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| Donald Trump Holds ‘Thank You’ Rally in Cincinnati, and Announces His Pick for Defense Secretary | Donald Trump Holds ‘Thank You’ Rally in Cincinnati, and Announces His Pick for Defense Secretary |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| President-elect Donald J. Trump thanked supporters at a rally in Cincinnati on Thursday, and announced that he intends to nominate James N. Mattis as defense secretary. Watch the video below. | |
| After claiming credit for saving jobs in Indiana, Mr. Trump held a rally in Cincinnati to say thank you to Ohio, which he carried and where no recount is being demanded. Mr. Trump exulted in rallies during the campaign and seems to be itching to return to the adulation of the crowds. Other states are expected to be added to the tour in the days and weeks ahead. | After claiming credit for saving jobs in Indiana, Mr. Trump held a rally in Cincinnati to say thank you to Ohio, which he carried and where no recount is being demanded. Mr. Trump exulted in rallies during the campaign and seems to be itching to return to the adulation of the crowds. Other states are expected to be added to the tour in the days and weeks ahead. |
| Mr. Trump revealed at the rally that he had chosen James N. Mattis, a hard-charging retired Marine Corps general who led a division to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, to serve as his secretary of defense. Read more. | |
| The decision by Gov. Jerry Brown of California to name Representative Xavier Becerra to be the state’s attorney general has set off another round of finger-pointing among Democrats — and opened a crucial post in the Trump era. | The decision by Gov. Jerry Brown of California to name Representative Xavier Becerra to be the state’s attorney general has set off another round of finger-pointing among Democrats — and opened a crucial post in the Trump era. |
| Mr. Becerra, like Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland before him and former Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois (now the mayor of Chicago) before them, had risen as far as he could in the House leadership. Mr. Becerra faced a blockade of older members of Congress, like Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, and James E. Clyburn, in the top ranks. | Mr. Becerra, like Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland before him and former Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois (now the mayor of Chicago) before them, had risen as far as he could in the House leadership. Mr. Becerra faced a blockade of older members of Congress, like Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, and James E. Clyburn, in the top ranks. |
| Unlike Mr. Van Hollen, who was elected to the Senate last month, Mr. Becerra opted against running for his state’s open Senate seat, but he has found his own way to statewide office. | Unlike Mr. Van Hollen, who was elected to the Senate last month, Mr. Becerra opted against running for his state’s open Senate seat, but he has found his own way to statewide office. |
| Mr. Becerra was in line for a huge consolation prize in the House, however. The veteran Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan had just stepped aside as the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee — and he recommended the telegenic Californian for the post. | Mr. Becerra was in line for a huge consolation prize in the House, however. The veteran Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan had just stepped aside as the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee — and he recommended the telegenic Californian for the post. |
| That would have put Mr. Becerra on the front lines as Mr. Trump tries to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut taxes, overhaul the tax code and possibly convert Medicare into a system that offers fixed sums to seniors to buy private health plans. | That would have put Mr. Becerra on the front lines as Mr. Trump tries to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut taxes, overhaul the tax code and possibly convert Medicare into a system that offers fixed sums to seniors to buy private health plans. |
| Instead, it looks as if that role will go to Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, who may be less camera ready but is actually better versed on the intricacies of tax policy. | Instead, it looks as if that role will go to Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, who may be less camera ready but is actually better versed on the intricacies of tax policy. |
| So far Representative Keith Ellison’s drive to be the next Democratic National Committee chairman has gone swimmingly, with no strong competition in sight. | So far Representative Keith Ellison’s drive to be the next Democratic National Committee chairman has gone swimmingly, with no strong competition in sight. |
| But CNN went where other outlets have feared to tread, printing old writings of Mr. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in defense of the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam and other contentious black activists. | But CNN went where other outlets have feared to tread, printing old writings of Mr. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in defense of the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam and other contentious black activists. |
| As a law student at the University of Minnesota, Mr. Ellison, writing under the name Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, said: “Whether one supports or opposes the establishment of Israel in Palestine and Israel’s present policies, Zionism, the ideological undergirding of Israel, is a debatable political philosophy. Anyone, including black people, has the right to hear and voice alternative views on the subject — notwithstanding our nominal citizenship.” | As a law student at the University of Minnesota, Mr. Ellison, writing under the name Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, said: “Whether one supports or opposes the establishment of Israel in Palestine and Israel’s present policies, Zionism, the ideological undergirding of Israel, is a debatable political philosophy. Anyone, including black people, has the right to hear and voice alternative views on the subject — notwithstanding our nominal citizenship.” |
| He continued: | He continued: |
