Today in one sentence: Trump is considering replacing his choice for defense secretary with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Trump selected Peter Navarro to serve as his senior counselor for trade and manufacturing; Trump tapped an outspoken critic of the Securities and Exchange Commission to run the agency; Trump picked a billionaire with extensive financial ties to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to be the next administrator of NASA; Trump already replaced his White House counsel 48 days before taking office; Trump's selection to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration withdrew his name from consideration three days after he was nominated; Democrats won the final uncalled U.S. House race in California, leaving Republicans with a one seat margin; Jerry Nadler will step down as the top Demcorat on the House Judiciary Committee; Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to run the FBI, was recently hacked by Iran; and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed ready to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

1/ Trump is considering replacing his choice for defense secretary with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Pete Hegseth, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and alcohol abuse, insisted “there’s no reason to back down” and that Trump told him “I got your back. It’s a fight. They’re coming after you.” At least six Senate Republicans have said they’re uncomfortable voting to confirm the former Fox News host. Hegseth’s mother, who wrote in an email that her son “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around,” also told Fox News that “Pete is a new person.” DeSantis, meanwhile, is reportedly weighing whether to appoint Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to fill Marco Rubio’s Senate seat, who Trump nominated to be secretary of state. DeSantis’s term as governor ends in January 2027 and he can’t run again because of term limits. (New York Times / The Bulwark / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg / ABC News)

2/ Trump selected Peter Navarro to serve as his senior counselor for trade and manufacturing. Navarro, who served as director of the White House National Trade Council in Trump’s first administration, spent four months in federal prison earlier this year for refusing to cooperate with the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. “I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro,” Trump said, “a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.” (CNBC / Axios / Politico / Washington Post / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Trump tapped an outspoken critic of the Securities and Exchange Commission to run the agency. Paul Atkins, a former Wall Street regulator, currently advises financial firms and cryptocurrency companies, suggesting a shift toward more lenient regulatory policies. Under outgoing Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC adopted an aggressive approach to cryptocurrencies, treating many digital assets as securities and initiating numerous enforcement actions against crypto exchanges for dealing illegal assets without regulatory supervision. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)

4/ Trump picked a billionaire with extensive financial ties to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to be the next administrator of NASA. Jared Isaacman’s company, Shift4 Payments, has invested $27.5 million dollars in SpaceX as of 2021 and processes payments for Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet provider. Isaacman has also spent an undisclosed sum of his own money on two private SpaceX missions. (Bloomberg / NPR / Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times)

5/ Trump already replaced his White House counsel 48 days before taking office. Three weeks after giving the job to William McGinley, Trump changed his mind and instead tapped his top campaign lawyer, David Warrington, for the job. Trump said McGinley would instead work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on their Department of Government Efficiency project. (The Hill / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico)

6/ Trump’s selection to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration withdrew his name from consideration three days after he was nominated. “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in,” Chad Chronister said. “I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration.” Trump, however, said Chronister “didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters.” Chronister is the second of Trump’s administration picks to withdraw, after Matt Gaetz dropped his bid to become attorney general last month. (New York Times / NBC News / CNN / ABC News)

7/ Democrats won the final uncalled U.S. House race in California, leaving Republicans with a one seat margin. Republicans will officially have 220 seats to Democrats’ 215 when the 119th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. However, Trump selected Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Mike Waltz as national security adviser, plus Matt Gaetz already resigned and will not return for the 119th Congress. That means Speaker Mike Johnson will only have a 217-215 advantage. If a vote ends in a tie, the legislation doesn’t pass. (NBC News / Axios / Politico / New York Times)

8/ Jerry Nadler will step down as the top Demcorat on the House Judiciary Committee. He endorsed Jamie Raskin to succeed him. (New York Times / Axios)

9/ Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to run the FBI, was recently hacked by Iran. Hackers reportedly accessed at least some of Patel’s communications. In September, three Iranians were charged in connection with a hack targeting Trump’s 2024 campaign. (CNN / Axios / ABC News)

10/ The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed ready to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The state measure bars gender transition surgery for minors as well as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, even though medical authorities in the U.S. largely agree that the treatments are safe. Chief Justice John Roberts said the justices are “not the best situated to address issues like that,” adding that “the Constitution leaves that question to the people’s representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor.” It’s the first time the court has considered a state law targeting transgender people. The court’s decision is expected by June. (NBC News / ABC News / Axios / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

Four years ago today: Day 1415: "Grim."
Five years ago today: Day 1049: "Are you ready?"
Six years ago today: Day 684: Loose ends.