| | | | The #metoo movement comes to Washington | | Looking back, historians may view this week as the week where the #metoo movement fully landed in political Washington.
Consider what has happened in the last week alone (in reverse chronological order):
* Arizona Rep. Trent Franks (R) is resigning from Congress, as the House Ethics Committee announced tonight that it will investigate whether he engaged in "conduct that constitutes sexual harassment and/or retaliation for opposing sexual harassment."
In a statement announcing his resignation, Franks acknowledged that he learned this week that the committee was looking into complaints from two female former staffers.
"Due to my familiarity and experience with the process of surrogacy, I clearly became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others," Franks said in the statement.
* Minnesota Sen. Al Franken (D) announced on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon that he plans to resign by the end of the year after a series of allegations that he groped and forcible kissed multiple women.
* Michigan Rep. John Conyers (D) resigned his seat on Tuesday following a series of allegations of sexual harassment from former staffers.
* Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold (R) was revealed by The New York Times last Friday to have used $84,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim against him. The House Ethics Committee has established a subcommittee to investigate Farenthold's alleged actions as well.
And that list doesn't even take into account the allegations that continue to swirl around Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore as the December 12 special election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions draws ever closer.
That's remarkable. And there are a few people in Washington who believe the men forced out of office this week due to allegations of inappropriate conduct with and around women will be the last people caught up in this.
Anyone who has spent time covering Congress knows that it is one of the last old boys' clubs in the country. You'd be forgiven, after spending a day on the Hill, if you had to look at a calendar to remind yourself that it's 2017, not 1957.
The Point: The reckoning we've seen sweep the country regarding men behaving badly has come to Washington in a major way this week. And it's not likely to leave anytime soon. | | SENATOR RESIGNATIONS: A DEEP DIVE | | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes: Sen. Al Franken will in the coming weeks become the 323rd member of the US Senate to resign during their term of office. But what do we know about the 322 who came before him?
Before Franken, only four Senators had called it quits in the midst of a scandal in the last century, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Senate Historian's office.
About a quarter of the resignations, 23%, have resulted from some kind of executive branch appointment vs. 14% who quit to run for governor or another state or local office. About one in ten, 11%, quit to join a federal or state/local judiciary and 7% quit for a diplomatic appointment.
The number of those moving to an executive branch post has climbed dramatically — from 15% before 1850 to 34% since 1850. About one in eight, 12%, quit for some private pursuit outside of government. Another 6% quit because they were sick and 5% withdrew after secession during the Civil War. Another 3% resigned over scandal and 2% resigned after a clash with their state legislature, back before the direct election of senators. Reasons for 13% of the resignations are unclear, according to the US Senate historian's office, nearly all of them occurring before 1850. Read more in Ryan's story here. | | "The President's throat was dry. Nothing more than that."
— Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on President Trump's slurred words during at end of Jerusalem announcement yesterday. | | | | Jason Mraz and Sara Bareilles will co-star in "Waitress" the musical for a two week run in January. The musical teased the shows with this "It Only Takes A Taste" video on Facebook. It's adorable. | | Protests broke out following President Trump's announcement on Wednesday during which he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Analysts previously told CNN that the move is roiling US allies because it bucks international norms and has the potential to destabilize the region. Recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital could upend efforts led by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to revive Mideast peace talks; could spark regional protests that might put US military and diplomatic personnel at risk; and could hand a propaganda weapon to militant groups and Iran, analysts say.
CNN's Andrew Carey, Ian Lee and Angela Dewan reported Thursday that "dozens of people were injured in the West Bank on Thursday as Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces over US President Donald Trump's controversial decision. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the holy city as their capital."
Read more in CNN's story here. | | HRC ON WHAT 'WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIX' | | CNN's Eli Watkins writes:
"Hillary Clinton called on her supporters via Twitter on Thursday to press Congress to renew an expired program that provides health insurance to about 9 million children from lower-income families.
Federal funding ran out for the program in September, and despite bipartisan support in the past, Congress has yet to pass reauthorization for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), making it a major focal point for the ongoing debate to fund the government past Friday.
'There's a lot to be frustrated by right now, to say the least. Here's something that we should be able to fix,' Clinton wrote in a series of tweets. 'The Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for 9 million kids & has been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis every year for almost 2 decades, is hanging in limbo because Congress let it expire over 2 months ago.'"
Read more in Eli's story here. | | America pauses on December 7 to remember the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor that led the US into World War II. CNN's Brenna Williams writes:
Seventy-six years ago today, Japanese forces carried out an attack on a US Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing thousands and catapulting the United States into World War II. December 7, 1941, has since been remembered as, in President Franklin Roosevelt's words, "a date which will live in infamy." Here are some things you might not know about that infamous day: - Japan hadn't declared war on the United States by the time the attack began -- that came hours later.
- 353 Japanese planes, 35 submarines and two battleships carried out the attack.
- 2,403 Americans died, 1177 of them from the USS Arizona.
- Many of the ships sunk in the attack were refloated and returned to service.
- The Arizona still leaks 2-9 quarts of oil a day.
- The most famous part of FDR's response speech -- the "infamy" line -- was originally written as "a date which will live in world history."
Read more in Brenna's story here. | | GIFmas continues. Here's Brenna's latest:
On the second day of GIFmas, 2017 gave to me …this amazing game of follow the leader. Before President Trump gave his joint address to Congress in February, Speaker Ryan and VP Pence chatted and greeted fellow attendees from their spots front and center. They -- unintentionally, I'm sure -- traded off turns playing this super-fun round of follow the leader. If you want to play along at home: - Follow Ryan: Lift your right arm to acknowledge someone in front of you
- Follow Pence: Change your outstretched hand to a point
- Follow Pence: Wave
- Both, simultaneously: Drop your hand
They really committed to the bit, even dressing alike. The opening act for what was a pretty well-received speech. No one I have ever showed this too has found this as entertaining as I do. Hopefully that changes today! | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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