Comment on The Hill's 12:30 Report

“Donald Trump is in danger of losing another one of his provocative Cabinet picks in a further blow to his bid to shake up Washington in his second term,” CNN reports. “The president-elect is facing a decision about how much his heart is set on former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon.” “Hegseth’s candidacy ran into stiff headwinds on Tuesday, amid increasing disquiet among some GOP senators about allegations concerning his treatment of women, drinking and capacity to run the US military behemoth.”

“President-elect Donald Trump’s bombastic policy threats, Mar-a-Lago missives and mere presence have become a driving force in markets and capitals around the world, six weeks before Trump’s inauguration,” Axios reports. “Only one man occupies the White House. But the norm-busting assertiveness of Trump and his transition team — and the rapidly fading relevance of President Biden — have given the U.

Tucker Carlson said that he was back in Russia to interview Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reports. Carlson said he would ask Lavrov whether the U. S. and Russia are heading towards a potentially nuclear conflict and whether Moscow thinks Trump will end the war in Ukraine.

“The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s criminal case for tax evasion bashed President Joe Biden’s claim that the charges were politically motivated and even suggested the sweeping pardon he issued may have been defective,” Politico reports. “In an order Tuesday evening, U. S. District Judge Mark Scarsi ultimately agreed to end the tax-related criminal proceedings against Hunter Biden in Los Angeles, but only after delivering a series of sharp rebukes to the president.”

Politico compiled “a list of the biggest promises Trump made on the campaign trail or since winning the election to provide a snapshot of what his first week in office might look like.”

“Members of South Korea’s political opposition moved on Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his brief declaration of martial law plunged the country into crisis,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Yoon’s surprise move late Tuesday incited chaos within one of America’s closest allies and evoked memories of post-World War II dictatorial regimes in South Korea that stifled peaceful dissent and created a police state.