Today in one sentence: The Biden administration is in the process of extending contracts for private immigration detention centers, expanding capacity ahead of Trump’s promised “largest deportation operation in American history”; Biden and his staff have discussed whether to grant preemptive pardons to current and former public officials who could be targeted by Kash Patel and the incoming Trump administration; Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy met with House and Senate Republicans about Trump’s plans to “dismantle” the federal government; Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, regularly read and shared Russian propaganda; the Heritage Foundation – the architect of Project 2025 – is spending $1 million to pressure Republican senators to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense; the House Republicans blocked the release of an Ethics Committee report on allegations against Matt Gaetz; and 88% of voters believe elections were well-run in 2024 – up from 59% in 2020.

1/ The Biden administration is in the process of extending contracts for private immigration detention centers, expanding capacity ahead of Trump’s promised “largest deportation operation in American history.” Despite Biden’s campaign promises to end for-profit detention centers, his administration has or is renewing contracts to add at least 4,850 additional detention beds, increasing the capacity beyond the approximately 39,000 individuals already in federal immigration custody. The incoming Trump administration, meanwhile, is preparing to deport migrants to third-party countries, where they have no cultural, linguistic, or familial ties, when their home countries refuse to accept them. (The Guardian / NBC News)

2/ Biden and his staff have discussed whether to grant preemptive pardons to current and former public officials who could be targeted by Kash Patel and the incoming Trump administration. Patel has publicly vowed to pursue retribution against Trump’s adversaries and critics. Among those being considered for potential pardons include Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, Adam Schiff, and Liz Cheney. At this same time in 2020, Trump and his team discussed but didn’t grant preemptive pardons to Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Rudy Giuliani. The consideration follows Biden’s full pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. (Politico / ABC News / Washington Post / CNN)

3/ Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy met with House and Senate Republicans about Trump’s plans to “dismantle” the federal government. Trump tapped the two to head his “Department of Government Efficiency,” tasked with firing federal workers, cutting government programs and spending, and paring back federal regulations. The group is dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” because it’s not an actual government department. Nevertheless, Musk and Ramaswamy believe they can achieve a 75% reduction in the federal workforce, a $2 trillion cut to federal spending, and the elimination of entire agencies. They have not provided specific details about these policy proposals. “We have long lamented the size and scope of the government, that it has grown too large. And let me be frank about this: Government is too big. It does too many things and it does almost nothing well,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. (NPR / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CBS News)

4/ Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, regularly read and shared Russian propaganda. Three of her former staffers said Gabbard continued to read and share articles from RT (formerly Russia Today) even after being advised that RT was a state-run media outlet and not a credible source of information. The U.S. intelligence community characterized RT as “the Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet” in 2017 – three years after Gabbard was elected to Congress. In 2017, Gabbard accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking Russian aggression and criticized what she described as America’s “hostility towards Putin.” When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard shifted blame to Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, echoing a narrative often promoted by Moscow. Earlier, in 2020, Gabbard denounced U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war, labeling it a “regime change war” targeting Russia-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (ABC News / New Republic / The Guardian / Daily Beast / Rolling Stone)

5/ The Heritage Foundation – the architect of Project 2025 – is spending $1 million to pressure Republican senators to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense amid allegations that he committed sexual assault, drank to excess, sexually pursued female subordinates, and mismanaged two nonprofits. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts argued that criticism of Hegseth’s behavior was being driven by “the establishment.” Hegseth, meanwhile, met with at least six senators and pledged he’ll be “standing here in this fight” for “as long as Donald Trump wants me here.” (Associated Press / New York Times / Politico)

6/ The House Republicans blocked the release of an Ethics Committee report on allegations against Matt Gaetz. Shortly after Ethics Committee members met behind closed doors about whether to make public the report detailing allegations that Gaetz engaged in illicit drug use and sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, the House voted 206-198 to return the matter to the House Ethics Committee. Gaetz resigned from Congress last month, shortly after being named by Trump as his pick for attorney general, but before the bipartisan committee was set to vote on releasing its findings. The resignation immediately ended the investigation, based on committee rules. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / Axios)

  • 📌 Day 1402: 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.

  • 📌 Day 1401: The House Ethics Committee voted against releasing its report into allegations of sex trafficking, corruption, and drug use by Matt Gaetz. 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.

  • 📌 Day 1395: Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress two days before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to release a “highly damaging” report detailing allegations against Gaetz, including sex trafficking involving underage girls, illicit drug use, and accepting bribes.

poll/ 88% of voters believe elections were well-run in 2024 – up from 59% in 2020. 93% of Trump voters said the 2024 elections were run and administered at least somewhat well, compared to 21% in 2020. 84% of Harris voters said this year’s elections were run well. (Pew Research Center)

  • Who’s in Trump’s new administration so far:
  • Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
    Scott Bessent, Treasury
    Michael Faulkender, Treasury deputy
    Billy Long, IRS
    Frank Bisignano, Social Security
    Pete Hegseth, Defense
    Matt Gaetz, Attorney General
    Pam Bondi, Attorney General
    Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General
    D. John Sauer, Solicitor General
    Doug Burgum, Interior
    Brooke Rollings, Agriculture
    Howard Lutnick, Commerce
    Lori Chavez DeRemer, Labor
    Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services
    Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development
    Sean Duffy, Transportation
    Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing
    Martin Makary, FDA
    Chad Chronister, DEA
    Chris Wright, Energy
    Linda McMahon, Education
    Dough Collins, Veterans Affairs
    Kristi Noem, Homeland Security
    Mike Waltz, National Security
    Alex Wong, Deputy National Security
    Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President
    Lee Zeldin, EPA
    Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador
    Kelly Loeffler, SBA Administrator
    Jamieson Greer, US Trade Representative
    Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health
    John Phelan, Navy
    Jim O’Neill, Health deputy
    Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff
    Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff
    Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff
    James Blair, Deputy Chief of Staff
    Elon Musk, “Department” of Government Efficiency
    Vivek Ramaswamy, “Department” of Government Efficiency
    Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget
    James Braid, Legislative affairs
    Matt Brasseaux, Political affairs
    Vince Haley, Domestic policy
    Alex Latcham, Public liaison
    Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council
    Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence
    John Ratcliffe, CIA director
    Kash Patel, FBI director
    Jared Isaacman, NASA
    Adam Boehler, Hostage affairs envoy
    Daniel Driscoll, Army secretary
    Paul Atkins, SEC
    Brendan Carr, FCC
    Charles Kushner, Ambassador to France
    Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO
    Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel
    Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East
    Keith Kellogg, Ukraine and Russian envoy
    Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General
    Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
    Dr. Dave Weldon, CDC
    Bill McGinley, White House Counsel
    David Warrington, White House Counsel
    Bill McGinley, Government Efficiency Counsel
    Tom Homan, Border Czar
    Massad Boulos, Senior adviser
    Steven Cheung, Communications director
    Karoline Leavitt, Press secretary
    Will Scharf, Staff secretary
    Sergio Gor, Personnel
Five years ago today: Day 1050: Time to act.
Six years ago today: Day 685: Substantial assistance.