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Today's recap
Donald Trump’s transition team belated signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Department of Justice, which will allow the FBI to conduct background checks on the president-elect’s nominees. But it remains unclear whether Trump will send all his picks for vetting, given that his team had indicated it would avoid or delay complete background checks, relying instead on internal vetting.
Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers have asked for a dismissal of the hush-money case, in which he was convicted on 34 felony counts, invoking Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, in their argument
Here’s more:
Trump has reportedly offered the job of deputy secretary of defense to Stephen Feinberg, a billionaire investor whose firm has taken stakes in companies that do business with the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the defense department, had multiple affairs while married to his first wife, Vanity Fair reported. Such behavior could have violated military rules governing Hegseth, who served in the army national guard, and also strike another blow to his reputation as Republican senators consider whether he should lead the Pentagon.
Hegseth is also facing sexual misconduct allegations, as well as allegations of financial mismanagement and aggressive drunkeness at previous workplaces. Republican senator Lindsay Graham said these allegations were “disturbing” and would be hard to defend.
Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, Florida sheriff Chad Chronister, has withdrawn from consideration just two days after being nominated. The sheriff had three decades of experience in law enforcement but was little known outside Florida.
Fallout from Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden continues. A Delaware federal judge cited the pardon in ending Hunter Biden’s prosecution on charges related to lying to buy a gun, while a top Trump adviser refused to say if the incoming president would opt to pardon himself of recently dismissed charges over allegedly hiding classified documents and plotting to overturn the 2020 election.
Chuck Schumer will continue to lead Democrats in the Senate after a closed-door election by his colleagues. He will be the minority leader starting next year, when Republicans take control of the chamber.
Traveling in Angola, Biden was asked about his decision to pardon his son. He refused to answer, and has not said anything else about the decision since making it public on Sunday evening.
Democrats who might seek the presidency in 2028 did not want to share with Politico their views on Hunter Biden’s pardon. Party officials seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee were more talkative.
Updated
Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump, who have previously engaged in bitter public feuds, are now warming to each other as Zuckerberg seeks to influence tech policy in the incoming administration, Emily Swanson reports:
The Meta CEO dined at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida last week, talking technology and demonstrating the company’s camera-equipped sunglasses, Fox News reported.
“Mark Zuckerberg has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of and a participant in this change that we’re seeing all around America,” Stephen Miller, a top Trump deputy, told Fox.
Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, agreed with Miller. Clegg said in a recent press call that Zuckerberg wanted to play an “active role” in the administration’s tech policy decisions and wanted to participate in “the debate that any administration needs to have about maintaining America’s leadership in the technological sphere”, particularly on artificial intelligence. Meta declined to provide further comment.
The weeks since the election have seen something of a give-and-take developing between Trump and Zuckerberg, who previously banned the president-elect from Instagram and Facebook for using the platforms to incite political violence on 6 January 2021. In a move that appears in deference to Trump – who has long accused Meta of censoring conservative views – the company now says its content moderation has at times been too heavy-handed.
Clegg said hindsight showed that Meta “overdid it a bit” in removing content during the Covid-19 pandemic, which Zuckerberg recently blamed on pressure from the Biden administration.
Read the full story here:
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Even more details are emerging about Pete Hegseth’s alcohol use, with NBC building on earlier reports that Trump’s pick to lead the defense department had issues with drinking excessively in professional environments.
NBC reports:
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, drank in ways that concerned his colleagues at Fox News, according to 10 current and former Fox employees who spoke with NBC News.
Two of those people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of ‘Fox & Friends Weekend,’ which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there he appeared on television after they’d heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready or on set.
An earlier report from the New Yorker detailed whistleblower accusations that Hegseth was forced out of leadership roles at two military veterans organizations after allegations of financial mismanagement, aggressive drunkenness and sexist behavior.
Earlier today Republican senator Lindsey Graham told reporters that allegations of Hegseth’s misconduct were “disturbing” and would be hard to defend.
“Some of these articles are very disturbing. He obviously has a chance to defend himself here. But some of this stuff is going to be difficult. Time will tell,” Graham said.
Updated
Trump's pick to lead DEA – Florida sheriff Chad Chronister – withdraws
Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, Florida sheriff Chad Chronister, has withdrawn from consideration.
He wrote in a statement:
To serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration. There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling. I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County.
Chronister, 56, had worked in the sheriff’s office that the Tampa area for more than 30 years, but was little known outside of Florida.
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Arizona says it will not enforce abortion ban until related lawsuit plays out
Weeks after Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, has agreed that the state will not enforce its 15-week abortion ban while a new lawsuit over the law plays out.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Maricopa county superior court on behalf of Arizona abortion providers, argues that Arizona’s 15-week ban is now unconstitutional and should be overturned.
