BY NEW YORK TIMES

President-elect Donald J. Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday night at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of “super PACs” and talked about creating a “merit-based” immigration system. Mr. Trump credited Mr. Pence with helping to bring critics around to the ticket. “They all liked Mike. They were a little bit, you know, a little concerned with me,” the president-elect said, drawing laughter from the crowd of about 500 people, which included donors, cabinet appointees and other supporters. He said that even “the haters” who disliked him called his movement “unprecedented.” Mr. Trump expressed gratitude to black voters who had stayed home on Election Day “because they liked me, or they liked me enough that they just said, ‘No reason.’

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BY NEW YORK TIMES

President-elect Donald Trump is back in Washington, spending the evening attending a duo of dinners just two days before his inauguration. Trump is attending a fundraiser featuring his potential cabinet secretaries at the Library of Congress. Earlier, he stopped by a fundraising dinner honoring Vice President-elect Mike Pence at the National Portrait Gallery. Reporters were not allowed access to either event. Trump will return to New York Wednesday night and is then scheduled to return to Washington for good Thursday.

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BY THE HILL

German-based Bayer AG has committed to President-elect Donald Trump that it will invest $8 billion in American research and development as part of its deal to acquire Monsanto, Trump's transition team said Tuesday. Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Bayer will also protect all of Monsanto's 9,000 American jobs while creating an additional 3,000 high-tech positions in the country. That agreement, he added, came after Trump met with CEOs from both companies last week. In a joint statement, the two companies said the new jobs will focus on ways to "drive future innovation in agriculture" with positions like geneticists, data scientists and engineers. The companies added that the investment will go to both Monsanto's St. Louis headquarters and other parts of the country. "The United States is a global leader in agriculture, and the combination of Bayer-Monsanto will underscore that role and ensure the United States retains a pre-eminent position as the anchor of the industry," the statement said. 

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BY FOXNEWS

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was on offense Wednesday during her confirmation hearing to become United Nations ambassador, blasting the U.N. for its treatment of Israel and taking a tough line against Russia. Haley, during her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also questioned the disproportionate funding the U.N. receives from the U.S., asking if America is "getting what we pay for?" Haley said. “We contribute 22 percent of the U.N.’s budget, far more than any other country,” Haley said. “We are a generous nation. But we must ask ourselves what good is being accomplished by this disproportionate contribution." President-elect Donald Trump has been a ferocious critic of the U.N. and just as fierce an advocate for Israel during his brief political career, and Haley echoed those principles.

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BY THE HILL

Democrats don’t have the votes to stop Scott Pruitt’s confirmation, but they signaled at his hearing Wednesday that they will seek to damage him politically as much as possible. Pruitt was hammered for his record as Oklahoma’s attorney general, including his fundraising from fossil fuel companies and lawsuits against the agency he now looks to lead.  Republicans only need 50 votes to confirm him, and there have been no signs of GOP defections. Here are five takeaways from his confirmation hearing. (1) Pruitt says climate change is not a hoax. (2) Pruitt wants to give power to the states. (3) Dems are linking Pruit to the oil industry. (4) GOP looks to reshape the EPA. (5) No votes are changed.

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BY WIRED

Orthopedic surgeon Tom Price, President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, spent as much time this morning defending his character as he did defending his vision of healthcare for all Americans. Nothing he said precluded the Senate committee conducting his hearing from recommending that he get the job, although several key questions remain—and must be raised before the Senate confirms him. Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee were particularly interested in Price’s desire to privatize Medicare and replace the Affordable Care Act with something less comprehensive, and they harshly criticized him for drafting legislation that favored companies he’d invested in. Such questions are of paramount importance, because, if confirmed, the six-term Georgia Republican will oversee vast social programs and lead the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services, with a budget of $1 trillion

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BY NPR

Unlike many other Trump nominees Wilbur Ross makes some Republicans nervous, and has common ground with some Democrats. In fact, the Commerce Secretary nominee was once a Democrat himself. He's won the the support of labor unions, and saved tens of thousands jobs buying and basically rescuing bankrupt steel companies. Democrats largely offered Ross a warm reception Wednesday at his confirmation hearing. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was impressed by Ross' decision to sell off a huge portion of his assets to avoid conflicts of interest. As some Democrats praised Ross, however, some Republicans expressed deep concerns. Both Ross and Trump have talked about protecting U.S. businesses by erecting tariffs against foreign competitors, and that makes many free-trade republicans nervous.

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BY OBSERVER

Governor Andrew Cuomo, a rumored 2020 Democratic presidential contender, met with President-elect Donald Trump this morning to make sure the incoming commander-in-chief prioritizes the needs of his home state—and to highlight the importance of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act to New Yorkers. In the lobby afterward, the governor said emphasized the damage Republican-occupied Washington would do to New York if it followed through on plans to repeal ACA, also called Obamacare. “If the Affordable Care Act is ended, we have 3 million Americans, 3 million New Yorkers uninsured and that’s 3 million families,” Cuomo continued. “It would have a dramatic impact on the state and not just for those 3 million. We now live in a community where if you sneeze, I get sick, right? This is all about public health.” The governor said

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BY FOX INSIDER

Ainsley Earhardt had a must-see sit-down with President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday on "Fox & Friends." When Earhardt asked what's the first thing Trump wants to do upon entering the White House, he kept it simple: "I wanna go to work." On his use of Twitter, Trump said it's his only way to counteract what he called the "dishonest press." The President-elect said. "I don't like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing," Trump said. "But I get very dishonest media." He also stood by his campaign promise that he would build a wall to halt illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. "We're going to build a wall; Mexico is going to reimburse us. ... In order to get the wall started sooner than we can do the deal, we have to do it this way," Trump said. Trump then discussed his plans to enact a new affordable health care system to replace Obamacare. "Nobody is going to be dying on the streets with a President Trump. We want to take care of everybody," he said.

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BY GM

General Motors today announced that it will invest an additional $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations. These investments follow $2.9 billion announced in 2016 and more than $21 billion GM has invested in its U.S. operations since 2009. The new investments cover multiple new vehicle, advanced technology and component projects. A combination of 1,500 new and retained jobs are tied to the new investments. Details of individual projects will be announced throughout the year. “As the U.S. manufacturing base increases its competitiveness, we are able to further increase our investment, resulting in more jobs for America and better results for our owners,”  said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “The U.S. is our home market and we are committed to growth that is good for our employees, dealers, and suppliers and supports our continued effort to drive shareholder value.”

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