Washington Post
PROFILE
Mike DeBonis
Guest
FROM Mike DeBonis
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What did the House and Senate GOP work out over taxes? The big tax bill looks like it’s headed for a vote next week. House and Senate negotiators have worked out most of the details, and so, Republicans seem ready to pass the bill and get it to Trump before Christmas, as they hoped.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Republicans move closer to tax cuts The House of Representatives approved a budget today that clears the way for major tax cuts. The measure that passed would allow a future tax bill to pass the Senate with a simple majority -- 50 votes. Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Immigration Reform Marco Rubio has become a lot more hard-line on immigration in an effort to appeal to the Republican base. And it appears that any pathway for undocumented immigrants to become citizens is dead for now. Newly elected Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced over the weekend that he will not work with President Obama on immigration reform.
Recommended
Bookworm
Morgan Parker: There Are More Beautiful Things than Beyoncé Morgan Parker says that the poems in her book There Are Things More Beautiful than Beyoncé take a stand against the clichés of the dominant culture.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.
Good Food
Shaking up the USDA, 'The Beef Cookbook' and 'Tartine All Day' Peggy Lowe explains why Trump’s pick for USDA Secretary is rattling rural America. Dario Cecchini talks future plans for Chianti ramen, and Richard Turner shares cuts from “PRIME: The Beef Cookbook.” Writer Matthew Sedacca looks at the controversy behind liquid smoke. Jonathan Gold tries Chengdu-style dishes, and Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine fills us in on the latest. Plus, chef Michael Beckman shares a recipe for cactus confit.
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."