Good morning. Wild times in Congress this week. The writers are really outdoing themselves this season.

A preview of today’s issue:

• President Biden attended APEC.

• A fight nearly broke out in the Senate.

• Another fight nearly broke out in the House.

• And much more!

 WORLD 

Biden visits APEC in San Francisco

World leaders from 21 nations are in San Francisco this week for the annual group meeting of APEC. That's “Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.” A day after he met with Indonesia’s president at the White House, President Biden’s plane landed in California on Tuesday afternoon.

What is APEC?

APEC is a meeting that promotes trade and economic development between nations surrounding the Pacific Ocean. Its 21 members include the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, China, and Russia (though Putin won’t be there).

Technically it has member economies, not countries. That means one of those 21 is China-controlled Hong Kong.

What are they talking about?

The main attraction isn’t the main attraction. It’s a sideline meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S.-Chinese relations have cooled lately (see: spy balloon, email hacking, export restrictions, etc.). This will be their first in-person meeting in a year.

• The two are expected to agree to keep AI out of nuclear weapon control systems. It’s refreshing that humanity can come together to avoid making “Terminator” reality.

APEC itself will spend a significant amount of time on AI as well as climate change. Attendees expect policy advancements on sustainability, supply chain disruptions, clean energy, the digital economy, and more.

Who is attending?

More than 1,200 CEOs will attend, including leaders of OpenAI, SpaceX, Microsoft, Citibank, Pfizer, and ExxonMobil.

The U.S delegation includes President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

The conference runs until Friday.

 NEWS 

💰 Budget: The House voted last night to avert a government shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson’s unconventional budget bill extends current funding for part of the government until Jan. 19 and part until Feb. 2. The short-term deal gives Congress and the White House more time to negotiate a new budget. Though Johnson is a Republican, his bill passed with primarily Democratic support. Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D) and Mitch McConnell (R) both support the bill. Next, the House will debate additional funding for Israel and Ukraine.

🇲🇽 Mexico: Samuel Garcia, governor of the state of Nuevo Leon, announced he will run for the Mexican presidency. Garcia, 35, is a member of the small, center-left Citizen’s Movement party, which holds just two governorships across Mexico’s 31 states. His opponents are Claudia Sheinbaum (of the left-wing populist party Morena) and Xóchitl Gálvez (of the center-right National Action Party). The election is next June. The national popular vote determines the winner. Mexico’s president serves a single six-year term and is ineligible for reelection.

📜 Senate: The Senate Rules Committee voted to temporarily change the rules to defeat Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s holds. Per the current rules, a single Senator can throw a wrench in the works and prevent entire categories of legislation from moving forward. Tuberville is currently stopping hundreds of high-level military promotions that require Senate confirmation. Why? He disagrees with Department of Defense abortion policy. But the Biden administration is not backing down on that. The new rule would allow the Senate to avoid Tuberville and vote on those nominations all at once. To actually implement it, the full Senate would need to approve the change.

 POLITICS 

House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Donald Trump for president yesterday, saying "I'm all in for President Trump.” The endorsement came hours after the New York Times reported that Johnson, in 2015, called Trump a “hot head” who lacked the “moral center” the president needs. Johnson later became a supporter throughout Trump's presidency. He even crafted a legal case supporting Trump's assertion that he won the 2020 election. Then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy once questioned the idea that Trump was the Republican Party's strongest 2024 candidate. Including Johnson, 12 Senators and 78 Representatives have endorsed Trump's 2024 campaign.

A poll shows Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) tying or defeating his major Republican rivals. The Democratic-sponsored poll has him tying one 46-46 and defeating the others by 1-3 points. Brown is one of the Senate’s most endangered Democrats — his state voted for President Trump twice. Though he’s been elected three times before, he remains the only Democrat to win a Senate seat in Ohio since 1992.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) literally challenged Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien to a fight during a Senate hearing yesterday. After a previous meeting, O’Brien (a grown man) skewered Mullin on social media, saying “Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.” At today’s hearing, Mullin (another grown man) angrily read that post and stood up, saying “This is a time. This is a place.” Unfortunately for viewers everywhere, Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke up and ruined it. But our money would’ve been on Mullin — he’s a former MMA fighter.

In another bizarre story, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may have taken a swing at Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN). Burchett is one of eight Republicans who voted last month to oust McCarthy from the speakership. He said McCarthy elbowed him with a "clean shot to the kidneys." Burchett, who was in the middle of an interview at the time, gave chase before backing off. McCarthy said the whole thing was a misunderstanding in a “tight hallway.”

 TRIVIA 

 BRIEFS 

🌳 The White House released the 5th National Climate Assessment yesterday. A 1990 law requires the federal government to periodically release such a report. This year’s conclusion: strong efforts to combat climate change are “insufficient.”

🌋 Iceland’s government declared a state of emergency as its 360,000 residents prepare for an “imminent” volcanic eruption. They evacuated the town of Grindavík as large cracks in nearby roads began to appear.

🏒 British police arrested "a man” for the Oct. 28 death of hockey player Adam Johnson. Since charges have yet to be filed, they cannot release the man's name. Johnson died after opposing player Matt Petgrave's skate cut his neck.

🇨🇦 The good people of Canada’s Northwest Territories voted yesterday to elect their 19-member legislature. The territory has a population of ~45,000 spread across a land area about twice the size of France.

🦒 Toys R Us will soon open a “flagship” store at the Mall of America in Minnesota. This will be the company’s second standalone U.S. store after a similar concept opened last year in New Jersey.

🩲 Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes admitted he wears the same pair of underwear at every single game. And only washes them when they lose.

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

Brooks beat Sumner to a pulp on May 22, 1856.

Rep. Preston Brooks was a pro-slavery South Carolina Democrat. Sen. Charles Sumner was an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts. In response to a speech of Sumner’s he didn’t like, Brooks beat him nearly to death with a cane. Sumner was so injured he could not return to the Senate for over three years. Brooks was convicted of assault and paid a small fine but spent no time in jail. He resigned his seat in the House but was promptly reelected the following month.