Monday, Dec. 31

á           The Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump averaged 15 erroneous claims per day in 2018, almost triple his rate of falsehoods of the year before.

á           Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.) announced her 2020 presidential campaign, the first major Democratic candidate to do so.

á           A federal employees union filed suit against the Trump administration alleging that the partial government shutdown, which began Dec. 22, is forcing more than 400,000 government employees to work without pay.

Tuesday, Jan. 1

á           In his New Year speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un renewed a commitment to denuclearization but warned that if Washington maintains sanctions and pressure, he would Òseek a new path.Ó

á           Republican Mitt Romney, elected as a Senator representing Utah who will be sworn in Wednesday, published a scathing op-ed criticizing Trump, saying, ÒBut, on balance, his conduct over the past two years É is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.Ó

Wednesday, Jan. 2

á           Trump and other lawmakers warned that the partial government shutdown could last a "long time" as a White House meeting between the president and legislators ended with little progress on a deal over Trump's proposed border wall.

á           Trump held a 95-minute televised cabinet meeting, marked by the number of vacancies in the cabinet and described as meandering and filled with falsehoods, including his statement, ÒÒThey say I am the most popular president in the history of the Republican Party.Ó

Thursday, Jan. 3

á           Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the first woman elected Speaker of the House, returned to the position, the only member of Congress to return to the speakership since Sam Rayburn in 1955.

á           The Washington Post reported that The Justice DepartmentÕs public integrity section is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to his agencyÕs inspector general investigators.

á           The House passed legislation that would provide stopgap funding for the Department of Homeland Security — without any funding for TrumpÕs border wall — and another set of bills to re-open other agencies caught in the partial shutdown.

Friday, Jan. 4

á           The Washington Post reported that three people have died in accidents in national parks since the partial shutdown began. The National Park Service has left the parks open even though services have been curtailed.

á           In a Rose Garden press conference Trump said the shutdown could go on for  months or even years, and said he has the power to declare a national emergency and build the wall without Congressional approval.

á           Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would not resign if Trump asked him to.

á           A federal appeals court threw out a lower court ruling that blocked a policy barring certain transgender people from serving in the U.S. armed forces. However, other federal courts have issued injunctions against the policy, which applied nationwide.

á           The Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases of partisan gerrymandering which lower courts in North Carolina and Maryland said were so extreme they violated votersÕ rights.

á           NASA announced that it has indefinitely postponed a proposed visit to the U.S. by a sanctioned Russian official after backlash from Congressional Democrats.

á           The key grand jury used by Mueller came into existence on July 5, 2017, and would have run out Saturday without action from the court. Chief Judge Beryl Howell approved the extension of the investigative panel.

á           Pay raises for senior government officials that had been scheduled to go into effect Sunday after a long-standing pay freeze lapsed, were canceled. Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Margaret Weichert, said in a memo issued late in the day that the pay freeze should be extended until Òappropriations legislation is enacted that would clarify the status of the freeze.

Saturday, Jan. 5

á           Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed a memo authorizing national parks that have Òavailable balancesÓ of park fees to spend them on operations, including trash collection and sanitation, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations and entrance staff during the partial government shutdown. Some critics have questioned whether the move is legal.

á           Vice President Mike Pence and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen met with congressional aides to continue to push for funding for a wall on the southern border of the U.S. with no apparent progress.

á           Ret. Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney resigned as Pentagon chief of staff, forced out by the White House according to CNN reporting.

Sunday, Jan. 6

á           TrumpÕs national security adviser, John Bolton, said the U.S. military withdrawal from northeastern Syria is conditioned on defeating the remnants of the Islamic State group, and on Turkey assuring the safety of Kurdish fighters allied with the United States.

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