Here’s what we’re watching in transition world today: 🗓️ What we’re watching Some Democrats are cozying up to Elon Musk as President-elect Donald Trump has unleashed him to cut government spending. Some of Trump’s top Cabinet picks are billionaires, and they may run into skepticism in the Senate because of potential conflicts of interest from […]
Category: Politics
The judicial branch will be top of mind in the legislative branch on Thursday. Senate Democrats are nearing the judicial confirmations total that President-elect Donald Trump achieved in his first term. Meanwhile, the Biden White House is poised to block an expansion of the federal judiciary once it passes the House. First up: The House […]
Sen. Joni Ernst wants to make restructuring the Small Business Administration one of her first legislative acts as chair of the Senate caucus carrying out Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” agenda. The Iowa Republican‘s bill that she will announce Thursday would require the SBA administrator to relocate at least 30 percent of workers at […]
Ro Khanna is trading texts with Elon Musk. Josh Shapiro took a call from him. And John Fetterman has compared him to the superhero Tony Stark. As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to install Musk as the federal government’s cutter-in-chief, some ambitious Democrats are taking a warmer approach to the billionaire businessman than their party leaders […]
President-elect Donald Trump announced a trio of picks Wednesday for Latin America ambassadorships, elevating major donors to critical diplomatic postings in the Western Hemisphere. In a series of late-night Truth Social posts, Trump said he would tap former Conair executive Leandro Rizzuto Jr. as ambassador to the Organization of American States. He also said he […]
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Kari Lake to serve as the next director of Voice of America — the publicly funded broadcast network that drew his ire in his first term. Lake, a former local news anchor and staunch Trump ally, will be appointed by the next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, […]
The powerful Congressional Black Caucus is under intense pressure from within to refrain from endorsing any candidates in contested committee leader races — including one of their own. Several members stood up during the Black Caucus meeting Wednesday afternoon to argue against the group formally endorsing any Democrats in the contested races and instead allow […]
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s open to working with President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar — but said he was skeptical the incoming official had the “authority” to do everything he said. “Being a border czar is not an official position in the government, and it will be up to the President […]
Sen. John Fetterman plans to meet with Pete Hegseth on Thursday, making him the first Senate Democrat to sit down with Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Pentagon chief. The Pennsylvania senator, known for his blunt and pragmatic approach, confirmed the meeting on Wednesday and said he’s not ruling out supporting Hegseth. His decision comes amid […]
The Senate failed to end debate on a bid to extend the tenure of Lauren McFerran at the National Labor Relations Board after drama on the Senate floor — and a final decisive “no” vote from Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.). Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hoped to extend McFerran’s tenure at the NLRB to give Democrats […]