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Senator Al Franken (D-MN) is expected to announce his resignation today at 11:45A after a majority of Dems called for him to step down. Meanwhile, 70% of respondents in a new poll think Congress should investigate the allegations of sexual assault made against the president. On Wednesday, Don Jr. cited attorney-client privilege to avoid telling lawmakers about a conversation he had with his father after news broke this summer that he met with Russia-connected individuals. But wait -- neither Trump Jr. nor the president is an attorney. But Trump Jr. told the House Intel Committee that there was a lawyer in the room during the discussion. Huh?? In other news from the Hill, the House approved legislation allowing those with permits to carry concealed weapons to legally travel with those firearms across state lines -- a top priority of the NRA. Also, VA Secretary David Shulkin touted the Trump administration’s promise to house all homeless vets, but then ended a special $460 million program that dramatically reduced homelessness among chronically sick and vulnerable veterans. Stand by for another tweet about how NFL players disrespect the troops. On the heels of 45 criticizing the top law enforcement agency, FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify before the House Judiciary Committee this morning at 10A. Feeling nostalgic yet? Not as much as NY Giants star Odell Beckham Jr., who recently showed off the tattooed faces of Barack and Michelle Obama on his arm. And about last night … Apparently, the DC streets were lit. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) co-hosted a DSCC 2044 holiday reception with minority donors to support the election of more diverse Senators. And not far away, Diddy dined with girlfriend Cassie and Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell at the Italian restaurant RPM. Ummm … guys … maybe you could have skipped the pasta and been all about those Benjamins at the DSCC 2044 event? Their paper chase could likely use some brother love. Ok, let’s get Thursday started with this...
- DCCC pulls Congressman Rubén Kihuen (D-NV) from key program that helps vulnerable incumbents.
- Barack Obama talks Nazis, free press, and regret.
- Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) may skip museum opening if 45 shows up.
- Roland Martin’s morning news show gets canceled.
- Meet the new reporter on the NYT International Desk.
- CBC Chair Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) says Caucus struggles with John Conyers exit.
- Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) redlines WSJ op-ed by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
- For Our Future names a CEO.
- Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) wants answers from the DEA about secret surveillance.
- Congressman Al Green's (D-TX) impeachment effort fails.
- John Conyers' son caught off guard by endorsement. Also, a beef with his girlfriend got violent. The story below.
- LGBT Latina makes it official that she’s running for Texas Governor.
- Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Deval Patrick head to Alabama.
- Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) intros bill to protect workers wanting to join unions.
- Congressman Rubén Gallego (D-AZ) calls for a halt in healthcare change for vets.
- Steve Bannon speaks to Black entrepreneurs.
- Democratic veterans voice opposition to admin proposal merging VA & DOD healthcare programs.
- Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) says there's a whistleblower in the Flynn case.
- Nearly 2,000 converge on Capitol Hill to push for DREAM Act legislation. The Beat DC’s Patricia Guadalupe has the story in Blogs.
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|  | Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) with West Point senior and Floridian Marcos Arroyo. | |  | NM congressional candidate Deb Haaland at the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. | |
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DCCC Pulls Kihuen from “Frontline” Program
The fallout continues from the allegation of sexual harassment against Congressman Rubén Kihuen (D-NV). The DCCC has removed all traces of Kihuen from their program, "Frontline," which gives vulnerable incumbents a fundraising boost and helps support their campaign operations. Kihuen has stood firm that he will not resign, despite pressure from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and DCCC Chair Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), who Kihuen says knew of the allegations when Kihuen first ran. The DCCC maintains that they were not aware of the allegations until Friday. If Kihuen decides not to run for reelection, Nevada’s governor would need to call a special election which would likely prompt an unpredictable scramble to represent a district that Trump narrowly won last year. Some Dems believe he has no real chance of winning if he sticks it out and runs for a second term in 2018. More here.
