Top Items:
Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump expected to offer Kelly Loeffler secretary of Agriculture — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler the job of secretary of the Department of Agriculture, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. — He is set to meet with her at Mar-a-Lago Friday afternoon …
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Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrats prepare to make Mike Johnson's life hell … - On any GOP-only legislation, there is “going to be enormous pressure” on Republican centrists to break away, said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.). — Morelle pointed to Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), predicting some GOP bills will be …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The ‘Landslide’ That Wasn't: Trump and Allies Pump Up His Narrow Victory — The latest vote count shows that Donald J. Trump won the popular vote by one of the smallest margins since the 19th century. But Mr. Trump claims a “powerful mandate.” — On the night he won a second term …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Vanity Fair, The Root, Digby's Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Althouse and Los Angeles Times
Kristen Holmes / CNN:
Matt Gaetz says he's not returning to Congress next year — Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general on Thursday, said Friday he will not be returning to Congress next year. — “I'm still going to be in the fight …
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, Breitbart, Axios, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Washington Examiner, Daily Caller News Foundation, Twitchy, USA Today, The Post Millennial, One America News Network, Al Jazeera, Vanity Fair, BizPac Review, Trending Politics …, New Republic, Raw Story, The Hill, New York Times, freebeacon.com, Mississippi Free Press, ABC News, CBS News, The Independent, Sun-Sentinel, WFLA-TV, Florida Politics, Foreign Policy, Talking Points Memo and NBC News
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump Is Pissed at True Reports His Victory Wasn't Exactly a Landslide
Trump Is Pissed at True Reports His Victory Wasn't Exactly a Landslide
Discussion:
Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo
The Hill:
Trump expected to name Kelly Loeffler for Agriculture secretary
Trump expected to name Kelly Loeffler for Agriculture secretary
Discussion:
Daily Mail and Democrats
Michael Schaffer / Politico:
Trump Won Less Than 50 Percent. Why Is Everyone Calling It a Landslide?
Trump Won Less Than 50 Percent. Why Is Everyone Calling It a Landslide?
Discussion:
Punchbowl News, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, PolitiFact, New York Magazine and MSNBC
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Matt Gaetz says he doesn't plan to rejoin Congress after withdrawing name for attorney general
Matt Gaetz says he doesn't plan to rejoin Congress after withdrawing name for attorney general
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, New York Post, Associated Press, WFLA-TV, Roll Call, USA Today, CBS News, Washington Times, Fox News, Rolling Stone, HotAir, HuffPost, The Guardian, New York Daily News, Florida Politics, Forbes, Washington Examiner, E&E News, Politico, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Democrats, TPR and ABC News
Kimberly Leonard / Politico:
Florida sets special election to fill Matt Gaetz vacancy on April Fools' Day
Florida sets special election to fill Matt Gaetz vacancy on April Fools' Day
Discussion:
ABC News, Florida Phoenix, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and The Independent
David Frum / The Atlantic:
A Good Country's Bad Choice
Punchbowl News:
Gabbard nomination puts Senate GOP in a bind … That panel — which is responsible for processing Gabbard's nomination — is stacked with hawks on both sides of the dais. … But GOP senators are already indicating they'll be interested in probing Gabbard's controversial …
Discussion:
The Hill, Breitbart, Raw Story and The Bulwark
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Liam Archacki / The Daily Beast:
Now GOP Senators Want Another Trump Nominee's Full FBI File — JUST A LITTLE PEEK — An alignment between Russia and Tulsi Gabbard is worrying some Senate Intelligence Committee members. — Some Republican senators are privately eager to see Tulsi Gabbard's FBI file …
Discussion:
ABC News
Rolling Stone:
Team Trump Is Furious Hegseth Hid Sex Assault Claim: ‘This Is the F-king Pentagon!’ — The president-elect is putting Republican senators to the test with a string of controversial administration picks … Hegseth was already facing an uphill confirmation battle to become the Secretary …
The Guardian:
Texas approves new Bible-based curriculum for elementary schools — Teachers can opt in, but state is offering financial incentive of $60 a student for participating school districts — The Texas board of education voted 8-7 on Friday to approve a new Bible-based curriculum in elementary schools.
