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.

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.

Trump Sought Military Equipment For Inauguration, Granted 20-Plane Flyover  —  “It's very Red Square,” said Stephen Kerrigan, who oversaw the past two inaugurations.  —  Foreign Affairs Reporter, The Huffington Post  —  WASHINGTON Part of being a great president is showing off America's …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Trump says his Cabinet has ‘highest IQ of any Cabinet’ … offered resounding praise for his Cabinet nominees Thursday, boasting that the team has “the highest IQ of any Cabinet ever assembled.”  —  Speaking at a luncheon at the Trump International Hotel shortly after arriving in Washington …

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.

ASSANGE LATEST WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stands by offer to be extradited to US following Chelsea Manning release  —  The creator of the secret-spilling website had previously said he would leave the Ecuadorian embassy if the former soldier was freed  —  WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange …

El Chapo, Mexican Drug Kingpin, Extradited to the U.S.  —  Mexico City — Joaquin Guzman Loera, the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, who twice slipped out of high-security Mexican prisons and into criminal legend, was being extradited to the United States on Thursday night, officials said …

Wyden objection to Pompeo could push vote to Monday  —  Trump CIA pick backs intel on Russian hacking  —  (CNN)Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a vocal privacy advocate, has formally objected to the Senate voting Friday on CIA director nominee …

Congress moves to give away national lands, discounting billions in revenue  —  Though recreation on federal lands creates $646bn in economic stimulus and 6.1m jobs, Republicans are setting in motion a giveaway of Americans' birthright  —  n the midst of highly publicized steps …

Wayne Barrett, Fierce Muckraker at The Village Voice, Dies at 71  —  Wayne Barrett, the muckraking Village Voice columnist who carved out a four-decade career taking on developers, landlords and politicians, among them Donald J. Trump and Rudolph W. Giuliani, died Thursday in Manhattan.  He was 71.

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 …

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 …

Cornyn: No One Covered Under Medicaid Expansion Will Lose Coverage  —  A group of Republican governors met with Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, and some expressed concerns about the number of people who could lose insurance once GOP lawmakers repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats prepare for Trump with one of the earliest resistance movements ever to greet a new president  —  When Donald Trump takes the presidential oath of office on Friday, thousands of protesters will be marching his way from an “Occupy the Inauguration” rally at Malcolm X Park.

CNN Announces Washington Correspondent Assignments  —  Washington, D.C. - Jan. 18 - Today, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker announced the following assignments for the network's Washington, D.C. based correspondents.  — Dana Bash will continue as the network's chief political correspondent.

This is the most ominous Inauguration Day in modern history  —  Why is this inauguration different from any other?  —  Let's start with the fact that most Americans are not happy that Donald Trump is about to become president.  The Post/ABC News poll this week found that Trump enters …

Ronna Romney McDaniel tapped to be new RNC chair  —  The Republican National Committee has officially found its replacement for outgoing chairman Reince Priebus, electing Ronna Romney McDaniel to steer the party as President-elect Donald Trump arrives in the White House.