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| In Betsy DeVos for Education, Trump Taps Into Michigan Royalty | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| President-elect Donald J. Trump has reached into Western Michigan royalty to pick Betsy DeVos as his education secretary and is looking at Ben Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Meantime, Hillary Clinton has widened her lead in the popular vote to 1.5 percentage points, a spread not seen for a losing candidate since the disputed election of 1876. | |
| Mr. Trump’s choice of Betsy DeVos to be his education secretary brings Western Michigan royalty into the Trump fold, but she was not always a fan. Mrs. DeVos sharply criticized Mr. Trump during the campaign, and spent much of the year raising money for other Republicans on the ballot. | |
| “Until we have a better reason to embrace and support the top of the ticket, and see an agenda that is truly an opportunity agenda, then we have lots of other options in which to invest and spend our time helping,” she said in May. | |
| The DeVos family, heirs to the Amway fortune, has long been a leading source of money for Republicans in Michigan and beyond. Just in the last three elections before 2016, members of the family gave nearly $9.5 million to party committees and candidates. | |
| Mrs. DeVos had money of her own before she married Richard DeVos Jr., the Amway scion. Her father, Edgar Prince, built his own auto parts supplier, in Holland, Mich. Her brother, Erik Prince, founded Blackwater USA, a private security contractor whose guards were convicted of killing 14 civilians in Baghdad in 2007. | |
| The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, was quick to voice its opposition to Ms. DeVos. | |
| With nominees chosen for C.I.A., national security adviser, secretary of education and ambassador to the United Nations, the next pick is expected to be the retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That could be official as early as Friday. | |
| Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that he was “seriously considering” Mr. Carson, a former rival in the Republican primaries, as housing secretary. | |
| The department is no small corner of the government. Its programs fund public housing, subsidize rent for the poor, promote homeownership and work to revitalize struggling cities. And housing policy has been in a deep freeze since the Great Recession, when the nominally independent mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed and fell under federal control. | |
| For nearly a decade, the mortgage industry has basically been government run, with much of its profits going right into the Treasury. Mr. Carson would have a big role in figuring out how to move forward. | |
| Writing in the conservative Washington Times last year, Mr. Carson let it be known that he is no fan of government intervention in the housing market, specifically to force racial integration. | |
| With new votes tallied from New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland and California, Mrs. Clinton’s popular vote lead reached 2,017,563 overnight, prompting new calls for an audit of voting machines in battleground states. | With new votes tallied from New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland and California, Mrs. Clinton’s popular vote lead reached 2,017,563 overnight, prompting new calls for an audit of voting machines in battleground states. |
| Mrs. Clinton’s lead now exceeds the winning percentages of seven presidents, five of whom also won the Electoral College. And it has given rise to a push from liberal activists to demand audits in three states won narrowly by Mr. Trump: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman posted an extensive explanation on Wednesday. | Mrs. Clinton’s lead now exceeds the winning percentages of seven presidents, five of whom also won the Electoral College. And it has given rise to a push from liberal activists to demand audits in three states won narrowly by Mr. Trump: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman posted an extensive explanation on Wednesday. |
| Nate Cohn, who wrote of voter projections and analyzed polls for The New York Times, isn’t buying it. | Nate Cohn, who wrote of voter projections and analyzed polls for The New York Times, isn’t buying it. |
| Mainly, it would seem, Mrs. Clinton’s record losing lead is pointing toward a structural disadvantage Democrats have with the Electoral College: Their voters are too concentrated in the bright blue states of the West Coast and Northeast. Democrats have now won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, but lost two of them (Al Gore in 2000, and Mrs. Clinton) in the Electoral College. | |
| After the hoo-ha created when Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry started hawking a bracelet worn by Ms. Trump during a “60 Minutes” appearance as part of the new first family, Ivanka Trump-the-brand and Ivanka-Trump-the-woman are beginning to disengage. | |
| At least on Instagram, Facebook and elsewhere. | |
| On Monday, a public letter from Ivanka Trump HQ noted (in part): | On Monday, a public letter from Ivanka Trump HQ noted (in part): |
| The separation follows another public letter from the designer Sophie Theallet announcing that she would refrain from dressing Melania Trump and encouraging her fellow designers to do the same. One more such open missive and we will have a new fashion trend. | The separation follows another public letter from the designer Sophie Theallet announcing that she would refrain from dressing Melania Trump and encouraging her fellow designers to do the same. One more such open missive and we will have a new fashion trend. |
| When Anthony Scaramucci, the hedge fund titan and Trump adviser, floated Elton John as an inauguration performer to The New York Post, the singer’s response was swift: No way. | When Anthony Scaramucci, the hedge fund titan and Trump adviser, floated Elton John as an inauguration performer to The New York Post, the singer’s response was swift: No way. |
| He did, after all, say in October, “We need a humanitarian in the White House, not a barbarian.” | He did, after all, say in October, “We need a humanitarian in the White House, not a barbarian.” |
| Pity. Mr. Scaramucci was counting on the diversity statement, telling The Post: | Pity. Mr. Scaramucci was counting on the diversity statement, telling The Post: |
| President-elect Trump has chosen Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, the daughter of Indian immigrants, to be his ambassador to the United Nations, the transition team announced Wednesday. | President-elect Trump has chosen Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, the daughter of Indian immigrants, to be his ambassador to the United Nations, the transition team announced Wednesday. |
