Overnight Defense: Senate sends $1.4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions

Overnight Defense: Senate sends $1.4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions

Happy Thursday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Ellen Mitchell, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

 

THE TOPLINE: The Senate on Thursday passed a $1.4 trillion spending package to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year, averting a second government shutdown in 2019.

Senators broke the package into two chunks, passing the first measure in a 71-23 vote before an 81-11 vote on the second bill that included funding for the Pentagon.

The two bills now head to President TrumpDonald John TrumpFive takeaways from the Democratic debate Buttigieg, Warren square off on donors at Democratic debate Sanders, Biden spar over Medicare for All MORE‘s desk, where White House officials have indicated he would sign it before the end of the day Friday, when current funding expires.

Months of negotiations end: The Senate vote caps months of negotiating that blew past the beginning of the 2020 fiscal year in October. Congressional leaders said this week that the alternative to a massive spending deal would be another stopgap continuing resolution (CR) — which would extend fiscal 2019 funding levels.

“A lot of hard work brought this appropriations process back from the brink,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate confirms 13 Trump judicial nominees in end-of-year sprint Democratic candidates call for White House officials to testify during Senate impeachment trial Klobuchar on impeachment: ‘This is a global Watergate’ MORE (R-Ky.). “This legislation touches all 50 states. This is why full-year funding bills are better than chronic CRs.”

The 12 appropriations bills were broken into two packages because of Trump’s threat to not sign another omnibus, when all the bills are rolled into one piece of legislation.

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the pair of bills, with the first passing on a 297-120 vote and the second passing 280-138.

What’s in the two packages: The eight-bill package passed earlier Thursday by the Senate will eliminate the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax,” as well as an annual fee on health insurance providers and the medical device tax.

And in a major victory for Democrats, the package will also provide $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health for gun violence research.

The second part of the package includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Department of Defense, Commerce, Science and Justice; and Financial Services and General Government.

The DHS bill includes $1.375 billion for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, the same amount that was included in the fiscal 2019 bill. It also leaves the number of detention beds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement flat; in a win for the White House, the measure imposes no restrictions on Trump’s use of emergency powers to reprogram defense funds toward his border wall.

The sticking points: The wall has become a perennial sticking point in government funding negotiations during Trump’s presidency. A protracted fight led to a record 35-day partial shutdown that started in December 2018 and ended with Trump declaring a national emergency to win more money.

Fiscal conservatives railed against the massive spending package before its passage.

Sen. Mike LeeMichael (Mike) Shumway LeeOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Senate sends .4 trillion spending package to Trump Senate passes initial part of year-end spending package MORE (R-Utah) blasted negotiators for pretending that they weren’t basically passing an omnibus.

“Leaders and appropriators have cleverly put the negotiated spending agreement into two bills so that we can all pretend that it’s better than just one,” he said. “Even though they were negotiated at the same time, released to the public at the same time and will be voted on within only minutes of each other.”

Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Senate sends .4 trillion spending package to Trump Senate passes initial part of year-end spending package MORE (R-Texas) said in a video that the spending deal was a “pile of trash,” while Sen. James LankfordJames Paul LankfordOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Senate sends .4 trillion spending package to Trump Senate passes initial part of year-end spending package MORE (R-Okla.) compared it to the first time he tried “supreme pizza.”

 

IMPEACHMENT UPDATE: President Trump on Thursday indicated White House counsel Pat Cipollone would serve as his lead defense attorney in an upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

“It looks like that, yeah,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We have a couple of others that we’re going to put in, but Pat’s been fantastic as White House counsel.”

The president’s comments confirmed that his defense strategy was falling into place as the White House gears up for a likely Senate trial after the House voted to impeach him on Wednesday night.

The White House has discussed bringing Harvard law professor Alan DershowitzAlan Morton DershowitzOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Trump indicates White House counsel Cipollone will play lead role in Senate trial GOP lawmakers jockey for positions as managers MORE on to serve some role on the defense team, and the president’s personal attorney, Jay SekulowJay Alan SekulowOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Trump indicates White House counsel Cipollone will play lead role in Senate trial GOP lawmakers jockey for positions as managers MORE, may also work in some capacity.

