 | By Charlie Mahtesian | Presented by |  |
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President-elect Donald Trump greets Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov. 4, 2024. | Ryan M. Kelly/AFP via Getty Images | TOP DOG — Donald Trump’s second term doesn’t begin for another two months, but one aspect of it is already becoming clear. The next four years are about to usher in a new era of Florida power in the nation’s capital. Its emergence as the alpha state of Trump’s Washington is a reflection of its size, but also of a political convergence. The ascendant Republican Party views Florida as a model of successful conservative policies, but perhaps more important, as the spiritual capital of the MAGA movement and the nerve center of its political industrial complex. The first sign of Florida’s new clout came in last week’s election, when the state for the first time in history ranked as a bigger Electoral College prize than New York, delivering 30 electoral votes to New York’s 28. This slapdown was a long time coming: The relentlessly growing Sunshine State has been cannibalizing New York’s population for decades — more than 1.6 million of its residents were born in New York, including Trump. (Adding insult to injury, the New York Post this week declared South Florida “the political, business and celeb capital of the US.”) Florida actually surpassed New York as the nation’s third-most populous state roughly 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until this year that Florida exercised true political muscle and had one of its own elected as president (Trump was a New York resident when he won in 2016). Its failure to do so before then had been an odd and unflattering predicament — it was the lone state among the nation’s 10 most populous that never sent anyone to the White House. Now, though, Florida is about to have its moment. Trump’s presidential campaign apparatus featured a roster of political operatives with deep Florida connections; some of them will join him in Washington. Other Florida Republicans are being floated as prospects for scores of top jobs in Washington, from FEMA to HHS to the Education Department and beyond. A handful are already among Trump’s first hires. His White House chief of staff is Susie Wiles, a highly regarded fixture of Florida politics who ran his successful 2024 campaign. Sen. Marco Rubio is Trump’s choice for secretary of state, giving Florida’s own foreign policy — it is the rare state that needs and cultivates one — primacy in Foggy Bottom. Florida Rep. Michael Waltz, a Green Beret combat veteran, has been named as national security adviser. The fast start suggests Florida is poised to occupy the top dog role filled by Texas during the George W. Bush administration, when Texas political, cultural and policymaking influence seemed inescapable. With Trump in the White House, Mar-a-Lago serving as the GOP’s Vatican and the second-largest Republican delegation in Congress in a GOP-controlled Washington, Florida will be in a position to wield more influence on Capitol Hill than ever, to set the legislative agenda, alter federal funding priorities and shape the regulatory environment in ways that favor state interests. His home state’s ascendance doesn’t appear to be enough to lift Sen. Rick Scott in Wednesday’s Senate GOP leadership elections and make him Senate majority leader. But Florida’s recent march to the right will make its reshaped political landscape a closely-studied field for both national parties over the next four years. Once the nation’s largest swing state, Florida is now resoundingly red, after the state followed its 2022 midterm election blowout with another last week. From “ Doralzuela” to Hialeah to Osceola County , Trump’s stunning gains with Latino voters across the state will be scrutinized for clues to a possible national realignment. And it’s not just Florida’s Latino voters whose voting habits will be analyzed in depth. The lessons learned in the big urban Florida counties that flipped from Biden to Trump this year — Jacksonville’s Duval County, St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County, Tampa’s Hillsborough County and Miami-Dade County — will color both parties’ approaches in the election cycles to come. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie.
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| | | | | — Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison: A federal judge today sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine. Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years. Brought into court wearing an orange jumpsuit, he showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has charged numerous allies of Donald Trump with attempting to subvert the state’s 2020 election results. | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
— Judge in Arizona election case against Trump allies is accused of anti-Trump bias: The criminal case in Arizona against some of Donald Trump’s top allies faces tumult this week after a revelation that the presiding judge implored white male colleagues to speak out against attacks on Kamala Harris’ race and gender . Judge Bruce Cohen also invoked resistance to the Nazis to describe the current political moment. Cohen scheduled a hastily convened courtroom conference on Wednesday to discuss the future of the case after one of the defendants — represented by a lawyer who also worked on the Trump campaign — said the comments warrant Cohen’s removal from the case altogether. excerpts: Cohen scheduled a hastily convened courtroom conference for Wednesday to discuss the future of the case after one of the defendants — represented by a lawyer who also worked on the Trump campaign — said the comments warranted Cohen’s removal from the case. But late on Tuesday, he canceled the hearing and announced his recusal. In April, a grand jury indicted 18 Trump allies — including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney Rudy Giuliani and former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward — on charges stemming from efforts to subvert the 2020 election. The grand jury weighed whether to charge Trump in the case, but prosecutors led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, persuaded them not to do so. Several defendants have moved to have the cases dismissed under a new Arizona state law designed to bar frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions. The judge who takes over the case will have to rule on those motions. — Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments: A new Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom by Jan.1 was temporarily blocked today by a federal judge who said the law is “unconstitutional on its face.” U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles in Baton Rouge said the law had an “overtly religious” purpose, and rejected state officials’ claims that the government can mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments because they hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. His opinion noted that no other foundational documents — including the Constitution or the Bill of Rights — must be posted.
