The Hill’s 12:30 Report — FAA’s mass US ground stop causes chaos

by Cate Martel - 01/11/23 12:30 PM ET

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

NEWS OF THE MORNING

Sooooo, the FAA grounded all flights this morning. No big deal or anything:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all domestic flights from around 4 a.m. until 9 a.m. due to a widespread computer outage.

Keep in mind: This applies to all commercial and military flights.

The question many are wondering — was it a cyberattack?: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted, “There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes.”

How many flights have been affected: More than 6,000 flights within, into or out of the United States have been delayed so far today, according to FlightAware.

Check out FlightAware’s live map of U.S. air travel right now

Read the FAA’s advisory from around 4 a.m.

Here are the FAA’s live updates throughout the morning

SECRETARY (MAYOR) PETE IS ON IT:

President Biden said he was briefed on the FAA outage this morning and told reporters that he spoke with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Biden told reporters: “They don’t know what the cause is. I told them to report directly to me when they find out. Aircraft can still land safely, just not take off right now. They don’t know what the cause of it is, they expect in a couple of hours they’ll have a good sense of what caused it and will respond at that time.”

EXPLAINER — ‘WHAT IS NOTAM? HERE’S WHAT CAUSED THE F.A.A. GROUNDSTOP.’:

The New York Times’s Niraj Chokshi explains

‘YOUR CANCELED-FLIGHT EMERGENCY KIT’:

The Washington Post’s Courtney Beesch writes, “Here’s what to pack before you head to the airport — literally and figuratively.” Full read

It’s Wednesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🔎 In the White House

Jill Biden is having an outpatient procedure today:

First lady Jill Biden is at Walter Reed National Medical Center today to have a skin lesion removed. President Biden accompanied her to the procedure.

What we know: “The first lady was scheduled to undergo Mohs surgery to remove a small lesion above her right eye after doctors recommended it be excised out of an abundance of caution following a skin cancer screening. … During Mohs surgery, surgeons cut away thin layers of skin, examining each for signs of cancer, until no signs are found.”

More from The Hill’s Brett Samuels

Memo on the first lady’s procedure

We’re all dying to know:

The discovery of a small number of classified documents found at a Washington, D.C., think tank in President Biden’s office last fall is raising questions about the level of sensitivity of the contents.

The big question — what was in those documents?: Well, The New York Times’s Glenn Thrush and Charlie Savage report that “the documents included briefing materials on foreign countries from Mr. Biden’s time as vice president, two people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.”

WHAT BIDEN HAS SAID ABOUT THE DISCOVERY — IDK WHAT’S IN THE DOCS:

President Biden told reporters when asked during the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico on Tuesday: “I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office. But I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were.”

BIDEN BASICALLY HAND-DELIVERED A GIFT TO TRUMP:

“There are key differences between what appears to have happened in Biden’s case and Trump’s conduct at Mar-a-Lago. … The obstruction element is simply not part of the Biden story, at least as known so far.”

Yes, but: “The distinction appears likely to be lost on a significant share of the public — especially those voters already skeptical about Biden. The most simplistic explanation of the story, shorn of nuance — Trump and Biden both had classified documents — is sure to take root in many minds.”

How Trump allies are handling the revelations — and the expected political reverberations, via The Hill’s Niall Stanage

‘BIDEN GETS NEW POLITICAL HEADACHE WITH DISCOVERY OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS’:

From The Hill’s Brett Samuels

🏃‍♂️ 2024

Getting a head start:

“The first domino fell in the battle for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) seat on Tuesday as Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) announced her bid for the upper chamber, kicking off what could become a crowded field and raucous race.”

Keep in mind: Feinstein hasn’t announced her retirement, but is widely expected to do so in the coming months. She said on Monday that she intends to finish her term and decide about her 2024 plans in the spring.

This race could have *a lot* of high-profile Democrats: Reps. Adam Schiff, Ro Khanna and Barbara Lee could all run.

What to expect in this race, via The Hill’s Al Weaver

🏛 In the Supreme Court

This is a sad trend:

The Hill’s Daniel De Visé writes that “never in recent history, perhaps, have so many Americans viewed the Supreme Court as fundamentally partisan.”

How so?: “Public approval of the nine-justice panel stands near historic lows. Declining faith in the institution seems rooted in a growing concern that the high court is deciding cases on politics, rather than law. In one recent poll, a majority of Americans opined that Supreme Court justices let partisan views influence major rulings.”

From the Gallup poll: “Three quarters of Republicans approve of the high court’s recent job performance. But Democrats’ support has plummeted to 13 percent, and more than half the nation overall disapproves of how the court is doing its job.”

Why this matters so much=

🦠 The COVID-19 numbers

Cases to date: 101 million

Death toll: 1,091,184

Current hospitalizations: 36,700

Shots administered: 665 million

Fully vaccinated: 69.1 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets

Knock, knock:

ABC News’s Lalee Ibssa tweeted, “Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman hand deliver a copy of their complaint with the House Ethics Committee to Rep. George Santos who was in his office. This morning, Santos told reporters, ‘I have done nothing unethical.’” Watch them deliver the complaint

NEW REPORTING ON THE SANTOS SAGA:

Politico’s Julia Marsh reports that “Nassau County Republican leaders will call on Rep. George Santos to resign Wednesday for fabricating his biography to win his congressional seat.” The full report

⏱On tap

The House is in. The Senate is out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C.