| The current president and the former one — who is also going to become the next one — are meeting today at the White House. President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump will meet in the Oval Office today to discuss the transition of power. It’s traditionally a presidential rite of passage, but it could be especially awkward for the pair that faced off in 2020 and spent the first half of this year preparing for a rematch. The Associated Press reports on the importance of the handoff and some of the quirky situations that have cropped up as leaders make way for the next occupant of the office.
House Republicans spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., yesterday and took a victory lap as they entered the lame duck session. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, joined House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top GOP lawmakers to celebrate the potential Republican trifecta. “The time for governing is here,” Emmer declared. He said Republicans used their House majority to pass bills that would lower costs and secure the southern border, but those plans “collected dust on [Democratic Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer's desk.” The Democratic roadblock will be gone next year, so Emmer predicted things would be different. “It's finally time to counteract the Democrats’ negligence once and for all by turning our agenda into law. And I have no doubt that this House Republican team will get it done.”
Trump rolled out a steady stream of appointees and nominees for his upcoming administration yesterday. One of those is Fox News host and Minnesotan Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Hegseth, who mounted an unsuccessful Senate campaign in 2012, lacks senior military or national security experience, and is sure to draw questions about his qualifications to lead the department. Trump also said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency.” It’s not actually a government agency — or at least not yet. Trump said in a statement the pair would work outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” Among others, the president-elect also nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the ambassador to Israel. Huckabee — a former Christian pastor — is a strong defender of Israel. His nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests. Huckabee has never served as an overseas diplomat but, if confirmed, would play a crucial role in helping Trump end the war in Gaza. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to bring the war to a swift close.
In Minnesota, Attorney General Keith Ellison says he is prepared to sue Trump and the GOP-led Congress if they circumvent Minnesota law . It’s familiar ground for the DFLer — and several other Democratic attorneys general — who sued Trump during his first term. Ellison said he's worried Trump will target immigrants and people of color when the president-elect takes office in January. Ellison also wants to safeguard Minnesota's laws related to abortion and gender care. “I didn't run for Attorney General's office twice so that I could sue Trump,” Ellison told reporters. “That's not what I am here for. But if he violates the rights of people, we're going to sue. It’s as simple as that. He should know that we've done it before. We'll do it again.” You can read Dana’s story here.
Meanwhile, our South Dakota neighbors are having a moment as a few of their politicians are getting national attention. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — a longtime Trump ally — was picked to be the next Department of Homeland Security Secretary . (An aside here that Dana’s former South Dakota colleague went with the moniker secretary of “Noemland” security and that brought on a chuckle). U.S. Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 in Senate GOP leadership, hasn’t been as consistently supportive of Trump, but is in the running to become the next Senate Majority Leader.
The countdown is on for candidates to decide whether they’ll call for a recount. Sherburne County officials canvassed the results of their elections yesterday and they set a seven-day deadline for candidates to announce whether they’ll move forward with a recount. Sherburne County offered to foot the bill for some recounts after a damaged or uncleared memory card failed to transmit election results from mail-in ballots last week. 191 votes currently separate DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott and Republican challenger Sue Ek. Ek said earlier this week that she’s still weighing a recount since her campaign would have to pay recount costs in precincts outside of Sherburne County. In Scott County, Republican Aaron Paul, who trails DFL Rep. Brad Tabke by 14 votes is eligible for a publicly-funded recount and has said he plans to pursue it. While there are some calls to prevent future election glitches from happening, a longtime registrar of voters and current professor of election management at the University of Minnesota said there’s nothing unusual about the delay in results from the two counties. Neal Kelly told All Things Considered that there’s nothing new about what people have been saying about elections, it’s just more amplified. “Even going back to the early 2000s, that was sort of a common desire for candidates to get some closure. I saw it, in many cases, as closure in so much as trying to change the results.”
As counties work to certify election results, the Minnesota Secretary of State's office said election offices in over half the state's counties received emailed bomb threats since Nov. 8. Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement his office is coordinating with local, state and federal officials to respond and ensure that election officials can certify election results and conduct post-election reviews. “Although Election Day is over, election officials across the state are continuing their work to verify that the election was free, fair, accurate and secure,” said Simon. “Over the next few weeks, counties will be canvassing the election, certifying election results, and conducting post-election reviews”. On Election Day, bomb threats were reported at polling places in the key swing states of Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania. U.S. officials linked those threats to Russian email domains. At this time, it’s unclear if the threats in Minnesota were also linked to a Russian operation.
And closing out with a Minnesota tidbit, St. Paul officials yesterday announced that they wiped out medical debt for 32,000 residents. The city plan was funded with help from the federal government, a national nonprofit and M Health Fairview. People who fit certain income and medical bill parameters will get letters in the next 10 days notifying them that their bills have been paid, no action or application necessary. Dana has this update. | 