In legal documents signed by Mayes and that will be filed alongside the lawsuit after the court formally accepts the case, Arizona agreed with providers not to prosecute people under the ban until 30 days after the litigation has wrapped up – a move that permits abortion providers in the state to resume performing abortions past 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“For two years, physicians’ hands have been tied when a patient needs to end a pregnancy after 15 weeks, including when they face serious pregnancy complications. But today we can once again provide care to people who want to end their pregnancy,” Dr Eric Reuss, one of the abortion providers who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.
“We hope the courts will quickly recognize the harms of Arizona’s ban and strike it down once and for all.”
The lawsuit marks the latest effort by advocates to make good on the pro-abortion rights ballot measures passed by seven states in the November elections. While these measures amended states’ constitutions to protect or expand abortion rights, they did not actually rewrite pre-existing state laws.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Trump’s lawyers had noted that the US justice department was poised to abandon Trump’s federal cases and referred to a departmental memo that bars prosecution of sitting presidents.
“As in those cases, dismissal is necessary here,” their filing argued. “Just as a sitting president is completely immune from any criminal process, so too is President Trump as president-elect.”
Special counsel prosecutors who were pursuing the federal cases against Trump indeed filed paperwork on 25 November asking for their dismissal – citing justice department policy that his team has repeatedly invoked.
“It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting president,” wrote Molly Gaston, the top deputy for special counsel Jack Smith.
“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind.”
Manhattan prosecutors have argued against dismissal in prior court papers and have suggested a solution that would obviate any concerns about interrupting his presidency – including “deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of defendant’s upcoming presidential term”.
The dismissal pitch came after Judge Juan Merchan’s decision on 22 November to indefinitely postpone the president-elect’s sentencing so lawyers on both sides can argue over its future, given Trump’s victory in the recent presidential election.
While Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly pushed for dismissal to no avail, his impending return to the presidency has presented an opportunity for them to make their case once again.
Merchan said in his postponement decision that Trump’s lawyers had a 2 December deadline to file their argument for dismissal. Prosecutors had a week to submit their response.
Trump’s lawyers have been calling on Merchan to toss the case outright after he defeated Kamala Harris on 5 November. In previous papers seeking permission to file a formal dismissal request, Trump’s attorneys said that dismissal was required “in order to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power”.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s main attorney and selection for deputy US attorney general, as well as Emil Bove, his choice for principal associate deputy attorney general, said that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office “appears to not yet be ready to dismiss this politically motivated and fatally flawed case, which is what is mandated by the law and will happen as justice takes its course”.
Trump lawyers request dismissal of hush-money case
Donald Trump’s lawyers have asked a New York state judge to dismiss the criminal case against him, in which he was convicted of 34 felony counts involving hush money.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that sentencing in the case would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to Trump’s ability to govern.
The lawyers also cited Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son Hunter Biden in their argument. The filing reads:
Yesterday, in issuing a 10-year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes whether charged or uncharged, President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently.’
President Biden argued that ‘raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.’ These comments amounted to an extraordinary condemnation of President Biden’s own DOJ.
Already, Judge Juan Merchan has indefinitely postponed Trump’s sentencing.
Updated
Trump team signs agreement on background checks for nominees
The Trump transition team said it has entered a memorandum of understanding with the US Department of Justice.
“This is the next step in the ongoing preparation of senior administration officials for the purpose of serving in President Trump’s administration,” the statement said. “This allows the transition team to submit names for background checks and security clearances.”
The brief statement didn’t make clear whether the transition has given up on delaying or privatizing background checks for its cabinet nominees.
Earlier, those familiar with the tram’s plans had indicated that Trump’s appointees would skirt full FBI vetting and delay receiving classified briefings until after Trump was sworn in.
Updated
Trump defense secretary nominee admitted to multiple affairs during failed first marriage – report
Pete Hegseth, whom Donald Trump named as his pick to lead the defense department, had multiple affairs while married to his first wife, Vanity Fair reports.
Such behavior could have violated military rules governing Hegseth, who served in the army national guard, and also strike another blow to his reputation as Republican senators consider whether he should lead the Pentagon. Other media outlets in recent days have reported on an accusation of sexual assault against Hegseth, which he denies, as well as claims that he abuses alcohol, mismanaged finances at two charities he was involved in and created a hostile environment for women.
Here’s more, from Vanity Fair’s story:
Hegseth and Schwarz’s young marriage was short-lived. In December 2008, Schwarz filed for divorce after Hegseth admitted that he cheated on her, according to four sources close to the couple. (APM Reports previously revealed that the infidelity was listed as grounds in the couple’s divorce proceedings.) The sources told me that Hegseth’s infidelity left Schwarz emotionally and psychologically scarred. ‘She was gaslighted by him heavily throughout their relationship,’ one of the sources told me. ‘As far as everyone else was concerned, they were viewed by many as this all-American power couple that were making big things for themselves.’ (Schwarz declined to comment. Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, did not respond to a detailed list of questions for this story, and instead provided a statement that impugned my record as a reporter.)
