Obama Clears Way For Families Of Hostages To Pay Ransoms

Time: “It wasn’t just the MAGA faithful. Trump harnessed deep national discontent about the economy, immigration, and cultural issues. His grievances resonated with suburban moms and retirees, Latino and Black men, young voters and tech edgelords.” “While Democrats estimated that most of the country wanted a President who would uphold the norms of liberal democracy, Trump saw a nation ready to smash them, tapping into a growing sense that the system was rigged.

A new Monmouth poll finds if Donald Trump did suspend some laws and constitutional provisions, 52% of the public would be bothered a lot by this. This number is down from 65% who felt this way in June. Those who say they would be bothered a lot by this ranges from 77% of Democrats (down from 86% in June) to 55% of independents (down from 68%) and just 23% of Republicans (down from 41%).

“A Justice Department watchdog found that there were no undercover FBI employees at the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot, rejecting speculation from allies of President-elect Donald Trump who have for years suggested that the violence that day was provoked by federal agents,” CNN reports.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday that he wants to conclude the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal,” Axios reports. “There are 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, including seven Americans.”

President-elect Donald Trump told Time that he “may reject spending bills sent to him from Congress if they do not match the cuts prescribed by a cost-cutting plan being drafted by billionaire advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.” “The potential threat may give the pair the juice they need to force lawmakers to take their recommendations seriously, avoiding the irrelevance that met so many of their predecessors.” Trump also “discounted potential conflicts of interest for Musk, whose private businesses have received more than $15 billion in federal contracts going back a decade and stand to have billions more funneled their way in years to come.”

“Presidents have expansive power over trade policy — but that power is derived from specific legal provisions that dictate multistep processes for deploying that power,” Axios reports. “That means that businesses may not face the overnight imposition of large-scale tariffs but instead have time to prepare their supply chains, and the opportunity to seek exclusions for goods they have no choice but to import — at least, to the extent President-elect Trump follows his first-term trade playbook.”