Welcome to the online version of From the political officean evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Robert F. Kennedy begins his meeting with senators in Washington, while Donald Trump holds his first post-election press conference. Plus, the senior political editor analyzes a key underlying factor that led to Kamala Harris’ defeat in November.
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RFK Jr. begins meeting with senators as he seeks to lead HHS
By Kate Santaliz, Sahil Kapur and Brennan Leach
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to become Health and Human Services secretary, plans to meet with more than two dozen Republican senators at the Capitol this week, according to a source familiar with his plans.
Kennedy is prepared to face questions about his long tenure history of anti-vaccine rhetoricits vision to reshape the healthcare industry and its support for the right to abortion.
The list of senators includes John Thune, R-S.D., who will be the Senate majority leader next year, and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who will be the majority whip, as well as the incoming House chairman. Senate Finance, Mike. Crapo, R-Idaho, whose committee will oversee and vote on Kennedy’s planned nomination.
His first meeting was with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who called it “a great meeting” and said, “I totally support what he wants to accomplish and I wish him the best of luck.” »
Scott said he and Kennedy both wanted “transparency” on vaccines.
Other notable names on Kennedy’s expected meeting list are moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who faces re-election in 2026; and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee who will also consider his nomination.
One of the key senators to watch in Kennedy’s confirmation battle is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is leaving GOP leadership after 18 years in the top job but remains a senator. McConnell, a polio survivor, fired a warning shot Friday, in response to a New York Times report that a Kennedy adviser once asked the FDA to rescind approval of the polio vaccine.
“The polio vaccine saved millions of lives and helped eradicate a terrible disease,” McConnell said in a statement. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven remedies are not only misinformed: they are dangerous. »
A Kennedy spokesperson told The New York Times that he and the adviser in question did not discuss the adviser’s push to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. Katie Miller, Kennedy spokesperson said NBC News said Friday: “The polio vaccine should be available to the public and studied thoroughly and appropriately. »
Asked Monday whether he supported the polio vaccine, Kennedy told reporters, “Yes, I support it.” »
At a news conference Monday, Trump said he was a “strong supporter” of the polio vaccine and that Kennedy was a “very rational guy.”
Sen. James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said he would have “questions” for Kennedy about her views on abortion.
“Obviously, HHS under the first Trump administration was very clear on the issue of conscience protection when it comes to abortion and all those things. But President Joe Biden’s team foiled all that,” Lankford said in a recent interview. “These are questions I’m going to ask.”
In his first post-election press conference, optimistic Trump boasts of his popularity with CEOs
By Rebecca Shabad and Rob Wile
President-elect Donald Trump sounded optimistic Monday during his first post-election news conference, saying there was a big difference between today and when he took office in 2016: Some of his former opponents are now nice to him.
“Everyone wants to be my friend,” he said of how he is treated by CEOs of big tech companies, whom he has described as adversaries in the past. “I don’t know, my personality changed or something.”
At the Mar-a-Lago event, the first he hosted himself since November, Trump said one of the biggest differences over the past four years was that “everyone was fighting against Me “.
“The biggest difference is that people want to get along with me this time,” he added.
Trump referenced recent meetings with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, as well as former Alphabet Chairman Sergey Brin. He also said he plans to meet with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos later this week. Several major tech companies, including Amazon, Meta and OpenAI, have already donated $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Trump and the head of Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, also announced an investment of 100 billion dollars effort to boost artificial intelligence and related infrastructure projects.
Some of the other notable moments from Monday’s press conference:
- Trump has indicated he would be willing to pardon New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was charged in September with bribery and wire fraud in a scheme that lasted nearly 10 years.
- On the reported drone sightings In New Jersey and New York, Trump said, “The government knows what’s going on.” He declined to say whether he had received intelligence information on the matter.
- Trump criticized those who praised the alleged shooter in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost in 2024
By Mark Murray
In the six weeks since the 2024 presidential election, there have been many explanations for the Democrats’ defeat.
Some argue that Kamala Harris and her party were too progressive. Others think they weren’t progressive enough. And others point fingers culture, “neoliberalism” media consumption, podcasts, immigration and of course, inflation.
But based on polling data, there’s an even more fundamental reason Harris lost to Donald Trump: Joe Biden’s presidency was historically unpopular. And Harris, as sitting vice president, was unable or unable to separate herself from Biden.
Just look Gallup’s Historic Presidential Job Approval Ratings. Every modern president with a 45% or lower pre-election rating has seen his party lose that race.
And the task of a sitting vice president is even more difficult. Only one modern sitting vice president, George H. W. Bush, has succeeded the president under whom he or she served. Bush 41 did this when Ronald Reagan’s approval rating was 58% before the 1988 election.
In 2000, Al Gore was very close to winning the White House while Bill Clinton’s approval rating was 57%.
But Harris’ situation is more comparable to that of Hubert Humphrey in 1968. At the time, President Lyndon Johnson’s approval rating was 42 percent, and Vice President Humphrey lost the popular vote to Richard Nixon by almost a percentage point.
Guess what: Heading into last November’s presidential election, Biden’s approval was at 41%. And Harris – like Humphrey – lost the popular vote by almost 1.5 percentage points.
The reasons for Biden’s low approval rating are now up for debate. How much did the border represent? Or the withdrawal from Afghanistan? Or inflation? Or his age? Or a combination of all of the above?
Yet no matter how you portray him, he was unpopular for much of his presidency. And an unpopular president is one of the main reasons a political party can lose control of the White House.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🕛 TikTok on the clock: TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to block a law set to take effect on January 19 that could potentially ban the app. Read more →
- 👀 Eye in the sky: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the Department of Homeland Security to send a drone detection system to New York and New Jersey following a series of sightings mysterious drones. Read more →
- ✍️ Day 1 Priorities: Trump has pledged to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants, but his allies and critics worry about his level of knowledge of the details of the sprawling investigation into the Capitol attack that resulted in hundreds of convictions. Read more →
- 📝 To-do list: Several Democratic lawmakers are urging Biden to pardon those affected by sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine offenses. Read more →
- 💻 Battle of the WFH: The union representing thousands of federal workers said it would oppose any attempt by Trump to block a Biden administration deal allowing thousands of federal workers to continue working remotely. Read more →
- 🏃🏼 He runs: David Hogg, an anti-gun violence activist who survived a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, announced he is running for vice president of the Democratic National Committee. Read more →
- 🏠 The next fight for the House: The November election upended the upcoming fight for a closely divided House in 2026, with more Democrats representing districts won by Trump and only a few Republicans in districts won by Harris. Read more →
- 👋 Exit interview: In an interview with NBC News, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., reflected on his two decades in the Senate, what went wrong in Pennsylvania for Democrats this year and how the party is moving forward. Read more →
That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. If you have any comments (like or dislike), please email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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