From NBC's Athena Jones
Capping off a two-week long sales effort, President Barack Obama signed a tax bill Friday that he said would help spur economic growth and create jobs.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives last night by a vote of 277 to 148, would keep in place Bush-era tax rates for all income levels for two years and would extend unemployment insurance benefits for 13 months, along with other tax credits.

The deal was reached with Republicans last week and overcame an uphill battle in the House, where Democrats were angry about the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy and the low estate tax rate included in the bill.

Both the president and Vice President Joe Biden, who introduced him, stressed that the legislation was a bipartisan accomplishment and thanked members of both parties who played a role in getting it passed.

"This package is a result of leaders of both sides coming together to act on behalf of the American people at a time that they needed it most," Biden said. He praised Sen. Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders for being "willing to take issue with some of their own party and to do what was in their view necessary in order to move the country forward."

The White House believes the new law will help accelerate a sluggish economic recovery and jump-start much-needed job creation, citing new estimates from economists who say it could add 500,000 to 1.5 million jobs.

The deal was popular with the public. The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed 59% of respondents approved of the deal and the plan won support from 54% of Democrats, 60% of Independents and 68% of Republicans.

"Putting more money in the pockets of families most likely to spend it, helping businesses invest and grow, that's how we're going to spark demand, spur hiring and strengthen our economy in the new year," Obama said, adding there were elements of the bill that he and members of both parties did not like. "That's the nature of compromise: yielding on something each of us cares about to move forward on what all of us care about and right now what all of us care about is growing the American economy and creating jobs for the American people."

While Obama says the tax deal a big win for the middle class -- some observers have called it the White House's biggest win since health care -- reaching this compromise with Republicans required the president to step away from a campaign promise to end the Bush tax cuts for the rich.

Many on the left believe the president caved on that issue, but the president has vowed to fight to end the cuts when they expire again in two years. The White House has tried to keep the focus on what middle class families gained in this bill, from the extension for jobless benefits, to the yearlong payroll tax holiday, to help for families paying for college.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Budget Director Lew and Chairman of Council of Economic Advisers Goolsbee joined a dozen members of Congress on hand for the signing. The group included four Republicans -- Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, Michigan Reps. Dave Camp and Dave Reichert and Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy. Neither the incoming Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), not the outgoing Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attended the event.

In speaking with reporters at a gaggle this morning, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the deal exceeded "virtually everybody's expectations" of what it would do for the middle class.

"It's a very good agreement for the people that Democrats care most about," Gibbs said. "We've been very out front in the fact that we got a better deal on this than the other side did. There's more in it from a monetary standpoint of the things that we wanted."

The victory comes as Congress is rushing to wrap up the year and head home for the holidays. Among the issues that could still be considered this year in the Senate are the new START arms control treaty with Russia, the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, the Dream Act, the 911 first responders bill and a continuing resolution to fund the government.

VIDEO: The lame-duck session is about to move into rapid-fire mode with votes this weekend on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” DREAM, and funding the government. Then next week is dominated by START, which Obama wants to sign before heading to Hawaii for the holidays. Plus, a special look at predictions for next year, including a push for tax and debt reform, the GOP looking to de-fund health care, health care likely ends up in the Supreme Court, a White House shakeup is likely, and troops begin to come home from Afghanistan in July.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A special thanks to MSNBC's Bob Witten for lending us his booming announcer's voice.

After last night's bipartisan passage of a massive tax cut deal delivered a big win for the White House, news organizations hurried to cast President Barack Obama as "the new comeback kid." (Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer was among the first out of the gate.)

As we wrote this morning, the deal represented Obama’s biggest victory since the passage of his flagship health care reform in March, and it’s certainly a welcome triumph for a White House badly in need of approving nods from swing voters.

But before you grant the 'Comeback Kid' title, keep in mind just how much the press occasionally enjoys searching for the next worthy recipient of the moniker famously self-submitted by Bill Clinton after his New Hampshire campaign rebound.

Here’s just a smattering of headlines celebrating the shorthand for the ultimate unlikely victor since Clinton first nabbed the title in 1992.

Clinton stars as Comeback Kid -- Chicago Tribune, Jan. 2008

Is McCain the latest 'Comeback Kid'? -- Miami Herald, Dec. 2007

John Edwards: The Comeback Kid? -- Greensboro News & Record, Jan. 2008

John Kerry, the new Comeback Kid -- U.S. News and World Report, June 2007

Comeback Kid?; Bob Barr Likely to Seek a Return to the House in 2004 -- Roll Call, Jan. 2003

GEPHARDT: THE NEXT COMEBACK KID? – Hotline, May 2001

“Is Quayle the next Comeback Kid?” -- New York Times, 1999

“Will Gore be the new ‘Comeback Kid’?” -– Knoxville News-Sentinel, Sept.1997

Why Dole Might Star As the Comeback Kid – Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 1996

Bob Packwood, comeback kid? – Washington Times, March 1995

From NBC's Political Unit
Earlier this week, First Read picked Michael Steele's top 10 gaffes. Here is the video that goes with it - enjoy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Edited by Domenico Montanaro and Alexandra Moe.

For the second straight year, the health care overhaul inspired the biggest political lie, according to the independent fact-checking Web site Politifact.

Last year, it was Sarah Palin's claim that there were "death panels" in the bill. The winner this year, is the term "government takeover" used by multiple Republicans, including incoming Speaker John Boehner.

Politifact:

In the spring of 2009, a Republican strategist settled on a brilliant and powerful attack line for President Barack Obama's ambitious plan to overhaul America's health insurance system. Frank Luntz, a consultant famous for his phraseology, urged GOP leaders to call it a "government takeover." ...

The line stuck. By the time the health care bill was headed toward passage in early 2010, Obama and congressional Democrats had sanded down their program, dropping the "public option" concept that was derided as too much government intrusion. The law passed in March, with new regulations, but no government-run plan.

