memeorandum: RFK Jr. seeks to win over Senate GOP skeptics as he begins HHS meetings (The Hill)

6:35 PM ET, December 15, 2024

Top Items:

David Enrich / New York Times:

Trump and His Picks Threaten More Lawsuits Over Critical Coverage — The small flurry of threatened defamation suits is the latest sign that the incoming Trump administration appears poised to do what it can to crack down on unfavorable media coverage. — The legal threats have arrived in various forms.

Discussion: The Guardian and Twitchy, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
ABC to Pay $15 Million to Settle a Defamation Suit Brought by Trump

Piper Hudspeth Blackburn / CNN:

Romney stands by Trump criticism but says MAGA is now the Republican Party — Sen. Mitt Romney, a frequent Donald Trump critic who will soon retire from Congress, stood by his criticism of the president-elect's character but said Trump and his MAGA movement now define the Republican Party.

Discussion: USA Today, The Hill, The Independent, Mediaite, HuffPost, Daily Caller News Foundation, New York Post, Politico and Washington Times

Jack Birle / Washington Examiner:
Romney defends Trump after ‘overwhelming’ win: 'Can't complain'

Discussion: RedState, The Hill, Salt Lake Tribune, Mediaite and CNN

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Panicked CEOs left ‘scratching their heads’ as Trump ignores their warnings: WSJ — CEO's and business execs hoping to dissuade Donald Trump from enacting what they and many economists believe will be ruinous tariffs are finding he won't budge and that has them scrambling to find a way to get through to him.

Brian Schwartz / Wall Street Journal:
CEOs Want Trump to Change Course on Tariffs. He Isn't Budging.

Discussion: MPR News

Washington Post:
How Donald Trump broke the ice between RFK Jr. and drug company CEOs

Discussion: Al Jazeera and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

His Family Voted to Support Trump's Deportation Plan. That Includes Him. — His friends and family members in Rome, Ga., voted to support mass deportation. Now he's scrambling to stay in the country. — Jaime Cachua with his son Julian. He fears he will be deported.

Axios:

Universities warn international students to return before Trump inauguration … They include the University of Southern California, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, MIT and others. — USC in an email to students on special visas said they are expected to be in class …

Discussion: Breitbart and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:

Sen. Bernie Sanders says Biden should ‘very seriously’ consider preemptive pardons — The senator's comments to NBC News' “Meet the Press” come after President-elect Donald Trump said that members of the Jan. 6th committee “should go to jail.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. …

Discussion: The Hill

Pilar Arias / Fox News:
Bernie Sanders believes Hunter Biden pardon sets a ‘dangerous’ precedent

Discussion: HuffPost, The Hill, Washington Examiner, New York Post and Daily Mail

Greta Reich / Politico:

Thom Tillis warns pressure campaign to push Cabinet nominees could backfire — “If anything they could create a structural problem for future nominees if they overreach,” the GOP senator said. — GOP Sen. Thom Tillis warned Sunday that pressure campaigns to push President-elect Donald …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner and NBC News

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

McConnell has the chutzpah to complain about Trump's ‘America First’ — Mitch McConnell bears great responsibility for the return of Trump and his foreign policy. — Without minimizing the many factors responsible for reelecting the most unfit presidential candidate in U.S. history …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Elon Musk put $277 million into the election. Now he's $200 billion richer. — The tech mogul made a big bet on Donald Trump. By one measure, it has paid off handsomely. — Elon Musk's net worth has climbed by more than $200 billion in 2024, a massive increase in the same year …

The Hill:

RFK Jr. seeks to win over Senate GOP skeptics as he begins HHS meetings — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be seeking to ease any skepticism over his confirmation this week as he begins meetings with Senate Republicans over his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Discussion: Reuters

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

Patrick Soon-Shiong's controversial shakeup at the L.A. Times: ‘Bias meter,’ opinion upheaval and a call for growth — Patrick Soon-Shiong had become accustomed to making the news. — He was the doctor and medical technology innovator who built a fortune, the striving South African immigrant …

Discussion: HotAir, more at Mediagazer »

Carole Cadwalladr / The Guardian:

‘Trump has been explicit about revenge’: Asif Kapadia on his new film about the threat to democracy — The man behind Amy and Senna has turned his attention to ‘techno-authoritarianism’ in the genre-defying 2073. He talks to our journalist - one of the movie's unlikely stars - about the events that fed his dystopian vision

Discussion: Deadline

Greta Reich / Politico:

Hegseth to release sexual misconduct accuser from non-disclosure agreement, Lindsey Graham says — The South Carolina senator said that Hegseth told him he would do so. — GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that Pete Hegseth, the president-elect's secretary of Defense pick …

Edward-Isaac Dovere / CNN:

Harris debates her future: A run for California governor that would take 2028 off the table — Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 — and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win …

Discussion: The Post Millennial, RedState and Los Angeles Times

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:

Graham Says Hegseth Plans to Release Accuser From Confidential Agreement — Senator Lindsey Graham said that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's defense secretary pick, promised to release his accuser from a settlement that his lawyer has said was already breached.

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel, Raw Story, The Hill and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump's CDC pick wouldn't let go of false theory vaccines cause autism — Dave Weldon's long record of promoting the disproven link between vaccines and autism raises concerns among some public health experts about his ability to run the CDC. — The world's most respected infectious-disease agency needed a new leader.

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Devin Nunes, Pugnacious Trump Loyalist, to Lead Espionage Advisory Board — As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, he attacked the Russia inquiry and Donald J. Trump's first impeachment. Now, Mr. Nunes runs Mr. Trump's social media company. — President-elect Donald J. Trump announced …