Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama - Boehner Talk, No Deal on "Fiscal Cliff" - President Obama invited House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to the White House yesterday.  The two met for close to an hour and afterward, there was no agreement to announce.  The two sides remain apart on tax hikes on the wealthy 2% and spending cuts demanded by Republicans.  The Washington Post has an update here.

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Susan Rice to Meet With Obama Today - one day after she announced she was withdrawing from consideration for Secretary of State.  Rice will remain as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Rice met opposition from Republican Senators, especially John McCain (R-Az.) over remarks she made on the Sunday morning political talk shows, following the tragedy in Benghazi.  You can read more here.

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Kerry Likely Nominee for Secretary of State - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who was the Democratic candidate for president in 2004, is likely to be nominated by President Obama, now that Susan Rice has withdrawn from consideration.

A concern among Democratic leaders, is his nomination would put his senate seat in play, especially from Republican Scott Brown who just lost his seat to Elizabeth Warren.

However, reports indicate Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has been talking to Vicki Kennedy, the widow of Senator Ted Kennedy about the potential open seat.

Kerry, who also serves as chair of the senate Foreign Relations Committee, is considered a shoo-in for Secretary of State.  TheHill.com has a good read here.

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Hagel is Likely Choice for Defense Secretary - former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (Neb.) has emerge as the likely successor to Leon Panetta.

While in the Senate, he was a member of four Senate committees, including the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on Intelligence. MSNBC.com has more here.

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U.S. Sending 400 Troops, Patriot Missiles to Turkey/Syrian Border - Defense secretary Leon Panetta made the announcement yesterday to defend Turkey from missiles coming from Syria.  You can read more here.

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Israel Foreign Minister Resigns - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Friday after being charged with fraud and brief of trust.  The BBC has more here.

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DCCC Announces Committee Chairs - Colorado Rep. Jared Polis will serve as national chair for candidate services, Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Schwartz will be national finance chair, New York Rep. Joe Crowley will serve as the DC finance chair, and Rep. Jim Clyburn will be the national mobilization chair.

With Democrats holding 201 House seats and Republicans 234, Democrats will need a pick up of 18 seats in the 2014 elections to regain a majority.

The DCCC also announced Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards to chair the recruitment committee, with Michigan Rep. Gary Peters to serve as vice chair, and Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz to chair the Frontline program. Additionally, finance vice chairs/business council chairs include Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, and Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell.  The National Journal has more here.

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