Morning Report — Hegseth clears fiery Senate hearing

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In today’s issue:

Trump poised to get his Pentagon pick
GOP casts blame for Los Angeles fires
Biden’s final lap
Blinken: Negotiators “on the brink” of Gaza ceasefire

Pete Hegseth, a self-described former Fox News “disruptor” and President-elect Trump’s choice to be Defense secretary, blasted through a cloud of controversies Tuesday on his way to what is expected to be Senate confirmation. A vote is expected Monday.

The bottom line: No Republican members of the Armed Services Committee displayed an appetite to buck Trump on his first Cabinet pick. And while Democratic senators assailed Hegseth, 44, an Army National Guard veteran, as unfit to manage the Pentagon and a poor role model to lead the armed forces, especially women, they were minority voices.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) was joined by fellow Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) in insisting that Hegseth, if confirmed, would lower the Defense Department’s high bar for leadership and integrity after publicly arguing for years that women should be denied combat roles because he believed standards were “eroded” for them. Democrats challenged Hegseth’s past objections to women in combat, which he recently revised.

“You can’t seem to grasp that there is no U.S. military as we know it without the incredible women that we serve, women who earn their place in their units,” said Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who was critically wounded flying a combat helicopter in Iraq.

“You’re not qualified, Mr. Hegseth,” she added with finality.

The Associated Press: Hegseth was stumped by Duckworth’s question about ASEAN. What it is and why is it important?

Duckworth offered assertions about qualifications and experience that also were raised by the panel’s top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, a West Point graduate and Army veteran.

Hegseth has denied reports of sexual misconduct, mismanagement while working with veteran nonprofit organizations and episodes of excessive drinking allegedly evident during his work, including at Fox News. He dismissed senators’ critiques as smears, although his own mother once wrote him a blistering letter of personal rebuke, which she recanted during a recent "Fox & Friends interview."

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), previously a question mark for confirmation after private conversations with Hegseth, was brief and polite during her allotted seven minutes of questioning. She’s a veteran and a sexual assault survivor who will be up for reelection next year in a state Trump won by nearly 13 points. She announced later Tuesday during a Des Moines radio interview that she will vote to confirm Hegseth.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) praised the president’s choice for the Pentagon and vowed to “work quickly” to bring the official nomination to the Senate floor.

At least six other Trump Cabinet picks face Senate confirmation questioning today, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is expected to attract bipartisan support to be secretary of State. He’ll be encouraged to square the circle between his past critiques of isolationism and Trump’s “America First” agenda.

SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN:

If you saw the Pete Hegseth confirmation spectacle, you witnessed both sides of the political aisle staking out the positions and asking the questions you’d expect.

But here’s what caught my attention: In the South China Morning Post earlier this week, three different headlines described China as “unstoppable,” another pictured the Taiwanese military as weakened and a third predicted China’s economy will surpass the United States’s in five to 10 years.

This is potentially what Hegseth, or whoever will be running the Pentagon in the upcoming years, will be dealing with.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told me last night on "The Hill" on NewsNation that he thinks Trump's Defense pick is not eager to “put us in so many wars” and said the incoming White House should also focus on more than sheer strength.

“We should be strong enough to defend ourselves and to deter attacks,” Paul said. “But we shouldn't forget that diplomacy is important as well.”

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation. The Hill & NewsNation are owned by Nexstar Media Group.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

▪ Elon Musk, a powerful Trump adviser whose companies maintain lucrative contracts with the government, is never out of the headlines. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Musk Tuesday for alleged violations when he purchased Twitter in 2022. He’s expected to get office space next to the White House and could be a buyer for TikTok’s American operations, at least in the eyes of the video app’s Chinese owner.

▪ Musk champions a leaner U.S. government as the president-elect’s volunteer efficiency expert, but Trump proposed Tuesday to expand the bureaucracy with a new tariff collection agency.

▪ Trump as president will visit California to survey the wildfire damage “as soon as he’s able to,” a spokesperson told CNN Tuesday.

