House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on President Joe Biden to pardon more people convicted of nonviolent offenses amid controversy over the president’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.

“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Jeffries’ comments echo the calls from some other Democrats who in recent days have asked Biden to use his clemency powers for more Americans in federal custody besides Hunter and to address sentencing disparities. But it did not pass judgment on the pardon of Hunter Biden itself. Some in the caucus have openly criticized the president since the pardon was issued and said it could tarnish his legacy and open a lane for Donald Trump to issue similar sweeping pardons.

Asked if pardoning Hunter Biden was the right thing to do, Jeffries said “the statement speaks for itself.”

Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Treasury Department, is planning to meet with Senate Republican leaders later this week, kicking off Capitol Hill outreach as his confirmation process begins.

Bessent plans to meet with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. John Barrasso, who is set to become the No. 2 Republican, according to Raj Shah, a Trump transition spokesperson. Punchbowl earlier reported the meetings.

Since winning the hard-fought battle to be Trump’s pick for the preeminent economic role, Bessent has already met separately with his home-state lawmakers, South Carolina Republican Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham.

Bessent, a hedge fund manager, has drawn praise from Republican senators and Wall Street executives, who view him as a steady steward of the economy with deep experience in financial markets. He has avoided the criticism that Trump’s other, more controversial picks for top roles in his administration have faced, including Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS chief.

If confirmed, Bessent will be poised for a leading role as Republicans hash out major legislation to extend their 2017 tax cuts and debate ways to implement Trump’s campaign promises to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security payments.

But his confirmation process could also highlight some of the fissures among Republicans over Trump’s economic ideas such as across-the-board tariffs and eroding the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Bessent has been a defender of Trump’s hawkish trade policies, calling massive tariffs a key negotiating tool. And earlier this year he pitched the concept of Trump nominating a “shadow Fed chair” to sideline Jerome Powell before his term expires in 2026, though he later said he had dropped the idea.

Democrats like Sens. Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren criticized Bessent’s Wall Street ties and role as a wealthy political donor, though they haven’t said they’ll vote against him.

Rep. Sean Casten isn’t giving up on his quest to see the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Matt Gaetz, despite the former Florida representative withdrawing from consideration for attorney general.

Casten took to the floor Tuesday to introduce a new privileged resolution that would force the release of the latest version of the ethics report. House leaders will have two legislative days to schedule a vote, which would only be successful if Casten gets a majority of the House to approve it.

“Withholding this report from the American people would impede the dignity and integrity of the legislative proceedings of the House,” Casten said in a statement Tuesday.

Many Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, were opposed to releasing the report even while Gaetz was a pending nominee. Some GOP senators at the time expressed interest in seeing the conclusions. Now that Gaetz has withdrawn, more GOP lawmakers have said the matter should be over and the report should not be published. That means Casten’s resolution has long odds at passing.

Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the new resolution. He had previously said he didn’t think the Ethics Committee should release reports about former members.

The House Ethics Committee is due to meet Thursday to discuss next steps after declining to release the Gaetz report earlier in November. The report details investigations into several claims, including that Gaetz had sex with a minor. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

Casten’s resolution states that the House “shall immediately release the latest draft of its report and a summary of its findings to the public, including any conclusions, draft reports, recommendations, attachments, exhibits and accompanying materials, with such redactions as may be necessary and appropriate to protect sensitive information” regarding the Gaetz probe.

The Illinois Democrat formally filed his initial motion to force the report’s release on Nov. 20, telling POLITICO at the time that “we as the House have an obligation to make sure that that information gets released.” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) filed a similar measure.

Gaetz took himself out of consideration to be Trump’s attorney general shortly after it became clear he faced long odds of confirmation in the Senate. Still, it’s possible Gaetz could play another role in the Trump administration that’s not subject to Senate confirmation, and Casten and others argue the information should still be made public, especially given the years of work that went into the Ethics Committee investigation.

Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Stephen Feinberg to be his deputy Defense secretary, two people familiar with the decision told POLITICO, potentially putting a secretive billionaire financier with no experience in the agency into the Pentagon’s No. 2 job.

