With help from John Hendel, Nancy Scola, Martin Matishak and Ashley Gold

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Tech will not publish on Monday, Jan. 15. Our next Morning Tech newsletter will publish on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Please continue to follow Pro Technology issues here.

Story Continued Below

TRUMP ZIGS, ZAGS ON SURVEILLANCE REFORM — "President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to come out against a bill that would renew controversial online surveillance efforts, hours after the White House issued a statement endorsing the legislation," Martin Matishak reports.

— "'House votes on controversial FISA ACT today.' This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony Dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration and others?" the president tweeted this morning, referring to the so-called Steele dossier, a compilation of alleged and unverified ties between Trump and Russia.

— But a short time later, the president reversed course: "With that being said, I have personally directed the fix to the unmasking process since taking office and today’s vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land. We need it! Get smart!"

— Read the latest from Martin here.

SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR SESTA — Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) will hold a rally this morning for a Senate vote on SESTA (S. 1693 (115)), the anti-sex-trafficking bill. The measure now has 64 co-sponsors, enough support for it to pass if it hits the floor, but Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has a hold on the measure, warning it could harm tech startups by creating a new litigation risk. In a nod to National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, the senators will be joined at the event by anti-sex-trafficking activists including documentary filmmaker Mary Mazzio and Lauren Hersh of the group World Without Exploitation. “We’re still speaking with [Wyden] and hopeful we can address some of the issues he’s raised,” Blumenthal told Ashley on Wednesday. A spokesman from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office had no update on when a vote might be scheduled.

— The bill has been hotlined, Rachel Wolbers, policy director at startup advocacy group Engine, said at the CES show in Las Vegas on Wednesday. That means the measure is eligible for passage by unanimous consent, but Wyden's hold would block its passage. The bill also got a CBO score Wednesday.

TELECOM BILLS ADVANCE — Two pieces of legislation moved forward Wednesday night. President Donald Trump signed into law the Connected Government Act (H.R. 2331 (115)), which will require new or updated federal websites to be mobile friendly. The Senate, meanwhile, passed by unanimous consent Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) S. 875 (115), which would require a GAO study on the filing requirements for FCC universal service fund telecom subsidies.

THUNE HOPES REPUBLICANS STAY AWAY FROM CRA — Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday he’s “hopeful” Republicans steer clear of the Congressional Review Act resolution to reverse the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality rules. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday became the first GOP lawmaker to support the measure from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has indicated that he’s considering the proposal. Republican support is vital to achieve the simple majority needed for the measure to pass the upper chamber.

— “The longer this sort of thing drags out and the more it looks like Democrats might have the votes in the Senate, the harder it is to get Democrats in the Senate to work with us,” Thune said, adding that he’s “open for business” when it comes to net neutrality legislation. He said he’s talked up legislation to a number of other Republican lawmakers. “I know Thune is going to work on something after the CRA fails,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told MT.

— Meanwhile Markey said he’s seeking support for the CRA on both sides of the aisle. “Our goal is to try to make it bipartisan. We can't win without that," he told reporters. "We need 51 and we're knocking on that door, but we don't have it yet."

COMMERCE CASH CAB — Commerce Department Inspector General Peg Gustafson devoted 15 pages of a report released Wednesday to an Obama political appointee who wrongly charged the government for about 130 taxicab rides costing more than $4,000 from September 2014 to May 2016. This was often for daily commuting, the IG found, saying the employee’s tactics included providing “names of other current and former Agency employees or fictitious names when calling to order cabs” and writing “false or inaccurate locations and names on cab receipts and vouchers.” Who’s the mystery cabber? The Washington Post reports it’s Vikrum Aiyer, who was chief of staff for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee and a White House senior policy adviser, now at Postmates.

— But wait, there’s more: The IG also says the official claimed to have a graduate degree he lacked and “made over $15,000 in impermissible personal charges” to his government-issued credit card over the course of four years. Aiyer didn’t respond to an email sent last night requesting confirmation and comment. The IG said the appointee resigned before administrative action was possible, that no prosecution resulted from consultation with DOJ and that it’s referring the case to the agency for “any action it deems appropriate.”

CES WATCH — Policy representatives from Amazon, Yelp and Airbnb are slated to take part in panels today focused on everything from the future of work to the sharing economy to sustainability. USPTO’s deputy chief administrative officer Wynn Coggins is also due to talk about the need for STEM training for workers.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we’re thrilled our favorite nerdy show is back. Send your tech and telecom tips to lzhou@politico.com and @liszhou. Catch the rest of the team’s contact info after Quick Downloads.

Got an event for MT’s tech calendar? Email us the details at techcalendar@politicopro.com.

Driverless Cars and the Future of Mobility — At the 2018 North American International Auto Show, POLITICO will host a live panel conversation on the future of transportation and autonomous vehicles: What are the sticking points? Will there be a mobility revolution for older Americans and people with disabilities? Speakers include: Joan Claybrook of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety; Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio); Sherif Marakby of Ford Motor Company; Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.); and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Jan. 16, 2018 — Doors open at 10:45 a.m. — Main Stage, Cobo Center — 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit. RSVP: here.

