| | | | Trump provokes Congress on Russia | | President-elect Donald Trump blasted the American intelligence community on Sunday, calling its assessment that Russia interfered in the election "ridiculous." In an unprecedented criticism of the intelligence community for an incoming commander in chief, Trump told "Fox News Sunday" that "I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it."
But powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill aren't with Trump on this. Four senators -- Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Jack Reed -- released a rare joint statement calling for an investigation into American intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russian hacking was intended to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
How big is Trump's Russia problem with Republicans? Check this tweet from former Rep. Joe Walsh -- the man who'd said in October that "if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket." | | Biden keeps the 2020 door open | | From CNN's Kevin Liptak: Vice President Joe Biden wants a say in the direction of the Democratic Party as it picks up the pieces from a nightmare electoral loss this year -- and isn't willing to fully rule out a bid for the presidency if he thinks issues of economic fairness aren't being voiced.
"Four years is a lifetime in American politics," he told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview on "State of the Union." "And I think nominees are determined by their parties based mostly on what skill set is most needed at that time. Who knows where we're going to be two years from now when people are really starting to look seriously at what they're going to do?" he said. | | "I'm open-minded. Nobody really knows." -- President-elect Donald Trump, on whether climate change is real, on "Fox News Sunday." Trump is nominating climate science denier Scott Pruitt to head the EPA. | | | This week's Cabinet Apprentice, starring Rex Tillerson | | | Another chapter in the Trump-Russia controversy: ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson is a leading candidate for secretary of state. "He is much more than a business executive. He is a world class player. He is in charge of, I guess, the largest company in the world," President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News' Chris Wallace in an interview that aired Sunday. "And to me, a great advantage is that he knows many of the players. And he knows them well." | | Boosting Tillerson in Trump's view: He's a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has done major business in Russia. "He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals -- for the company, not for himself, for the company," the real estate mogul added.
But that's a problem for Republicans. Check what Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, tweeted today: | | | CNN's Jake Tapper looks at Donald Trump's pop culture Cabinet in this week's "State of the Cartoonion." | | Transition watch: Christie turned Trump down | | | New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie turned down several positions in President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration. Christie rejected Trump's offers of Homeland Security secretary, secretary of veterans affairs, ambassador to Italy and more, sources familiar with the offers told CNN, confirming a report by NJ Advance Media. | | Trump could tap former foe Rick Perry for Cabinet post | | | From John King's "Inside Politics" forecast: So far, just one of the other 16 is in line for a Trump Cabinet job: Ben Carson, who is the President-elect's choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Will that be it? Maybe, but there are a few jobs still open -- the Energy Department among them -- and a well-sourced Republican suggests to CNN that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry might still emerge as a Cabinet choice. During the primaries, Perry called Trump a "cancer on conservatism." But he later became a Trump surrogate. | | | Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, says he'd block a nomination of John Bolton as President-elect Donald Trump's No. 2 at the State Department. ... Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, said speaking about his personal experiences as a black man opened people's eyes. ... Nate Silver says Hillary Clinton almost certainly would have won if FBI Director James Comey hadn't announced less than two weeks before the election the discovery of a new batch of emails. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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