But as Republicans smelled serious opportunity in the midterm elections, they didn't let facts get in the way of a great punchline. ... uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shaping public opinion about the health care plan and was a significant factor in the Democrats' shellacking in the November elections.

Second place was Rep. Michele Bachmann's claim that President Obama's recent overseas trip to India would cost $200 million a day.

Obama gets a big win with the tax deal’s passage (he’ll sign it into law this afternoon)… But the irony of this big win: It represents Obama breaking one of his biggest campaign promises… Reid pulls the omnibus… McCain and Kirk gloat, and McCaskill fires back… New START and DADT repeal are still alive (cloture vote on DADT is tomorrow)… White-collar Republicans vs. blue-collar Republicans… Romney and the tough Boston press corps… And after today, your First Read morning dispatch will be on holiday, returning on Jan. 3… Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Obama’s big win: The compromise tax agreement, which the House passed last night (by a 277-148 vote) and which will be signed into law sometime this afternoon, represents President Obama's biggest win since health care -- and that was back in March. (So if you’re counting, that’s almost nine months ago…) Yes, the financial reform legislation was a triumph, as was Elena Kagan's SCOTUS confirmation. But neither was as BIG a win as this tax deal was. To get it passed, Obama used the bully pulpit (the presser, TV interviews); the White House's message shop kicked into high gear (those numerous endorsement emails); and Team Obama utilized its surrogates (Vice President Biden, Bill Clinton).

*** And its big irony: Of course, there's plenty of irony that this big win also represents Obama breaking one of his biggest campaign promises -- namely, ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. But as we've maintained over the past two weeks, the deal was as good as Democrats could get, especially with Republicans set to gain control of the House and pick up extra Senate seats in January. The passage also is a big win for Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, who had to whip their members to support the deal, despite growing conservative resistance to it. The question: Does the Obama-McConnell-Boehner alliance on this tax deal prove to be the new normal in the next Congress? Or is what we saw the exception? We’ll find out soon enough.

*** Reid pulls the omnibus: But Senate Democrats -- and also the Obama administration -- suffered a defeat last night when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided not to bring the so-called omnibus appropriations bill to the floor. The reason: Reid didn’t have the GOP votes, given Republicans’ complaints about the $8 billion in earmarks in the legislation (even though some of these very Republicans had their own earmarks in it). Sen. John McCain, who led the crusade against the omnibus, declared victory after Reid pulled the legislation. But that didn’t sit well with some Democratic senators, NBC’s Ken Strickland reports.

*** McCain and Kirk gloat; McCaskill fires back: Per Strick, as McCain was speaking after Reid's announcement, the Arizona senator was asked a question by his GOP colleague, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk. "For the most junior member, for those who are not understanding, what happened? Did we just win?" Kirk asked. (He had previously served 10 years in the House.) At that end of his exchange with McCain, you can hear Kirk say, "Congratulations." Strickland observes that rarely -- if ever -- do members publicly gloat on the Senate floor after a political or legislative victory. And the Kirk-McCain exchange did not play well with Dem Sen. Claire McCaskill. "For senators to get on this floor and say, 'We won,' and, you know, do this kind of stuff when you know how many Republicans worked hard on provisions in that bill..." McCaskill also said: "What's offensive to me is that we've gotten into this bad habit of trying to score cheap political points.” By the way, killing an earmark doesn't mean cutting spending; it simply means the money can't be DIRECTED to a specific project. The hope by anti-earmark advocates is that ending the practice will make senators less spend-happy if there's no more political benefit for it.

*** START and DADT repeal are still alive: Despite the omnibus’ defeat -- Congress will now have to fund the government with a Continuing Resolution -- Democrats have the ability to pick up two more legislation wins: ratification of New START and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Strick reports that, on Saturday, the Senate will vote on the stand-alone DADT repeal bill, as well as the DREAM Act (whose prospects for passage are much less likely). If DADT gets the 60 votes -- and it very well could -- it would be the last of the major hurdles for before passage. Strick says that, assuming it gets 60 votes tomorrow, there would likely be another vote to follow it. But that would need only a simple majority of 51 votes to become law. The House has already passed this exact version. Watch the DADT vote carefully. How many GOP senators will hold back to see if it does get its 60 and then decide to vote for the repeal and it goes to 75-80 votes?

*** White-collar Republicans vs. blue-collar Republicans: In the cover story of the latest issue of National Journal, Ron Brownstein sees the 2012 GOP field shaping up to be a contest between the managers (e.g., Romney) and the populists (e.g., Palin). “The populists thunder; the managers reassure. The populists stress their social values; the managers tout their economic competence. The populists rage at the elite; the managers mingle easily with them.” More: “Republicans have typically picked nominees who fit the manager mold more closely than the populist one… But the demographic balance of power inside the GOP coalition is shifting downscale, a change that could provide a greater opening for the populists, including Palin if she runs.” We're seeing this split inside the GOP in the latest NBC/WSJ poll. Remember, party members are evenly divided on the idea of compromise when necessary. And that divide, once you dig deeper, seems to be along socio-economic lines within the party, rural, working class Republicans are more skeptical of compromise than the white-collar suburban Republicans.

*** Romney and the tough Boston press corps: Speaking of Romney, it appears that he will have to endure something he confronted in 2007-2008 (and which John Kerry also faced in 2003-2004): a very tough Boston political press corps. The latest example: The Boston Globe’s Lehigh takes aim at Romney’s positions on New START and the tax deal as pandering: “[F]or those eagerly awaiting the new, improved 2012 Romney, a word of caution: Don’t get your hopes too high. So far, the prototype suffers from many of the same flaws that plagued the 2008 model Mitt.” And so it begins for Romney… As the only candidate who can be called "a" front-runner, he's going to get a lot more stories like this than the John Thunes or even Haley Barbours of the world.

