FOR PETE’S SAKE

Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s bid to lead the largest military on Earth appears to be back from the brink. Are Senate Republicans leaning on the gas with Trump’s clown car full of kooky cabinet picks?

• When President-elect Donald Trump hand-plucked Fox News host Pete Hegseth from the television set to become his defense secretary, everyone who cares about foreign policy went: Who the hell is that guy? Well, we’ve learned a lot about Hegseth over the past few weeks, and his background ain’t pretty. A few of the hits: A sexual assault claim (which he denied), five affairs during his first marriage, his own mom calling him an “abuser” of women, tattoos associated with Christian nationalism, allegedly yelling “kill all Muslims” in a bar, saying women shouldn’t serve in the military, allegedly hosting his morning TV show after drinking, and saying that allowing gay people in the military is “Marxist.” What an incredible run for this guy! It’s like going for a Guinness World Record, in the category of “most reasons not to become defense secretary.”

• For a moment there, his nomination looked doomed — especially after controversial former Rep. Matt Gaetz abandoned his bid for attorney general in a cloud of scandal.  But Trump hasn’t backed down on Hegseth, and MAGA world is clamoring for his confirmation. Suddenly, it’s looking like that pressure campaign may be working.

• “I think he’s definitely more likely to be confirmed than not at this point,” a Senate GOP aide told What A Day. He added that lawmakers have “bigger fish to fry” and, when it comes to actual policy, Hegseth isn’t “that far off from” from where most Republican lawmakers are.

Basically, Republicans seem to be sidestepping their gripes with Hegseth’s personal history to support a nominee who mostly aligns with their views on how to lead America’s military.

• Even if Republicans don’t like the dude personally, they probably think it’s better to back someone who checks most of their policy boxes. Others on Capitol Hill remain skeptical, however, and think there’s still more dirt to come. “His full record and background has still not come into view. He’s clearly unqualified, and has a ton of baggage,” a Senate Democratic aide told What A Day. “I don’t think he has the votes right now, but we’ll see how far Senate Republicans are willing to go to debase themselves.”

• It’s a remarkable turn of events — and a demonstration of Trump’s iron grip over Republicans in Congress. Just last week, Trump was reportedly talking to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) about replacing Hegseth. But Trump’s inner circle became convinced that backing away from the Fox News host would embolden skeptical Republicans like Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the New York Times  reports. She’s a survivor of sexual assault who champions women in the military — the polar opposite of Hegseth, who only recently said he supports women joining the service. None of that mattered: “As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” Ernst said earlier this week.

• Hegseth is now the frontline figure to watch in order to know whether Senate Republicans will roll over and support the rest of Trump’s profoundly unqualified, misfit cabinet picks. If this nomination falls, it becomes possible to imagine others could stumble — like the authoritarian-friendly Tulsi Gabbard for intel chief, or antivaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services (a man who is, more problematically for Republicans, hardly pro-life). If Hegseth perseveres, then, well, it’s harder to see why the others won’t make it, too.

Pete Hegseth still isn’t a shoo-in for the defense secretary job. Let’s just say, however, that we’re not sure who’d win if you compared the duration of his nomination to a head of lettuce.

IT’S ALL OVERDRAFT

Americans’ simmering outrage over inhumane corporate policies has been front-and-center this week, after the internet erupted into morbid glee over the gangland-style killing of a health insurance executive on a New York City street. The shooting touched off a raging discussion about the worst excesses of Big Health Insurance, including denial of coverage to extremely sick people.

But amid that controversy, it’s important to note how real change more commonly goes down — without, y’know, anybody getting shot — as actually occurred today in the banking world, with overdraft fees.

The big news: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a finalized rule limiting how much banks can charge on their overdraft fees, lowering it from $35 to $5.

The move will save Americans an estimated $5 billion a year. About 1 in 4 Americans live paycheck to paycheck, while banks have brought in as much as $280 billion from “junk fees,” like excessive overdrafts, since 2000.

