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.

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.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump's inauguration  —  The three will be seated together on the inauguration platform with other prominent guests.  —  Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday …

Trump says will create ‘External Revenue Service’ to collect revenue from foreign sources  —  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will create a new department called the External Revenue Service “to collect tariffs, duties, and all revenue” from foreign sources.

Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State  —  He's being undermined by fellow Republicans, and that's before he shows up to lead a workforce Trump distrusts.  —  Congratulations, Marco Rubio!  You'll soon be secretary of State.  —  Condolences, too.  You're not likely to last long in the job.

Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there  —  Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses …

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 …

Johnson announces flags will fly full-staff during Trump's inauguration  —  American flags will fly full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday after all, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday, “to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President.”

A Life Sentence of Disgrace  —  It goes without saying that the big historic event of last week—maybe of the year—is the catastrophic L.A. Fire, which I will write about in the weeks ahead.  But before we say farewell to Jimmy Carter's Long Goodbye, I wanted to tell you a bit about my experience …

Vice Is a Moat  —  If Pete Hegseth is confirmed, it won't be in spite of his personal failings.  It'll be because of them.  —  1. Secretary Pete  —  Here is the thing about Pete Hegseth:  —  Imagine that his character was sterling.  That he was a fine, upstanding man, admired by all who know him.

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 …

The president who could not choose  —  “To govern is to choose, however difficult the choices may be.”  —Pierre Mendès France, prime minister of France 1954-'55  —  If you want to understand where Joe Biden's presidency went wrong, when his administration stopped looking …

Consumer bureau sues Capital One for ‘cheating’ customers on savings account interest  —  The government's consumer watchdog on Tuesday sued Capital One for alleging “cheating” customers out of billions in interest payments.  —  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) …

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.

Johnson backs away from go-it-alone debt ceiling plan  —  The speaker acknowledged the borrowing limit could be included in government funding talks — where he'll need Democratic votes.  —  Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday backed away from a plan to address the approaching federal debt cliff …

Top Democrat rejects any conditions on wildfire aid  —  House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) on Tuesday flatly rejected Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) proposal for conditions to be put on federal aid for California wildfires, setting up a potential partisan fight …

Americans See Little Progress in Key Areas Under Biden  —  More think the U.S. lost than gained ground in a majority of economic, national and international areas  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, Americans offer a largely negative assessment of the progress …