The Hill’s 12:30 Report

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The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Gov Spending Bill Just Got Uglier | RNC Unveils Convention Logo | What A Weekend For Trump

PREVENTING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT UGLER: Via The Hill’s Peter Schroeder and Tim Devaney, The government spending bill is one of the most sensitive issues coming up in Congress. And now the fight over blocking Syrian refugees is getting bundled into the spending bill. The deadline is Dec. 11 and the debate will now become a lot more volatile.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said there were potentially “several hundred poison pill riders” that could sink a funding package if Republicans pushed them — and cause a government shutdown. The most likely flashpoints (besides the Syrian refugees): financial rules, labor, environment and civil rights. Here are details of each: http://bit.ly/1OblTXj

It’s Monday, but not just any Monday. It’s the Wednesday of the holiday week so it’s already hump day! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of what you missed this morning — and what’s on tap for the rest of the day. Send story ideas, comments and complaints to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com and @CateMartel. 

VITTER NOT RUNNING — WHO WILL REPLACE HIM? After losing to Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards in the gubernatorial race over the weekend, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) announced he will not run for reelection in the Senate. Vitter’s Senate seat is likely to remain Republican in the red state. Reps. John Fleming and Charles Boustany are among those interested. Meanwhile, Mitch Landrieu, the well-known mayor of New Orleans has not ruled it out. http://bit.ly/1P366v6 

OBAMA’S BACK FROM ASIA: President Obama has returned from his 10-day trip overseas and is back to a mess with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and the Syrian refugees. Tomorrow, he is hosting French President François Hollande to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts. But he’ll also working to keep international efforts to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for his aggression in the Ukraine. From Politico’s Michael Crowley. http://politi.co/1P2JkDM

DONALD TRUMP’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL WEEKEND YET: I know, those are strong words. But here’s the play-by-play. Tell me I’m wrong: 

• Trump is facing criticism for tweeting statistics showing that the vast majority of African-Americans killed in the U.S. are by other African-Americans. The tweet was apparently a response to support from a white supremacist. http://bit.ly/1P2zSAd

• This also comes a day after a Black Lives Matter protester said he was physically and verbally assaulted at a Trump rally. Video: http://bit.ly/1jfQgyR

• Trump later said that the Black Lives Matter protester was “so obnoxious and so loud” that “maybe he should have been roughed up.” http://wapo.st/1N3WXMq

• When discussing 9/11 at a rally Saturday, Trump said, “And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.” Sunday, ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos pushed Trump on this comment, only to have Trump reaffirm. http://bit.ly/1Lvsiq5

• Also on ABC’s “This Week,” Trump switched back to refusing to rule out a third-party run for president. *To note: Back in September, Trump signed a pledge with the Republican National Committee that he would not run as a third party. http://bit.ly/1NnbgSs 

So, what did you decide about his weekend? Email cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com I’m curious what you think. 

CHANGING POLITICS POST-PARIS: A Fox News poll showed that six Republican presidential candidates would beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head match-up. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would do the best, 50 to 42 percent, followed by Donald Trump, Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. http://bit.ly/1lEZI0G

BACK. AWAY. SLOWLY: In an exclusive interview with The Hill, retired neurosurgeon Carson distanced himself from Trump on foreign policy, criticizing the idea of a database for all American-Muslims, an idea that Trump has mentioned. More from Jonathan Easley: http://bit.ly/1lEmfuz

CARSON’S ‘SPUR OF THE MOMENT’ IDEA FOR A FOREIGN TRIP: Via CBS’s Julianna Goldman, Carson is looking to do something “different” or “unusual” before the Iowa caucuses and he’s considering a trip overseas. FLASHBACK: Carson’s grasp on foreign policy questioned. You ain’t foolin’ no one here, Ben. http://cbsn.ws/1XlmgPB

TURNING UP THE HEAT: Via Politico’s Rachael Bade and Annie Karni, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is turning up the heat on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email setup. Last Wednesday, Grassley issued a letter to former Clinton aide Heather Samuelson (who screened Clinton’s emails to determine which are classified), asking what level of security clearance she had at State. http://politi.co/1YptPXU

SHINY NEW 2016 LOGO: The Republican National Convention has unveiled its logo for the 2016 convention in Cleveland. Picture an elephant walking on an electric guitar. See it here: http://bit.ly/1MMZKdv

AND YOU THOUGHT THERE WERE TOO MANY ON THE DEBATE STAGE: The filing period for the New Hampshire primary closed Friday with 58 candidates signed up. Why there are so many: To run for president in New Hampshire, candidates only need to file paperwork and pay $1,000. http://bit.ly/1NLieem

ON TAP: #SlowDay

Congress is out until next Monday. 

4:00 p.m. EST: Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to Obama, answers questions about LGBT policy. Ask questions by tweeting #LGBTchamps. Live stream: http://1.usa.gov/1XlzHzd 

CATCH-UP ON SOCIAL:

Drew Cline, New Hampshire communications consultant
Stopped at a diner for a breakfast sandwich, got stopped and wanded at the door by the Secret Service. Ben Carson was there. That’s definitely the most I’ve paid for a breakfast sandwich. #‎NHProblems

David Berlind, editor in chief, ProgrammableWeb
Passenger threatened #ChrisChristie on my flight just before take off… had to taxi all the way back. They made us deplane. Total #fail.

Logan Dobson, Communications Advisor to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
“Johnny, what was your last memory with Grandpa?” “At Thanksgiving, I got him with a good “Well, actually…” on ISIS & Syria thanks to Vox!”

Politico’s Seung Min Kim *interesting responses; it’s worth reading
Surveying for Hill reporters: if a reporter and a member are having a one-on-one convo, fair for a competitor to crash? Or totally rude? http://bit.ly/1N4m2GQ

Now for the fun stuff…

I WOULDN’T CALL THIS ‘FUN’ BUT…: For the first time this fall, the temperature at Ronald Reagan Airport dropped below freezing and I, the wimpiest Granite Stater that ever lived, am less than enthused. http://wapo.st/1X95mJk

Today is National Espresso Day. Anyone else think this day should have been saved for the Monday after Thanksgiving? 

FOR THE WIN: A squirrel made its way onto the field at the Packers-Vikings game last night. The slow-motion video is great. Run, little guy. Run! http://usat.ly/1YooU9I 

And with that, here’s a tweet from Rubio in May 2009: “I am in my home office on a mac.” 2009 Twitter was cute.