At the time Schwarz filed for divorce, Hegseth was dating Samantha Deering, whom he met while working in Washington, DC, at Vets for Freedom, a group that lobbied to maintain the military’s “counterinsurgency” strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, Hegseth married Deering, with whom he has three kids. In 2017, Deering filed for divorce after Hegseth fathered a child with his Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet. Hegseth and Rauchet married in 2019 at Trump’s golf course in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
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Speaking of Kamala Harris, the Atlantic published a lengthy interview with four top players in the vice-president’s failed campaign for the White House, in which they discuss what went wrong.
The general conclusion of the piece is that it would have been difficult for any Democrat to win, given how unhappy much of the United States was with Joe Biden’s leadership. But the president’s decision to end his bid for a second term just over three months before election day made it unlikely that Harris would be able to turn the situation around – and indeed, she was not able to.
It also underscores that Democrats have work to do to win back voting blocs that once supported the party but appear to be defecting in increasing numbers to the GOP.
From the piece:
In a race shaped so profoundly by fundamental forces of disaffection with the country’s direction, could anything have changed the outcome? As the Democratic strategist Mike Podhorzer has argued, more voters might have ranked their hesitations about Trump higher if the Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court had not blocked any chance that the former president would face a criminal trial before this election on the charges that he tried to subvert the previous one. Plouffe pointed to another what-if potentially big enough to have changed the result: Biden’s withdrawal from the race much earlier rather than only after his disastrous debate performance in June. If Biden had dropped out last winter, Plouffe argued to me, Democrats could have held a full-fledged primary that would have either produced a nominee more distant from his administration or strengthened Harris by requiring her to establish her independence. Looking back at what contributed to Trump’s victory, Plouffe said pointedly, Biden’s choice not to step aside sooner was ‘the cardinal sin.’
Even so, Plouffe acknowledged, ‘I’m not sure, given the headwinds, any Democrat could have won.’ For all the difficulties that the atmosphere created for Harris, the election unquestionably raised warning signs for Democrats that extend beyond dissatisfaction with current conditions. It continued an erosion that is ominous for the party in its support among working-class nonwhite voters, particularly Latino men. And as Flaherty, the deputy campaign manager, told me, the Republican Party’s win powerfully demonstrated that it – or at least Trump himself – has built more effective mechanisms for communicating with infrequent voters, especially young men who don’t consume much conventional political news.
Updated
Something Donald Trump might do once he takes office is pardon people convicted over the January 6 insurrection.
Despite that, the justice department is continuing those prosecutions, and just announced that Matthew Brent Carver of Kentucky had pleaded guilty to a charge of “felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder” in the attack that occurred nearly four years ago. Here’s what the department says Carver did:
Around approximately 2:45 pm, law enforcement officers, including members of the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)—who were performing their official duties at the Capitol on January 6—gathered and formed a police line towards the southern end of the Upper West Terrace. Several minutes later, around 2:47 pm, these officers moved in tandem towards the northern end of the Upper West Terrace in an effort to clear and secure the Upper West Terrace.
As the officers advanced, they ordered protesters to “Move Back! Move Back!” while they attempted to secure the Upper West Terrace. Around 2:48 pm, as the police line approached the northern end of the Upper West Terrace, Carver emerged from the crowd, assumed an aggressive stance towards the approaching officers, and yelled, “Come on! Bring it!”
Seconds later, Carver approached an MPD officer, grabbed the officer’s baton, and attempted to pull the baton away from the officer and, in doing so, also pulled the officer out of the police line and into the crowd of rioters. Carver was then pulled back into the crowd. Shortly afterward, the police line reformed and continued to push the protesters out of the Upper West Terrace, and Carver eventually made his way out of restricted permitter.
The FBI arrested Carver on Jan. 30, 2024, in Kentucky.
And a look at how many people have faced charges over the attack:
In the 46 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,561 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Updated
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and other top Democrats spent the past four years arguing to voters, unsuccessfully, that Donald Trump represents a unique threat to democracy and must never be put in power again.
Speaking to Newsmax, Trump adviser Jason Miller turned their rhetoric on its head, by arguing that the incoming president will be good for democracy worldwide:
Democracy is going to be in such better standing around the world, because you have to have a strong American presidency if you want to have strong democracy around the world, where you see peace in the Middle East, where you get the Russia-Ukraine conflict resolved. And finally, we’re going to get back to where we have peace and prosperity … for everybody.
Top adviser says Trump will take 'nonstop' action in first 100 days of new administration
Speaking to the conservative Newsmax network, top Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller said that the incoming president will take aggressive actions over his first 100 days in office, including cracking down on migrants and spurring more oil and gas drilling.
“President Trump is … moving really fast here. I mean, even by Thanksgiving, he had his entire cabinet picked,” Miller said. He said several top advisers including incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and “border czar” Tom Homan “are putting together the executive orders and the policies. As President Trump said, we’re going to drill, baby, drill and secure the border – those will be day one priorities.”
