Axios

House Democrats are gearing up to put maximum pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) agonizingly small House majority.

Why it matters: Just a few complications on the GOP side could hobble Johnson's efforts to pass President-elect Trump's sweeping agenda, fund the government and raise the debt ceiling.

When President-elect Trump took office the first time, his choices to lead agencies like HHS, CMS and the FDA sent clear signals to the health care industry that he'd enact a pretty orthodox GOP health agenda.

Why it matters: Trump's nominations for top health care positions so far signal a starkly different — and likely unpredictable — agenda for his second term.

• This time around, he's started with a group of nominees — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz — new to Trumpworld and unfamiliar with government bureaucracy. Their views and resumes are nearly the exact opposite of their predecessors.
• The remaining wild card is whom Trump chooses to staff the agencies around those people, assuming they get confirmed by the Senate, which could make a huge difference given their government inexperience.

Flashback: Trump's first HHS secretary was former Rep. Tom Price, who chaired multiple influential House committees during his tenure, including the Republican Policy Committee.

• After Price resigned due to a scandal around his use of private jets, Trump appointed Alex Azar to lead the agency. Azar was formerly an Eli Lilly executive and deputy HHS secretary.
• Price was criticized by Democrats for both his ethics and his policy views, especially relevant as he'd be helming the agency during Republicans' attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Azar was criticized for being too friendly with the pharmaceutical industry.

Those complaints are a far cry from the objections to Kennedy's nomination, which include his history of criticizing vaccines and his conspiratorial ideas about Big Pharma's role in America's chronic health issues.

• And Kennedy's focus on upending the health care agencies and addressing rising rates of chronic disease in America has just about nothing in common with the first Trump administration's focus on insurance reforms.
• Kennedy's interest in cracking down on America's food supply also wasn't a priority for the first Trump administration.

Don't expect the same characters to return for prominent cyber roles in the second Trump administration.

Why it matters: As people read the tea leaves to try to predict a historically unpredictable president, many keep looking back to President-elect Trump's first term for clues for who might take key positions.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) confirmed to Axios that he will not seek to take his seat in the 119th Congress after withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Trump's attorney general.

Why it matters: A return to the House would risk putting Gaetz back in the crosshairs of the House Ethics Committee, which only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress.

Did you hear the one about the $6.2 million banana? That's the price a piece of art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall fetched this week, up from a "mere" $120,000 it sold for five years ago.

Why it matters: It is a fitting metaphor for an exuberant, and frothy, moment in financial markets of all types, one that raises uncomfortable questions about whether Federal Reserve policy is really restraining the economy as much as its leaders believe.

The judge overseeing President-elect Trump's New York criminal hush money trial on Friday indefinitely postponed his sentencing, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: It's a major win for Trump, who appears poised to avoid serious punishment for the 34 felony counts he was convicted of in May.

President-elect Trump tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration Thursday.

Why it matters: Bondi is a longtime Trump ally whose confirmation chances appear stronger than Gaetz's. She would give the incoming administration a staunch ally atop the Department of Justice, which could be instrumental if Trump follows through on his threat to investigate his political enemies.

It's "Glick-ed" weekend — the opening for both "Gladiator 2" and "Wicked," the film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Why it matters: The portmanteau is Hollywood's effort to recapture the magic of "Barbenheimer" — two big but seemingly dissimilar releases feeding into each other's success.

Left-leaning apps, news websites and social networks are experiencing a spike in engagement following President-elect Trump's election win, further dividing the internet along political lines.

Why it matters: It's not unusual for resistance media to rise in response to contentious elections. But the internet itself is becoming more politically divided than ever, driving Americans further into echo chambers.

Matt Gaetz's crash to earth as Donald Trump's pick for attorney general has put a new spotlight on Trump's flirtation with recess appointments, in which he'd try to seat top administration officials while Congress wasn't in session to bypass Senate scrutiny.

Why it matters: It would be just the type of power play that Trump has forecast for his second term — but it wouldn't be easy.

For two weeks, President-elect Trump has enjoyed — and exploited — an aura of invincibility that few Republicans have been willing to challenge publicly.

• On Thursday, the bubble finally popped.

Why it matters: For an otherwise pliant group of Senate Republicans, former Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general was a bridge too far.

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro was formally accused of being involved in an attempted a coup over his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the country's police announced Thursday.

The big picture: The proposed indictments against Bolsonaro and 36 others conclude the Brazilian federal police's two-year investigation into the fallout from the election that the populist leader never formally conceded, which saw his supporters storm the presidential palace and other government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.

President-elect Trump said Thursday he will nominate Pam Bondi for attorney general, after his previous pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew his name from consideration.

The big picture: The attorney general could be one of the most important roles in the second Trump White House. The president-elect has made clear his desire to have a loyalist in the nation's highest law enforcement role to carry out his agenda, which could include investigating adversaries.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) remains on track to match — or break — the Trump-era record of judicial confirmations after a late-night deal with Republicans on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Schumer axed four judicial nominees in exchange for a path to passage for over a dozen judges through the end of the year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) members are breaking ranks and trying to shove aside older colleagues for top committee spots.

Why it matters: The impending Trump administration has given some Democrats a foothold to argue that the party can't manage another two years under gerontocracy.