Today’s notice: Getting into the cabinet is one thing. Succeeding in the cabinet is another. Meanwhile, Dems say the Gang of Eight is extinct while trying to extinguish the bird flu.
Cabinet Chat: The Senate Abides
Some Republican senators believe President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks deserve Democratic deference. The problem is, those same senators didn’t really give much to President Joe Biden’s nominees.
“Well they should, but they won’t,” Sen. John Kennedy told NOTUS when asked if Democratic senators should be deferential to Trump’s nominees.
“I don’t think we kicked too hard on President Biden’s nominees,” he added, though he voted against 12 of Biden’s initial picks.
The contradiction illustrated a growing reality for cabinet confirmations: It’s overtly partisan, and both sides helped make it that way. It’s a merry-go-round of opposition in a process that used to be fairly bipartisan.
“If you go back 30 years ago, that was different than it is today,” Sen. James Lankford said.
Both sides have their reasons for the increased antagonism, even on previously staid confirmations. And Democratic senators will inevitably continue the cycle next year. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley doesn’t plan to complain.
“My request to them is that they would keep an open mind and that they wouldn’t hold up the process,” Hawley told NOTUS. “If they want to vote ‘no,’ that’s fine. I voted ‘no.’”
Cabinet Chat II: Welcome to the Jungle
Once nominees actually enter the cabinet, they’ll find jobs with two top priorities that are sometimes at odds: performing legally mandated duties in a sprawling bureaucracy and doing whatever the president wants done.
“Make sure that you have clear direction from the president,” former Trump Interior Secretary Rep. Ryan Zinke told NOTUS.
Former Trump appointee Matthew Bartlett warned administration officials with specific plans should move fast. “There is a real chance to remake and rework government and better serve the American people at home and abroad — but that window can shut quickly,” he said.
Rep. Max Miller, a former Trump aide, said people working with Trump should be “direct and honest.”
“People think he wants a yes-man or a yes-woman, but he wants people to give him slight pushback,” Miller said. “I believe that’s why I’m one of maybe, I don’t know, 10 or 12 people that survived at the time.”
Zinke did not survive long, resigning in under two years while facing several investigations. What he learned: “Just bear in mind the deep state exists.”
—Evan McMorris-Santoro and Riley Rogerson
Front Page
- Trump’s New Pick for the FTC Will Likely MAGA-fy the Agency: Andrew Ferguson has deep ties to the conservative judicial movement but not an easy-to-define ideology on antitrust.
- Maternal Health Advocates Strategize to Get Republican Support: Rep. Robin Kelly has high hopes for bipartisan appeal.
The Search for the Next Gang of Eight
It wasn’t that long ago that Republicans and Democrats came to the table to negotiate comprehensive immigration reform in the famous 2013 Gang of Eight talks. But politically, Democrats told NOTUS’ Casey Murray, the idea of Republicans getting down to brass tacks on immigration policy feels like part of a bygone era.
Sen. Chris Murphy had a front-row seat to bipartisan immigration talks earlier this year and was even more of a cynic about getting a gang back together.
“We had a bill that had 20-plus Republican votes, and the minute Trump came out against it, it had four,” he said. “So, like, no. Trump runs the party on the issue of immigration.”
NOTUS Exclusive: Dems ‘Double Down’ on Bird Flu Prevention
The House’s Oversight Committee Democrats are urging the Department of Health and Human Services to provide information about how it’s preventing the spread of bird flu among undocumented agricultural workers, NOTUS’ Emily Kennard reports.
Those workers are at a high risk of exposure, but some Democrats and public health advocates say they are less likely to seek testing and health care, particularly as Trump ramps up his mass deportation threats.
Number You Should Know
22
The U.S. maternal mortality rate is about 22 deaths per 100,000 live births, and the number of deaths rises to nearly 50 among Black women, marking one of the highest rates in the developed world. NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes reports that maternal health advocates are strategizing to get Republican support for the bipartisan Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act.
Week Ahead
- Trump is slated to meet with Jeff Bezos at Mar-a-Lago this week.
- House Democrats’ Steering Committee meets Tuesday to round out its ranking member recommendations, including in the much-anticipated Oversight, Agriculture and Natural Resources races.
- The Senate will take up the National Defense Authorization Act before members skip town for the holidays.
- Government funding expires on Friday. Congress is poised to pass a short-term funding extension this week to avert a shutdown.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Tracking Putin’s Most Feared Secret Agency — From Inside a Russian Prison and Beyond by Evan Gershkovich at The Wall Street Journal
- The Postal Service’s Electric Mail Trucks Are Way Behind Schedule by Jacob Bogage at The Washington Post
- Trump’s Mixed Messaging Leaves Dems Struggling to Find a Way Forward by Lisa Kashinsky and Elena Schneider at Politico
Meet Us: Mark Alfred
Welcome to “Meet Us” where we introduce you to a member of the NOTUS team. Up today is Mark Alfred who is an AJI fellow and reporter covering Northern California.
- Hometown: San Diego, California
- Past: Before joining NOTUS, I covered breaking news and politics at The Daily Beast and served as an editor of my college newspaper, The Daily Nexus.
- Why journalism: It’s more important than ever to hold public officials accountable and report stories that would otherwise go uncovered.
- AJI highlight so far: Having journalists I’ve looked up to for years share firsthand how they successfully report on the most powerful people in the world.
- Thing you can’t live without: Public transit.
- Best advice you’ve ever been given: You don’t have to show up to every argument you’re invited to.
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