The Morning Briefing: Omar Is Sorry, Deal or No Deal, and Much, Much More

Good Tuesday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

The president hosts a Cabinet meeting
President Trump meets with the governor of New York

Omar apologizes for remarks about Jews

After the Democrats, who cash an awful lot of Jewish checks, slapped Rep. Ilhan Omar around for making public statements that ~~might be~~ are considered anti-Semitic, Omar apologized. Because she didn’t know that what she said was wrong? No, of course she knew.

“Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, joined by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján, Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries and Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark.

“We are and will always be strong supporters of Israel in Congress because we understand that our support is based on shared values and strategic interests. Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share,” the statement continued. [I’m laughing my ass off here.]

“But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments,” they said. “As Democrats and as Americans, the entire Congress must be fully engaged in denouncing and rejecting all forms of hatred, racism, prejudice and discrimination wherever they are encountered,” the statement reads.

To which Omar responded:

Listening and learning, but standing strong 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/7TSroSf8h1

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019

As I said yesterday, Omar is really only guilty of using her out-loud voice to make anti-Semitic gestures. Let’s see if this keeps her public outbursts in check.

If Omar were a Republican, this would be all over the front pages and news shows: Former KKK Grand Wizard Defends Omar Tweets

Ilhan Omar Praises Dem Activist Calling AIPAC ‘Central Pillar of the Occupation’ After Apologizing for Anti-Semitic Tweets

Trump in El Paso

Here is a summary of Trump’s event yesterday in El Paso. Robert Francis O’Rourke held a competing rally nearby.

El Paso mayor: Trump was wrong about crime in speech

Beto O’Rourke clashes with Trump over border wall in dueling events

“With the eyes of the country upon us, all of us together are going to make our stand, here in one of the safest cities in the United States of America — safe not because of walls, but in spite of walls…” said Beto.

What does this even mean? That El Paso is safe IN SPITE OF walls? There are walls all over the place in the U.S., like in banks, hospitals, statehouses…. Beto’s house has walls. When Beto was a congressman, there were all kinds of walls to get into the building where his office was in Washington. D.C. Is he kidding?

Sounds like gibberish to me.

Deal or no deal?

News is creeping out that legislators have made a deal to avoid a government shutdown. What’s in the bill? We don’t know yet but…

The bipartisan group did not provide details of the agreement on Monday. However, congressional aides said it included $1.375 billion for a structure along the southern border – well below the $5.7 billion President Donald Trump has demanded for the wall that he made a central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.

“We’re talking about serious, serious, serious things, and we’re hopefully making some progress,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told reporters earlier at the Capitol after the group met for a second time Monday.

One sticking point is that the Democrats want a cap on the number of people ICE can detain. So if the number is over the amount, what do we do?

Democrats said ICE routinely detains more immigrants than it needs to, imprisoning those who don’t have criminal backgrounds and pose no threat to national or domestic security. That’s why they want to set a hard cap on the number of immigrants ICE detains, the goal being to force the agency to focus its resources on violent criminals.

“This agency needs checks and balances, so the Republicans want to get more wall money and Democrats want to get controls on ICE. This is what a negotiation looks like,” said Kerri Talbot of the advocacy group Immigration Hub.

I don’t know about that. Would ICE have to release the detainees once the limit is hit? That doesn’t sound like a good idea. The president doesn’t think so either.

The Democrats do not want us to detain, or send back, criminal aliens! This is a brand new demand. Crazy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2019

We shall soon see what’s in the proposal. It should be released today or tomorrow.

Must-read for today:

FBI scrambled to respond to Hillary Clinton lawyer amid Weiner laptop review, newly released emails show

Virginia roundup

Advisers urge Northam to watch ‘Birth of a Nation’ to learn about race: report

Staff members resign after allegations against Fairfax

A third of Americans think blackface for Halloween is OK: survey

Fairfax accuser says ex-Duke player Corey Maggette raped her in college

Historical picture of the day:

Senator Albert Gore (D-Tenn.), puts out his arms as the Democratic presidential candidates are introduced before their debate in Goffstown, N.H., on Feb. 12, 1988. From left are Senator Paul Simon (D-Ill.), Mass. Gov. Michael Dukakis, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Bruce Babbitt, and Gore. (AP Photo/David Tennenbaum)

Your daily WTF:

FBI offering $2,000 reward to help find stolen trailer with $65,000 worth of energy drinks

Other morsels:

Denver teachers march out of classrooms in strike over wages

Chris Christie Invokes Opioid Deaths As Kamala Harris Champions Legalized Pot

Rand Paul will vote against Trump’s pick for attorney general

GOPe livid with Trump over ignored Khashoggi report

Pompeo denies Trump admin ‘covering up’ for murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi

Trump: Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ sounds like a ‘high school term paper’

Court Rules Against Christian Student Who Complained She Had to Learn About Islam in High School

Is that so? Social media use could make it harder to make friends, study says

Chris Pratt slams Ellen Page’s claim his church is ‘anti-LGBTQ’: ‘Nothing could be further from the truth’