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The Senate Dems holding their fire on Trump’s noms

Happy Friday morning.
Rather than a blanket rejection of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, a group of politically vulnerable Senate Democrats is pledging to keep an open mind during the confirmation process.
Back in 2017, Hill Democrats were shellshocked by Trump’s upset victory and pledged to oppose the GOP standard-bearer at all costs. Eight years later, “the Resistance” is vastly diminished, and the post-election recrimination process is leading Democrats to embrace a different strategy in the face of Trump’s dominance.
“That’s what happens when the other side wins,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said, summing up the current Democratic mood. “They get their choices in those things.”
Trump’s most controversial picks won’t receive any Democratic votes. But keep an eye out for Democrats facing tough reelection races to use the coming confirmation fights to burnish their bipartisan credentials.
Senate Democrats, who are already dreading life in the minority in the upcoming 53-47 Senate, can’t afford to lose more seats in 2026. So incumbents in Trump-won states such as Georgia and Michigan will be ones to watch for the next two years on key votes.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), arguably the most at-risk Senate Democrat next cycle, didn’t have anything negative to say about Trump’s picks. Ossoff has steadfastly kept his head down during his first term in the Senate, focusing on bipartisan issues and avoiding the national spotlight.
“I will give any president’s nominees good-faith consideration and will be eager to learn how they believe their tenure, should they be confirmed, will benefit Georgia,” Ossoff told us. “I am, as always, open-minded.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) struck a similar tone, saying he will consider “every candidate on their own qualifications and on their own merit.”
A common refrain we heard from Senate Democrats is a desire to let the process play out. Few were willing to appear reflexively opposed to Trump’s picks before hearings have kicked off. In some cases, these public job interviews could prove destructive for more controversial picks.
Some of Trump’s most controversial nominees, such as former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general, fell apart quickly in the face of overwhelming GOP opposition. Democrats didn’t have to do much there since Trump knew none of them would back Gaetz anyway.
Several Senate Democrats also believe it gives their arguments against Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel additional credibility if they’re not taking a blanket approach to all nominees.
“If they are reasonable, we will be reasonable. I think you will see less blanket opposition than the first time around, but we will not give up our roles,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told us. “Compromise where possible and fight when necessary.”
While it’s safe to assume that no Democrats will support Hegseth for defense secretary or Patel for FBI director, there will be significant bipartisan backing for the likes of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state and Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) for labor secretary. In the case of Chavez-DeRemer, some liberal Democrats have said they’re encouraged by her previous support for unions.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has been public about his support for Rubio, vice chair on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Warner, a former Virginia governor up for reelection in 2026, said he’s sympathetic to the leeway a chief executive gets in selecting personnel.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), whose state shifted ten points to the right this fall, said “I’m going to give everybody a fair shake,” but noted many nominations have “raised serious concerns to me.” Booker was among the group of progressives who opposed nearly everything Trump did during his first presidency.
Some Senate Democrats see Trump’s picks as far more dangerous than those from his first term, when Trump selected cabinet picks from a more moderate wing of the GOP. Eight years later, Republicans are thoroughly Trump-centric, with moderates fewer and far between.
“The nominees are so drastically crazy that of course our approach is going to be different,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “It’s almost hard to talk seriously about Patel as head of the FBI, about Hegseth as secretary of defense.”
To be sure, many of Trump’s nominees the first time around were viewed by Democrats as reasonable picks, such as Jim Mattis for defense secretary. Mattis, like other former top Trump officials, ended up speaking out against Trump. This time around, Trump is prioritizing personal loyalty as the top qualification for his nominees.
“I think this place should be on fire about the Bondi and Patel nominations,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said, referring to Pam Bondi’s nomination as attorney general. “They signal that he wasn’t kidding about using his power to try to destroy his domestic enemies.”
Staff news: Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has selected Philip Letsou to be his chief of staff. Letsou was a top communications aide at the NRSC this past cycle.
James Coyne will be Moreno’s state director. Coyne had that job for Vice President-elect JD Vance. And Reagan McCarthy will be Moreno’s communications director. McCarthy ran the press shop for Moreno’s campaign.
— Max Cohen and Andrew Desiderio
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The Vault: Johnson says he hasn’t committed on reconciliation strategy
Speaker Mike Johnson said he’s still weighing his options on the best strategy for passing Republicans’ big policy priorities next year.
With incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune at odds with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) over the best path forward, Johnson said he hasn’t committed to any plan yet.
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Thune pitched passing a bill through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process early next year that includes some of President-elect Donald Trump’s non-tax priorities, including border security and energy, before taking up a second package extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Smith objected, saying Republicans need to pass a single package with tax and other GOP priorities to be sure everything gets done at once.
Here’s Johnson:
“I have not committed either way. There are pros and cons to both approaches. And so we’re working through the deliberative process, as I do here every day. We want to make sure we have total alignment between the White House, Senate Republicans and House Republicans.”
But Johnson also acknowledged that things are harder in the House. A 217-215 majority for the House GOP during the opening months of the next Congress will be brutal to navigate.
“There’s a lot of developments, a lot of considerations. I have a much bigger group to contend with than they do,” Johnson said. “I have no question that we will reach total alignment and agreement. We’re very close to that.”
There are two main cases being made at the moment.