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Obama Talks Free Press, Nazis, and Regret
On Tuesday evening, former President Barack Obama participated in a q&a session before the Economic Club of Chicago with Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson. Obama said the country has survived tough times before and will again. He noted the days of anti-communist agitator Joseph McCarthy, and former President Richard Nixon. He said one reason the country survived is because it had a free press to ask questions. He said the danger is in growing complacent. "We have to tend to this garden of democracy or else things could fall apart quickly." He referenced Nazi Germany, saying that despite the democracy of the Weimar Republic and centuries of high-level cultural and scientific achievements, Adolph Hitler rose to power. "Sixty million people died. . . So, you've got to pay attention. And vote." POTUS44 said his greatest "regret and disappointment" was the failure to enact tighter controls on gun possession. "Something is broke," Obama said, his own voice breaking, as he talked about six-year-old girls shot to death at Sandy Hook; girls not too different in age from his own daughters. Approximately 2,800 people attended the event, filling two ballrooms at the Chicago Hilton. More here.
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Congressman Vicente González (D-TX) with troops in Afghanistan last month. | |  | Armstrong Williams taping his show, The Right Side. | |
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Al Green Impeachment Efforts Fail
Congressman Al Green (D-TX) forced a House vote on the impeachment of Donald Trump on Wednesday. A broad bipartisan majority nonetheless voted down the effort. Green introduced two articles of impeachment focused on divisive statements and actions Trump has taken. They included Trump’s defense of racist protests and violence in Charlottesville, VA, and his derisive comments about the NFL national anthem protests, among other things. The congressman said on the House floor that Trump has "undermined the integrity of his office, and has sewn discord among the people of the United States." Whether or not Trump has committed any crimes, Green argued, is irrelevant to the discussion. "The question isn't whether we have a bigot as President, the question is: What are we going to do about it?" Green wrote in a letter to fellow lawmakers ahead of the vote. "The answer is: impeachment for his high misdemeanors, which need not be a crime." The effort failed on a 364-58 vote, with four Dems -- including Joaquín Castro (D-TX), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Terri Sewell (D-AL) voting present. More here.
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Cedric Richmond, CBC Torn to See Caucus Founder Exit
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) has feelings about seeing former Congressman John Conyers resign from Congress and leave the Caucus he helped found more than 40 years ago. Richmond pushed back on calls for Conyers' resignation, asking instead for due process. "Within the family, this was the most trying moment," Richmond said in an interview Tuesday evening with The Advocate. "A guy that you’ve known, a person you’ve grown to love and accept as part of your family, you want to hold out hope that he did not do these awful things and treat people like this. Then you have a number of allegations out there that seem credible that cause alarm and disturb you," Richmond said. "However, you have no way of independently judging anything so you have to rely on the institution in (the Ethics Committee) to be that." The mounting accusations of harassment against Conyers, Richmond said, "created such an emotional tear" for CBC members, some of whom had worked with Conyers for decades. "It was very hard for members of the Caucus, and I could see the pain on their faces," Richmond said. The Caucus has praised the way Richmond handled the situation. More here.
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|  | CA State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate John Chiang with SEIU's Jeff Korenberg. | |  | AAPI Data's Alton Wang at a California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce panel on immigration. | |
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Conyers III Arrested for Domestic Abuse
Earlier this year, John Conyers III -- former Congressman John Conyers’ choice to succeed him, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in an altercation that led to his then-girlfriend being stabbed, but prosecutors did not charge him. Documents obtained by NBC News show that the LA County District Attorney’s Office cited a "lack of independent witnesses" and their conclusion that it "could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim’s injury -- small stab wound to her lower bicep -- was not accidentally sustained." The younger Conyers' then-girlfriend said a physical altercation occurred after he suspected her of cheating and went through her computer. She told police that he "body slammed her on the bed and then on the floor, where he pinned her down and spit on her." She said when she tried to call the police, he took her phone and then chased her into the kitchen, where she grabbed a knife and told him to leave. By her account, he took the knife and swung it at her, cutting her arm. These allegations will most certainly surface on the campaign trail -- if he decides to run. The younger Conyers tells CNN's Nia-Malika Henderson that he was "caught off-guard" by his father's endorsement. "I appreciate his endorsement," he said. "I was caught off-guard. I'm not saying I don't want it. He endorsed me, and he didn't have to do it. I was surprised in the manner in which he did it because I haven't made up my mind about what I plan to do." More here.
