::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

(TSN): Kevin McCarthy barely got confirmed and throughout his time serving as the U.S. Speaker of the house he hung on to the position by his toenails. Matt Gaetz and his ultra-MAGA gang wanted to oust him because he did not agree with his budget negotiations primarily. The California Republican operated as a party go-between yet his ability to represent the party's views and values while welcoming partisan harmony is an unmastered skill in the almost 2 years he has served. The near-government shutdown he averted is a recent case in point. McCarthy overplayed the use of urgency and did not come out of the situation favorably. Gaetz filed the motion to vacate Monday saying that the Speaker dud not meet the demands of Republicans who voted for him reluctantly. A promise made was not a promise kept, which has A reporter asked Pres. Joe Biden if he can "trust" McCarthy to make good on keeping the government open. His response was hopeful. "It's time to end ...

On the 34th day of the partial government shut down, the longest in U.S. History, Pres. Donald Trump and Congress agreed to re-open the government without preconditions until February 15.  Furloughed workers will receive back pay ASAP the president said.  As Democratic leaders California's Nancy Pelosi and New York's Chuck Schumer had suggested monies for the border wall are not involved in this deal.  For the Congress and Trump this means negotiations on the  border wall  will take place for the next three weeks. For workers, it means making up for lost time and perhaps saving for another rainy day as their fate may still lie in the hand of a temperamental Commander-in-Chief.    The Friday morning news of Trump's confidant and adviser Roger Stone being arrested for obstruction and lying to Congress about the WikiLeaks scandal may have motivated Trump's decision to move forward without border wall funding, after the day before demanding a deal that...

Mona Austin B efore heading to the U.S./Mexico border Thursday on, Pres. Trump walked out of a meeting Wednesday with Congressional leaders because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not support a border wall, saying it was "a total waste of time." During a preempted address Tuesday night the president made the case to build a steel structure along the U.S./Mexico border, claiming there is a high threat to national security. Following the address Chuck Schumer and Pelosi rebutted Trump's words saying he was playing the "fear" card.  Thus far, we are at a bi-partisan impasse on the issue.  The U.S. is  about to have the longest government shutdown in history. The only way out that Trump has come up with is to call for a national emergency. Along his trail of mistruths, Pres. Trump told a whopper when he said he never meant Mexico was going to pay for the wall with actual money, but they are figuratively paying for it in the new trade deal. ...