Top Items:
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: The Cult of Unqualified Authenticity — On Pete Hegseth and the first hearing for a Trump nominee for a major cabinet position — Meet The Authors — Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With — The Situation on Friday reflected on the sentencing of Donald Trump in New York.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, emptywheel, Townhall, Letters from an American, Forbes, Courthouse News Service and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
Joni Ernst Says She Will Vote to Confirm Pete Hegseth — The Iowa Republican's decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Mr. Hegseth will have enough votes to be confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump's defense secretary. — Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa …
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
The Greatest DEI Disaster Ever — Democratic Senators—especially the women—shed an even brighter light on a sketchy, uninformed nominee who has no business lording over the Pentagon — Watching Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth demonstrate his appalling lack of credentials …
Discussion:
TheGrio, Washington Examiner, CBS News, ABC News and Raw Story
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Ernst will vote for Hegseth, handing Trump big win
Ernst will vote for Hegseth, handing Trump big win
Discussion:
Politico, Townhall, Raw Story, New York Post, Deseret News, Breitbart, Washington Times, Roll Call, PBS NewsHour and acecomments.mu.nu
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
By Targeting Hegseth, Democrats Open a Path for Gabbard
By Targeting Hegseth, Democrats Open a Path for Gabbard
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Axios, Washington Examiner, freebeacon.com, New York Magazine, New Jersey Online, Twitchy, Balloon Juice and 19FortyFive
Anne Flaherty / ABC News:
Hegseth softens stance on women in combat, calls for policies already in place
Hegseth softens stance on women in combat, calls for policies already in place
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Dispatch, IJR, LGBTQ Nation, @amuse and Washington Times
Julia Johnson / Fox News:
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst officially backs Pete Hegseth for DOD after initial uncertainty
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst officially backs Pete Hegseth for DOD after initial uncertainty
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Pete Hegseth seems open to ordering soldiers to shoot protesters
Pete Hegseth seems open to ordering soldiers to shoot protesters
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Times, USA Today, New Republic, TMZ.com, CBS News, Raw Story, The Hill, WPMT, Twitchy, ABC News, The Independent and New York Post
Elon R. Musk / US Securities and Exchange Commission:
Search SEC.gov & EDGAR — Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elon Musk, No. 1:25-cv-00105 (D.D.C. filed Jan. 14, 2025) — SEC Charges Elon Musk for Violating the Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements of the Federal Securities Laws — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today …
Discussion:
UPI, The Register, IJR, Fortune and The Verge
RELATED:
Nicola M White / Bloomberg:
SEC Sues Musk Over Securities Violation in Federal Court — The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Elon Musk in federal court over an alleged securities violation, according to a court docket. — The agency claimed Musk failed to timely disclose a major purchase of Twitter Inc. shares ahead …
Discussion:
CNBC, TechCrunch, The Information, Forbes and Courthouse News Service, more at Mediagazer »
Punchbowl News:
1/15/25 ☀️ AM: — Main Street Caucus angles to be top Trump allies
1/15/25 ☀️ AM: — Main Street Caucus angles to be top Trump allies
Discussion:
E&E News
Adam Wren / Politico:
Playbook: Joe Biden's Irish goodbye — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — TODAY — Six big confirmation hearings dominate Capitol Hill. AG-designate PAM BONDI kicks things off at 9:30 a.m. At 10, would-be Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO goes …
RELATED:
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
Biden Races to Cement His Legacy Through a Series of Actions
Biden Races to Cement His Legacy Through a Series of Actions
Discussion:
Axios, The Japan Times, Althouse, Sun-Sentinel, Metro.co.uk, The Independent, Semafor, CBS News, USA Today and The Hill
Erica L. Green / New York Times:
Biden to Deliver Farewell Address, Capping a 5-Decade Political Career
Biden to Deliver Farewell Address, Capping a 5-Decade Political Career
Discussion:
Scripps News, CBS News and USA Today
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's $500 million post-election windfall … - “The money is just pouring in at Mar-a-Lago. … - “We're looking at half a billion [dollars] by June, and we're on track,” this adviser said. … - They include the president-elect's inauguration account, the MAGA Inc. super PAC …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States — I. — Last week, Meta announced a series of changes to its content moderation policies and enforcement strategies designed to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration.