LEADING THE DAY

© The Associated Press | Etienne Laurent

CALIFORNIA AID: The House is barreling toward a contentious debate over disaster relief for the Golden State as many — but not all — Republicans call for conditions to be placed on the assistance, an idea Democrats are soundly rejecting. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday threw his support behind placing stipulations on aid designed to help California recover from historically devastating wildfires, while accusing local officials of water resource and forest mismanagement. He reiterated that position Tuesday, and many Republicans — including some in California — are echoing that sentiment.

“There will have to be conditions,” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who represents the San Joaquin Valley in Central and Northern California, told The Hill. “We can’t allow the policies that have created the conditions for such a disaster to continue. There’s an old saying, ‘You can’t fill a broken bucket by pouring more water in it.’ At some point you’ve got to fix the bucket.”

Democrats, however, are shooting down that prospect, contending the conversation about California’s policies should be separate from any discussion about assistance for those in need.

“We can have a lengthy debate and discussion and use the committee process to have discussions about the steps that California has taken to protect itself,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said Tuesday. “But at the end of the day, ultimately this will mean disaster assistance, and that needs to be free from partisan conditions.”

The Hill’s Mychael Schnell breaks down what kinds of restrictions some members of the House are floating.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said during an MSNBC interview Tuesday that GOP lawmakers’ discussion in Washington about how to condition California disaster aid amounts to “politicizing this tragic moment,” adding, “if that's leadership, I have a different definition.”

Newsom on Monday asked state legislative leaders to approve at least $2.5 billion in response to the wildfires — a move that expands the focus of the Legislature’s special session beyond strictly fighting Trump.

The aid request comes as Democrats at the state Capitol find themselves under pressure to spend less time preparing for Trump to retake the White House as unprecedented blazes have left at least 25 dead and a trail of destruction in their own state.

“California is organizing a Marshall Plan to help Los Angeles rebuild faster and stronger — including billions in new and accelerated state funding so we can move faster to deliver for the thousands who’ve lost their homes and livelihoods in these firestorms,” Newsom said in a statement.

Mounting backlash: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) is facing criticism over her response to the fires, writes The Hill’s Julia Manchester, raising questions about her own political future as the region continues to struggle with a natural disaster. Critics point to Bass’s decision to travel out of the country ahead of the wildfires after she vowed not to go abroad before taking office, as well as for approving a budget that decreased funding for the city’s Fire Department by $17.6 million.

“She failed the leadership test,” said one California Democratic strategist. “This is the kind of moment that can be really devastating for a politician.”

To watch: President Biden on Friday will address the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Will Bass attend?

▪ Forbes: Did budget cuts affect emergency response to the wildfires? What to know about funding for the city's Fire Department.

▪ CalMatters: As the L.A. fires rage, Newsom and Bass are targets in the blame game.

▪ CBS News: Fact checking Trump’s claims about the wildfires.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House meets at 10 a.m. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. Senate committees plan hearings for six Trump Cabinet designees.
President Biden will deliver a primetime speech to the nation from the Oval Office at 8 p.m.
Vice President Harris will attend the president’s evening speech.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will reflect on her career during remarks to the New York Association of Business Economics at 12:50 p.m. and accept its William F. Butler Award.
The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.
Economic indicator: Inflation watchers will get a fresh look at conditions at 8:30 a.m. with the release of the consumer price index for December by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | Ben Curtis

BIDEN’S FINAL LAP: Biden will deliver a primetime farewell address to the nation tonight from the Oval Office, which follows a Monday speech about his foreign policy legacy. On Thursday, Biden will speak to the defense community and give his final interview as president to MSNBC, to air at 10 p.m. ET. On Friday, he plans to speak to mayors.

As part of transition exercises at the White House, some of Trump’s Cabinet picks, to include Hegseth and Rubio, are expected to join Biden’s National Security Council to walk through hypothetical execution of rapid U.S. responses to threats and security scenarios.

Artificial intelligence: In the final days of the Biden-Harris administration, the president and vice president have publicly focused on AI as a transition imperative. Biden warned Monday that the U.S. should not “offshore” its AI “lead.” The president signed an executive order Tuesday that aims to reduce barriers to construct new data centers, and the accompanying energy infrastructure needed to power the development of artificial intelligence. Trump’s approach is expected to differ from his predecessor’s.

