MORNING REPORT

Monday, December 30 | By Kristina Karisch

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In today's issue:

▪ Trump 2.0 takes on budget, debt limit

▪ Jimmy Carter's legacy

▪ The Oz vs. RFK Jr. weight loss fight

▪ South Korea investigates deadly airplane crash

Washington gears up for Trump 2.0, Carter's legacy

With three weeks to go until Inauguration Day, Washington is preparing for President-elect Trump's second term in office, adjusting their expectations to meet reality.

On the campaign trail, the president-elect made grandiose promises to voters to bring down costs quickly, to end the war in Ukraine before he even took office and to use tariffs to bolster the U.S. economy and manufacturing. But since winning the election, The Hill's Brett Samuels reports, Trump has indicated that delivering on those promises may not be as simple as advertised.

Democrats were quick to jump on Trump's comments, suggesting it amounted to a broken campaign promise before he even took office.

"Candidate Trump promised to lower grocery prices, but now it seems he isn't even going to try," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posted on the social platform X. "While champagne corks pop at Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Trump says that he can't really lower grocery prices because it's 'very hard.' Sad. It's the start of a broken promise."

As Trump prepares to take office, Democrats are bracing for a new — and, for them, bleak — political era. Trump's inauguration will represent a massive rebuke to the party, The Hill's Niall Stanage writes in The Memo, as he is viewed by many Democrats as an actual threat to the American republic, and the voters have put him back into power handily.

Further, the GOP will hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, depriving Democrats of any obvious chance to put the brakes on Trump's agenda on Capitol Hill. Instead, the pushback against the president-elect is set to come at the state level.

▪ The Hill: As Elon Musk's influence grows, Democrats taunt Trump with "President Musk."

▪ The Hill: Karoline Leavitt is set to take the reins as the youngest ever White House press secretary.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Wall Street is optimistic that a buoyant stock market, declining interest rates and Trump's lighter-regulation agenda will prompt a dealmaking rebound in 2025. But jitters remain.

In Congress, December's messy government shutdown fight foreshadowed some of the challenges House Republicans could face next year, as a major test on funding awaits the incoming GOP "trifecta." Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown last week, but GOP leadership struggled to meet tough demands from Trump while navigating a tight Republican majority to produce a deal that could also pass the Democratic-led Senate in the eleventh hour.

The Hill's Aris Folley reports that some see the fight as a kind of practice run for when Congress is expected to ramp up work on the 12 fiscal 2025 funding bills early next year.

"The reality, for the better part of the first year, [is] we're going to have a one-vote majority," Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), a spending cardinal, said earlier this month. "So, in a way, it's almost like practice, showing what we're going to have to do. On the upside, we know we're going to have to sit in rooms and communicate and listen and work through some things. Probably not going to be all easy times. Some will be. But I think it was a good trial run for 2025."

One notable fight between Trump and congressional Republicans came on the debt limit. The president-elect sparred over the debt limit with conservative lawmakers who are demanding steep cuts to federal spending that will significantly complicate his ability to pass his agenda. Thirty-eight House Republicans sent a warning to Trump last week by rejecting his demand to extend the nation's borrowing authority for two years, casting doubt on Trump's influence over GOP conservatives.

Conservatives now say Trump will need to agree to deep cuts in spending if he wants their support for raising the debt limit in 2025, writes The Hill's Alexander Bolton. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called the defeat of Trump's proposal to raise the debt limit without spending cuts "a good day for conservatives."

"We're about 33 percent overdrawn. We bring in about $4.8 trillion [in revenue] and spend $6.8 trillion [per year], so you got to get about $2 trillion worth of spending down," Paul said. "That debate's going to be ongoing. I for one am going to do what I can to make sure the debt ceiling becomes more important."

3 Things to Know Today

Justice Department lawyers who have angered Trump and his allies are facing tough decisions about whether to stay in government — and how to best protect themselves from threats of retribution.
Before Trump, the U.S. deported immigrants en masse before. Here's what happened.
The Osprey, flown by the Marines, Navy and Air Force, has crashed or been involved in an accident dozens of times, killing more than 60 people since it was rolled out nearly 40 years ago. But the Pentagon is adamant that the Osprey is safe and has continued to operate it despite mounting public concerns from family members, experts and lawmakers.

