Today in one sentence: Trump downplayed concerns that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services – will revoke the polio vaccine; ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump; Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman each donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund; Trump's transition team has outlined plans to roll back Biden's electric vehicle and emissions policies; Trump tapped loyalist Devin Nunes as chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board; Trump has discussed privatizing the U.S. Postal Service; Trump called for ending daylight saving time; 27% of Americans have high confident in Trump’s ability to appoint qualified people for his Cabinet; and 54% of Americans are “comfortable and prepared to support” Trump as president.

1/ Trump downplayed concerns that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services – will revoke the polio vaccine despite reports that RFK Jr.’s personal attorney previously lobbied the FDA to suspend its approval of the polio vaccine. Trump said he is a “big believer in the polio vaccine […] You’re not gonna lose the polio vaccine. That’s not gonna happen.” Trump added that RFK Jr. is “going to be much less radical than you would think.” Trump then cited a discredited theory that vaccines cause autism and suggested that Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine crusader, is “going to find out about it […] Something bad’s happening.” When asked whether schools should mandate vaccines, Trump responded: “I don’t like mandates. I’m not a big mandate person.” (New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / The Guardian / Axios / The Hill)

2/ ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump. In March, Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos after the news anchor said Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case brought by E. Jean Carroll. Although the jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, it didn’t find him liable for rape because New York law defines rape as forcible penetration with the penis. The judge who oversaw the case later clarified that because of the narrow legal definition of rape, the jury’s verdict didn’t mean that Carroll had “failed to prove that Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’” Trump was ordered to pay Carroll damages of $83.3 million. He is appealing the verdict. As part of the settlement, ABC News posted an editor’s note online expressing regret over Stephanopoulos’ statements and the network will pay $1 million in legal fees. The money will be transferred to “a Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for” Trump. News organizations anticipate that the Trump administration will target journalists’ sources and pursue legal actions to curb critical media coverage. Discussions among Trump and his allies included subpoenaing news outlets, prosecuting journalists and their sources, revoking broadcast licenses, and cutting funding for public radio and television. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News)

3/ Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman each donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Apple CEO Tim Cook (aka “Tim Apple”), meanwhile, had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, while Google CEO Sundar Pichai will meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago later this week. Trump previously claimed that Google was “rigged” to hide positive coverage about him. Zuckerberg once banned Trump from Facebook. And in his first term, Trump often made false and misleading attacks against Amazon and the Washington Post over factual reporting, conflating the two as the “Amazon Washington Post” because they’re both owned by Bezos. Amazon has also committed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund and plans to stream Trump’s inauguration on Prime Video. (NPR / New York Times / The Hill)

4/ Trump’s transition team has outlined plans to roll back Biden’s electric vehicle and emissions policies, including cutting EV subsidies, imposing tariffs on battery materials, and loosening pollution standards. The Trump team has also proposed repealing the crash-reporting rule requiring automakers to disclose accidents involving automated-driving technologies, a regulation Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticized as disproportionately targeting its vehicles. Trump’s appointed Musk to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency with the goal of cutting government spending. (Reuters / Reuters)

5/ Trump tapped loyalist Devin Nunes as chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, a group in the Executive Office that oversees the U.S. intelligence community’s compliance with the Constitution. As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes accused the FBI and Justice Department were biased against the Trump campaign and abused their power during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Nunes resigned from Congress in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs TruthSocial. He’ll continue leading Trump Media. (Reuters / NBC News / Politico / ABC News)

6/ Trump has discussed privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, citing financial losses and inefficiencies. Overhauling the Postal Service would significantly impact business shipping, reduce reliable delivery in rural communities, and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of government jobs. Trump reportedly said the government shouldn’t be subsidizing the organization, despite the fact that the USPS operates under a constitutional authorization to ensure postal services across the U.S. The Postal Service lost $9.5 billion last year and has not been profitable since 2006. However, in 2022 Congress passed a $107 billion bipartisan package to provide financial relief and help modernize its operations – the largest reform in nearly two decades. The USPS America’s second-most liked federal agency behind the National Park Service, according to Pew Research Center. (Washington Post / Axios)

7/ Trump called for ending daylight saving time, saying the century-old practice is “inconvenient, and very costly” and that the Republican Party would try to “eliminate” it. In 2019, however, Trump posted on social media that “making Daylight Saving Time permanent is OK with me!” Nevertheless, ending daylight savings time would require action from Congress. In 2022, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protect Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. It died in the House. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, has also repeatedly called to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. All but two U.S. states – Hawaii and most of Arizona – observe daylight saving time and instead remain on permanent standard time, which is allowed under the Uniform Time Act. (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times)

poll/ 27% of Americans have high confident in Trump’s ability to appoint qualified people for his Cabinet, while 55% are not confident. (Associated Press)

poll/ 54% of Americans are “comfortable and prepared to support” Trump as president – down 2 points from when he took office in 2016. 41% are not comfortable with Trump as president – up 5 points from 2016. (CNBC)

poll/ 52% of Americans said they are enthusiastic or optimistic about Trump’s second term, while 48% said they are pessimistic or afraid. (CNN)

Four years ago today: Day 1427: "We want them infected."
Five years ago today: Day 1061: "Betrayed the nation."