Politico: “Donald Trump can’t decide whether he thinks the transition of power is going well or not. But he knows he doesn’t like how much attention Barack Obama is getting and is also bothered by what Trump and his closest advisers see as an active effort to poke the president-elect and undermine the incoming administration with last-minute policy changes on his way out of office, according to two people close to the transition.”

“And the relationship is likely to get worse in the three weeks until the inauguration: Obama is scheduled to give a farewell address Jan. 10 that is expected to be a recounting of his successes and an inherent contrast with Trump and the administration is rushing to make public a report on Russian hacking during the election that intelligence officials say was done to help Trump, though the president-elect has disputed that entirely.”

“Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President Obama statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!”

— President-elect Donald Trump, on Twitter.

Politico: “After languishing without a buyer for months, the five-bedroom Tudor in Jamaica Estates, New York, was sold Dec. 16 to a buyer who will auction it to the highest bidder in January… That’s a quick turnaround for any house flip, but it’s an especially bold undertaking in a time of rising mortgage rates and winter market doldrums.”

“To generate interest in a sale, Paramount is circulating a copy of the president-elect’s birth certificate, which shows the home’s Wareham Place address. His father, Fred Trump, a developer, built the 2,000-square-foot house in 1940.”

Wall Street Journal: As home prices rise, house flipping makes a comeback.

Playbook: “The buzz bouncing around town: the Republican-controlled House is looking to take up three bills immediately after new members are sworn in next week: THE REINS ACT, legislation that would require Congress to approve new major regulations, MIDNIGHT RULES ACT, which allows Congress to disapprove of late-stage administration regulations en masse. Also: a RESOLUTION DISAPPROVING OF THE U.N.’S RECENT ISRAEL ACTION.”

“This is important, because it will give President-elect Donald Trump three bills he would be likely to sign early in his presidency.”

“You know, this is not Woodstock. It’s not Summer Jam. It’s not a concert. It’s not about celebrities. As Donald Trump tweeted himself, it’s about the people. That’s what we’re concentrated on.”

— Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, quoted by Politico, on the lack of star power at the planned inaugural festivities.

Politico: “Donors also represent 39 percent of the 119 people Trump reportedly considered for high-level government posts, and 38 percent of those he eventually picked, according to the analysis, which counted candidates named by the transition and in news reports.”

“While campaign donors often are tapped to fill comfy diplomatic posts across the globe, the extent to which donors are stocking Trump’s administration is unparalleled in modern presidential history, due in part to the Supreme Court decisions that loosened restrictions on campaign contributions, according to three longtime campaign experts.”

Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer told WPRI that Donald Trump’s engagement with supporters via social media will be “a really exciting part of the job.”

Said Spicer: “I think that his use of social media in particular … is gonna be something that’s never been seen before. He has this direct pipeline in the American people, where he can talk back and forth.”

“The concentration of wealth among president-elect Donald Trump’s nominees is setting up an arduous and expensive Senate confirmation process that could slow implementation of the White House agenda,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Republican has so far appointed five billionaires and half a dozen multimillionaires to serve in his administration. To win confirmation, they will be required to disclose their financial holdings and divest themselves of any assets that could present a potential conflict of interest with their new posts.”

“Donald Trump is set to inherit an uncommon number of vacancies in the federal courts in addition to the open Supreme Court seat, giving the president-elect a monumental opportunity to reshape the judiciary after taking office,” the Washington Post reports.

“The estimated 103 judicial vacancies that President Obama is expected to hand over to Trump in the Jan. 20 transition of power is nearly double the 54 openings Obama found eight years ago following George W. Bush’s presidency.”

Politico: “The transition team has recruited dozens of Republican public relations veterans and policy experts to help sell the public and the Senate on Trump’s selections, according to sources close to the transition. Their task will be to convince Americans that the billionaires, generals, donors and CEOs chosen by the president-elect have the expertise to manage the federal government — even if they have no Washington experience.”

“Every nominee has his or her own team of sherpas, or guides, to teach them about the inner workings of their agency, help prep them for confirmation hearings and guide them through the process of filing a mountain of paperwork… Meanwhile, each nominee has been assigned a ‘media sherpa,’ who has been tasked with managing negative stories about nominees, helping to sort out the logistics of meetings with senators and their staffs, and providing background information to reporters.”

“Jason Miller, who was tapped only two days ago to be White House communications director, announced Saturday that he will not join Donald Trump’s administration. In a statement to Politico, Miller said the decision to back out of the job stemmed from a need to spend more time with his family. He noted that he and his wife are expecting their second child next month.”

“President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to shut down his charitable foundation, a decision that comes after repeated controversies over how it collected and disbursed funds,” the Washington Post reports.

“In a statement Saturday, Trump offered no timeline for when his foundation would close down, but said he had directed his attorney to take the steps needed to close the charity. It was also not immediately clear when the foundation would be able to dissolve, given an ongoing investigation in New York.”

“Donald Trump’s sudden embrace this week of a nuclear arms race — and his staff’s scramble to minimize the fallout — underscored an emerging modus operandi for the president-elect: governance by chaos,” the Washington Post reports.

“Since winning the election, Trump has seemed to revel in tossing firecrackers in all directions, often using Twitter to offer brief but provocative pronouncements on foreign and domestic policies alike — and leaving it to others to flesh out his true intentions.”

President-elect Donald Trump and President Obama “have been unfailingly polite toward each other since the election. But with Mr. Trump staking out starkly different positions from Mr. Obama on Israel and other sensitive issues, and the president acting aggressively to protect his legacy, the two have become leaders of what amounts to dueling administrations,” the New York Times reports.

“The split widened on Friday when the Obama administration abstained from a United Nations Security Council vote that condemned Israel for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and allowed the resolution to pass. A day earlier, Mr. Trump had publicly demanded that Mr. Obama veto the measure, even intervening with Egypt at the request of Israel to pressure the administration to shelve the effort.”