Transportation secretary: Sean Duffy, who just left his job as a co-host for Fox Business News, has been named by Donald Trump to be the secretary of transportation in his upcoming administration. Duffy was a Republican congressman from Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. He has no experience in the field of transportation. He is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is the co-host of the Fox News program “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth formerly was on the show with her.
Judges: Republicans in the Senate have been using delaying tactics to try to prevent Senate confirmation of more than two dozen federal judge nominations by President Biden in the final days of Biden’s presidency. Democrats have been pushing to work around the Republican delays and yesterday did manage to confirm the nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd from Florida to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Part of the Republican strategy during the administration transition period is to keep judgeships open so they can be filled after Trump take office.
Nonprofits: After Democrats in the House rallied and defeated a Republican bill that would give Donald Trump dictatorial power to target nonprofit organizations he considers to be his enemies, Republicans plan another vote on Thursday to try to push through the legislation. They plan to handle the bill in such a way that fewer votes are required than were needed for passage in the previous vote. The bill would allow Trump to declare that any nonprofit is a terrorist organization and pull its tax-exempt status. Â
Funding: MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow, referencing reporting by The Washington Post, reported that Donald Trump’s plan to make billionaire Elon Musk czar of government efficiency is designed to strip Congress of its Constitutional authority to determine federal spending and give dictatorial power over government spending to Trump. It’s speculated such power could allow Trump to cripple government programs he didn’t like by cutting their funding without asking Congress. He also could approve funding for any new programs he wants such as using the military to shut down newspapers, TV networks or demonstrations he didn’t like. Â
Gaetz scandal: Joel Leppard, a lawyer for two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee, tells CNN that the women testified that former Congressman Matt Gaetz paid them for sexual favors. He also said that one of the women testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with an underage girl. Gaetz was nominated by Donald Trump to be U.S. Attorney General. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is blocking release of the House Ethics Committee’s report on its investigation of Gaetz.
Cables: Underwater cables that carry internet traffic between Finland and Germany and Lithuania and Sweden have been cut according to officials in Europe. The cables run under the Baltic Sea. Officials believe that Russia used a submarine to sabotage the cables. Repairs are expected to take about two weeks. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said nobody believes the cables were cut by accident.
