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.

What RFK Jr. can — and can't — actually do as Trump's health secretary  —  Donald Trump announced Thursday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), setting the stage for a potentially radical remaking of the nation's health care.

House ethics panel cancels meeting amid pressure to release Gaetz report  —  The House Ethics Committee won't be meeting after all on Friday as pressure builds to release the findings of its report on Rep. Matt Gaetz.  Anticipation was high for the closed-door meeting after Donald Trump announced …

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.

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 …

Decapitation Strike  —  Preserving America from Trump's Appointments  —  Each of Trump's proposed appointments is a surprise.  It is comforting to think that he is simply a vengeful old man, lashing out this way and that.  This is unlikely.  He and Musk and Putin have been talking for years.

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 …

Judge orders hearing to review Onion's purchase of Alex Jones's InfoWars  —  Judge to audit if conspiracy theorist's bankruptcy auction was fair, which could delay buying process for satire site  —  A judge has intervened and ordered a hearing to review the purchase of the conspiracy theorist …

Trump to tap campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung as communications director  —  A veteran of all three campaigns, he's known for his slashing statements on Trump's behalf.  —  Steven Cheung, who served as Donald Trump's principal spokesperson on his 2024 campaign and also served on his 2020 …

Texas Supreme Court rules against lawmakers who stopped execution with last-minute subpoena  —  The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a legislative subpoena cannot be used to stop an execution after Republican and Democratic lawmakers used the novel maneuver to pause Robert Roberson's lethal injection at the last minute.

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” …

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.

The Democrats' Refusal to Break With a Broken System Cost Them Dearly  —  It's become something of a glum tradition in the Democratic Party.  After an electoral beating, opinion makers and political elites—along with everyone with a social media account—offer their takes as to why Democrats blew it.

Of Misogyny, Musk, and Men  —  In the days before the election, when too many stories about deadlocked polls and undecided voters and the MAGAfication of young men began to wear on my soul, I turned to TikTok to see what women were thinking.  Soon enough I was swimming in a sea of female excitement and angst.

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 …

Vaccine Politics and American Decadence  —  RFK, vaccines, and what we're learning about American society.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Heads up: I did a Secret pod with Bill Kristol.  —  Level of darkness: Black Hole.  —  The show is here.  —  Not gonna lie: The dark bled into today's newsletter …

Musk asks ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ to work for no pay on new Trump project  —  World's richest man solicits applications for ‘tedious work’ in newly formed Department of Government Efficiency  —  Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are asking Americans who are “high-IQ small-government revolutionaries” …

Beware the Trifecta: History Shows Full Control of Government Is Fleeting  —  The last five presidents have all had periods where both the House and the Senate were in friendly hands — but most lasted just two years before the backlash set in.  —  After Republicans did better than expected …