Evening Report — Trump assembles team of disruptors

Evening Report

Trump, allies prepare to disrupt Washington

President-elect Trump is building a team that promises to disrupt business as usual in Washington, putting federal agencies on notice that big changes are coming.

Trump has promised to dismantle the Department of Education, and he may put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of overhauling how food is processed.

Trump’s transition lawyer Mark Paoletta posted this message to Justice Department employees Monday: “If these career DOJ employees won’t implement President Trump’s program in good faith, they should leave."

NEW & FAMILIAR FACES:

Perhaps Trump’s most notable appointment so far has been to tap former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan as his “border czar.”

Homan is an unapologetic, blunt-talking enforcer who will lead Trump’s effort to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Homan on Monday said the administration will conduct workplace immigration raids.
He spoke directly to Democratic governors in so-called sanctuary cities: "If you don't want to help us, get the hell out of the way ..."

Trump has also tapped Stephen Miller — a polarizing figure for his rhetoric on immigrants — to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) as Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

And the president-elect selected Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), an early and vocal advocate for his "America First” foreign policy, to be his ambassador to the United Nations.

These names join an administration that promises to be chock full of outsiders looking to shake things up, including Kennedy and Elon Musk.

MEANWHILE:

Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Leoffler (R) is co-chairing Trump’s inaugural committee.
Trump announced that his former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would have no role in his new administration.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he wouldn’t join a second administration.

IN THE SENATE:

Republicans will pick a new leader in the upper chamber Wednesday, and Trump World is looking to exert its influence ahead of the secret ballot.

The leading candidates are Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

Trump demanded that the next leader must allow him to make recess appointments, which would fast-track nominees and appointments without needing Senate approval.
Scott agreed, while Thune and Cornyn were measured in their responses.
Thune and Cornyn had been the favorites to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as the next Senate GOP Leader, but many Trump allies — including Kennedy, Musk and Tucker Carlson — have thrown their support behind Scott.

💡Perspectives:

• CNN: Trump is already wielding power and causing massive disruption.

• The Hill: Musk was the X factor in Trump's victory.

• The Liberal Patriot: 10 things we know about the election so far.

• John Kass: Veterans Day, lest we forget.

Read more:

• RFK's bully pulpit sends public health shockwaves.

• Immigration advocates brace for Trump.

• Republicans battle to replace Stefanik in House GOP leadership.

• The gender gap was unremarkable.

• Trump made inroads with young voters.

• U.S. fiscal strain looms as key challenge for Trump.

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

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The State Department division battling foreign disinformation faces closure.
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NEWS THIS AFTERNOON

Biden, Harris make first joint appearance since election

President Biden and Vice President Harris appeared in public together Monday for the first time since Democrats lost big at the ballot box.

The Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was explicitly apolitical, but the two Democratic leaders are in the middle of a swirling debate about the way forward for a party that suffered a stinging rebuke from all corners of the country on Election Day.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), whose district swung more than 20 points toward President-elect Trump, asked her constituents who voted for both her and Trump to explain why. The answers were illuminating, ranging from the war in Gaza, to Trump and Ocasio-Cortez sharing the same brand of economic populism, to general dissatisfaction with the Biden administration.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) published an op-ed in the Boston Globe that his adviser Faiz Shakir said was rejected by The New York Times. Sanders has presented a consistent message — the working class is right to feel angry at their economic circumstances and right to feel angry at the Democratic Party for abandoning them.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote a long thread on X about what went wrong, saying the Democratic tent “is too small.” Among his many interesting observations:"When progressives like Bernie aggressively go after the elites that hold people down, they are shunned as dangerous populists. Why? Maybe because true economic populism is bad for our high-income base.”

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who was shunned by Democrats when he challenged Biden in the presidential primary, said the party ignored the warning signs: “I was not the only one that recognized what was likely to happen last week,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
In a sign that Democrats are not backing down from their left-wing critics, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) is standing by his criticism of trans athletes in sports despite a backlash that includes a top staffer resigning.
Liberal journalist Ezra Klein jotted some thoughts on X, including this: “Governing matters. If housing is more affordable, and homelessness far less of a crisis, in Texas and Florida than California and New York, that’s a *huge* problem.”

💡Perspectives:

• The New Republic: Democrats have made the same mistake for 44 years.

• The Hill: Democrats, skip the autopsy. How to learn and move on.

• The Hill: Harris failed to address the economic concerns of families.

• The Hill: ‘Second Resistance to Trump’ won’t this time.

• Ross Barkan: AOC agonistes.

Read more:

• Democrats’ election reckoning pits liberals against centrists.

• Trump resistance rises in states led by Democratic governors.

• Judge rules New York cannot block Texas from sending migrant buses.

• DNC official calls Harris campaign a ‘$1 billion disaster.'

ON TAP

Tuesday – House and Senate convene.

2 days until Senate leadership elections.

32 days until House leadership elections.

36 days until electors vote in their states.

53 days until new Congress begins.

56 days until Congress counts the electoral votes.

70 days until Inauguration Day.

IN OTHER NEWS

GOP inches toward majority; Dems contest PA Senate race

Republicans are on the brink of winning a majority in the House.

The magic number for the barest possible majority is 218, and the GOP currently has a 216 to 209 advantage.
There are 10 House races that still need to be called, so Republicans only need to win two of those.

In the Senate, the likeliest outcome appears to be a 53-47 GOP majority.

However, Decision Desk HQ and other outlets have the Senate breakdown stuck at 52-47, with the Pennsylvania Senate race still needing to be called.

The Associated Press has called the race for Republican David McCormick, but Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) hasn’t conceded, and his campaign insists there are enough votes outstanding to deliver a victory.

According to the AP, McCormick leads by about 30,000 votes with 99 percent reporting. That’s just outside the 0.5 percent margin that would trigger an automatic recount.

The Casey campaign released a statement on Monday in part noting there are "more than 100,000 ballots left to be counted."

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) didn’t invite either McCormick or Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), the Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, to freshman orientation this week.

Gallego’s race has been called by most media outlets, but about 8 percent of the vote is outstanding.

Outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), a former Democrat, said on X: “In 2018 my race wasn’t called for 6 days. I jumped on a redeye to DC to make senate orientation-I learned so much & made lasting relationships that week. Dave McCormick & Ruben Gallego will be Senators for PA & AZ. They should be invited to orientation & start learning the job.”

Looking ahead, The Hill’s Emily Brooks details the GOP’s top legislative priorities under Trump.

Among them:

• Extending the Trump tax cuts

• Funding border security measures and the wall

• Repealing parts of the Inflation Reduction Act

• Expanding school choice and taking on universities.

Read more:

• Trump’s GOP skeptics in Congress face lonely path forward.

• Jockeying kicks off to fill Vance vacancy in Senate.

• Trump’s border plans face potential obstacle in Senate parliamentarian.