memeorandum: Trump baffles Republican senators by picking Matt Gaetz for attorney general (NBC News)

4:00 PM ET, November 14, 2024

Top Items:

Juliann Ventura / The Hill:

Durbin demands House ethics panel share Gaetz report with Senate panel — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) urged the House Ethics Committee to “preserve and share” its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after President-elect Trump tapped the Florida congressman to serve as attorney general.

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

McCarthy says Gaetz won't get confirmed: ‘Everyone knows that’ — Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) predicted Wednesday that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump's pick for attorney general, will not get confirmed by the Senate. — Asked for his response …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Associated Press, New York Times, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, Florida Politics, New Republic and The Guardian

Marc A. Caputo / The Bulwark:

Donald Trump Is Dead Serious About Getting Matt Gaetz to DOJ — MATT GAETZ LABELS HIMSELF a “firebrand.” Now he's ready to torch the Department of Justice, the agency Donald Trump has tapped him to lead. — Of all the lawyers Trump interviewed to be his next attorney general, the Florida congressman checked the most boxes.

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Mediaite, The Guardian, New Republic, New York Times, NBC News, Axios, The Independent, Raw Story, New York Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, NPR, Washington Examiner, HuffPost and USA Today

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Why Trump is trying to outrage Washington with his controversial Cabinet picks — Donald Trump's increasingly provocative Cabinet picks have left some Republican senators aghast and Washington in shock. — But they really shouldn't. Because the outrage is the point.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Raw Story, Daily Mail, Business Insider, The Hill, ABC News and Washington Post

Daniella Diaz / Politico:

House Ethics chair reiterates he does not plan to release Gaetz report — House Ethics Chair Michael Guest is seemingly sticking to his decision to not release his panel's report about Matt Gaetz after the Floridian's abrupt resignation Wednesday. “What happens in Ethics is confidential.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, ABC News, USA Today, Forbes, Axios, Fox News and Raw Story

Joshua Nelken-Zitser / Business Insider:
Matt Gaetz is emerging as the Trump pick Republicans are prepared to dunk on

NBC News:
Trump baffles Republican senators by picking Matt Gaetz for attorney general

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post, Reuters, New York Post, Raw Story, The Hill, The US Sun, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, Semafor, RedState, MPR News, Townhall, HuffPost, Axios, Associated Press and New York Daily News

Wall Street Journal:
Matt Gaetz Is a Bad Choice for Attorney General

Discussion: The Transom, NOTUS, CBS News, Reason, E&E News, The Wrap, New York Post, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The DSR Network, Variety, The Hill, Cafe Hayek, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit and Axios

Jonathan Chait / The Atlantic:
Republican Leaders Are More Afraid of Trump Than Ever

New York Times:
House Ethics Panel Was Set to Vote to Release Report Critical of Matt Gaetz

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New York Post, Law & Crime, Bloomberg, Florida Politics, Time, New Republic, Defense One, New Jersey Online, Hollywood Life, CBS News, Vox, Law Dork, The Independent and Daily Kos

Ari Natter / Bloomberg:
Thune Is Big Fan of Wind Power, an Energy Source Trump Hates

Discussion: WHDH-TV and E&E News

Eli Okun / Politico:
Playbook PM: Ethics probe hangs over Gaetz

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Post

Benjamin Penn / Bloomberg:
Trump DOJ Alums Rethink Return With Gaetz as Attorney General

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Raw Story, Fox News, Politico, USA Today, Balloon Juice, The Floridian, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Al Jazeera, Reason and Breitbart

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
What Trump Can (And Probably Can't) Do With His Trifecta

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Mother Jones and Raw Story

Jeffrey Blehar / National Review:
Matt Gaetz Cannot Be Allowed to Become Attorney General

Discussion: SpyTalk, The Sun, Florida Politics and The Guardian

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Bolton calls for FBI investigations before Gaetz, Gabbard confirmations

Discussion: NBC News, RedState, The Federalist, Washington Examiner, Twitchy, USA Today, New York Post, Not the Bee, HuffPost and Crooks and Liars

NBC News:

The Onion wins Alex Jones' Infowars in bankruptcy auction — The satirical news company plans to shutter Jones' InfoWars and rebuild the website featuring well-known internet humor writers and content creators, according to a person with knowledge of the sale.