*** A final note: Our morning First Read dispatch will be on holiday over the next two weeks, but it will return on Monday, Jan. 3. However, as always, we’ll update our blog as news warrants -- especially regarding the outstanding legislative items Congress is considering during the lame duck. So be sure to check our Web site often. Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. And Happy Bowl Season.

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter.

“A massive bipartisan tax package preventing a big New Year's Day tax hike for millions of Americans is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature. The measure would extend tax cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage.”

Per NBC’s Shawna Thomas, the vote was 277 yes, 148 no, with 139 Democrats voting yes and 36 Republicans voting no. Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t vote, while Minority Leader John Boehner and Majority Steny Hoyer voted for it, and Majority Whip James Clyburn voted against it.

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reports that President Obama will sign the tax-cut bill into law sometime this afternoon. Time TBD.

The Boston Globe: “The 277-to-148 vote was a political victory for President Obama, who made the case for compromise over complaints from the base of the Democratic Party. Some longtime Obama backers fought the president’s deal late into the night, contending that he had let middle-class America down by not fighting harder to keep a campaign promise: end the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy Americans. Instead, the group Obama had to rely on for critical support last night was the one he had spent his first two years battling, Republicans.”

Adds the New York Times, “The vote sealed the first major deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans as Democrats put aside their objections and bowed to the realignment of power brought about by their crushing election losses. The bipartisan support for the tax deal also underscored the urgency felt by the administration and by lawmakers in both parties to prop up the still-struggling economy and to prevent an across-the-board tax increase that was set to occur if the rates enacted under President George W. Bush had expired, as scheduled, at the end of the month.”

“An attempt to change the bill’s estate tax language was rejected, 194-233, on the floor Thursday night. Many House Democrats opposed the bill’s 35 percent tax on estates of more than $5 million, and they wanted to replace it with House-passed language that would set a 45 percent tax on estates of more than $3.5 million,” Roll Call writes.

Reid pulls the omnibus: “Senate majority leader Harry Reid decided last night to abandon a 1,924-page catchall spending measure that’s laced with homestate pet projects known as earmarks,” the Boston Globe writes. “Instead, Reid said he would work with GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who lambasted the omnibus bill, to produce a short-term bill to keep the government running into early next year.”

Scott Brown says he’ll support the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

The Hill: “Invoking cloture means that the Senate would take a procedural vote on the repeal legislation on Saturday and a final vote on the bill by Sunday.”

Democrats will miss a voting member on Monday, however, because Sen. Ron Wyden is having surgery to treat early stage prostate cancer.

“Military leaders dismissed Republican assertions that a new arms treaty with Russia would hamper America’s missile defense efforts as supporters tried yesterday to nudge the pact toward ratification in the Senate,” the AP writes. “Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the White House yesterday that the treaty ‘in no way limits anything we want or have in mind on missile defense.’ Marine General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed Gates’s assertion, saying New START has ‘no prohibitions’ to America’s ability to move forward on missile defense. ‘We need START, and we need it badly,’ Cartwright said.”

The conservative New York Post bills the tax deal passage as a “major victory for Republicans.”

The New York Daily News counters: “Democratic purists can complain all the way to 2012, but President Obama did what he must to save the economy - and himself - from falling into the abyss. The $858 billion tax compromise he cut with resurgent congressional Republicans is the political equivalent of a divorce settlement: a deal that leaves both sides squealing. Obama had the most to lose, so this two-year back-room package is a bigger victory for him than the Republicans who vow to make him miserable when the 112th Congress convenes Jan. 5.”

“About 13.4 million taxpayers may be getting unexpected tax bills because they were awarded too much money under President Obama’s Making Work Pay tax credit, a government audit said yesterday,” the AP reports.

Jimmy Carter says the country is ready for a gay president and thinks it will happen soon.

CHRISTIE: “In a letter dated Tuesday to U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (both D-N.J.), federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood offered to return $128 million of the $271 million the feds are charging the state, and deposit that money into a fund to be used for future New Jersey transportation projects,” the Newark Star-Ledger reports. “Christie said he has still not heard from LaHood about the offer. ‘I’m always happy to talk to Secretary LaHood,’ Christie said, adding that he wanted to discuss the tunnel with the federal administration instead of through the press.”

GINGRICH: The Spartanburg Herald Journal: “Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a possible 2012 Republican presidential contender, delivered a thoughtful 34-minute speech full of red meat, Orwellian references and philosophical underpinnings at the Spartanburg GOP's annual Bronze Elephant fundraising banquet Thursday night.”

And then there’s this: A Dallas strip club gave him a lifetime membership: “Last year former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich mistakenly gave Dallas businesswoman Dawn Rizos an Entrepreneur of the Year Award and invited her to a private Washington dinner to discuss ways to revitalize the economy. For her part, Rizos donated $5,000 to Gingrich's group called American Solutions,” the Dallas Morning News writes. “But it turned out that Gingrich had confused Rizos, the owner and CEO of the Lodge, the famed Dallas gentlemen's club, with another businesswoman. After learning of the mistake, Gingrich rescinded Dawn's invite to the dinner. Apparently Gingrich didn't learn from last year's embarrassing episode. He recently sent Rizos an American Solutions membership card and asked for another donation.”

JINDAL: “The presidential commission investigating the BP Gulf of Mexico spill has concluded that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wasted $220 million building controversial sand berms that captured a "minuscule amount" of oil and proved to be ‘underwhelmingly effective’ and ‘overwhelmingly expensive,’” USA Today writes.

PALIN: Palin told ABC her decision on running for president is “months down the road.” Palin said, "It's a prayerful consideration because, obviously, the sacrifices that have to be made in order to put yourself forward in the name of public service is, it's brutal.” When confronted with poll numbers that would show a steep climb for her against President Obama, she responded, "A poll number like that, it's like, 'Oh yeah, that doesn't look really pretty today,' but a primary is months and months in the process, and there are thankfully many debates," she said. "And if I were to participate in that contested primary -- you know, it -- I would be in it to win it."

