“Progressive Democrats wrestling with how to navigate a second Donald Trump presidency are settling on a new approach: Take his populist, working-class proposals at his word — or at least pretend to,” Politico reports.
“If he succeeds, they can take some credit for bringing him to the table. If he doesn’t, they can bash him for it.”
“U.S. farm industry groups want President-elect Donald Trump to spare their sector from his promise of mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain heavily dependent on immigrants in the United States illegally,” Reuters reports.
“Nearly half of the nation’s approximately 2 million farm workers lack legal status, according to the departments of Labor and Agriculture, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers.”
“President-elect Donald Trump has always demanded loyalty from his aides, but few have answered the call quite like Natalie Harp,” the New York Times reports.
“A 33-year-old former far-right cable host, Ms. Harp is nearly always at Mr. Trump’s side. She has written him a series of devotional letters, including one that said, ‘You are all that matters to me.’ Once, when Mr. Trump was playing golf in Scotland, she ran behind his cart to keep him up to date with positive stories and social media posts.”
“Little known beyond Mr. Trump’s immediate orbit, Ms. Harp is now poised to play a potentially influential role in his White House, sitting right outside the Oval Office and acting as the conduit for a largely unsupervised flow of information to and from the president and helping him with his social media feed.”
David Corn: “It’s uncommon for a politician to have three or four separate PACs… Generally the more you have is because of obfuscation. It confuses people.”
A CBS News-YouGov poll shows three-quarters of Americans disagree with Trump’s claim that he should be able to appoint leaders of government agencies without Senate hearings or approval.
“A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump asked potential administration nominees to give him monthly consulting fees in exchange for advocating for them to Trump, a written review by Trump’s legal team concluded,” the Washington Post reports.
“The scathing review of Boris Epshteyn, a top lawyer to Trump who has extensive sway in the transition, was prepared by Trump’s attorneys in recent days, according to two people familiar with the report. It found that among those whom Epshteyn had unsuccessfully solicited for payment was Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary.”
“Trump commissioned the report after he heard allegations that Epshteyn had been asking potential Cabinet nominees and others for money, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal document.”
“Allegations of sexual misconduct helped sink Matt Gaetz’s bid for attorney general. Now they threaten to complicate the confirmation of other nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be America’s top health official,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Senators from both parties said they expect Kennedy will face questions about incidents from years ago that recently have drawn attention. Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, has been accused of sexual assault in the late 1990s by a woman who is willing to testify before the Senate. Kennedy has said he is ‘not a church boy.’”
“Kennedy’s accuser, Eliza Cooney, 49 years old, who lives in Westchester County north of New York City, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal she is willing to testify before the Senate, though she hasn’t been asked.”
Megyn Kelly had choice words for her former Fox News colleague Pete Hegseth and his “marital history,” as he faces allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Kelly: “I’m gonna be honest, like looking at his marital history, it’s not an example of fidelity. I’m just gonna be honest and admit that upfront.”
President-elect Donald Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China starting on the first day of his administration, CNN reports.
The move, Trump said, will be in retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border.
“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run, still liable for everything he did while in office, didn’t get away with anything yet – yet.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on February 13, 2021, arguing against the need to impeach Donald Trump.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, CBS News reports.
“As Republicans on Capitol Hill lay the groundwork for extending the 2017 tax cuts, cracks are already emerging on one of the biggest questions: how to handle the cost,” CNBC reports.
“Extending the tax provisions is estimated to increase the deficit by $5 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Yet many lawmakers are quick to dismiss or explain away the number, arguing the tax cuts will ultimately help the economy and, subsequently, revenue for the government.”
“The debate over cost is one of the first major ones lawmakers will need to tackle as they look to extend and potentially build upon the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which raised the standard deduction, lowered income tax rate brackets, and created a deduction for small business income. All of those provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025, although some other changes in the bill, including the 21% corporate tax rate, would continue.”
New York Times: “Sitting vice presidents have a poor track record of succeeding their bosses. Over the last century, five have become their party’s presidential nominee. But only one — George H.W. Bush in 1988 — won the White House. Before Bush, the last sitting vice president to be elected to directly succeed the president he served was Martin Van Buren in 1836.”
“Incumbent vice presidents running for president face unique challenges. They must decide when to hug the president and when to hold him at arm’s length. They must claim credit for an administration’s successes even as their opponents blame them for its failures. Despite occupying a subordinate role, they must show they’re ready for the No. 1 job. And they must do it all while their boss, arguably the world’s most powerful person, watches.”
“Attorneys for Donald Trump conducted an internal investigation into allegations that one of his top aides, Boris Epshteyn, has sought to gain financially from his influence with Trump and others in the president-elect’s orbit,” CNN reports.
“The internal investigation has probed multiple instances of Epshteyn allegedly requesting payment in exchange for promoting candidates for administration positions or offering to connect individuals with people in the upcoming administration relevant to their industries.”
Semafor: Trump campaign reviewed influence allegations.
“President-elect Trump is expected to appoint ultra loyalist Kash Patel to a high-profile position at either the FBI or the Justice Department,” Axios reports.
“Patel would be a deeply controversial pick for any leadership role, especially FBI director. Given the hurdles Patel might face winning Senate confirmation, Trump is considering naming him deputy director or to an appointed investigative role within DOJ.”
“A final decision hasn’t been made. Trump still could change his mind, including by elevating Patel all the way to FBI director — a move that would send Gaetz-like shockwaves throughout Washington.”
“Donald Trump is planning an executive order that would lead to the removal of all transgender members of the U.S. military,” the Times of London reports.
“The order could come on his first day back in the White House, January 20. There are believed to be about 15,000 active service personnel who are transgender. They would be medically discharged, which would determine that they were unfit to serve.”
Special counsel Jack Smith is dropping the federal election subversion and the mishandling of classified documents cases against President-elect Donald Trump, seeking the cases’ dismissal in court filings Monday, CNN reports.
Wrote Smith: “The Justice Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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