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LGBT Latina Announces TX Gubernatorial Run
Last month, we told you that Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez was weighing a Texas gubernatorial bid. On Wednesday morning, she made it official. First elected in 2004, the 70-year-old is serving her fourth term in the second-most populous county in TX and a Democratic stronghold. "Opportunity in Texas ought to be as big as this great state, but it is out of reach for far too many, that’s why I’m running for Texas Governor. I’m a proud Texas Democrat. I believe good government can make people’s lives better, and I intend to do just that," she said. Addressing reporters, Valdez used a mix of English and Spanish as she denounced state GOP leaders for "putting a spin on lies and creating fear," particularly when it comes to undocumented immigrants. Valdez was born to migrant farmworkers and raised in San Antonio. She attained the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army and worked stints as a jailer and federal prison guard. She subsequently served as an investigator in federal agencies, including the U.S. Customs Service, where she led an anti-smuggling campaign, and as a Senior Agent in the Department of Homeland Security, from which she retired in 2004 to run for Sheriff. She is the first openly gay female Sheriff in the state and the only Hispanic female Sheriff in the country. More here.
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Cory Booker, John Lewis, and Deval Patrick Head to Alabama
For Democratic Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones to defeat his Republican opponent, the accused child molester Roy Moore, he will have to motivate Barack Obama-level numbers of African Americans at the polls. Enter Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), all of whom Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) is bringing to her home state to help Jones take the lead in the tight contest. The Congresswoman has been leading the effort to organize a slate of Sunday campaign events, including a rally in Birmingham. WaPo reports that Sewell is also trying to cement plans for Congressional Black Caucus Chair Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) and Congressman Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-GA) to campaign for Jones on Sunday as well. More here.
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Check out the 80's windblown hair on Labor Secretary Alex Acosta back when he was a high schooler in Miami. | |  | That's Atlanta Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms back in the 70's rocking the obligatory pigtails for her 1st grade school pic. | |
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TV One Cancels Roland Martin
TV One has announced it is canceling Roland Martin’s morning show, NewsOne Now due to budget cuts. According to sources, they called a meeting on Wednesday and told the staff they were canceling the show. "After four years of award-winning programming and distinguished service to our viewers as the only Black daily newscast on television, the network has made the difficult decision to suspend the production of NewsOne Now as a daily morning news show. The last live show is scheduled [Dec. 21]," TV One’s interim GM, Michelle Rice wrote in a memo. The news shocked staffers -- including Martin -- as the network just expanded the morning show to two hours in September. "There were lots of tears ... The staff was completely caught off guard," a source told Page Six. Roland Martin’s show gave a platform to many Black and brown people whose voices would otherwise go unheard. Martin’s panels frequently offered a perspective unique to its audience that was well received. On Friday, The Beat DC’s Tiffany D. Cross will appear on one of the final tapings. Tune in. TV One says they plan to continue their partnership with Martin. More here.
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NYT’s International Desk Gets New Reporter
Selam Gebrekidan will be joining the NYT’s International Desk. She was most recently part of the Global Enterprise team at Reuters, where she covered global migration from three continents -- from upstate New York to sleepy towns across Europe, to the battlefront in Libya. She also helped produce video, audio, and interactive graphics for her work. “I want to write stories that render complex problems tangible, the kind of stories that connect global events to individual experiences,” she said. After graduating from Addis Ababa University, the Ethiopia native earned her Master’s from Columbia University. Her journalism skills earned her the Daniel Pearl Prize for Investigative Reporting. She will remain based in London. More here.
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|  | Watts Companies' Elroy Sailor with John Akouri, President of the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce. | |  | Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL) and members of Audubon FL on Lake Okeechobee in the Central Everglades. | |
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For Our Future Names CEO
Justin Myers has been hired as the CEO of For Our Future and For Our Future Action Fund. He most recently was the SVP at the Pivot Group, a team of campaign strategists. Prior to that, Myers was the Northeast Political Director for the DCCC, and in 2014, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. He spent a number of years working in various roles on a number of campaigns, including serving as Deputy Campaign Manager for former NC Senator Kay Hagan. Before entering politics, Justin served as a public high school teacher in NYC. The Philadelphia native earned his Master’s from Fordham University in 2005 after graduating from Colgate University in 2001. For Our Future was founded in 2016, when it ran a $60 million ground operation to help progressive candidates. Congrats, Justin! More about him here.