| Mr. Ellison long ago renounced his associations with the Nation of Islam, and has had Jewish groups defend him. But the report could prove troublesome, to say the least. | Mr. Ellison long ago renounced his associations with the Nation of Islam, and has had Jewish groups defend him. But the report could prove troublesome, to say the least. |
| The Anti-Defamation League, which has been mildly supportive, reacted strongly. | The Anti-Defamation League, which has been mildly supportive, reacted strongly. |
| Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, is paying a visit to Trump Tower on Friday, and Senator Chuck E. Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader, is having heart palpitations. | Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, is paying a visit to Trump Tower on Friday, and Senator Chuck E. Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader, is having heart palpitations. |
| To Democrats, that last line can mean two things, neither of them good. If she is in line for an administration job, her Senate seat would turn Republican. If not, she seems to be indicating she is a possible vote for the Trump agenda. | To Democrats, that last line can mean two things, neither of them good. If she is in line for an administration job, her Senate seat would turn Republican. If not, she seems to be indicating she is a possible vote for the Trump agenda. |
| And no matter what, her seat is up in 2018 — in a state that went to Mr. Trump with 62 percent of the vote. | And no matter what, her seat is up in 2018 — in a state that went to Mr. Trump with 62 percent of the vote. |
| The great chronicler of this year’s presidential vote, Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, declared it official on Thursday: Jill Stein is the Ralph Nader of 2016. Her vote tallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania now exceed Mr. Trump’s margins in the three Rust Belt states that gave him the presidency. | The great chronicler of this year’s presidential vote, Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, declared it official on Thursday: Jill Stein is the Ralph Nader of 2016. Her vote tallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania now exceed Mr. Trump’s margins in the three Rust Belt states that gave him the presidency. |
| Another point: | Another point: |
| In the end, the difference between a Trump presidency and another Clinton administration came down to 79,646 votes — fewer than a sellout for a Wisconsin Badgers football game. | In the end, the difference between a Trump presidency and another Clinton administration came down to 79,646 votes — fewer than a sellout for a Wisconsin Badgers football game. |
| For the record, Mrs. Clinton’s overall lead in the popular vote stands at 2,544,817. | For the record, Mrs. Clinton’s overall lead in the popular vote stands at 2,544,817. |
| President-elect Trump took phone calls Wednesday from Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. The results were instructive. | President-elect Trump took phone calls Wednesday from Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. The results were instructive. |
| According to Kazakhstan, Mr. Trump said “that under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev our country over the years of Independence had achieved fantastic success that can be called a ‘miracle’.” | According to Kazakhstan, Mr. Trump said “that under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev our country over the years of Independence had achieved fantastic success that can be called a ‘miracle’.” |
| Through some rather circuitous paths, Mr. Trump’s real estate empire has been tied to Kazakhstan in ways a Financial Times investigation labeled “dirty.” Mr. Nazarbayev has run Kazakhstan since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1989. Last year, he won a fifth consecutive term with 97.7 percent of the vote. | Through some rather circuitous paths, Mr. Trump’s real estate empire has been tied to Kazakhstan in ways a Financial Times investigation labeled “dirty.” Mr. Nazarbayev has run Kazakhstan since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1989. Last year, he won a fifth consecutive term with 97.7 percent of the vote. |
| The Pakistani government released its own account of the telephone conversation between and Mr. Trump and Mr. Sharif that sounded, well, Trumpian. | The Pakistani government released its own account of the telephone conversation between and Mr. Trump and Mr. Sharif that sounded, well, Trumpian. |
| While not exactly confirming the content, the Trump transition team did acknowledge both calls. | While not exactly confirming the content, the Trump transition team did acknowledge both calls. |
| The White House has been trying its best not to criticize Mr. Trump, but after those two phone calls, a top administration official suggested that Mr. Trump get some expert help. | The White House has been trying its best not to criticize Mr. Trump, but after those two phone calls, a top administration official suggested that Mr. Trump get some expert help. |
| Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, noted that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States was “quite complicated” and got more so after the American raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. And then Mr. Earnest mentioned where Mr. Trump could get some assistance. | Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, noted that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States was “quite complicated” and got more so after the American raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. And then Mr. Earnest mentioned where Mr. Trump could get some assistance. |
| “I’m just making the observation that there are dedicated experts, public servants at the State Department that have years of experience that they have amassed that they’re prepared to use to advise the incoming president,” Mr. Earnest said. | “I’m just making the observation that there are dedicated experts, public servants at the State Department that have years of experience that they have amassed that they’re prepared to use to advise the incoming president,” Mr. Earnest said. |
| Ten Democratic senators have sent a strongly worded letter to Mr. Trump criticizing the number of “lobbyists and others with extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry” in his transition team and among potential nominees for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. | Ten Democratic senators have sent a strongly worded letter to Mr. Trump criticizing the number of “lobbyists and others with extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry” in his transition team and among potential nominees for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. |
