Trump Says Focus on Russian Hacking Is a ‘Political Witch Hunt’  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump said in an interview Friday morning that the storm surrounding Russian hacking during the presidential campaign is a political witch hunt being carried out by his adversaries …

Mattis clashing with Trump transition team over Pentagon staffing  —  The honeymoon seems to be ending between retired Gen. James N. Mattis and Donald Trump's transition team amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute over who will get top jobs in the Defense Department — and who gets to make those decisions.

Repealing the ACA without a Replacement — The Risks to American Health Care  —  Health care policy often shifts when the country's leadership changes.  That was true when I took office, and it will likely be true with President-elect Donald Trump.  I am proud that my administration's work …

The Latest: Arnold Schwarzenegger Responds to Trump Taunts  —  The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):  —  Arnold Schwarzenegger is responding to Donald Trump's taunting on Twitter.  The former California governor says the president-elect should work as hard to represent all Americans as he did for TV ratings.

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 …

Warren announces she's running for re-election  —  WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren announced this morning that she is running for reelection in 2018, seeking a second term as US Senator from Massachusetts.  —  “I am running for re-election in Massachusetts in 2018,” she wrote in an email to her network of supporters.

The Age of Fake Policy  —  On Thursday, at a rough estimate, 75,000 Americans were laid off or fired by their employers.  Some of those workers will find good new jobs, but many will end up earning less, and some will remain unemployed for months or years.  —  If that sounds terrible to you …

President Obama Builds a Wall for Rental House (PHOTO GALLERY)  —  President Obama is taking a cue from Donald Trump ... he's building himself a wall.  —  We got photos of construction at Obama's soon-to-be D.C. rental.  You also see construction in the garage.  As we reported, it will become an office with a bathroom.

Clinton vs. de Blasio for New York Mayor?  Unlikely Idea Has People Talking  —  From political circles in New York City to cocktail parties on Capitol Hill, on right-of-center Facebook pages and among left-of-center donors, two of the biggest untethered threads in New York politics are being drawn together around a single question.

'Don't You Say That Again': Conway and Cuomo Get Into Transfixing War of Words Over Russia Hacks  —  In a meaty interview that raged on for the better part of twenty minutes this morning, CNN New Day anchor Chris Cuomo sparred with Kellyanne Conway of the Trump campaign on a wide variety of controversies …

Bill Perry Is Terrified.  Why Aren't You?  —  At this naked moment in the American experiment, when many people perceive civilization on the verge of blowing up in some metaphorical sense, there is an elderly man in California hoping to seize your attention about another possibility.

Send in the Head Clowns  —  Democrats have been in power for so long that they've forgotten how to oppose.  Their party has been on a roll since 2005 when the botched Social Security reform, the slow bleed of the Iraq war, and Hurricane Katrina sent the Bush administration into a tailspin.

Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable  —  Malaysia is a country that I know well, and whose political system I have studied closely for fifteen years.  It is also a country whose political liberalization I have long awaited.  Malaysia has a multiparty parliamentary system of government …

GOP congressman takes down colleague's sponsored ‘art’ depicting police as pigs  —  A Republican congressman took matters into his own hands Friday and personally removed a painting depicting police officers as pigs that a colleague had allowed to be displayed at the U.S. Capitol complex.

SeaWorld: Tilikum, orca that killed trainer, has died  —  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tilikum, an orca that killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010 and was profiled in a documentary that helped sway popular opinion against keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld parks, has died.

Sherrod Brown will vote against Sessions  —  Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced Friday that he would not vote to confirm Jeff Sessions for attorney general.  —  Brown appears to be the first Democratic senator to explicitly say he will oppose Sessions to lead the Justice Department …