‘Learning Curve’ as Rick Perry Pursues a Job He Initially Misunderstood  —  WASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil …

Trump to announce Sonny Perdue for Agriculture  —  President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to be the next Agriculture secretary, transition officials have informed POLITICO, making a pick that's likely to please farm groups while angering those who have called for more diversity in his Cabinet.

FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump  —  WASHINGTON  —  The FBI and five other law enforcement and intelligence agencies have collaborated for months in an investigation into Russian attempts to influence the November election, including whether money …

Is Donald Trump Writing His Inaugural Address from a Mar-a-Lago Receptionist's Desk?  An Investigation … As tends to be the case with the president-elect's social-media statements, there is much to discuss.  First, there's the fact that Trump seems to be drafting his first speech as POTUS with a ... Sharpie.

From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece  —  ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It was early fall, and Donald J. Trump, behind in the polls, seemed to be preparing a rationale in case a winner like him somehow managed to lose.  “I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest …

At Dinner Honoring Mike Pence, Donald Trump Touches Many Bases  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday evening at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of …

Trump Cabinet nominees meet growing ethical questions  —  Three of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks came under growing fire Wednesday on ethical issues, potentially jeopardizing their nominations.  —  The most serious concerns surround personal investments by Trump's health and human services nominee …

Corker: Full Senate to decide on Tillerson even if panel votes ‘no’  —  (CNN)In an unusual move, Republicans plan on bringing Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state before the full Senate for a vote even if he does not earn the support of the foreign relations panel.

Comey ‘enthusiastic’ about Bill Clinton probe in 2001, FBI memo says  —  FBI Director James Comey—blamed by many Democrats for costing Hillary Clinton the presidential election last year—was excited about pursuing a criminal investigation into President Bill Clinton's most controversial pardons …

The Damage Done to America by Manning ... and Obama  —  RESPONSE TO...  DISGRACE: OBAMA COMMUTES BRADLEY MANNING'S ...  I emphatically agree with every word of David's post on the disgrace that is Obama's commutation of Bradley Manning's richly deserved 35-year (a sentence that is in fact lenient under …

Trump pays out $25 million to settle Trump University litigation  —  Days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take the oath to uphold the Constitution, he has followed through on a more painful obligation: coughing up $25 million to settle litigation over his defunct Trump University real estate seminar program.

Democrats in the Wilderness  —  Standing with some 30,000 people in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia the night before the election watching Hillary Clinton speak, exhausted aides were already worrying about what would come next.  They expected her to win, of course …

Trump, Clinton Voters Divided in Their Main Source for Election News  —  Fox News was the main source for 40% of Trump voters  —  In the coming days, Americans will follow a single event across a variety of media channels: the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

An Empty Trump Administration  —  Jonathan Bernstein: “We're two days away from having a new president.  But we're apparently a lot longer than that from having a Trump administration with even a minimally functional ability to govern.”  —  “Overall, out of 690 positions requiring Senate …

What We Got Right  —  With a new administration taking office this week, it is natural to assess the inheritance it will receive from the old.  —  There are some who see nightmares wherever they look and insist that the entire global system is unraveling and that America's position as world leader is in precipitous decline.

Why liberals just love to set terrorists free  —  What is it about progressives like President Obama — and even pretend progressives like Gov. Cuomo — that makes them so forgiving of terrorists?  —  Obama, on his way out the door, Tuesday commuted the effective life sentence …

Trump's threat to the liberal ‘deep state’  —  One of the best books on American history, Arthur Schlesinger's “The Age of Jackson,” began with Jackson's inauguration, when the rowdy backwoodsmen who came to celebrate their hero's triumph frightened the horses and shocked the locals.

McConnell breaks with Trump on NATO  —  Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  —  (R-Ky.) broke with President-elect Donald Trump  —  's position on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Wednesday, calling Russia “a big problem” in an interview with McClatchy.