Miller continued:
This first 100 days is going to be nonstop. There’s so many things that he’s ready to do. Because, again, we’ve never had a second-term president step in that is ready to go. In fact, we’ve never had a first-term president, never had president in history who’s so ready to go on day one, who knows exactly what they want to do. So, if you voted for President Trump, [you] should be pretty enthused that we’re gonna have the country back on track.
Updated
As he wrapped up his speech on the outskirts of Angola’s capital, Luanda, a reporter asked Joe Biden for his comment on the declaration of martial law in South Korea.
“I’m just getting briefed on it,” Biden replied.
A spokesperson for the national security council said earlier that they were “seriously concerned” by the declaration, but Biden has not yet commented.
Updated
As South Korea’s surprise martial law announcement sends shock waves across the country and beyond, another war abroad is also commanding the US’s attention, the Guardian’s Andrew Roth reports. Joe Biden is scrambling to “put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position” before Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut off all aid to Ukraine, assumes the highest level of office in the nation.
The Biden administration is rushing military equipment to Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to shore up the country’s defenses against the Russian invasion before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency in January.
The newly announced $725m in assistance will include Stinger anti-air missiles, anti-drone weapons, artillery shells and long-range Himars rocket munitions, and anti-armour missiles, as well as spare parts and other assistance to repair damaged equipment from US stocks, the state department said.
The new shipments of weapons come as Ukraine is desperately seeking to stabilise its frontlines in both the east of the country, where Russia has made grinding progress toward the crucial logistics town of Pokrovsk, as well in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces are bracing themselves for an assault by Russian and North Korean troops.
Updated
South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law today, and accused the country’s main opposition party of being anti-state, North Korea sympathizers.
A spokesperson for the US national security council told CNN that the US was not given a warning from the South Korean president before he declared martial law.
“We are seriously concerned by the developments we are seeing on the ground in the ROK [Republic of Korea].”
The US state department’s principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a press conference today: “We are watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern. We are seeking to engage with our Republic of Korea counterparts at every level … This is an incredibly fluid situation.”
You can read more about this development on our South Korea blog here.
Updated
The day so far
Donald Trump has reportedly offered the job of deputy secretary of defense to a billionaire investor whose firm has taken stakes in companies that do business with the Pentagon. Should Stephen Feinberg accept the nomination, it will be the latest to stir controversy, particularly among Democrats concerned that his nominees lack experience, have conflicts of interest or will pursue dangerous policies. Meanwhile, the fallout from Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden continues. A Delaware federal judge cited the pardon in ending Hunter Biden’s prosecution on charges related to lying to buy a gun, while a top Trump adviser refused to say if the incoming president would opt to pardon himself of recently dismissed charges over allegedly hiding classified documents and plotting to overturn the 2020 election.
Here’s what else has happened today:
Chuck Schumer will continue to lead Democrats in the Senate after a close-door election by his colleagues. He will be the minority leader starting next year, when Republicans take control of the chamber.
Traveling in Angola, Biden was asked about his decision to pardon his son. He refused to answer, and has not said anything else about the decision since making it public on Sunday evening.
Democrats who might seek the presidency in 2028 did not want to share with Politico their views on Hunter Biden’s pardon. Party officials seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee were more talkative.
Updated
Trump offered deputy defense secretary job to billionaire investor in Pentagon-linked firms – report
Donald Trump has offered the post of deputy secretary of defense to Stephen Feinberg, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, which has stakes in companies that do business with the military, the Washington Post reports.
It is not clear if Feinberg accepted the job, the Post reports, and Trump has not yet publicly announced the nomination.
Cerberus this year disclosed an investment in M1 Support Services, which provides military aircraft training and maintenance services. In 2018, Cerberus took a majority stake in Navistar Defense, which manufactures military vehicles.
Updated
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will be back on Capitol Hill today, meeting with Republican senators who will consider his appointment.
Politico reports that he is scheduled to meet Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Ted Budd of North Carolina and James Risch of Idaho. Hegseth will also probably run into plenty of reporters who will be asking about his drinking, treatment of women and financial management of two veterans non-profits he reportedly was forced out of.
Updated
Judge ends gun case against Hunter Biden after pardon
A judge has ordered an end to Hunter Biden’s prosecution on charges of lying about his drug use when buying a gun, after Joe Biden pardoned him on Sunday.
Delaware federal judge Maryellen Noreika terminated the case against Hunter Biden in a decision issued today, after a jury found him guilty of three gun-related charges earlier this year. Biden was also pardoned of tax fraud charges leveled against him in California, which he pleaded guilty to. He was awaiting sentencing in both cases before the controversial presidential pardon.
Here’s more about the gun case:
Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was on Capitol Hill yesterday to meet with senators ahead of his confirmation. He also encountered many reporters who asked him about reports that he drank excessively, and was involved in financial mismanagement. As the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports, Hegseth did not have much to say to them:
Questions continued to dog Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, on Monday following reports he was twice ousted from previous organisations he led over financial mismanagement and improper behavior, with reporters asking him directly if he had an alcohol problem.
