New York Times: “In its final episode of 2016, ‘S.N.L.’, the sketch series and enduring thorn in Mr. Trump’s side, began with a cold open on Saturday that went hard at some sensitive spots for the president-elect: his relationship to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, his courtship of Melania Trump, and some of his recent gaffes and cabinet nominations. The show all but dared Mr. Trump to respond on his Twitter account, but he did not immediately do so.”
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194
What Just Happened?
Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?
Most See Trump Bringing Big Changes
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds that 68% of Americans believe Mr. Trump will change the way business is conducted in Washington. But one-third of that group—or about 20% of all adults—believe it will be the wrong kind of change.
Including the 32% who said business will continue as usual in Washington, more than half of Americans believe Mr. Trump will effect the wrong kind of change or none at all.
Romney Says It Was Good Sign Trump Considered Him
Mitt Romney wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune that his being in the running to be President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of state is a sign Trump is open to “alternative views and even to critics.”
Said Romney: “I was indeed very critical of Donald Trump during his campaign. But now he has been elected president and accordingly, if I could have helped shape foreign policy to protect the country I love, I would have been more than willing to do so.”
Cheney Emerges As Surprise Trump Ally
“During the campaign, Donald Trump trashed the hawkish foreign policy of the second Bush White House. But now, he and his team are relying on the man most closely identified with that regime — Dick Cheney — to help ensure that Rex Tillerson is confirmed next year as Trump’s secretary of state,” Politico reports.
“It’s a scenario no one could have possibly foreseen: that one of the key architects of the Iraq War, which Trump slammed on the campaign trail, is now being enlisted as an emissary for a man Trump wants to help steer his ship of state.”
Trump to Nominate Mulvaney as Budget Director
President-elect Donald Trump is set to nominate Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) as his budget director, “which would place a fiscal conservative who has warned against larger deficits in charge of the White House Office of Management and Budget,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Will Obama Keep Playing Nice with Trump?
Rick Klein: “The outgoing president’s traditional pre-holidays news conference fills a press void, since there’s nothing similar from the president-elect, still. It also sets a critical tone for the balance of the transition. The non-aggression pact between Obama and President-elect Donald Trump got called off this week, owing to revelations surrounding the extent of Russian interference with the election. Now, the White House is pressuring Trump to acknowledge Vladimir Putin’s involvement, Hillary Clinton is blaming Putin, Trump is mocking Josh Earnest at rallies, and Trump aides are talking again about Clinton’s email arrangement.”
“Does Obama return to a high-minded tone about the importance of an orderly transition? Does he endorse efforts to get intelligence briefings for members of the Electoral College? Does he effectively declare war on Putin, or Trump, or both?”
Cheney Lobbies for Tillerson Nomination
“At the start of the week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) seemed bent on opposing the nomination of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state,” the Washington Post reports.
“By the end of it, Rubio had heard directly from former vice president Richard B. Cheney… With that, one more controversial proposal by Trump at risk of running aground had found new hope for smoother waters. In this case, the intervention of a high-powered gaggle of establishment Republican leaders — none of them long-standing allies of Trump — appears to be leading the effort to save Tillerson’s nomination.”
Trump Still Looking for Veterans Affairs Chief
President-elect Donald Trump “made veterans’ issues a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. But selecting a leader for the Department of Veterans Affairs will be one of the final decisions to round out his cabinet,” ABC News reports.
“Transition sources say Trump is still considering a number of different candidates… Contenders for the VA job include former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown; Pete Hegseth, the former chief executive of the conservative Concerned Veterans for America; and Adm. Michelle Howard, the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship.”
Trump’s Picks Worth More Than Third of All Households
Quartz: “The 17 people who President-elect Donald Trump has selected for his cabinet or for posts with cabinet rank have well over $9.5 billion in combined wealth, with several positions still unfilled. This collection of wealth is greater than that of the 43 million least wealthy American households combined—over one third of the 126 million households total in the US.”
“Affluence of this magnitude in a US presidential cabinet is unprecedented.”
For members: A Cabinet Unlike Any Other
Kudlow in Running for Top Economic Adviser Post
Lawrence Kudlow “has emerged as a leading candidate to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisers, according to people familiar with the transition, a move that would place an establishment Republican who served in the Reagan administration in charge of shaping economic analysis in the Trump White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Quote of the Day
“And you’ll call my people. You call me. It doesn’t make any difference! We have no chain of command around here!”
— President-elect Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, at a meeting of tech CEOs.
Trump Making Appointments Without Full Vetting
President-elect Donald Trump “has rapidly assembled a dozen picks for his cabinet, with about a half-dozen left to be named,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It is a pace that is slightly ahead of his predecessors, but there also are signs some of Mr. Trump’s choices haven’t been rigorously vetted during the informal deliberation process.”
“In many cases, Mr. Trump has announced his prospective nominees without requiring a review of extensive paperwork about their background and financial records, including tax returns… That leaves open the possibility that the first officials to study such material will be the Senate committees that next year will conduct the confirmation hearings, a process that can be grueling and disqualifying.”
Conway Suggests There’s a Nepotism Loophole
Kellyanne Conway told Morning Joe that Donald Trump’s family members could be included on the White House staff.
Said Conway: “The anti-nepotism law apparently has an exception if you want to work in the West Wing because the president is able to appoint his own staff. Of course, this came about to stop maybe family members from serving on the Cabinet, but the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking.”
She added: “So if that is true and that legal advice holds then that will open up a realm of possibilities.”
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Why Trump May Want to Keep the Daily Press Briefings
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A Cabinet Unlike Any Other
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Americans Have Very Low Expectations for Trump
A new CBS News poll finds just 34% of Americans think President-elect Trump will be a good or very good president, and another 23% think he will be average. Thirty-six percent think he will be a poor president.
Trump ends the election year with far lower expectations than his two most recent predecessors did. In December 2008, 63% of Americans thought Barack Obama would make a good for very good president, while just 7% expected a poor performance. Less than half thought George W. Bush would make a good president in December 2000, but just 14% expected him to be a poor president.
GOP Resistance to Bolton Builds
New York Times: “The conflict has come to a head over choosing a deputy to serve under Rex W. Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chief executive whom Mr. Trump selected this week to be secretary of state. Mr. Trump is weighing whether to choose John Bolton, a combative and strident advocate for an expansive American foreign policy who was closely aligned with Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration.”
“Mr. Bolton’s nomination as deputy secretary of state would be subject to a vote in the Senate, and it is not clear whether he would survive his confirmation hearing. Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has said privately that he has misgivings, according to a person who has spoken with him. And Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, another Republican on the committee, has promised to block the nomination.”
Said Paul: “There is something to be said for one of the top diplomats in the country being diplomatic.”
Romney Refused to Apologize to Trump
“As President-elect Donald Trump considered Mitt Romney for secretary of state, Trump wanted one thing Romney wouldn’t give him: an apology,” CNN reports.
“Trump personally saw it in business deal terms: He would get the mea culpa he sought from Romney; Romney would get the job he covets. But Romney — who titled his own book No Apology — declined.”
“He offered forward-looking praise for Trump — starting with the President-elect’s election-night speech. But he wouldn’t go backward and retract his words from the campaign.”
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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