In today’s issue:
- Trump control of the Justice Department?
- GOP angst rises about recess appointments
- What’s next for Harris?
- COP29 climate deal not enough, experts say
What are Trump’s plans for the Department of Justice?
During an election year in which Donald Trump promised Americans he would dramatically overhaul the federal government, the Justice Department stood out.
Yes, Trump, now the president-elect, vowed to eliminate the Interior and Education departments, which would indeed be dramatic if Congress went along with it. And firing four-star generals and erasing U.S. military assistance abroad, including support for Ukraine, as Trump vowed, would prompt tremors globally.
But the incoming president’s public promises to target Justice’s prosecutors, President Biden, the department’s career employees and other law enforcers he’s criticized has attracted much attention.
Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general and Trump loyalist nominated to lead the department (after the withdrawal last week of initial nominee Matt Gaetz), will face questions during her confirmation hearing about how she would handle White House political influence, if she becomes the nation’s top law enforcer.
Senators already are mulling those questions.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that it’s too early “to know one way or another” if the Justice Department will encounter political interference from the White House under Trump.
The senator said anyone confirmed by the Senate to be attorney general would not be Trump’s lawyer. The appointee leading the Justice Department is “America’s lawyer,” he explained, regardless of being loyal to the president. “Every single U.S. attorney around the country works for them and with them. So, it is very important that we get this role right, and that they’re actually focused on diminishing crime in America and making sure we’re getting good prosecutions,” Lankford added.
Trump’s list of identified targets is long, as Politico recently noted. On his roster is Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who brought criminal indictments against Trump in two cases — alleged election interference in 2020 and retaining classified documents. Trump last month called Smith “mentally deranged” and said he “should be thrown out of the country.”
Smith, whose evidence was not detailed in court before Trump was elected, is winding down those cases and plans to resign before Trump is inaugurated. The president-elect has denied any wrongdoing and heralded the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have limited immunity from prosecution.
If the special counsel’s legal team does not resign with Smith, Trump plans to fire them, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, The Washington Post reported.
Some legal authorities suggest a resignation might not end the repercussions for Smith. New York University Law School professor Stephen Gillers, during an interview with Bloomberg Law for its podcast and radio, said that Trump has made clear that in his view, Smith is “enemy No. 1.” And there are actions Trump could take, even after Smith leaves the department, to apply pressure, he added.
“The problem here is that the Supreme Court has told us that the president controls all power of the executive branch, all of it. That’s a direct quote: `All of it,’” Gillers continued. “There is no check and balance within the executive branch. Trump is the decider, all by himself, about what the executive branch will or will not do.”
NBC News: Trump’s former defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, nominated to be No. 2 at the Justice Department, will be challenged, if confirmed, amid the president-elect’s determination to overhaul Justice and influence its work.
BOB’S SMART TAKE
The mainstream media are at a crossroads following the 2024 election.
More than 60 percent of voters say reporters are mostly practicing advocacy instead of unbiased journalism, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. Nearly half of those surveyed maintain that the media’s coverage of the election was biased, with 57 percent of that subset stating the Fourth Estate was biased against Trump and Republicans. Those are stunning results.
I didn’t realize there was a bias in the media until I joined the industry nearly 30 years ago. Many political journalists are Democrats and the coverage is skewed in that direction, which Trump has highlighted better than any GOP presidential nominee in recent memory. The most egregious example was when some reporters embraced the White House spin after President Biden called Trump supporters “garbage.”
The press, however, are not the enemy of the people. Far from it. Most want to get the story right and present both sides. But too often, straight news outlets have mixed opinion and news. That’s one of the reasons trust in the media is at an all-time low.
The relationship between the incoming Trump administration and the press will be rocky over the next four years. Both sides need to take a deep breath. Perhaps Trump can scale back his attacks and the media will not pursue “gotcha” stories. But don’t hold your breath.
3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
▪ Trump and his transition team still have not completed required steps and agreements under law to allow access to the agencies and departments they’ve been selected to lead. It’s a problem. The incoming administration takes the reins in 56 days. Trump has completed naming his Cabinet selections for Senate consideration.
▪ Amid a busy Thanksgiving travel season, service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport who perform duties such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs are on strike for higher wages beginning today.
▪ Major U.S. oil companies and their allies in 2017 thwarted a push for greater transparency sought by U.S. lawmakers into ties with global autocrats and kleptocrats. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 26 media partners recently published a series of reports about the Kremlin’s maneuvering, the rise of a major pipeline in the Caspian Sea region — and U.S. petroleum interests in Russia.
LEADING THE DAY
© The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite
RECESS APPOINTMENTS: Republicans are grappling with the idea that Trump could test the limits of his constitutional authority by appointing controversial picks to his Cabinet with recess appointments. One source who has spoken to Trump believes that idea — trying to forcibly adjourn Congress, even if the Senate does not affirmatively agree to do so — has been seriously considered in his circle.
