Politics

Florida Politics reports: State Rep. Joel Rudman will run for Congress in former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s open seat. The Navarre Republican counts himself as a close ally of Gaetz, who has represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District since his election in 2016. Rudman first ran for office when his positions on COVID prompted people to challenge his medical license. In …

From the New York Post editorial board: While most of the cabinet picks have been excellent, and some of them risky but promising, Gaetz and Gabbard are dreadful. We plead that he rethink them. They’re distracting chaos agents who won’t accomplish what Trump wants them to, and will most likely backfire on his agenda. Gabbard backed the Iran deal, and …

NOTUS reports: House Democrats are brushing off Republican attacks on Rep.-elect Sarah McBride after some GOP members made clear they would attempt to keep McBride from using the women’s restrooms in the Capitol. That’s because McBride told them to. By Tuesday morning, Democrats had a clear message: Republican attacks on trans people were a distraction from other issues. Sources told …

Politico Playbook reports: Trump campaign manager and RNC chief of staff Chris LaCivita is going after The Lincoln Project in a new letter, with RNC lawyers accusing the anti-Trump PAC of defamation and demanding they retract a series of social media posts. In a letter to Lincoln Project general counsel Mario Nicolais, LaCivita’s legal team specifically point to several posts …

The Associated Press reports: House Leader Hakeem Jeffries won reelection Tuesday as the Democratic leader, receiving support from his colleagues despite the party’s inability to win back majority control of the chamber in the November election. Jeffries of New York was chosen during an internal party vote of the House Democrats underway at the Capitol. Most of the Democratic leadership …

The Hill reports: Senate Republicans are rejecting a proposal floated by some advisers to President-elect Trump to take the job of conducting background checks for high-level nominees away from the FBI and give it to private investigators. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argued that the FBI has access to information gathered by law …

NBC News reports: A Wyoming judge ruled Monday that two laws restricting and banning abortion in the state violate its constitution, making the procedure legal up until fetal viability for the time being. Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens imposed an injunction on the pair of state laws in a ruling that said they ran afoul of the state constitution, …

NBC News reports: The race for Democratic Party chair has officially launched with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a onetime presidential candidate, announcing a bid to take the reins. O’Malley, who has faded from the national scene of late, made a brief bid in 2016 to lead the Democratic National Committee, only to withdraw his name days later. O’Malley, who …

The Staten Island Advance reports: Over 5,200 people have donated to a GoFundMe dedicated to former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm who was paralyzed after a horse-riding accident. “As we approach the holiday season, we are appealing to anyone and everyone for help to ensure Mike has the resources he needs to be able to walk again. Staten Islanders and all …

Politico reports: House Ethics Chair Michael Guest said Monday that his panel will make its own decision about releasing the report into Matt Gaetz, regardless of Speaker Mike Johnson’s opinion that it should be kept under wraps. Guest (R-Miss.) told POLITICO in a brief interview that he and Johnson had spoken over the weekend. He added that all Ethics Committee …

The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs. One GOP tax adviser said lawmakers were looking at broadening work requirements for SNAP eligibility, something the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook recommends. The last time Republicans controlled both …

Florida Politics reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier this year brought John Frankman to Washington to highlight ramifications of a military vaccine mandate. Now, the former Green Beret has announced a campaign to succeed Gaetz in Congress. The Republican, according to his campaign website, served in the Army for eight years as a captain with the 7th Special Forces. But when …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, …

NBC News reports: Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Mullin told NBC’s Meet the Press that the Senate, which holds the authority to confirm or deny Trump’s nominations to high-level …

The Daily Beast reports: For their first “Weekend Update” segment after the recent string of controversial cabinet announcements from Donald Trump, co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che did not hold back. “This week, Donald Trump continued to announce everyone he’s going to fire in six months,” Jost said, adding, “On Wednesday, Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general. And Gaetz …

Reuters reports: U.S. Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his cabinet picks, they tell Reuters. “Trump won because of us and we’re not happy with his secretary of state pick and others,” said Rabiul Chowdhury, a Philadelphia investor …

The New York Times reports: Representative Jared Golden, a three-term Democrat from Maine, has defeated his Republican challenger, Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver and northern Maine native, The Associated Press declared on Friday. Mr. Golden’s narrow victory in his largely white, rural and working-class district — one of five Democratic-held districts that Donald J. Trump won in 2020 — …

Politico reports: Mike Pence is urging Senate Republicans to not confirm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, calling his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump “deeply concerning.” “I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to …

“I’m excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov. He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. “I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates) but what I’m most …

The Washington Examiner reports: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) plans to run for a sixth term in the Senate, buoying Republicans’ hopes of retaining her seat in 2026. Collins would be one of the most vulnerable incumbents heading into a less favorable Senate map for Republicans next cycle. She could also face political headwinds with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the …