Senate majority leader candidates; Trump DOJ pick : NPR

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Today’s top stories

Congress returns this week with a busy agenda. The first item on the list is electing who will lead each chamber. President-elect Donald Trump has made it known he wants to influence these choices, and his allies are pushing to make his preferences happen.

• 🎧 Senators John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota are the frontrunners to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down from leadership, NPR’s Barbara Sprunt tells Up First. However, there is a push from Trump-world for Florida Senator Rick Scott to get the top leadership gig. The vote for who will lead is secret. The House of Representatives, where the GOP appears to be on track to retain a majority, will have leadership elections for Speaker tomorrow.

One of Trump’s biggest decisions will be selecting the leader of the Justice Department. On the campaign trail, he criticized the DOJ and FBI. Soon, he will have the opportunity to address his grievances.

• 🎧 Some potential candidates for the attorney general position include Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Jeff Clark, a DOJ official Trump attempted to promote in 2020, and Mark Paoletta, a longtime D.C. attorney. NPR’s Carrie Johnson says top priorities for Trump’s new DOJ would involve his plans to pardon people involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Trump could cut grant funding for local police that oppose his immigration plans, enforce the Comstock Act against mailing abortion medications, and reinstate federal capital punishment for around 40 individuals on death row.

President Biden travels to Peru and Brazil this week to meet with leaders of the world’s biggest economies at two summits: APEC in Lima and the G20 in Rio. This is likely his last significant opportunity to leave a mark on the global stage, but it comes on the heels of Trump’s victory. As a result, Biden finds himself in a challenging position regarding his final message.

• 🎧 Over the past four years, the Biden administration has focused on rebuilding alliances, expanding NATO, and countering China’s influence since taking office after Trump, NPR’s Asma Khalid says. Biden is expected to provide assurances about the United States’ long-term commitment to global affairs. He has mostly retained the tariffs on China that were implemented during the Trump era, and one key message he might convey this week is that the threat of imposing additional tariffs is a reality.

Special series

Each day this week, Morning Edition will dive deep into one of the promises President-elect Donald Trump has made for day one of his administration. 

One of Trump’s signature campaign promises was to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” Now, he’s appointed a ‘border czar,’ Tom Homan, to carry it out. Homan led Immigration and Customs Enforcement for part of Trump’s first term. Andrew Selee, president of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, talks with Morning Edition about what a plan for mass deportation might look like including whether living in a red or blue state matters.

Today’s listen

Karla Sofia Gascón plays the title role in the new film Emilia Pérez, the world’s first Mexican cartel musical focusing on a trans woman. When Gascón’s character is introduced, she is known as the cartel leader “Manitas” del Monte, who rules by fear and deadly force. But she wants to leave the life of violence behind and become her true self: a woman. She emerges from gender-affirming surgery, performing good deeds to right the wrongs from her past. Morning Edition and Up First host Steve Inskeep spoke with Gascón about what drew her to the role. Listen to what she had to say about the character and more.

3 things to know before you go

1. Toy company Mattel is apologizing after packaging for its Wicked dolls had a misprint leading shoppers to a pornographic website.
2. A South Carolina research facility has recovered 25 of the 43 monkeys that escaped from the laboratory last week when a caretaker accidentally left the door to their enclosure unsecured.
3. A study of cells from 84 brains found that Alzheimer’s has two distinct phases and that a specific type of neuron is particularly vulnerable, suggesting treatments may be most helpful early in the disease.

This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.