Jonathan Martin: “The fates of the fringe appointees who come up for a confirmation vote will reveal one of the most important new power centers in Washington, and perhaps one of the few checks on Trump II: the lame duck caucus.”
Police Report on Pete Hegseth Sexual Assault Released
A police report on the allegation of sexual assault against Pete Hegseth, the Fox News star nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense, was obtained by Mediaite and contains graphic details of the 2017 encounter.
New York Times: “According to the report, the woman, whose name was withheld, told the police that she ended up in Mr. Hegseth’s hotel room after he spoke at the conference in October 2017 hosted by the California Federation of Republican Women at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.”
“The woman, referred to throughout the report as Jane Doe, said Mr. Hegseth took her phone, blocked his hotel room door when she tried to leave, and sexually assaulted her, ejaculating on her stomach. She said that her memory was hazy, and that she had drunk far more alcohol than usual throughout the day.”
Anthony Weiner Prepares for a Possible Comeback
New York Times: “Mr. Weiner, a former Democratic congressman, is in search of a public reset. His career and personal life imploded after he admitted to sending sexually explicit photos of himself to women, and was eventually convicted after he repeated the behavior with a 15-year-old girl.”
“Now, after a year and a half in prison, and much longer in public exile, Mr. Weiner is weighing a political comeback. He has been talking to constituents and says he may try to run in a Democratic primary for the New York City Council, where he served in the 1990s before being elected to Congress in 1998.”
3 Undecided Races to Determine Size of House Majority
CNN: “Republicans have won 219 House seats to Democrats’ 213, according to CNN’s projections. The undecided races are California’s 13th and 45th districts, where ballots are still being counted, and Iowa’s 1st District, where GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads by about 800 votes ahead of a recount.”
“However, Trump is poaching the Republicans who hold — or until recently held — three of those seats, to join his still-forming administration. The president-elect could select more GOP House members as he fills out the remainder of his Cabinet and other administration positions.”
‘Right Out of Central Casting’
“President-elect Donald Trump, whose rise was fueled by reality TV stardom, is once again turning to television to recruit the key cast members of his new administration,” the New York Times reports.
“One difference this time around is the sheer size and responsibility of the positions Mr. Trump is filling with figures who are better known for on-air punditry than managerial skill.”
Sexual Misconduct Is Not Disqualifying for Trump
“There was a time in American politics when allegations of sexual misconduct would end a political career,” USA Today reports.
“But accusations of sexual misdeeds are not a roadblock to landing a high-powered job in Donald Trump’s new administration.”
Trump’s Promises Raise Fears of More Book Bans
“The national furor in recent years around banning books on race and gender in public schools is intensifying as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education, emboldening conservatives to end ‘wokeness’ in classrooms,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
RFK Jr. Called Trump Supporters ‘Belligerent Idiots’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long history of scathing critiques against Donald Trump, labeling him a “threat to democracy,” a “bully,” and, as recently as July, a “terrible president,” CNN reports.
But Kennedy’s harshest attacks date back to Trump’s rise in 2016, when Kennedy applauded descriptions of Trump’s base as “belligerent idiots” and suggestions that some were “outright Nazis” and “spineless fellow travelers.”
Lawler Says SALT Cap Must Go to Pass GOP Tax Bill
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said that “lifting the cap on state and local taxes will be crucial to getting President-elect Donald Trump’s tax overhaul through the House, given the party’s narrow majority in the chamber,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Lawler: “I’ve been very clear, I will not support a tax bill that does not lift the cap on SALT.”
Begich Defeats Peltola in Alaska
“Nick Begich III, the Republican son of a prominent liberal political family in Alaska, has defeated Representative Mary Peltola to win the state’s sole House seat, ousting one of the nation’s most vulnerable Democrats and adding to Republicans’ slim House majority,” the New York Times reports.
Where Things Stand with Matt Gaetz
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Gaetz Meetings Fail to Move the Needle in the Senate
“There’s a growing sentiment among President-elect Donald Trump’s allies in the Senate that they’re wasting time and valuable political capital on former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) nomination for attorney general,” Punchbowl News reports.
“While their ultimate goal is to keep the number of GOP defections below four, far more than that number of GOP senators have indicated their opposition to Gaetz’s nomination privately. And according to sources familiar with the confirmation process, the Trump transition team has not articulated a plan, even privately, to get to 50-plus-one.”
Susan Collins Wants Extensive Vetting of Health Nominees
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called Wednesday for President-elect Trump’s health administration appointees to face ‘extensive committee investigations’ as part of the Senate’s confirmation process,” Axios reports.
Trump Rages as Senate Republicans Are Absent
“President-elect Trump is demanding that Senate Republicans show up and try to stop Democrats from confirming more judges,” Axios reports.
“Democrats confirmed two more judges on Wednesday by 50 to 48 margins, with Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Braun (R-IN) missing the votes.”
“If they’d voted, Vice President Harris would have been unavailable to break the 50-50 tie as she’s currently vacationing in Hawaii.”
Trump Set to Skip FBI Vetting for Cabinet Nominees
“President-elect Donald Trump is poised to skip over FBI vetting of his nominees, upending more than 60 years of precedent and putting him on a collision course with members of his own party as he tries to power controversial cabinet picks through the Senate,” Bloomberg reports.
“Republican senators have balked at Trump potentially forgoing the routine FBI background checks to install former Representative Matt Gaetz as attorney general as well as other controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon and Tulsi Gabbard, another former House member, to run national intelligence.”
Fuller Election Results Show GOP Gains Were Small
Aaron Blake: “We learned a while back that Republicans lost most of the swing-state Senate races — four of five. They flipped the chamber because they won in three red states that Trump carried by double digits.”
“Then we learned that Trump didn’t even win a majority of the popular vote, and his popular-vote margin over Vice President Kamala Harris (currently at 1.7 points and falling) ranks on the low side for recent history. He still won — and swept the swing states in a surprisingly decisive electoral-college result — but a majority of voters didn’t support him.”
“And now it’s increasingly evident that Republicans could actually lose ground in the House.”
Canada Cabinet Minister Steps Down in Blow to Trudeau
“A member of Canada’s Liberal government stepped down on Wednesday amid allegations he had misrepresented his background, dealing another challenge to beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” Reuters reports.
Gaetz Sent Over $10,000 to Two Women for Sex
“The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department,” ABC News reports.
“The Venmo records show that between July 2017 and late January 2019, Gaetz — who was first elected in 2016 — allegedly made 27 Venmo payments totaling $10,224.02 to the two witnesses, who were over the age of 18 at the time.”
The slow drip of information seems more damaging than if the committee had just released the full report.
