“In his private conversations over the past few days, President-elect Donald Trump has admitted that his besieged choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has less than even odds of being confirmed by the Senate,” the New York Times reports.

“But Mr. Trump has shown no sign of withdrawing the nomination, which speaks volumes about his mind-set as he staffs his second administration. He is making calls on Mr. Gaetz’s behalf, and he remains confident that even if Mr. Gaetz does not make it, the standard for an acceptable candidate will have shifted so much that the Senate may simply approve his other nominees who have appalled much of Washington.”

Politico: Negative signs for Gaetz as senators brush off questions amid Trump pressure.

CNN: Trump escalates test of strength over Gaetz pick.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former lawmaker and Fox News contributor Sean Duffy, who also had a turn on MTV’s “Real World,” to be the next secretary of Transportation, Politico reports.

“President-elect Trump is personally calling senators to press them to confirm former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general,” Axios reports.

“Trump is digging in on his embattled and controversial nominee and is sending an unmistakable message to Senate Republicans that he expects him to be confirmed.”

Said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND): “He clearly wants Matt Gaetz. He believes Matt Gaetz is the one person who will have the fearlessness and ferociousness, really, to do what needs doing at the Department of Justice.”

He added: “One thing about Donald Trump, people should never confuse his support for one of his nominees as a tactical or strategic tool for somebody else. And at least to this point, he’s putting his own political capital behind it.”

“Linda McMahon, once seen as a shoo-in to lead Donald Trump’s Commerce Department, is privately frustrated that she has yet to get offered the position,” Semafor reports.

“McMahon’s status leaves both of the president-elect’s transition co-chairs conspicuously without clear places to land in his administration. Her fellow co-chair, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, has made a play to lead Trump’s Treasury Department — as competition for that post descends into the sort of mudslinging that’s more common on the campaign trail.”

“The delay in an offer for McMahon is seen by some of Trump’s allies as a sign that he’s saving the commerce secretary job as a potential landing spot for someone else who misses out on a more prominent position.”

“President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Will Scharf as the next White House staff secretary,” Haaretz reports.

“Scharf, one of Trump’s most prominent television surrogates and a member of his legal team in several of his court cases, will control the paper flow to the White House by deciding which reports and briefings find their way to Trump’s desk.”

An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both his adult clients for sex.

Former Alaksa Gov. Sarah Palin (R) “took to social media to share her frustration at not being selected for any role in the Trump administration,” the Daily Beast reports.

“President-elect Donald Trump is slated to soon name a close JD Vance ally, James Braid, to serve as the White House Director of Legislative Affairs,” Bloomberg reports.

“One of the biggest legislative tasks will be securing a major tax bill that renews the individual and small business cuts Trump passed during his first term, provisions which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.”

“President-elect Donald Trump’s economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs to offset the enormous cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts next year,” the Washington Post reports.

“Among the options under discussion by GOP lawmakers and aides are new work requirements and spending caps for the programs.”

“However, concern is high among some Republicans about the political downsides of such cuts, which would affect programs that provide support for at least 70 million low-income Americans, and some people familiar with the talks stressed that discussions are preliminary.”

“President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say,” CNN reports.

“There are a small number of people who I have told, ‘Look, you should take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens. Just go on a routine vacation and see what plays out come Jan. 20, 21st, 22nd.’ By that time, we’ll know who’s going to be in senior administration roles and whether they will be more fundamentalist about this issue than the general politician who’s appointed into a position that requires Senate confirmation.”

— National security attorney Mark Zaid, quoted by Politico.

“Donald Trump’s political revival was fueled by a populist economic message that hit home with an electorate weary of Biden-era high prices and interest rates. Now the president-elect is having a hard time picking a quarterback to run his economic game plan,” Politico reports.

“Nearly two weeks after Election Day — and after a flurry of high-profile Cabinet picks that blindsided Washington policymakers and industry leaders — Trump has yet to name his pick for who will lead the Treasury Department. Fighting between Trump world factions that support transition co-chair Howard Lutnick and hedge fund executive Scott Bessent has spilled into public view.”

Joshua Green: “This speaks to the central tension of Trump’s second presidency: whether he can satisfy his cohort of billionaire backers and Wall Street allies while also delivering for the multiracial working-class voters who put him back in the White House.”

“Those voters could easily turn on Republicans if Trump’s plutocratic populism doesn’t do a better job of improving their lives than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did.”

Doyle McManus: “At first glance, President-elect Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees — Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — are an odd list of ideologues and eccentrics chosen for political loyalty more than any substantive qualifications.”

“But there’s a more important and potentially more dangerous factor that ties their nominations together: They are foot soldiers in a power grab that, if it succeeds, would weaken the institutional guardrails that limit the president’s powers and concentrate more authority in Trump’s hands.”

The Guardian: Gaetz pick raises fears that Trump will seek “retribution” on political foes.

“President-elect Donald Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general. Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to bury a critical House Ethics Committee report into his alleged personal misconduct. But expect this to be a very uncomfortable week for former Rep. Matt Gaetz all the same,” Politico reports.

“There is new pressure to publicize details from investigations centering on allegations of underage sex and drug use by the Florida Republican as a potentially tawdry and dramatic confirmation battle takes shape.”

Playbook notes an attorney representing two women who have made allegations against Gaetz, will do several network TV interviews today and allege that his clients told investigators they attended “sex parties” with the former Florida congressman in 2017 and 2018.