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Trump makes a victor's return to Washington to meet with Biden and GOP lawmakers

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Trump makes a victor's return to Washington to meet with Biden and GOP lawmakers


WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is making a victor’s return to Washington.

President Joe Biden will welcome him to the White House on Wednesday for an Oval Office visit that is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power — a ritual that Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago.

Trump also planned to meet with Republicans from Congress as they focus on his Day 1 priorities and prepare for a potentially unified government with a GOP sweep of power in the nation’s capital. His arrival amid Republican congressional leadership elections could put his imprint on the outcome.

It’s a stunning return to the U.S. seat of government for the former president, who departed nearly four years ago a diminished, politically defeated leader after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol but is preparing to come back to power with what he and his GOP allies see as a mandate for governance.

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Ahead of the visit, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Republicans are “ready to deliver” on Trump’s “America First” agenda.

After his election win in 2016, Trump met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and called it “a great honor.” But he soon was back to heaping insults on Obama, including accusing his predecessor — without evidence — of having wire-tapped him during the 2016 campaign.

Four years later, Trump disputed his 2020 election loss to Biden, and he has continued to lie about widespread voter fraud that did not occur. He didn’t invite Biden, then the president-elect, to the White House and he left Washington without attending Biden’s inauguration. It was the first time that had happened since Andrew Johnson skipped Ulysses S. Grant’s swearing-in 155 years ago.

Biden insists that he’ll do everything he can to make the transition to the next Trump administration go smoothly. That’s despite having spent more than a year campaigning for reelection and decrying Trump as a threat to democracy and the nation’s core values. Biden then bowed out of the race in July and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.

In the wake of the election, the president has abandoned his dire warnings about Trump, saying in a speech last week, “The American experiment endures. We’re going to be okay.”

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is committed to “making sure that this transition is effective, efficient and he’s doing that because it is the norm, yes, but also the right thing to do for the American people.”

“We want this to go well,” Jean-Pierre added. “We want this to be a process that gets the job done.”

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan echoed that sentiment, saying the administration will uphold the “responsible handoff from one president to the next, which is in the best tradition of our country.”

Wednesday’s visit is more than just a courtesy call.

“They will go through the top issues — both domestic and foreign policy issues — including what is happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East,” Sullivan told CBS of Wednesday’s meeting. “And the president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things … and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office.”

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Traditionally, as the outgoing and incoming presidents meet in the West Wing, the first lady hosts her successor upstairs in the residence — but Melania Trump isn’t expected to attend.

After his 2016 meeting with Obama, Trump also visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill and will be doing the same Wednesday — not far from where a mob of his supporters staged a violent January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol to try and stop the certification of Biden’s election victory.

When Trump left Washington in 2021, even some top Republicans had begun to decry him for his role in helping incite the Capitol attack. But his win in last week’s election completes a political comeback that has seen Trump once again become the unchallenged head of the GOP.

It’s not the first time Trump has returned to the Capitol area since the end of his first term, though. Congressional Republicans hosted Trump over the summer, as Trump was again solidifying his dominance over the party.

His latest visit comes as Republicans, who wrested the Senate majority from Democrats in last week’s elections and are on the cusp of keeping GOP control of the House, are in the midst of their own leadership elections happening behind closed doors Wednesday.

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The president-elect’s arrival will provide another boost to Johnson, who has pulled ever-closer to Trump as he worked to keep his majority — and his own job with the gavel.

The speaker said he expects to see Trump repeatedly throughout the week, including at an event later that evening, and at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida “all weekend.”

It’s unclear whether Trump will also visit the Senate, which is entangled in a more divisive closed-door leadership election in the three-way race to replace outgoing GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump’s allies are pushing GOP senators to vote for Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who had been a longshot candidate challenging two more senior Republicans, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, for the job.

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

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Denzel Washington says rumors about Oscar winning actor have existed for decades

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Denzel Washington says rumors about Oscar winning actor have existed for decades


Kevin Spacey has had his share of ugly headlines across the past couple of years, but Denzel Washington recently said rumors swirled about him a long time before those reports popped up.

In fact, Washington said, there was talk decades before the “House of Cards” actor, 65, was accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Washington made the revelation in a five-part, first-person essay written in a Nov. 19 issue of Esquire.

Washington remembered attending the 2000 Academy Awards due to his nomination for Best Actor for his performance in “The Hurricane.” While there, he recalled watching Spacey win the award instead.

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“I’m sure I went home and drank that night. I had to,” Washington, who also opened up in the piece about his decision to quit drinking and live a sober lifestyle over the past decade. “I don’t want to sound like, ‘Oh, he won my Oscar, or anything like that. It wasn’t like that.’

