Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 326th day of the year. There are 40 days left in 2016.
Greg Hughes is under consideration for a top slot in Donald Trump’s administration. Do Utahns think they pay enough in taxes to fund education? Trump’s approval rating jumps following his election.
The clock:
- 28 days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president (12/19/2016)
- 60 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
- 63 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
- 108 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 351 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 715 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
Ten talking points for Monday:
- House Speaker Greg Hughes has been contacted by President-Elect Donald Trump‘s transition team about the Secretary of Transportation position, but Hughes calls the communication very preliminary [Utah Policy].
- About a third of Utahns say they should be paying more taxes to make sure public education is funded adequately [Utah Policy].
- Donald Trump‘s popularity among Americans has jumped nearly 10-points following his win on Election Day. That same poll found just 3 in 10 voters think Trump’s children should be involved in his administration [Politico].
- Cabinet watch. Mitt Romney remains under “active consideration” for the Secretary of State job following his weekend meeting with Donald Trump [Utah Policy]. However, Rudy Giuliani is still the odds-on favorite for Secretary of State [CBS News]. Sen. Orrin Hatch is pleased with some of the initial moves Trump has made to build his staff and cabinet [Tribune].
- Barack Obama says he may forego the tradition of a president not commenting about their successor if Donald Trump if circumstances warrant [Politico].
- Donald Trump settles his Trump University lawsuit for $25 million [Bloomberg].
- Donald Trump met last week with some business partners from India, which is raising new questions about he will keep his administration and business dealings separate once he becomes president [New York Times].
- Donald Trump‘s trillion-dollar plan to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure could run into the reality of the nation’s budget deficit [The Hill].
- Rep. LaVar Christensen jumps into the lead in his race against Democrat Suzanne Harrison by just six votes in the latest tally [Tribune, Deseret News]. Democrat Catherine Kanter concedes her Salt Lake County Council race to Richard Snelgrove [Tribune].
- This year’s election shows Salt Lake County is an island of Democratic blue in a sea of Republican red [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1877 – Thomas Edison announced his invention of the phonograph.
- 1922 – Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia became the first female United States Senator. Her appointment was temporary, as she served just 24 hours.
- 1973 – President Richard Nixon’s attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
- 1974 – Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act.
