Principals

1. Trump taps Bondi
2. Gaetz not fading out yet
3. Trump’s regulator shortlist
4. Primary threats
5. GOP’s slow 100 days
6. Biden toughens on Russia
7. Braun to serve full term

PDB: US reacts to ICC arrest warrants

Halifax security forum kicks off … Five things to know about Pam Bondi … WSJ: Trump’s latest idea for treasury secretary

Trump taps Bondi as attorney general after Gaetz steps aside

Donald Trump started from scratch in his search for an attorney general following Matt Gaetz’s surprise withdrawal Thursday — and quickly decided on former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. Trump had an in-person meeting with Bondi on Thursday, one person familiar with the situation told Semafor, and made the announcement of her selection hours later. He had originally struggled to find someone he liked for the position before choosing Gaetz on a whim, and has been more focused this week on his options for treasury secretary and FBI director. Soon after Gaetz stepped aside, names were quickly floated by outside Trump allies and transition team members: Todd Blanche, Trump’s personal attorney who has been tapped as deputy attorney general, and Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, were raised by multiple people. But Trump, it turned out, already had a name in mind.

— Shelby Talcott and Burgess Everett

Gaetz could return to Congress

Gaetz may have withdrawn as Trump’s attorney general pick, but he’s not going far from the spotlight. The Florida Republican bowed out of consideration, reportedly after CNN contacted him about an alleged second sexual encounter with a 17-year-old — and now Congress is abuzz over the possibility that Gaetz could return to office next year after his attempt to join the Trump administration imploded. One source familiar with the House conversations cited former Rep. John Fogerty, D-RI, as precedent; after his election for a third term, Fogerty resigned from Congress in 1944 to serve in the US Navy and returned the following year. Gaetz did not return a request for comment. Meanwhile, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., welcomed Gaetz’s withdrawal but said he wouldn’t cancel his plans to force a vote on releasing the House Ethics Committee’s investigative report into Gaetz.

— Kadia Goba

More candidates emerge for financial regulatory posts

Trump’s list of candidates to potentially lead financial regulators is growing, Semafor’s Rachel Witkowski reported. Current Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman is being floated for the central bank’s vice chair of supervision role (currently occupied by Michael Barr) and Jonathan Gould, a partner at law firm Jones Day, is among those who Trump may tap to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Meanwhile, Trump is looking at Todd Zywicki, a George Mason University law professor, to potentially lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The names are among a broader pool that Semafor previously reported on.

Republicans’ Cabinet conundrum

The idea that Republican senators will rebel further against Trump after the Gaetz drama is hemmed in by a raw political reality. Republicans are defending more than 20 Senate seats next cycle, and in a bunch of them could face primary challenges, particularly if they raise the ire of Trump by sinking his cabinet picks. Trump-aligned outsiders like Steve Bannon are already warning Republicans they will face political wrath, but Senate leaders say things will work out. “Hopefully we’ll figure a path forward on [nominees] that enables the president to be successful and implement his agenda and set ourselves up for success in 2026,” incoming GOP leader John Thune told Semafor. Republican senators said that Trump isn’t going to just reflexively primary everyone that votes against him — as long as his nominees generally get through, he should be OK.

Kurt Volker served as US ambassador to NATO under the George W. Bush administration.

Trump’s party may see a slow first 100 days

Trump’s ambitious hopes for his first-100-day agenda may slow down thanks to the House GOP’s tiny majority and a couple of tough fiscal fights that are coming up next year, Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports. Republicans are celebrating their complete control of Washington and hoping to deliver a sprawling tax package, along with conservative border and energy policies. But they’ve also privately discussed the risk of burning too much time on government spending bills during Trump’s first months in office. “We don’t want to chew up the runway,” Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky, told Semafor. Adding to that, Republicans’ slim margin of control in the House will temporarily shrink once Trump’s advisers are confirmed. Historically, that’s hampered the party’s ability to pass legislation. “It’s a difficult problem to be managed,” acknowledged senior Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

