Trump moves to burn down the rule of law  —  His cabinet nominations are obscene and augur dark days to come. … 🌎  —  When the sordid history of the second Trump administration is written, should we all survive that long, it will be difficult to sort out which of his early cabinet picks were the most atrocious.

Woman testified to House Ethics Committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17: Sources  —  Trump tapped Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the new attorney general.  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024.

Gov. Jared Polis cheers RFK Jr.'s nomination for health post despite anti-vaccine statements  —  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday cheered anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the nation's top public health agency, highlighting the controversial nominee's stances on “big pharma” and “corporate ag.”

Trump's Defense Secretary Pick Pete Hegseth Said to Face Previous Sexual Misconduct Allegation  —  Sources say Donald Trump's transition team leadership met with the former Fox News host, who is a left-field pick to head the Department of Defense, about the claims on Thursday.

Inside the Republican false-flag effort to turn off Kamala Harris voters  —  A multipronged dark money effort by advisers to Elon Musk targeted liberals, Jews, Muslims and Black voters with ads that were not quite what they seemed.  —  Muslims in Michigan began seeing pro-Israel ads …

Trump's team skips FBI background checks for some Cabinet picks  —  President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs …

Elon Musk Met With Iran's U.N. Ambassador, Iranian Officials Say  —  The tech billionaire, a top adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, was reported to have discussed ways to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States.  —  Elon Musk, a close adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump …

Trump Threatens New York Times, Penguin Random House over Critical Coverage  —  Legal letter follows complaints aimed at CBS News, the Washington Post, and the Daily Beast.  —  The letter, addressed to lawyers at the New York Times and Penguin Random House, arrived a week before the election.

This Is the Dark, Unspoken Promise of Trump's Return  —  For those bewildered by why so many Americans apparently voted against the values of liberal democracy, Balint Magyar has a useful formulation.  “Liberal democracy,” he says, “offers moral constraints without problem-solving” …

Scoop: Rahm Emanuel weighs bid for DNC chair … - David Axelrod, who steered Barack Obama's campaigns and is a friend of Emanuel, floated earlier this week that the combative and energetic Emanuel would be an ideal leader for a deflated party.  — “If they said, 'Well, what should we do?

Statement from President Joe Biden on Final CHIPS Award for TSMC  —  Two years ago, shortly after I signed the CHIPS & Science Act, I visited Arizona to announce a commitment by TSMC to invest in America, create American jobs, and shore up American supply chains.

Lara Trump says she'd ‘love to consider’ filling Rubio's Senate seat if asked by DeSantis  —  President-elect Donald Trump tapped Sen Marco Rubio to serve as secretary of state  —  Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo that she would …

Trump picks North Dakota governor to lead Interior  —  The move puts Trump's one-time primary rival in charge of the department.  —  President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Doug Burgum, a one-time rival for the Republican presidential nomination, to run the Interior Department, Trump said.

Focus group: Swing voters wary of Musk-Trump relationship … - 12 of 14 participants in this week's sessions said they were familiar with Musk's advising Trump. … “I don't know what his ultimate agenda would be for having that type of access.”  — “I think it'll favor his Tesla company …