In today’s issue:  

• Officials press Washington to explain drone sightings
• RFK Jr., Kash Patel face senator questions
• The Fed preps for more rate cuts
• Washington is in contact with Syrian rebels

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Washington is in the grip of some mysteries this morning.

Are drone sightings in the skies over the Northeast the result of public mania and aerial coincidences, or might they be clues to an alarming plot? Do Republicans, at last, have a solid plan to avert a government shutdown before Friday? Plus, would any lobbying dissuade President-elect Trump from raising business-withering tariffs?

Let’s take those in order. After a week of citizen tips, blurry videos and callers’ concerns that the U.S. could be under attack by drones, officials launched a more serious PR effort to knock down conspiracy theories and discourage Americans from shooting at aerial objects they see as threats.

Lawmakers, federal experts and state officials demanded explanations and investigations. 

But the upshot at the Department of Homeland Security Saturday was simple: “We don't have any current evidence that there's a threat to public safety.” Two men were arrested late Saturday for trespassing after a drone came “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport in Boston. Yet, an explanation for what has been described as a swarm of drone sightings since November remains unspecified.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the federal government Sunday to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify and ultimately stop the airborne pests. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) fumed after drone activity shut down a New York state airport for an hour Friday. “This has gone too far,” she said. On Sunday, she announced the federal government would put a drone detection system in the state. New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy (D) wrote to President Biden on Friday about the problem. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas, appearing on ABC News’s “This Week” Sunday, said federal authorities are “vigilant” in addressing drone sightings in New Jersey, also reported in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York. Federal experts during a briefing Saturday insisted there is no known foreign involvement. Officials confirm that some sightings have involved drones but suggest some worried sky-watchers are looking at fixed wing aircraft, meaning manned airplanes. Although some eyewitnesses describe large drones flying at night, and the military and some commercial companies use large drones, the mystery has not been publicly resolved.

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump’s choice to be White House national security adviser, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday that there are gaps among federal security protocols that deal with U.S. skies when it comes to unmanned drones. “We need to have an all-of-the-above protection of U.S. airspace,” he said.

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: Meanwhile, Congress intends this week to pass a temporary workaround to avert a possible shutdown by Friday. But what it will include was murky on Sunday. The House and Senate expect to leave Washington by the end of the week and a new Congress arrives in early January. Left to decide: how long is a temporary stopgap measure (likely until March)? How is the farm bill handled? And how much additional disaster funding will be sent to Biden’s desk?

▪ The Hill: Don’t believe the hype about aging Democrats getting swept out of senior positions on key committees next year by a younger generation. The party is elevating some of its most senior members to lead virtually every major committee in the next Congress.

▪ ABC News: Republicans on leading House committees are dominated by men. For the first time in 20 years, no GOP woman was chosen to lead a House panel.

▪ The Hill: Choosing a House Rules Committee chair has become a “complicated” decision for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

▪ The Hill: Schumer teed up a vote this week to consider the Social Security Fairness Act, which would expand benefits for some Americans. The bill has momentum.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was recovering late Sunday in Germany from an emergency total hip replacement required after a fall Saturday during a congressional event in Luxembourg. The 84-year-old was on the mend, said Pelosi ally Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), interviewed Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” 

“I communicated with her daughter, Christine, and I understand that she’s recovering from the surgery well,” he said. “As strong and tough as she is, I know she’ll be back on her feet soon.”

BUSINESS WANTS TO SWAY TRUMP ON TARIFFS: Not so easy. Trump advisers tell tariff critics in the business community there’s no sure-fire way to steer Trump away from his belief that raising tariffs helps U.S. consumers. He rarely shares his thinking on that subject before acting. Companies are quietly hiring well-connected firms to make sure their perspectives are heard both in Congress and at Mar-a-Lago. 

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BOB’S SMART TAKE

The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should revamp how agencies in the executive branch process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Over the years, I’ve submitted hundreds of FOIA requests and agencies can take years to process them. On multiple occasions, the State Department would take more than a decade to respond. And not with the answer. No, instead the letter would note a big backlog of cases and ask: Are you still interested?

The only way to get a quicker response is to file a lawsuit. However, few can do that because it’s expensive.

There are legitimate reasons for delays. Government agencies are understaffed in their FOIA offices, so that should be part of the DOGE review.

Another problem is that there have been times when the agency’s public relations staff are made aware of the media’s FOIA requests. That shouldn’t ever happen.

The public and the media deserve a more efficient FOIA process. The DOGE should come up with recommendations on how to do it.

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3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY 

▪ Accused assassin Luigi Mangione has attracted supporters who are donating tens of thousands of dollars for defense funds established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried the 26-year-old media-saturated murder suspect is being turned into a martyr. 