▪ Defense One: The new Biden administration AI export rule aims to ease sales to allies and limit leaks to others. Will it survive industry fury and the arrival of Trump?

▪ The Washington Post: OpenAI wooed Democrats with calls for AI regulation. Now it must charm Trump.

▪ Fortune: “We’re running out of human knowledge” to train AI — but venture capitalist and Trump supporter Marc Andreessen believes that will create a hiring boom.

▪ The New York Times "The Daily": Big Tech’s big bet on Trump.

Transgender school sports: House Republicans, with help from two moderate Democrats from Texas, approved a bill Tuesday that would restrict the rights of transgender Americans, specifically transgender student athletes who seek to compete in girls’ sports. The issue became prominent among conservatives during November’s election. The House approved the bill that would amend Title IX by a 218-206 vote.

It faces an uphill future in the Senate.

Three Republicans and six Democrats did not cast votes, and one Democrat voted “present.” Texas Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar joined GOP colleagues to support the measure, which would ban federal funds for any K-12 school that allows a “person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls,” defining sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

From governor to mayor? Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) trounces New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and other candidates in a Democratic mayoral field that Cuomo has not entered — but his negatives are among the highest of the contenders, a third-party poll found. Adams, meanwhile, is contesting five felony counts.

ELSEWHERE

CEASEFIRE TALKS: Negotiators are aiming to clinch an agreement on the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza by the weekend after marathon talks in Qatar, with mediators and negotiators from Israel and Hamas both saying a deal was closer than ever. The first phase of the proposed deal would involve the release of 33 hostages during a 42-day ceasefire, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Over the course of the war, ceasefire negotiations have faltered at the eleventh hour on several occasions.

“It’s right on the brink, it’s closer than it’s ever been before,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday at an Atlantic Council event in Washington. “But right now as we sit here, we await final word from Hamas on its acceptance. And until we get that word, we’ll remain on the brink.”

The Associated Press: A look at the terms — and tensions — in the Israel-Hamas draft ceasefire deal.

UKRAINE: Ukraine said Russian forces unleashed a “massive” missile attack on the country’s infrastructure today, forcing emergency power cuts to relieve pressure on the country’s battered grid.

“Another massive Russian attack. It’s the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains unchanged: our energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

The attack comes after Ukrainian troops struck several targets deep inside Russia on Tuesday in what it says is its "most massive" attack of the war so far. Ukraine said it hit ammunition depots and chemical plants across several regions, some of which were deep into Russian territory, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces. Since the war began in 2022, Kyiv’s strikes inside Russia have aimed at limiting Moscow’s ability to attack Ukrainian cities. But they have taken on added weight in recent weeks as Kyiv attempts to project strength before Trump’s inauguration amid concerns that he might temper U.S. support for Ukraine.

CNN: Russian President Vladimir Putin has tested the West’s resolve over Ukraine. Will Trump force its collapse?

CUBA: Biden notified Congress on Tuesday of his plans to remove Cuba from America’s list of state sponsors of terror, in a move the White House said is meant to help gain the release of political prisoners. The Trump administration added Cuba to the state sponsor of terror list days before he left office in 2021, and it has remained there throughout the Biden administration. The designation allows for restrictions on U.S. aid, bans on defense exports and sales and other financial penalties, according to the State Department.

NBC News: South Korean authorities successfully detained President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his botched declaration of martial law.

OPINION

■ Our public lands are not for sale, by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), opinion contributor, The Hill.

■ California’s insurance crisis is a warning for America, by The Washington Post editorial board.

THE CLOSER

And finally … Ahead of Monday’s federal holiday, a reminder that on this day in 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Ga. A leader who advised U.S. presidents and global VIPs while preaching civil disobedience and nonviolence, he galvanized audiences as an inspiring Baptist preacher in the Jim Crow South. He lived to see the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ratification of the 24th Amendment, which abolished the discriminatory poll tax. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, after speaking to sanitation workers in Memphis. He was 39.

“I've seen the Promised Land,” he said a day before his assassination. “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.”

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