A Blur Of Lobbyists As Transportation Bill Takes Shape

“Four years ago, dozens of companies denounced the invasion of the U. S. Capitol and pledged to withhold support from those who disputed the 2020 election results. Now, many of those companies are lining up to fund Donald Trump’s inauguration,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The Wall Street Journal has identified at least 11 companies and trade associations that are backing the inauguration, which is on track to be the most lucrative ever, after earlier pledging to suspend or reconsider political-action committee donations after Jan.

“Denmark is increasing defense spending in Greenland, said a Danish official Tuesday who called the announcement’s timing with President-elect Trump’s suggestion that the U. S. should own the territory an ‘irony of fate,’” Axios reports. USA Today: Greenland is a no, but what territories has the U. S. purchased?

As Christians around the world celebrated Christmas on Wednesday, Pope Francis called for peace, asking that cease-fires be put in place where wars rage, and that world leaders forgive the debts “that burden the poorest countries,” the New York Times reports. CNN: Russia pounds Ukrainian power grid on Christmas Day.

Nate Cohn: “Whether you call it a realignment or not, American politics hasn’t been the same since Mr. Trump won his party’s nomination. The two parties clash over areas of former consensus, even as they reach détente on issues that defined the polarizing 2004 and 2012 elections. It can be disorienting for anyone who came of age before Mr.

Washington Post: “It’s a little late for this year’s celebrations, but you can get a very early jump on next year and count down with the $38 Trump Advent calendar. Or trim the tree with a $95 Mar-a-Lago bauble or a $16 MAGA hat ornament, sold in nine colors. (A glass version of the hat ornament is $92.) Stuff stockings with an $86 ‘GIANT Trump Chocolate Gold Bar’ and a $22 pair of candy cane socks printed with ‘Trump.’ Prepare a holiday feast with a $14 Trump Christmas tree pot holder and $28 Trump apron featuring Santa waving an American flag.” “The profits from these holiday trinkets do not benefit a political committee or a charitable cause, but the Trump Organization, the Trump family’s privately owned conglomerate of real estate, hotel and lifestyle businesses.

“Next year will bring new strains to the transatlantic alliance, with the return of Donald Trump to the White House,” CNN reports. “The president-elect is certain to pile even more pressure on European nations to increase their spending on defense — and may use the threat of downgrading US support for NATO as leverage.