TRUMP TRANSITION WATCH: Indiana and Ohio, here we come
Trump is holding his first public events today since winning the election, stopping in Indiana and Ohio.
The New York Times sums up the latest round of Trump’s picks: "Trump’s Economic Cabinet Picks Signal Embrace of Wall St. Elite”
And from the Washington Post: "Trump is putting together what will be the wealthiest administration in modern American history. His announced nominees for top positions include several multimillionaires, an heir to a family mega-fortune and two Forbes-certified billionaires, one of whose family is worth as much as industrial tycoon Andrew Mellon was when he served as treasury secretary nearly a century ago. Rumored candidates for other positions suggest Trump could add more ultra-rich appointees soon."
The Wall Street Journal's Mnuchin headline: "Steven Mnuchin’s Defining Moment: Seizing Opportunity From the Financial Crisis"
"President-elect Donald Trump’s nascent administration on Wednesday began outlining the contours of its strategy for jump-starting the nation’s economy, including how it would overhaul the tax code, rethink trade agreements and directly negotiate with major corporations,” writes the Washington Post.
A quick reality check on the Carrier deal: "Those 1,000 Carrier jobs saved represent just 0.2 percent of total manufacturing employment in the state. And despite a rebound since the aftermath of the Great Recession, at just over half a million positions, factory employment in Indiana this year is still down by more than 20 percent since 2000.”
Sarah Palin is interested in a gig in the new administration, NBC News confirms.
The New York Times has a handy interactive showing Trump’s possible conflicts of interest.
TRUMP AGENDA: Repeal -- then delay (for as long as three years)
POLITICO: "Congressional Republicans are setting up their own, self-imposed deadline to make good on their vow to replace the Affordable Care Act. With buy-in from Donald Trump’s transition team, GOP leaders on both sides of the Capitol are coalescing around a plan to vote to repeal the law in early 2017 — but delay the effective date for that repeal for as long as three years. They’re crossing their fingers that the delay will help them get their own house in order, as well as pressure a handful of Senate Democrats — who would likely be needed to pass replacement legislation — to come onboard before the clock runs out and 20 million Americans lose their health insurance.”
From the AP: "For all the concerns raised in the presidential campaign about Donald Trump's fitness to command America's nuclear arsenal, the immediate questions he's likely to face as president aren't about launching these weapons, but modernizing them.”
Researchers are worried about Trump’s commitment to science, NBC News writes.
And there’s this: "Ivanka wants to make climate change — which her father has called a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese — one of her signature issues, a source close to her told Politico. The source said Ivanka is in the early stages of exploring how to use her spotlight to speak out on the issue.”
The New York Times, on Trump’s style: "While Mr. Trump’s focus appeared to careen unpredictably from hour to hour, the larger pattern he followed was a familiar one. As a candidate, Mr. Trump operated largely on gut instinct, with publicity-seeking provocation as his chief tactic. Trusting few people outside a circle of intimates, Mr. Trump thrived in a daily cycle of controversy and cultivated an atmosphere of often-public drama and division within his campaign."
DEM WATCH: Pelosi re-elected as Dem leader
Nancy Pelosi was reelected, but she has agreed to make changes to the Democratic leadership structure, writes POLITICO.
Roll Call: "Frustrated Democrats See DCCC Overhaul As Step Toward Electoral Success"