| Citing advisers like Myron Ebell of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute and the former fossil fuel lobbyist Thomas Pyle, the senators argued that “you have raised serious questions about your desire to ‘drain the swamp’ with respect to energy and environmental issues.” The letter, signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and others, quoted a 2009 advertisement signed by Mr. Trump calling climate change “scientifically irrefutable,” with “catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet.” | Citing advisers like Myron Ebell of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute and the former fossil fuel lobbyist Thomas Pyle, the senators argued that “you have raised serious questions about your desire to ‘drain the swamp’ with respect to energy and environmental issues.” The letter, signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and others, quoted a 2009 advertisement signed by Mr. Trump calling climate change “scientifically irrefutable,” with “catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet.” |
| Chalk up another tradition broken in the Trump era: the practice of cabinet picks going mum once they are named, shunning the news media until confirmed by the Senate. | Chalk up another tradition broken in the Trump era: the practice of cabinet picks going mum once they are named, shunning the news media until confirmed by the Senate. |
| Steven Mnuchin, the newly named choice for Treasury secretary, made that break most evident on Wednesday, appearing on CNBC and before reporters at Trump Tower, musing at length on tax policy. Others including Wilbur L. Ross, tapped for commerce secretary, have been similarly voluble. | Steven Mnuchin, the newly named choice for Treasury secretary, made that break most evident on Wednesday, appearing on CNBC and before reporters at Trump Tower, musing at length on tax policy. Others including Wilbur L. Ross, tapped for commerce secretary, have been similarly voluble. |
| This has surprised people in both parties familiar with the tortuous Senate confirmation process — and with what they see as the good reasons to stay silent. | This has surprised people in both parties familiar with the tortuous Senate confirmation process — and with what they see as the good reasons to stay silent. |
| Talking to the press is “an opportunity to fail — it can only kind of cause you more headaches and questions,” said Dean Zerbe, a former adviser to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, on the Senate Finance Committee. | Talking to the press is “an opportunity to fail — it can only kind of cause you more headaches and questions,” said Dean Zerbe, a former adviser to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, on the Senate Finance Committee. |
| Mr. Mnuchin, for example, said the Trump tax plan would give a big tax cut to the middle class but not to the wealthy, though a range of nonpartisan analyses have concluded the opposite. | Mr. Mnuchin, for example, said the Trump tax plan would give a big tax cut to the middle class but not to the wealthy, though a range of nonpartisan analyses have concluded the opposite. |
| “As soon as I saw that,” Mr. Zerbe said, “my immediate thought was, ‘O.K., you’ve just now given about a dozen questions to senators to ask about.’” | “As soon as I saw that,” Mr. Zerbe said, “my immediate thought was, ‘O.K., you’ve just now given about a dozen questions to senators to ask about.’” |
| Not that the 1,000 workers whose jobs were saved will care, but the deal to keep that Carrier plant in the United States, which included a multiyear, $7 million incentive package from Indiana, is starting to take flack from the right and the left. To conservatives, government intervention at such a microlevel is just bad economics. | Not that the 1,000 workers whose jobs were saved will care, but the deal to keep that Carrier plant in the United States, which included a multiyear, $7 million incentive package from Indiana, is starting to take flack from the right and the left. To conservatives, government intervention at such a microlevel is just bad economics. |
| The Libertarian-leaning Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, weighed in early: | The Libertarian-leaning Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, weighed in early: |
| Now it’s coming from more intellectual circles. | Now it’s coming from more intellectual circles. |
| “This is all terrible for a nation’s economic vitality if businesses make decisions to please politicians rather than customers and shareholders. Yet America’s private sector has just been sent a strong signal that playing ball with Trump might be part of what it now means to run an American company,” wrote James Pethokoukis, the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. | “This is all terrible for a nation’s economic vitality if businesses make decisions to please politicians rather than customers and shareholders. Yet America’s private sector has just been sent a strong signal that playing ball with Trump might be part of what it now means to run an American company,” wrote James Pethokoukis, the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. |
| Liberals have latched onto the tax breaks and incentives offered to Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, by Gov. Pence of Indiana just before he leaves for Washington. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, put it this way in The Washington Post: | Liberals have latched onto the tax breaks and incentives offered to Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, by Gov. Pence of Indiana just before he leaves for Washington. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, put it this way in The Washington Post: |
| If companies can extract tax concessions by threatening to move to Mexico, they may have found a partner willing to play ball with the new president, the critics say. Economists call that “moral hazard.” | If companies can extract tax concessions by threatening to move to Mexico, they may have found a partner willing to play ball with the new president, the critics say. Economists call that “moral hazard.” |