Axios

Doctor and TV personality Mehmet Oz, or Dr. Oz, is President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees health care for 160 million Americans.

Why it matters: Oz, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022 against Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), does not have experience running a large government bureaucracy like the CMS.

President-elect Trump has picked doctor and TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), he announced on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Oz is a household name and became a Trump world ally during a failed 2022 Senate run. But he has no experience running a large government bureaucracy like CMS, which administers Medicare and Medicaid and conducts other services like inspecting nursing homes.

In the end zone, on the soccer pitch and on the golf course, athletes are paying tribute to President-elect Trump with the “Trump Dance.”

Why it matters: After Trump’s decisive victory, athletes and other celebs seem more willing to publicly associate themselves with the president-elect — even if the dance is more of a pop culture phenomenon than a political endorsement.

President-elect Trump chose billionaire Howard Lutnick to serve as Commerce secretary and lead the push for a sweeping program of tariffs.

Why it matters: The Commerce Department will have a key role in implementing Trump's trade agenda — and Lutnick has been a vocal supporter.

New York prosecutors suggested in a Tuesday court filing that they are open to postponing sentencing in President-elect Trump's hush money case, even if it waits until his second presidential term ends in 2029.

Why it matters: The filing is the latest effort by prosecutors to keep the case against Trump going after Judge Juan Merchan postponed a Nov. 26 sentencing in the case following Trump's re-election.

A group of just under 100 House Democrats on Tuesday wrote to the leaders of the House Ethics Committee urging them to release their report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Why it matters: The panel is scheduled to meet Wednesday and may vote on whether to release the findings of its investigation into Gaetz, President-elect Trump's nominee for attorney general.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) decisively defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) to win reelection to her Democratic leadership role spearheading the party's political messaging.

Why it matters: The battle for the chairmanship of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee was the only contested election for a slot in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) leadership team.

President-elect Trump has vowed to crack down on immigration and start mass deportations on Day 1 of his presidency, but the operation will be difficult to pull off without major structural overhauls.

Why it matters: A backlog of nearly 4 million immigration cases and a shortage of immigration judges and detention centers can hinder quick deportation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing pressure from some of his most outspoken members to restrict transgender Rep-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.) from using women's bathrooms at the Capitol.

Why it matters: There is a brewing fight over whether Rep. Nancy Mace's (R-S.C.) bill to do just that will be included in the rules for the 119th House.

The Justice Department will ask a judge to require that Google divest its Chrome browser, according to Bloomberg.

Why it matters: This could be the first big test of tech antitrust policy under Trump 2.0.

The late Benny Martinez, a Mexican American civil rights leader who helped organize a historic meeting between LULAC and President John F. Kennedy, now has a post office named after him.

The big picture: The move comes as Latino elected officials push for more buildings and parks to be renamed in honor of important Hispanic figures.

Henry Kissinger joined forces with technologists Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt to write a book on the subject that dominated his thinking in his final years: humanity's risk from AI.

Driving the news: That book, "Genesis," is out Tuesday, nearly a year after the former secretary of state died at 100.

Over bacon and eggs at Mar-a-Lago, "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reestablished diplomatic relations with their Florida neighbor, President-elect Trump, after years of taunting him — they knew he was watching as they warned he was an existential threat to democracy.

Why it matters: Trump used to be a close friend of the show who was a frequent guest, and would call the hosts on their cellphones during breaks.

• But they hadn't spoken since March 2020, aside from a quick call by Scarborough to Trump after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Tuesday marks 1,000 days since explosions jolted Kyiv awake on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian troops mounted assaults on three axes, and Ukraine went to war, Axios' Dave Lawler writes.

The big picture: Ukraine halted the Russian offensive far short of Kyiv before launching a counteroffensive. Since then, much blood has been shed for much more limited gains. Now it's Russia that's gaining ground.

Donald Trump's Washington will be the epicenter of America's most powerful pillars: governance, business and media.

• Both left and right will be consumed at scale with Trump in the information wars.
• Republicans plan an epic burst of legislating and power-stretching.
• The biggest industries — AI, energy, financial services (crypto included) and defense — are expected to benefit big-time with lighter regs and lower taxes.

Between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming Trump administration has divergent views on regulating the pharmaceutical industry.

Why it matters: Both influential MAGA allies say there are deep problems with America's drug development system. But RFK Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary designee, is calling for more oversight of drugs and vaccines and diminished federal funding for R&D.

President-elect Trump's vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants could eliminate workers from U.S. industries already projected to face shortages and cut up to 6.8% of the national gross domestic product.

The big picture: While undocumented laborers make up a relatively small percentage of the total U.S. workforce, they have outsized roles in fields like construction, agriculture and hospitality.

Homicides continued to decline in major U.S. cities — by more than 40% in some communities — during the first nine months of the year, according to new data that show the COVID-era crime wave evaporating.

Why it matters: The stats are the latest signs that violent crime in America is starkly different from what President-elect Trump described in the recent campaign, when he falsely asserted that immigration was sparking rising crime nationwide.

A rising Democratic star and cable TV mainstay is facing strong headwinds in her eleventh-hour effort to take down one of House Democrats' senior leaders.

Why it matters: Despite Democrats failing to take the House back from Republicans, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) inner circle is on track to stay basically intact.

The possibility of Trump vs. McConnell fights in 2025 is lighting up the Senate before incoming Senate GOP leader John Thune is even in his new office.

Why it matters: Outgoing GOP leader Mitch McConnell has said he will feel "liberated" when he is no longer a "heat shield for his members," according to his biographer Michael Tackett of the recently released "The Price of Power."

Former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) was tapped by President-elect Trump on Monday to serve as Secretary of Transportation.

Why it matters: If confirmed, the Fox News contributor and former reality star will be tasked with handling the nation's air, rail and supply-chain issues.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill with a bill to keep Sarah McBride, soon to be the first transgender member of Congress, from accessing the women's bathrooms at the Capitol.

Why it matters: The measure is not being immediately dismissed by Republican leadership, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) telling Axios, "We're going to talk about that. We're working on the issue."