Donald Trump still has about a month to go before he’s sitting in the Oval Office again, yet he’s already exerting extensive global influence. But first, you should know:
- Trump dismissed criticisms that he’s ceded the presidency to Elon Musk as “a hoax.”
- Millions could see a boost to their Social Security benefits in a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk.
- Congressional ethics investigators found former congressman Matt Gaetz violated House Rules by paying women for sex and used illegal drugs.
Trump Upending Politics Globally a Month Before He Takes Office
From trade threats that helped set off a Cabinet crisis in Canada to allied leaders scrambling to keep up support for Ukraine, President-elect Donald Trump is sending shockwaves around the world — a full month before he sits in the Oval Office once again.
The scale of Trump’s pre-inauguration influence is vast. He warned Panama that the US objects to rates to use the Panama Canal and is concerned about growing Chinese influence over the conduit — going so far as to say he might demand its return to American control.
- “We’re on Trump time and we want to get stuff done in a hurry,” Keith Kellogg, the retired general Trump has named as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Fox Business on Dec. 18 as he prepared for his first trip to the region — even before the inauguration.
Preview of Trump 2.0: For the world, the turmoil is a taste of what the new Trump term is likely to bring, as the incoming president pushes his “America First” agenda without many of the guardrails that constrained his first term. Populist forces are on the rise in many countries, with Trump allies challenging establishment leaders. Read More
Further Coverage:
- Trump Demands Panama Lower Transit Fees or Return Canal
- Trump Keeps Door Open to Putin Offer for Talks on War in Ukraine
Editor’s Picks
Gaetz Ethics Report Finds His Actions Violated State Laws: CBS
Congressional ethics investigators found former congressman
Trump Says Talk He’s Ceded Presidency to Musk Is a ‘Hoax’
Trump Makes Crypto and Defense Picks for His Second-Term Team
President-elect
Trump Reiterates Interest in Buying Greenland for US Security
Elon Musk Makes ‘Overstaffed’ Fed Target in Quest for Efficiency
Millions May See Social Security Boost If Biden Signs New Bill
A bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk could increase Social Security benefits to millions of Americans.
But critics are warning the legislation (
The legislation, called the Social Security Fairness Act, eliminates two formulas that reduced benefits for these workers who receive foreign and government pensions in addition to Social Security.
If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social Security payments to more than 2 million beneficiaries, according to the Congressional Research Service. The increases — as much as $550 a month for some retirees — would be retroactive to December 2023.
While the White House hasn’t said whether Biden would sign the bill, it passed both chambers with bipartisan majorities: 327-75 in the House last month and 76-20 in the Senate early Saturday morning. Read More
Health Savings Accounts Poised for Comeback Under Republicans
Republicans’ broad interest in health savings accounts offered by employer plans might see an attempt at expansion when Congress reconvenes in 2025, although the issue has divided Democrats.
HSAs let high-deductible health plan enrollees use tax-free dollars on certain medical expenses, with the money rolling over annually and able to be invested tax-free for higher returns. The Heritage Foundation’s Trump-linked Project 2025 playbook calls for letting Medicaid recipients use HSA-like accounts to purchase catastrophic plans, while the House Republican Study Committee’s 2025 budget urges lawmakers to de-link HSAs from high-deductible plans.
Advocates of HSAs see them as a means to boost plan participants’ health-care access and decrease unnecessary spending. But critics say they amount to tax breaks for the wealthy that can expose low-income people to higher out-of-pocket costs. HSAs can be a “hugely valuable tool” for maximizing retirement funds—but if enrollees are unable to save the money, then that “avenue to building wealth is kind of cut off,” said Jake Spiegel, an Employee Benefit Research Institute research associate. Read More
What Else We’re Reading
Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences in Latest Use of Pardon Power
President
Civil Servants Ready Lawsuits to Refute Trump’s Vow to Fire Them
Federal workers and their allies are examining civil service laws and union contracts to prepare challenges to President-elect
DOJ Unveils Long-Awaited Foreign Lobbying Disclosure Proposal
Exemptions to foreign lobbying transparency law that businesses and attorneys rely on to keep their advocacy for foreign interests under wraps would be revised under proposed rule changes the Justice Department unveiled Friday night.
Biden Team to Probe Chinese Chips, Setting Up Trump for Tariffs
President
ANALYSIS: Trump Means Uncertainty, But Some Antitrust Ideas Hold
Some changes from the Biden administration are going to hang on and probably even gain traction.
Trump Picks Miran to Head His Council of Economic Advisers
President-elect
Trump Picks Judge Mizelle’s Husband as DOJ Chief of Staff
President-elect Donald Trump is tapping a veteran of his prior administration, Chad Mizelle, as the Justice Department’s chief of staff and a senior aide for Texas Republicans to run DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy.
Trump’s Spy Pick Gabbard Faces a Tricky Climb for Senate Backing
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: