Sources: Trump will ask Congress, not Mexico, to pay for border wall  — The Trump transition team says he his preference is to fund the border wall through the appropriations process  — The move would break a key campaign promise when Trump promised to force Mexico to pay for the wall

U.S. intercepts capture senior Russian officials celebrating Trump win  —  Senior officials in the Russian government celebrated Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton as a geopolitical win for Moscow, according to U.S. officials who said that American intelligence agencies intercepted communications …

In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump's transition staff has issued a blanket edict requiring politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day …

Former CIA director James Woolsey quits Trump transition team  —  Former CIA director R. James Woolsey Jr., a veteran of four presidential administrations and one of the nation's leading intelligence experts, resigned Thursday from President-elect Donald Trump's transition team …

President Obama Talks Race Relations, Calls Alleged Hate Crime in Facebook Video ‘Terrible’  —  President Obama said “we appear to have seen” a hate crime in the alleged attack on a Chicago man captured on Facebook.  —  “It's terrible,” the president said about the incident, during an interview with ABC affiliate WLS in Chicago.

Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Tangled Over Hair, ‘P*ssy’  —  Just days after the departure of host Megyn Kelly from Fox News, the network replaced one of its few Trump skeptics with Tucker Carlson, an unabashed booster of the president-elect.  —  But Carlson—who recently compared …

‘Grow up, Donald... Time to be an adult,’ Biden says in PBS NewsHour interview  —  Vice President Joe Biden urged Donald Trump to “grow up” on Thursday, criticizing the incoming president's attacks on the U.S. intelligence community and his grasp of health care policy, which is now up for debate …

Trump makes calls against Kasich's pick for Ohio GOP chair  —  COLUMBUS - On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. John Kasich will face off in their latest battle for the hearts and minds of Ohio Republicans — and Trump himself on Thursday entered the fray.

FBI: DNC rebuffed request to examine computer servers  —  Clapper: Russia hacks a multi-faceted campaign  —  Washington (CNN)The Democratic National Committee “rebuffed” a request from the FBI to examine its computer services after it was allegedly hacked by Russia during the 2016 election …

House Republicans revive obscure rule that could allow them to slash the pay of individual federal workers to $1  —  House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker …

Trump's Debts Are Widely Held on Wall Street, Creating New Potential Conflicts  —  More than 150 financial institutions hold debts connected to president-elect, analysis shows  —  The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks …

Dan Coats Expected to Be Named Intelligence Director  —  Retired Senator Dan Coats of Indiana is expected to be named director of national intelligence.  —  Trump Toyota tweet has Republicans and allies divided over import tariffs.  —  Anti-Trump lawyers have one more Hail Mary to stop a President Donald J. Trump.

House GOP, Trump team hatch border wall plan  —  House Republicans and Donald Trump's team are coalescing around a multi-billion dollar plan to make good on the president-elect's campaign vows to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, according to top Republican lawmakers and aides.

Trump's Twitter feed traumatizes Washington  —  Donald Trump's unique, chaos theory of presidential communications is upending Washington, leaving lawmakers, government officials and lobbyists aghast that they are beholden to a single leader's whims, not to mention the uncertainty about his true thoughts and intentions.

Democratic lawmakers considering challenge to Trump's Electoral College victory  —  Several House Democrats are weighing a formal challenge to Donald Trump's election on Friday, when Congress meets in joint session to certify Trump's Electoral College victory.

Former Trump Foe to Head Washington Lobbying Group for U.S. CEOs  —  Joshua Bolten will replace former Michigan governor Engler  —  Bolten tried to organize Republican opposition to Trump  —  Business Roundtable, the powerful lobbying group for U.S. corporate executives, has hired Joshua Bolten …

Head of nurses union ‘counting on’ Trump for single-payer system  —  OAKLAND — As Washington grapples with health care policy again, the head of the 185,000-member National Nurses United is turning her attention to a seemingly unlikely advocate for a single-payer system.

House condemns U.N. over Israel settlement vote  —  The House voted overwhelmingly to rebuke the United Nations for passing a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction, a bipartisan slap that also targets the Obama administration while signaling a rocky road ahead …