A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day
ADVERTISEMENTTRUMP AGENDA: GOP floats another DACA trial balloon
Some White House allies and GOP lawmakers, including Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, are floating the idea of the White House offering green cards to DACA recipients as a Hail Mary strategy to end the shutdown, Axios is reporting.
President Trump announced 50 judicial nominees in a press release on Tuesday evening, a list that includes picks that are bound to spark another round of confirmation battles with Democrats. Republicans have already started trying to grease the wheels, with the Judicial Crisis Network running a $1.5 million cable and digital campaign targeting Senate Democrats.
The Senate is voting on both President Trump's border wall and a Democratic proposal to open the government this Thursday, but both have little chance of ending the stalemate.
Meanwhile, the shutdown is delaying the publication of key economic data, Reuters reports.
Politico reports that President Trump is growing frustrated with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, after his holiday-weekend walk-back of his comments about the timeline of the Trump Organization's plans to build a Trump Tower Moscow. But another report by CNN says Trump isn't angry at Giuliani and that he won't be fired.
President Trump still plans to give a State of the Union address this week, over Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion he delays it because of the shutdown, but it's unclear where he will deliver that speech.
Union officials say that hundreds of Internal Revenue Service employees, who have been ordered to work without pay, aren't showing up to work. That could cause delays in sending out tax refunds, the Washington Post reports.
The Supreme Court made plenty of headlines on Tuesday--it allowed administration to enforce its ban on transgender service-members, it agreed to take up a case on a New York City ban on transporting guns across city lines, and it released a redacted appeal by an unidentified foreign government in a case related to the special counsel's investigation
DEM AGENDA: Nadler wants "direct answers" from acting attorney general
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., warned acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to give "direct answers" during next month's testimony about his role overseeing the Russia Investigation, Reuters reports.
House Democrats are starting small in the bid to pass new gun control laws, Roll Call reports, in the hopes that wins on legislation with bipartisan support can help to build momentum.
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who represents a conservative district that backed President Trump in 2016, says if it were up to him, he'd "give Trump the money" for the border wall.
House Democrats teamed up with a large group of Republican lawmakers as they passed a bill that would block President Trump from withdrawing from NATO.
Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is out with a new bill, the Stop STUPIDITY Act, which would prevent future government shutdowns.
2020: Bernie Sanders' challenge with black voters
NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald reports on Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders' trip to South Carolina, where he looked to improve his standing with the state's predominately-black Democratic primary electorate.
Ahead of California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris' trip this week to South Carolina, Politico looks at how Harris' membership in the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the oldest sorority for female African-American college students, could give her an organizing advantage in the state.
ADVERTISEMENTSouth Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee as he hopes to become the first openly gay president.