memeorandum: Long a ‘Crown Jewel’ of Government, N.I.H. Is Now a Target (New York Times)

12:40 PM ET, December 1, 2024

Top Items:

A Second Trump Term Poses a Crucial Test of the Senate's Independence — President-elect Donald J. Trump is threatening to challenge the institution's historic role, and the Constitution, with his prospective nominees and threats to push the boundaries of executive authority.

Discussion: Associated Press and USA Today

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:

The Kash Patel Principle — Donald Trump has been releasing names of his nominees for the Cabinet and other senior posts in waves. He began with some relatively conventional choices, and then unloaded one bombshell after another, perhaps in an attempt to paralyze opposition in the Senate …

Discussion: CBS News

Axios:

Behind the Curtain: Trump's shock and awe … - Trump named real estate developer Charles Kushner — father of Trump's son-in-law, Jared — as ambassador to France. … - Less than six hours later, Trump announced he picked Kash Patel, one of the hardest of his first-term hardliners, as FBI director.

Discussion: Politico and Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Says He Will Nominate Kash Patel to Run F.B.I. — President-elect Donald J. Trump turned to a firebrand loyalist to become director of the bureau, which he sees as part of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy against him. — President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that he wants …

Associated Press:
Trump taps Kash Patel for FBI director, an ally who would aid in his effort to upend law enforcement

Discussion: Axios, The Atlantic, Raw Story, Associated Press, RedState, Forbes, Alternet.org, Townhall, HuffPost, The Hill, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics, Tampa Free Press, Twitchy and Mediaite

emptywheel:
How Trump Rolled Out this Kash Patel Pick Is Part of Spinning False Claims about Rule of Law

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Five Things to Know About Kash Patel, Trump's Pick to Lead the F.B.I.

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, RedState, Alternet.org, Twitchy, The Hill, Fox News and Townhall

Sadie Gurman / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Picks Kash Patel as FBI Director

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Hill, CBS News, ABC News, Scripps News, CNN, Forbes, Associated Press, New York Post, Newsbusters, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Breitbart, Mediaite, NPR, Axios, Reuters and One America News Network

Rachel Scully / The Hill:

Cheryl Hines sells products with naked RFK Jr. showering behind her — Actress Cheryl Hines, the wife of former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., posted a video promoting her beauty products featuring her husband showering half-naked in the background.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ.com and Daily Mail

Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech / The Hill:

Trump's health team: RFK Jr. and 5 doctors tapped to lead ‘MAHA’ — President-elect Trump has finished making selections for the top public health roles in his incoming administration after he issued a flurry of nominations late Friday and tapped a leader for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

Wisconsin Democratic Chair Says He Is the One to Revive a Distressed Party — Ben Wikler, who has led the Wisconsin Democratic Party since 2019, announced a bid to be national party chair with a platform to “unite, fight, win.” — Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic chairman …

Discussion: Politico and Althouse

Adam Nichols / Raw Story:

‘The first oligarch’: Russian dissident warns of ‘extremely dangerous’ development in U.S. — America is close to having its first real oligarch, a Russian dissident — and former world chess champion — warned in an interview Sunday. — Garry Kasparov, who now chairs the Renew Democracy Initiative …

Jonathan Nicholson / HuffPost: Trump's Next Term Could See America's First True Oligarchs, Warns Democracy Activist Garry Kasparov

Associated Press:

Social democrats gain and incumbents are punished in Iceland's election — Voters in Iceland appeared to have rejected incumbent parties in a parliamentary election, partial results showed Sunday, with a center-left party leading the contest in the North Atlantic island nation.

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Associated Press and Al Jazeera

Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir / Bloomberg:
Iceland's Opposition Social Democrats Score Election Victory

Discussion: Reuters

Associated Press:

Putin signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv — Russian President Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine. Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday …

Discussion: The Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

Claudia Chiappa / Politico:
Putin approves new budget with record defense spending

Discussion: The Kyiv Independent and Reuters

Rachel Scully / The Hill:

John Bolton compares Kash Patel to Soviet secret police leader — Former National Security Advisor John Bolton compared Kash Patel, President-elect Trump's nomination for head of FBI, to one of the USSR's most feared secret police chiefs, Lavrentiy Beria. — “Trump has nominated Kash Patel …

Discussion: Tampa Free Press and The Independent

New York Times:

Long a ‘Crown Jewel’ of Government, N.I.H. Is Now a Target — The agency long benefited from broad bipartisan support. But Republican criticism has intensified, and new choices for top health posts hope to upend the organization. — The National Institutes of Health …

Discussion: Cafe Hayek and Israpundit

Nancy Scola / Politico:

Democrats Face an Existential Crisis on X — Conversations with a dozen insiders point to a party that is unsure about whether to leave or engage with the increasingly MAGA platform. — Two days after the election, Patrick Dillon, a longtime Democratic strategist and current Biden administration official …

Discussion: Twitchy and RedState

Kat Tenbarge / NBC News:
Journalists flock to Bluesky as X becomes increasingly ‘toxic’

Discussion: Scripting News and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

John L. Dorman / Business Insider:

Trump is now threatening 100% tariffs on the BRICS group — which comprises 9 emerging market countries — Trump on Saturday floated “100% tariffs” on the BRICS group of emerging markets. — Trump is pushing back on efforts to dethrone the US dollar as the primary global reserve currency.

Discussion: Breitbart, Mediaite, USA Today, NBC News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Politico, Axios, Reuters, The Post Millennial and Washington Post

Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
Trump threatens 100% tariff on the BRIC bloc of nations if they act to undermine US dollar

Discussion: Townhall, Middle East Monitor, Breitbart, The Hill, Fox Business, The Independent, Daily Mail and Bloomberg

Associated Press:
Canada's Trudeau returns home after Trump meeting without assurances that tariffs are off the table

Rolling Stone:

Trump and His Team Are ‘Laughing’ at Biden's Commitment to Decorum — Biden called Trump a fascist. Now his White House is ensuring an orderly transfer of power — and staging photo ops with the president-elect — Donald Trump and his incoming administration officials think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are suckers.

Discussion: Associated Press

Zach LaChance / Washington Examiner:

Former House Democrat lays into ‘toxic’ party, calls for ‘rebrand’ after election blowout — As assessments of what went wrong for Democrats in the 2024 election have poured in over the past few weeks and the party searches for its next leader, one former House member is calling for a “complete rebranding.”

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:
Ex-Dem Rep Tim Ryan Warns On MSNBC His Own Party ‘Is Toxic’ To Voters: ‘What Are We Doing?’

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and Balloon Juice

NBC News:

Trump taps Kash Patel for FBI director — Patel served as chief of staff to to the acting secretary of defense during the first Trump administration. — President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would pick Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to to the acting secretary …

Discussion: Contemplating Life …, PJ Media, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Twitchy, ABC News, USA Today, Bloomberg and The Post Millennial

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Trump says he will replace FBI Director Wray with loyalist Kash Patel

Discussion: Washington Times

New York Times:

Misogyny and Antisemitism Are a Toxic Brew — “Zio bitch!” a young man in a kaffiyeh and Black Lives Matter T-shirt barked at one of us, his ire apparently provoked by a yellow ribbon pin, a symbol of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The exchange was unsettling but not surprising.

Azi Paybarah / Washington Post:

Charles Kushner, pardoned in 2020, to be nominated ambassador to France — The New Jersey real estate developer, political donor and philanthropist is also the father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. — President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he would nominate Charles Kushner …

Discussion: Raw Story and Axios