Hegseth, 44, who was visiting Capitol Hill to drum up support for his troubled nomination, did not respond when a journalist asked “Do you have an alcohol problem?” as he arrived for a meeting with Republican senators.
Later, another reporter, from CBS, buttonholed him in a corridor and asked him: “Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?”
“I’m not gonna dignify that with a response,” Hegseth, until recently a Fox News host, answered, adding: “I’m talking to all the senators and I look forward to their discussions.”
The New Yorker magazine recently reported whistleblower accusations that Hegseth was forced out of leadership roles in two military veterans organisations following allegations of financial mismanagement, aggressive drunkenness and sexist behaviour.
The disclosures have further complicated Hegseth’s chances of winning over Republican senators at confirmation hearings after an earlier revelation that police in California investigated a sexual assault allegation made against him in 2017. The investigation did not result in criminal charges and Hegseth later reached a financial settlement with the woman who made the complaint.
The magazine reported that Hegseth had to be carried to his room at a Memorial Day veterans event in Virginia Beach in 2014 after getting “totally sloshed”, and on another occasion reportedly had to be restrained from joining female dancers on stage at a Louisiana strip club.
One witness recounted him shouting “Kill all Muslim, kill all Muslims” at a bar in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 2015. The episode was the subject of a written complaint to the Koch-backed group Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), of which Hegseth was then chief executive officer.
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Senate Democrats stick with Chuck Schumer to lead party
Senate Democrats have voted to keep New York’s Chuck Schumer as their leader, putting him in a position to steer the opposition to Donald Trump’s policies in Congress’s upper chamber.
Schumer has led the Senate since Democrats retook the majority in 2021, but will serve as minority leader beginning next year, after the GOP won back control in the November elections. He will nonetheless remain a powerful figure in the chamber thanks to its filibuster, which blocks the passage of legislation that does not receive at least 60 votes, and will surely be invoked by Democrats to cripple much of Trump’s legislative agenda.
Nonetheless, Republicans are expected to attempt to pass legislation addressing taxation, spending and other economic matters using the Senate’s reconciliation procedure, in which bills only require majority support to pass.
Here’s what Schumer had to say after Democrats selected him as their leader today in a closed-door election:
I am honored and humbled to be chosen by my colleagues to continue leading Senate Democrats during this crucial period for our country. Our caucus has led the way in passing historic legislation that has improved the lives of millions of Americans and we remain laser focused on addressing the most pressing challenges facing our country.
As I have long said, our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families. However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values.
We have a lot of work ahead – in the Senate and as a country – and in this upcoming Congress, our caucus will continue to fight for what’s best for America’s working class. Senate Democrats are ready to get to work for you, the American people.
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The GOP seems set to hold the House of Representatives with a tiny three-seat majority, thanks, in part, to congressional maps drawn to make it easier for Republicans to win.
One of the states that played a big role in making that happen was North Carolina, where the GOP used its dominance of state government to enact maps that made it next to impossible for several sitting Democratic members of Congress to win their seats again. One of those Democrats whose districts were gerrymandered out from under them, Wiley Nickel, wrote an op-ed in the Raleigh News & Observer in which he reflected on how the state played a major role in handing Republicans the House majority again – and with it, full control of Congress to enact Donald Trump’s policies.
Here’s what Nickel had to say:
Now, with Adam Gray’s apparent victory in California’s 13th District giving Republicans a bare three-seat majority in the US House, it’s clear that gerrymandering in North Carolina tipped the scales in their favor and cost Democrats control of the US House of Representatives.
My district along with the districts of Jeff Jackson and Kathy Manning were turned into safe Republican seats where Democrats had zero chance to win. Had North Carolina sent the three of us back to Washington, under fair maps, then New York Rep Hakeem Jeffries would be our next Speaker of the House with a one seat Democratic majority at 218-217.
Let’s be clear. This wasn’t an accident. This was by design. Republicans in Congress can give North Carolina Speaker Tim Moore a big wet kiss when he gets to Washington. Not only did he draw himself a safe Republican seat, but he gave Republicans the three House seats that became the difference in control of Congress.
The MAGA Republicans in Raleigh who drew these maps didn’t care about reflecting the will of the people. They cared about power. They used the redistricting process to rig the system, taking advantage of their supermajority to draw lines that would give them three more seats – no matter what the voters wanted.
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Reporters traveling with Joe Biden in Angola asked him to comment on his decision to pardon Hunter Biden, and whether he thought Donald Trump would keep up his outreach to the southern African nation.
Biden responded to neither question. He has yet to elaborate on his decision to pardon Hunter, other than the announcement he issued on Sunday evening.
Updated
Politico wanted to know what leading Democrats who might run for president in 2028 thought of Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter.
