As Congress Returns, Tough Issues Remain - Kansas City Star

“President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause,“ CNN reports.

“President-elect Donald Trump is pressing forward with his decision to put forward former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, despite widespread unease on Capitol Hill about entrusting the Justice Department to a figure with limited legal experience who has recently faced investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct,” CNN reports. “Trump’s insistence on the controversial pick has drawn warnings from allies and lawmakers, who caution that Gaetz faces an uphill climb to secure the 51 votes needed for Senate confirmation.

“Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire who has become President-elect Donald Trump’s ‘first buddy,’ appeared to publicly pressure Trump on economic policy and a key Cabinet appointment Saturday,” the Washington Post reports. “In a Saturday morning post on X, the social network he owns and runs, Musk praised a foreign leader’s decision to cut tariffs — the same import taxes that Trump wants to raise to the highest level in a century.” “Several hours later, Musk posted that Howard Lutnick, Trump’s co-transition chair, would be a better choice than hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for treasury secretary.” Wall Street Journal: Messy fight for Trump’s Treasury chief spills into public.

Dan Balz: “The opening phase of President-elect Donald Trump’s second trip to the White House has been nothing like the first. What this portends for the coming four years is exactly what Trump pledged in the campaign: disruption and retribution.” Peter Baker: “Somehow disruption doesn’t begin to cover it. Upheaval might be closer.

“Vice President Kamala Harris spent a remarkable $1.5 billion in her hyper-compressed 15-week presidential campaign. But in the days since losing to President-elect Donald Trump, her operation has faced questions internally and externally over where exactly all that cash went,” the New York Times reports. “Despite her significant financial advantage, Ms.

New York Times: “Democrats, and even some Republicans, worry that these nominees for top positions in government are inexperienced, conflicted and potentially reckless. But in interviews with almost two dozen Trump voters around the country, his supporters were more likely to describe them as mavericks and reformers recruited to deliver on Mr.