Republicans

Axios reports: President-elect Trump is looking more seriously at Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) for Treasury secretary — giving Trump three serious options for one of the few roles where he’s taking his time, transition sources tell me. Hagerty, a former private-equity investor who was Trump’s ambassador to Japan, is one of three apparent finalists, along with former Fed governor Kevin …

“First of all, no matter who President Trump picks, the media will hammer them every day. You know, we have all been around pretty long, Larry, it doesn’t make any difference. If you are a Republican, you have to fight your way through all this. “If you remember Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, we are going to look at facts, …

ABC News reports: The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by ABC News. The Venmo records show …

ABC News reports: Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, allegedly paid for two women in 2019 to travel to New York to have sex, watch his appearance on Fox News, and attend the Broadway show “Pretty Woman,” an attorney for the women told ABC News. In an interview with ABC News’ Juju Chang, Florida attorney Joel …

The Independent reports: President-elect Donald Trump tapped Dr Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator. The physician, TV personality, and failed Pennsylvania Senate candidate is the latest addition to Trump’s list of controversial cabinet picks. “I am very pleased to nominate Dr Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services …

“Grace Chong is a mouth breathing imbecile who attacks those of us in the fight rather than make herself useful. “If I had shown up to the vote in question, the nominee would have succeeded 49-46 rather than 49-45. If every Republican had showed up, Fetterman would have come in and the Democrats still would have gotten their nominee across. …

The New York Times reports: Texas education officials approved in an initial vote on Tuesday a new elementary school curriculum that infuses material drawn from the Bible into reading and language arts lessons, a contentious move that would test the limits of religion’s presence in public education. The curriculum has already drawn protests in Texas, which has emerged as a …

CNN reports: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who will become the Senate Judiciary chairman next Congress, told CNN that his panel would move quicker on the nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general if the House Ethics Committee were to release it’s report. Grassley noted that there are a number of Republicans who want to see the report, …

The New York Times reports: An unidentified hacker has gained access to a computer file shared in a secure link among lawyers whose clients have given damaging testimony related to Matt Gaetz. The file of 24 exhibits is said to include sworn testimony by a woman who said that she had sex with Mr. Gaetz in 2017 when she was …

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 …

Austin’s CBS affiliate reports: The State Board of Education heard more than 8 hours of public testimony on Monday on whether to approve a new statewide curriculum. The “Bluebonnet Learning” curriculum would incorporate Bible lessons in kindergarten through fifth grade in public schools. Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday morning. A months-long debate over the new curriculum culminated in tense …

The Daily Beast reports: The lawyer for two women who testified to the House Ethics Committee that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid them for “sexual favors” said Monday that one of the forms in which they were paid was the PayPal of Nestor Galban, whom Gaetz calls his “adopted son.” Florida attorney Joel Leppard embarked on a media tour Monday, …

The New York Times reports: The F.B.I. said in a statement on Friday that some recipients of the latest messages were told they had been selected for deportation. Others were instructed to report to a “re-education camp” for L.G.B.T.Q. people, the agency said, an apparent reference to conversion therapy or other coercive practices aimed at altering a person’s sexual orientation …

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 …

Bloomberg News reports: Hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin said he’s anxious about Donald Trump’s potential tariff policies, but that the US economy is going back to “the business of business” now that he’s returning to the White House. Speaking at the Oxford Union in the UK on Monday, the Citadel founder called tariffs — a central tenet of Trump’s economic agenda …

ABC News reports: An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News in an interview former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both his adult clients for sex. Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News that one of his clients also witnessed Gaetz having sex with a third woman — who was then 17 years old …

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 …

Politico reports: The House Ethics panel will meet Wednesday and potentially vote to release a report probing sexual misconduct allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who Donald Trump tapped to be his attorney general, according to two people familiar with the discussion. The meeting comes as Gaetz’s confirmation is in question, with some Republican senators wary of the controversial …

The Daily Beast reports: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s impeachment probe into President Joe Biden may have fizzled, but at least he might get some cash out of it by launching a tell-all book. The Kentucky Republican was co-chair of a two year GOP effort that spent millions of dollars to produce a 291-page report that did not recommend …