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Trump Tabs Gaetz For AG, Beltway Stunned

Trump Tabs Gaetz For AG, Beltway Stunned

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
November 14, 2024

Good Thursday morning. Sparking water is still water. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

New Mexico: Grisly finds
Spain: Cocaine cop
Harris: Future opportunity
Grubhub: New owner
Popovich: Suffers stroke

... and more

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Top Tips

1) The Trump show

So much for the Fox News guy being the wild card.

The news: President-elect Donald Trump nominated now-former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General yesterday. The surprise move caused shockwaves on Capitol Hill. Gaetz, 42, is an outspoken Trump ally and political provocateur; he was instrumental in ousting former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last fall.
Elephant in the room: Trump wants Gaetz to lead a Department of Justice that once conducted a investigation into sex trafficking allegations against him. The probe was closed with no charges, but McCarthy has publicly said Gaetz had sex with "a 17-year-old" on several occasions. Gaetz's conduct remained the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation at the time of his nomination.
Quick exit: Gaetz resigned from the House immediately after he was nominated. Speaker Mike Johnson said he stepped down to expedite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' ability to hold a special election and fill the reliably red seat, a boost given the GOP's projected narrow majority. But the ethics probe ended when Gaetz resigned, which means no findings will be made public.
Big picture: Trump has made it clear he wants an AG who will do his bidding, starting with ending his federal criminal cases. The selection of Gaetz revived concerns about Trump's plans to use the DOJ to target his political foes. But Gaetz's odds for Senate approval appear quite long, making it doubtful he will get the job. His lack of legal experience will exacerbate doubts about his personal conduct and personality.
On the undercard: Trump also nominated former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence, another controversial national security pick alongside ex-Fox News host Pete Hegseth, his Secretary of Defense nominee. Gabbard, a former Democrat who recently joined the GOP, has criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and infamously met with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017.

2) Free bird

We can all agree on this, right?

The news: An effort to formally designate the bald eagle as the national bird may finally be nearing the finish line. There is optimism the lame-duck House will follow the Senate's lead and pass a bill in the next few weeks, allowing President Joe Biden to make it law.
Wait, what? The bald eagle has been the symbol of the U.S. since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. But there was never an official legislative proclamation (even if some divisions of government think there was). Congress has named a national mammal (the American bison) and made other national designations.
Big picture: Two historians discovered the oversight and established the National Bird Initiative to lobby Congress. The Senate approved the proposal on July 29. Now the House needs to follow through.

3) Prison riot

At least 17 people died in an incident at Ecuador's most notorious jail.

What happened: A riot broke out at Guayaquil's Litoral Penitentiary, the South American nation's largest and most dangerous prison. The government only said "serious incidents between persons deprived of liberty" occurred and announced nine inmates would face murder charges. At least 15 people were injured in the riot.
Key context: Litoral Penitentiary is built to hold 5K prisoners, but has a current population of about 10K. It has been the site of several violence incidents, including a 2021 riot where 119 people died. Ecuador's prisons are notoriously dangerous due to corruption, gang activity and overcrowding.
Big picture: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is fighting for re-election early next year amid a rash of current and past controversies. He is currently in a political feud with his vice president while his government fights against drug gangs (gunmen hijacked a television station earlier this year) and tries to forge ties with the U.S.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

Police in New Mexico have discovered multiple human skulls, including one connected to a woman's 2019 disappearance. Cops say they found the bones after searching a man's home following a tip; the individual has not been charged with a crime at this point and said he bought the bones online (More)
Meteorologists think Florida could see another hurricane next week. Tropical Storm Sara is expected to form in the Caribbean today; some projections say it could reach Category 3 status and threaten coastal areas (More)
A CIA employee with top-secret clearance was charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel's plans to attack Iran. Asif William Rahman was indicted in Virginia and arrested by the FBI in Cambodia; he has since been brought to Guam (More)

World News

One of Spain's top police officers is tied to the biggest cocaine bust in national history. Officials say he and his wife had over $21M in cash hidden inside their home when their home was raided; he had over $1M in his office as well (More)
French prosecutors want far-right politician Marine Le Pen banned from the country's 2027 presidential race. The National Rally leader is on trial for embezzling European Parliamentary funds; prosecutors also want jail time (More)
A leading politician in Mali was arrested for criticizing Burkina Faso's military rulers, violating a law against insulting foreign heads of state. Mali is also ruled by a military junta; the imprisoned ex-government official has called for a return to democracy (More)

Political News

A new poll says Vice President Kamala Harris would be a heavy favorite if she enters California's 2026 gubernatorial race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he will not seek re-election, sparking speculation the Democrat will run for governor in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited (More | More)
South Dakota Sen. John Thune is the new Senate Republican leader. The House GOP re-elected Speaker Mike Johnson as its leader after clinching its majority again, but he could face pressure from his right flank when his speakership faces the full floor vote (More | More)
President Biden and President-elect Trump met at the White House. Trump thanked Biden for a smooth transition; the president-elect also met with Congressional Republicans while in town (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 eked out modest gains (Dow +0.11%, Nasdaq-0.26%, S&P 500 +0.02%).
Wonder, a food delivery startup, has acquired Grubhub for $650M. Just Eat Takeaway, the platform's Netherlands-based parent company, has been looking to offload the service after its plummet from a $7.3B valuation in 2020 (More)
AMD will lay off 4% of its global workforce, or about 1K employees. The computer chipmaker is the world's second-biggest producer of graphics processing units; it is aiming to compete with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence space (More)

Entertainment & Sports

San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich suffered a minor stroke. The 75-year-old is expected to make a full recovery but will be sidelined indefinitely; he is the winningest and oldest coach in NBA history and has won five titles with the team (More)
Future BAFTA Awards winners can be stripped of their honors if found guilty of crimes. The new bylaws come after longtime BBC News presenter Huw Edwards, a past recipient, was convicted on child pornography charges (More)
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the International Olympic Committee must institute new policies on transgender athletes to "protect female sport." The former British Olympic champion runner is a candidate to be the next IOC president ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles (More)

Quick Hitters

Fun Stuff: Waking up to an alarm clock can be rough. Waking up to five adorable puppies? Not so much.
New Idea: Scientists are making fake whale poop and dumping it in the ocean. It sounds crazy, but there is a method to the madness -- the synthetic dung triggers phytoplankton growth when exposed to sunlight and gobbles up carbon dioxide.
Go Deep: No one smiles in old photographs. There are a few reasons for that.
Take Note: Saying "thank you" really does make a difference. Research indicates it is a secret weapon for fostering harmony inside a family.
Life Hack: One of the best ways to handle stress is writing out a to-do list. It can help you sleep, strategize and more.

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