By Thomas McKinless

It was a non-stop few days of news in Washington with lawmakers grilling Google CEO Sundar Pichai about how iPhones work, a handful of farewell speeches in the Senate and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Charles E. Schumer joining President Donald Trump and a stoic Vice President Mike Pence for a hectic Oval Office chat. Thumbnail photo: Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, walks past the annual Christmas sign in the basement of the Capitol as he heads to the House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018 (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call).