“When President-Elect Donald Trump meets the press on Wednesday — for his first formal news conference in 168 days—the most intriguing questions may not be about Russia, or his business conflicts, or his son-in-law’s prospective job, but about the interactions between Trump and the press,” Politico reports.

“How contentious will the questions be? How respectful—or disdainful—will Trump be toward his inquisitors? Will this event signal the new president’s willingness to hold regular news conferences, or a swan song for a 55-year old institution?”

CNN: 10 questions for Donald Trump

The news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET in New York City.

“Senate Republicans, under increasing pressure to ensure that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees are fully vetted by federal authorities, have delayed the hearings of four potential cabinet members, three of whom have not been cleared by the agency charged with unraveling potential conflicts of interest,” the New York Times reports.

“As frustrations over confirmations grow, a group that supports Republicans accused the ethics office and its leader — in a highly unusual attack on the nonpartisan agency — of politicizing a process long viewed by both parties as arduous but essential for anyone serving in government.”

“We’ll talk about it on Wednesday. All I can say is it’s very simple, very easy.”

— President-elect Donald Trump, quoted by the New Yorker, on how he will disentangle himself from his business interests so as to not violate the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Washington Post: “Republican plans to quickly confirm Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees were upended Tuesday amid Democratic pressure to slow down the schedule as a federal ethics watchdog reviewing the backgrounds of nominees warned it could take months to probe some of the wealthier picks.”

“There are no indications that any of Trump’s Cabinet choices are at risk of being rejected by the Senate — a rare occurrence — and Republican leaders continue to insist that all of Trump’s choices will be confirmed. But the calendar changes followed days of Republican assurances that hearings would commence quickly and simultaneously.”

A new Pew Research survey finds that when it comes to making important decisions, 58% of Americans think that Donald Trump will be too impulsive, while 34% think he will be about right and just 4% think he will be too cautious in his decision-making.

Meanwhile, as confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees begin, 41% say they approve of his cabinet choices and other high-level appointees, while 49% say that they disapprove.

A new Quinnipiac poll finds 45% of American voters think Donald Trump will be a worse president than Barack Obama, while 34% say he will be a better president and 15% say he will be about the same.

Voters disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president-elect, 51% to 37%.

Playbook: “Republicans close to Trump are most worried about two Cabinet nominees: Steven Mnuchin for Treasury and Andy Puzder at Labor. Why? The combination of two factors: Neither of them have had particularly public-facing jobs and both have made a pile of money with practices some Americans might find objectionable. Democrats are expected to hit Mnuchin over his role in bank foreclosures and the financial crisis. And Puzder has made plenty of comments about minimum wage that are at odds with Democrats. Plus, his fast food company has a penchant for featuring attractive women in bikinis in the advertisements. That could also stir up some embarrassing fodder.”

Monica Crowley, President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick for a top National Security Council job, plagiarized numerous passages in her Ph.D. dissertation, Politico reports.

“An examination of the dissertation and the sources it cites identified around more than a dozen sections of text that have been lifted, with little to no changes, from other scholarly works without proper attribution. In some instances, Crowley footnoted her source but did not identify with quotation marks the text she was copying directly. In other instances, she copied text or heavily paraphrased with no attribution at all.”

A report over the weekend found Crowley plagiarized significant portions of her recent book too.

President-elect Donald Trump told the New York Times that Washington, D.C. shops have been selling out of gowns, with big numbers expected at his inauguration.

Said Trump: “All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It’s hard to find a great dress for this inauguration.”

But People magazine called a few area stores that carry formal dresses and evening wear, and every store said they had plenty of inventory available for those seeking an outfit to wear to the inauguration.

Said one: “No, we’re not sold out. We have 200 dresses, if not more, in stock.”

Said another: “There’s never been less demand for inaugural ballgowns in my 38 years. Never ever has it been less for the inaugural.”

Forbes: “Charles ‘Chuck’ Johnson, a controversial blogger and conservative online personality, has been pushing for various political appointees to serve under Donald Trump, according to multiple sources close to the President-elect’s transition team.”

“While Johnson does not have a formal position, Forbes has learned that he is working behind the scenes with members of the transition team’s executive committee, including billionaire Trump donor Peter Thiel, to recommend, vet and give something of a seal of approval to potential nominees from the so-called ‘alt-right.'”