Palin also said of John Boehner’s crying that there’s a “double standard” for women: "I don't know if a woman would be given a pass necessarily. I respect John Boehner because he has worn his feelings on his sleeve on things that are so important to him ... and I give him that pass, too. But that's one of those things where a double standard certainly is applied," she added. "I'm sure if I got up there and did a speech and I started breaking down and cried about how important it is to me that our children and our grandchildren are provided great opportunities, I'm sure that I would be knocked a little bit for that. It makes us work that much harder and be that much tougher and more committed to the message and the mission at hand.”

She also called the tax deal “lousy” but praised Obama for “flip-flopping.” "He, you know, can term it compromise. I term it flip flop," she said. "I was thankful that he did, but it's still not good enough because our economy is ... at a breaking point and we are on a path towards insolvency if we do not start incentivizing businesses to start producing more in our own country."

ROMNEY: The Boston Globe’s Lehigh takes aim at Romney’s positions on START and the tax deal as pandering: “[F]or those eagerly awaiting the new, improved 2012 Romney, a word of caution: Don’t get your hopes too high. So far, the prototype suffers from many of the same flaws that plagued the 2008 model Mitt.”

IOWA: And so it begins… The Ames presidential straw poll will be Aug. 13, 2011. The Iowa GOP “is partnering with Fox News to host a debate on Aug. 11 at” Iowa State University in Ames.

A second debate is tentatively set for early 2012, the Des Moines Register notes, adding, “Tying the party fundraiser in Ames with the debate on Fox, an influential outlet for conservatives, will give incentive to candidates campaigning for Iowa’s leadoff nominating caucuses to participate in the straw poll, state party chairman Matt Strawn said.”

NEVADA: “The Nevada Republican Executive Committee voted Wednesday night to hold the party's 2012 presidential caucus on February 18, a decision that could make GOP voters in the “First in the West” state third in line to vote for their party's next nominee,” Politico writes.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Reports that President Barack Obama is vulnerable to a primary challenge in 2012 are exaggerated, according to a new survey conducted by Magellan Mapping and Data Strategies,” new website NHJournal reports. “Obama would handily defeat three well-known politicians sometimes mentioned as potential challengers for the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination,” Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton.

From Carrie Dann and Ken Strickland
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, his office said Thursday.

"Thanks to routine screening, this was diagnosed very early and I expect a full and speedy recovery," Wyden said in a statement.

But the 61-year-old lawmaker will miss votes tomorrow and possibly next week due to surgery on December 20, possibly affecting Democrats' ability to reach the 60 vote threshold necessary to move forward on a handful of remaining legislative priorities.

“I scheduled the surgery for the Monday before Christmas anticipating that the Senate would have recessed by that time and that there would be no disruption to my work in Oregon or Washington,” he said. “However, it now appears that I will be missing votes tomorrow and possibly next week while I prepare and undergo this procedure.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid again vowed Thursday to hold votes on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the START treaty, and the DREAM Act. Republicans are vowing to block those initiatives in the waning days of the lame duck session until work on a bill to fund the government next year is completed.

Wyden is expected to be back to work full-time after the New Year.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
When Republican Sen. Jim DeMint quietly threatened yesterday to burn up hours of floor time by making a clerk read the entire START treaty aloud, Senate leaders negotiated their way around it behind the scenes.

But they may not be so lucky later tonight.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., hasn't been quiet about his intention to make the Senate clerk read the the large spending bill that funds government operations for next year -- a bill Reid is expected to bring to the floor at about 6pm ET tonight.

McCain says the bill is loaded with an "outrageous" number of earmarks. "Let me be clear about one thing," McCain said on the Senate floor Tuesday night, "if the majority leader insists on proceeding to this monstrosity, the American people will know what's in it."

"I'll be joined by many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle to ensure that every single word of this bill is read aloud here on the Senate floor," he pledged.

But today, Reid stood firm against McCain and President Barack Obama, who also supports banning earmarks.

"I'm going to fight as hard as I can against President Obama on these earmarks, and my Republican colleagues who hate to vote for them but love to get them," he said.

The so-called "omnibus" spending bill is almost 2000 pages long.

Aides and floor staff say it could take anywhere between 40 to 50 hours to read aloud.

From NBC's Shawna Thomas
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the tax bill will be voted on tonight and that she has "no objection" to members getting to vote for the estate-tax language separately.

Here's the exchange with reporters:

REPORTER: Will the tax plan be voted on later tonight?

PELOSI: "That is the plan. Definitely. I should say definitely, although I don't know what's happening with the weather. We spend so much time in the basement I didn't even know it was snowing."

REPORTER: More than one amendment?

PELOSI: "That decision hasn't been made."

REPORTER: Allow members to have a separate vote on the bill?

PELOSI: "Right and that was, that was... That's fine, they can have a separate vote on the bill."

REPORTER: So you think that's the way it will come back to the floor?

PELOSI: "Again, we're in consultation with the Rules Committee, but I have no objection to that."

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
The Army doctor who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because he challenged President Obama's birthright has been sentenced to six months confinement and ordered discharged from the Army.

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin had considered any order from the commander-in-chief, President Obama, unlawful because he claimed the president has not proven he was born in the United States.

Besides today's sentence, Lakin will pay a potentially heavy financial price. At 18 years in the Army, he was two years short of retirement, which over the course of a lifetime could have added up to an estimated $2 million in retirement pay and benefits.

Lakin had pleaded guilty to one charge, and was convicted of another in failing to report for deployment to Afghanistan in a court martial at Fort Meade, MD.

