| | | | Trump's transition: Kushner at center of infighting | | | Donald Trump's transition team is in disarray, with paperwork delays, abrupt departures and infighting as Vice President-elect Mike Pence takes over. Trump hasn't yet filled Cabinet positions and has retreated from public view -- leaving harsh storylines about his selection of Steve Bannon as chief strategist to fester. It's all leading some Republicans -- like former State Department official Eliot Cohen -- to question the wisdom of working for Trump at all, writes The New York Times' Julie Hirschfeld Davis. | | At the center of it: Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. He's been even rubbing his allies the wrong way in his push to purge the team of Chris Christie associates, sources tell CNN.
What Rudy wants: Rudy Giuliani has been mentioned for several potential Cabinet positions in Trump's administration, but it was clear last night at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council that he really wants to be secretary of state.
But, but, but ... Trump's transition team, however, is also looking into whether Giuliani's business ties would complicate his confirmation and his role as the top diplomat, according to a source familiar with transition talks. Some of those ties, previously reported, include lobbying for Citgo, a US-based subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil conglomerate, at his old law firm. His current firm has also done business with Qatar. Business ties might not be the only difficulty. Republican Sen. Rand Paul called the ties to foreign governments "worrisome," but said more importantly, Trump should pick a secretary of state who opposed the Iraq war like Trump said he did. More from CNN's David Wright and Elise Labott. | | | Hillary Clinton now leads the popular vote by more than 1 million -- a fact that isn't sitting well with Donald Trump. Here's what Trump tweeted this morning: | | | Just for the record ... in what CNN's Andrew Kaczynski called "your daily reminder that nothing matters" ... here's what Trump tweeted about the electoral college in 2012: | | GOPers embrace Trump in first post-election gathering | | Republicans are all on Team Trump now. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley -- who has repeatedly bashed Trump's rhetoric and antagonized him on Twitter -- said she's "giddy" to have the White House in Republican hands.
The Obamacare problem: BuzzFeed's Paul McLeod looks at how New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez -- who expanded Medicaid -- split with other governors in front of reporters today, and how the rift between GOP-led states that embraced Obamacare and those that rejected it could grow. | | "Anger shouldn't drive policy." -- George W. Bush, in his first comments since Donald Trump's election. In Dallas, he implicitly rebuked Trump's protectionism. | | | Ryan re-elected by GOP; Pelosi could face trouble | | Paul Ryan was re-elected by the House Republican conference Tuesday to serve a second term as speaker of the House. The official vote installing him as the speaker will come in early January, when the next session of Congress begins.
On the campaign side, the GOP chose Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio over Rep. Roger Williams of Texas to lead the NRCC. He'll replace Greg Walden. More from Politico's Jake Sherman and Rachael Bade on Stivers' plans.
Trouble for Pelosi? House Democrats decided Tuesday to delay their leadership elections until after Thanksgiving -- a move that will give reeling Democrats time to nurse their wounds and could spell trouble for longtime leader Nancy Pelosi. After a closed-door meeting, some of Pelosi's supporters said it was time for some serious soul-searching in the Democratic Party. "We just had a shellacking. We just got a shellacking last Tuesday. We got an unexpected defeat and we've got to recalibrate it and decide how we go forward," said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and a Pelosi supporter. "It's just like death. There are different stages of grief you go through." The vote is now scheduled for November 30. | | Clinton's do-it-all debate prep strategy | | What did Hillary Clinton say when Hilary Rosen asked her before the first debate if she had her strategy against Donald Trump prepared?
"Oh, yeah, I've got my strategy," Clinton replied, according to Rosen. "I have to be warm enough that people like me, tough enough to be commander in chief, deep enough on policy that people know I have an agenda, direct on his faults. Oh, and by the way, I have to be his fact-checker, too."
It's one of the juicy tidbits in "Unprecedented: The Election that Changed Everything," CNN's book on the 2016 election written by Thomas Lake with reporting from Jodi Enda, Susan Baer and CNN's political team. Preorder "Unprecedented," which comes out December 6, here. | | | Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Donald Trump should "do what is rational." ... Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, is considering a run for DNC chair. ... Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters tonight it's easier to be DNC chair when you're not in office. "It was really much easier to do the job when I was not governor. I was doing it full-time," the former governor said. ... Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, survived a tight re-election race, and yet: | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out CNNMoney's Reliable Sources, an insider's look into the media brought to you by Brian Stelter. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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