“For far too long, the largest banks have exploited a legal loophole that has drained billions of dollars from Americans’ deposit accounts,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they’re charging on overdraft loans.”

The rule would take effect in October 2025 — unless Donald Trump’s replacement to lead the CFPB ditches it. Lobbyists for banks have been pushing back hard against the rule, and will surely continue doing so.

But limiting overdrafts fees falls in line with numerous measures — popular across the political spectrum — that the Biden administration has enacted to help average people whose net worth isn’t over $400 billion, like Elon Musk.

Yesterday, a federal judge blocked what would have been the largest supermarket merger in history, a major win for the Federal Trade Commission under Chair Lina Khan. In October, she also pushed through a new rule designed to make canceling subscriptions and memberships easier, aimed at saving everyone time and money. That’s good politics!

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Hamas has agreed to two of Israel’s conditions for a cease-fire in Gaza, raising hopes that a deal to release hostages could be made soon, the Wall Street Journal reports. Those conditions: Israeli troops could remain in the territory during the cease-fire, and Hamas handed over a list of hostages it would release. Keep in mind, however, that countless negotiations have faltered over the past year.

Donald Trump was in fact named Time’s “Person of the Year” today. One noteworthy comment about grocery prices: “I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.” Thank you so much for this unparalleled wisdom as always, Donald… especially after promising on the campaign trail to “bring those costs way down.” Classic stuff.

Donald Trump Jr. reportedly dumped his fiancé, Kimberly Guilfoyle, because he thought his new 38-year-old girlfriend “would impress” his father. Normal, healthy family dynamic! On a similar note, Barron Trump is reportedly a “ladies man” at New York University, even among liberal classmates. We learned too much today.

Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, months after Trump threatened to punish newly-swagged-out tech bro Mark Zuckerberg if he opposed his presidential campaign. Nothing says “we’re good, don’t persecute me” like a $1 million check. Democracy!

Colleges around the country are urging international students to return to campus before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, out of fears that he’ll enact a travel ban again.

Luigi Mangione, the suspected CEO shooter, could lose out on a share of his grandmother’s $30 million fortune outlined in her will, according to TMZ. Trustees of the will can nix anyone “charged, indicted, convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony,” the document reportedly says. Mangione has been charged with several crimes so far. (Side note: Here’s Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) take on the case.)

A publisher who moonlights as a DJ is in charge of installing many of Trump’s 4,000 of appointees. The Washington Post has a great deep dive on Sergio Gor, dubbed the “Mayor of Mar-a-Lago” in Trumpworld. A taste: One time, he “bet Don Jr. $500 that he wouldn’t jump into a Louisiana swamp filled with 13-foot alligators.” Don Jr. did it.

The age distribution of U.S. senators is very similar to that of people living in The Villages in Florida, the largest retirement home in the country. Hmmm, I wonder why we can’t figure out how to regulate artificial intelligence or social media.

President Joe Biden must act now to protect everyone’s civil rights and civil liberties before Donald Trump takes office in January.

President Biden can take these three actions right now to protect us all. We need your help to push his administration to get these done before January:

• Commute the row: Biden must act now to prevent Donald Trump’s plans to expand on his inhumane use of the death penalty. Biden must use his powers to commute the death sentences of everyone on federal death row and prevent another Trump administration execution spree.

• Keep the Trump administration’s hands off data: The U.S. government is dodging warrant requirements by buying sensitive personal data from third parties. The Biden administration must end federal purchases of personal information before he leaves office.

• Shut down the ICE detention machine: ICE has signaled plans to expand its capacity and open up new detention facilities, which will help make the Trump administration’s mass deportations a reality. President Biden must stop this expansion and close abusive ICE detention facilities.

President Biden has an opportunity right now to cut off paths for the Trump administration’s abusive, unjust plans to proceed. Join us in calling on his administration to take these three actions now to protect people across the country.