Trump meets with DC mayor ahead of inauguration and hints Canada could join US: Live

Trump’s expansionist rhetoric has worried allies but elated enemies, with Russians viewing the president-elect’s recent statements as evidence that Trump isn’t opposed to foreign wars of conquest, as is the Kremlin, despite what he has otherwise stated.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, D.C.:

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is so far the only GOP representative who is vocally not supporting Mike Johnson as House Speaker for another term.

With the GOP’s extremely slim majority in the House, Johnson can only afford to peel off one vote from his own caucus to survive.

After House Speaker Newt Gingrich asked why Republican lawmakers are willing to fight it out rather than coalesce around Trump’s pick, Massie wrote a lengthy post in response: “Challenge accepted.”

Massie argues Johnson can’t inspire the public or make the GOP’s case to the press, will cost the party the majority in midterm elections in 2026, only won the title by “being the least objectionable candidate” at the time, and “routinely” passes legislation with Democratic support.

“In closing, the emperor has no clothes and the entire conference knows it but few will say it. The general public knows it too. Please don’t shoot the messengers,” Massie wrote.

A Virginia man who allegedly used pictures of President Joe Biden for target practice was found at his home with the largest stockpile of homemade explosive devices in FBI history, authorities have said.

During the execution of a search warrant at Brad Spafford’s 20-acre property in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, earlier this month, agents found “a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,” according photos included with court documents.

More pipe bombs were found inside a backpack with a grenade-shaped patch that read “#NoLivesMatter,” a reference to a nihilistic, far-right ideology.

His attorneys filed a motion for his release from jail on New Year’s Eve.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is the son of immigrants who came to the United States from China and Taiwan.

He is the first member of his family to have been born in the U.S. and the first Asian American to be elected to statewide office in Connecticut.

If Trump tries to end birthright citizenship, despite the 14th Amendment enshrining a right of citizenship to people who are born in the country, Tong tells NBC News he will be “the first to sue.”

Tong is among roughly two dozen Democratic attorneys general on the frontline legal defense against Trump’s threats to immigration rights, among other likely targets in the incoming administration.

Here’s what Trump has said about birthright citizenship:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under immense pressure to resign with more members of his own party reportedly joining the effort to force him out after his deputy prime minister resigned and concerns about Donald Trump’s tariffs increase.

Don Lemon’s gleeful and profane celebration of the ongoing MAGA squabble over H-1B visas left several Fox News personalities outraged on Tuesday, with one panelist fuming whether the former CNN star thought her Donald Trump-supporting parents were “stupid.”

From The Independent’s Justin Baragona:

Right-wing billionaire Elon Musk has changed his name to “Kekius Maximus” on X, the social media platform he owns, signaling support for a type of cryptocurrency.

The world’s richest man also updated his profile photo to an edited picture of “Pepe the Frog,” a meme that has been co-opted by hate groups.

Katie Hawkinson has more:

The Independent takes a look back at the top political moments of the last year — and some of the memorable scenes you may have forgotten from an unforgettable 2024:

Justin Caporale — one of the Trump campaign staffers who reportedly verbally abused staff at Arlington National Cemetery this summer — has been hired by the president-elect for his “external operation” as “Executive Producer for Major Events and Public Appearances.”

Carpole “has been with me right from the beginning of a very incredible journey, helping to produce our Historic Rallies and Events, including the Republican National Convention, Madison Square Garden, McDonalds commercial, and even my seriously viral ‘Garbage Truck ride,’” Trump announced Tuesday.

“Once he finishes what will be our magnificent Inauguration presentation, Justin will continue to serve my external operation as Executive Producer for Major Events and Public Appearances,” Trump added. “Congratulations Justin. Keep up the GREAT work!”

Mike Johnson has maintained shaky control of the Republican caucus since late October of last year, buoyed in part by a weariness resulting from that chaotic speakerless period.

Whether that will continue into the new Congress, however, still remains uncertain.

The Independent’s John Bowden reports from Capitol Hill: