Congress returns after holiday break to face lengthy to-do list – as it happened

That’s it for today’s US politics blog!

Here’s what happened today:

• Joe Biden will call on Congress to intervene in a railroad labor strike, first reported the Washington Post. Talks between railroads and unions have broken down, with unions saying it is unlikely a deal will be reached before the 9 December deadline.

• White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke on the dinner between Donald Trump and white supremacist Nick Fuentes during today’s press briefing, saying that the Biden administration “totally rejects bigotry, racism, antisemitism”.

• At least six counties in Arizona have yet to certify 2022 election results. Arizona was a center point in 2020 when several Republicans and Donald Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election amid false accusations of election fraud.

• Congress came back from Thanksgiving break, with a sizable to-do list that includes passing some type of funding bill to avoid a 16 December government shutdown.

• Jill Biden announced the 2022 White House holiday theme, We the People, and unveiled themed decorations. In remarks, Biden also honored National Guard families who were in attendance for the festivities.

Thank you for reading and have a good evening!

Jean-Pierre has commented on dinner between Donald Trump and white supremacist Nick Fuentes:

Bloomberg is also reporting a confirmation of the Washington Post report that Biden will call on Congress to intervene in a potential railroad labor strike.

Jean-Pierre is now facing questions about reports that Biden could ask Congress to intervene in a potential railroad strike, as a railroad labor standoff continues.

A report from the Washington Post earlier today said that Biden plans to call on Congress to intervene, as unions say it is unlikely a deal will be reached before the 9 December deadline.

From the Post’s Lauren Kaori Gurley, Tyler Pager, Tony Romm:

.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}With less than two weeks until a railroad strike deadline, President Biden plans to call on Congress to take action to avert a shutdown of the country’s freight railroads, according to an official briefed on his plans.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that were not yet public. The White House declined to comment.

A rail strike could threaten the nation’s water supply, halt passenger rail travel and trigger major disruptions to the U.S. supply chain during the height of the holiday season, potentially worsening inflation. Already, some tech companies have begun rerouting cargo shipments from railroads to trucks in preparation for a potential shutdown, according to CNBC.

Union officials have said it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the unions and major rail freight carriers would reach a deal over lingering issues before a Dec. 9 strike deadline, renewing pressure on Congress and the White House to intervene.

Read the full article here (paywall).

Now, onto Georgia.

Jean-Pierre was asked if Biden plans to visit Georgia with the Senate run-off election approaching.

Jean-Pierre did not confirm if Biden has been asked to go to the Peach state, with some pointing to Biden’s low approval ratings as a reason for him to avoid campaigning with Warnock.

Jean-Pierre has been asked about meetings between Democrat and Republican congressional leaders, something Joe Biden said he was doing during a post-Midterms press conference.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is now at the podium and has taken the briefing’s first question from a young reporter, Eva, who is from a youth journalism program.

Eva asked Jean-Pierre about what Joe Biden is doing about protests in Iran.

Kirby was asked about the welfare of Brittney Griner, the WNBA player who is serving a 9 year prison sentence in a Russian penal colony.

A number of reports have come out about the brutal condition of Russian penal colonies, including 16-hour work days as well as racism and homophobia Griner is facing.

Kirby added that conversations are “ongoing” to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, a former marine who is also jailed in Russia.

Kirby asked another question about the potential impact that protests in China could have on the US supply chain:

Kirby answered a question about protests in China over Covid-19 lockdowns.

Now onto today’s press briefing.

John Kirby took questions at the start of today’s briefing about the first state visit of the Biden-Harris administration, with French president Emmanuel Macron.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled today that a state board has to reconsider a rejected substitute teacher application from the police officer who killed Philando Castile in 2016, reported the Associated Press.

Jeronimo Yanez had his substitute teacher application denied by the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board in 2020, which cited “immoral character or conduct.”

The court ruled that the Board has to reconsider and focus more on whether or not Yanez’s conduct makes him unfit to be a teacher.

“The board’s decision must focus exclusively on Yanez’s conduct and his fitness to be a teacher, not fitness to be a police officer,” ruled the court.

Yanez shot and killed Castile, a Black man, during a 2016 traffic stop. Yanez alleged Castile was armed, but Castile had a permit for his firearm.

Castile’s girlfriend live streamed the aftermath of the shooting, as she and her young daughter were in the car at the time.

Here’s the latest on claims made by several women that Walker pressured them into having an abortion, from the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington.

.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The second woman to allege that she was pressured into having an abortion by Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee in Georgia’s hotly contested US Senate race, on Tuesday presented previously unseen letters, audio recordings and pages of her personal diary that she said were evidence of their relationship, which he has denied.

At a press conference in Los Angeles organized by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, the anonymous woman known only as Jane Doe came forward anew with a raft of fresh materials. She said she was doing so because when she first aired her allegations last month “and told the truth, he denied that he knew that I existed”.

The alleged new evidence of the relationship between the woman and the former college football star included a voicemail recording in which Walker was purported to say to her: “This is your stud farm calling, you big sex puppy you”.

Jane Doe also read out a letter which she said had been written by Walker to her parents. “I do love your daughter and I’m not out to hurt her. She has been a strong backbone for me through all of this,” the letter said…

The Democratic Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia has called for an investigation into whether or not Georgia senate candidate Herschel Walker is actually a Georgia resident.

In a statement, Nikema Williams said:

.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The Georgia Bureau of Investigations and the Georgia Attorney General’s office must immediately investigate whether Herschel Walker lied about being a Georgia resident. Georgians deserve answers, and Walker must be held accountable for his pattern of lies and disturbing conduct. This is yet another reminder that Walker lacks both the competence and character to be our U.S. Senator.

Concerns of Walker’s residency have come most recently following Walker’s tax records showing that he receives a break meant for Texas residence, reports CNN.

Read the full CNN article here.

Jill Biden has just finished her holiday remarks at the White House, announcing the 2022 holiday theme We the People.

“The soul of our nation is and has always been, We the People,” said Biden during her address.

“And that is what has inspired this year’s White House holiday decorations.”

Each room touches upon themes including unity and community.

As apart of the holiday rollout, several National Guard families were honored guests at the remarks and holiday decoration unveiling, with Biden and attendees applauding them.