A few of Trump’s fiercest defenders in the House are also under consideration to play a role in the Senate trial.

Earlier…: The House on Wednesday night voted to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Two Democrats voted against the abuse of power article and three voted against the obstruction article. No Republicans voted for either article.

“It doesn’t feel like impeachment,” Trump said Thursday. “And you know what? It’s a phony deal, and they cheapen the word. It’s an ugly word, but they cheapen the word impeachment.”

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi2020 Democrats divided over Trump-Pelosi trade deal Trump says he wants ‘immediate trial’ as lawmakers leave for recess Overnight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions MORE (D-Calif.) has indicated she may wait to submit the articles of impeachment to the Senate in an effort to secure more favorable terms for a trial. House Democrats rallied behind the Speaker on Thursday over the idea, even as Republicans scoffed at it as a political tactic.

The president claimed that Democrats were “playing games” and suggested what they were doing was “unconstitutional,” though there is no indication that is the case.

The administration’s plan: The White House is seeking a relatively brief trial that concludes with Trump’s exoneration, and several Republican senators have indicated they’d prefer a quick process to acquit the president.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerKlobuchar on impeachment: ‘This is a global Watergate’ Senate impeachment trials and fabulations Fill the New York federal district court vacancies MORE (D-N.Y.) were scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss parameters for a trial. 

But GOP will punt to after holidays: The Senate is set to leave town for the year without a deal on key components of Trump’s impeachment trial, including whether to have witnesses.

McConnell and Schumer, meeting just hours before the chamber is expected to wrap up its work for 2019, signaled after the meeting that they did not reach an agreement on witnesses or requests for additional documents — two key sticking points for Democrats.

McConnell said that they had a “cordial” conversation but described negotiations as at an “impasse” as the impeachment trial looms.

“As of today, however, we remain at an impasse because my friend, the Democratic leader, continues to demand a new and different set of rules for President Trump,” McConnell said on Thursday evening. “We remain at an impasse on these logistics.”

 

NEW IRAN SANCTIONS: Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions On The Money: House approves Trump USMCA deal in bipartisan vote | Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump’s desk | Why budget watchdogs are howling over the spending deal Pompeo slaps new sanctions on Iran, imposes more visa restrictions MORE announced new sanctions against Iran on Thursday, targeting individuals in the judicial courts and security services in response to fallout from popular protests in the country that started last month.

The move by the Trump administration comes as part of its maximum pressure campaign on Tehran to rein in the country’s nuclear ambitions and negotiate an end to its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

Pompeo said Thursday that the State Department is also imposing visa restrictions on current and former Iranian officials found to be responsible or complicit in human rights abuses against peaceful protesters. He did not name the officials subject to the new restrictions but said they would also extend to family members.

“Thugs killing people’s children will not be allowed to send their own children to study in the United States of America,” Pompeo said.

 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

Defense Secretary Mark EsperMark EsperOvernight Defense: Senate sends .4T spending bill to Trump | Lawmakers fail to reach deal on impeachment trial before holidays | Pompeo hits Iran with new sanctions Overnight Defense: House poised for historic vote to impeach Trump | Fifth official leaves Pentagon in a week | Otto Warmbier’s parents praise North Korea sanctions bill Pompeo: State Department won’t be distracted by ‘noise’ and ‘silliness’ of impeachment MORE and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley will brief the media at 9:30 a.m. at the Pentagon. The briefing will be streamed live on http://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events.

 

ICYMI

— The Hill: Fifth Pentagon official announces resignation in seven days

— The Hill: Pompeo slaps new sanctions on Iran, imposes more visa restrictions

— The Hill: 2020 primary debate guide: Everything you need to know ahead of the December showdown

— The Hill: At least one killed after gunman opens fire at Russia’s security service headquarters

— Defense News: The US Air Force’s UH-1N Huey replacement helicopter has a new name

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