Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 340th day of the year. There are 26 days remaining in 2016.
Jon Huntsman under consideration for Secretary of State. Donald Trump picks Ben Carson for his Cabinet. The Obama administration halts the Dakota Access pipeline, at least for now.
The clock:
- 14 days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president (12/19/2016)
- 46 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
- 49 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
- 94 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 337 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 701 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
Ten talking points for Monday:
- Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is reportedly under consideration for Secretary of State in Donald Trump‘s administration [Utah Policy, Tribune]. If Trump ends up picking Jon Huntsman, it could go a long way toward helping Orrin Hatch win another term in Washington [Utah Policy].
- Sen. Orrin Hatch is in prime position to help Donald Trump push his agenda through Congress [Roll Call].
- Donald Trump taps former presidential candidate Ben Carson to head up Housing and Urban Development [Politico].
- Senate Democrats say they will use every delay tactic at their disposal to hold up the confirmation of Donald Trump‘s cabinet picks as retaliation for Republicans sitting on Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination [Politico].
- Donald Trump caused a stir when he broke international protocol and spoke with Taiwan president Tsai Ing-Weng by telephone. Those close to Trump say the provocative phone call was intentionally planned to shake up relations with China [Washington Post]. Jon Huntsman says Trump’s call with Taiwan could signal he intends to take a new approach to international relations [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor this month, becoming the first Japanese leader to visit the site of the attack that launched America into World War II. Abe says it’s in return for President Barack Obama visiting Hiroshima earlier this year [CNN].
- The Obama administration denied a permit needed to finish the Dakota Access pipeline, drawing cheers from those opposed to the project. However, that victory may be short-lived because President-Elect Donald Trump supports the project [Wall Street Journal].
- Rep. Rob Bishop is set to meet with members of Donald Trump‘s transition team to discuss how the president-elect could undo national monument designations once he takes office in January [Deseret News].
- Thousands of people are urging Utah’s electors to reject Donald Trump when they cast their ballots in two weeks [Deseret News].
- Josh Romney says he will “strongly support” Sen. Orrin Hatch if he decides to launch a bid for an eighth term in the Senate because he’s more focused on possibly running for governor in 2020 [Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1792 – George Washington was re-elected president and John Adams was re-elected vice president.
- 1848 – President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in California, leading to the “gold rush” of 1848 and ’49.
- 1933 – Prohibition of liquor in the United States was repealed when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
- 1955 – Blacks declared a boycott of city buses in Montgomery, Ala., demanding seating on an equal basis with whites. The boycott was prompted by the arrest of Rosa Parks, a black woman who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man.
- 1994 – Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.
