New York Times: “The president-elect’s transition work continues to hum at Trump Tower, with most personnel decisions being made from New York, while the landing teams put together in the weeks before his campaign victory work hundreds of miles away in Washington. Mr. Trump has resisted efforts by his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to move the transition work to Washington, given how many people are traveling north every week.”
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
Trump Considers Bobby Valentine for Japan Ambassador
Former baseball manager Bobby Valentine is on a short-list of candidates for the job of United States Ambassador to Japan, WEEI reports.
“The 66-year-old, who currently serves as Sacred Heart University’s athletics director, has engaged in preliminary discussions with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team regarding the position. When contacted Thursday night, Valentine refused comment.”
“Valentine is still very popular in Japan, having managed the Chiba Lotte Marines for seven seasons, becoming the first U.S. born manager to win the Japan Series with a championship in 2005.”
Trump Paid $12 Million to Family Businesses
President-elect Donald Trump “in the final weeks of the election paid nearly $2.9 million to family-owned companies, according to his latest Federal Election Commission disclosure—a third of the total amount he had previously paid his businesses over the course of the campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The total Mr. Trump spent over the course of the campaign on family-owned companies and reimbursing his children for travel: $12 million.”
Trump Closing In on New RNC Chair
“The Republican National Committee may sit on Capitol Hill, but its fate is being decided in Manhattan, where the field of contenders to run it has narrowed to two leading candidates, Michigan GOP chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and Nick Ayers, a Republican operative currently serving as an aide to Vice President-elect Mike Pence,” Politico reports.
“High in Trump Tower, dueling factions in President-elect Donald Trump’s orbit have lined up behind each of the candidates.”
Gov. Chris Christie “lobbied for the post last week and was quickly shot down.”
Trump to Retain Producing Credit on Reality TV Show
“Donald Trump will continue to hold the title of executive producer for the television show ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ after taking office, foreshadowing an unorthodox presidency in which the commander in chief has a hand in the world of reality TV,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump’s name will be listed in the credits of the NBC show that he once hosted, according to details of the arrangement confirmed by a representative of the show. Such credits in Hollywood often come with a paycheck, though the representative did not disclose whether Trump will be compensated.”
Trying to Push Garland Through Could Kill the Filibuster
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
John Glenn Is Dead
Former Sen. John Glenn (D-OH) died today at the age of 95, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Glenn was a true American hero for his service as a combat fighter pilot and an astronaut, but he wasn’t a bad politician either. He won election to the U.S. Senate four times and ran for president in 1984.
One of his more interesting political moments was his response to Democratic primary opponent Howard Metzenbaum, who accused Glenn of never having a real job.
Quote of the Day
“I find myself embarrassed by the nature of the way in which this campaign was conducted. So much for the shining city on the hill.”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by CNN.
Priebus Urged Trump to Drop Out After Video
New York Magazine: “Some Trump advisers are dismayed by Priebus’s influence because they question the Washington insider’s loyalty to the president-elect. Three sources told me that shortly after the Access Hollywood tape leaked in early October, Priebus went to Trump’s penthouse and advised the candidate to get out of the race. Priebus told Trump that if he didn’t, he ‘will go down with a worse election loss than Barry Goldwater’s.'”
Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds Earn More Than Parents
“Barely half of 30-year-olds earn more than their parents did at a similar age, a research team found, an enormous decline from the early 1970s when the incomes of nearly all offspring outpaced their parents. Even rapid economic growth won’t do much to reverse the trend,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In 1970, 92% of American 30-year-olds earned more than their parents did at a similar age, they found. In 2014, that number fell to 51%.”
Pope Compares Fake News to Eating Feces
“Pope Francis criticized the spread of fake news in graphic terms, comparing it coprophagia, according to a translation of the transcript published by the Vatican,” McClatchy reports.
“Coprophagia is the act of eating one’s own feces.”
“Francis also compared ‘disinformation’ from the media to coprophilia, or an interest in feces, often for sexual arousal.”
Texas Republican Defends Sharing Fake News
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) suggested that journalists were unfair to scrutinize his habit of posting fabricated or unsupported information on social media, the Texas Tribune reports.
Said Miller: “I’m not a news organization. Y’all are holding me to the same standards as you are a news organization, and it’s just Facebook.”
He added: “If it’s thought-provoking, I’ll put it up there and let the readers decide. Everyone that reads that is grown ups. It’s like Fox News: I report, you decide if it’s true or not.”
The Bully Pulpit Is Being Used to Bully
Rick Klein: “In his month as president-elect, Donald Trump has used Tweets to blast protesters upset with his election; threaten a government contract awarded to a company opposing his agenda; falsely claim that he won the popular vote if you only count the votes of legal citizens; and attack a local union head – a private citizen – who went on television to question the accuracy of his claims of saved jobs. This isn’t crossing lines – it’s scribbling over the old ones, and redrawing the boundaries of propriety even before Trump takes office.”
“One question for those who might seek to challenge the president is how they react to this new reality. Trump won’t change – but will efforts to draw him out adjust? When a president reacts to cable news, or online chatter, the spotlight will be on not just the president but on the person or entities under attack.”
Trump Taps Puzder for Labor Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name fast-food executive Andy Puzder as labor secretary, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Puzder, chief executive of the parent company that runs Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, “has been a vocal advocate for cutting back regulations he says have stifled growth in the restaurant industry” and “has criticized the Affordable Care Act and has argued against raising the federal minimum wage higher than $9 an hour.”
For members: Here’s Trump’s Cabinet So Far
Clinton Lost the Election In the Last Week
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Reid Warns GOP on Repealing Obamacare
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) offers a warning to Republicans in the New York Times:
Despite the fact that your nominee lost the popular vote by nearly three million votes, your leaders have announced their intention to repeal the Affordable Care Act early in the next Congress, with no replacement. This is a dramatic misreading of your mandate. It will lead you into a quagmire that will cause pain for millions of Americans and bedevil you for the next four years.
Repealing Obamacare will take health insurance away from millions of Americans — as many as 30 million, by one recent estimate. It will raise premiums and throw health insurance markets into disarray. Public support for repeal is low, and support for repeal without a replacement is in the basement.
If you continue down this path, you will be letting your reflexive opposition to President Obama’s legacy cloud your judgment. I was in the Senate when President George W. Bush misread his mandate and sought to privatize Social Security. His administration never recovered.
Ryan Suggests Trump Is Not Corruptible
Jonathan Chait: “Ryan does say he has ‘confidence’ in Trump to avoid self-enrichment, which is a comical statement. Governments don’t run on trusting leaders to do the right thing when nobody is looking. They’re supposed to have mechanisms of accountability. And what president-elect has provided less grounds for confidence in his lack of pecuniary motive than Donald Trump? This is a man who has engaged in business with organized crime domestically, and with corrupt regimes abroad, who routinely refuses to pay money he owes, who has engaged in flagrant self-dealing, and who habitually lies about absolutely everything. If Ryan has confidence Trump would not use his power for personal gain, what possible leader would give him pause?”
Greg Sargent: The coming Trump kleptocracy
Top Clinton Aide Hits Trump Campaign Again for Racism
Jennifer Palmieri: “A good bit of the post-election analysis has centered on what our campaign should have done differently. That’s appropriate. We should think long and hard about why we lost. Trust me, we have. But it’s also important for the winners of this campaign to think long and hard about the voters who rejected them. I haven’t seen much evidence of such introspection from the Trump side. That’s concerning. I don’t know whether the Trump campaign needed to give a platform to white supremacists to win. But the campaign clearly did, and it had the effect of empowering the white-nationalist movement.”