From NBC's Doug Adams
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the Senate mics Thursday afternoon to defend the practice of earmarks, saying it was Congress's constitutional right to spend money and vowing to fight for that right against both Republicans and the executive branch.

"I am convinced that I don't want to give up more power to White House - whether it's George Bush or Barack Obama," Reid said. "And I'm going to fight as hard as I can against President Obama on these earmarks; and my Republican colleagues who hate to vote for them, but love to get them."

Brandishing a copy of the Constitution as a prop, Reid accused conservative Republicans who oppose the earmark process of failing to understand Congress's constitutional power of the purse.

And he accused those critics of hypocrisy for sometimes claiming credit for projects in their home states after voting against the funding bills that contain earmarks. "You can look it up. But I bet if you went to "H" in the dictionary, and find "hypocrite" -- under that would be people who ask for earmarks but vote against them," said the Nevada senator.

Reid reiterated his threat to keep the Senate in session into January if necessary, charging that Republicans have obstructed progress on bills to fund the government, repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, and ratify the START treaty.

"We are in session, if necessary, up to January 5th. That is the clock our Republican colleagues need to run out," he said. "It's a long clock."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From NBC's Luke Russert
Sources tell NBC News the Democratic leadership will be meeting in the next hour to try and figure out the best way forward for the president's compromise tax bill.

All indications are that they are going to try and pass this out of the House by tonight.

It is not known whether an entirely new Rule will be constructed or the previous one will be amended.

Something to remember: the previous Rule set the length of debate at three hours. So once the Rule is actually agreed to and passed, there would then be three hours of debate and final voting tacked onto that time.

From NBC's Athena Jones
While acknowledging there would be "more difficult days ahead," President Obama said the United States would "never waver" from the goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda, as he updated the American people on the progress of a war in Afghanistan that has entered its 10th year and that has become increasingly unpopular here at home and in Europe.

He said the United States, with the help of coalition forces, had made "significant progress," noting that Al Qaeda's senior leadership in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan was weaker and under more pressure than at any point in the last nine years and that in Afghanistan, allied forces had been successful in slowing the Taliban's momentum.

"I want to be clear: This continues to be a very difficult endeavor, but I can report that, thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals," the president said during a brief speech in the White House briefing room. "From the start, I've been very clear about our core goal. It's not to defeat every last threat to the security of Afghanistan, because ultimately it is Afghans who must secure their country and it's not nation-building, because it is Afghans who must build their nation."

But the president also said that in many places "the gains we've made are still fragile and reversible," and he stressed the need to help strengthen Afghan security forces' capacity and for more political and economic progress in the country.

Obama, who made a surprise trip to Afghanistan at the beginning of December, spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and with Pakistani President Asi Ali Zardari about the review before his speech. He said the United States would reach a new strategic partnership with Afghanistan next year that would make clear the country's commitment to the long-term security and development of the country and that he plans to visit Pakistan next year.

When the president announced plans to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in his speech last December at West Point Military Academy in New York, he also directed his National Security Staff to lead an annual assessment of strategy.

The resulting 2010 review, which included no big surprises and no shift in strategy, came less than a month after NATO allies agreed at a meeting in Lisbon to an eventual exit strategy from the country that would have Afghan forces taking the lead for their own security across the country by 2014. The assessment announced today left unchanged the goal of beginning a conditions-based drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan in July 2011.

The war could become a political issue within Obama's Democratic base as the 2012 presidential election approaches. According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, while 53% of overall respondents and 64% of Republicans approve of the plan to leave many combat troops in Afghanistan until 2014, only 46% of Democrats and 49% of Independents approve, with more than 50% of both groups voicing disapproval.

The pollsters said these numbers tracked with surveys during the Iraq war, in which GOP support drove the stronger overall approval number, but that overall number quickly sank.

The review stresses the need for long-term commitment to the region and to continue to working with Pakistan, saying progress in the US-Pakistan relationship over the past year "has been substantial, but also uneven." Pakistan's ability and willingness to fight insurgents on its own territory -- many of whom use the country as a safe haven from which to launch attacks on Afghanistan -- has long been an issue.

"We've welcomed major Pakistani offensives in the tribal regions," Obama said. "We will continue to help strengthen Pakistanis' capacity to root out terrorists. Nevertheless, progress has not come fast enough, so we will continue to insist to Pakistani leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders must be dealt with."

Sugar coating?
The president was joined on stage by Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright. After his 10-minute speech, the president and vice president departed, leaving Clinton, Gates, Cartwright and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to field questions from the press.

Asked whether the administration was sugar-coating the situation in the region given the many governance issues, concerns about civilian capacity and terrorist safe havens, Clinton pushed back, arguing a great deal of progress had been made compared with two years ago.

"If you start from the context that we inherited two years ago, you can understand why we think that on the one hand, we're making progress and on the other hand, we have a long way to go," Clinton said. "I don't see that those two thoughts are in any way canceling each other out or leading to some kind of rosy outlook. I think we're very clear eyed and realistic."

During the president campaign, Obama argued that Afghanistan was the forgotten war, one that had been starved of troops and resources in favor of the fight in Iraq. Today he said his administration's success in withdrawing combat troops from Iraq had put the United States in a "better position to give our forces in Afghanistan the support and equipment they need to achieve their missions".

Also at issue in any discussion of the massive and lengthy war effort is the United States' working relationship with Karzai, whose government has faced repeated charges of corruption. Gates said it was important to keep in mind the United States' goals in the region.

"Our goal isn't to build a 21st century Afghanistan; our goal is not a country that is free of corruption; that would be something that's unique in the entire region," Gates said.

The defense secretary explained that the main question being asked was what was needed to disrupt the Taliban and get to a point where it would be possible to turn over responsibility for security to the Afghans. He said the lengthy review process had kept the administration "focused on not getting too ambitious and not setting goals that we can't achieve and trying to have a minimalist approach" that is centered on Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Afghanistan's military and civilian capabilities.