LEADING THE DAY

A CENTURY-LONG LEGACY: Jimmy Carter, the unassuming Georgia peanut farmer whose improbable political rise took him to the governor's mansion before the White House, died on Sunday at the age of 100, according to his son. The former president had begun receiving hospice care in 2023 after a series of short hospital stays, choosing to "spend his remaining time at home with his family" instead of receiving additional medical intervention.

Carter will be honored with public observances in both Georgia and Washington, D.C., in the coming days.

Carter was the oldest living U.S. president of all time. His wife, Rosalynn, died Nov. 19, 2023, at 96. The Carters had been married for more than 77 years, the longest presidential marriage in U.S. history. The former president's final public appearance was at her funeral, where he sat in the front row in a wheelchair.

Carter left office after a single term that was highlighted by forging peace between Israel and Egypt, but overshadowed by the Iran hostage crisis and domestic economic turmoil. In 1980, he lost in a landslide to former President Reagan. In the decades after leaving Washington, Carter's reputation grew through his and Rosalynn's humanitarian work at the Carter Center in Atlanta, and his philanthropic causes, including Habitat for Humanity.

Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good," Carter said in his Nobel acceptance speech that year. "We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other's children."

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden released a statement mourning Carter's death and highlighting his lifetime of service as an "extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian."

"Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what's extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well," the Biden's statement said.

▪ The Hill: The political world offers condolences for Carter.

▪ The Hill: Five defining moments of Carter's presidency.

▪ The Hill: How Carter's marriage helped shape his legacy.

▪ Politico: Carter's life in pictures.

Biden has used his final weeks in office in part to remind voters of some of his more significant accomplishments during his four years in the White House. While Biden's presidency has been somewhat overshadowed by dropping out of the 2024 race and Trump's Inauguration Day, there are a number of achievements that the president and his team have highlighted that they argue will endure even after Biden leaves office. The Hill's Brett Samuels breaks down five of the accomplishments Biden is touting as his presidency winds down.

▪ The Washington Post: In his presidency's final chapter, Biden has mused about whether he should have handled some decisions differently.

▪ Politico: Retiring Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) was right about Biden. He said it's "awfully unsatisfying." The three-term lawmaker and presidential primary challenger is deeply disappointed with his fellow Democrats.

DIVERSITY: The race for Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair is shaping up to be a field of largely white men — a notable development for a party that has long touted diversity within its ranks. The Hill's Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil report roughly half a dozen candidates are running to helm the party, almost all of them men. Nate Snyder, a former Department of Homeland Security official who is both Latino and Jewish, is the only candidate of color in the race, while former presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson is the only woman running. While party members laud the candidates' track records, some say they are struck by the lack of gender and racial diversity in the field following Vice President Harris's historic presidential run.

"It is a bit jarring too, to where the gender diversity is in this race and the conversation, it's also way off," Snyder told The Hill.

▪ The Hill: What's next for Texas? Here are four major questions looming for the divided state in 2025.

▪ CNN: What incoming North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, the only battleground Democrat to do better than Trump, said his party needs to learn.

WHEN & WHERE

Programming note: Morning Report's Alexis Simendinger will return in the new year.
The House will meet Tuesday at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate will meet at 12:30 p.m. for a pro forma session.
The president is in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and has no public schedule.
Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles and has no public schedule.

ZOOM IN

CASES ABOUT TRANSGENDER RIGHTS are piling up at the Supreme Court as the justices begin drafting their opinion on whether states can ban gender-affirming care for minors. At their recent closed-door conferences, the justices have considered petitions to take up disputes involving what school sports teams transgender athletes can play on, parental rights and whether government-funded health care plans must cover transgender care.

Forbes: Fleeing the country and rationing testosterone: Transgender Americans' new reality under a Trump presidency.

OZ VS. RFK JR.: Two of President Trump's top health nominees are on a collision course as the incoming administration faces a crucial decision on coverage for anti-obesity drugs. Mehmet Oz, Trump's pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has extolled the benefits of anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic, pitching them on his show and social media channels. But Oz's potential boss, Health and Human Services Secretary pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said he thinks the drugs are a scam, and the solution to obesity is to simply eat better.

