* Former Massachusetts Democratic congressman Barney Frank wants to join the Senate temporarily.
* Americans are split over the “fiscal cliff” deal.
* Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) isn’t afraid of a partial government shutdown.
* Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will swear in Vice President Biden later this month.
* And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) explained a photo alteration.
Americans are split over the deal lawmakers struck this week to avert the “fiscal cliff,” with 43 percent saying they approve and 45 percent saying they disapprove in a Gallup poll conducted Thursday.
The agreement, which raised taxes on wealthy Americans while preserving middle-class rates, was received considerably better by Democrats than Republicans, the poll shows. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats approve of the measure, while nearly as many Republicans — 65 percent — disapprove.
(Photo via House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s Facebook page)
The office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) digitally added several female members to a photograph intended to include all of the women in the House Democratic Caucus.
While dozens of members turned out for the Thursday photo-op, some weren’t able to make it on time, ABC News reported. Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz (D-Fla.), the chair of the Democratic National Committee, was among the members who were added to the photo.
In addition to Wasserman Schultz, ABC News also spotted Reps. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) showing up late. Each of the four were added to the photograph.
The Washington Post used a photograph of the Democratic women taken by staff photographer Bill O’Leary on the front page of Friday’s newspaper that was not altered.
(Pete Souza/Official White House Photo)
The White House has released a photo of President Obama in the Oval Office on the day of the mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., school.
In the Dec. 14 photo, which was released along with other pictures via the White House flickr feed, counterterrorism adviser John Brennan is seen briefing the president on the details of the attack.
Obama, who teared up as he delivered a statement about the shooting from the White House that same day, said in a recent interview with NBC News that it was the “worst day” of his presidency.
The House has approved $9.7 billion in new aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, a face-saving quick move taken three days after House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) earned scathing criticism from New York and New Jersey Republicans for canceling a late-night vote on the funds.
The bill, which will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay out claims to those who held federal flood insurance, was approved on a 354 to 67 vote. The Senate is expected to adopt it later Friday on a unanimous voice vote.
Boehner seems to have had reason to be concerned about bringing a larger $60 billion spending measure to the floor on Tuesday: All the votes against the smaller bill on Friday came from his own party members.
Republican Tom Foley plans to seek a rematch with Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) in 2014, Foley said in an interview.
“I agree with the governor that the state is in dire straits and we need new leadership,” Foley said in an interview on “Face The State with Dennis House” set to air this weekend.
A partial government shutdown may be necessary to ensure the nation’s long-term fiscal stability, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) writes in an op-ed published on Friday.
“The coming deadlines will be the next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to Washington,” Cornyn writes in the Houston Chronicle. “It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain. President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately.”
Former Massachusetts Democratic congressman Barney Frank said Friday morning that he would like Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to offer him a temporary appointment to the Senate to to fill Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s seat if Kerry is confirmed as secretary of state.
“I’ve told the governor, that I would now like, frankly, to do that,” Frank said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (AP)
Vice President Biden has chosen Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to swear him in later this month, making her the fourth woman and first Hispanic to administer the presidential or vice-presidential oath.
President Obama will stick with tradition and be sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. The two stumbled through the ceremony four years ago, and had to take a do-over later to make sure constitutional standards were met.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee made the announcement Friday morning. The justices will administer the oaths to Obama and Biden twice, at the “private” swearing-in on the constitutionally mandated date of Sunday, Jan. 20, and again during the public ceremony on Monday, Jan. 21.
The committee said three women have previously sworn in presidents and vice presidents: Judge Sarah T. Hughes swore in President Johnson in 1963; Justice Sandra Day O’Connor swore in Vice President Dan Quayle in 1989; and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg swore-in Vice President Al Gore in 1997.
“It’s an incredible honor to have Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor swear me in,” Vice President Biden said. “I believed strongly that she would make a great Justice, and it was one of the greatest pleasures of my career to be involved in her selection to the Court. From the first time I met her, I was impressed by Justice Sotomayor’s commitment to justice and opportunity for all Americans, and she continues to exemplify those values today. Above all, I’m happy for the chance to be sworn in by a friend – and someone I know will continue to do great things.”
Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), who was severely wounded in a mass shooting two years ago, is planning a Friday visit to the Connecticut town shattered by the shooting deaths of 26 students and staff members last month at an elementary school.
Reuters, citing a spokesman for the Connecticut lieutenant governor’s office, reported that Giffords plans to attend an event at a private home in Newtown. Other news media are reporting that the Giffords will meet with families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings.