We're gearing up to shoot the "holiday edition" of Inside the Boiler Room. Mark and Domenico will be talking about their predictions for next year, so please send any questions you have about what's to come in the year ahead!

You can also tweet us, @NBCFirstRead, @mmurraypolitics or @DomenicoNBC, or post on our Facebook page.

From NBC's Luke Russert and Shawna Thomas
The Rule for President Obama's tax cut compromise has been pulled from the House floor temporarily. This is a temporary setback and senior leadership aides say there will likely be a vote on final passage tonight. It's unclear, however, if the bill will be amended.

If the bill changes, it would have to be kicked back up to the Senate for final approval before it can be signed into law by the president -- and the Senate has signaled it would not welcome any changes.

The reason for this setback? Sources tell NBC News that the Democratic Leadership did not have the votes to pass the Rule, i.e., approve the rules for debating the tax compromise.

Why were the votes not there?
1. The Rule could have passed with GOP support, however, the minority party pretty much always votes against the Rule, because it's created solely by the leadership of the majority party. It's considered heresy by minority leadership to vote for the Rule if you're in the minority party.

2. The main reason why the bill is delayed is that House liberal Democrats wanted more opportunities to publicly display their anger with the compromise.

As the Rule is currently constructed, there would be a vote on one amendment, the estate-tax language. Liberals were not being offered a chance to vote against other things they did not like in the bill.

For example: Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., offered an amendment that would allow unemployment benefits to be extended from 13 months to 24 months.

There is something in there about pension reform that House liberals do not like.

Bottom line: House Democrats want more of an opportunity to publicly voice their displeasure and have a record of that displeasure.

Also, with the Senate being in most of next week, House liberal Democrats did not see their delaying the final passage of the bill as that big a deal.

What happens going forward?
The House Rules Committee is meeting right now to construct a different Rule that will give House liberal Democrats a chance to vote on more amendments that can show their anger with the bill. This will happen later tonight.

If the bill is sent back to the Senate, final passage on the tax bill likely might not happen until the middle of next week.

The likelihood on all this is that House liberals come around and say something like, "I fought it as long as I could, but I wanted to preserve unemployment benefits before Christmas, etc."

Quite simply: This is liberal House Democrats taking their last loud and boisterous stand.

New NBC/WSJ poll: If this is as bad as it gets for Obama, he’s in good shape for 2012… If not, watch out… What’s benefiting the president right now: a strong base and the fact the public finds him likeable… Palin’s poor poll position… A red flag for Obama on Afghanistan… Afghanistan review is out… House to vote on the tax deal… And Biden tells GOP senators opposing New START to let the Senate vote on the measure.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** As bad as it gets? Here's the clear conclusion from our new NBC/WSJ poll: If the current political environment for President Obama has hit rock bottom, then his prospects for re-election are quite good. If it hasn't, then watch out. Despite all the bad news the White House has endured over the past several months -- an unemployment rate near 10%, the BP spill, the midterm results -- the president's standing has remained steady. His job-approval rating stands at 45% (which isn't far off from where it was a year ago, when it was 47%); his economic handling is at 42% (same as it was a year ago); and 72% say they like Obama personally, even if they don't like his policies. What's more, in potential 2012 match-ups, he bests Romney by seven points (47%-40%), Palin by 22 points (55%-33%), and a relatively generic candidate like John Thune by 20 points (47%-27%). Of course, Thune and Romney both hold him under 50%.

*** What’s benefiting Obama: Two things appear to be benefiting Obama. The first is his strong base: 87% of African Americans, 76% of Democrats, and 53% of Latinos approve of his job. It’s worth noting, however, that Obama’s numbers among Dems have dropped since cutting his tax deal with the Republicans (from 82% last month to 76% now). But NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) sees the slight erosion as a flesh wound. (Those same Dems who move away from the president in the job rating question come back to Obama when matched up against the 2012 Republicans.) The second thing benefiting Obama is that an overwhelming number of Americans find him likeable. He gets his highest marks in the poll for having a strong family and family values (74% give him a high rating here), being easygoing and likeable (68%), being inspirational and exciting (51%), and having strong leadership qualities (49%). His lowest marks come on the professional side: being a good commander-in-chief (41%), achieving his goals (33%), uniting the country (30%), and changing Washington (24%). Bottom line: The jury's still out on whether the president is going to be successful or not, as over 40% tell us it's STILL too soon to judge what kind of president Obama is going to be.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

*** Palin’s poor poll position: The other chief headline in the NBC/WSJ poll is Sarah Palin’s starting position for 2012, if she decides to run. In addition to Obama leading her by a whopping 22 points -- compared with Romney’s seven-point deficit, and a generic GOP candidate’s three-point deficit in the poll -- Palin’s negative rating has climbed to 50%. That’s the highest negative rating for anyone measured in this poll (and it’s two points lower than Nancy Pelosi’s negative rating from last month). And get this: The only major subgroups that Palin wins in a head-to-head match-up with Obama are Republicans, conservatives, and FOX viewers. That’s it, folks. NBC/WSJ co-pollster Bill McInturff (R) says that this is “a sobering starting point” for Palin if she decides to run for president.

*** A red flag on Afghanistan for Obama: Yet there’s also a red flag in this poll for Obama -- and it comes from his left flank. But it’s on the issue of Afghanistan, not taxes. While Americans, by a 53%-to-45% margin, approve keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until 2014, those numbers are reversed among Democrats. In the survey, 53% of Dems oppose that and just 46% approve. If Obama gets a challenge from the left -- and that still remains a big if -- then this could be the opening, Hart says. As we've said before, size-of-government issues animate the right and are usually the basis for conservative primary challenges. Anti-war issues animate the left and usually are the basis for liberal primary challenges.

