Comment on Senator: Lawmakers $320B short for health plan

Semafor: “On top of their small majority, Republicans may also have two troublesome tasks to handle next year: funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year and raising the debt limit.”

“President-elect Donald Trump has floated selecting the financier Kevin Warsh as his Treasury secretary with the understanding that he could later be nominated to lead the Federal Reserve when Jerome Powell’s term as chair ends in 2026,“ the Wall Street Journal reports. “Trump discussed the potential arrangement with Warsh during a meeting Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s private club in Florida.” “Warsh is a front-runner to lead the Treasury Department… Trump is thinking about appointing the investor Scott Bessent to lead the National Economic Council with an eye toward nominating him as Treasury secretary later in his term if Warsh becomes Fed chair.”

“Ben Carson — the former neurosurgeon who helmed the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first Trump administration — is a favorite to return to the role if he wants it,” Politico reports.

The latest episode of Trial Balloon is live for members. Matt Gaetz gives up after just eight days. What does that say about power and politics in America? .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising.

Politico: “Rather than showcasing Trump’s absolute power over his GOP allies, it revealed his limits. The doomed nomination lasted just eight days — and its failure is an unwelcome lesson for the president-elect, who has been projecting invincibility and claiming a historic mandate despite his reed-thin popular vote victory.” Playbook: “Gaetz’s path to helm the DOJ was based on one calculation: That, yes, his nomination would be painful for Senate Republicans to swallow, but that they would ultimately capitulate to Trump.

Playbook: “For years, the conventional wisdom around Trump is that he has a sweet tooth for chaos and that his appetite is bottomless as long as he ultimately gets the outcome he desires. But Gaetz-gate suggests that when that chaos becomes a distraction — or worse in his eyes, when it makes him look bad — he’s willing to cut bait and head home.” “Trump’s flood-the-zone approach often works when it comes to the public: overwhelm people with news and it becomes difficult to prioritize what matters and what doesn’t.