Discussion: New Republic, New York Post, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Politico, UPI, Hollywood Life, Houston Public Media, Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, NPR, Law & Crime and Daring Fireball

Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:

The Onion Just Bought Infowars — and Alex Jones Is Pissed — The satirical newspaper acquired the conspiracy theorist's company after a judge ordered his assets be auctions off — The satirical newspaper The Onion has successfully acquired Infowars and its associated intellectual property …

Discussion: The Onion, Status, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and The Verge

New York Times:

The Onion Buys Infowars, Alex Jones's Site, Out of Bankruptcy — The satirical news site planned to turn Infowars into a parody of itself, mocking “weird internet personalities” who peddle conspiracy theories and health supplements. — The Onion, a satirical publication that skewers newsmakers …

Dave Collins / Associated Press:

Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with Sandy Hook families' backing — The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes …

Hadas Gold / CNN:
The Onion has won the bid for Infowars' assets

Discussion: New York Daily News, IJR and New Republic

William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump's Shock, Mock, and Roll 'Em Strategy

Discussion: The Atlantic and Argus Leader

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

The Curious Case of Tulsi Gabbard: Is She a Russian Asset or a Dupe? — On assets, espionage coups, and the future director of national intelligence. — ∙ Paid — 1. Aloha, Comrade! — When you woke up yesterday the idea that Pete Hegseth—a philandering morning TV host …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Mother Jones and Digby's Hullabaloo

John Sakellariadis / Politico:
‘Left turn and off the bridge’: Trump's spy pick stuns intel world

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, The Guardian, Washington Post, Reason and The Independent

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Tulsi Gabbard's Nomination Is a National-Security Risk

Discussion: Hollywood Life, Democrats, Telegraph, Axios, Raw Story, NBC News, News18, Washington Examiner and Honolulu Civil Beat

Al Weaver / The Hill:

Republicans flip Pennsylvania Senate seat — Republican David McCormick is projected to defeat Sen. Bob Casey (R-Pa.) in one of the nation's preeminent battlegrounds, according to Decision Desk HQ, adding to the party's margins after it took back control of the upper chamber earlier this week.

Marc Levy / Associated Press:
Pennsylvania Senate contest headed toward a recount, and possibly litigation

Politico:

Trump expected to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS — The choice will roil many public health experts after his years of touting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism. — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate former presidential candidate and anti-vaccine …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, New York Post, CNN, STAT, NOTUS and The Independent

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump's transition team aims to kill Biden EV tax credit — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Discussion: freebeacon.com, Axios, Reason, Quartz and The Gateway Pundit

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

Rick Scott pushes Lara Trump for Rubio Senate seat … - Scott joins Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) who have also said Lara Trump is their pick to fill the seat being vacated by Rubio who has been nominated for Secretary of State.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Daily Mail, The Floridian, Washington Examiner, Business Insider and Florida Politics

Natasha Anderson / Daily Mail:

Eva Longoria reveals she has fled ‘dystopian’ America with her family and is now living in Mexico and Spain — Eva Longoria fled ‘dystopian’ America and is ‘privileged’ to now be living in Mexico and Spain with her family. — The Texas born actress, who has spent her ‘whole adult life’ in California …

Discussion: Boston Herald and New York Daily News

Mattie Kahn / Marie Claire:
Eva, Everlasting — The actress's career has been in overdrive for decades.

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Daily News, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, Mediaite, Page Six, New York Post, The Sun, The Daily Caller and The National Pulse

Stephen Robinson / Public Notice:

How a right-coded media environment boosts Trump — TikTok, X, and the manosphere push young voters away from Dems. … 🤝 — A near-majority of American voters willingly reelected Donald Trump. This harsh reality is a collective moral failure, but it's also not a choice made in sound mind.

John Sexton / HotAir:

‘Everyone Inside ABC News Is on One Side’: ABC Looking to Revamp The View — ABC News has plans to revamp The View in light of Donald Trump's commanding win in the 2024 election. ABC execs are said to be panicking over the fact that their roundtable features a collection of women …

Discussion: New York Post, Breitbart, RedState, Townhall, New York Daily News, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Twitchy

John Koblin / New York Times:
Viewers Flee MSNBC, and Flock to Fox News, in Wake of Election

Discussion: HotAir, So What, Frontpage Mag and RedState, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Michael Anton and Sebastian Gorka in the running for deputy national security adviser — Michael Anton and Sebastian Gorka are in the running to be President-elect Donald Trump's deputy national security adviser, according to three people familiar with the competition who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.