memeorandum: George W. Bush to attend Trump's inauguration (Ben Kamisar/The Hill)

6:45 PM ET, January 3, 2017

Top Items:

Rachael Bade / Politico:

House GOP reverses course on gutting ethics panel — Following a public outcry, and tweeted criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, House Republicans reversed course Tuesday on a proposal to gut their own ethics watchdog. — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, USA Today, ABC News, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, U.S. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, CNBC, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Beast, alan.com and Outside the Beltway

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Jack Abramoff slams GOP over House ethics changes — Jack Abramoff, the disgraced former lobbyist whose felony crimes eventually helped lead to the creation of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, ripped House Republicans for their move to gut the independent watchdog.

Discussion: Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, NPR, The Point, Washington Post, ABC News, The Guardian, The Democratic Daily, ThinkProgress, TheStreet.com, Diplopundit, The Nation, Patterico's Pontifications, DCist, New York Magazine, The American Conservative and The Week

Norm Ornstein / The Atlantic:
The GOP's Ethics Disaster

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The American Conservative

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Conway: GOP has ‘mandate’ to gut congressional ethics office

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, ABC News, Common Dreams, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
House Republicans back off gutting ethics watchdog after backlash from Trump

Discussion: Vox, The Hill, neo-neocon, Daily Kos, The Reality-Based Community, IJR, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones and Common Dreams

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
House GOP scraps plan to gut ethics watchdog after emergency meeting

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Trump slaps GOP for vote on ethics watchdog

Discussion: CNN, Salon, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Shareblue, New York Times, CBS New York, Raw Story, ABC News, WTKR-TV, NBC News, BizPac Review, Fox News, The Atlantic, Politico and CNBC

Lauren Fox / Talking Points Memo:
Paul Ryan Elected House Speaker With Just A Single Republican Defection

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

New York Times:
House Republicans, Under Fire, Back Down on Gutting Ethics Office

Susan Davis / NPR:
After Backlash, Including From Trump, House GOP Drops Weakening Of Ethics Office

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Washington Post, US News, Salon, Fox News, Vox, Telegraph, Common Dreams, FiveThirtyEight, BostonGlobe.com, TheBlaze and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Megyn Kelly Is Said to Be Leaving Fox News for NBC — Megyn Kelly, who arrived at Fox News 12 years ago as a television news neophyte but rose to become one of its two biggest stars, has decided to leave the network to take on a broad new role at NBC News for an undisclosed amount, people briefed on the negotiations said on Tuesday.

Erika Masonhall / press.nbcnews.com:

MEGYN KELLY JOINS NBC NEWS … JANUARY 3, 2017 — Megyn Kelly, one of America's most prominent news anchors, will join NBC News, it was announced today by Andrew Lack, Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group. — Kelly will become anchor of a new one hour daytime program that she will develop closely with NBC News colleagues.

Discussion: Mediaite, Politicus USA, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vocativ and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Megyn Kelly / Facebook:

Over a dozen years ago I started at Fox News in a job that would change my life. Now, I have decided to end my time at FNC, incredibly enriched for the experiences I've had. I have agreed to join NBC News, where I will be launching a new daytime show Monday through Friday, along with a Sunday evening news magazine program.

Discussion: Full Feed, The Guardian, Raw Story, Gothamist and Hot Air

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Megyn Kelly to leave Fox News for NBC

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, New York Times and Mediaite

Yashar Ali / New York Magazine:

Bill and Hillary Clinton Will Attend the Trump Inauguration — Bill and Hillary Clinton have decided to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, according to two sources with knowledge of their plans. The Clintons will join former Presidents George W. Bush …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Hot Air, New York Times, IJR, DCist, AOL, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

George W. Bush to attend Trump's inauguration — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, will attend President-elect Donald Trump — 's inauguration this month. — In a statement Tuesday, Bush's office said the couple is “pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, RedState and The Resurgent

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

Senate Republicans just introduced an Obamacare repeal plan Democrats can't stop — The new Congress was sworn in on Tuesday, and the first thing it did was prepare to repeal Obamacare. — Senate Budget Committee Chair Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced a budget resolution Tuesday that includes …

Discussion: National Review, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, U.S. Senate Committee …, Business Insider, The Democratic Daily, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Hullabaloo, FiveThirtyEight, Instapundit and Washington Free Beacon

Nancyl / Washington Monthly:
What Republicans Have Promised on Health Care Reform

Discussion: Mother Jones, MSNBC and Politico

Sen. Rand Paul / Rare:
Rand Paul: Repeal all of Obamacare and replace immediately

Discussion: Morning Consult, The Hill, Daily Kos, Infowars and CNN

Marisa M. Kashino / Washingtonian:

Ivanka Trump Will Move into a House in Kalorama — Washington Fine Properties co-owner William F.X. Moody tells Washingtonian that Ivanka Trump has completed a deal for a house in DC. A team of Washington Fine Properties agents represented Trump. The firm also represented the house's owner in the transaction.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Washington Post, Raw Story, IJR, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, DCist, New York Magazine and The Week

