted!
White House What's Up
Lots of speculation overnight as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both returned to the the White House/D.C. If you're a regular reader of the Morning Minute, then you likely know that Joe was always scheduled to return to the White House Thursday afternoon/evening, following a brief trip to Delaware for a memorial service for his late wife Neilia and daughter Naomi. Harris' trip cancelation was more abrupt, but the expectation that her vote might be needed to break a Senate tie isn't unreasonable. Could there be something else afoot? Was the WSJ reveal just a precursor to some sort of dramatic exit? Sure, it's possible, but I'm sticking with the simpler explanation(s) until we know otherwise.
In any event, Joe's busy Friday forgiving more student loan debt before he and Jill head over to Children's National Hospital in the afternoon for a holiday visit with patients and families.
Full Court Press...
The big court-related news Thursday was the decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals to disqualify Fani Willis and her office from the prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia RICO/election interference case. The case remains pending, but the likelihood of a different prosecutor attempting to pick up the ball and run with it seems slim.
Then, too, Luigi Mangione, suspected killer of UHC Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was transported from Pennsylvania to New York on Thursday and brought up on federal charges.
Once again, we did not receive the New York appellate court ruling on Trump's civil fraud appeal. December 24 is a hand-down date for the court — will there be a Christmas Eve surprise?
MORNING MUSING
"Congress" is trending this morning on Twitter (sorry, X) — pretty much for all the wrong reasons. Is it too optimistic to hope that they'll finally figure out how to quit this same-old, same-old song and dance that serves only the special interests (and the critters themselves) and not their constituents? We did vote for a different way. The hitch, of course, is that what we voted for hasn't officially taken effect yet, so we're stuck in the Twilight Zone for another month. I try not to get overly cynical about it all, but sometimes, that's a tall order.
LIGHTER FARE
Stealth pup...
🤣🤣🤣 I'm dying. pic.twitter.com/NApvKMgDQm
— Paratrooper Brady™️ 🇺🇲 (@82ndairborneBT) December 19, 2024
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