Their differing views set up a potential clash within the next administration, which will face a costly decision over whether to allow Medicare to cover the life-changing drugs, writes The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel. Medicare is currently prohibited from covering weight loss drugs for anything other than treating conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Currently, only 13 states cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity under Medicaid.

But a new proposal announced by the Biden administration in November would require Medicare and Medicaid coverage of weight loss drugs for people with obesity.

▪ Bloomberg News: 2024 was the year weight-loss drugs took over.

▪ The Hill: A new study has experts beaming with hope as it shows teen drug use at a record low, but they admit confusion as to why the trend is happening and how to ensure it continues.

ELSEWHERE

PLANE CRASH: International investigators are working to pinpoint what caused the fiery crash on Sunday of a South Korean passenger plane that killed nearly all of the 181 people on board. In one of the deadliest aviation disasters in years, the plane skidded off the runway, collided with a concrete barrier and burst into flames as it attempted to land at an airport in Muan County, in the country's southwest.

South Korean officials said the control tower had warned of birds in the area. The pilot sent a "mayday" signal, and the aircraft went up in flames. Just two survivors were pulled from the wreckage. They were both crew members rescued from the back of the plane. It was reported the remaining 179 passengers and crew were accounted for after the initial search. Fire officials at the airport confirmed all were killed in the accident.

U.S. investigators are helping investigate the plane crash; the team will include the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, which manufactured the plane.

Biden on Sunday said he and the first lady were "deeply saddened" by the accident, saying in a statement that "as close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy."

CNN: Azerbaijan's president accused Russia of downing the airliner involved in a Christmas Day crash and covering up the cause.

TARIFFS: Canada's government is in crisis — right as a second Trump term threatens to impose steep, 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods. Experts warn the levies could crush the economy of a country that sends roughly 80 percent of its exports to the U.S. Meanwhile, Trump regularly mocks embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the "governor" of the "great state of Canada." Last week, Trump said he'd pitched hockey great Wayne Gretzky as a possible next prime minister.

Trudeau and his Liberal Party are struggling in polls, and the abrupt resignation of one of his closest allies has thrown his government into disarray. Calls for Trudeau to step down are mounting, while rival parties say they will move for a confidence vote in January, which could trigger elections.

Ahead of Trump's inauguration, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly traveled to Mar-a-Lago last week for a meeting with Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgum, Trump's picks to lead the departments of Commerce and the Interior, respectively. A spokesperson for the Canadian Finance Ministry said the meeting was "positive" and "productive," and served as a follow-up to Trump and Trudeau's dinner last month.

▪ The Hill: Why Trump is targeting Panama, Greenland and Canada.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: China has limited power to counter U.S. tariffs. While Beijing has already brandished the ways it could hit back, such retaliation risks boomeranging.

▪ The New York Times: Business leaders in Mexico say the incoming U.S. administration will enhance the appeal of their factories as an alternative to plants in China.

SYRIA: Holding elections could take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said Sunday, the first time he has commented on a possible electoral timetable since Bashar al-Assad's regime was ousted this month. Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, and it could take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes. Sharaa, who leads Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which ousted Assad on Dec. 8, and the new government in Damascus have been seeking to reassure its neighbors that it has moved away from its roots as an Islamist militia.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Syria looks to pick up the pieces of its shattered economy.

▪ The New York Times: The dismantling of Hezbollah: This is how extensively Israel penetrated the Lebanese militia, closely tracking the group's commanders and culminating in the assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

▪ The Washington Post: Israel built an "AI factory" for war. It unleashed it in Gaza.

OPINION

America needs more Jimmy Carters, by The New York Times editorial board.
Carter had an outsider edge, by Chris Matthews, guest essayist, The Washington Post.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 🧠 What's slower than your average internet connection? Your brain.

Brains, although vastly under-understood by scientists and full of billions of neurons firing to run your body and create thoughts, are actually quite slow, according to a new study in the journal Neuron.

Take internet speeds, which engineers measure in bits per second. To stream a high-definition video, you need about 5 million bps. Your home internet's download rate is typically in the range of 262 million bps. The New York Times reports researchers have now estimated the speed of information flow in the human brain: just 10 bps.

"It's a bit of a counterweight to the endless hyperbole about how incredibly complex and powerful the human brain is," said Markus Meister, a neuroscientist at the California Institute of Technology and an author of the study. "If you actually try to put numbers to it, we are incredibly slow."