Senate Gop Looks To Avoid Showdown With Trump

“More than half of Senate Republicans, including some in senior leadership positions, privately say they don’t see a path for former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be confirmed as attorney general and would not support him to lead the Department of Justice,” NBC News reports. “While Gaetz’s ability to be confirmed appears on the rocks among Senate Republicans, President-elect Donald Trump’s team remains confident he will eventually be confirmed, even if it’s after an ugly battle.” “NBC News spoke to more than 15 additional Republican sources who agreed that there are not enough votes in the Senate to confirm Gaetz, and some estimated that closer to 30 Republicans consider him unqualified.”

“President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in a second Trump administration,” the AP reports.

“Chinese leader Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that he’s ready to work with Donald Trump to improve the relationship between the world’s biggest economies,” Bloomberg reports. “Speaking in their final meeting before Trump takes office, Xi told Biden that the US and China shouldn’t pursue decoupling and instead strive for peaceful existence over the long term.”

By COLLEEN LONG and MATTHEW DALY WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration. CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.

By PHILIP MARCELO NEW YORK — New York City politicians are calling on Whoopi Goldberg to apologize for suggesting on air that a local bakery had declined to make “The View” co-host a batch of desserts for her birthday because of her political beliefs. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella was among the local leaders and supporters who joined Holtermann’s Bakery owner Jill Holtermann at a news conference Friday in front of the 145-year-old institution in the city borough of Staten Island. The Republican said the actor and comedian had “besmirched and defamed” the bakery by “making stuff up to suit their needs.” “Not everybody wakes up everyday thinking about politics,” he said.

By BILL BARROW and JOEY CAPPELLETTI ATLANTA — Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s prodigious fundraising operation raised more than $1 billion in her loss to Donald Trump, but the vice president is still pushing donors for more money after the election. Democrats are sending persistent appeals to Harris supporters without expressly asking them to cover any potential debts, enticing would-be donors instead with other matters: the Republican president-elect’s picks for his upcoming administration and a handful of pending congressional contests where ballots are still being tallied. “The Harris campaign certainly spent more than they raised and is now busy trying to fundraise,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist from Michigan.