On the Senate side, Thune is continuing to discuss potential advantages of scoring quick points on Trump priorities like border security, energy and defense spending while giving committees more time to put together a tax bill, according to a source familiar with GOP leadership’s thinking. Thune looped in Johnson and Trump before selling this idea to his conference, though neither has publicly weighed in so far.
Clearly, there’s concern on the Senate side that the tax-related component could take a while, especially given the thin House margin. Thune pitched doing the non-tax reconciliation bill very fast — in the first 30 days of Trump’s presidency.
Smith is worried that waiting on tax cuts risks jeopardizing both the political will and time to get them done at all. Doing a single bill also makes sense if House Republicans think they need everything in a single package to ensure there’s enough support for a tax bill.
Crapo’s staying mum: We also caught up with incoming Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on where he stands on the Thune vs. Smith strategy debate. Crapo didn’t want any part in the fight, which put him in a tough spot between his leadership and his House counterpart.
Here’s Crapo:
“That is a conversation that needs to take place between the speaker of the House, majority leader of the Senate and the president. I’m focused on building the bill and getting the votes.”
— Laura Weiss and Jake Sherman
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House maps out rest of year-end agenda
We’re beginning to get a better sense of how the next few weeks will look like in the House as Congress tries to wrap up the 118th Congress.
The House GOP leadership intends to put the NDAA on the floor next week. Speaker Mike Johnson would like to consider the annual defense policy bill — a piece of must-pass legislation — under a rule. Compromise text was supposed to be unveiled Thursday evening, though it has yet to be released.
The big sticking point here has been the topline spending number for the package. The Senate has been seeking $25 billion more than the House. Party leaders in both chambers have been pulled in to help resolve this dispute.
There’s also a very decent chance that conservative hardliners on the House Rules Committee will reject the proposed NDAA final package, as it’s very unlikely to include the culture war provisions favored by right-wing lawmakers. This would force Johnson to put the measure on the floor under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage. GOP and Democratic lawmakers and aides, though, believe it will pass. The House approved last year’s NDAA by a 310-118 margin, with dozens of conservatives joining with progressives to oppose the legislation.
Johnson also told us he hopes the congressional leaders can wrap up bipartisan negotiations over the government funding bill this weekend and release this legislation next week.
The House is expected to vote first on the CR during the week of Dec. 16 and then leave town. The Senate would then take up government funding that week ahead of the Dec. 20 shutdown date.
As of right now, the House GOP leadership is planning to attach a one-year extension of the farm bill and a major disaster aid package to the CR. How big that will be is up in the air. The White House has sought nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster funding, although House and Senate appropriators have suggested Congress will approve something in the $30 billion to $40 billion range.
But that idea also has run into resistance from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which took an official position this week against any disaster funding that isn’t offset with other spending cuts.
That means the CR will also need to come to the floor under suspension. Johnson is going to need Democrats to help carry it over the finish line, as usual, which gives them leverage. But don’t expect that to create any major issues for Johnson’s quest for the speaker’s gavel on the floor in January.
Both of these packages are expected to fare much better in the Senate. The Senate approved the NDAA by an 87-13 margin last year. And the CR will get Senate approval if it clears the House.
— Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona
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In 2004, Nichole was an hourly associate. Today, she runs a $100 million Walmart store in Bellmead, Texas. Learn more about Nichole’s story.
THE MONEY GAME
House Republicans are heading to New York City
Speaker Mike Johnson takes the Big Apple — or something like that.
The NRCC is hosting its annual weekend in New York City. The event is called Bright Lights and Broadway and is being held at the posh Lotte New York Palace on Manhattan’s East Side.
The event starts tonight with a “218 Reception” in Studio 9C at 30 Rock followed by a “top investors holiday reception.”
On Saturday, there will be a “shopping event” at Bloomingdale’s on Fifth Avenue from 7:45 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Then the group will catch the matinee of the Radio City Rockettes’ Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall.
The weekend wraps up with a policy and political briefing at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.
Who doesn’t like New York City during the holiday season?
— Jake Sherman
THE CAMPAIGN
Stand with Ukraine is running a new ad in D.C., highlighting the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. The ad says Ukrainian kids are being held captive in Russia and have been “given new identities and forced to salute the Russian flag.” The spot started running Wednesday on cable and broadcast.
The Money Game. Fairshake, the crypto-backed PAC, got a fresh infusion of $23 million in November. Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen gave $11.5 million each.
— Jake Sherman
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
10 a.m.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hold his weekly news conference.
CLIPS
NYT
“Images of Unmasked Suspect Emerge as the Police Track C.E.O.’s Killer”
– Ed Shanahan and Andy Newman
NYT
“Elon Musk Spent Over $250 Million to Help Elect Trump”
– Theodore Schleifer and Maggie Haberman
WaPo
“Fox names Trump ‘Patriot of the Year,’ as stars cozy up to president-elect”
– Cat Zakrzewski and Marianne LeVine
WaPo
“Democrats face a mixed financial outlook one month after losing presidency and Senate”
– Clara Ence Morse and Maegan Vazquez
Bloomberg
“Trump Names David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar”
– Stephanie Lai, Hadriana Lowenkron and Sarah McBride
WSJ
“Trump to Nominate Former Georgia Sen. David Perdue as Ambassador to China”
– Chun Han Wong and Alex Leary
AP
“Trump dispatched his incoming envoy to the Mideast for high-level talks on reaching Gaza ceasefire”
– Aamer Madhani
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

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