TRUMP AGENDA: Senate vote to reopen the government takes place at noon ET
Shutdown latest from Leigh Ann Caldwell, Frank Thorp and Andrew Rafferty: “The Senate adjourned Sunday night without taking a vote and without reaching a deal to reopen the government. The shutdown will last into a third day as Senate leaders agreed to hold a vote on a three-week funding bill Monday at noon. After a bipartisan group of senators came up with a potential path forward and floated it by Senate leaders, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky gave a "status update" at just after 9 p.m. Sunday, laying out the contours of how to address the issues the Congress has yet to agree on, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. He said that if an agreement isn't reached on a myriad of issues by the next funding deadline, Feb. 8, then it is his "intention" to bring up the legislation.”
“As the government shutdown continued for its second day on Sunday, one thing was clear to both sides of the negotiations to end it: The president was either unwilling or unable to articulate the immigration policy he wanted, much less understand the nuances of what it would involve,” writes the New York Times.
And from the Washington Post: “Aides and advisers also reminded Trump of the perils of getting too deeply involved at this point, noting Congress is more unpopular than him and talking about some of the unpleasant experiences he has had negotiating with Capitol Hill. Privately, some of his closest advisers admit the president is an erratic dealmaker who can unexpectedly overturn negotiations like a flimsy coffee table.”
The Wall Street Journal: “A shutdown effort is a massive one that, despite temporarily halting government operations, imposes significant costs. Two separate shutdowns in fiscal year 1996 cost the government about $1.4 billion over 21 days, the Office of Management and Budget said at the time. The 16-day shutdown in 2013 cost roughly $2 billion in retroactive pay to furloughed employees, plus billions more in lost economic output, according to OMB.”
And from the Washington Post: “The effects of the shutdown over the weekend were relatively limited: halting trash pickup on National Park Service property, canceling military reservists’ drill plans, switching off some government employees’ cellphones. But the shutdown’s continuing into Monday, the start of the workweek, means that hundreds of thousands of workers will stay home and key federal agencies will be affected. Federal contractors will see payments delayed, and the Internal Revenue Service will slow its preparations for the coming tax season.”
“White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is emerging from his usual behind-the-scenes role to become one of the president’s chief conservative anchors on the immigration issue, a spot once occupied by former chief strategist Steve Bannon,” the Wall Street Journal writes.
And the Washington Post profiles Stephen Miller’s role in the showdown.
POLITICO reminds us of the consequences of a lopsided spending deal: “As President Donald Trump and congressional leaders strategize and demonize in pursuit of all-out political victory in 2018, they might want to remember what happened after President Barack Obama struck a lopsided deal with Republican leaders in 2011, amid a fight over spending. At first, Democrats celebrated their fleecing of the GOP. But the humiliating defeat ended up hardening Republican positions before the next battle, which nearly produced an economic catastrophe on Obama’s watch, and set the stage for the recurring crises that have driven budget policy every year since.”
Via the AP: “Vice President Mike Pence, weighing in from the Middle East on the shutdown in Washington, accused the U.S. Congress of playing politics with military pay, and told U.S. service members stationed near the Syrian border that the Trump administration would demand that lawmakers reopen the government. Pence said they deserved their pay and benefits and service members and their families ‘shouldn't have to worry about getting paid.’”
And then there’s this, also from Pence’s trip: “U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pointedly referred to Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Monday as he met the country's leader, further vexing Palestinians who have already snubbed his visit over a U.S. policy shift towards the holy city.”
“Representative Patrick Meehan, a Pennsylvania Republican who has taken a leading role in fighting sexual harassment in Congress, used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle his own misconduct complaint after a former aide accused him last year of making unwanted romantic overtures to her, according to several people familiar with the settlement,” writes the New York Times.
And don’t miss this: “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt is reporting exclusively from North Korea, and today, he reported from Masikyrong Ski Resort, a modern ski resort about four hours outside the capital city of Pyongyang, where he was told that athletes from North and South Korea will be training for the Olympics.
OFF TO THE RACES: Economic satisfaction is up, but that isn’t boosting Trump
ICYMI: From our poll out on Friday: “Americans are more satisfied with the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in nearly two decades, but their soaring economic enthusiasm has done little to soften the public’s personal dislike of President Donald Trump, a new poll from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal shows. And at a moment when the Republican Party could be reaping the benefits of the good economic news, the GOP’s congressional majorities remain in jeopardy as a sizable group of voters prepare to make their indignation toward the president known at the ballot box in November.”
MO-GOV: “In his first interview since acknowledging an extramarital affair, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said Saturday that there was "no blackmail" and "no threat of violence" by him in what he described as a months-long "consensual relationship" with his former hairdresser. Greitens told The Associated Press that he has no plans to resign from office as a result of the affair, despite calls to step aside from several Republican and Democratic state lawmakers.”
NJ-SEN: ICYMI last week: “U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said Friday he intends to run for re-election this year even though federal prosecutors revealed earlier in the day they plan to retry the New Jersey Democrat on corruption charg