The TAKE with Rick Klein
It’s easier to be Santa than the Grinch.
The flurry of pre-Christmas activity in Congress confirms this as a fundamental of politics – something that even President Donald Trump hasn’t changed.
If all goes as planned, the government will stay open and a tax bill will (eventually) be signed. Somehow, though, Congress and the White House won’t have made any hard choices to accomplish its biggest accomplishments.
Republicans found unity in cutting taxes. But the “Christmas gift” to the American people may have to wait until after Christmas, mainly to avoid budget cuts that would kick in because of how the new law will impact the deficit.
The government will continue to stay open because of a “continuing resolution” – yes, another one. The political time bombs around children’s health insurance, immigration and the DREAMers, defense spending, and the debt limit all get nudged into the new year.
There is peace at this time.
But this season of giving will make way to a season where something has to give.
The RUNDOWN with John Verhovek
For the last two days, Republicans have been all smiles as they were poised to pass a massive rewrite of the U.S. tax code in what will be the first major legislative victory for President Trump.
But for all the high-fiving and back-slapping comes the political reality that despite the bill’s passage, recent polling on the bill shows it is largely viewed as policy that will likely help wealthy Americans the most.
The 2018 landscape is beginning to take shape, and with President Trump's approval rating still wallowing in the mid-to-low 30's, Republicans will no doubt make this tax bill a major plank of their re-election campaign, regardless of the polling.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said earlier this week that the "results" from the tax bill will help win over skeptical 2018 voters.
For the GOP, those results can't come soon enough.
Recent polls from CNN, Quinnipiac, NBC News/Wall Street Journal and Marist have all shown Democrats with a double-digit lead on a generic congressional ballot.
Those results the Speaker was touting need to turn the tide fast, with the first 2018 midterm primaries now under three months away.
The TIP with Alexander Mallin
President Donald Trump took a break from White House activities to visit Walter Reed Medical Center to meet with wounded service members and their families on Thursday.
The president mingled with families and a few service members in a cafeteria-type area of the hospital. In one exchange, a vet in a wheelchair pivoted to show the president a 'TRUMP' sticker on the rear of his chair, Trump was visibly excited.
Separately, White House social media director Dan Scavino posted a video of the president awarding the Purple Heart to a wounded service member in his hospital bed.
The president grips the hand of the soldier, identified as a First Lieutenant, then pins the award to his shirt.
Watch the video here - http://bit.ly/2BLT4PE
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This vote will be remembered,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Thursday following the U.N. General Assembly’s 128-9 vote to condemn President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
NEED TO READ
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. The Note will be on hiatus from Dec. 25 - Jan. 2. Please check back on Jan. 3rd for the latest.
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