memeorandum: Trump doubles down on provocative Cabinet picks as their fates hang in the balance (Stephen Collinson/CNN)

10:35 AM ET, November 18, 2024

Top Items:

How Johnson could make Trump's recess appointments a reality — 🏛️ Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers. If you aren't one, please click the button below to sign up and support our independent journalism. 🏛️ — 📈 Subscribe to Public Notice 📈

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Axios

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Matt Gaetz feels the heat — The would-be attorney general is facing new pressure this week from his accusers and from Senate Democrats. — President-elect Donald Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general. Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to bury a critical House Ethics Committee report …

Discussion: The Bulwark, The Hill, Mediaite and New Republic

Adam Nichols / Raw Story:

‘Epic battle’: Insiders warn Trump determined to win new Senate's first ‘political crisis’ — Donald Trump sees criticism over his most controversial cabinet picks as a threat to the “almost uncheckable” power he intends to wield — and he is not going to back down, an insider in the president-elect's camp told CNN.

Discussion: Plain Dealer

Reuters:

Republican senator calls on House to share Matt Gaetz ethics report — Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general.

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian, Axios, HuffPost, The Hill, NBC News, Washington Examiner and New York Times

CNN:
Trump is determined to see Gaetz confirmed as AG despite controversies

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post and New York Times

Peter Stone / The Guardian: Gaetz pick raises fears that Trump will seek ‘retribution’ on political foes

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump doubles down on provocative Cabinet picks as their fates hang in the balance

Discussion: USA Today and CBS News

Natalie Allison / Politico:
Playbook: Heritage comes out of the bunker

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Independent

NBC News:
Speaker Mike Johnson leaves the door open to recess appointments

Discussion: The Bulwark

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Signals a ‘Seismic Shift,’ Shocking the Washington Establishment

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Ivana Saric / Axios:

Trump confirms he will declare national emergency to carry out mass deportations … - A Truth Social post early Monday is the first time the president-elect has confirmed how his administration will execute the controversial plan. … - Trump reposted Fitton's comment Monday with the caption, “TRUE!!”

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:

Live updates Trump confirms plans to use military for mass deportations — President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday that his plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will involve a national emergency declaration and the military. Trump, in an early-morning post on social media …

Discussion: The Independent and CNN

Politico:

Trump's immigration crackdown is expected to start on Day 1 — The president-elect is expected to take a series of actions aimed at restricting immigration and ramping up deportations. — In his first 100 days, President-elect Donald Trump plans to begin the process of deporting hundreds of thousands of people.

Discussion: Mercury News, Daily Mail and WPR

Washington Examiner:
Trump confirms plans to declare national emergency to implement mass deportation program

Discussion: Forbes, New York Post, CNN, IJR and Daily Mail

BBC:
Undocumented migrants hope Trump mass deportations only ‘for criminals’

Discussion: CNN, The San Francisco Standard, Daily Mail and The Hill

Sophia Cai / Axios:

Musk, top Trump adviser clash over Cabinet picks … - Musk — who fueled Trump's election effort by giving at least $119 million — has questioned whether Epshteyn has had too much influence in Trump's selections, especially his top Justice Department picks and the White House counsel …

Discussion: The Independent, Raw Story, The Guardian, Mediaite and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

After Flurry of Cabinet Picks, Trump Rethinks Candidates for Treasury Secretary — President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to invite the contenders for the role, including Kevin Warsh and Marc Rowan, to Mar-a-Lago this week. — President-elect Donald J. Trump is eyeing a new candidate …

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, The Independent, The Guardian, Business Insider, Jewish Insider, The Bulwark, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Fortune and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Sam Sutton / Politico:

The mad scramble to be Trump's Treasury secretary — Donald Trump's political revival was fueled by a populist economic message that hit home with an electorate weary of Biden-era high prices and interest rates. Now the president-elect is having a hard time picking a quarterback to run his economic game plan.

Discussion: New York Times and Daily Mail

Bloomberg:
Trump Treasury Cabinet Pick in Flux as Jockeying Slows Selection

Discussion: Politico and South China Morning Post

Wall Street Journal:

A Wistful Biden Says Goodbye in a Closing Appearance on the World Stage — His valedictory visit to South America marks an end to an era as other leaders look ahead to a Trump presidency — RIO DE JANEIRO—After defeating Donald Trump four years ago, President Biden declared at his first summit “America is back.”

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
As Trump Looms, Biden Makes a Last-Ditch Pitch to Global Leaders

Discussion: USA Today, CBS News, The Independent and Politico

Associated Press:
Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US-supplied longer range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia

New York Times:
Biden Allows Ukraine to Strike Russia With Long-Range U.S. Missiles

Matthew Loh / Business Insider:

Trump picked a Project 2025 coauthor to run the FCC. Here's what it means for Big Tech. — President-elect Donald Trump nominated Brendan Carr as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. — Carr has been working for the FCC since 2012.

Politico: Republicans suddenly think the economy's great and the election wasn't rigged

Associated Press:
Trump names Brendan Carr, senior GOP leader at FCC, to lead the agency

Mia McCarthy / Politico:
Dems who overcame GOP tide urge party to focus on ‘kitchen-table issues’

Discussion: Townhall

Oliver Darcy / Status:

The Verge Editor-In-Chief Nilay Patel breathes fire on Elon Musk and Donald Trump's Big Tech enablers — “All of these men are now hopelessly trapped in a problem their own platforms and algorithms created.” — The Verge Editor-In-Chief Nilay Patel is one of the most blunt voices in American media.

more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:

A common sense economic agenda — A growing private sector and a strong safety net — Having written a nine-point Common Sense Democrat Manifesto, it now falls to me to explain in greater detail what I mean. — I chose to start the list with a point about economics …

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

13 things everyone should know about Pete Hegseth — Secretary of Defense is one of the most complex and consequential positions on earth. The person in that position is responsible for overseeing the world's largest bureaucracy, the Department of Defense, with over 2.6 million employees and a budget of over $840 billion.

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Ann Selzer leaving election polling after Iowa whiff — The legendary pollster is ending her relationship with the Des Moines Register, which dates back to 1997. — Two weeks after her firm incorrectly found Vice President Kamala Harris surging in increasingly red Iowa …