 Beltway NewslettersPunchbowl News: House Speaker Mike Johnson gave members of the Steering Committee the impression that he was backing Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a closed-door meeting earlier this week, despite Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo. — the favorite for the position — entering the meeting with Johnson’s support. After Mast was picked in a surprise, Johnson insisted he didn’t try to influence members one way or another — a departure from what past speakers have done. Playbook: Some Democrats are warming up to Elon Musk, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who both “want to shape the thinking of someone who will have an outsize microphone regardless of what they do.” Axios: Executives in Washington, DC, are encouraging Donald Trump to push more federal workers back to the office. BlindspotStories 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: The immigration surge under President Biden represents the largest in US history, according to The New York Times. What the Right isn’t reading: Biden is facing more pressure from allies to extend protections to undocumented immigrants in the US before Donald Trump takes office in January. White House- President Biden granted clemency to 1,500 people serving long prison sentences who were placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 39 others who were convicted of nonviolent crimes. The moves represent the “largest single-day act of clemency in modern history,” according to the Associated Press.
- Anita Dunn, a former top Biden White House aide, sharply criticized the timing and explanation behind Biden’s earlier decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden.
Congress- The House passed the $895.2 billion fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill in a 281-140 vote. Less than half of the chamber’s Democratic members voted in favor of it, as many disagreed with a provision curtailing transgender health care.
Transition- Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration. — CBS
- Trump has named Kari Lake to be the director of government-funded media outlet Voice of America.
- Trump named Leandro Rizzuto Jr. as ambassador to the Organization of American States, Peter Lamelas as ambassador to Argentina, and Dan Newlin as ambassador to Colombia.
- Meta Platforms donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. — WSJ
Outside the Beltway- North Carolina Republicans overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill to strip power from incoming Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat.
Economy- The consumer price index ticked up 0.3% in the last month — its highest monthly increase since April and a sign that the period of steady cooling of inflation may be coming to an end.
BusinessCourtsPolls- Just four-in-10 US adults approve of President Biden’s decision to pardon his son, according to a new Marist poll, while an AP-NORC poll put the figure even lower at two-in-10.
- Fifty-four percent of US adults believe Donald Trump will do a good job when he returns to the White House, according to a CNN poll.
 National Security- The Defense, State, and Treasury departments disagree with President Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel on national security grounds. — FT
Foreign Policy- Hamas said it will agree to allow Israeli forces to temporarily remain in Gaza once fighting stops, and handed over a list of hostages it would free as part of a ceasefire deal, raising hopes for momentum around peace talks. — WSJ
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged the Trump administration to maintain an economic dialogue with China.
Technology- Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Truth Social.
- Sixteen percent of sitting US congresswomen have had AI-generated images of themselves appear on deepfake porn websites without their consent, according to the American Sunlight Project.
Media- Donald Trump will be named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” a milestone he’ll celebrate with an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. — Politico
Big Read- Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell intends to spend the last two years of his time in office fighting against a Republican party that is becoming more isolationist, the Financial Times reports. “We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War Two,” he was quoted as saying. “Even the slogan is the same. ‘America First.’ That is what they said in the ’30s.”
Principals Team- Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Elana Schor, Morgan Chalfant
- Reporters: Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel
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