First Draft on Politics: A Chaotic Beginning

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. Wednesday, January 4, 2017 [The New York Times] [NYTimes.com/Politics »] [The New York Times] Wednesday, January 4, 2017 [Speaker Paul D. Ryan during the opening session of the 115th Congress on Tuesday.] Speaker Paul D. Ryan during the opening session of the 115th Congress on Tuesday. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Good Wednesday morning. • House Republicans back away from plan to gut a House ethics office. It was supposed to be a triumphant morning for Republicans on Capitol Hill. Instead, the House found itself on Tuesday [forced to reverse] its plan to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, after being inundated with missives from angry constituents and after two particularly high-profile tweets from President-elect Donald J. Trump. It was an embarrassing turnabout on the first day of business for the new Congress, a day when party leaders hoped for a show of force to start reversing policies of the Obama administration. • Welcome to the 115th Congress. As Democrats in both chambers seethed, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, unveiled the legislative language [that could decimate the Affordable Care Act] in the next few weeks. Repealing the law is a priority for Republicans. And, as expected, Speaker Paul D. Ryan [was re-elected to another term] by the new House. • Mr. Trump names his chief trade negotiator. The president-elect picked Robert Lighthizer, a Washington lawyer who has long advocated protectionist policies, [as his chief trade negotiator]. It was the latest sign that Mr. Trump intended to fulfill his campaign promise of getting tough with China, Mexico and other trading partners. He also renewed his episodic campaign to persuade American companies to expand domestic manufacturing, criticizing General Motors [on Twitter]. Hours later, Mr. Trump claimed credit after Ford said [it would expand] vehicle production in Flat Rock, Mich. • Megyn Kelly to decamp to NBC News. Ms. Kelly, one of Fox News’s biggest stars,[ will leave the network] to take on a broad new role at NBC News for an undisclosed salary. She has often helped to define the national political debate in recent years, especially over the past year, during which [Mr. Trump regularly attacked her]. Her move could herald a major shift in the cable news landscape. • Liberal power center emerges as Republicans take control in Washington. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, who is rumored to be considering a presidential run in 2020, announced a plan Tuesday morning to offer [free tuition at state colleges] to hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income New Yorkers. Mr. Cuomo was seizing on [a popular liberal talking point] on the eve of the Republican ascension in Washington, and he did so with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont by his side. — NICHOLAS FANDOS  Got a confidential news tip? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn more »]  What We’re Watching • The fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act begins in earnest on Wednesday as President Obama and Vice President-elect Mike Pence pay visits to Capitol Hill to rally their respective parties. Debate over repealing the law also begins on the Senate floor. • Mr. Trump will hold meetings at Trump Tower in New York again on Wednesday, as he looks to pin down his final cabinet picks. He will not be hearing from United States intelligence officials, [who he said had delayed providing him a briefing] on their conclusions that Russia had interfered in the presidential election. • In the afternoon, American armed forces will bid farewell to Mr. Obama at a ceremony at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall in Virginia.  ADVERTISEMENT  [Representative Nancy Pelosi proposed the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2008, when she was speaker of the House.] Representative Nancy Pelosi proposed the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2008, when she was speaker of the House. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Why an Independent Ethics Office? If the House has it own special ethics committee, why does it even need the independent Office of Congressional Ethics that Republicans sought to dismantle, only to back away from the idea on Tuesday under pressure from constituents and from President-elect Donald J. Trump? In 2008, the ethics committee had lost significant credibility after a series of indictments of lawmakers and other scandals cast the House in a very bad light. And there were hints that both parties had entered into an “ethics truce” to steer clear of politically damaging investigations. As a result, Representative Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the House, proposed a separate ethics office, constituted of people from outside the House, to do the initial review of complaints and to make recommendations to the ethics committee on which should be pursued more thoroughly. It was seen as a way to restore trust in the process, as well as to take some burden off the ethics panel. It was not an easy sell. Democrats and Republicans both criticized the proposal as an abdication of the House's responsibility to police itself and said the office would lead to a rash of unfounded complaints and would cost lawmakers time and money to defend themselves.  