“President-elect Trump’s Cabinet increasingly resembles a European-style coalition government, staffed with a dizzying array of ideological rivals united — for now — by a grand MAGA vision,” Axios reports.

“The incoming administration has a little something for everyone: isolationists and hawks, populists and bankers — even a couple of lifelong Democrats who ran for president against Trump.”

“Some supporters have praised Trump for the eclectic mix of nominees, saying it reflects the broad range of Americans who voted decisively for a new Washington.”

“But if Trump’s first term is any indication, his Cabinet of contradictions also could invite volatility and infighting that eventually spills into public view.”

“President-elect Trump is looking more seriously at Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) for Treasury secretary — giving Trump three serious options for one of the few roles where he’s taking his time,” Axios reports.

“Hagerty, a former private-equity investor who was Trump’s ambassador to Japan, is one of three apparent finalists, along with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo CEO Marc Rowan.”

“A thousand miles from the austere buildings where Washington runs, Donald Trump’s transition team in his Mar-a-Lago resort has begun what a close ally calls a hostile takeover of the federal government,” the Washington Post reports.

“Since his victory, Trump has ignored many of the rules and practices intended to guide a seamless transfer of power and handover of the oversight of 2.2 million federal employees. Instead, the president-elect, who has pledged to fire thousands of civil servants and slash billions of dollars in spending, has so far almost fully cut out the government agencies his predecessors have relied on to take charge of the federal government.”

“Trump has yet to collaborate with the General Services Administration, which is tasked with the complex work of handing over control of hundreds of agencies, because he has not turned in required pledges to follow ethics rules. His transition teams have yet to set foot inside a single federal office.”

Gabriel Sherman: “For now, Donald Trump is reportedly standing by Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary, but some Trump transition officials are beginning to doubt whether the Fox News host can survive the controversy.”

“According to two Republicans close to Trump, the transition team is quietly preparing a list of alternative defense secretary candidates should Trump abandon Hegseth. ‘It’s becoming a real possibility,’ one of the sources says. The second source tells me that transition members are frustrated that Hegseth failed to disclose he had paid a financial settlement to a woman who alleged he raped her at a Republican women’s event in 2017.”

Said one source: “People are upset about the distraction. The general feeling is Pete hasn’t been honest.”