Comment on Republicans eye prizes; Dems brace for losses

When activist and organizer Raquel Willis spoke at the inaugural Women’s March on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017, the organization was very different. At that time, Willis was a burgeoning leader in social justice and activism, and she says the conversation around trans experiences was limited.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. If you want to understand both political parties’ unmooring at this moment, you might look at perhaps the most unlikely of proxies: none other than Matt Gaetz, the bomb-throwing former House member and failed nominee to become Donald Trump’s newest Attorney General. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that the House Ethics Committee had secretly voted to release its report into Gaetz in the coming days.

Democrats went with the old guy with experience over AOC to lead them in the House Oversight Committee after Jamie Raskin went to Judiciary. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez had been Vice Ranking Member, or Raskin's #2. Some Democrats aren't happy about this, but it's more or less how things in Washington work.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is defending what he says is “embarrassing, though not criminal” past behavior and taking a shot at the House Ethics Committee, following reports that the panel voted to release its findings about him, The Hill reports. Said Gaetz: “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked.

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days. The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday.

“The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could ban its U. S. operations, putting the case on an exceptionally fast track, culminating in oral arguments at a special session on Jan. 10,” the New York Times reports.