*** Afghanistan review is out: “And speaking of Afghanistan, the president's review of the war is out. The New York Times says it concludes "that American forces can begin withdrawing on schedule in July, despite finding uneven signs of progress in the year since the president announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops, according to a summary made public Thursday. The summary said the United States continues to kill leaders of Al Qaeda and diminish its capacity to launch terrorist attacks from the region. It cited some signs that the United States and its allies have halted or reversed inroads by the Taliban in Afghanistan and strengthened the ability of Afghan forces to secure their country, but acknowledged that the gains are fragile and could be easily undone unless more progress is made towards hunting down insurgents operating from havens in neighboring Pakistan."

*** House to vote on the tax deal: Turning to the remaining work on Capitol Hill, the House today is expected to vote on the tax-cut compromise after the Senate easily passed it by an 81-19 vote yesterday. The House will hold two votes, NBC’s Shawna Thomas reports. The first is on a "motion to concur" with everything in the Senate bill -- except for the estate-tax language. House Dems would establish a higher estate-tax rate than what the White House negotiated with Senate Republicans. If that vote fails, as expected, then the House would then take up a motion to concur with the original Senate language. If that passes, it would immediately proceed to the president for his signature. By the way, our poll shows that 59% approve of the tax-cut deal and 36% disapprove. What’s more, 61% believe the agreement was a fair compromise for both Obama and Republican leaders, while 23% think Obama gave up too much and 10% say Republicans gave up too much.

*** Biden on the tax deal: In an interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Vice President Biden discussed the White House’s priorities in the tax deal. “So I had two dictates from the president. ‘Joe, one, make sure whatever you negotiate grows the economy next year.’ Every major econometric model points out the deal that I was asked to negotiate will increase the growth of the economy from 2.3 to 2.5 to 3.7 to 4. That means tens of thousands of -- millions of additional jobs, over a million additional jobs. Secondly, he said to me, ‘Joe, make sure our folks aren't hurt,’ meaning middle class and working class people. Guess what? Every one of the tax breaks they had, from college tuition to child care tax credit, which the Republicans opposed, is part of that deal. Every single tax break for middle class Americans has been preserved.”

*** Biden’s message on START: Also on Capitol Hill today, the Senate is expected to begin debate on New START. In the NBC/WSJ poll, 70% believe the Senate should approve this nuclear-arms reduction treaty. In his interview with Mitchell, Biden delivered this message to START opponents like GOP Sens. Jon Kyl and Jim DeMint: “Let the Senate vote. Overwhelming, the American people support the START treaty. Overwhelmingly, the United States Senate supports the START Treaty. It's clearly in our national interests. Every former national security adviser, secretary of defense, the secretary of state on the Republican Party from George Shultz to Colin Powell thinks it's essential we pass this treaty. Get out of the way. There's too much at stake for America's national security. And don't tell me about Christmas. I understand Christmas. I have been a senator for a long time. I've been there many years where we go right up to Christmas.”

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter.

The New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday approved the $858 billion tax plan negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders, and House Democrats said they expected to pass the bill on Thursday after a final, and seemingly futile, effort to change a provision that benefits wealthy estates."

Roll Call on Speaker Nancy Pelosi appearing to sit on the sidelines of the tax debate: “Pelosi has never been one to shy away from a fight. But she appears to have made the calculation that selling a tax cut plan she doesn’t like and did not have a hand in negotiating won’t pay her any dividends.”

“President Barack Obama’s New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia snagged 66 votes on a procedural motion to bring it formally to a Senate debate, just one short of the number needed for passage,” the Wall Street Journal notes, adding, “But White House officials noted that Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh (D., Ind.) did not vote on the procedural motion. He could become the decisive vote if the administration can hold Republican supporters together.”

More on the GOP no votes: “Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, John Thune of South Dakota, Christopher Bond of Missouri, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, George LeMieux of Florida and Mark Kirk of Illinois announced their opposition to ratification of the treaty during the lame-duck session. Sens. Alexander and Kirk had given favorable signals about the treaty, and White House officials considered Sen. LeMieux a likely vote. Treaties need 67 senators for ratification. ‘I’m one United States senator who plans to support the treaty and its ratification if we continue to debate it thoroughly and air it out, especially if we deal with nuclear modernization in the correct way, but this is not the way to do it. This is not the way to get 67 votes,’ Sen. Alexander said.”

“For the second time this year, the House voted to dismantle the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy, giving the Senate a final shot in the waning days of this Congress at changing a law requiring thousands of uniformed gays to hide their sexual identity,” AP writes. “The strong 250-to-175 House vote yesterday propels the issue to the Senate, where supporters of repeal say they have the votes but perhaps not the time to get the bill to the floor.”

Josh Green has a column in the Boston Globe on dismantling the filibuster.

“While Republicans mounted a chorus of opposition to earmarks in spending bills this week, Sen. Jeff Sessions has been quietly blocking a routine tax measure to demand the addition of what is basically an earmark: a new tariff that would benefit a single small business in his state,” Roll Call writes. “The fight over Sessions’ demand for tariffs on sleeping bags from Bangladesh highlights the unintended consequences of the GOP’s newfound hawkishness against earmarks.”

Justice Scalia has accepted an invitation from Rep. Michele Bachmann to address House Republicans, The Hill reports.

Here's our write-up of the new NBC/WSJ poll: "After his party’s midterm losses and with the unemployment rate still hovering around 10 percent, President Barack Obama might be down. But he’s far from out — especially when it comes to his prospects for re-election in 2012."

Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s: “Overall, the survey indicates that, for all the criticism the president is taking in Washington from Democratic leaders and liberal activists, he is shifting in a direction supported by many Democrats outside Washington and by the public in general.”

