Elon Musk has been a near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago, where he's sat in on important meetings and calls. read more
Amazon.com made unlawful promises and threats during mandatory meetings to discourage unionizing at a New York City warehouse, a U.S. labor board said on Wednesday while banning employers from holding such meetings moving forward. read more
Last year, there were 10.3 million cases of measles globally --- an increase of 20% from the previous year, according to a newly released report from the World Health Organization. Nearly 107,500 people died from measles worldwide in 2023 and children under the age of 5 were hit the hardest, the report found. read more
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's reported selection as secretary of state might hand Gov. Ron DeSantis a political lifeline -- or set him on a collision course with President-elect Trump. read more
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday that President elect-Trump "and his transition team are already breaking" a law on presidential transition. read more
Tangentially related...
Trump advisers propose bypassing FBI background checks for appointees
www.theguardian.com
... Donald Trump's aides have floated the idea of granting immediate security clearances to officials in a second term and doing away with FBI background checks for appointees who might otherwise fail the process, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The plan would be intended to eliminate the risk of the former president's nominees for senior posts being subject to intrusive background investigations intended to check for criminal histories, conflicts of interest or other potential liabilities that would normally be deemed disqualifying. ...
To me, it looks like Pres-elect Trump is moving towards unchecked power for his Presidency.
Senators want details of Matt Gaetz ethics probe before his confirmation vote for attorney general
www.nbcnews.com
... Republican senators are preparing for a robust vetting of Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department, with a keen interest in details from a House Ethics Committee investigation into the former congressman from Florida. ...
Many Republican senators, including members of the GOP-led Judiciary Committee that will oversee Gaetz's nomination for attorney general, said they'll want to see the details of the House Ethics investigation into Gaetz.
"I think it would be helpful," said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, said he would "absolutely" like to see the findings of the House Ethics Committee investigation, saying, "I don't know the technicalities, or whether or not we would see that, but I think that would be very relevant."
The House Ethics Committee will meet Friday, three sources familiar with the meeting told NBC News. One of those sources said that releasing the Gaetz report is expected to be among the topics on the agenda. ...
A sampling from Pres-elect Trump's first term...
Ethics Be Damned (2018)
www.apmreports.org
... More than half of Trump's 20-person Cabinet has engaged in questionable or unethical conduct.
A growing chorus of ethics officials, including the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, warns that President Trump's conduct related to his business interests is causing a dangerously negative public perception of the nation's ethics system.
"These are perilous times," said David Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics. His comments came in a rare interview earlier this month that happened to be the same day President Trump nominated someone to replace him.
Roberts in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017. Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
Apol worries that the president's decision to not divest from his sprawling business holdings and the scandals involving Trump's Cabinet are causing public distrust in the federal government.
"When the head of your organization, the head of your government says these rules aren't important enough for me to comply with, that makes the program challenging. And that changes the relationship, the way people view the ethics program," he said. ...
An APM Reports review of news coverage, ethics agreements and government financial disclosure forms has found that more than half of Trump's 20-person Cabinet has engaged in questionable or unethical conduct. ...
See the article for the list.
Trump Boosters at Hush-Money Trial Rewarded With Top Administration Jobs
www.bnnbloomberg.ca
... During Donald Trump's hush-money trial last spring, a string of top Republicans turned up at the Manhattan courthouse in a public show of loyalty. Now several are being tapped for his government.
President-elect Trump announced the latest on Wednesday with his intention to nominate Representative Matt Gaetz to be US attorney general. The Florida Republican appeared at the New York trial on May 16, ...
Other trial attendees included Vice President-elect JD Vance, who attended the trial on May 13 and was chosen by Trump as his running mate two months later. Representative Mike Waltz, of Florida, who has been tapped for national security adviser, also showed at the courthouse. As did Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who was appointed to head a new "Department of Government Efficiency" along with billionaire Elon Musk.
Those who didn't attend the trial in person, often found other ways of communicating their solidarity with Trump. Representative Elise Stefanik, selected as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, filed an ethics complaint in September against Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the hush-money case. ...
Why Trump picked Gaetz
www.axios.com
... President-elect Trump picked Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general for one, big, telling reason: Gaetz will proudly do the dirty work on controversial legal topics that others won't. ...
Full article is worth a read, imo.
Related?
Matt Gaetz resigns ahead of key Ethics Committee meeting
www.axios.com
... Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from Congress just before the House Ethics Committee was set to hold a potentially pivotal meeting on its investigation into the Florida congressman, Axios has learned. ...
It seems odd he'd resign from Congress before being confirmed.
@#7 ... wow, that's a reach. only been 9 days since the election ...
Is it really a reach?
Parts of the law require action before Election Day.
Trump campaign's failure to enter into transition agreements (October 23, 2024)
thehill.com
... The Presidential Transition Act directs major party candidates to enter into memorandums of understanding (MOU) with the sitting president and General Services Administration (GSA) so staff can receive relevant resources " including executive branch employees, facilities, documents and national security information -- during the months between the election and the inauguration. The agreements also include an ethics plan.[emphasis mine]
According to Raskin, Trump's campaign has not yet signed an MOU with the GSA, which was due on Sept. 1, or with President Biden, the incumbent president, which was due on Oct. 1.
The Harris campaign has entered into both agreements, according to Raskin. ...
S.394 - Presidential Transition Enhancement Act of 2019
www.congress.gov
...
Sponsor: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] (Introduced 02/07/2019)
08/01/2019 Senate Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5318-5320; text: CR S5319-5320)
02/05/2020 House On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H825-826)
03/03/2020 Signed by President [Trump].
...
... Trump is asking the Senate to surrender its advise-and-consent role for Cabinet confirmations, ...
At this point, the question we will not know an answer to until next year is: will the Senate go along with Pres-elect's Trump's request?