CNBC:

Omarosa Manigault joining Trump's White House staff to focus on public engagement: AP — Omarosa Manigault is getting hired. — A memorable contestant in the first season of “The Apprentice,” Manigault is expected to join President-elect Donald Trump's White House staff, according to two people familiar with the decision.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Raw Story, IJR and Fox News Insider

Eugene Scott / CNN:

Schumer: I wish we hadn't triggered ‘nuclear option’ — Washington (CNN)Sen. Chuck Schumer lamented Tuesday the Democrats' move to diminish the number of senators needed to confirm Cabinet picks from 60 votes to 51, because the new rule now hurts his party. — “I argued against it at the time.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Outside the Beltway

Kaitlin Menza / Marie Claire:

Rockette Management Tells Dancers to “Tolerate Intolerance” — In the wake of more inauguration backlash, Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan calls a meeting with the Rockettes to make his stance clear. — There's been an unusual amount of turmoil behind the scenes at Radio City Music Hall this Christmas season.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Mediaite, portal.liberalamerica.org, New York Times, Mashable, AOL, CNBC and New York Magazine

Aleksandra Sandstrom / Pew Research Center:

Faith on the Hill — The religious composition of the 115th Congress — The share of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christians has been declining for decades, but the U.S. Congress is about as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s, according to a new analysis …

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, The Times of Israel, The Daily Caller, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Religion News Service

CNNMoney:

Ford cancels Mexico plant. Will create 700 U.S. jobs in ‘vote of confidence’ in Trump — Ford CEO: U.S. plant expansion is ‘vote of confidence’ in Trump — Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Power Line, Fox News, Washington Post, CNBC, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, The Verge, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, FOX40, Washington Free Beacon and The Week

Jennifer Calfas / The Hill:

WikiLeaks founder: Obama admin trying to ‘delegitimize’ Trump — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there's an “obvious” reason the Obama administration has focused on Russia's alleged role in Democratic hacks leading up to Donald Trump — 's electoral win.

Discussion: AOL, EndingFed News Network, RealClearPolitics and TheBlaze

Fox News:
Assange: Russian government not the source of WikiLeaks emails

Discussion: Mashable and New Urban Legends

Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:

Americans Eat 554 Million Jack in the Box Tacos a Year, and No One Knows Why — The fast-food chain's gooey, deep-fried beef envelope has been on the menu since the 1950s, inspiring legions of fans; ‘vile and amazing’ — More than 1,000 times a minute, someone bites into what has been described …

Discussion: AOL

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Inside Trump's strategy to remodel the Supreme Court — Donald Trump has narrowed his short list for his first Supreme Court pick down to roughly a half-dozen finalists but the president-elect and his top advisers are already thinking about a second selection, as they seek to quickly remodel …

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:

SEE IT: Donald Trump appears alongside convicted felon with mobster ties at New Year's Eve party — President-elect Donald Trump rang in the new year together with Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque — a convicted felon with ties to notorious Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, a recently released video has revealed.

Discussion: Political Wire, Post On Politics, Mediaite and The Guardian

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senate push for new Russia hacking probe fizzles — John McCain and Lindsey Graham are backing off of their push for a select committee on cybersecurity after Russian interference in the election, bowing to the political reality that the Senate Republican Conference largely does not back their idea.

Discussion: We Are Change, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Ricky Shoff / Facebook:

I've been a little hesitant to post this. But I feel it's not only to bring awareness, but it is also incredible. We are so grateful for the bond that these twin brothers share. We know Bowdy was not alone in moving the dresser off of Brock. And feel blessed that he is ok.

Discussion: IJR and BizPac Review

David Dayen / The Intercept:

Treasury Nominee Steve Mnuchin's Bank Accused of “Widespread Misconduct” in Leaked Memo — OneWest Bank, which Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, ran from 2009 to 2015, repeatedly broke California's foreclosure laws during that period, according …

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

The 2018 Senate map just keeps getting better for Republicans — No one outside of Nevada noticed, but last week, Sen. Dean Heller (R) announced that he would run for reelection rather than seek the open governorship in 2018. But it was a big deal — not just in Nevada …

Discussion: IJR

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Celebs call on Congress to ‘Stand Up’ to Trump — #StandUpForUS from Art Not War on Vimeo. — A slew of high-profile stars — including Sally Field, former “The View” co-host Rosie Perez, “Westworld's” Jeffrey Wright, Keegan-Michael Key and “Boardwalk Empire” actor Steve Buscemi …

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, RedState, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and BizPac Review

Matthew Pratt Guterl / New Republic:

Blue States Must Become Even Bluer — As red states roll back democracy, blue states should double down on true progressivism. — For the past 20 years, the Republican Party has perversely rewritten former Supreme Court Louis Brandeis's notion that states could be “laboratories of democracy.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly