| Ben Carson said he preferred not to serve in Donald Trump's administration. Yet on Monday he became the president-elect's nominee to head Housing and Urban Development. |
| Wait - is it opposite day again and nobody forwarded us the memo? If so, your Tuesday edition of For the Record contains no deets about Trump's ever-widening search for secretary of State. And we completely ignored the president-elect's escalating feud with China. Might as well stop reading now. |
| SURGERY, HOUSING. THEY'RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME |
| Ben Carson's Cabinet appointment Monday hardly came as a surprise. It was expected for weeks, even if the retired neurosurgeon and one-time Trump opponent originally said he'd rather stay in private industry. So, what makes Carson qualified to head the agency in charge of affordable housing and community development? |
| NPR asked longtime Carson adviser Armstrong Williams, who said Carson's youth in subsidized housing and connections with regular people make him uniquely qualified to handle the job. Carson also understands a lot more about tax laws and urban planning than the media gives him credit for, Williams explained. |
| For those keeping track, Carson would be the 11th Cabinet member in line to the presidency. So, which top-level appointments are we still missing? Interior, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and the big one, secretary of State. |
| IS YOUR CABINET SENSE TINGLING? PUT IT ON ICE |
| In another apparent opposite-day move, we were recently told that the secretary of State slate was down to four people: 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senate Foreign Relations Committee leader Bob Corker and retired Gen. David Petraeus. |
| But, in fact, Trump is interviewing EVEN MOAR candidates for the all-important foreign-policy job. Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said this a good thing because a lot of people they thought would never want to leave their "lucrative private industry positions" actually are interested in becoming a bureaucrat. |
| Not surprisingly, some Senate Democrats say they plan to treat any controversial appointments just like Republicans did Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland - which is to say, do everything they can to torpedo their confirmations. Because karma - er, their duty to make sure Cabinet members adequately represent all people. |
| At this rate, Trump may have to start World War III with China before we get someone in the job. Hey! Speaking of which: |
| TRUMP TO CHINA: PFFFFFT |
| The Chinese have made it clear via their state-run newspapers that they aren't playing about Trump's decision to chat with a Taiwanese leader. But Trump added fuel to the fire (where else?) on Twitter, saying he didn't recall China asking for our permission to devalue currency or build up its military. |
| If Monday's reaction holds, our foreign policy may include a cage and the services of ring announcer Michael Buffer (the "Let's get ready to rumble!" guy). Chinese President Xi Jinping's crew criticized him for being too soft (apparently the threat of confrontation wasn't enough), while Trump's peeps cheered him for putting those mouthy Chinese in their place. |
| MORE FROM THE TRANSITION |
| • | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stops quest to build oil pipeline through Sioux reservation, but the battle may reignite under Trump (USA TODAY) | | • | Three Florida residents say hacking cost Hillary Clinton the state and are pushing for a recount (Tallahassee Democrat) | | • | Judge moves up Michigan recount start by two days; Republicans vow an appeal, saying "this recount is an incredible waste of Michigan taxpayers' money" (Detroit Free Press) | | • | But good news! That $125 daily stipend to recount ballots should help with those Christmas bills (Lansing State Journal) | | • | Al Gore meets with Trump to find common ground on climate change. They agree there is a climate, and sometimes it gets hot and cold (USA TODAY) | | • | NYC mayor to Obama and Congress: That'll be $35 million to keep Trump Tower secure, please (USA TODAY) | | • | House Speaker Paul Ryan on Obamacare repeal: Don't worry, we'll rip the Band-Aid off slowly so no one gets hurt (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) | | • | Left- and right-leaning think tanks agree: Trump's tax plan benefits the rich most (MSNBC) | |
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| IF YOU'RE GOOGLING THIS, STAHP |
| We know it might be Super-Secret Opposite Day, but we're saying this to truly tell you not to do it. Really. Don't do it. Don't google "Trump letters to Santa." All we got was a not-funny version of Barron Trump's "last letter to Santa" that references killing Muslims. And a supposed letter from The Donald to Santa in 2011 that offers him a ride on a Gulfstream. Bleh. Is this really all the Internet could come up with? And no, we're not providing you the links. |
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