Happy Friday! All I keep hearing about is this fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul happening today. Apparently, Tyson slapped Paul in the face during the final stare-down. Does anyone else think this is wildly barbaric? Khal Drogo vs. The Hound — and let’s all watch with popcorn. But I digress — here’s what’s happening:
- Trump’s RFK Jr. nomination is rattling the health world.
- GOP senators think Gaetz’s nomination is in serious trouble.
- Biden is in Peru.
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The Bluesky app has seen a huge surge in popularity since the election.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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President-elect Trump chose anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He would be responsible for more than 80,000 employees, a budget of nearly $2 trillion, and 13 separate agencies, one of which is responsible for approving new drugs, like vaccines.
👀Keep in mind: Just two weeks ago, Howard Lutnick, co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team specifically said RFK Jr. would not get the job at HHS.
📹 Watch the clip What to know about Kennedy’s health stances:
- Fluoride: He’s said he wants to eliminate fluoride in the U.S.’s drinking water supply. Health officials consider the addition of fluoride as a major advancement in preserving teeth.
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Vaccines: He’s an anti-vaccine activist. He’s falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism in children. He once equated vaccinations to the Holocaust.
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Raw milk: He’s an advocate for people drinking raw, unpasteurized milk, which, keep in mind, the FDA says is unsafe to drink because of the risk of harmful bacteria and viruses.
Read more in The Washington Post: “10 RFK Jr. conspiracy theories and false claims, in his own words”
CNN: “RFK Jr.’s to-do list to make America ‘healthy’ has health experts worried”
Will he get confirmed?: That’s the big question. It’s unclear whether he can muster enough votes to clear the Senate, though some Republicans were excited by the pick. |
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) argued that RFK Jr. would take us back to “the 1700s, 1800s.” “You have a baby, and anywhere in the world, I mean, protecting against polio, against measles, against very serious communicable diseases that, I mean, we would be talking about going back to the, what, the 1700s, 1800s,” Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) remarked that “none of this is gonna be easy,” referring to confirming Trump’s controversial picks. |
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Chip and Joanna Gaines for Interior?!: |
I kid, I kid. President-elect Trump nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) to serve as his secretary of the Interior.
What to know about Burgum: He ran an unsuccessful campaign in the Republican primary earlier this year. He and Trump developed a strong relationship, so much so that he was on the final shortlist to be Trump’s running mate. He was widely expected to get a position in Trump’s Cabinet and was floated as a pick for the Energy Department or the Interior.
The role: “The Interior secretary oversees roughly 70,000 federal employees who manage the country’s natural resources and federal lands, including national parks and monuments. In addition, the department has control over energy development both on public lands and offshore.” What to expect from Burgum: He’s expected to carry out Trump’s desire to increase oil drilling and energy production. Keep in mind about Burgum’s political views: “Burgum has taken climate change more seriously than many other major Republicans, including the president-elect, who has falsely claimed it is a hoax. … However, he has also been historically friendly with the oil industry, a major money maker in his state.”
Read The Hill's Brett Samuels on the pick.
What a week for the Dakotas! Republicans chose South Dakota Sen. John Thune as their party leader this week, and Trump chose South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) as Homeland Security secretary. |
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🗨️ The Matt Gaetz Nomination |
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It’s an uphill battle to say the least:
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“Republican senators are warning that former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) nomination to serve as President-elect Trump’s attorney general is in serious trouble, even though Republicans will control 53 seats in the upper chamber next year,” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have already expressed concerns about confirming Gaetz to serve as the powerful attorney general.
What happened to the House Ethics Committee report?: The committee canceled its meeting scheduled for today, but Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has called for the committee to release its now-moot findings in its investigation of Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Republican senators agree with the Durbin’s call.
For reference: It would take four Republicans to sink his nomination, assuming all Democrats vote “no.” Read more: ‘GOP senators: Gaetz nomination to head Justice in serious trouble’ |
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➤ JUST NOW FROM MIKE JOHNSON: |
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) just “strongly requested” that the House Ethics Committee not release the Gaetz report.
In Johnson’s words: "I'm going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set." (h/t Politico’s Mia Camille McCarthy)
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President Biden is in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Happening on the sidelines: Biden is planning to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday. This will be their third time speaking face-to-face, according to The Hill’s Laura Kelly.
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Bluesky is the new Twitter (maybe?): |
Since the election, people have been fleeing X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter that Telsa/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased.
On the day after the election: More than 115,000 X users in the U.S. closed their accounts, according to CNN. That’s the largest day of exits since Musk bought the platform in 2022.
Why people are leaving?: Some people have expressed “growing issues on X, including bots, partisan advertisements and harassment, which they all felt reached a tipping point when Donald Trump was elected president last week with Musk’s support.” Where are users going?: Those social media users are flocking to competitors, including Bluesky and Instagram Threads.
Bluesky has skyrocketed over the past few days. It’s the top app on the Apple App Store, directly followed by Threads. One million people joined Bluesky in the past day, and it now has more than 15 million users, according to the company. The app looks very similar to Twitter.
🎙️ Listen to The Verge’s podcast explainer on the Bluesky rise |
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➤ IF YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT JOINING: |
Say hello!: I recently joined Bluesky. Follow me!
And so are some of my colleagues: Follow Niall Stanage, Brandon Conradis, Judy Kurtz, Ella Lee, Taylor Giorno, Sarakshi Rai, Zach Schonfeld and Kristina Karisch.
Some other people to follow: CNN’s Jake Tapper, The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman, MSNBC’s Ari Melber, The Morning Brew’s Josh Sternberg, The Platformer writer Casey Newton, etc.
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🍰 Celebrate: Today is National Bundt Day! There is a hole in your cake! |
🐉 Ooh, tell us more: “George R.R. Martin has hinted that he might be working on a new collaboration with actress Maisie Williams, who shot to fame in the adaptation of his 'Game of Thrones' series.” (CNN) |
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The House was in this morning. The Senate is out until Monday. President Biden is in Peru, and Vice President Harris is in Washington. (all times Eastern)
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- 2:30 p.m.: Biden meets with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
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3:15 p.m.: Biden meets with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte Zegarra.
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