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.

The Resistance Is Not Coming to Save You.  It's Tuning Out.  —  The first Trump administration sparked waves of public activism and aggressive media coverage.  This time, not so much.  —  In the weeks before the 2024 election, no media platform had more catnip for Donald Trump's detractors than the Drudge Report.

House Ethics chair says meeting on Gaetz report has been postponed, not canceled  —  Chair of the House Ethics Committee Michael Guest said Friday morning the group has only postponed, not canceled, a meeting to discuss the panel's report about Matt Gaetz.  Guest (R-Miss.) declined to say whether …

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 …

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” …

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 …

Pay Close Attention to Your Credit Card Balance Under Trump 2.0  —  Expect efforts to protect consumers from sky-high fees to fizzle under the new administration.  —  During Donald Trump's reelection campaign, he boasted of plans to overhaul the federal government, promising to gut or even eliminate entire federal departments.

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 …

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.

Trump's New Oligarchy Is About to Unleash Unimaginable Corruption … Last spring, Donald Trump presided over a meeting with the country's top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort.  According to The Washington Post, Trump promised to fulfill a wish list of policies sought by their industry …

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.

Jared Kushner expected to be pivotal to Trump admin's Middle East efforts without taking a formal job  —  President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration's Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it …

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 …