Comment on These Are the Candidates for the Senate Leadership Election

John Avlon: “Running for a seat in New York’s first district, I found that what I learned by listening to voters did not track with the subjects that preoccupy most horse-race political coverage. Instead, people out on Eastern Long Island were focused on issues like the price of food and affordability (from inflation to housing and insurance costs)…” “But the biggest driver of voter frustration was the middle-class squeeze that has been going on for decades and is getting worse.

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is plotting extraordinary measures to stop President-elect Trump’s agenda on confirming judges and appointing his administration. But he’ll have to decide fast if his No. 2 is up for the job,” Axios reports. “Democrats tell Axios they’re nervous about whether Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), 79, has the fire to fight Trump nominees as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.” “Schumer’s options include jamming up GOP attempts to adjourn the chamber for Trump to make recess appointments… But they can only delay the process as long as Senate Democrats have the energy to keep it up.”

ABC News: “On corporate earnings calls since Election Day, executives at the country’s top private prison firms have embraced Trump’s immigration agenda as a potential windfall if the federal government requires contractors to construct new detention facilities and provide additional support services for the unprecedented effort.”

CNN: “Sources said that it came down to Trump having a longstanding relationship with Hegseth, noting that the president-elect always thought he was ‘smart’ and was impressed by his career. Trump also likes that Hegseth is a military veteran and the account of his service in his book.” “While Hegseth’s name had not been on the initial shortlist, Trump was struggling to land on a choice for the job, and he liked Hegseth from Trump’s last term when he briefly considered him for leading the Department of Veterans Affairs before being warned that he may not get confirmed by the Senate.” Said one source: “Trump also thinks he has the look.”

“Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump is set to boost X’s flagging business, with some marketers poised for a return to the social media platform in order to seek favour with the incoming administration,” the Financial Times reports.

“On Wednesday morning, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ notorious Infowars media empire will go up for auction in a court-mandated sale, and at least one bid is in the ‘seven-figure’ range,” CNN reports. “That bid is from an individual described as an ‘ally’ of Jones, who wants the host to continue broadcasting on the Infowars platform he founded under new ownership, the person said.