Discussion:
The Hill, more at Techmeme »
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Jack Smith reminds us of the futility of truth in the Trump era — Yesterday unfolded in a sort of perfectly stupid synchronicity, with the past crimes of Donald Trump, as detailed in the just-released Jack Smith report, being overshadowed by the confirmation hearing for Trump's secretary of defense nominee, Pete Hegseth.
Discussion:
Daring Fireball
RELATED:
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Jack Smith Gives Up
Jack Smith Gives Up
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Raw Story, New Republic, The American Spectator and The Contrarian
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Thinking About the Confirmations — There are a few things that are critical to understanding the Trump cabinet nominations and how Senate Democrats should approach them. The first and most important is that in the case of every nomination the question is entirely up to Republicans.
Discussion:
masslive.com and NOTUS
RELATED:
Juliegrace Brufke / The Daily Beast:
GOP Senator Flames Dems for ‘Cheating’ and Voting ‘Drunk’
GOP Senator Flames Dems for ‘Cheating’ and Voting ‘Drunk’
Discussion:
Associated Press, Mediaite, NPR, Washington Examiner and The Bulwark
Washington Post:
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump's inauguration — They will be sitting on the dais during the swearing-in as Silicon Valley leaders aim to make inroads with Trump, who attacked Big Tech during his first presidency. — Tech moguls Jeff Bezos …
Kim Tong-Hyung / Associated Press:
Yoon becomes South Korea's first sitting president to be detained after martial law chaos — South Korea's impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was detained in a major law enforcement operation at the presidential compound Wednesday, defiantly insisting the anti-corruption agency …
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Michelle Obama signals she's done with Trump — Michelle Obama is done with President-elect Trump, if her decision to skip next week's inauguration means anything. — The former first lady, who once called on Democrats to go high when Trump's Republican Party goes low …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, RedState and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
New York Times:
Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump's Inauguration
Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump's Inauguration
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CNN, Forbes, Chicago Sun Times, USA Today, Raw Story, Axios, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Hill, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, NBC News, New York Magazine, Townhall, Fox News, UPI, Washington Times, Deadline, New York Post, The Independent, New Jersey Online, Los Angeles Times, Scripps News, The Guardian, ABC News, The Post Millennial, Vibe and Daily Mail
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Paul Krugman Issues Dire Warning On How ‘A Lot’ Of Trump Voters Will Be ‘Brutally Scammed’ — The economist also slammed one of the president-elect's policies as “terrible.” — LOADING — “A lot of people” who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election …
RELATED:
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Trump will begin his presidency in delicate position, poll finds — As Donald Trump prepares to once again assume the office of the presidency, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds that, despite his claims of an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump may have to be careful about how far he decides to go with what he wants to do.
Discussion:
Marist Poll, PBS NewsHour, Issues & Insights, Townhall and Emerson Polling
The White House:
The Biden-Harris Administration Record — Letter from President Biden — Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.
Politico:
Russia plotted terror attacks on airlines around the world, Poland's Tusk says — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday accused Russia of planning a major terrorist campaign against aircraft. — “I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland …
Discussion:
Reuters and Euromaidan Press
Mark Lemley / Mark Lemley on LinkedIn:
I have struggled with how to respond to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness. While I have thought about quitting Facebook, I find great value in the connections and friends I have here, and it doesn't seem fair that I should lose that because Zuckerberg is having a mid-life crisis.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
How a major bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion, according to a new federal lawsuit — An explosive new lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleges that Capital One bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion. According to the lawsuit …
Discussion:
Quartz, New York Times, NPR, Consumer Financial …, Courthouse News Service, CBS News, Associated Press, KFMB, UPI, Forbes and The Hill