How Democrats can still flex power in Trump's Washington: From the Politics Desk

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, senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur examines the way Democrats can still exert some power in Donald Trump's Washington. Plus, we have new reporting on how Senate Republicans plan to handle Matt Gaetz's attorney general nomination, and dive into Trump's selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Health and Human Services Department.

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How Democrats can still flex power in Trump’s Washington

By Sahil Kapur

Republicans have won full control of Washington, but Democrats will retain two key levers of power to shape legislative outcomes in Donald Trump’s second term.

The first is that they held Republicans to a narrow House majority, which gives the party in charge little room for defections in order to pass major legislation. That margin is slimming further as Trump plucks House members for administration jobs. The last two years showed how chaotic and dysfunctional this GOP-controlled House can be, even when the stakes are low.

Now, the stakes are high as Republicans will own the outcomes — or face the blame for paralysis. And Democrats say they intend to stay unified.

“The last two years are a good example. They also had narrow majorities. We think we’ve done a good job of stopping a lot of really bad things. And so I think we’re going have to be using that same strategy,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said. “I think our leadership is going to do a great job of making sure that we’re a good check.”

The second lever for Democrats is the legislative filibuster in the Senate. Many Republican senators, including their newly elected leader, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., promise to preserve the 60-vote threshold for most legislation, even if it hinders Trump’s agenda.

While Senate rules allow the party in charge to bypass the filibuster for changes to taxes and spending, other matters will require 60 votes — including major tasks next year like funding the government, extending the debt ceiling and reauthorizing the farm bill. And Republicans will have 52 or 53 seats next year.

“If they really try to pass extreme stuff, they’re going to have a hell of a fight on their hands,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And here in the Senate, obviously, we continue to have a number of tools to exercise.”

On most legislation, Van Hollen said, Republicans are “going to have to come to the table” and negotiate with Democrats.

Or as Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, put it: “Neither chamber will have an overwhelming majority, and these spending bills will be a bipartisan product.”

One area where Democrats will have little power is on administration and judicial nominees, which require a simple majority to confirm.

On legislative matters, will the GOP be able to transcend party divisions and deliver? Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., the chair of the House Republican campaign arm, said Trump can help keep members on the same page.

“The difference here is with unified government, Donald Trump is setting the agenda,” he said. “I think it becomes much easier to move that agenda, even with a small majority.”

But other Republicans warn that it won’t be smooth sailing.

“The House has always been a chaotic place, will always be a chaotic place. Anyone who thinks it’s going to be smooth sailing has never spent one day walking these halls. But it’ll be on us as members to actually go out and find a way to deliver,” Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said in an interview. “And I certainly think the members that helped bring this majority — we have more to gain, more to lose than anyone else.”

GOP senators want details of Matt Gaetz ethics probe before his confirmation vote for attorney general

By Ryan Nobles, Julie Tsirkin, Frank Thorp V and Kate Santaliz

Republican senators are preparing for a robust vetting of Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, with a keen interest in details from a House Ethics Committee investigation into the former congressman from Florida.

The ethics panel has been investigating Gaetz off and on since 2021, most recently focusing on alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, obstruction and other allegations. But the results of that probe may not become public because Gaetz resigned from the House at noon on Thursday. The Ethics Committee has jurisdiction over only sitting House members.

Trump’s choice of Gaetz was a surprise to nearly everyone, including members of his own party and officials at the Justice Department — in part because of the Ethics investigation, his past legal problems and his reputation as a rabble-rouser in Congress.

A source familiar with the process told NBC News that Gaetz had been consulting Trump on who would be best to run the Justice Department. Gaetz did not ask for the role, that person said, but Trump asked him to take on the job Wednesday morning, just hours before the decision was made public.

Many Republican senators, including members of the GOP-led Judiciary Committee that will oversee Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, said they’ll want to see the details of the House Ethics investigation into Gaetz.

“I think it would be helpful,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, said he would “absolutely” like to see the findings of the House Ethics Committee investigation, saying, “I don’t know the technicalities, or whether or not we would see that, but I think that would be very relevant.”

The House Ethics Committee will meet Friday, three sources familiar with the meeting told NBC News. One of those sources said that releasing the Gaetz report is expected to be among the topics on the agenda. Punchbowl News previously reported Wednesday that the Ethics panel had planned to release a “highly damaging” report about Gaetz on Friday, citing multiple sources familiar with the probe.

Read more →

Trump picks RFK Jr., anti-vaccine activist, for Health and Human Services secretary

By Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Dasha Burns

Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and a former independent presidential candidate, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

During his presidential campaign, Kennedy developed a national profile for his criticism of the Covid vaccines and childhood immunizations. He has claimed that vaccines are tied to autism, despite decades of studies that have disproven such a claim.

Even prior to Kennedy’s selection, some staff members at the Food and Drug Administration were weighing whether to leave if he took a position as a top health official in the Trump administration.

In a statement following Trump’s announcement, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., currently the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said, “RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure.”

He continued, “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”

As the president-elect continues to fill out his administration, keep tabs on his picks with this handy tracker.

Here are some other updates on the Trump transition:

• Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has been accused of amplifying Russian propaganda and would come to the job having never worked in the intelligence world or served on a congressional intelligence committee.

• Pete Hegseth, Trump’s selection for secretary of defense, has said that he believes women should not serve in combat and that he wants to see the military purged of “woke” officials who support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s new Department of Government Efficiency is looking to hire “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries.”

• While some of Trump’s Cabinet picks have surprised members of his own party, those picks underscore Trump’s pledges to shake up Washington.

🗞️ Today’s other top stories

• 💲 <strong>Cash clash:</strong> More than a week after Election Day, the Harris campaign has not only run out of money, it’s still asking for more, which is causing consternation within the Democratic Party. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/kamala-harris/clashes-confusion-secrecy-consume-harris-campaign-finances-rcna179654">Read more →</a>

• 🧑‍💼‘ <strong>Bro whisperers’:</strong> After Trump’s success with young men in the election, The New York Times reports some Democrats are arguing they need to rethink their media strategy to reach Gen Z. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/us/politics/trump-gen-z-influencers-democrats.html">Read more →</a>

• ☑️ <strong>Latest race call:</strong> Democrats flipped Oregon’s 5th District, NBC News projects, with Janelle Bynum now set to becoming <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/trump-2024-presidential-election-transition-plans-live-updates-rcna180077/rcrd64551?canonicalCard=true">the first Black person to represent the state</a> in Congress. Eight House races and one Senate race have not yet been called. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/house-senate-uncalled-races-election-2024-vote-counting-rcna178604">Read more →</a>

• 🎰 <strong>All bets are off:</strong> The FBI raided the apartment of Shayne Coplan, the CEO of the election betting site Polymarket. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fbi-raids-polymarket-ceo-shayne-coplans-apartment-seizes-phone-source-rcna180180">Read more →</a>

• 📱 <strong>X marks the spot:</strong> On the day after the election, X experienced its largest user exodus since Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/x-sees-largest-user-exodus-musk-takeover-rcna179793">Read more →</a>

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com