Opponents came within one vote of stalling the plan, and Ms. Pelosi and her allies had to twist arms to push it through. The office has been busy, monitoring questionable behavior and drawing complaints from lawmakers that it pursued frivolous, politically inspired accusations. Through their attempts to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics this week, Republicans have probably made their goal more difficult, focusing attention on the office and on congressional conduct itself. — CARL HULSE [Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, at the Capitol on Tuesday. He opposed the move against the Office of Congressional Ethics.] Stephen Crowley/The New York Times [House Republicans, Under Fire, Back Down on Gutting Ethics Office] By ERIC LIPTON AND MATT FLEGENHEIMER Facing a storm of bipartisan criticism, including from President-elect Donald J. Trump, lawmakers reversed their steps against the Office of Congressional Ethics. [Speaker Paul D. Ryan swearing in members of the 115th Congress on Tuesday.] Stephen Crowley/The New York Times [A New Congress Is Sworn In, but It Includes Many of the Same Faces] By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN Members of the 115th Congress, including the children of former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and of former Vice President Dick Cheney, descended on the Capitol on Tuesday. [Robert Lighthizer is Donald J. Trump’s pick to become the United States’ trade representative.]  [Trade Negotiator Pick Signals Confrontation With Mexico and China] By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM Robert Lighthizer shares a view with the president-elect that the United States has prioritized the ideal of free trade over its own self-interest.  [Ford, Criticized by Trump, Cancels Plans to Build Mexican Plant] By BILL VLASIC AND NEAL E. BOUDETTE In a stunning reversal, the automaker said it would scrap plans to build a plant in Mexico, while General Motors defended making a “small number” of Chevys there. What We’re Reading • Filling the Supreme Court’s vacant seat is one of the plummest perks of Mr. Trump’s victory. Politico takes a look at a group of [eight potential appointees] that reportedly have his aides’ attention. • Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been widely expected to play major roles in Mr. Trump’s administration. Now, Washingtonian reports that the couple has found a home base in Washington:[a six-bedroom, $5.5. million house in the Kalorama neighborhood]. • The Times’s C. J. Chivers offers a powerful portrayal of a man who learned how to kill in Afghanistan, but who never learned [how to come home]. [NYT]  [President-elect Donald J. Trump on Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.] [Trump Says Intelligence Officials Delayed Briefing on Russian Hacking] By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT AND JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS Mr. Trump suggested, with no evidence, that the officials might be buying time to assemble a more substantial case that Russia interfered in the election. [At the N.A.A.C.P. sit-in in the Mobile, Ala., office of Senator Jeff Sessions on Tuesday were members including Benard Simelton, left, the president of the group’s Alabama State Conference, and Cornell William Brooks, second from left, its national president.] [N.A.A.C.P. President Arrested During Sit-In at Office of Jeff Sessions] By LIAM STACK Almost two dozen civil rights activists were demanding that Mr. Sessions, the Alabama senator, refuse Donald J. Trump’s nomination as attorney general. [Megyn Kelly’s new deal brings to a close the most anticipated television news contract negotiations since Katie Couric signed with CBS News in 2006, for $15 million a year.] [Megyn Kelly’s Jump to NBC Will Test Her, and the Networks] By JIM RUTENBERG Ms. Kelly’s departure from Fox News will challenge her ability to connect with a broader audience, but the most significant implications concern the larger television news industry. [The Radio City Rockettes performing in July.] [Reports of Rockettes Inauguration Turmoil Cause Company to Lash Out] By KATIE ROGERS The Madison Square Garden Company issued a harsh response on Tuesday to reporting by Marie Claire magazine.  [The Rev. Patrick Conroy, the chaplain of the House of Representatives, prayed as the House convened on Monday.] Al Drago/The New York Times [The New Congress Is 91% Christian. That’s Barely Budged Since 1961.] By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH Even as the percentage of self-described Christians is declining across the country, the number in the United States Congress is holding steady. [Speaker Paul D. Ryan at Trump Tower in Manhattan last month.] Sam Hodgson for The New York Times [Paul Ryan Wins Re-election as House Speaker] By MATT FLEGENHEIMER The vote was a formality for Mr. Ryan, affirming his role as the steward of conservative policy making in the age of President-elect Donald J. Trump. [Protesters arrived at Trump Tower in New York the day after Donald J. Trump was elected president.] Christian Hansen for The New York Times Economic Scene [A Threat to U.S. Democracy: Political Dysfunction] By EDUARDO PORTER Partisan gridlock, and the resulting inability to govern, made the United States’ democratic system vulnerable to a populist insurrection.  [Where Is America’s Heartland? Pick Your Map] By EMILY BADGER AND KEVIN QUEALY Do big cities belong in the heartland? Does the heartland rigidly follow state lines? Explore the different potential boundaries of an American state of mind. FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK] [Twitter] [@NYTPolitics] Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »] | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »] ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's First Draft newsletter. 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