House and Senate Republicans have released their tax conference report. (There's also a two-page summary.) It looks like it's on track to pass next week, now that key Senate holdouts — Sens. Marco Rubio and Bob Corker — have announced their support for the bill.
What's next: The House will vote on the bill on Tuesday, according to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and then the Senate will follow. House Republicans will meet on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Sen. Marco Rubio's office has confirmed to reporters that the senator will be voting for the GOP tax cuts bill now that the child tax credit has been enhanced to meet his standards.
The number of people planning to attend law schools next fall has increased by 12%, there have been 14% more law school applications and 23 law schools reported 40% increases in applications, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.
Why it matters: Interest in law school has been declining since before the recession, Wall Street Journal reports. Law school deans and advisors told WSJ that the upturn is at least in part due to the legal issues arising from Trump's administration, better discounts at law schools and a revived economy.
The House Ethics Committee announced today that it has opened an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen of Nevada. A female staffer claimed earlier this month that Kihuen made inappropriate advances toward her during his 2016 House campaign.
President Trump received a warm welcome at the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony Friday, less than an hour after continuing to make claims about how angry the American public is with the bureau and his Justice Department, calling it "a shame." But Trump took on a more optimistic tune during his speech to the academy:
"Know, with me as your president, America's police will have a true friend and loyal champion in the White House – more loyal than anyone else can be...The president of the United States has your back 100 percent."
A Democratic woman who was running for Congress in Kansas' 3rd district dropped out of the race today after it was revealed a former male employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit about her in 2005. She denies his allegations.
Why it matters: Andrea Ramsey is the first female candidate accused of sexual harassment in a time when these allegations are hitting nearly every industry. And her resignation from the race reflects the zero-tolerance policy the Democratic Party is implementing for such instances and for candidates at every level.
"When you look at what's gone on with the FBI and this Justice Department — people are very, very angry... the level of anger with this FBI is certainly very sad." — President Trump on his way to Quantico to participate in the FBI graduation
He also lamented how "it's a shame" what's happened with the Bureau, but added "we're going to rebuild the FBI, it'll be bigger and better than ever."
We constantly have to remind ourselves how not-normal these times are, and The Washington Post today finds a fresh way to illuminate President Trump's anomalous and inexplicable views on Russia.
Be smart: "His position has alienated close American allies and often undercut members of his Cabinet ... against the backdrop of a criminal probe into possible ties between [his] campaign and the Kremlin."
The Trump administration is planning a push to convince the American public that the current U.S. immigration system is "bad for American workers" and "bad for American security," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told AP.
Between the lines: In exchange for a legislative fix for DACA recipients, the White House wants funding for a border wall and a switch from the existing family-based immigration system to a merit-based one. They plan to use data on chain migration and the number of immigrants in U.S. jails to make the case that the current immigration system is an economic and national security threat.
Omarosa Manigault, who was the only African American woman among President Trump's senior White House staff, drew attention to the Trump administration's lack of diversity when she resigned on Wednesday. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders maintained that the White House has "a really diverse team" across all departments, and are always trying to add to it.
The reality: Manigault, along with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, was one of two black officials among Trump's three dozen-plus team of Cabinet members and senior staffers.
President Trump says he's confident the GOP tax bill will get Sen. Marco Rubio's vote despite a Washington Post report that Rubio is threatening to vote against the plan unless it includes the child tax credit expansion he has been advocating for.
Trump made the comments at a White House event where he "cut the red tape" of government regulations and claimed his administration has ended 22 old regulations for every new one created.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday, "We're really proud of the work we've done already with Senator Rubio, doubling the child tax credit."
Moments before, the Washington Post reported that Marco Rubio informed Senate leaders he would vote against the Republicans' $1.5 trillion tax plan unless it includes the child tax credit provision he has been advocating for.
News outlets are starting to share rumors that Paul Ryan's seriously considering retirement from his House Speaker role after the 2018 midterms.
Mark Fuller of the Huffington Post reports that the buzz has reached members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who believe Ryan'll be out after he gets tax reform done. And Politico's Tim Alberta and Rachael Bade say Ryan's talked with close aides about leaving after the 2018 midterms.
Republicans are considering bumping up the expiration date for individual tax cuts from the end of 2025 to the end of 2024, the Washington Post reports. This would give them extra revenue to work with while staying within budget rules. The lower corporate rate is expected to be permanent, as it was in both the House and Senate bills.
Why this matters: This is ammo for the argument that the tax bill is mainly for the rich. While Republicans insist that a future Congress won't ever let the lower individual rates expire, the move would be an admission that the bill will end up costing much more than $1.5 trillion.
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) will not seek reelection following allegations of sexual harassment from multiple former staff members, Politico reports.
When accused of using public funds to settle sexual harssment charges, Farenthold originally claimed he had done nothing wrong. The House Ethics Committee recently initiated an investigation into the claims, and today CNN reported that a former senior aide planned to tell his damning account of Farenthold's misconduct.
Before he took office, President Trump was urged by his closest circle of advisors, including Jared Kushner and Reince Priebus, to publicly admit that U.S. intelligence agencies were right about Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election, the Washington Post reported. Trump refused and still refuses, denying that anything other than his own campaigning tactics won him the presidency.
Why it matters: Trump's distrust of U.S. intel has led to zero White House initiatives in looking at how to prevent future cyberattacks. Sources told the Post that there has not been a single Cabinet-level meeting about Russia's election interference. There's been more effort into finding ways to roll back some of Obama's sanctions on Russia.
President Trump is slowly but surely giving Democrats an increasing shot at winning the House and Senate in 2018. If this happened, the House would surely move to impeach him.
The big picture: The numbers — not just in Alabama, but for the totality of elections in 2017 — have top Republicans rattled:
Stacia Robitaille, wife of Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, tweeted on Monday that President Trump once told her she was "coming home with him" at Madison Square Gardens."
I was once on a elevator alone with @realDonaldTrump (& a man w/him) at Madison Square Gardens. He was aggressive & told me I was coming home with him. I laughed, stating I was married to a Ranger. He guaranteed me my husband didn’t make as much money as him. #ThisIsOurPresident— Stacia Robitaille 🦋 (@StaciaRR) December 12, 2017
A former communications director for Rep. Blake Farenthold told CNN that the Texas congressman's office was such "an intensely hostile environment" that he was "[driven]...to physical and emotional distress."
Why it matters: The House Ethics Committee is already investigating Farenthold for separate sexual harassment allegations, which were reportedly settled by the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2014 for $84,000. Rekola shared his allegations with the office of Rep. Susan Brooks, the chairwoman of the committee.