▪ With a cryptocurrency friendly administration in Washington next year, lobbying could push states to become more open to crypto and for public pension funds and treasuries to buy into it.

▪ Americans say they are ready to support Trump in his second term and majorities give a green light to some of his controversial promises on the campaign trail. 

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LEADING THE DAY  

© The Associated Press | Alex Brandon

TRANSITION: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week will seek to ease skepticism during meetings with Senate Republicans about his fitness to lead the Department of Health and Human Services next year. 

Kennedy is among the highest-profile appointees Trump has rolled out for his Cabinet. A Democrat-turned-independent from a storied family, he has a reputation as a vaccine skeptic and fluoride foe who promotes health misinformation and was denounced by his siblings and famous relatives while challenging Biden in the presidential primary. Kennedy initially was thought to be one of the most controversial Trump Cabinet choices, yet he has stirred little public criticism among GOP senators. 

“He’s in a good spot. You haven’t really heard much consternation about his nomination at all in recent weeks,” one Senate GOP aide told The Hill, adding they expect Kennedy to focus on his “Make America Healthy Again” priorities and his now evolved opposition to abortion rights. “If that turns out to be true, I think he’ll be on a glide path to being confirmed.”

One possible Kennedy critic to watch is outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who contracted polio as a child. He’ll step down from leadership next year. McConnell warned last week that it’s “very dangerous” for Trump’s health team to question the efficacy or safety of the polio vaccine, referring to a New York Times article about Aaron Siri, Kennedy’s lawyer who specializes in vaccine lawsuits. Siri has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine and is helping Kennedy identify possible appointees to work in the health and science fields in a Trump government.

“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” McConnell said in a statement. “The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease. Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.”

The Washington Post: How Trump broke the ice between RFK Jr. and drug company CEOs.

▪ Axios: Trump's advisers are hoping to get bipartisan support for at least some of his less controversial nominees — starting this week with Scott Turner, pick for Housing and Urban Development.

FBI: Kash Patel did well during initial interviews with GOP senators last week, but the tougher interviews are ahead this week before lawmakers leave town, and senators are still waiting to see an FBI background check on Trump’s controversial pick to lead the bureau. Former FBI officials have warned that Patel could have limitless power at the bureau, and that under his leadership, typical checks on the power of the FBI director would likely not be enforced.

The Hill: Appearing on The Hill’s Sunday show, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) warned that Patel would take the FBI in a political direction. 

Treasury: Trump’s Treasury Department pick has a 3-prong strategy for the economy. The hedge fund investor Scott Bessent is keen on increasing growth to 3 percent, cutting the budget deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product and raising U.S. energy production by three million barrels of oil per day, or the equivalent in other fuels.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Businesses are beginning to think Trump will make good on his threat of raising tariffs, triggering a behind-the-scenes campaign to soften or alter his plans. 

▪ The Hill: Trump has tapped individuals to serve in his administration who have faced legal troubles. Here are past appointees with their own thorny legal histories.

▪ The Hill: Republican senators are gearing up for the possibility of primary challenges ahead of the 2026 midterms.

POLICY CZARS: Trump is signaling he plans to lean on appointed czars to carry out his plans in key policy areas, specifically when it comes to immigration and energy production, centralizing power within the White House. The decision allows the president-elect to avoid relying on Senate-confirmed nominees at sprawling agencies to implement his agenda. 

“The creation of czars can at least, even if Trump is bound to use preexisting legal authority to affect change in these policy areas, it does politically help them because this signals to the media and the public that these are important areas,” said Mitch Sollenberger, a professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and author of the book “The President’s Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution.”

▪ The Hill: As in his first term, Trump is leaning on his extended family for key White House roles.

▪ Politico: The Catholics in Trump’s administration could take the GOP in a whole new direction.

▪ Axios: Trump is considering a U.S. Postal Service overhaul.

▪ The Hill: Trump, Democratic lawmakers and the Supreme Court are on a collision course over restricting birthright citizenship.

Trump’s focus on the federal workforce has sparked alarm among employees as they take center stage in discussions about transforming government. DOGE co-leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have floated a number of plans targeting federal workers, including plans to end telework. And while federal employees have long reported feeling like a punching bag, the renewed rhetoric is escalating fears over how they may be targeted.

“The sort of broadsides against federal employee telework paint a picture of federal employees as people who are committing fraud against the American people, and collecting paychecks without performing the duties of their jobs, which is simply not true,” said Jacqueline Simon, public policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees.

The Wall Street Journal: SpaceX executives haven’t sought higher security clearance for Musk to avoid questions about his drug use and contact with foreign officials.