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Antonio Planas / Associated Press:
Texas Board of Education votes to approve Bible curriculum in elementary schools
Texas Board of Education votes to approve Bible curriculum in elementary schools
Discussion:
CBS News, ABC News, KVUE-TV, UPI, The Hill, New York Times, USA Today, Daily Caller News Foundation, New Republic and WHEC.com
Wall Street Journal:
Musk Unleashes Online Army on Federal Workers. 'A Tough Way to Find Out She's Losing Her Job.' — As Trump efficiency czar, the billionaire is targeting employees by name on X—sparking pushback — As co-director of President-elect Donald Trump's nascent Department of Government Efficiency …
Discussion:
The Verge, Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo, more at Techmeme »
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Edith Olmsted / New Republic:
Elon Musk Is Now Cyberbullying Government Employees
Washington Post:
Trump plans to fire Jack Smith's team, use DOJ to probe 2020 election — The plans show how president-elect Donald Trump wants to use the Justice Department to address his own personal grievances — President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Kevin Drum, Law Dork, The Independent and Press Herald
Christiaan Hetzner / Fortune:
Walmart just leveled with Americans: China won't be paying for Trump's tariffs, in all likelihood you will — Donald Trump told voters tariffs are a tax on a foreign country. But it's Americans that will pay the price, Walmart's finance chief warned. — Voters who returned Donald …
Discussion:
Fox Business, Raw Story, Quartz and New York Times
Politico:
Trump chooses Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general — She is also a medical director for a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. — President-elect Donald Trump said Friday he has chosen Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to serve as surgeon general in his new administration.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg, The Hill, Washington Times, Fox News, Daily Mail, RedState, STAT and Raw Story
CNN:
Trump's intel pick was placed on government watch list for overseas travel and foreign connections — Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening …
Discussion:
The Independent and Raw Story
Erin Reed / Erin In The Morning:
Nancy Mace's Federal Trans Bathroom Ban Would Apply To Major Airports, Hindering Travel — Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who has targeted Congresswoman Sarah McBride with a bathroom ban in the capitol, is now pushing a sweeping federal bathroom ban for trans people.
Discussion:
Washington Post, them. and Inqorporeal
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
Elon Musk Gets a Crash Course in How Trumpworld Works — The world's richest person, not known for his humility, is still learning the cutthroat courtier politics of Donald Trump's inner circle — and his ultimate influence remains an open question. — For the first 53 years of his life …
Discussion:
Business Insider
NBC News:
Trump's transition team turns to Project 2025 after disavowing it during the campaign — Transition officials have used Project 2025's extensive personnel database to identify potential hires for the incoming administration, a person familiar with the plans said.
Discussion:
Forbes, America Transformed, Raw Story, New Republic and Politico
Elizabeth Weise / USA Today:
More details about JFK assassination keep emerging, even 61 years later — Sixty-one years ago, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in a shocking tragedy that still echoes. — The JFK assassination sent the nation into mourning and shook it to its core …
Discussion:
Twitchy, KVUE-TV, Washington Examiner, LewRockwell, Associated Press and New Jersey Online
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Top senator calls Salt Typhoon 'worst telecom hack in our nation's history' — The severity of the Chinese breach highlights the need for more telecommunications regulation, lawmakers say. — The Chinese government espionage campaign that has deeply penetrated more than a dozen U.S …
Discussion:
HotAir, Talking Points Memo, IJR, New York Times, Breitbart, Defense One, Washington Examiner, emptywheel and Reuters
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Picks Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary — Hedge-fund manager has been a key economic adviser to president-elect — WASHINGTON—Donald Trump has selected hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department, according to people familiar with the matter …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, ABC News, Bloomberg, USA Today, Scripps News, CBS News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Politico, Axios, NBC News, Reuters, NPR, Heatmap News, The Guardian, Raw Story, Breitbart, Roll Call, One America News Network, Los Angeles Times, Fox Business, Townhall, Washington Post, CoinDesk, Quartz, New York Post, Associated Press, The Japan Times, Forbes, The 19th, The Post Millennial, NewsNation, RedState and WHEC.com
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Trump's Pentagon pick Hegseth wrote of US military taking sides in ‘civil war’ — Defense secretary pick said in 2020 that should Democrats win election the military ‘will be forced to make a choice’ — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, has written in a book …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Independent, New Republic and The Atlantic
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Women leaders face 30 types of workplace bias — and it's not just about appearance or age, study finds — It's well-documented that women in the workplace often face biases when seeking leadership roles, but new research is uncovering just how pervasive and wide-ranging those prejudices can be.
Katy O'Donnell / Politico:
Trump selects motivational speaker Scott Turner to lead housing agency — The one-time Texas lawmaker works at a Trump-allied think tank. — President-elect Donald Trump has selected motivational speaker Scott Turner of the America First Policy Institute to lead the Department of Housing …
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg, USA Today, NPR, The Hill, Washington Times, Raw Story, Roll Call, Daily Mail and WHEC.com
Juliann Ventura / The Hill:
Bird flu confirmed in child for first time in US: CDC — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that bird flu was found in a child in California, according to a press release issued Friday. — The case is the first reported infection in a child in the U.S., according to the release.
Discussion:
WAGA-TV, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and Florida Phoenix
Politico:
Kennedy's ‘MAHA transition team’ includes anti-vax activists — At least three informal advisers connected to the anti-vaccine movement are assisting Kennedy in filling out his staff as he prepares to lead HHS. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is enlisting associates with close ties …