But they would not say. From Politico’s story:
Govs Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and JB Pritzker of Illinois declined to weigh in or did not respond to requests for comment on the pardon when asked by POLITICO. Neither did Sens Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota or Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Contenders to lead the Democratic National Committee, which is shaping up to be a major decision for the party as it looks to lead the opposition to Donald Trump and take back the White House four years from now, were more forthcoming:
Several of the Democrats running to lead the national party defended Biden or supported his pardon.
Former Gov Martin O’Malley, who is campaigning to head the DNC, said, “I don’t blame the president for protecting his son from a man who has vowed to persecute his political enemies and their family members. I would do the same for my children.”
Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic Party chair who is also running for the post, suggested that he agreed with Biden’s move, saying that “the president’s statement speaks for itself” and that “Trump’s plan to wield federal power through extremists like Kash Patel to attack his political enemies and their families is a frightening reality that the whole country needs to prepare for.”
Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and another DNC chair candidate, said that he understands Biden’s “instinct to be a protective father” as a dad himself and argued that the pardon system should be “reformed” so it can’t be used for personal reasons by anyone.
“Any Republicans who are expressing outrage today but didn’t blink when Donald Trump pardoned his son-in-law’s father are hypocrites,” he said.
Chuck Rocha, a strategist who is considering running for DNC chair, said, “I’m very pro-Biden pardon. I’m very anti-lying about it. As somebody who has run a presidential campaign, it would’ve been easy to dodge this.”
Updated
Miller also confirmed to CNN that Trump was sticking by his nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, despite mounting reports of his poor financial management and history of alcohol abuse.
Over the weekend, the New Yorker reported that Hegseth was forced out of his leadership roles at two veteran-focused non-profits amid allegations that he mismanaged finances, showed up for events drunk and created a hostile environment for female staffers.
Asked about the reporting on CNN, Miller attacked the New Yorker, and said the president-elect continued to support Hegseth:
When it comes to Pete Hegseth, there aren’t any concerns. And we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the Senate
…
Now, with regard to Pete, family conversations sometimes are very tough. And in the case with his mother, his mother did go and take that back and say that she was sorry for that. And right – I believe that Pete Hegseth is ultimately, when he has a chance to present his case, it’s going to come across very clearly that he’s going to be a great person to lead the DOD, and that he didn’t do anything wrong. Now, again, the letter in “The New Yorker,” or the – the – whatever they called it in “The New Yorker” with their piece that they ran, that was basically just innuendo and gossip.
Here’s more on the latest stories about Hegseth’s conduct:
Miller was also asked on CNN about Trump’s comments concerning the pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he would pardon some of those who faced charges or were convicted over the violent attack on the Capitol. After Joe Biden announced he would pardon his son Hunter Biden, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
Responding to that comment, Miller told CNN:
I want to be careful here and make sure I’m being very direct with you. President Trump has said a number of times on the campaign trail that he’s going to look at each of these cases individually, full stop. That’s what he said. There’s never been a declaration of some – something bigger, broader. And again, that’s for something for the Department of Justice to go deal with when President Trump takes office again, not for someone who’s a spokesperson from the campaign or transition team.
Because, again, the whole point here is, we have to get politics out of the justice system. Justice should apply to everybody equally.
Top Trump adviser stays mum on if incoming president will pardon himself
Jason Miller, a top adviser to Donald Trump, was asked on CNN this morning if the president-elect would pardon himself of federal charges he faced, once he takes office.
Trump was indicted last year for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election, and for possessing and hiding classified documents. The justice department special counsel leading the prosecution, Jack Smith, last week dropped those charges, thought kept open the possibility that they could be reinstated at a future time.
Once he is inaugurated, Trump has the power to issue himself a pardon that could end his legal trouble for good. CNN asked Miller if Trump would do that, and he responded:
That would never be something that I would weigh in on. That would be something for the legal team to discuss. And again, President Trump did nothing wrong.
Here’s more on the quiet ending the to the two high-profile prosecutions of the former-turned-incoming president:
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Donald Trump successfully campaigned for the presidency on a promise to stop illegal border crossings, and has leaned heavily on Mexico to prevent US-bound migrants from traversing their territory. From Tapachula, Mexico, the Guardian’s Thomas Graham has a look at what that means for migrants:
Outside the migration office, Tito subtly pointed out the watchful human smugglers leaning against a wall.
They had already tried to sell their services to Tito, who was on his way to the US but, like everyone else there, found himself stuck in Tapachula, a town in southern Mexico that has become a global way station.
Tito, who only gave his first name, left Haiti for Chile in 2019, where he set up a company selling wooden pallets and met a Haitian woman, with whom he had a daughter, but the pandemic put him of business. He set out for the US, promising his family he would send money home.
That was two years ago.
“It hurts me to see these people with their children,” said Tito, gesturing to a nearby campsite, where grubby little legs poked out of tent flaps. “I couldn’t bear to have my kid do this with me.”
By the border with Guatemala, Tapachula is where Mexico has strived to contain people heading north, acting as the US’s immigration enforcer. Yet president-elect Donald Trump is now demanding Mexico do more – with the threat of a day-one 25% tax on all imports if it fails.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump blustered last week.