THE END OF THE ISSA ERA — The rest of the world may know Darrell Issa best as a vocal and spirited antagonist of Hillary Clinton over the Benghazi situation, but here in MT-land, Issa’s long tenure in Congress evokes some different memories. For one thing, it was Issa who, back in the winter of 2011, first issued the call to stop the Stop Online Piracy Act, on the grounds that it would break the internet’s basic functioning; fans of the internet came running, and stop SOPA they did. For another, Issa’s also been a key congressional proponent for modernizing the U.S. patent system. And as both a congressman and the former chairman of the Consumer Technology Association — whose big CES summit in Las Vegas dimmed its lights Wednesday upon word of his retirement (no, not really) — Issa was perhaps the go-to voice in Washington on the idea of that America works best when its technology industry is encouraged to flourish.

— Said Issa in his goodbye statement, “while my service to California's 49th District will be coming to an end, I will continue advocating on behalf of the causes that are most important to me.” Time will tell if one of those causes continues to be tech.

ALERT, ALERT — California Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein are welcoming the FCC’s new draft order to revamp the wireless emergency alert system — something the two Democrats sought last year in response to devastating wildfires in their state. “Timely emergency notifications on mobile devices can save lives,” they said in a joint statement, adding that enhanced geographical targeting “would allow communities to more effectively alert residents of danger and give them more time to evacuate.”

CHAO SKETCHES SELF-DRIVING POLICY — Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Wednesday described four efforts to collect information on automated vehicle technologies as DOT works to develop another version of driverless car guidelines, Pro Transportation’s Lauren Gardner reports. As part of that, NHTSA is gathering input on regulatory barriers to the testing and certification of advanced autonomous vehicles. (The advanced vehicles lack internal controls, like steering wheels and brakes, that enable human drivers to operate a car.)

SILICON VALLEY MUST-READS —

— Samsung’s landmark spending: “Samsung Electronics Co. spent more on capital expenditures last year than any other publicly traded company, highlighting in dramatic fashion how technology and telecommunications firms are driving an uptick in manufacturing investment,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

— Tracking Twitter’s “ad transparency center”: “In October 2017, as Congress probed Russia’s suspected manipulation of Twitter's platform, the company pledged to within weeks establish an ‘industry-leading transparency center’ that would provide visibility into political and issues-based ads,” BuzzFeed reports. “More than two months later, the center is nowhere to be found.”

— Facebook’s move on local news: “The social network is testing a new section inside its app called ‘Today In,’ a feed made up entirely of local news, events and announcements,” Recode reports.

TRANSITIONS — Ari Giovenco joined Amazon’s Washington office as manager of customs and trade policy. He was previously the director of trade and international policy at the Internet Association, of which Amazon is a member.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee will hold two days of meetings at FCC headquarters on Jan. 23 and 24 to consider recommendations from its working groups. The panel will hear reports on creating model codes for municipalities and states, removing state and local regulatory barriers, streamlining federal siting and fostering competitive access to broadband infrastructure. The fun begins at 9 a.m. both days, according to an FCC notice.

OVERHEARD AT THE WHITE HOUSE — During a Wednesday meeting with President Donald Trump, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg highlighted her country’s affinity for a particular kind of electric vehicle. “Teslas are a big hit in Norway,” she said.

QUICK DOWNLOADS

YouTube drops deals with Logan Paul: “YouTube has cut business ties with Logan Paul amid unrelenting backlash over his recent video showing the hanging body of a dead man in what's known as the ‘suicide forest’ in Japan over the holidays,” BuzzFeed reports.

Bitcoin hearing on deck: “The U.S. Senate’s financial services panel will hold a hearing next month with the country’s top markets regulators to discuss bitcoin amid rising concerns over the risks cryptocurrencies pose to the financial system,” Reuters reports.

Microsoft on green card fees and STEM: Microsoft reiterated its support for a DACA fix from Congress and detailed one of the tactics it backs for boosting STEM education, in a blog post.

Another take on the Valley’s partying: Tech entrepreneur Paul Biggar writes about his experience at one of the “sex parties” detailed in a book excerpt by Emily Chang that was recently published in Vanity Fair. One thing he emphasizes in his post: the party in question was allegedly a company event — put on and backed by a venture capital firm. Read more, here.

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Eric Engleman (eengleman@politico.com, @ericengleman), Angela Greiling Keane (agreilingkeane@politico.com, @agreilingkeane), Nancy Scola (nscola@politico.com, @nancyscola), Margaret Harding McGill (mmcgill@politico.com, @margarethmcgill), Ashley Gold (agold@politico.com, @ashleyrgold), Steven Overly (soverly@politico.com, @stevenoverly), John Hendel (jhendel@politico.com, @JohnHendel) and Li Zhou (lzhou@politico.com, @liszhou)