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Steve Bannon Speaks to Black Entrepreneurs
Steve Bannon delivered the keynote address at a luncheon hosted by Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF) at the Willard Hotel on Tuesday in downtown DC. BAFBF is an entrepreneur-focused super PAC “created to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party.” The financial backers of the PAC are not Black. Chairman Raynard Jackson said Bannon was at the luncheon, titled, “A Republican Vision for Minority Business Growth," not to give a speech, “but to open up a dialog.” Bannon said to the crowd of approximately 200 minority business owners that Black and Hispanic people are being victimized by a “globalist” economic agenda. He spent a good portion of his remarks pitting immigrants and various minority groups against one another, blaming some for the economic woes of others. “Illegal immigration and trade deals are two sides of the same coin,” he said. “It suppresses the wages of workers.” When one attendee asked Bannon about the dearth of African Americans in senior positions in the Trump administration, Bannon called the situation “inexcusable” before pivoting to a discussion of trade imbalances with China. Then he got on a plane and went to campaign for Republican Alabama Senate candidate and accused pedophile Roy Moore. See the video of Bannon’s remarks to BAFBF here.
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|  | Rev. Al Sharpton with Diddy power lunching in DC. | |  |
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaking at a Capitol Hill rally in support of DREAM Act legislation. | |
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Takano Redlines McConnell’s WSJ Op-Ed
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) penned an op-ed for the WSJ on the GOP’s tax bill. Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA), a former high school English teacher, gave it a failing grade. “I thought we agreed you can’t keep doing this last minute,” Takano wrote at the top of the page next to a circled “F” grade. Using his red pen, Takano peppered the piece with both criticism and corrections. McConnell referred to the Senate GOP tax plan as a “good bill.” Takano wrote, “Only 25 percent of Americans agree. What you turned in was a draft at best with notes scribbled in the margins.” At the bottom of the last page, Takao wrote, “When we are done discussing your writing, please see your math teacher. I fear you are at risk of failing both subjects!” The Congressman shared his review on Facebook.
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John Lewis May Skip Civil Rights Museum Opening if Trump Attends
Civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) said he will re-evaluate his plans to speak at the ribbon-cutting of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum this weekend, amid reports that he would be sharing a stage with Donald Trump. "It’s going to be very difficult for me to be there and be on the same platform with him," Lewis said in an interview Wednesday with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I think his presence would make a mockery of everything that people tried to do to redeem the soul of America and to make this country better," Lewis said. Lewis had been scheduled to attend a reception at the museum on Friday and speak at the museum’s opening ceremony on Saturday. Lewis said Trump’s presence at the event would be inappropriate, given the Commander-in-Chief’s response to white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, VA this summer. More here.
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|  | Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) chairing a House Appropriations Committee hearing on disaster relief funding. | |  | Senator TIm Scott (R-SC) on Monday visiting Giti Tire in Chester County, South Carolina. | |
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Castro Probes DEA Surveillance
Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) is asking the DEA to explain its role in the use of controversial cellphone spying devices on surveillance aircraft owned by the Texas National Guard. Devices mimic cellphone towers by tricking smartphones within a geographic area of up to one-third of a mile into connecting with the technology, usually without users or telecom companies ever knowing. The surveillance equipment is capable of intercepting the user’s location, phone numbers dialed, text messages, and photos, as well as listening in on calls. The Texas National Guard quietly spent more than $373,000 in state asset drug forfeiture money last year to install the secretive data-gathering equipment on two surveillance aircraft it uses to assist the DEA in counter-narcotics operations. "I want to know why a federal law enforcement agency is working with a military unit that is not law enforcement," he said. "And I want to make sure that the privacy of Texans is being protected." In the November 29th letter addressed to DEA Acting Administrator Robert Patterson, Castro asks whether the federal agency is obtaining a search warrant before using the surveillance devices -- a warrant is mandated under federal privacy rules. More here.
