Politics: Is Trump’s new chief strategist a racist? Critics say so.

Paul Ryan is set to remain as House speaker, and so are GOP tensions; Will Harold Hamm go to Washington?; Why Republicans might have wanted Donald Trump to lose; Trump's claim that 2 million or 3 million criminal aliens are 'here illegally'; Trump and Putin speak by phone, say they'll work together to improve relations; Democrats begin period of soul searching, jockeying after Clinton loss; House Republicans scramble to avoid criticizing Bannon; Ruth Bader Ginsburg utters the words: 'President Trump'; D.C. residents lost the most sleep of anyone in nation the night of the presidential election, study shows; Trump, Putin agree in phone call to improve ‘unsatisfactory’ relations between their countries, Kremlin says; Meeting the press for first time since Trump's win, Obama says president-elect is committed to NATO; Keith Ellison makes DNC bid official, rolls out 40 endorsements; Obama says Trump is committed to NATO; Donald Trump has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin says;   The most important politics stories today   Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images Is Trump's new chief strategist a racist? Critics say so. Bannon, the former head of the far-right web site Breitbart news, describes himself as a leader of the 'alt-right,' a loose ideological term. By David Weigel  •  Read more » Paul Ryan is set to remain as House speaker, and so are GOP tensions While Donald Trump's victory might have eased the internal politics of the House GOP, it has not eliminated them entirely. By Mike DeBonis  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Will Harold Hamm go to Washington? He is is among the names being discussed as a potential energy secretary. One potential obstacle: The issues Hamm cares about most deeply don't fall under the purview of the department. By Steven Mufson  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Why Republicans might have wanted Donald Trump to lose Trump has the lowest favorability ratings of any newly elected president in modern history. Will that help the Democrats? By Neil Visalvanich  •  Monkey Cage  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Trump's claim that 2 million or 3 million criminal aliens are 'here illegally' He distorts the facts on the number of people who are convicted of crimes and in the country illegally. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Fact Checker  •  Read more »   Trump and Putin speak by phone, say they'll work together to improve relations The call came as Trump faces criticism for his choice of Stephen Bannon as chief strategist. By Jenna Johnson, Karen DeYoung and Elise Viebeck  •  Read more »   Democrats begin period of soul searching, jockeying after Clinton loss Clinton and Obama attempted to soothe Democrats into their new reality out of power. By Abby Phillip and John Wagner  •  Read more »   House Republicans scramble to avoid criticizing Bannon "I've always believed in giving everybody a chance," McCarthy said. By Karoun Demirjian  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Ruth Bader Ginsburg utters the words: 'President Trump' The justice who voiced her distaste for the Republican bites her tongue. By Robert Barnes  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   D.C. residents lost the most sleep of anyone in nation the night of the presidential election, study shows Fitbit Inc. studied 10 million users nationwide on election night. By Keith L. Alexander  •  Local  •  Read more »   Trump, Putin agree in phone call to improve ‘unsatisfactory’ relations between their countries, Kremlin says A spokesman for Trump accused critics and the media of trying to "divide people" following the election when they raise questions about Bannon's views and history. By Elise Viebeck, Jerry Markon and Karen DeYoung  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Meeting the press for first time since Trump's win, Obama says president-elect is committed to NATO "I think he's sincere in wanting to be a successful president and moving this country forward," Obama said of Trump. By Juliet Eilperin and Greg Jaffe  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Keith Ellison makes DNC bid official, rolls out 40 endorsements The congressman from Minnesota is seeking to replace Donna Brazile, who is serving in an interim capacity. By John Wagner  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Obama says Trump is committed to NATO President Obama said in a news conference that President-elect Donald Trump expressed to him a "great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships," and he expressed confidence that the United States will reaffirm its commitment to the NATO alliance. This is a developing story. It will be updated.   By Washington Post Staff  •  Post Politics  •  Read more » Donald Trump has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin says The two men pledged to combine efforts against their "shared enemy No. 1 – international terrorism and extremism," and plan to meet personally, the Kremlin statement said. This is a developing story. It will be updated. By Washington Post Staff  •  Post Politics  •  Read more » Recommended for you   WorldViews Important stories from around the world, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Politics:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Politics PM. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. 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