Biden’s final moves on Ukraine

In five days, President Biden has reversed US policies on Ukraine using long-range missiles to strike Russia and shipping anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, while imposing new sanctions on Russian energy. “His policy is aimed at trying to give Ukraine the best possible leverage moving into, we hope, opportunities for discussions on how we end the act of war,” retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who leads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Semafor, insisting the shifts were in the works regardless of the election outcome. “By and large, this has been coming.” Trump allies have balked at the battlefield shifts, arguing they would escalate the war before the new president takes office. Russia did grow even more aggressive by firing a ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday. But Semafor’s Mathias Hammer scoops that Russia notified the US of the planned strike “briefly before the launch.”

— Morgan Chalfant

What Braun can do for GOP

Indiana Sen. Mike Braun is putting to rest speculation among his GOP colleagues that he could resign his seat early if he’s not going to make Senate votes during the lame duck. He said in an interview he’ll be back in December for critical votes and will serve out his whole term. Braun missed some votes this week at his orientation ahead of becoming governor of Indiana — as did some other senators. But after the orientation, Braun changed his flight from Indiana to DC and returned. That move set in motion some dominos: Now with full GOP attendance predicted next month, Democrats cut a deal with Republicans to finish up some lower-level judicial nominees in exchange for leaving behind some appellate nominees which couldn’t be confirmed anyway, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

— Burgess Everett

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: After leading an unsuccessful effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., plans to support his reelection as speaker next year. Donald Trump’s endorsement of Johnson has a lot to do with it.

Playbook: Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration as Trump’s nominee for attorney general demonstrates that Senate Republicans “might actually be a soft check on the leader of their party when they feel like he is going too far.”

WaPo: Nick Gourevitch, a pollster who worked for Kamala Harris’ campaign, said she lost the presidential election because of overwhelming voter concerns about the economy and inflation. “To be honest, if you ever did a focus group with anybody over the last year, it is the first thing that comes up every single time,” he said.

Axios: Like Gaetz, Pam Bondi is a Trump loyalist, but she comes with “less baggage, fewer enemies and more relevant experience.”

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., signaled he is open to supporting Dr. Mehmet Oz as Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,

What the Right isn’t reading: Trump’s education secretary pick Linda McMahon was accused in a lawsuit of enabling sexual abuse of children by a World Wrestling Entertainment employee, which she denies.

White House

• President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting a dinner on the South Lawn this evening.

Congress

• Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., conceded to Republican challenger Dave McCormick.
• Mitch McConnell will lead a subcommittee that oversees defense spending after he steps down as Senate GOP leader.
• Republicans plan to set up a new Oversight subcommittee led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., that will work with the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Transition

• Donald Trump’s transition team was “blindsided” by new details about a 2017 sexual assault allegation against his defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. — WSJ
• Trump rejected a push to install Roger Severino as the deputy HHS secretary due to the anti-abortion stance he laid out in Project 2025. — Politico
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once likened Trump to Hitler. — CNN

Economy

• Gary Gensler intends to step down as SEC chair in January.

Courts

• Jussie Smollett’s conviction for staging an attack against himself was overturned.

National Security

• Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Mark Warner said China’s hack of US telecommunications companies represents the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history.” — WaPo
• FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined to appear for a public hearing before a Senate committee, drawing pushback from lawmakers from both parties.

Foreign Policy

• The US criticized the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, with President Biden calling them “outrageous.”
• Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia hit Ukraine with a new ballistic missile.

Technology

• Apple is developing a new version of Siri, aiming to make its digital assistant more conversational. — Bloomberg

Principals Team

• Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Elana Schor, Morgan Chalfant
• Reporters: Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Trump is back, and so is the stock-market chaos that accompanied his first win, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman reported.

It could an even wilder ride this time: The president-elect is angrier and more sure-footed, but there are also more like him around: “Elon Musk xeets more than Trump truths, has 24 times as many followers, and owns the algorithm that fills our feeds,” she wrote.