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.

‘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 …

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.

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 …

Hard-Luck Hillary Clinton's Second Case of the Inaugural Blues  —  How hard it must be for Hillary Clinton to sit next to Bill on the inaugural platform for the second time as an also-ran.  She's a good soldier, and she'll carry it off with the grace of a former First Lady …

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 …

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 …

Schumer grills Trump on ‘swamp cabinet’  —  's nominees on Wednesday, saying the president-elect is setting up a “swamp cabinet.”  —  “This is a swamp cabinet full of bankers and billionaires,” Schumer told reporters at his weekly press conference.  —  The Senate minority leader …

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.

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 …

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 …

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

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.

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.

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.

Women's March will send message to Trump: Wendy Sherman  —  We're here.  We're united.  We'll never stop fighting for women and against misogyny.  —  A day after Donald Trump is inaugurated, thousands of women will descend on Washington for a march — a time-honored tribute …

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 …