John Yang
From NBC's John Yang
PITTSBURGH -- About an hour before the G-20 Resistance Group's unauthorized march is set to kick off here, activity has picked up in Pittsburgh's Arsenal Park, the staging area.
For much of the day, the park had been populated with reporters, photographers, and neighborhood residents walking their dogs. The protestors now number in the low three figures, finally beginning to outnumber -- barely -- the press. The mood is festive, with drummers playing and people mingling around. The police are in the area, but are not very visible at the park itself.
The group did not apply for a permit for the event, saying that to do so would make it "state-sanctioned." Their goal is to get as close to the convention center, site of the summit, as possible.
From NBC's Mark MurrayMy colleague, NBC's John Yang, makes this very smart point about the
Huntsman pick: After a rough last few news cycles for Team
Obama -- the administration's reversal on those detainee photos, its announcement to keep the military tribunals, and, of course,
Nancy Pelosi -- naming Huntsman to an important diplomatic post sure changes the conversation, no?
From NBC's John Yang
Republican Sens.
Mitch McConnell and
Jeff Sessions, and Democratic Sens.
Harry Reid and
Pat Leahy spoke to reporters after meeting with
President Obama on the Supreme Court vacancy.
McConnell said he saw no reason why someone couldn't be seated for the next court term as long as they weren't "controversial." Both said Obama did not float any names. Sessions said Obama did not give a time frame for an announcement, but said he didn't think one was "imminent.
Separately, Reid said the average time between an announcement and a hearing is 60 to 70 days, but said he would not be bound by artificial timelines. Leahy said it would be "irresponsible" not to have someone seated by beginning of the new Supreme Court term in October.
From NBC's John Yang
The occupant will be changing, but the Oval Office will be staying much the same, for now at least.
Every new president can make changes in the ultimate power office -- new artwork, any of the rugs and desks his predecessor used -- that will be in place for by the time he returns to the White House after being sworn in. But NBC News has learned that Obama has chosen to keep the same desk and rug and much of the same artwork, save the Texas-themed paintings on loan from museums in San Antonio and El Paso.
For current White House officials, the decision to keep the rug -- the presidential seal in the middle of the golden-beige-and-ivory wool rug with sun's rays coming out of it like spokes -- is especially significant because it was designed by Laura Bush with the help of Fort Worth designer Kenneth Blasingame. The edge of the circular rug is adorned with a garland of laurel leaves, a nod to the Mrs. Bush's first name. They see keeping the rug as a goodwill gesture.
The 128-year-old desk is the perhaps one of the most famous of the chief executive's desks, used either in the Oval Office or in the private Residence by every president since Rutherford B. Hayes but three (Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford).
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From NBC's John Yang
Because of the gathering of top officials in one spot during the inaugural -- much like at the State of the Union -- there will be a designated successor tomorrow, a person in the line of succession who will not attend and will be in an undisclosed secure location.
The Bush administration and the incoming
Obama team have agreed that the person will be Defense Secretary
Robert Gates.
From NBC's John YangPresident
Bush heads to the presidential retreat Camp David for his last Christmas this afternoon. It will be the 12th Christmas he's spent there -- four when his father was president and eight during his own presidency.
The Bushes have chosen to spend both their Thanksgivings and Christmases at Camp David in order to give the White House Residence staff those days off. Camp David, on the other hand, is a military facility and is staffed 24/7.
It will be a family Christmas. The guest list includes the president's parents, Mrs. Bush's mother, their twin daughters,
Barbara and
Jenna Bush Hager, their new son-in-law,
Henry Hager, and the Mr. Bush's siblings and their families.
The day after, the Bushes will head to their Prairie Chapel Ranch outside Crawford, Texas, where they'll stay until early January.
From NBC's John Yang
Moving from one city to another with school-aged children can be complicated. And when you're about to be President of the United States, it's really complicated.
President-elect and Michelle Obama raised the possibility of moving into Blair House, the presidential guest house across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, in time for their daughters, Sasha and Malia, to start school on time when classes resume at Sidwell Friends on Jan. 5.
Schedulers checked and found that there were events and guests that could not be displaced in Blair House before Jan. 15--the date presidents-elect are traditionally invited to move in and which has been on the Blair House schedule for sometime now, according to White House officials.
A snub from the current President to the President-elect?
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From NBC's John Yang
Senior administration officials tell NBC News the president will not speak about auto aid today and not to expect an announcement over the weekend.
Right now, Treasury and administration officials are seeking detailed financial data from the automakers to try to determine where they stand and what the administration's options are -- "what the goals are; what the options are," in the officials' words.
They stress that TARP is not the only thing they're looking and that it is not necessarily the leading option.
"We have some creative thinking to do," one official said.
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From NBC’s John Yang
The House version of the auto industry bailout bill includes a cost-of-living pay raise for federal judges and Supreme Court justices. (Section 19, Paragraph c.)
A senior administration official says this was done with the administration's approval -- just a convenient legislative vehicle to get it into law.
From NBC's John Yang
Senior administration officials say it's "possible" they could reach a deal tonight. They are still talking, making progress and intend to go late. As one official put it: "It's not out of the question but it's short of definite."
The White House negotiators on the Hill: Deputy Chief of Staff
Joel Kaplan, National Economic Council Director
Keith Hennessey and White House Legislative Affairs Director
Dan Meyer.
NBC's Les Kretman reports the following from Dana Perino: "We've made a lot of progress in recent days to develop legislation to help automakers restructure and achieve long-term viability. We're reviewing draft legislation we received this afternoon and are continuing our discussions with Congress. Long-term financing must be conditioned on the principle that taxpayers should only assist automakers executing a credible plan for long-term viability. We'll continue to work with Members on both sides of the aisle to achieve legislation that protects the good faith investment by taxpayers."