| Mr. Trump, whose presidential run was buoyed by an uncompromising stance against immigration, has mostly chosen older white men for cabinet posts in assembling his new team. | Mr. Trump, whose presidential run was buoyed by an uncompromising stance against immigration, has mostly chosen older white men for cabinet posts in assembling his new team. |
| Her move would eventually elevate South Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Henry McMaster, an early and vocal supporter of Mr. Trump’s. Ms. Haley backed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida during the primaries. | Her move would eventually elevate South Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Henry McMaster, an early and vocal supporter of Mr. Trump’s. Ms. Haley backed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida during the primaries. |
| Mr. Trump arrived on Tuesday night in Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, a visit intended to give the president-elect some time with his family, and he isn’t planning a packed schedule for Wednesday. But officials familiar with the transition process say that he will be busy deliberating his cabinet selections and may announce a domestic appointment before taking a quick break from work. | Mr. Trump arrived on Tuesday night in Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, a visit intended to give the president-elect some time with his family, and he isn’t planning a packed schedule for Wednesday. But officials familiar with the transition process say that he will be busy deliberating his cabinet selections and may announce a domestic appointment before taking a quick break from work. |
| The trip is the first time since Mr. Trump was elected president that he has visited his Florida club, which played host to a few primary night victory parties. | |
| President Obama will, for the last time, take part on Wednesday in one of our country’s odder Thanksgiving traditions: the annual pardoning of the turkeys at the White House. Two turkeys, named Tater and Tot, will get the ritual absolution and move on to a nice home at Virginia Tech, even though only one of them will become the official national Thanksgiving turkey. | President Obama will, for the last time, take part on Wednesday in one of our country’s odder Thanksgiving traditions: the annual pardoning of the turkeys at the White House. Two turkeys, named Tater and Tot, will get the ritual absolution and move on to a nice home at Virginia Tech, even though only one of them will become the official national Thanksgiving turkey. |
| It will be up to President Trump to do the honors — or not, should he choose otherwise — next year. | It will be up to President Trump to do the honors — or not, should he choose otherwise — next year. |
| Democrats will try to weigh in legislatively on Mr. Trump’s business holdings next week. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, says he will introduce a “sense of Congress” resolution stating that the new president should convert his substantial holdings in a way to avoid entanglements with foreign governments. | Democrats will try to weigh in legislatively on Mr. Trump’s business holdings next week. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, says he will introduce a “sense of Congress” resolution stating that the new president should convert his substantial holdings in a way to avoid entanglements with foreign governments. |
| If he does not do so, or unless Congress specifically authorizes his conduct, Mr. Trump would be considered in potential violation of the Constitution. | If he does not do so, or unless Congress specifically authorizes his conduct, Mr. Trump would be considered in potential violation of the Constitution. |
| The resolution is unlikely to see the light of day in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it will be part of what is expected to be a longer-term effort by Democrats to shine a light on the president-elect’s business dealings. | The resolution is unlikely to see the light of day in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it will be part of what is expected to be a longer-term effort by Democrats to shine a light on the president-elect’s business dealings. |
| As Mrs. Clinton’s lead in the popular vote grows, some of her most ardent supporters are clinging to hope that she could still win the election. | As Mrs. Clinton’s lead in the popular vote grows, some of her most ardent supporters are clinging to hope that she could still win the election. |
| A Change.org petition has garnered more than four million signatures urging Electoral College “electors” in some states to ignore the will of the voters and back Mrs. Clinton, reminding them that they could do so without any legal penalty. | A Change.org petition has garnered more than four million signatures urging Electoral College “electors” in some states to ignore the will of the voters and back Mrs. Clinton, reminding them that they could do so without any legal penalty. |
| The electors will cast their ballots on Dec. 19. On Twitter, the hashtags #auditthevote and #audittheelection have become rallying cries for supporters of Mrs. Clinton who are directing people to flood the Justice Department with telephone calls about voting irregularities. The push is also taking place on Facebook, where calls are growing for a full investigation into Russia’s role in the election. | The electors will cast their ballots on Dec. 19. On Twitter, the hashtags #auditthevote and #audittheelection have become rallying cries for supporters of Mrs. Clinton who are directing people to flood the Justice Department with telephone calls about voting irregularities. The push is also taking place on Facebook, where calls are growing for a full investigation into Russia’s role in the election. |
| Even the sister of Huma Abedin, a top aide to Mrs. Clinton, weighed in, noting the tantalizingly slim margin that Mrs. Clinton would need to make up in three swing states — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — to come out on top in the Electoral College. | Even the sister of Huma Abedin, a top aide to Mrs. Clinton, weighed in, noting the tantalizingly slim margin that Mrs. Clinton would need to make up in three swing states — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — to come out on top in the Electoral College. |
| “They are starting to recognize there really is something off about the election results as they come in,” Heba Abedin wrote. “Considering everything that is at stake, a vote audit should be done.” | “They are starting to recognize there really is something off about the election results as they come in,” Heba Abedin wrote. “Considering everything that is at stake, a vote audit should be done.” |