Politics: Do Trump’s Cabinet picks want to run the government — or dismantle it?

Will Pence be the most powerful vice president ever? Not so fast.; Congress curbs paid time off that drags on for federal employees in hot water; The White House’s claim that 800,000 manufacturing jobs were added during Obama’s presidency; Trump donors continued to give millions after his election victory; Trump returns to Iowa for a rally with a different tone – but familiar themes; The reality show president: Trump to retain producing credit on 'Celebrity Apprentice'; This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter; Hillary Clinton attacks ‘fake news’ in post-election appearance on Capitol Hill; Republicans ready to launch wide-ranging probe of Russia, despite Trump’s stance; Senate Democrats threaten brief shutdown over policies they hope Trump will support; Harry Reid bids farewell to the Senate, where he was both warrior and dealmaker; Trump names Andrew Puzder, a fast-food CEO and critic of substantially raising the minimum wage, to head the Labor Department; Senate passes annual defense policy bill, sending it to Obama for his signature; In a first, Latino will manage Democrats’ effort to retake the House;   The most important politics stories today   Al Seib / LA Times via Getty Images Do Trump's Cabinet picks want to run the government — or dismantle it? Trump's choices suggest that he intends to move in a sharply conservative direction at many agencies. By John Wagner  •  Read more » Will Pence be the most powerful vice president ever? Not so fast. Being involved in the transition isn't the same as governing. By Joel Goldstein  •  Monkey Cage  •  Read more »   Congress curbs paid time off that drags on for federal employees in hot water Taxpayers paid $80 million in 2014 alone for federal employees accused of misconduct to stay home while their cases languished. By Lisa Rein  •  PowerPost  •  Read more » The White House’s claim that 800,000 manufacturing jobs were added during Obama’s presidency Using a cherry-picked number, the White House claims a gain — when in fact manufacturing jobs have declined. By Glenn Kessler  •  Fact Checker  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Trump donors continued to give millions after his election victory Donors gave at least $3.5 million after Nov. 8 to the national party and two joint fundraising committees with the Trump campaign. By Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Trump returns to Iowa for a rally with a different tone – but familiar themes Gone were the loud chants of "Lock her up!" and "CNN sucks!" Absent was the dismissive "Get 'em out!" in response to protesters. Hillary Clinton's name came up only a couple of times in passing. By Sean Sullivan  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   The reality show president: Trump to retain producing credit on 'Celebrity Apprentice' The program returns to NBC Jan. 2 with former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as its host. By Rosalind S. Helderman and Elahe Izadi  •  Read more »   This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter Even as president-elect, Trump targets and harasses his critics via the social-media app. By Jenna Johnson  •  Read more »   Hillary Clinton attacks ‘fake news’ in post-election appearance on Capitol Hill "It's now clear that so-called fake news can have real-world consequences," Clinton says By Paul Kane  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Republicans ready to launch wide-ranging probe of Russia, despite Trump’s stance The loudest GOP calls for a Russia probe are coming from McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.). By Karoun Demirjian  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Senate Democrats threaten brief shutdown over policies they hope Trump will support "I want to shut her down," Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday, pointing to his anger over concerns about the miner provisions. By Kelsey Snell and Mike DeBonis  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Harry Reid bids farewell to the Senate, where he was both warrior and dealmaker Hillary Clinton began her tribute joking about her campaign loss, saying her speech Thursday was "not exactly the speech in the Capitol" she had hoped to give. By Paul Kane  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Trump names Andrew Puzder, a fast-food CEO and critic of substantially raising the minimum wage, to head the Labor Department The president-elect is turning to a business executive who opposes many of the pro-worker policies introduced by Labor Secretary Tom Perez, according to a Republican briefed on the decision. Puzder, who runs the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., is an opponent of rules that would expand overtime eligibility and a fierce critic of […] By Washington Post Staff  •  Post Politics  •  Read more » Senate passes annual defense policy bill, sending it to Obama for his signature The Senate passed the annual defense bill, sending it to Obama for his signature. By Karoun Demirjian  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   In a first, Latino will manage Democrats’ effort to retake the House Dan Sena will serve as executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. By Mike DeBonis  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   5-Minute Fix Keeping up with politics is easy now, three days a week. 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. 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