After a phone call with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump claimed she had “agreed to stop migration through Mexico” and that this was “effectively closing our southern border”.
Donald Trump’s recently announced nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, has proposed downsizing its Washington headquarters and using its investigative powers to target journalists and enemies of the incoming president.
Politico reports that to the Republican senators who will vote on confirming him for the role, none of those promises are disqualifying, at least not yet. Here’s a few of the thoughts they shared with Politico about Patel:
Joni Ernst of Iowa: “I do know Kash, and that’s why I think he’s going to be great. We really do need people that will go in and shake up some of these organizations … I do think he will be able to get confirmed, absolutely.”
Susan Collins of Maine: “I don’t know Kash Patel. I had heard his name, but I don’t know his background, and I’m going to have to do a lot of work before reaching a decision on him. In general, I’ve found it’s important to review the background check, the committee work and the public hearing.”
Thom Tillis of North Carolina: “I’m in a presumptive positive position right now. Everybody says what they want to say about him seeking retribution, or have the office of retribution set up and all that. I just don’t see it.”
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Trump to attend ceremony for Notre Dame reopening in Paris
Notre Dame Cathedral will reopen in Paris on Saturday with incoming US president Donald Trump set to attend the ceremony marking the resurrection of the Gothic masterpiece five years after a devastating fire.
The Republican confirmed Monday he had accepted an invitation from French president Emmanuel Macron to attend the grand re-opening of the 850-year-old edifice which was nearly lost to flames in April 2019.
It will be Trump’s first foreign trip since his re-election last month in a political comeback that has set off alarm bells in much of Europe, including in France where Macron regularly tussled with the New York real estate tycoon during his first term.
Trump posted on his Truth Social website that Macron had “done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”
The presence of Trump is likely to encourage other world political leaders to attend as they seek to build relations and head off possible disputes over trade and defence before his 20 January inauguration.
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Angola welcomes Biden
Angola wants to expand its collaboration with the United States on security and military initiatives, its president, João Lourenço, said on Tuesday, during a visit by Joe Biden.
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We’ve created a visual guide for what could be at stake during the Trump presidency here:
Roughly a month after election losses that left Republicans in charge of the White House and both houses of Congress, and saw once-core working class, Latino and female voters slip away, some Democratic officials are trying to explain what happened.
Republican Donald Trump’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris on Nov. 5 was part of a global pattern that saw 80% of incumbent parties lose seats or vote share in 2024, outgoing Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison wrote in a 3 December memo to “interested parties” obtained by Reuters.
Despite falling short, the party’s historic investments in every US state and territory helped prevent “what could have been a larger red wave”, Harrison wrote.
Democrats raised – and spent – more than $1bn just since vice-president Kamala Harris took over for Joe Biden as the candidate in late July. Nonetheless, the campaign finished the election in the red, financially and politically.
“Although Democrats did not achieve what we set out to do, Trump wasn’t able to capture the support of more than 50% of the electorate and Democrats beat back global headwinds that could’ve turned this squeaker into a landslide,” Harrison, who has said he will leave his post next year, wrote in the memo. “Trump’s election is far from a mandate,” he wrote.
Far-right parties have gained ground in Europe, especially with younger voters, and are questioning climate change and pro-immigration policies. In the US, the political right’s gains shocked many Democratic voters and activists who thought a flood of volunteers, fundraising and fresh momentum would help Harris win.
Trump’s second presidency could lead to big changes in everything from U.S. health policy to education to oil drilling rules.
Some Democrats blamed Biden for not stepping aside earlier. Top Harris advisers, including her campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, and advisers Stephanie Cutter and David Plouffe pointed to other factors, too, in a recent interview. Americans’ post-Covid economic woes, the short 107-day span of the campaign, and the two hurricanes diverted attention from the whirlwind campaign, they said.
Republican senator Ted Cruz has urged US officials to investigate whether European governments have tried to unduly influence the country’s laws around artificial intelligence.
Britain hosted the world’s first global AI safety summit last year, bringing tech executives, world leaders and academics together to discuss a coordinated approach on regulation. Some countries have since set up their own AI safety institutes, which have continued to share expertise across borders.
Cruz, who ran against Donald Trump in the Republican Party’s 2016 race for presidential nominee, is among the party’s most influential senators. He has been a vocal critic of president Joe Biden’s approach to tech regulation, reports Reuters.
In a letter addressed to US attorney general Merrick Garland, dated 21 November but only made public on Monday, Cruz said European governments had imposed heavy-handed regulations on American AI companies abroad, and were now trying to steer the direction of AI regulations at home.
Cruz described these regulations as “onerous” and a product of the “radical left”. “While the Biden-Harris administration may not want to inform the American people of just how closely they are collaborating with foreign governments, at the very least, the American people have a right to know what foreign actors are trying to impose these radical regulations on American companies,” Cruz wrote.
