Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 315th day of the year. There are 51 days left in 2016.
Some Utahns are possibly in the running for big slots in a Donald Trump administration. Utah legislators are set to elect new leadership on Thursday. Utahns say the media is untrustworthy.
The clock:
- 39 days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president (12/19/2016)
- 71 days until Inauguration Day (1/20/2017)
- 74 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
- 119 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 362 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 726 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
Ten talking points for Thursday:
- Some prominent Utahns are rumored to be on the list for positions in a Donald Trump administration. Speaker Greg Hughes has told confidants he’d like to head up Transportation [Utah Policy]. Rep. Rob Bishop is also rumored to be a possible choice to head up Interior [Utah Policy].
- House and Senate Republicans meet on Thursday to vote for leadership for the 2017 and 2018 Legislatures [Utah Policy].
- There are some new faces heading to Utah’s Capitol Hill following Tuesday’s elections [Utah Policy].
- Most Utahns say the media is untrustworthy [Utah Policy].
- Anti-Trump protests erupt nationwide following the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President [Huffington Post]. A small group of demonstrators gathers in downtown Salt Lake City to protest Trump’s election [Tribune].
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz says he will continue investigating Hillary Clinton‘s use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State [Washington Post]. The White House is refusing to say whether President Barack Obama is considering pardoning Clinton for her email scandal [Politico].
- LDS Church leaders congratulate Donald Trump on his win, issue a call for Americans to pray for the president-elect [Deseret News, Tribune].
- The aftermath of a surprise. Sen Mike Lee says he voted for Evan McMullin as a protest against Donald Trump [Tribune]. Sen. Orrin Hatch joins the chorus of Republicans congratulating Trump on his win [Deseret News]. Rep. Mia Love says her opposition to Trump will not keep her from working with him during the next Congress [Daily Herald, Tribune]. Mitt Romney, who was a vocal critic of Trump during the campaign, urged the new president to “preserve the Republic” [Tribune]. Utah Hispanics are fearful for their future following a Donald Trump win [Tribune]. Utah Muslims are also worried following the anti-Muslim rhetoric that was prominent in his campaign [Tribune].
- Some of the big things Donald Trump could do on the first day of his presidency include nominating a new justice for the Supreme Court, reverse President Obama’s executive action on immigration and scraping the EPA’s Clean Power Plan [CBS News]. Congressional leaders say repealing Obamacare is their top priority [Huffington Post]. Obamacare backers are vowing “total war” to keep the healthcare plan in place [Politico].
- Long lines on Election Day have legislators vowing to find a fix [Deseret News, Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1871 – Journalist Henry Stanley found Scottish missionary David Livingstone in a small African village. His famous comment: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
- 1918 – A Western Union Cable Office in Nova Scotia received a top-secret message stating that all fighting related to the Great War (World War I) would cease on November 11, 1918.
- 1969 – Sesame Street premiered on PBS.
- 1975 – The ore-hauling ship Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm in Lake Superior. All 29 crew members died.
