Morning Report — Jockeying for Trump’s final Cabinet picks

In today’s issue:

• What Cabinet spots are still open?
• House panel keeps Gaetz report under wraps
• Kennedy, if confirmed, could not ban vaccines
• U.S. envoy heads to Israel for truce talks

As President-elect Trump’s Cabinet takes shape, two factors have defined the proceedings: controversy and loyalty.

From nominating Cabinet picks that will face steep hurdles in their Senate confirmation processes to installing loyalists in top White House posts, the past few weeks have given a window into a presidential transition without precedent. 

A close Trump ally told The Washington Post the transition represented a hostile takeover of the federal government. Since winning the election, Trump has ignored many of the rules and practices intended to guide a seamless transfer of power during presidential transitions. Instead, the president-elect has almost fully cut out the government agencies presidents have historically relied on to assume charge of the 2.2 million-employee federal government operation.

The Trump transition has yet to collaborate with the General Services Administration, tasked with handing over control of hundreds of agencies, because he has not turned in required pledges to follow ethics rules. The Post reports his transition teams have not set foot inside a single federal office.

But the Cabinet appointments — many made without prior FBI background checks — keep coming. 

On Wednesday, Trump tapped Russell Vought, who was director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, to reprise that role in the new year, if confirmed. He’s one of the authors of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. 

He also named his former acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, as the next ambassador to NATO, selecting him to fill the role at a crucial time amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and tensions over defense spending across the Western security alliance.

The unfilled posts include the secretaries of Labor, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development. 

▪ The New York Times: Past Cabinet nominees have been undone by far less than what is being asserted about some Trump appointees.

▪ The Hill’s The Memo: The controversial nature of several Trump’s nominees has sparked a Washington guessing game — who is most likely to be denied Senate confirmation?

Jockeying for Treasury secretary is coming down to the wire. Trump’s economic team will be tasked with imposing an aggressive tariff regime meant to shake up global trade while keeping financial markets calm amid the disruption. Among the sticking points is finding a nominee with both a track record of supporting tariffs and a strong reputation on Wall Street. Sources familiar with the process told The Hill that a pick for Treasury is on track to be sorted out by this week with the search further expanding to the likes of Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) who was with Trump at a SpaceX launch, as well as Apollo Global Management founder Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Kevin Warsh.

Rowan and Warsh will likely end in a “photo finish,” one source described, while Scott Bessent, who previously was considered a leading contender, could be tapped as head of the National Economic Council. Others, though, still see Bessent as a front-runner.

“The single greatest choice that Trump could make in the Cabinet to effect his economic agenda is the Treasury secretary. The Treasury secretary by statute has the greatest authority over tariffs and tariff policy in general,” said a person with knowledge of discussions. “The Trump folks know that this pick is key to his economic agenda.”

Government “efficiency”: Tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy said Wednesday that a new government efficiency panel will identify “thousands” of regulations for Trump to eliminate, writes The Hill’s Julia Shapero, which they argue in a Wall Street Journal op-ed will justify “mass head-count reductions” across government. 

Government workers are already mobilizing in the face of potential mass cuts, reportedly hiring lawyers and preparing public campaigns while also hoping Congress will step in, according to Reuters. But as an outside-of-government commission, the panel would be limited to an advisory capacity, meaning it could face numerous obstacles from within the executive branch, as well as Congress.

The Washington Post: Here are 10 programs that could be on the “government efficiency” chopping block.

SMART TAKE FROM THE HILL’S BOB CUSACK:

Trump has made it clear that he wants to extend (and expand) the tax cut bill he signed into law in 2017. But the timeline of such an effort is unclear.

Many in the nation’s capital expect that the 2025 tax cut debate will go until Christmas since a lot of the provisions expire at the end of next year. Maybe, maybe not.

Republicans plan to hit the ground running and will use some of their political capital on tax policy. To pass a reconciliation bill on tax cuts, Republicans would have to first pass a budget resolution with tax-related instructions. In 2017 that was done by Halloween and the final bill passed in December. 

During an event on taxes affecting small businesses this week hosted by The Hill, I asked Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) about the tax cut timeline. Smucker, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, indicated Trump could sign a bill by April or May. That got the audience’s attention.

