The TAKE with Rick Klein
Take a swig of water, get your selfie with some greenbacks, and ignore a question about Roy Moore while you're at it.
Republicans are set to test the old and probably dated notion that bigger deals can be easier to close than small ones. The stakes for the party have expanded accordingly with the first votes on tax reform set for today in the House.
Through a combination of failures in the past and worries for the future – and the overriding sense that they have one last chance to get things right – the GOP's hopes, dreams and electoral prospects now look to be riding in huge tax cut/health care bill that President Donald Trump says has to pass by Christmas.
So take an intricate and delicate tax bill, then add the issue that's bedeviled Republicans for all of 2017...
Ok, maybe pause to take a sip here.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who of course wants Obamacare gone, said he fears adding the individual mandate repeal to the tax bill would "needlessly complicate" matters. This comes a week after Virginia voters went with Democrats in an election where exit polls indicated that health care was the No. 1 issue on their minds.
Now comes Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., a conservative who says he's against both the House and Senate versions of the tax bills. He doesn't like the process or the substance: "neither the House nor Senate bill provide fair treatment," Johnson said in a statement.
The political world rightly awaits the president's position on Moore's candidacy. But keep in mind that the president has only started to engage on the tax bill.
How's that gone for Republicans to date?
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
The allegations against Alabama Judge Roy Moore run the gamut, from sexual misconduct to eager attention from a man in his 30s that made teenage girls at the time feel incredibly uncomfortable.
In total, eight women have now come forward to tell stories of specific encounters they had years ago with a man now running for U.S. Senate. Five additional women have come forward since the initial Washington Post story broke.
The range of accusations paints a damning picture against Moore, but also extends a national conversation already underway about what counts as harassment. There are legal definitions, sure, but so much falls through the cracks, goes unreported or is endured for a number of reasons.
While Moore continues to try to get to Capitol Hill, a group of lawmakers already there introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday to help people who experience harassment in the halls of Congress.
The group says their legislation would update an outdated system by expediting the process for filing complaints, helping victims get representation and making harassment settlements more transparent.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said Wednesday, "Too many congressional offices are not taking this problem seriously at all."
The bright side of the sad story in Alabama is that, if true, maybe that will change.
The TIP with Katherine Faulders and Alexander Mallin
The White House has replaced various photos in the West Wing to reflect President Trump's "historic" 12-day Asia tour, displaying several photos including one of First Lady Melania Trump's visit to the Great Wall of China, one of the performance President Trump attended with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Forbidden City and another of the president with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
It's become a habit following foreign trips, it seems, as the White House did the same after his first foreign trip, including a photo of Trump sword dancing in Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, Trump touted the trip's accomplishments in a speech from the White House, including his efforts to strengthen alliances in the region, rectify self-described "unfair" trade deals, and unite opposition to acts of North Korean aggression.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"There's a special place in hell for people who prey on children. I've yet to see a valid explanation and I have no reason to doubt the victims' accounts." – Ivanka Trump said in an interview with the Associated Press on the Roy Moore scandal.
NEED TO READ
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