“On his way to being confirmed as the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised lawmakers he would do nothing that ‘makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines,’” the Washington Post reports.
“Almost 100 days into the job, amid rising measles outbreaks and congressional scrutiny of his messaging on vaccines, Kennedy made clear behind the scenes that he wanted to reshape the nation’s immunization system.”
“President Trump says Nicolás Maduro is running out of time. But as U.S. warships amass off Venezuela’s coast and Washington escalates a partial oil blockade, the embattled strongman is signaling something very different: that he expects to outlast American pressure,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In recent weeks, the 63-year-old leftist has been dancing on stage at rallies, calmly strolling trade expos and attending Christmas tree lightings hand-in-hand with his wife. He has serenaded supporters with dance remixes and offered up his own rendition of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’—all as Trump administration officials call for him to exit into exile or suffer the consequences.”
“Chinese research submarines for the first time traveled thousands of feet beneath the Arctic ice this summer, a technical feat with chilling military and commercial implications for America and its allies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“U.S. national-security officials say the Chinese undersea expeditions offer fresh evidence of a growing threat from China in the Arctic region, known as the High North. This year, Chinese military and research vessels have operated around Alaska’s Arctic waters in unprecedented numbers.”
“For China, mastery of Arctic travel could yield valuable data about the natural resources awaiting below melting ice caps, significantly reduce travel time for commercial shipping and position nuclear-armed submarines closer to potential targets, including the U.S.”
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“China intensified military exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, firing long-range artillery into waters off the island,” the New York Times reports.
“The People’s Liberation Army also sent out new amphibious assault ships while its vessels and aircraft practiced repelling an approaching enemy force, displaying its ability to isolate the island.”
“In just 11 months, about 500,000 people would be deported in an unrelenting campaign celebrated by those who saw it as long overdue and lamented by those who saw it as inhumane,” the New York Times reports.
“Over the year, the deportations forced Americans, even those who welcomed the stepped-up enforcement, to reckon with the human consequences of rounding up and expelling people from their streets.”
“The Social Security Administration — the sprawling federal agency that delivers retirement, disability and survivor benefits to 74 million Americans — began the second Trump administration with a hostile takeover,” the Washington Post reports.
“It ends the year in turmoil. A diminished workforce has struggled to respond to up to 6 million pending cases in its processing centers and 12 million transactions in its field offices — record backlogs that have delayed basic services to millions of customers, according to internal agency documents and dozens of interviews.”
“Long-strained customer services at Social Security have become worse by many key measures since President Donald Trump began his second term, agency data and interviews show, as thousands of employees were fired or quit and hasty policy changes and reassignments left inexperienced staff to handle the aftermath.”
Stephen Collinson: “Most presidents profess not to interfere in other countries’ domestic politics and elections — despite decades of nefarious US political game-playing abroad.”
“President Donald Trump doesn’t bother with the pretense.”
“A leader who transformed the Republican Party into a partial personality cult and whose every life experience seems to involve the flexing of leverage doesn’t stop at the water’s edge.”
“At least three more events are no longer happening at the Kennedy Center after its board, which was handpicked by President Donald Trump, voted to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center,” Rolling Stone reports.
“President Trump teased that he has a preferred candidate to be the next head of the Federal Reserve but is in no hurry to make an announcement while also musing that he might fire the central bank’s current leader, Jerome Powell,” the South China Morning Post reports.
Trump said that Powell “should resign” and that he would “love to fire him.”
He added: “Maybe I still might.”
Washington Post: Trump says he might sue Fed Chair Jerome Powell for “gross incompetence.”
“President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel presented a united front on Monday, papering over their differences on how to carry out the Gaza peace plan while heaping praise on each other,” the New York Times reports.
“The two leaders, who met over a multicourse lunch inside the dining room of Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida, shared few details on the substance of their talks or how they planned to resolve the many outstanding issues between them.”
“Nor did they shed light on how Mr. Trump’s Gaza plan is to advance into its next phase, in which Hamas is supposed to disarm, the Israelis are supposed to pull back their forces and other countries are supposed to commit troops to an ‘international stabilization force.'”
“It’s bigger than I told you. It’s, you know — after realizing we’re gonna do the inauguration in that building, it’s got all bulletproof glass, it’s got all drone, they call it drone-free roof. It’s dronessss — won’t touch it. It’s a big beautiful safe building.”
— President Trump, talking to reporters about the new White House ballroom.
“President Trump said Monday that unspecified U.S. forces were responsible for an explosion at a marine loading facility in Venezuela, escalating the confrontation with the South American country over alleged drug smuggling,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. And that is no longer around.”
“Trump declined to say if the military or the CIA carried out the strike. He previously authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations.”
“At least a dozen states are working to shield people from soaring health insurance costs following Congress’ failure to extend Obamacare subsidies for tens of millions of Americans,” Politico reports.
“The efforts, which include actions taken by state leaders in California, Colorado and Maryland, in nearly every case come with a major caveat: They will only be able to help a portion of the people whose health insurance will be too expensive without the enhanced subsidies that Congress opted not to renew before leaving Washington for the year.”
White supremacist Nick Fuentes threw his support to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over Vice President JD Vance in a possible 2028 presidential race because Newsom is more “handsome,” Mediaite reports.
“Venezuela started shutting wells in a region that holds the world’s largest deposits of oil in the face of a blockade by the Trump administration meant to financially squeeze the nation,” Bloomberg reports.
“The decision signals a reality check for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who throughout the blockade has attempted to maintain exports that are at the core of the South American country’s economy. Disabling wells is seen as a last resort because of the operational challenges and high costs to restart.”
Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northern Russia, which President Trump said he was “very angry” about, even as Kyiv has denied it happened, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “I don’t like it, it’s not good. I heard about it this morning. You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it. Early in the morning he said he was attacked. That’s no good, it’s no good.”
“President Donald Trump said Israeli President Isaac Herzog informed him that he plans to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu amid the Israeli prime minister’s long-running corruption trial ‒ a claim that Herzog’s office quickly denied,” USA Today reports.
Said Trump: “I spoke to the president, and he tells me it’s on its way.”
“The Israeli president’s office, however, denied that any decisions have been made and claimed Herzog and Trump have not spoken to each other in the weeks since Netanyahu on Nov. 30 formally requested a pardon for his bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges.”
New York Magazine: “He is a brilliant political talent with dizzying ambitions to change the city. Is he ready for the actual job, though?”
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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