Arizona Budget Deal Cut, But Republican Opposition Remains

“Sen. Tim Scott’s tenure as chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm is starting with a controversial hire,” NOTUS reports. “Stephen DeMaura — the former campaign manager for Mike Pence’s most recent presidential campaign — is expected to be the new executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.” “But the hire has already ruffled the feathers of many Republicans on Capitol Hill, with some GOP aides telling NOTUS they see it as a ‘strange’ and ‘weird’ decision given Donald Trump’s return to the White House.”

“As Donald Trump moves to fill his administration with polarizing figures like former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz and onetime presidential rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he may need Congress to heed his demand to allow him to bypass the traditional confirmation process and appoint his picks without Senate approval,” the Washington Post reports. “The president-elect has insisted that rather than put his nominees through an extended public vetting process, the GOP-led Senate should take extended breaks that would allow him to make recess appointments.” “Experts in American democracy say Trump’s call is the first major post-election test for Republicans in Congress of whether they will stand up for traditional checks and balances or bend to Trump’s desire not to have his choices questioned.” For members: How Trump Could Get Matt Gaetz Through

“President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Doug Burgum, a one-time rival for the Republican presidential nomination, to run the Interior Department,” Politico reports.

“Donald Trump’s transition team scrambled Thursday after Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles was presented with an allegation that former Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to be Defense Secretary, had engaged in sexual misconduct,” Vanity Fair reports. “According to two sources, Wiles was briefed Wednesday night about an allegation that Hegseth had acted inappropriately with a woman.

“Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer heard a consistent, urgent alarm this week from Democrats who felt ambushed by GOP attacks on transgender people participating in women’s sports,” Axios reports. “In two private postmortem meetings attended by Schumer, Democrats said the party was caught flat-footed by the attacks, even as many campaigns aired ads pushing back.” “The GOP spent over $77 million on ads about transgender issues in U.

Voters in Washington state narrowly passed a measure to preserve “energy choice” and block the state from discouraging natural gas—delivering a significant blow to climate efforts in one of the country’s greenest states. After days of counting, the measure, I-2066, passed Thursday with about 52 percent support, according to the Associated Press. I-2066, as I reported earlier this month, fits into a growing, national backlash to progressive policies encouraging electrification across the United States, following lawsuits against Berkeley, California, New York State, and Washington, DC, places which moved to ban gas hookups in new construction in recent years.