Eight years ago, Republicans spent months of Trump’s first 100 days trying to repeal and replace ObamaCare, which blew up in the GOP’s face. In 2025, taxes will be front and center early (along with immigration and energy).

Sweeping legislation is very hard to pass, and perhaps Republicans will pass their signature bill by Memorial Day. But don’t be surprised if the sausage making comes down to the final days of the new year. 

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY: 

▪ The New York Times reports how Google, fearing antitrust scrutiny, spent 15 years creating a culture of concealment. … Now, the Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly.

▪ Oklahoma will bolster Trump’s vow to deport undocumented migrants who are criminals with a “common sense” state plan in January focused on an estimated 500 prison inmates, said Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. 

▪ Daria Dawson, director of the progressive nonprofit America Votes, tells The Hill her parents taught her “you always vote.” 

LEADING THE DAY 

In the House, big issues can linger behind closed doors for years while smaller flashpoints erupt in nanoseconds. Wednesday was a case in point.

Should senators be privy to the findings of the House Ethics Committee, which investigated alleged illegal acts by a now-former lawmaker nominated to be the nation’s next top cop? Many senators say yes. But the House panel, with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, was deadlocked Wednesday when members voted on whether their probe should see the light of day. Without assent from a majority of lawmakers, the report is expected to stay under wraps. That’s what Trump wants. That’s what attorney general nominee former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the subject of the investigation, wants. And that’s the stated desire of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose sway in the House turns on the druthers of the president-elect.

Separately on Wednesday, Johnson barreled into a politically showy kerfuffle aimed at one recently elected member of Congress, a Democrat who will be the first openly transgender House lawmaker. The Speaker announced that transgender women are not permitted to use bathrooms in the Capitol that match their gender identity. 

Across town, Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the Nov. 20 international Transgender Day of Remembrance. “The United States is committed to fighting for a world that accepts and respects transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming persons,” the secretary said in a statement. “Until then, we proudly advocate to end transphobic discrimination, violence and homicide.”

Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the target of the Capitol tempest, said she will “follow the rules” as a new lawmaker, adding that a battle over bathrooms seemed like an “effort to distract from the real issues facing this country.”

Alleged evidence against Gaetz has been leaking into headlines anonymously, even as the former congressman and GOP firebrand denies wrongdoing. The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that the House Ethics Committee and federal investigators obtained records showing that Gaetz, at the time representing his Florida district, directed more than $10,000 in 27 PayPal and Venmo payments between 2017 and 2019 to two women, who testified to the committee that some of the payments were for sex.

Trump’s transition emissaries, assigned to tamp down the controversy and try to smooth a confirmation path for Gaetz, may be making some headway in the Senate, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. Among GOP senators Gaetz met Wednesday, CBS reported, were incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.), as well as GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Mike Lee (Utah), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), John Kennedy (La.), John Cornyn (Texas) and Ted Cruz (Texas). The seven sit on the Judiciary Committee. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) also met with the nominee. 

Republican senators also appeared Wednesday to be giving Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth, some benefit of the doubt. His lawyer confirmed that the former Fox News host paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avoid a lawsuit. Hegseth asserted the encounter was consensual. A 22-page police investigative report, released Wednesday night under a public records request in California, details the encounter.

Two other controversial Trump Cabinet picks remain magnets for public misgivings. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), who served in the first Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. before challenging Trump in the GOP presidential primary this year, took aim at the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard to direct national intelligence.

Gabbard, once a Democratic House member, has repeated “Russian talking points” and defended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “while he was massacring his own people,” Haley said Wednesday on SiriusXM’s “Nikki Haley Live.” Being director of national intelligence is “not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer. DNI has to analyze real threats. Are we comfortable with someone like that at the top of our national intelligence agencies?” Haley added.

The former governor, a potential presidential candidate in 2028, took issue with Trump’s embrace of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer by training who has amassed personal opinions about vaccines, pharmaceuticals, food additives and fluoride in drinking water and backed Trump with a stated ambition to gain a toehold to overhaul the Health and Human Services Department (HHS).

“He’s a liberal Democrat, environmental attorney, trial lawyer who will now be overseeing 25 percent of our federal budget and has no background in health care,” Haley told her audience. “So, some of you may think RFK is cool, some of you may like that he questions what’s in our food and what’s in our vaccines, but we don’t know, when he is given reins to an agency, what decisions he’s going to make behind the scenes.”