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| | The lame duck session could reshape major policies before year's end. Get Inside Congress delivered daily to follow the final sprint of dealmaking on defense funding, AI regulation and disaster aid. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | TOP SPY — President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate John Ratcliffe to serve as his director of the CIA, the Trump-Vance transition team said today. The former four-term Republican member of Congress served under Trump as Director of National Intelligence, where he burnished his reputation as a close ally of the president and a deep skeptic of the nation’s spy agencies. HEADING OVERSEAS — President-elect Donald Trump announced today he will nominate Mike Huckabee , the former governor of Arkansas, to be the United States ambassador to Israel. Huckabee’s appointment elevates a foreign policy neophyte to one of the most important, and sensitive, diplomatic postings within the U.S. government. Huckabee has never held a diplomatic or national security role within any U.S. administration, though has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before and was reportedly considered for the top U.S. diplomatic post in Israel in 2016. TARIFF TIME — President-elect Donald Trump’s former trade chief and those close to him are preparing to aggressively sell their plans for massive new tariffs on imports that will go far beyond anything seen in Trump’s first term. Robert Lighthizer, a gruff, Ohio-born trade lawyer, and his allies have been circulating memos among themselves as they prepare to convince lawmakers and the public that their plans for dramatically higher tariffs will energize the economy instead of tanking it, according to a document viewed by POLITICO, provided by a person close to the policy planning. MAGA MAD — Shortly after news leaked that Donald Trump was expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, some of the most MAGA-minded online warriors rushed to cast doubt on the selection — both Rubio’s America First credentials, and whether the decision had actually been made by Trump. And despite major news outlets reporting that the decision had been made, allies of Ric Grenell today maintained that Rubio wasn’t a done deal, according to two people advocating for his selection as secretary of state. Spokespeople for Trump have not confirmed the selection. GOLF BUDDIES — President-elect Donald Trump announced today that he will name real estate investor and philanthropist Steven Witkoff to be a special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff was already appointed the co-chair of Trump’s inauguration this January, alongside GOP donor and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia. He’s also a close friend of the president-elect, speaking at the Republican National Convention in July 2024. Witkoff was on the golf course with Trump during a September assassination attempt against him in Florida. LEGAL EAGLES — President-elect Donald Trump will install William McGinley, a Republican campaign lawyer and former Trump White House adviser, as the White House counsel in the next administration, the Trump-Vance transition said today.
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President Joe Biden (left) meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18, 2023. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | NO LIMITS — The Biden administration said today that Israel has made some good but limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and therefore it will not limit arms transfers to Israel as it had threatened a month ago if the situation had not improved, reports The Associated Press. Relief groups say conditions are worse than at any point in the 13-month-old war. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters the progress to date must be supplemented and sustained but “we at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of U.S. law.” It requires recipients of military assistance to adhere to international humanitarian law and not impede the provision of such aid. MAKE IT SNAPPY — The leaders of Germany’s major parties have agreed to hold a federal election on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s troubled three-party coalition last week. Scholz is now expected to hold a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, paving the way for the February election. For days, there has been speculation and debate on the timing of the vote.
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| | Policy change is coming—be the pro who saw it first. Access POLITICO Pro’s Issue Analysis series on what the transition means for agriculture, defense, health care, tech, and more. Strengthen your strategy. | | | | | | | | |
| | | HOOP DANCE — Every year, Phoenix, Arizona, plays host to the World Championship Hoop Dance Contest. Known as the Olympics of hoop dancing — an intricate Indigenous dance style incorporating rapid footwork and up to 50 hoops — communities gather from the U.S. and Canada to compete for a $25,000 prize. But for many competing, it’s about a lot more than just the cash prize; hoop dance originated in Native culture through traditional healing ceremonies, and it remains an essential part of the culture in pockets of America. For the BBC, Karen Gardiner dives into a rich history of hoop dance and how it can bring people together.
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On this date in 1970: Former President Richard Nixon (first from right) attends the funeral of former French President Charles De Gaulle at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. | AP | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here Samantha Latson also contributed to today’s newsletter.
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