Today in one sentence: Trump nominated Linda McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the Education Department that he has repeatedly vowed to dismantle; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously said the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed more than 1.2 million Americans, felt “very planned” and suggested the government intentionally caused it; the House Ethics Committee voted against releasing its report into allegations of sex trafficking, corruption, and drug use by Matt Gaetz; and House Speaker Mike Johnson banned transgender individuals from using bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

1/ Trump nominated Linda McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the Education Department that he has repeatedly vowed to dismantle. Like Betsy DeVos, Trump’s first-term education secretary, McMahon has no significant background working in public schools, teaching, or education policy outside of an appointment in 2009 to the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she served for just over a year. McMahon, a major Republican donor who has given tens of millions of dollars in support of pro-Trump causes, co-founded the America First Policy Institute, which advocates for school choice and the use of public funds — through vouchers and tax credits — for private schools. In his statement announcing the pick, Trump said McMahon “will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families.” Trump added: “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.” (NPR / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CBS News / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN / Axios / Politico / ABC News)

  • Trump will nominate Matthew Whitaker as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. Whitaker is a conservative attorney who spent four months serving as acting attorney general in Trump’s first term. (NPR / Politico / Associated Press)

  • Who’s in Trump’s new administration so far:

  • Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
    Pete Hegseth, Defense
    Matt Gaetz, Attorney General
    Doug Burgum, Interior
    Howard Lutnick, Commerce
    Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services
    Sean Duffy, Transportation
    Chris Wright, Energy
    Linda McMahon, Education
    Dough Collins, Veterans Affairs
    Kristi Noem, Homeland Security
    Mike Waltz, National Security
    Lee Zeldin, EPA
    Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador
    Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff
    Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency
    Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency
    Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence
    John Ratcliffe, CIA director
    Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO
    Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel
    Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East
    Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
    Bill McGinley, White House Counsel
    Tom Homan, “Border Czar”
    Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff
    Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy

2/ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously said the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed more than 1.2 million Americans, felt “very planned” and suggested the government intentionally caused it. In August 2020 at a press conference to mark a newly formed European chapter of Children’s Health Defense, his anti-vaccination nonprofit, Kennedy said that he was open to the possibility that the Covid-19 pandemic was a “plandemic” – a term coined by conspiracy theorists who believe the government deliberately spread an infectious disease to accomplish authoritarian goals. “Many people argue that this pandemic was a ‘plandemic,’ that it was planned from the outset, it’s part of a sinister scheme,” Kennedy said. “I can’t tell you the answer to that. I don’t have enough evidence. A lot of it feels very planned to me.” He added: “I don’t know. I will tell you this: If you create these mechanisms for control, they become weapons of obedience for authoritarian regimes no matter how beneficial or innocent the people who created them.” Trump has nominated Kennedy for Secretary of Health and Human Services. (The Bulwark / Daily Beast / Politico / Mediate)

3/ The House Ethics Committee voted against releasing its report into allegations of sex trafficking, corruption, and drug use by Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general. Members, however, agreed to meet again on Dec. 5 “to further consider this matter.” Several Senate Republicans and Democrats have asked to review the report before the Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings next year. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have also asked FBI Director Christopher Wray for “the complete evidentiary file” from the Justice Department probe into whether Gaetz engaged in child sex trafficking. The House Ethics Committee reportedly obtained records, including a check and Venmo payments, that show Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who later testified before the committee that some of the payments were for sex. The committee also heard from a woman who testified that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 years old. (New York Times / Politico / ABC News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / Washington Post / The Hill / Politico / Bloomberg)

4/ House Speaker Mike Johnson banned transgender individuals from using bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. The move follows Nancy Mace’s resolution to restrict Sarah McBride, who is set to be the first transgender member of Congress, from using women’s bathrooms and gym facilities in the Capitol. “We have single-sex facilities for a reason,” Johnson said. “Women deserve women’s only spaces. We’re not anti-anyone. We’re pro-woman. I think it’s an important policy for us to continue. It’s always been, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it’s in writing.” (Axios / Politico / Washington Post / ABC News)

  • 📅 From Election Day to Inauguration Day.

  • Nov. 20: Biden’s Birthday – NO WTFJHT (oops!)
    Nov. 27-28: Thanksgiving – NO WTFJHT
    Dec. 11: Deadline for governors to certify the election and submit their slate of electors.
    Dec. 17: Electors formally vote for president and VP.
    Dec. 20: Government funding expires.
    Dec. 24-25: Christmas – NO WTFJHT
    Dec. 31-Jan 1., 2025: New Year’s – NO WTFJHT
    Jan. 3: Members of the 119th Congress are sworn in.
    Jan. 6: Congress counts Electoral College ballots.
    Jan. 20: Trump’s Presidential Inauguration.

  • The midterm elections are in 713 days.