US shutdown heads toward end as eight Democrats give in
Eight Senate Democrats joined almost every Republican to advance a continuing resolution that would fund the government through January and end the longest-ever US shutdown. Other members of the Democratic caucus were fuming. They had been demanding that any funding bill included an extension of healthcare subsidies, as premiums are set to rise, but all they received was a guarantee of a vote on this by the second week of December. Republicans did make concessions, though: they proposed offering healthcare funds directly to households, agreed to reverse the firings of thousands of government workers, and ensured there’d be backpay for furloughed federal employees. The Senate must formally pass the bill before it moves to the House and then to the president’s desk.
BUT BUT BUT. The decision to end the shutdown might help Democrats politically. If healthcare premiums rise, voters may well blame the party in power (Americans also tend to trust Democrats more than Republicans when it comes to healthcare), giving Dems a potential midterm boost. Healthcare was central to Democrats’ successful 2018 midterm campaign during US President Donald Trump’s first term; could history repeat itself next year?
Georgia’s ruling party sentences opposition leaders, attempts to outlaw opposing parties
In Georgia, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has charged eight of the country’s leading opposition figures with plotting to overthrow the government. Their potential 15 year prison sentences come as the pro-Russia GD has asked the judiciary – which is beholden to the government – to outlaw the three largest opposition parties, cementing one-party rule in the country.
Syrian president at the White House
Is there a more improbable life arc in global politics right now? Fifteen years ago, Ahmed al-Sharaa was an al-Qaeda jihadist, jailed by Iraq’s US occupiers. Today, a year after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, he will meet with Trump at the White House, as president of the new Syria. Recent months have been a whirlwind of Sharaa aura: he’s gotten Western sanctions dropped, flirted on-air with a prominent American news host, shared a panel with his former jailer, and shot hoops with US military commanders. But the new Syria is still a fragile project, beset by horrific sectarian violence, concerns about democratic legitimacy, and tensions with Israel. What will al-Sharaa want from Trump, and what will the US president demand in return?
