The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary  —  Supporters of Donald Trump's nominee have intimidated potential witnesses and suppressed the F.B.I. background check of the former Fox News host in the run-up to his Senate hearing.

Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case  —  “But for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” the report said.

China Discusses Sale of TikTok US to Musk as One Possible Option  — ByteDance's preferred strategy is to fight ban, sources say  — Trump has said he would like to delay ban to seek resolution  —  Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring …

‘Conditions’ should be placed on California wildfire aid: House Speaker Mike Johnson  —  A number of Republicans are calling for conditions to any federal aid that goes to California as the state struggles with catastrophic wildfires.  One Democrat says it could come back to bite them.

How Trump's Greenland demands could impact Ozempic costs  —  President-elect Trump's threat to tariff Denmark if it resists his acquisition plans for the island territory of Greenland could disrupt one export that is wildly popular in America: Ozempic.  —  Trump added Denmark to his growing list …

Biden's Push to Cancel Student Debt Surpasses 5 Million Borrowers  —  With Monday's authorization and 27 previous ones, the Biden administration has forgiven over $180 billion in student loans, even as its larger policy vision never took root.  —  The Education Department announced on Monday …

Harris declines to invite Vance for courtesy visit to vice president's residence before inauguration  —  When JD Vance, his wife Usha and their three young children move into the Naval Observatory residence on Jan. 20, it will be their first time inside the white Queen Anne-style mansion …

Zuckerberg Debuts ‘Real Mark’ in Push to Woo Trump  —  Meta pursues a MAGA makeover, in the latest political pivot for a company that once banned the now-president-elect from its platforms  —  Mark Zuckerberg wants Donald Trump to get to know the “real Mark.”

Statement by President Biden on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure  —  The United States leads the world at the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI).  Cutting-edge AI will have profound implications for national security …

Putin needs Trump's help more than ever  —  And Trump is signaling that he'll deliver.  —  It's been nearly three years since Vladimir Putin's despotic regime began its reign of terror against Ukraine by attempting to conquer the country and, in Putin's words, put an end to the “fictional” Ukrainian nation.

Trump Gets Insane Show of Support From Washington Post Editorial Board  —  The Washington Post's editorial board made the mind-boggling decision Monday to say they support all but four of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, and their rationales were as unconvincing as they were brief.

Trump flies US flag at full height before end of 30-day mourning period following Carter's death  —  U.S. flags at President-elect Donald Trump 's private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height.  Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect …

Governor Newsom proposes billions in new funding for L.A. firestorm response and recovery  —  What you need to know: Through the ongoing special session of the Legislature, Governor Newsom, Pro tem McGuire and Speaker Rivas will work swiftly to provide Los Angeles with critical funding …

Is corporate America going Maga?  —  Donald Trump's election has accelerated a cultural shift in the nation's boardrooms  —  Last week Amazon announced plans to release a “behind the scenes” documentary about Melania Trump, produced by the incoming US first lady herself.

Meta goes mask-off  —  I. Notes on a theme  —  On Wednesday, as news of Meta's new guidelines permitting homophobic and transphobic speech on its platforms spread through the company, Loredana Crisan spoke up to defend them.  —  As she would tell employees in a previously unreported internal post obtained …

Special Counsel Report on Hunter Biden Denounces President's Criticism of Case  —  The report by the special counsel, David C. Weiss, criticized President Biden for making “baseless accusations” that threatened “the integrity of the justice system as a whole.”

Statement from President Biden Announcing the Names of CVN 82 and CVN 83  —  I am proud to announce that the next two Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be named for two former presidents: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  —  When I personally delivered the news to Bill and George, they were deeply humbled.

Trump made the GOP a big-tent party.  Now, he's stuck with the infighting.  —  The clashes are a preview to the challenges the president-elect faces.  —  A coalition of MAGA die-hards, tech bros and blue-collar workers were key to Donald Trump's November victory.  —  Now, some of them are already at each other's throats.

Senate GOP incumbents brace for MAGA primary challengers  —  Several GOP Senate incumbents are already staring down the threat of primary challenges next year as friction builds between the MAGA and establishment wings.  —  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who plans to run for reelection in 2026 …