Trump team prepares dramatic cuts  —  is ready to take an ax to government spending.  —  Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday's presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned.

4 Recent Examples Show Why No One Trusts Media Coverage Of Trump  —  One may have hoped that the media would respond to their 2016 failures and resulting lack of credibility by reforming.  Instead, it seems that many in political media are quadrupling down on the mistakes that served …

Ivanka Trump Says She Will Not Be Filling In as First Lady in Trump Administration  —  Ivanka Trump dispelled speculation that she would be filling in as a surrogate first lady or occupying the East Wing office of the White House, traditionally reserved for the president's wife.

Spicer on Trump going to hotel: 'Shouldn't be a shocker'  —  President-elect Donald Trump's decision to spend time at his Washington, D.C., hotel does not represent a move to profit off the presidency and does not blur the lines between his business and his administration, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday.

Army: Manning to lose transgender benefits  —  The Army says former Pvt. Chelsea Manning will lose her military healthcare benefits following President Obama's commutation of her prison sentence.  —  “If Pvt. Manning is discharged with a dishonorable discharge, she will lose her entitlement to benefits …

Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Nominee, Failed to Disclose $100 Million in Assets  —  WASHINGTON — Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick to be Treasury secretary, failed to disclose nearly $100 million of his assets on Senate Finance Committee disclosure documents and forgot …

The Reinvigoration of the Clemency Authority  —  Today, the President granted commutation to 330 individuals.  The President has now granted commutation to a total of 1,715 individuals, including 568 people who had been sentenced to life in prison.  The vast majority of these men and women …

Daughter of close Obama adviser will cover DOJ for CNN  —  More On:  —  CNN has tapped the daughter of President Obama's closest adviser to cover the Department of Justice, The Post has learned.  —  Laura Jarrett quietly joined the network in September as a reporter in the network's Washington bureau.

EXCLUSIVE: Florida man charged with threatening to kill President-elect Trump at his inauguration on Twitter was a close family friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton  — Dominic Puopolo, 51, is being held without bail on charges of threatening harm against a public servant

Thank You  —  Editor's note: President Obama sent this final message to the White House email list this morning.  —  My fellow Americans,  —  It's a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his or her place.

CNN: Assassinating Trump Could Keep Obama Administration in Power  —  As the nation prepares for the peaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day, CNN is dreaming up scenarios whereby the Obama administration can keep power if President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence …

Facebook's Zuckerberg sues to force land sales  —  When Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg paid around $100 million for 700 acres of rural beachfront land on Kauai two years ago to create what Forbes magazine described as a secluded family sanctuary, he actually acquired a not-so-secluded property.

Hearing derailed after senator suggests colleague needs Valium … Steven Mnuchin's confirmation hearing quickly went off the rails Thursday as Democrats and Republicans feuded over a GOP lawmaker's quip about giving antidepressants to the panel's top Democrat.  —  Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump

Americans seem more interested in inauguration protests than in the inauguration  —  On Friday, an estimated 800,000 people are expected to gather around the National Mall in Washington, DC, for Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony.  The following day, the Women's March on Washington …

First on ABC: George W. Bush's Inauguration Day Letter to Barack Obama  —  Writing a letter to the next commander-in-chief has been a tradition for outgoing presidents.  —  As Barack Obama prepares to hand the baton to Donald Trump, ABC News has obtained an exclusive look at the missive …

Obama's biggest whoppers … The Fact Checker started during the 2008 campaign and then went on hiatus for the first two years of President Obama's presidency before becoming a permanent Washington Post feature in 2011.  All told, we've fact-checked more than 250 statements by Obama.

Trump: My Cabinet has ‘highest IQ of any Cabinet ever assembled’  —  President-elect Donald Trump bragged Thursday that his incoming Cabinet has “by far the highest IQ of any Cabinet ever assembled.”  —  Trump was speaking at a congressional leadership luncheon held inside his Trump International Hotel …

Republicans look to avoid YouTube moments in fight over Obamacare repeal … After Sen. Thom Tillis said he would be talking to constituents live on Facebook Wednesday, more than 200 people submitted questions — many of them pointed queries about his views on health care.

A Final Reminder: Here's Who ‘Owns’ the Trump Presidency and Who Will Get the Blame/Praise  —  As we all brace for the official start to a Donald Trump presidency which most of us never thought would happen, it is important to set down some markers.  Specifically, who will get the credit/blame …

As soon as he is inaugurated, Trump will move to clamp down on immigration  —  Trump could easily boost deportations by more than 75% in his first year in office by giving more authority to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Russia Fears That Trump Won't Be Such a Great Deal After All  —  Top officials fret furor in U.S. over hacking could hurt thaw  —  Doubts about Trump hints that sanctions could be eased  —  Russia is giving Donald Trump the kind of fawning television coverage usually reserved for Vladimir Putin …

In video praising Trump, Jerusalem mayor says Obama ‘surrendered’ to radical Islam  —  JERUSALEM — The mayor of the city holy to three world religions delivered a message Thursday to outgoing President Obama: good riddance.  —  Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat released a video that disparages Obama …