-'Twas the week before Christmas,
when all through the House
and, well, the Senate and the Oval Office,
political news refused to take a break for the holidays.
The end of the year is typically a pretty quiet time in D.
C. The smell of jet fumes
beckons lawmakers to their home districts,
and the president prepares for a winter vacation.
But under the Trump administration,
all bets are off.
Let's take a look at what's happened
in this absolute whirlwind of a week.
Setting the tone for the week,
multiple probes forced Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
to resign over the weekend.
Then, Monday, December 17th yielded a congressional report
outlining the scope and scale
of Russian disinformation in the 2016 U.
S. presidential election.
Russian operatives targeted
every major social-media platform
in an attempt to sway political opinion.
Tuesday was the sentencing hearing
of Trump's former national security
adviser Michael Flynn, but it was postponed.
The judge told Flynn, "Arguably, you sold your country out."
Separately, the Donald J.
Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve
and relinquish its remaining assets
in the face of an investigation from New York Attorney
General Barbara Underwood.
And over on The Hill, the Senate passed
a sweeping criminal-justice-reform bill,
called the FIRST STEP Act,
sending it over to the House for a vote.
Trump also signaled that he'd be willing to back down
from his border-wall-funding demands
as part of the government-funding bill
to avoid a shutdown.
-You know, at this point, the Senate's thrown out
a lot of ideas.
We're disappointed in the fact that they've yet to actually
vote on something and pass something.
So when they do that, we'll make a determination
on whether or not we're gonna sign that.
-More on that later.
On Wednesday, December 19th,
Trump announced his intent to withdraw 2,000 troops
from Syria in a morning tweet,
saying that we have defeated ISIS in the war-torn country.
Under the guidance of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
the Republican-controlled Senate passed a short-term funding bill
that did not grant Trump his $5 billion
for the border wall.
-I'm sorry that my Democratic colleagues
couldn't put the partisanship aside and show
the same good-faith flexibility that the president has shown
in order to provide the resources
our nation needs to secure the integrity of our borders,
as well as the safety of American families.
-And in Congress' Lower Chamber,
House Speaker Paul Ryan bid farewell.
-And I leave as I came here, an optimist to the core.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
-Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve increased the benchmark
interest rate to 2%,
sending the Dow tumbling and stoking fears
about the health of the economy.
-And given recent developments, this statement notes
that we will continue to monitor
global economic and financial developments
and assess their implications for the economic outlook.
-Thursday, December 20th, had enough political news
to last for the remainder of 2018.
The house passed the criminal-justice-reform bill,
sending it to The White House for Trump's signature.
The Trump administration unveiled its plan
to enforce strict work requirements
for food-stamp recipients, reached a deal with Mexico
for asylum seekers to stay across the border
until their claims are processed,
and, ultimately, President Trump decided
not to back the government-funding bill
that would avoid a shutdown.
He made his shutdown news during a signing ceremony
for the farm bill.
-I've made my position very clear.
Any measure that funds
the government must include border security.
Has to.
Not for political purposes,
but for our country, for the safety.
-And all of that happened before Secretary
of Defense Jim Mattis resigned.
In his scathing resignation letter,
Mattis outlined his differences with Trump.
"My views on treating allies with respect
and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors
and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed
by over four decades of immersion in these issues."
In a move to appease Trump,
the House passed a measure around 8:00 p.
m.
, funding the government until February, that provided $5.
7 billion to build the border wall.
This would be good news for Trump,
but it's likely to face staunch opposition in the Senate.
Then, at around 8:30 p. m.
, news broke that Trump asked the Pentagon to withdraw
about 7,000 troops from Afghanistan.
In the morning, on Friday, December 21st,
with a government shutdown looming,
Trump threatened, in a tweet,
that unless he receivers border-wall funding,
there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time.
On that same morning, he met with lawmakers
at The White House while the rest of Congress
scrambled to avoid a midnight shutdown deadline.
-President Trump, you will not get your wall.
Abandon your shutdown strategy.
You're not getting the wall today, next week,
or on January 3rd,
when Democrats take control of the House.
-And the criminal-justice-reform bill finished its journey
by making its way to Trump's desk for his signature.
While signing the measure, Trump said this.
-And it's really up to the Democrats --
Totally up to the Democrats
as to whether or not we have a shutdown.
It's possible that we'll have a shutdown.
I would say the chances are probably very good,
'cause I don't think Democrats care so much about
maybe this issue, but this is a very big issue.
It's an issue of crime.
It's an issue of safety.
It's an issue of, least importantly, dollars.
-It's been an extremely busy week in D.
C.
, especially as the holiday is around the corner.
And all of this news foreshadows the hectic year
in politics that awaits us in 2019.
-Merry Christmas. Thank you.