Happy Thursday. We’re officially under the two-week mark before Christmas and you know what that means? The holiday baking begins! What cookies are you planning to make this year? Here’s what’s happening: - Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning.
- He was named Time’s Person of the Year. His interview was newsy.
- Biden broke the single-day record for pardons.
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Republicans are pondering alternatives to avoid a 2025 legislative log jam.
- There’s a TV segment at the facility where Luigi Mangione is being held. The inmates got involved. It's worth watching.
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. PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Hill’s Emily Martin will be guest-writing the 12:30 Report tomorrow. She’s a great writer — you’ll be in good hands. 😊 |
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There is nothing Trump loves more: |
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President-elect Trump was named Time magazine’s 2024 Person of the Year.
Excerpt: “Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history. His first term ended in disgrace, with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results culminating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was shunned by most party officials when he announced his candidacy in late 2022 amid multiple criminal investigations. Little more than a year later, Trump cleared the Republican field, clinching one of the fastest contested presidential primaries in history. He spent six weeks during the general election in a New York City courtroom, the first former President to be convicted of a crime—a fact that did little to dampen his support.” Read Time’s announcement
📸 The magazine cover
To celebrate: Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this morning. He thanked Time, praised the NYSE and mentioned his economic goals for his next administration. “It is an honor. And this is a double, because usually they don’t coordinate the man of the year — or the Person of the Year — with the ringing of the bell,” Trump said.
Trump also said that he will meet with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos next week.
📸 Doug Mills photo of Trump and part of his Cabinet
Who else was on the shortlist?: Vice President Harris; Catherine, the Princess of Wales; Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk; Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell; podcast host Joe Rogan; Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. See the shortlist
Keep in mind: Time’s Person of the Year is not an endorsement, but is described as “the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months.” |
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➤ FROM TRUMP’S TIME INTERVIEW: |
On vaccines: While Trump did not explicitly argue that vaccines cause autism, he did suggest there might be a connection, aligning himself with his Health and Human Services pick and vaccine skeptic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. There is no evidence vaccines cause autism.
On Elon Musk’s potential conflicts of interest: “I think that Elon puts the country long before his company. … He considers this to be his most important project, and he wanted to do it. … He puts the country before, and I've seen it, before he puts his company.” On Jan. 6 pardons: Trump said he’ll pardon Jan. 6 defendants “in the first hour” of his term. He did suggest he would not blanket pardon everyone, but instead handle it on a “case-by-case” basis. 🔎 Read the full transcript of Time’s interview with Trump 🔎 Read Time’s fact-check |
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WNBA player Caitlin Clark was named as Time’s Athlete of the Year. 📸 See her cover |
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Joe Biden is the Oprah of pardons today: |
President Biden set a new daily record for pardons today, commuting nearly 1,500 sentences and pardoning 39 people.
The roughly 1,5000 people whose sentences were commuted had been under home confinement for at least a year under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was passed In 2020.
How many other people has he pardoned?: Prior to today’s announcement, Biden had issued 21 pardons,122 commutations and offered clemency for those convicted of marijuana use on federal land. He also notably pardoned his son Hunter Biden in a move widely criticized, including by many Democrats.
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Republicans are entering 2025 with the power trifecta, which should make it easy for them to push through their priorities. But Republican senators are a bit concerned about their colleagues on the other side of the Capitol.
House Republicans will have a 217-215, zero-seat margin at the beginning of the next Congress, which could cause chaos in enacting President-elect Trump’s agenda.
Keep in mind: They technically have a 220-215 seat majority, but Trump plucked several Republicans out of the House and into his administration, leaving a smaller majority until the special elections for their replacements.
That means that any one lawmaker can grind a bill to a halt.
Is there anything Republicans can do about this?: Shorten the laundry list as much as possible. There are several overdue appropriations bills they could wrap up before Trump takes office. If those are saved until after Jan. 20, Trump’s first 100 days could be bogged down dealing with spending disagreements. When does government funding expire?: It expires on Dec. 20, but lawmakers are expected to extend that deadline. The plan had been to move the deadline to mid-March, but instead, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) floated extending it to mid-January to force Congress to deal with it under President Biden’s watch.
Read Alexander Bolton’s reporting: ‘GOP senators fear House chaos could derail Trump’s agenda’ |
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that the Senate will likely vote on Social Security legislation before the next Congress. The bill easily passed the House with bipartisan support, so its supporters think it will glide through the Senate. (The Hill)
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What’s happening with his N.Y. hush money case?: |
“The fate of President-elect Trump’s New York hush money case is now in the hands of Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the first historic conviction of the country’s former and now incoming president,” reports The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee. The judge’s options: - Dismiss the case entirely
- Halt proceedings while Trump’s in office
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Treat it as if Trump has died
- Toss verdict over improper trial evidence
- Proceed to sentencing
Read their explainer of the options: ‘Judge to decide fate of Trump’s New York hush money conviction’ |
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Trump named Kari Lake, a staunch Trump supporter who lost recent Senate and gubernatorial bids in Arizona, to run the government-funded news outlet Voice of America. |
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🍒 Celebrate: Today is National Ambrosia Day.
⛓️💥 This segment is incredible: NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield and Alex Caprariello discussed UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione in a live shot outside the facility where he is being held. Other inmates watched the segment live and reacted to Banfield’s questions in real time. It turned into an interview with Banfield and the inmates on the other side of the fence. 📹 Watch the segment
📺 The best shows of 2024: The Atlantic published its list of the 13 best TV shows of the year, including: - FX’s “Shōgun”
- Showtime’s “Couples Therapy”
- HBO’s “Industry”
- Paramount+’s “Lioness”
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ABC’s “Abbott Elementary”
- Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses”
- Max’s “Hacks”
See the full list
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, with light schedules today. (all times Eastern)
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1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
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This afternoon: A Senate confirmation vote. 📆 Today’s agenda
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