What does the White House have on its holiday wish list?
On this week's episode of the "Where Did You Get This Number?" podcast, CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes and CBS News Radio White House correspondent Steven Portnoy spoke with host Anthony Salvanto about what members of Congress and the White House have on their holiday wish lists.
The House Democrats want to avoid a government shutdown, address infrastructure, lower prescription drug costs, voting rights, and good government "to try to drain the swamp, as both sides like to say when they're in charge," Cordes said.
Portnoy said the White House is looking at criminal justice reform, securing funding for the border wall and perhaps the USMCA trade agreement (the replacement for NAFTA). And while he doesn't see tax reform 2.0 going anywhere or the Affordable Care Act being completely eroded, he said infrastructure and drug pricing might be points of bipartisanship.
"Those are two issues where, working in concert, the president and the Democrats in Congress might just be able to see eye to eye," Portnoy said.
Cordes also discussed intra-party divides. Incoming Republican Congress members face tensions between rural areas and suburban and urban areas, while Democrats must balance constituent wishes of going after and striking deals with President Trump.
And in light of new developments involving the special counsel's Russia probe, Portnoy thinks the White House may be most worried about what it doesn't see coming.
"I think the White House is worried about whatever congressional investigative committees are gonna dig up in the operations of federal agencies and departments," Portnoy said, on top of potentially more revelations from the special counsel's Russia probe and New York City prosecutors, whose parallel investigations converged in the sentencing of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.
To close out the show, Salvanto speaks with Maj. Mark R. Lazane of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) about its NORAD Tracks Santa event.
To hear more analysis about the upcoming Congress, the 2020 presidential campaign, and more, download the "Where Did You Get This Number?" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every other Monday.
Thanks to Defense Visual Information Distribution Service for the Santa Tracker audio.
Producers: Ian Flickinger, Allen Peng
Host: Anthony Salvanto
Twitter: @WDYGTN