The Afghanistan review: “President Obama's annual review of the Afghanistan war strategy paints a mixed picture of ‘reversible’ U.S. and NATO gains in a hostile region that still poses a threat to the U.S. homeland,” The Hill writes. “An unclassified review, provided to reporters by the White House, warns that while al-Qaeda's senior leadership has been ‘depleted’ and the group's ability to prepare terrorist attacks has been ‘degraded,’ the terror network still poses a threat.”

“President Barack Obama has been invited to Charleston this spring to participate in the 150th anniversary observance of the first firing on Fort Sumter, the start of the nation's defining conflict,” the Charleston Post and Courier writes. “It could be Obama's first visit to South Carolina since his election. [Charleston Mayor Joe] Riley noted that it would be particularly significant if Obama, the nation's first black president, read the words of President Abraham Lincoln, whose 1860 election set in motion secession, civil war and ultimately the emancipation of the nation's 4 million slaves.”

The conservative New York Post: “Talk about moving to the political center! President Obama hosted some of the country's top CEOs in Washington yesterday -- sounding more like a champion of free markets and lower taxes than a big-government spender.”

Gail Collins wonders how Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton would have been perceived if they cried openly like Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner has. “The most arresting moment [in the “60 Minutes” interview] came when Boehner told Stahl he can no longer make visits to schools, or even look at the little kids on the playground, because he immediately starts crying. That had me alarmed. I thought there was going to be some terrible story about an ailing child that would then force me to have warm and sympathetic thoughts about John Boehner.”

“But no. The reason, Boehner finally choked out, was because ‘making sure these kids have a shot at the American dream, like I did, is important.’ We will stop again briefly to imagine what would have happened if Nancy Pelosi, upon being elected speaker, had confessed on national TV that she was unable to visit schools in her district because the sight of little children made her break into sobs.”

Priebus the front-runner? Some have considered Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus a front runner for RNC chair, but a Republican working for another candidate sent CNN photos trying to capitalize on Priebus’ ties to Michael Steele. The photo gallery shows various shots of Steele and Priebus together, titled “Dream Team” and with snarky captions like, “The good ol' days: Reince flies Chairman Steele around America in style, vouching for his leadership" and “The whip operation under the guidance of Reince," showing Priebus working to get Steele elected in 2009.

Henry Barbour, Haley’s nephew and a committeeman from Mississippi, defended Priebus, saying, per CNN: "People tend to shoot at the frontrunner, and he is the frontrunner. "I am sure some of Reince's opponents are shooting at him because they view him as the competition."

“Former Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.) won’t run against Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele but won’t endorse him either,” Roll Call writes. “Coleman cautioned his decision not to challenge Steele should not be interpreted as an endorsement, suggesting that he might very well back another candidate in the RNC leadership elections scheduled for Jan. 14. Coleman declined to explicitly criticize Steele or call for him to step aside.” He said, “My not running is not an endorsement of the chairman,” Coleman said, adding: “I’m still willing to provide service to my party.”

BARBOUR: “At age 63, Gov. Haley Barbour said deciding to run for president means resolving to ‘spend the rest of your productive life doing this.’ The decision won't come for months or without long talks with wife Marsha, the governor said” in an interview with the Jackson Clarion Ledger.

GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich told South Carolinians how important they are ahead of his speech there tonight before the Spartanburg County Republican Party’s annual Bronze Elephant banquet.

PALIN: Politico’s headline on Palin going on ABC: “Sarah Palin goes 'lamestream.'”

PAWLENTY: The State Column reports that the Minnesota governor “took aim at President Obama’s health care law, comparing the program to drug dealing. ‘They offer you a free sample and get you hooked,’ Mr Pawlenty said. The governor, who has publicly opposed Mr. Obama’s health care law, made the remark Monday.”

Pawlenty “is expected to have veteran New Hampshire strategist Sarah Crawford in his corner as the campaign begins,” Granite Status says.

PENCE: Mike Pence said on the "TODAY" show he’s against the tax bill because he believes it “will do little to create jobs,” that it’s a “tough call” to vote against it, but it “is not going to create investment.” He wants the tax cuts made permanent and says that would be taking “a breath.”

ROMNEY: The AP looks at the tough time Romney is likely to have because of his support for a Massachusetts health-care law and an individual mandate: “Romney is finding it hard to avoid comparisons between the Massachusetts health insurance mandate he signed into law and the federal version enacted by President Barack Obama as he weighs another presidential run… Romney praised this week's ruling against the federal mandate, saying it supports his view ‘that Obamacare is an unconstitutional power grab by Washington,’ according to a statement from spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom… Yet the Massachusetts mandate is more sweeping - and penalizes the uninsured more severely -- than the federal law signed this year by Obama, the Democrat Romney would likely face in 2012 if he won the GOP presidential nomination.”

SANTORUM: “Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., one of the most upfront about his ambitions to run for president in 2012, indicated Wednesday night to members of the Quad City Tea Party that he would soon put a staffer in Iowa,” IowaPolitics.com reports.

THUNE: Political Wire notes as its quote of the day John Thune saying, "The bill is loaded up with pork projects, and it shouldn't get a vote." Why is that the quote of the day? Because “the omnibus spending bill that also happens to include his own earmarks,” Political Wire writes.

IOWA: In his eighth visit to the state since the 2008 election, former senator Rick Santorum said he would have opposed the tax-cut deal passed in the Senate, the Des Moines Register reports.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: “ABC News and WMUR-TV, ABC’s Hearst-owned affiliate in Manchester, NH, are joining forces once again to host a Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in 2012,” WMUR says.

From NBC's Luke Russert
The House passed a repeal of the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" policy on gays serving openly in military.

Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the final vote from the speaker's Chair. The tally was 250 yeas, 175 nays.

Among the Republicans who voted FOR repeal: Ron Paul (TX), Joseph Cao (LA), Charles Djou (HI), David Dreier (CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL).

Among the Democrats who voted AGAINST: Bobby Bright (AL) and Artur Davis (AL).

The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it's fate is uncertain.