By Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, we examine how President-elect Donald Trump is filling his future administration with candidates who lost recent high-profile elections. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd explores the parallels between the political climate of today and the late 1800’s.
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🚨Breaking news: President-elect Donald Trump announced he opposed a bipartisan government funding bill, throwing the stopgap measure into chaos just as leaders of both parties were hoping to pass it. Read more →
Losing candidates find landing spots in the Trump administration
By Sahil Kapur and Matt Dixon
President-elect Donald Trump is tapping a slate of loyal allies for plum federal government jobs after they lost races to Democrats in recent years — in some cases partly due to their ties to Trump himself.
The picks include:
- Two former Georgia senators who lost their races in 2020 after promoting Trump’s false claims that he won that election. David Perdue, who went on to lose the 2022 primary for governor while echoing Trump’s election denial, is tapped to be ambassador to China. Kelly Loeffler has been picked to lead the Small Business Administration.
- Doug Collins, the pro-Trump former congressman who lost a Georgia jungle primary to Loeffler in 2020, has been tapped to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Trump’s handpicked Georgia Senate candidate in 2022, former football player Herschel Walker, was tapped to be ambassador to the Bahamas. Walker ran as a MAGA protégé and lost, but he has remained a steadfast supporter of Trump.
- Mehmet Oz, the doctor and TV personality whom Trump elevated to run for Senate in Pennsylvania two years ago, has been selected to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Kari Lake, the Trump ally who lost races in Arizona for governor in 2022 and for Senate in 2024, has been chosen to run Voice of America, an international news broadcaster backed by U.S. funding.
- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore. — who lost re-election to a Democrat who linked her to Trump and derisively told voters she was “standing by her man” — was chosen for labor secretary.
- Lee Zeldin, the Trump-aligned former New York congressman who lost his race for governor in 2022, has been selected to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
For Trump the overriding philosophy behind such picks comes down to one word: loyalty.
“He values loyalty, hard stop. At times, beyond all else. We were not surprised by anyone you mentioned was picked,” a Trump ally familiar with the transition process said. “They are not only qualified for the positions they are nominated for, but have shown great loyalty to President Trump. He’s trying to change Washington and wants people who he knows he can trust.”
Trump’s decisions to elevate those figures empower proven loyalists and come with a catch: Those who dared to challenge Trump have been frozen out or passed over.
That includes Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador during Trump’s first term who then challenged him for the Republican presidential nomination, and Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s secretary of state but is now viewed by many in the MAGA movement as disloyal.
Read more →
The next great reform movement is poised to begin now
The last time the United States had three one-term presidents in a row, the calendar year began with an “18.”
Between Ulysses Grant and William McKinley, America actually had five straight one-term presidencies, including the two nonconsecutive terms of Grover Cleveland.
All of the elections in that period were quite close, and all were essentially about which party could bring the country together and move it forward after the Civil War. And while the divisive issues of that time were different from the divisive issues of this era, the mood and frustration of the country in the late 1800s seem to rhyme with the mood and frustration of the early 2000s.
For instance, the issue of wealth inequality — or simply, the idea that the system is rigged for the wealthy — was a belief back then (think Gilded Age), and it’s certainly a mainstream belief today. There’s a strong argument that we are in a new Gilded Age now, with the enormous wealth being accumulated and created in this period of tech-driven transformation. The gap between the rich and poor has never seemed more vast.
Ultimately, though, that period of political instability and frustration triggered a movement to reform the country’s political system. With the turn of the century came what is now known as the Progressive Era. In a 30-year span, the public demanded more from its government, including things we take for granted today, such as guaranteeing food safety and worker safety. This was when urban areas instituted regular trash pickup, which was then seen as a public health issue. The modern day environmental movement also took hold then, with a focus on preservation and conservation, as well as basic beautification efforts, including building parks and other shared spaces.
On the political side, this era delivered women the right to vote, the direct election of senators and the addition of more rigorous government oversight of the economy, which led to the first big breakup of corporate monopolies.
There’s no question in my mind that the public would like to see a period of true reform and modernization of our public institutions. Given how our politics appears to be repeating (or least rhyming with) the latter part of the 19th century, it’s not too big of a leap to think that just as the inequality and polarization of the Gilded Age triggered the Progressive Era of the early 20th century, that today’s new Gilded Age could give rise to something similar.
Read more from Chuck →
- 📃 Opening the flood Gaetz: The House Ethics Committee has voted to publicly release a report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and could do so as soon as this week. Read more →
- 🎙️ From ‘American carnage’ to unity? Trump has said he wants to focus his inaugural address on unity, but what that means in practice is, for now, anyone’s guess. Read more →
- 📝 Culture wars: The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which included a ban on coverage of gender-affirming care for the transgender children of military service members. Read more →
- ✂️ Another cut: The Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point interest rate cut, the central bank’s third cut of the year. Read more →
- ⏰ TikTok on the clock: The Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal from TikTok challenging a federal law that could ban the app. Read more →
- ⚖️ Abortion back at the court: The Supreme Court also took up a case involving South Carolina’s attempt to prevent Planned Parenthood from participating in the Medicaid health program. Read more →
- 👀 Eyes on Cheney: A GOP-led House subcommittee released an interim report suggesting that the FBI should investigate former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for her work with the House Jan. 6 committee. Read more →
- 🔴 In the red: Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing a $230 million budget shortfall even before Trump ramps up his plans for a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Read more →
- ☀️ Sunshine State clash: State leaders in Florida are continuing to clash with federal officials over investigating a September attempt to assassinate Trump. Read more →
- 🌠 Biden weighs in: President Joe Biden weighed in on the mysterious drone sightings in the northeast, saying there is “nothing nefarious, apparently.” Read more →
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at [email protected]
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