TRUMP TRANSITION WATCH: One day last of work before Thanksgiving break
Trump will focus on one last day of cabinet deliberations before heading to Palm Beach, Fla., for Thanksgiving.
Trump canceled a scheduled meeting with the New York Times, claiming “the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment.” (The Times disputes his account.)
His aides insist that Trump hopes to build a diverse team, notes the Washington Post.
The New York Times writes that Chris Christie’s fall from grace was about “a pileup of grievances” rather than a single push.
From the Washington Post: “Two new names have emerged as possible candidates for Department of Homeland Security secretary under President-elect Donald Trump, including a retired Marine general who clashed with the Obama administration over women in combat and plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, people familiar with the selection process said Monday. Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, who retired this year as chief of U.S. Southern Command, is under consideration for the critical homeland security post, the people said. Also under consideration is Frances Townsend, a top homeland security and counterterrorism official in the George W. Bush administration, they said.”
“Donald Trump has a suggestion for British Prime Minister Theresa May: Make Nigel Farage, who played a key role in Britain's vote to leave the European Union, her government's ambassador to the United States. But there are a few obstacles to the president-elect's desire to have the acting leader of the U.K. Independence Party serve as Britain's chief diplomat in the United States — not only is it the role of each country to name its overseas representatives, but there is already an ambassador in place,” writes the AP.
POLITICO: “Donald Trump's White House counsel faces a tough job—and one whose profile is growing higher by the minute. D.C. lawyers and sources close to the transition told POLITICO Monday that Trump appears all but certain to tap election lawyer Donald McGahn, who served as his campaign lawyer and is advising the transition, for the top West Wing legal job.”
Trump met with TV execs yesterday. It didn’t appear to go well.
“At least a half-dozen Democratic electors have signed onto an attempt to block Donald Trump from winning an Electoral College majority, an effort designed not only to deny Trump the presidency but also to undermine the legitimacy of the institution,” writes POLITICO. More: “[T]he Democratic electors are convinced that even in defeat, their efforts would erode confidence in the Electoral College and fuel efforts to eliminate it, ending the body’s 228-year run as the only official constitutional process for electing the president.”
TRUMP AGENDA: Never Tweet
Should Donald Trump stop tweeting? Check out the Meet the Press Post Game with Kathleen Parker and Robert Costa for a discussion on Trump’s 140-character habit.
In a video distributed by the campaign, Trump laid out the “executive actions” he plans for his first 100 days. “Trump said he will signal the United States' intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, roll back energy regulations, take steps to guard against cyber attacks, investigate visa program abuses and implement rules against members of his administration leaving to become lobbyists.”
From the Wall Street Journal: “Rather than kill Nafta, Donald Trump and his advisers appear set to push for substantial changes to the treaty governing U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada, an effort that could prove difficult to negotiate and perilous to the regional economy.”
The New York Times, on Trump’s penchant for aggressive retired generals: “Turning to the retired officers reflects Mr. Trump’s preference for having strong, even swaggering, men around him. But it worries national security experts and even other retired generals, who say that if Mr. Trump stacks critical jobs purely with warriors, it could lead to an undue emphasis on military force in American foreign policy.”
A new Obama administration overtime rule is set to go into effect, but companies expect that it could be overturned or changed, either by the new administration or by lawsuits.
DEM WATCH: When Donald met Tulsi
NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports on Democrat Tulsi Gabbard’s meeting with Trump yesterday.