It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.

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Photo by Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

GRATITUDE
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

The Japanese maple ([link removed]) outside our house is now cherry red, fiery in the sunlight and the last of the trees with colorful leaves here in our part of Virginia.

I am grateful for it.

Dear readers, we’ve been through another dramatic year. And as you well know, we should expect 2025 to be another jet-propelled engine of news.

We’d like to take this moment to go the other direction. Sit down. Be cozy. And list out, with you, some simple things that bring us contentment. It’s a bit cliche, but we won’t let that stop us from giving thanks this important Thanksgiving.

Our grateful list:
* Our health and family
* The fact that we can take photos with phones ([link removed])
* A good podcast ([link removed]) (or two) ([link removed])
* Pie (and Pi ([link removed].) )
* “The Great British Bake Off ([link removed]) ,” including Noel Fielding’s cheeky outfits ([link removed]) , which we would love to see liven up Capitol Hill.
* A hot cup of tea or coffee. (Lots of either.)
* Rocky! ([link removed]) (Lisa’s cat, even when he’s demanding.)

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Rocky the cat. Photo by Lisa Desjardins/PBS News
* The Congressional Research Service. (Let us especially praise its underappreciated appropriations tracker. ([link removed]) )
* And not forgetting you, the hard-working folks at the Congressional Budget Office ([link removed]) . (Among other things, for trying to make the complex seem simple. Look at this great summary table here. ([link removed]) )
* Themany ([link removed]) places ([link removed]) where we have learned. ([link removed])
* Our fellow journalists.
* Especially those ([link removed]) making ([link removed]) local ([link removed]) journalism. ([link removed])
* And most sincerely, you. Now, when it is hard to know who is digesting what news and where, it truly bolsters us to have you as our readers. No one is more thoughtful and we are grateful for this online community we are building.


This brings us to something specific that you should share in celebrating.

A few months ago, Here’s the Deal won the National Press Club’s award ([link removed]) for newsletter reporting(!). As you may know, newsletters are popular and prolific these days. But our humble weekly email won this national award, we know, in large part because of the conversation and community we have here.

Thank you and congratulations!

And enjoy this week.

WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

With the holiday season starting up, many Americans volunteer in their local communities. If this is you, what motivates you to help out in your community? Tell us more by filling out this form. ([link removed])
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More on politics from our coverage:
* Read: Read the full motion to dismiss the election interference case ([link removed]) against Trump.
* One Big Question: What to make of this outcome? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter discuss. ([link removed])
* A Closer Look: Texas school board approves new course material that includes Bible passages. ([link removed])
* Perspectives: An expert on the scope and potential pitfalls ([link removed]) of Trump and Musk’s plans for spending cuts.

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S LOYALISTS

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What Trump’s economic appointments tell us about his second-term agenda. Watch the segment in the player above.

By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

President-elect Donald Trump has assembled his core Cabinet, and the nominees share a common theme: loyalists. ([link removed])

In the weeks since winning the election, the soon-to-be 47th president of the United States has announced who he wants in nearly every key role — a team to steer and execute his policies.

The Cabinet comprises the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments, the majority of which require Senate confirmation (a vetting process that Trump may seek to sidestep through recess appointments). And one pick — former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was Trump’s choice for attorney general — has already withdrawn ([link removed]) over sex trafficking allegations.

We’ve put together a list ([link removed]) of who Trump has named for his second administration, and why some are controversial selections.

READ MORE ([link removed])
More on Trump’s second term from our coverage:
* In the Cabinet: Who has Trump picked for key administration positions so far? We break down the latest selections. ([link removed])
* The ‘Anti-institutionalists’: New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart on how Trump’s Cabinet is shaping up. ([link removed])
* A Noticeable Pattern: Trump’s return to office — and some of his Cabinet selections — are raising questions ([link removed]) about the future of the #MeToo movement.
* A Blow to Climate Action: Trump will try to undo Biden’s climate and environmental policies. Here’s what to expect. ([link removed])

#POLITICSTRIVIA
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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

President Joe Biden pardoned the last turkeys of his presidency. ([link removed])

As is White House tradition since George H.W. Bush’s presidency, Biden “pardoned” two turkeys ([link removed]) during a ceremony Monday. Peach and Blossom have been spared from making an appearance on a dinner table this Thanksgiving and will live out the rest of their days in Minnesota.

Before the peculiar presentation gobbled up headlines, other presidents have received turkeys as gifts. Sometimes, it was a different animal.

Our question: Which U.S. president received a live raccoon for Thanksgiving dinner? (Note: It was not eaten.)

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Who was the first U.S. president to use the word “Cabinet”?

The answer: James Madison. ([link removed]) While the word itself doesn’t appear in the U.S. Constitution, the fourth president is credited as the first of the nation’s leaders to use the word, according to the National Constitution Center.

Congratulations to our winners: John Cleveland and Bob Sudela!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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