Today in one sentence: Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general following scrutiny over allegations of sex trafficking an underage girl and drug use that threatened his confirmation; a woman told police that Pete Hegseth – Trump’s pick for defense secretary – sexually assaulted her in 2017; the Republican-led House Oversight Committee will establish a new subcommittee led by Marjorie Taylor Greene to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on Trump's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency"; the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza; and the House passed legislation that allows the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it accuses of supporting terrorism.

1/ Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general following scrutiny over allegations of sex trafficking an underage girl and drug use that threatened his confirmation. The minor who said she had sex with Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, and it included another adult woman. Two other women testified to the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, with one witnessing him having sex with the 17-year-old at a drug-fueled party in 2017. Gaetz paid the two women over $10,000 through PayPal and Venmo. Some payments were for sex. “It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.” Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration for attorney general ends “the discussion of whether or not the Ethics Committee should continue to move forward” on deliberations about releasing the report on its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz. “He has withdrawn his nomination, he is no longer a member of Congress, so I think that this settles any involvement,” Guest said. Trump, meanwhile, praised Gaetz’s decision, saying the decision has his “respect” and that “Matt has a wonderful future.” (Axios / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

  • Federal investigation links Matt Gaetz to payments for sex, but no charges filed. Federal investigators tracked payments made by Gaetz and associates, revealing connections to drug-fueled parties and women allegedly hired for sex, including one who was 17 at the time. While no charges were filed, a House Ethics Committee obtained documents showing Venmo and PayPal transactions between Gaetz and others, corroborating testimony from women who claimed to have been paid. Despite Gaetz’s denial of wrongdoing, the case raises questions as he faces confirmation challenges as Trump’s attorney general pick.(New York Times)

  • 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/ A woman told police that Pete Hegseth – Trump’s pick for defense secretary – sexually assaulted her in 2017, according to an investigative report released by the Monterey Police Department. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the documents, told police she consumed more alcohol “than normal” and that she approached Hegseth in a hotel bar after noticing he was behaving “inappropriately” toward other women. Doe said Hegseth told her he was a “nice guy.” Her next memory was being in an unknown room with Hegseth, who “took her phone from her hands” and blocked the door. Doe said she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot” and that her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with Hegseth standing over her with his dog tags dangling, the report states. Hegseth served in the National Guard. Days after the alleged incident, Doe went to the hospital to ask for a sexual assault examination. She told the attending nurse “something may have been slipped into her drink, as she cannot remember most of the night’s events” and that she thought she had been sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Hegseth. The nurse reported Doe’s account to the police. Hegseth, who was never charged with a crime, said the encounter was consensual. He entered into a nondisclosure agreement with the woman in 2020. (Associated Press / CNN / New York Times / Mediate / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Politico / ABC News / NBC News)

  • Three of Trump’s Cabinet selections have faced allegations of sexual misconduct: Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (NBC News)

3/ The Republican-led House Oversight Committee will establish a new subcommittee to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.” The committee will be chaired by Marjorie Taylor Greene. The subcommittee “will align with the Trump administration’s priorities to eliminate government waste, streamline the federal government’s operations and cut red tape that’s stifling jobs and increasing costs for the American people.” (NBC News / CNBC / Politico / USA Today / Bloomberg / CNN)

4/ The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza. It’s the first time the ICC has issued warrants for the leader of a democratic country. The warrants require enforcement by the court’s 124 member states. Both Israel and the U.S., however, do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Muhammad Deif, Hamas’s military chief, accusing him of crimes against humanity, including murder, hostage taking, and sexual violence. Israel said they already killed Deif. Netanyahu, meanwhile, rejected what he called an “absurd and false accusations.” (Axios / NPR / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News / Wall Street Journal)

5/ The House passed legislation that allows the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it accuses of supporting terrorism. The bill passed 219-184, with all but one Republican in support and all but 15 Democrats opposed. The bill revokes the tax-exempt status of any “terrorist-supporting organization” the Treasury Department designates as having provided “material support or resources” to a group designated as a terrorist entity in the past three years. A nonprofit designated as “terror-supporting” has 90 days to appeal, though the bill doesn’t require the Treasury disclose all the evidence used to make the designation. The legislation passed largely along party lines, and now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate where its fate is uncertain. (Associated Press / New York Times)

  • 📅 From Election Day to Inauguration Day.

  • 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 712 days.

Two years ago today: Day 671: "Bad things."
Five years ago today: Day 1036: Weaponized falsehoods.
Six years ago today: Day 671: Sad irony.