Those skeptical of the idea breathed a sigh of relief whenGaetzwithdrew from consideration to be attorney general on Thursday. That sent a clear signal that GOP senators will not always fall in line with Trump’s wishes.
Still, Hill Republicans worry not only about Trump prompting a constitutional crisis, but the precedent it would set.
“Most elected people have a good understanding of the fact that at some point, Democrats are going to be in charge, and any precedent we set now, or any boundaries we try to push, are going to come back to bite us,” one House Republican told The Hill’s Emily Brooks. “People do not like this idea. This is a bad strategy to go down.”
Several Republican senators have also poured cold water on the idea.
“The separation of powers doctrine is pretty fundamental: three coequal branches of government. One branch can’t commandeer the other two,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said this week. “I think that would be the outcome.”
Axios: Why recess appointments aren’t a magic wand for Trump.
The “forever war” that lingers: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has placed a hold on the promotion of Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, nominated to become a four-star general and to oversee U.S. Army forces in Europe, amid Trump’s threats to fire senior officers and officials who oversaw the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, which ended with the deaths of 13 service members in Kabul and many Afghans.
Donahue, then the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, was, by tradition, the last American service member to board the final U.S. military plane out of Afghanistan in 2021. Donahue is commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan can be traced to decisions during four administrations, including Trump’s withdrawal deal with the Taliban, which transitioned to the Biden administration in 2021. Both Trump and Biden shared the aim of getting U.S. forces out of Afghanistan. Analysts pointed to numerous U.S. failures involved in the war that spanned 20 years, including intelligence forecasts about how long the Afghan government could hold up against the Taliban as the U.S. pulled out of Kabul for good.
▪ The Hill: Republican senators are squirming over the rash of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump’s Cabinet picks, which they fear will become a focal point of Senate confirmation hearings next year.
▪ The Hill: Mullin said Sunday he “absolutely” believes Trump’s nominee to be Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, rather than the woman the former Fox News host paid in 2017 to settle a sexual assault claim Hegseth asserts was consensual.
▪ The Hill: Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s vote to impeach Trump could come back to haunt him ahead of his 2026 reelection.
Democrats are divided following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision this week to indict Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes in Gaza. Israel’s staunchest Democratic allies quickly lashed out at the court, accusing it of pro-Palestinian bias and undermining the right of Israel to defend itself from terrorist threats. But liberal critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the ICC’s move, saying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza created by Israel’s military operations warrants the court’s scrutiny.
And Democrats in Congress — while siding squarely with Israel in the near term — will face the more protracted challenge of easing the tensions between the feuding factions of the party on a prickly issue that’s severed them for years.
The Hill: Lawmakers are navigating partisan divides as they seek to pass a bipartisan disaster aid bill by the end of the year.
WHERE AND WHEN
- The House will meet for a pro forma session Tuesday at 9 a.m. The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. Tuesday for a pro forma session.
- The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden at 11 a.m. on the South Lawn will pardon the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to New York City for remarks and to serve food at a Friendsgiving event on Staten Island with service members and their families. They will return to the White House tonight.
- Vice President Harris will depart Hawaii where she has been vacationing, bound for San Francisco this morning with second gentleman Doug Emhoff. They arrive this evening.
- The first lady will receive the White House Christmas tree at 2:30 p.m.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will participate today and Tuesday in a Group of Seven meeting of foreign ministers near Rome to focus on Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will participate in a portrait unveiling ceremony for former Treasury Secretary Jacob “Jack” Lew, at 1 p.m. Lew currently is U.S. ambassador to Israel.
ZOOM IN
© The Associated Press | Ross D. Franklin
WHAT’S NEXT FOR HARRIS? Questions swirl over the vice president’s next move as she prepares to exit the White House Jan. 20. The Hill’s Julia Mueller reports early polling suggests Democrats want to see Harris as a 2028 presidential candidate, despite her defeat. But some speculate she could seek another office — such as California governor — or pursue avenues outside electoral politics to help bolster the resistance against a second Trump term.
“She still has a long career ahead of her,” said Democratic strategist Kate Maeder. “She’s young for politics in this country, and I think that folks are really excited to see what she does next, because she’s built such a powerful following around her, and I think that that will carry through after the election.”
Progressives, too, are searching for a new direction post-election, writes The Hill’s Hanna Trudo. Initial conversations are starting to take place on the left among political strategists, activists and sources close to lawmakers about who is poised to advocate for their flank in the coming Trump era.
As progressives prepare to face an incoming Republican-controlled Senate and House, some believe there’s even more of an imperative to seize on the anger felt toward Democrats and channel it toward a search for a strong leader.
“They’re especially not going to care now that the Democrats got [handled] so thoroughly,” said Nina Turner, who co-chaired Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign. “They’re going to say they don’t want more of the same.”
