© Evan Vucci, Associated Press |
Trump turns to governing as investigations fizzle
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PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP IS HUDDLING with GOP leaders at his “winter White House” to map out the early days of his second term, with his inauguration only 10 days away.
Republicans at every level are making the journey to Mar-a-Lago to ensure they’re on the same page with the president-elect, who in contrast to his first term, will enjoy widespread support from within his own party.
Trump met with GOP governors at his Palm Beach resort on Thursday evening, a day after meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill.
This evening, members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus will make the trek to huddle with Trump on strategy.
The Freedom Caucus has the potential to make life miserable for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who will have almost no room for error as he seeks to keep the GOP’s bare majority on track in the House. There are big questions about whether the House and Senate are on the same page about how best to pass Trump’s agenda, either through “one big, beautiful bill” or two bills that separate the tax cuts and immigration policies.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton outlines another potential stumbling block: The GOP’s “tax agenda could be derailed in the House by calls...to raise corporate taxes and to lift the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Senators worry that if one or two House Republicans insist on raising corporate taxes to cut the deficit, and a few others insist on substantially raising the cap on SALT deductions, Trump’s broader $4.5 trillion tax initiative may stall.”
The incoming administration is also busy finalizing its strategy to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees, with some hearings beginning next week. Several nominees face potentially tough confirmation battles, including Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense; Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence; and Kash Patel to lead the FBI. And even some Democrats may make a trip to Mar-a-lago, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) accepting an invitation to meet with the president-elect at an undisclosed time. Fetterman has emerged as a key swing vote in the Senate, saying he’s open to dealing with Trump, who won Fetterman’s home state of Pennsylvania in two of the past three presidential election cycles. |
INVESTIGATIONS, PROSECUTIONS FIZZLE OUT |
The investigations and prosecutions around Trump are winding down, going out with a whimper after dominating the discourse in Washington during the 4 years he was out of office. Trump appeared by video for his Friday morning sentencing with Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the hush money case that resulted in 34 convictions. Merchan imposed an unconditional discharge, meaning the felony convictions will stand but Trump will not otherwise be punished. “I impose that sentence for all 34 counts, and sir, I wish you godspeed as you pursue your second term in office,” Merchan said. The judge acknowledged Trump’s election victory, saying voters decided that the president-elect deserves the protections of the presidency. "It is the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that you should once again receive the benefits of those protections,” he said. Trump on Friday railed against the “despicable charade,” calling his conviction an “injustice of justice.” The president-elect and his supporters believe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg bent the law to pursue politically motivated charges they argue would not have been brought against ordinary citizens.
Trump had appealed to the Supreme Court to block his sentencing, but the high court declined in a 5-4 decision, with conservative justices Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joining the liberal justices in allowing the sentencing too continue. Trump began fundraising on the sentencing immediately after the matter was resolved. The president-elect could still appeal the convictions.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged him to do so in a statement on X:
“This entire case against President Trump has been a politically motivated and contrived witch hunt aimed solely at preventing him from returning to the White House. It was never about the facts, and it should have never been brought in the first place...Judge Merchan and the deranged prosecution have done untold damage to our justice system.” |
There is still some 11th hour legal maneuvering going on.
Trump and his lawyers are trying to prevent Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing special counsel Jack Smith’s reports on the separate investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Garland plans to release the election interference report, although there will be a short delay before that can happen. The Justice Department is pushing to overturn a three-day delay imposed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. Smith’s classified documents report will remain under seal at least until proceedings involving two other co-defendants come to a conclusion, potentially when Trump’s incoming Department of Justice dismisses the case entirely. Smith is expected to resign before Inauguration Day, bringing an end to the investigations. The state election interference case in Georgia was derailed last month after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) was removed for having a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired. Willis is appealing the ruling. |
💡Perspectives: • The Liberal Patriot: Can the Right Make Social Democracy Great Again? • The Hill: Will ‘grace and elegance’ make a comeback in DC? Don’t bet on it. • The Nation: Trudeau’s fecklessness made him an easy target for MAGA. |
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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. |
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© Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images |
TikTok faces skeptical Supreme Court as ban looms
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Is TikTok about to go dark in the U.S.?
Via The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Julia Shapero: “TikTok received a frosty reception in its fight to save the platform at the Supreme Court, which during oral arguments Friday expressed sympathy with the government’s national security concerns about the platform’s ties to China.”
President Biden signed a law — passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress — requiring TikTok to divest from its Chinese-based parent ByteDance by Jan. 19.
The divest-or-ban mandate stems from lawmaker concerns about the Chinese government using the popular social media app to spy on and manipulate Americans.
The company says divestment is impossible, and challenged the law on First Amendment grounds in a last-ditch effort to stay online in the U.S.
The Supreme Court did not seem sympathetic to those arguments.
“Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. “They don’t care about the expression. That’s shown by the remedy. They’re not saying TikTok has to stop. They’re saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok…so it’s not a direct burden on expression at all.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated that he agrees with Biden and Congress on the national security concerns about TikTok.
“Congress and the president were concerned that China was accessing information about millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans, including teenagers, people in their 20s, that they would use that information over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA or in the State Department,” he said. “That seems like a huge concern for the future of the country.”
Unless the Supreme Court intervenes or ByteDance divests, TikTok will no longer be offered on U.S. app stores beginning Jan. 19. |
Here's who's talking Sunday...
NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday”: Reps. Dave Min (D-Calif.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.).
CNN's "State of the Union”: Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
NBC's "Meet the Press": Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), James Lankford (R-Okla.).
FOX's "Fox News Sunday": Vice President-elect JD Vance; Criswell; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.); Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin. ABC's "This Week": Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). |
Los Angeles firefighters make progress as winds abate
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The relentless Santa Ana winds have reduced in intensity, at least for now, allowing firefighters to make progress against the fires that have decimated Los Angeles.
Still, the wreckage is unimaginable and the city faces a long road ahead before rebuilding can begin.
At least 10 people are dead and more than 100,000 remain under evacuation orders. More than 10,000 homes, businesses and structures have been destroyed, including most of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The National Guard is patrolling the streets to crack down on looters. Residents expressed anger upon receiving a city-wide evacuation order that was sent in error on Thursday evening.
The water supply has become a flashpoint in the political debate over governance in Los Angeles, as some fire hydrants ran dry at the height of the Pacific Palisades blaze.
California’s insurance commissioner issued a one-year moratorium on policy nonrenewals and cancellations. There was already a home insurance crisis in Los Angeles before the fires.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) are under scrutiny for how they prepared for the fires and for the response, with President-elect Trump accusing them of incompetence.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who has offered his state’s services to California, unloaded on reporters at Mar-a-lago for questioning whether it was appropriate for Trump to weigh in.
“Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try and create division… and narratives any time these things happen? Now you’re not as interested in doing this because Newsom is a Democrat…if Newsom were a Republican you would have nailed him to a wall.” |
💡Perspectives:
• The American Prospect: L.A. apocalypse was entirely predictable.
• Unherd: Politicians are to blame for a shocking lack of preparation.
• The Hill: Biden’s climate narcissism could destroy America’s energy advantage. |
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