▪ The Hill: The Senate Wednesday rejected a proposal introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to block arms sales to Israel.

▪ The Hill: Senate Democrats introduced a measure that would require national security nominees to disclose foreign government work. 

WHERE AND WHEN

• The House will meet at 9 a.m. The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. 
• The president will sign the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act at noon in the Oval Office. Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 2:15 p.m. The president will welcome the Boston Celtics to the South Lawn at 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the team’s victory in the 2024 National Basketball Association championship.
• Vice President Harris is in Hawaii and has no public events.
• The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | Jacqueline Larma

EXECUTIVE POWER AND HHS: Kennedy would not have the authority to ban vaccines, if confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. But there are other ways he could exert influence over vaccines, health experts warn. 

Vaccine skepticism about COVID-19 shots lingers and remains a public health challenge, according to virologists, scientists and physicians. Sixty percent of Americans say they probably will not get an updated COVID booster, according to the Pew Research Center.

The New York Times opinion: “How Kennedy could make it harder for you and your family to get vaccinated.”     

POLICY ROUNDUP: Trump told voters he will “fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts.” With that in mind, The Hill’s Joseph Choi reports why Medicaid may be more of a GOP target. Achieving new tax cuts and extending existing breaks in law next year pose huge challenges, reports The Hill’s Tobias Burns, who examines five significant hurdles. Meanwhile, The Hill’s Rachel Frazin interviewed experts about how Trump’s victory may impact renewable energy.

ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press | Bilal Hussein

CEASE-FIRE TALKS: U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein will travel to Israel today for cease-fire talks to end the war with Hezbollah after declaring additional progress in talks in Beirut. Hochstein arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday, seeking to clinch a truce after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a U.S. cease-fire proposal, although with some comments.

“The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said.

France24: The U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council push to call for a cease-fire in Gaza that Washington said would have emboldened Hamas.

UKRAINE FIRED long-range British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time, a day after launching U.S.-made long-range missiles into the country. The attacks come after the U.K. and U.S. lifted restrictions on Kyiv’s use of their long-range weapons. Afterward, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks. Washington said afterwards it had not seen any reason to adjust its nuclear posture while China called for restraint.

Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile during an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Kyiv’s air force said, in the first known use in the war of such a powerful, nuclear-capable weapon.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines as Ukrainian front lines in the country’s east have buckled, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.

OPINION 

■ The Gaetz report remains secret. Precedent suggests it shouldn’t be, by The Washington Post editorial board.

■ Trump’s Israel policy offers promise and peril, by Lawrence J. Haas, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press 

Take Our Morning Report Quiz

And finally … 🧩 It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Presidents don’t always get who they want and there have been plenty of Cabinet nominees in history who never cleared the bar with the Senate. Time to test readers’ memories!

Be sure to email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and kkarisch@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.

A nominee to be Commerce secretary, woven into the 2023 film “Oppenheimer” and drawn from history, was rejected by the Senate after a prolonged confirmation battle. Who was he?

1. Lewis Strauss
2. Christopher Nolan
3. Drew Pearson
4. David Inglis

 In 1989, the Senate voted to reject John Tower, a former senator and nominee to be Defense secretary, based on what claims?

1. Womanizing
2. Alcohol abuse
3. Conflicts of interest with defense contractors
4. All of the above

In 1997, former President Clinton withdrew his nomination of Hershel Gober to be secretary of Veterans Affairs amid Senate committee headwinds, although Gober continued to serve with distinction in an acting capacity. What was the Gober controversy?

1. Early career as a recording artist
2. Accusation of sexual misconduct
3. Draft avoidance
4. Unpaid taxes

Which recently named Cabinet pick ran the nomination gauntlet with Trump twice during his first term before the Senate voted to confirm the candidate in 2020?

1. Mehmet Oz
2. Linda McMahon
3. Howard Lutnick
4. John Ratcliffe

Stay Engaged 

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger (asimendinger@thehill.com) and Kristina Karisch (kkarisch@thehill.com). Follow us on social platform X: (@asimendinger and @kristinakarisch) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

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