▪ The Hill: Wisconsin is bracing for a high-stakes state Supreme Court election that will determine its balance of power. Republicans are eager to net a seat on the court after losing a consequential Wisconsin Supreme Court race two years ago, which handed Democrats control for the first time in 15 years.
▪ The Hill: New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is facing an increasingly uncertain future as he stares down both a criminal trial and a likely fierce reelection battle next year.
▪ The Hill: “Elections don’t add water to the river”: Colorado River negotiations forge ahead amid Trump transition.
RELIGION IN SCHOOLS: Texas has joined the states mixing the Bible with public school classrooms, setting up another potential legal showdown. The Texas State Board of Education voted 8-7 on Friday to allow lessons about stories in the Bible in K-5 classes, encouraging those who want more Christianity in public schools.
Texas’s neighbors to the North and East, Oklahoma and Louisiana, are already facing court challenges over their own biblical mandates, and the Lone Star State is likely to join them there, too. Schools in Texas are not required to adopt the curriculum but will receive an extra $60 per student in funding if they do so.
“It’s not unlikely that we’re going to see a lawsuit in Texas, and we’ll start by making clear to superintendents across the state that it would be unconstitutional to implement this type of requirement,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is involved in lawsuits in Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Sen. Lankfordsaid Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Bible should “absolutely” be taught in schools as both a “historical” and “cultural” document, but added that “as a religious document, that’s up to parents and to faith leaders off-campus.”
Lankford, a pastor, argued that any conversation about the Bible in schools “shouldn’t be a religious tone.”
ELSEWHERE
© The Associated Press | Peter Dejong
COP 29 CLIMATE DEAL: Negotiators at this year’s United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan struck an agreement early Sunday to triple the flow of money to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change. Under the deal, wealthy nations pledged to reach $300 billion per year in support by 2035. That number is up from a current target of $100 billion, but independent experts have placed the actual need much higher — at $1.3 trillion annually.
That is the amount they say must be invested to keep the planet’s average temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, global warming will become more dangerous and harder to reverse. The deal struck at the annual talks calls on private companies and international lenders like the World Bank to cover the hundreds of billions in the shortfall.
MIDDLE EAST: Hezbollah fired about 250 projectiles into Israel on Sunday, a day after an Israeli strike in the heart of the Lebanese capital killed more than 25 people. The attack was one of the largest Hezbollah has mounted against Israel since the group started firing on Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. It also coincided with a flurry of diplomacy aimed at halting the intensifying fighting in Lebanon.
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is “very close,” a regional source told CNN on Sunday. Meanwhile, Iran is preparing to “respond” to Israel for its October attack, according to a senior adviser to the country’s supreme leader.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Beirut returns to cycle of destruction as Israeli airstrikes target Hezbollah neighborhoods.
▪ The Washington Post: War fatigue deepens in Israel as deaths mount and fighting expands.
UKRAINE’S air force said that at least 73 Russian attack drones entered the country’s airspace on Saturday into Sunday morning, after a week in which both sides made battlefield history with new advanced weapons systems. Tensions rose last week following Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made ATACMS long-range missiles against military targets in Bryansk — the first time Kyiv had used the advanced weapon on Russian soil.
The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine’s Western missiles threaten big Russian assets: airports, ammo depots and command headquarters.
OPINION
■ Don’t let Trump drive you into internal exile, by Miriam Elder, guest essayist, The New York Times.
■ To mark 83-year-old George F. Will’s 50 years of opinion columns, The Washington Post is publishing a series in tribute, including a sample of half a century of his writings; A man at work, by Ken Burns; Conservatism’s vital champion, by Mona Charen; and The Iron Man of America’s op-ed pages, by David Von Drehle (including many photos). Wills is a contributor to NewsNation, which like The Hill, is owned by Nexstar.
THE CLOSER
© The Associated Press | Lenny Ignelzi
And finally … Who stole the tiny shoes?
Mystery solved. Not a human. A weasel.
Using stealth, a weasel scattered shoes around a kindergarten classroom in Japan and took 15 of them before police were called to investigate. The worry: human footwear thieves. Six more shoes disappeared the following day. The thief returned again to steal one more shoe. That was when a tiny mammal appeared on a hidden camera. Caught in the act!
“We thought we were dealing with someone disturbed, someone with an obsession with children’s shoes perhaps,” the deputy of the Kasuya police station in Fukuoka, Hiroaki Inada, told The Washington Post in a phone interview.
Weasels are known for hiding things, including toys, if they’re kept as pets. They weigh about 1 to 4 pounds. The classroom adaptation has been an installation of nets for the childrens’ belongings in cubbies. The burglar is still on the lam and its bounty never found. MIA: white canvas indoor slip-ons. Theory: lightweight and a cinch to steal.
Check out police video evidence HERE.
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