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WHERE AND WHEN

• The House will meet at noon. The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. 
• The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden will head to the Labor Department to join Acting Secretary Julie Su at 12:15 p.m. to sign a proclamation establishing the Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine, to honor America’s first woman Cabinet secretary, the woman behind the New Deal and the longest-serving secretary of Labor. The president will return to the White House at 1:20 p.m. He and first lady Jill Biden will host a Hanukkah reception at 7:45 p.m. in the East Room and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will attend. 
• Vice President Harris is in Washington and has no public events.

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ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | Seth Wenig

THE FEDERAL RESERVE is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point Wednesday, according to 90 percent of economists polled by Reuters. Most are expecting a pause in rate cuts in late January amid concerns about rising inflation risks, as Trump's proposed policies — import tariffs and tax cuts — are expected to be inflationary.

Predictions for Fed policy beyond this week are less certain. More rate cuts are coming, but changes in the size and pace of future cuts could move markets significantly.

“They are going to wait to see what happens next year, what is actually implemented versus what is kind of presented as a risk,” Stephen Juneau, an economist at Bank of America, told Reuters.

As the year ends, inflation has proved stickier than hoped. Wholesale prices rose more than expected in November as questions percolated over whether progress in bringing down inflation has slowed. Meanwhile, factors including soaring insurance premiums, particularly for cars, are fueling rising consumer prices. 

The president-elect on Thursday said Americans are “going to be affording their groceries very soon” but also admitted that might be very hard to achieve. Even if Trump helps improve supply chain issues, analysts say other policies he's pledged to enact risk raising food prices substantially.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: The Fed’s game plan on rate cuts keeps shifting.

▪ Bloomberg Opinion: The Fed can’t ignore all of Trump’s intentions.

▪ The New York Times: Can the U.S. climb out of its “unprecedented” housing crisis?

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ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press | Hussein Malla 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has made direct contact with the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham rebels in Syria, as they transition from a militant insurgency toward a more legitimate governing authority. HTS was instrumental in the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal, decades-long regime in Syria. Washington designates HTS a terrorist organization, but the contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation to support Syria’s transition from Assad rule.

“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said after talks in Jordan with diplomats and representatives from several Arab nations. 

The rebels’ transition from the Assad regime has been surprisingly smooth. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings and sectarian violence have been minimal. Insurgent fighters disciplined, and looting and destruction were quickly contained.

Meanwhile, Israel and Jordan conducted secret talks on Friday about the situation in Syria, Axios reports.

▪ The New York Times: The Islamist rebels who ousted Assad ran a pragmatic and disciplined administration in the territory they controlled. They also jailed their critics.

▪ The New Yorker: Syria after Assad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Trump spoke of the “need to complete Israel’s victory” and efforts to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

▪ The Guardian: Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on Syria despite the rebel leader’s peace pledge.

▪ Axios: The U.S. has asked Israel to approve urgent military aid to Palestinian security forces.

As part of a concerted effort to find a way to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump’s national security team has held discussions with the White House and Ukrainian leaders, NBC News reports. But Trump's advisers and Cabinet nominees, who hold a range of views on Ukraine, have yet to present a conceptual or specific peace plan.

The Washington Post: Drones swarm Kyiv every night. These volunteers shoot them down.

In South Korea, the National Assembly on Saturday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, suspending him from office after he declared martial law earlier this month, causing widespread outrage and plunging the country into a constitutional crisis. Yoon on Sunday failed to obey a summons from prosecutors investigating him on charges including insurrection.

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OPINION 

■ Drones and the cost of lost trust, by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

■ McConnell has the chutzpah to complain about Trump’s “America First,” by Jennifer Rubin, columnist, The Washington Post.

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THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press | L.G. Patterson

And finally … Let’s hear it for the Ho Ho Ho of long ago. There are some traditions associated with Christmas that are going, going gone, but deserve reminders.

Like the aroma of roasted American chestnuts, a pipedream because a fungal blight rendered the trees extinct. And mistletoe, a parasitic plant that ominously sucks the nutrients out of other plants, but evolved from Druid lore into a Victorian-era invitation to steal kisses during the holidays.

And let’s not forget the dying tradition of mailing a lot of preprinted holiday cards to friends and relatives. There’s a long history there, but because the postal rate is now 73 cents for a first class letter and 56 cents for a postcard, correspondence for Christmas and New Year’s does not come cheap. 

It also means a card that sings, lights up, contains a gift card or is a weird size could be the U.S. Postal Service version of a “package” and cost a small fortune to mail. In the era of texting and email, turning to the USPS to bestow a yuletide greeting demands some budgetary triage. 

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