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Ed & Workforce Dems Intro Bill to Protect Freedom to Join Unions
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act of 2017 (WAGE Act) which aims to deter employers from violating the National Labor Relations Act when workers exercise their rights to join unions. It does so by requiring civil penalties for serious violations, strengthening remedies for workers who have been unlawfully discharged, and empowering workers with the right to seek relief in federal court -- similar to rights guaranteed under other civil rights and employment laws. "For too long, employers have used illegal tactics to fight back against union organizing drives – tactics like threatening workers and firing them for union activity," said Scott. "They have gotten away with it because the National Labor Relations Act – the law protecting workers’ right to organize – leaves workers with insufficient recourse. The WAGE Act changes that." More here.
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Santiago Márquez of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Gabriel Vaca of UPS, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Javier Palomárez. | |  | Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) with the team from The River and the Wall, a documentary following five photographers and adventurers on a mountain bike, horse, and canoe journey along the Rio Grande River and the US-Mexico border. | |
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Dem Veterans Against Administration’s VA-Tricare Merger Proposal
Congressman Rubén Gallego (D-AZ), joined by five fellow Democratic vets, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Tuesday calling on the Trump administration to reconsider a plan reportedly being developed which partially merges the VA and DOD’s healthcare systems. Their letter argues that the proposal represents a “dangerous step” towards privatization that could compromise the VA’s critical role as a direct provider of care to veterans. “Veterans recognize that merging the VA with Tricare simply doesn’t make sense,” said Gallego, a Marine Corps combat veteran. “The Trump Administration’s obvious intention is to erode the VA’s ability to serve as a direct provider of care to men and women who risked their lives for our country. ... Congress should put a stop to this unwise and unworkable plan.” The Congressmen also criticized the secretive manner in which the proposal is reportedly being developed -- without public meetings, independent studies, or consultations with veterans organizations. Also signing the letter were Anthony Brown (D-MD), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Collin Peterson (D-MN). See the letter here.
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Cummings Informs GOP of Whistleblower in Flynn Case
Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC), letting him know that a whistleblower has come forward with evidence that Lt. General Michael Flynn -- within minutes of Donald Trump being sworn in -- was communicating directly with his former business colleague about their plan to work with Russia to build nuclear reactors in the Middle East. According to the whistleblower, Alex Copson, Flynn was making sure that sanctions would be "ripped up" as one of his first orders of business and that this would allow money to start flowing into their project to work with Russia to build nuclear reactors in the Middle East. "Our Committee has credible allegations that President Trump’s National Security Advisor sought to manipulate the course of international nuclear policy for the financial gain of his former business partners. These grave allegations compel a full, credible, and bipartisan congressional investigation," Cummings wrote. See the letter here.
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| FOMO Today, 2P: The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is sponsoring "Resourcing Black Lives: Funding Movement Building.” The event in NYC is at capacity but click here to register to attend via video conference. Call-in information: 646.558.8656, Meeting ID: 877 179 480 or via web: https://zoom.us/j/877179480
Today, 6P: The Ladies of Twelve Days of Christmas, Inc. Metro DC Chapter’s 15th Annual Holiday Party. SAX Lounge 734 11th Street, N.W. Click here to RSVP.
Monday, December 11th, 6P: A reception with former Attorney General Eric Holder in support of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Click here to RSVP. Location provided upon RSVP.
Monday, December 11th, 6P: The Hispanic Lobbyists Association hosts its annual holiday party. UPS Townhouse 421 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 9A: The Raben Group hosts Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA) for a breakfast discussion on How Cities and Suburbs are Combating Poverty. 1341 G Street, N.W. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 2P: The Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls is hosting a roundtable discussion, Leading From The Black: How Black Women Lead Even When Ignored. 2168 Rayburn HOB. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 5P: Join Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL) for her Ho Ho Harley Holiday Reception and fundraiser. 413 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. To RSVP, contact Caroline Stonecipher or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or Caroline@ABCConsultingDC.com.
Thursday, December 14th, 6P: Solidarity Strategies hosts a Holiday Fiesta. Invite only.
Saturday, December 16th, 8P: The National Black MBA DC Chapter Annual Holiday Party. Hard Rock Cafe, 999 E Street, N.W. Click here to purchase tickets.
April 19, 2018: The University of North Dakota sponsors a conference on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock protests. Click here for more information.
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