“Only morons pay the estate tax.”
— White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, quoted by the New York Times, at a meeting with Senate Democrats.
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Recent Posts
Trump Is Running His Transition on Secret Money
“President-elect Donald Trump is keeping secret the names of the donors who are funding his transition effort, a break from tradition that could make it impossible to see what interest…
Biden’s Chief Economist Processes the Election
“Since the election, Jared Bernstein, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, has often found himself in a down mood — dealing, he says, with ‘confusion, guilt’…
Trump’s Choices for Health Agencies Suggest a Shake-Up
“President-elect Donald Trump’s eclectic roster of figures to lead federal health agencies is almost complete — and with it, his vision for a sweeping overhaul is coming into focus,” the…
Trump’s Trade Agenda Could Benefit Friends
“The sweeping tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump imposed in his first term on foreign metals, machinery, clothing and other products were intended to have maximum impact around the world. They…
Little Ideological Consistency in Trump’s Cabinet
Axios: “Lost in the noise of Trump’s most controversial picks is the simple, undebatable fact that this might be the most ideologically diverse cabinet of modern times.” Save to Favorites
Trump Picks Brooke Rollins for Agriculture
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select Brooke Rollins, a former Trump administration policy adviser, to lead the Agriculture Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Rollins is the president of…
Trump’s Team of Randos
Playbook: “In a flurry of Truth Social posts last night, President-elect Donald Trump made a furious pre-holiday-week dent in his list of Cabinet and key sub-Cabinet nominations — naming nine…
Where Kamala Harris Lost the Election
Politico: “Blue cities represent the core of the Democratic base… But this year, the major cities accounted for smaller shares of the votes cast in the battleground states than four…
Trump Is Casting a Made-for-TV Cabinet
“A common thread weaves through many of Donald Trump’s picks for his incoming administration, a quality the president-elect values as highly as loyalty and perhaps even more than conventional qualifications:…
Trump Considers Ex-Intelligence Chief for Ukraine Post
“President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” USA Today reports. “Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador…
How Scott Bessent Won the ‘Knife Fight’ for Treasury
Wall Street Journal: “Trump told friends shortly before the Bessent announcement that he trusted him to execute the administration’s policies more than any of the other contenders. Trump’s advisers also…
Inside Trump’s Rocky Transition
Washington Post: “In any other presidential transition, such a showdown and physical confrontation between two top advisers to the president-elect would be a showstopping breakdown in decorum.” “But in Trump’s…
What’s the Point of Election Forecasts?
New York Times: “While election polling has been around for more than a century, election forecasts have come to the forefront only in the past decade and a half. And…
Europe’s Leaders Seek Greater Unity
“For months, European business leaders have watched as Donald Trump paved a path back to the White House by doubling down on an “America First” economic policy, putting protectionism and…
Elon Musk’s Wealth Hits Record $348 Billion
“Elon Musk’s net worth hit an all-time high of $347.8 billion on Friday, driven by Tesla Inc.’s ongoing stock rally and a new funding round valuing his artificial intelligence startup…
The SALT Wars
Abby Livingston: “While Republicans celebrate their inroads in suburban counties, an intraparty battle is brewing over a tax that disproportionately hits wealthy counties in blue states—the very places an emboldened…
Trump Picks Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) as his pick to be the secretary of labor, CNN reports. Chavez-DeRemer lost reelection to Oregon’s 5th District earlier this month….
Trump Plans to Fire Jack Smith’s Entire Team
“President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue two federal prosecutions against the former president, including career attorneys typically protected…
Trump Picks Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has selected hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department, “elevating one of the finance world’s most vocal supporters of the president-elect to a crucial position…
Tulsi Gabbard Was Placed on Government Watch List
“Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel…
