| | | | Transition watch: Trump's 'Survivor' game for State | | Donald Trump is presiding over "Survivor, State Department edition." The destiny of US diplomacy is coming down to a process of elimination between Republican giants Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani -- and two others, possibly including retired Gen. David Petraeus. After Trump's Tuesday night dinner with Romney, this show has a few more episodes yet, writes CNN's Stephen Collinson. "At this point, the secretary of state position has been narrowed down to four candidates," Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Wednesday.
Some notes on Petraeus, the former general who's on the secretary of state short list, from USA Today's Brad Heath: Because he's on probation as part of his plea deal after giving access to confidential information to his mistress and biographer, Petraeus will have to check with his probation officer before leaving western North Carolina -- and his office would be subject to random, warrantless searches by his probation officer. | | Donald Trump tapped Steven Mnuchin to replace Jack Lew as the next Treasury secretary. If the Senate approves him, then his signature will appear in the lower right corner of newly printed currency. But Mnuchin's signature is ... not the most appealing. In fact, he shares this with Lew, whose signature was so bad that President Barack Obama made him change it.
Here's how Mnuchin signed his name on divorce papers filed in a California court. | | Pelosi staves off a challenge, remains top House Democrat | | House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi defeated Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan to retain her post as the top elected Democrat in the House during a closed-door meeting Wednesday. The final vote was 134 to 63 for Pelosi, meaning she matched her prediction that she'd retain the support of two-thirds of House Democrats. But it also means that close to one-third of the diminished group voted for a change in leadership after getting beaten again on Election Day.
Defectors? What defectors? Pelosi told CNN, "They weren't defections, I got two-thirds of the vote." Ryan had argued Pelosi had limited appeal in the Heartland -- where Democrats were crushed this year.
Republicans mocked the selection of Pelosi. Here's what Donald Trump campaign manager-turned-senior adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted: | | Trump's Carrier deal: What we know and what we don't | | Donald Trump achieved one of his most concrete, specific campaign promises: Keeping Indianapolis air conditioning manufacturer Carrier from shipping 1,000 jobs to Mexico. Just how he did it, though, is a bit of a mystery right now.
Here's what Carrier said: "Today's announcement is possible because the incoming Trump-Pence administration has emphasized to us its commitment to support the business community and create an improved, more competitive US business climate. The incentives offered by the state were an important consideration."
Mike Pence's role: That last sentence of Carrier's statement is key. Pence's Indiana Economic Development Corp. appears to have handed Carrier tax breaks -- an accomplishment more related to his role as Indiana governor than vice president-elect.
Another factor: Carrier's parent company, United Technologies, has huge defense-related federal contracts. If tax breaks are Trump's carrot, the threat of losing government contracts -- risky as it is when national security-related products are involved -- could be his stick. At least, that's the argument I made today.
In the dark right now: Local union leaders who have no idea what, exactly, this all means for Carrier workers. | | "I'm kind of fearful of tomorrow that the union walks in there, it's like walking in the lion's den with a f***ing pork chop suit on." -- Chuck Jones, the head of United Steelworkers Local 1999, whose members include Carrier workers. He told CNN's Tom LoBianco he's been told nothing about tomorrow's Donald Trump event in Indiana. | | | Fashion watch: Tom Ford wouldn't dress Melania Trump | | Page Six's Julie Gordon writes that famed designer Tom Ford refused to dress the incoming first lady. From her story: "'I was asked to dress (Melania Trump) quite a few years ago and I declined … She's not necessarily my image,' Ford, an outspoken Democrat, said on Wednesday's episode of 'The View.' He continued: 'The first lady -- other than the fact that I'm a Democrat and voted for Hillary (Clinton) and am very sad and disappointed that she's not in office -- even had Hillary won, she shouldn't be wearing my clothes. They're too expensive. And I don't mean that in a bad way. They're not artificially expensive. It's how much it costs to make these things. But I think to relate to everybody, you shouldn't necessarily (wear such expensive clothes).'"
Other odds and ends today:
Where Democrats go from here: Bernie Sanders' interview with Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi is worth a read.
Covering Trump: Washington Post editor Marty Baron's message to journalists in the Donald Trump era: "The answer, I believe, is pretty simple. Just do our job. Do it as it's supposed to be done." | | | The US Office of Government Ethics -- yes, that's a real agency, intended to prevent conflicts of interest -- responded to Donald Trump's plan to leave the business operations of his empire behind with a bizarre series of Trump-styled tweets. A sampling: | | | The catch: Trump never said he was divesting. Politico's Louis Nelson has more. | | | Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, is emerging as the favorite to chair the key House Energy and Commerce Committee. ... Donald Trump called Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a "terrific guy" in a phone call. ... Start the 2020 watch: Jason Kander, who impressed national Democrats despite narrowly losing the Missouri Senate race, is headed to Iowa to speak at the Progress Iowa holiday party. | | | 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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