By UN Ambassador Susan Rice heads to Capitol Hill this week to meet with members of Congress to discuss the Benghazi attacks, ABC News reports. That means she will come face-to-face with senators who have opposed her possible nomination to be the next Secretary of State. Her first stop: A meeting Tuesday with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who certainly can be included among Rice's critics, although he recently has softened his opposition.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto at the White House on Tuesday to discuss economic competitiveness, regional development, border control and common security challenges.
The House returns from the Thanksgiving recess. No matter what else is on the agenda, members are certain to be talking about that fiscal cliff — the tax increases and deep spending cuts set to trigger on the first two days of January.
Speaking of the fiscal cliff, that's what Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin will be talking about Tuesday in a speech at the Center for American Progress. The title of the Illinois Democrat's speech: "Stakes of the Fiscal Showdown for Cutting Poverty and Expanding Economic Growth."
Durbin said this past Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that Democrats in Congress should be willing to address entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid in deficit reduction negotiations.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum will be in his home state of Pennsylvania signing copies of "American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom." He told The Weekly Standard magazine on Monday that he is "open" to making another run for the White House in 2016.
And then there is this: Speaking of runs for the White House, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty turns 52 Tuesday. He launched a presidential campaign in the spring of 2011 and ended it a few months later. His name also was mentioned as a possible Mitt Romney running mate.
Sources: Yahoo! News, ABC News, Associated Press