The European Union has led the global charge for regulations tailored to AI technology, having this year passed the AI act, the world’s first sweeping set of laws governing the technology.
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My colleague Rachel Savage has more on Joe Biden’s visit to Angola here:
Beijing said Tuesday it would restrict exports to the United States of some key components in making semiconductors, after Washington announced curbs targeting China’s ability to make advanced chips.
Among the materials banned from export are metals gallium, antimony and germanium, Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement that cited “national security” concerns, reports AFP.
Exports of graphite, another key component, will also be subject to “stricter reviews of end-users and end-uses”, the ministry said.
“To safeguard national security interests and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation, China has decided to strengthen export controls on relevant dual-use items to the United States,” Beijing said.
“Any organisation or individual in any country or region violating the relevant regulations will be held accountable according to the law,” it added.
In its own latest curbs, Washington on Monday announced restrictions on sales to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier, without additional permission.
They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the US Commerce Department.
The move expands Washington’s efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, which can be used in advanced weapons systems and artificial intelligence.
The new US rules also include controls on two dozen types of chip-making equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.
Donald Trump announced on Monday he has picked investment banker and Republican mega-donor Warren Stephens to serve as ambassador to the UK, reports my colleague Alice Herman.
“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full-time,” wrote Trump in a social media post. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies.”
Stephens is chair, president and CEO of Stephens Inc, a privately owned financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the firm’s website.
Joe Biden to address history of enslavement in US on Angola visit
Joe Biden is using the first visit to Angola by a US president to promote Washington’s investments in the country and see a slavery museum where he’ll acknowledge the trafficking of human beings that once linked the two nations’ economies.
A centerpiece of his trip is showcasing a US commitment of $3bn for the Lobito Corridor, a railway redevelopment linking Zambia, Congo and Angola that is meant to make it far easier to move raw materials in the continent and for export. The project also has drawn financing from the European Union, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, a western-led private consortium and African banks, reports Associated Press.
The project aims to advance the US presence in a region rich in critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies and to counter China’s heavy investments in mining and processing African minerals.
The US has for years built relations in Africa through trade, security and humanitarian aid. The 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) railway upgrade is a different move and has shades of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure strategy in Africa and other parts of the world.
Biden is to fly to the Angolan coastal city of Lobito on Wednesday for a first-hand look at a port terminal that is the Atlantic Ocean outlet for the corridor.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration “has absolutely transformed” US-Africa relations and that the corridor’s completion is “going to take years but there’s already been a lot of work put in”.
That means much of it may fall to Biden’s successor, Republican Donald Trump, who takes office on 20 January. Asked whether the project could proceed without future support from Trump, Kirby said it was “our fervent hope that as the new team comes in and takes a look at this that they see the value too, that they see how it will help drive a more secure, more prosperous, more economically stable continent”.
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White House: Biden pardoned Hunter to protect him from political opponents
The White House said on Monday that president Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden in part to protect him from future persecution from political opponents, but his move drew fierce criticism, with some Democrats saying it undermined public trust in the rule of law.
Biden, a Democrat whose term ends on 20 January when Republican president-elect Donald Trump takes office, signed an unconditional pardon for Hunter Biden on Sunday and said he believed his son had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president’s political opponents.
His surprise move was panned by his Republican political opposition, but also by Democrats who said it eroded trust in the judicial system, a concept Biden and his party had used to criticize Trump, Reuters reports.
Hunter was prosecuted for tax offenses and charges related to possession of a firearm after being targeted for years by Republicans in Congress who accused him of making business deals using his father’s name but failed to establish any clear connections.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday defended the president’s action and said Biden believed Hunter faced further grief from his adversaries, who she did not name. Jean-Pierre was among the White House officials who had repeatedly said in the past Biden would not pardon his son.
“One of the reasons the president did the pardon is because they didn’t seem like – his political … opponents – would let go of it. It didn’t seem like they would move on,” she told reporters on Air Force One during a trip to Angola. “They would continue to go after his son. That’s what he believed.”
Jean-Pierre stressed this was not the first time a president had pardoned a family member. Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger before he left office, and Trump his daughter’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump hinted that the pardon would pave the way for clemency for the January 6 rioters. My colleague Robert Tait writes:
Donald Trump seized on Hunter Biden’s pardon to drop one of his strongest hints yet that he intends to grant clemency to at least some of the instigators and participants of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” the US president-elect posted on his Truth Social platform.
It was the latest in a series of supportive comments by Trump on behalf of those convicted for their part in the onslaught, which resulted in the deaths of five people at the time. Additionally, four police officers involved in trying to beat back the rioters killed themselves in the days and months after the attack.
Now the granting of a pardon by the sitting president, Joe Biden, to his son appears to have been taken by Trump as a fresh justification.
The 2021 assault spawned one of the biggest criminal investigations in US history, resulting in federal charges being filed against nearly 1,500 people. About 1,000 have either been found guilty or pleaded guilty.
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