“And you know, there was talk in the town about what was going on over there on that side of the street, and that’s between him and God,” Washington added. “I ain’t got nothing to do with that. I pray for him. That’s between him and his maker.”

Spacey won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1999’s “American Beauty” after he won Best Supporting Actor in 1996 for the movie, “The Usual Suspects.” 17 years later, controversy struck and heavily impacted the actor’s career when Anthony Rapp became the first person to come out and publicly accuse him of sexual assault, with more accusers who came forward.

In 2022, a jury in New York found that Spacey wasn’t liable for battery in relation to Rapp’s accusations, and the following year, a U.K. court found him not guilty of nine counts of alleged sexual assault.

Allegations against Spacey have continued to mount, much like in documentaries such as Investigation Discovery’s “Spacey Unmasked,” which was released in May.

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Spacey has denied all claims and has received an onslaught of criticism after coming out as gay in response to Rapps initial accusations in 2017.



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Nick Begich defeats Mary Peltola for Alaska’s lone House seat- Washington Examiner

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Nick Begich defeats Mary Peltola for Alaska’s lone House seat- Washington Examiner


Republican Nick Begich ousted incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) on Wednesday, a victory two weeks after Election Day that will help the GOP pad its narrow House majority.

The Associated Press called the race for Begich shortly after 9 p.m. EST, with 95% of the vote counted. Begich received 48.4% to Peltola’s 46.4% at the time the race was called. Independent John Wayne Howe and Democrat Eric Hafner received 3.9% and 1%, respectively.

After two unsuccessful bids for the seat, Alaska’s ranked choice voting system yielded a result in Begich’s favor. Under the voting method, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing a single candidate. If no candidate receives 50% in the first round, votes are reallocated as candidates with the fewest first-choice votes are eliminated.

Ranked choice voting last cycle split the vote between Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin. That, combined with Peltola’s appeal to independents and conservative voters, allowed the now-ousted congresswoman to win both the special and general 2022 elections.

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Begich previously celebrated his election win on Nov. 16, the day Decision Desk HQ projected he would win. The Associated Press took four more days to call the race, which was one of the narrowest in the country. Begich comes from a long line of politicians — his grandfather represented Alaska in the House and his uncle, Mark, was a Senator for Alaska.

“The ranked choice voting tabulation has been completed and has confirmed our win beyond any residual doubt. I am truly honored to have earned your trust and support,” Begich said in a statement Wednesday night.

“Alaska’s potential is unmatched, but much work remains for Alaskans to fully realize that potential. I am committed to fighting for our jobs and economy, protecting our unique way of life, and ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear in Washington.”

Peltola conceded in a statement saying, “Working for Alaska as a member of our federal delegation has been the honor of my life.”

“The path ahead will not be built by one person or three people working for all of Alaska but by all Alaskans working together to build a future that works for all of us,” she said. Alaska’s congressional delegation has three members.

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Nick, I’m rooting for you,” she said. “Please don’t forget when D.C. people keep telling you that you are one of three. You are actually one of more than seven hundred thousand Alaskans who are ready to fight for our state, myself included.”

Begich will reassume the long line of Republicans in the House representing Alaska, which Peltola interrupted with her two-year term.



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Cybertruck seen in Trump’s motorcade to SpaceX launch – Washington Examiner

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Cybertruck seen in Trump’s motorcade to SpaceX launch – Washington Examiner


The convoy featured a mix of the typical black Chevys and Fords plus the lone electric vehicle. Presidents have long traveled via motorcade but typically use uniform, bulletproof vehicles for the president’s safety. Cybertrucks aren’t completely bulletproof but will protect from lighter gunfire. This inclusion of a Cybertruck was a nod to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who welcomed Trump to the launch site.

Musk has been tapped by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The Tesla CEO endorsed Trump shortly after the first assassination attempt against the president-elect and started a pro-Trump super PAC. Before the launch, the two were most recently together at UFC 309 on Saturday.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on whether the Cybertruck will be among the presidential vehicles used once Trump is sworn back into office.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

During the third quarter, the Cybertruck was the No. 3 most popular EV sold. It followed Tesla’s other two models, Y and 3, respectively. Still, Tesla is just shy of 50% of the total EV sales in the United States.

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Influencer Adin Ross presented Trump with a Cybertruck of his own, with a stainless steel frame featuring a photo of the moment after a bullet grazed the former president’s ear. Despite Musk’s nomination, Trump has been public with his opposition to any sort of EV mandate.





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