The Hill's 12:30 Report — Gaetz searches for ‘yes’ votes

Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition — 📺 Plus: Trump's TV-ready Cabinet 

View Online  12:30 REPORT PRESENTED BY It's Wednesday. Happy 82nd birthday, President Biden! He has a light schedule today to celebrate. Here's what else is happening: Vance is chauffeuring Gaetz around the Senate today. Trump's Cabinet picks tell us two things. The House Ethics Committee is meeting today to decide what to do with the Gaetz report. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   🤝 On Capitol Hill Haaaaave you met my friend, Ted?!: ©  GIPHY/Laff ^ 'How I Met Your Mother' fans, that one's for you 😉   Vice President-elect Vance is chauffeuring former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) around the Senate today, hoping to soften enough of Vance's soon-to-be former colleagues into voting Gaetz into the powerful role of attorney general.   Why Vance?: He's the main liaison between the Trump transition team and GOP senators.   📸 Vance, Gaetz and Rubio entering the Capitol  I've seen this photo shared all over X.   Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he had a good meeting with Gaetz: "I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true," he said in a statement. Read the full statement.   Just now: The Hill's Emily Brooks noticed Gaetz walking out of Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) office. 👀   Stay tuned!: In tonight's Evening Report, The Hill's Jonathan Easley will recap Gaetz's trek across Capitol Hill. Click here to sign up & get it in your inbox.   Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol: The House Ethics Committee is meeting this afternoon to decide on the fate of the now-defunct report into Gaetz. The report reportedly contains "highly damaging" findings.   It's a no-win situation for Republicans on the committee, writes The Hill's Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks. Democrats on the committee and some Republicans in Congress argue it's important to release for transparency. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) doesn't want it to see the light of day because Gaetz is no longer a sitting member of Congress.   Howdy, rock! 👋 Good day, hard place! 👋   Read more on the internal dynamics: 'Republicans on Ethics Committee weigh 'unenviable' Gaetz report decision'   Even if we don't see this report: Some details of Gaetz's alleged incidents have started to surface. ABC News obtained documents showing that Gaetz "paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department."   The House Ethics Committee obtained a check and Venmo records related to this. 📸 See the check ➤  TIDBIT — PHOTOS WITH JON TESTER: People have lined up outside the Senate to take a photo with outgoing Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). (h/t Politico's Katherine Tully-McManus)📸 Photo 🚨First in The Hill — Mike Johnson's new policy for Capitol bathrooms: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday issued a policy banning transgender women from using bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol that match their gender identity, The Hill's Mychael Schnell scooped.   How this started: This has become a hot-button issue on Capitol Hill in recent days in response to Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who is the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to bar transgender women from using Capitol Hill restrooms that match their gender identity.   Keep in mind: The announcement was made on Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is recognized annually to memorialize trans people who have lost their lives to anti-trans violence.   What we know about the new policy 🕶️ Trump Transition Lenses The celeb Cabinet: ©  GIPHY/Warner Bros. Deutschland President-elect Trump is making two things clear in his upcoming administration: He values loyalty and camera-readiness.   Last time around, Trump was an outsider. Appointing a full roster of government officials was unfamiliar to him. He took longer to decide on Cabinet roles and plowed through a number of picks after not jiving with them personally. (Remember how there were *four* White House chiefs of staff?)   This time is different: He knows exactly what he wants. He sat on the sidelines for the past four years stewing about what could have been. As soon as he won the election earlier this month, he hit the ground running. Instead of opting for traditionally qualified experts in their field, he's opting for people more familiar to him. And it sure doesn't hurt if they're familiar faces on television!   The celeb factor:   A TV-famous doctor to run CMS — Dr. Mehmet Oz A "Real World" reality TV star for Transportation secretary — Sean Duffy A Fox News host to run the Pentagon — Pete Hegseth A former WWE executive for the Education Department — Linda McMahon   NBC's Chuck Todd argues that Trump's motive in his Cabinet is "revenge." Read: 'Chuck Todd: Trump is burning his political capital quickly' ➤  TRUMP'S NEWEST PICK:  The president-elect named his former acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, as the next ambassador to NATO. ➤   HOW TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION PRIORITIES COULD PLAY OUT: The Hill's Rafael Bernal and Rebecca Beitsch break down the major looming questions about the incoming administration's border and immigration policies.   For example — who would be targeted?: "While past administrations have largely focused on more recent arrivals as well as those who pose a public safety threat, Trump has made clear that anyone who is living in the country without legal permission could face removals. It's a large group, an estimated 12 million people, and one the government has traditionally indicated it simply doesn't have the resources to prioritize. Many have been living, working and paying taxes in the U.S. for decades."   Read more: 'Trump's immigration grand strategy casts wide net' ➤   MORE READS ON THE ELECTION AND TRUMP TRANSITION: The Hill: Drug industry treads carefully after stunning RFK Jr. nomination The New York Times: Polling Is Not the Problem — guest essay from Nate Silver Vox: Trump loves tariffs. Will the rest of America? The Wall Street Journal: How Science Lost America's Trust and Surrendered Health Policy to Skeptics The Washington Post: How Trump's tariffs could spark a trade war and 'Europe's worst economic nightmare' Content from our sponsor: Electronic Payments Coalition SHOW ME THE MONEY! MEGA-STORES POCKETED CONSUMER SAVINGS  In 2010 corporate mega-stores promised that if Congress enacted routing mandates on debit card transactions, they would lower prices. Instead, mega-stores pocketed more than $145 billion. CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL!  📰 Other News Where does Trump's New York conviction stand?: "President-elect Trump's attorneys asked the New York judge overseeing his hush money case for a month to mount a formal effort to dismiss his criminal conviction in the wake of his White House victory — a slower timeline than what prosecutors suggest."   What to expect: "Attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — who Trump has named to lead the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, in his Justice Department — requested permission to wait until Dec. 20 to file their motion, which would come just a month before Trump's inauguration. Once Trump is president, his cases are expected to be frozen or thrown out altogether."   Read more: 'Trump seeks to slow roll mounting conviction dismissal ahead of inauguration' ➤  MORE HEADLINES TODAY: 🎯 Target shares plunged: "Target shares plunge 20% after discounter cuts forecast, posts biggest earnings miss in two years," reports CNBC.   🩹 Jay Leno took a fall: Former late-night host Jay Leno says he fell down a 60-foot hill last weekend. He's wearing an eye patch from the fall. 📸 His eye patch 🐝 Internet Buzz 🥜 Celebrate: Today is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day, not to be confused with the broad "National Fudge Day" in June.   🦃 This is intriguing: The New York Times's Eric Kim wrote: "The Secret to the Best Turkey Came From a Reader."   🕷️ The worst thing I've read today: CNN's Jack Guy reports that "police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body." ©  GIPHY/CBS 📆 On The Agenda The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, and Vice President Harris is in Hawaii. (all times Eastern) 1:15 p.m.: State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller gives a press briefing. 💻 Livestream 3 p.m.: The Senate votes on a judicial confirmation. 📆 Today's agenda 4:45 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda 6:30 p.m.: NBC's Courtney Kube interviews outgoing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on "Nightly News." 👋 And Finally... Let's end this on a light note. Have you ever seen a giraffe parade? Stay Engaged Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.   View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time! Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.