Feinberg, who had a role on Trump’s intelligence advisory board during his first term, is a major donor to the president-elect, but his selection could present some significant conflicts of interest. He is the chief executive of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which has investments in military aircraft training and maintenance, and holds a majority stake in Navistar Defense, a manufacturer of military vehicles.

Feinberg has yet to accept the offer, though one of the people familiar said he is expected to accept.

Through Cerberus, Feinberg this year launched Cerberus Venture One, which is focused on investing in defense technology. Normally, federal officials recuse themselves from taking part in any decisions relating to companies they once worked for or have investments in, meaning Feinberg could face a complicated task doing the deputy job, which is focused on budgeting and technology development.

The Washington Post first reported that Feinberg, who has long been in Trump’s orbit, had been offered the job. Among those who had also been rumored to be in contention for the job were: Trae Stephens, the co-founder of the dronemaker Anduril; former Republican Virginia Senate candidate Hung Cao; David Norquist, the Pentagon’s deputy in the first Trump administration; and Robert Wilkie, who is leading the Pentagon transition.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury is touting support from top Natural Resources panel Democrat Raúl Grijalva as she tests the waters on a long-shot bid to succeed him, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Stansbury’s office told POLITICO on Monday that she is “taking a serious look” at entering the race against Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the presumptive favorite who appears to be in a strong position to win.

The New Mexico Democrat, who joined the House in 2021, has quietly sounded out her congressional colleagues as she weighs a bid, the three people said. In messages to colleagues, she has stated that Grijalva asked her if she’d consider running with his support after he dropped out. She’s also highlighted a lack of female leadership at the top of the panel in conversations with colleagues.

Grijalva bowed out of the race on Monday, seemingly clearing the way for Huffman, a 60-year-old Californian with a decade of experience on the committee. Huffman has projected confidence in his position, with a source close to the congressman saying he has earned commitments from 133 colleagues, including 11 new pledges in the day since Grijalva dropped out.

The leadership transition comes as Democrats weigh whether to cast aside other senior committee heads. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) launched a bid against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to lead Judiciary Committee Democrats. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who has faced questions about his health and ability to lead the Agriculture Committee’s Democrats, is being challenged by Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.).

But Grijalva did not take kindly to Huffman challenging him as he returned from a long absence to receive cancer treatment, telling POLITICO recently that he regretted the “pettiness of this whole thing” and adding he was confident he has done his job well in the top post.

Grijalva did not endorse or mention Huffman in his official post dropping out of the race Monday. Spokespeople for Grijalva and Stansbury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing for two major partisan bills next term, including one within the first 30 days of the Trump administration, he told Republican senators at a private GOP conference meeting on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with his remarks.

Thune was broadly outlining priorities for the next Congress during the closed-door meeting. He said the first of the two pieces of legislation, which would pass under a process known as budget reconciliation that can bypass the Senate filibuster, would focus on the border, defense and energy. A subsequent package would focus on taxes and other priorities for the Trump administration.

It’d be a significant first swing at legislation for Thune — 30 days is an ambitious timeline, even for a targeted package. While reconciliation would allow Republicans to pass priorities with no Democratic support, bills that pass under the process are often large and tricky to wrangle. GOP leaders could see significant complications given the House’s thin majority and the need to pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian.

Still, Republicans have been mapping out potential reconciliation priorities since earlier this year in hopes of taking back the Senate, House and presidency.

And Thune wasn’t the only one who spoke at the policy conference Tuesday. President-elect Donald Trump called into the meeting, according to a spokesperson for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke, according to a person familiar with the gathering. House Republican leaders had previously indicated they wanted a reconciliation package within the first 100 days of Trump’s administration.

Measures passed through reconciliation must be related to the federal budget, and have more of an impact on spending than policy. The Senate parliamentarian can dub a measure irrelevant to the budget and rule that it can’t be included in a reconciliation deal.

Thune also stressed that votes on the Senate floor — which frequently run longer than an hour — will no longer be held open indefinitely. Senators were also told to expect more work on Fridays and potentially weekends; typically, the Senate leaves town on Thursday afternoon and returns Monday evenings. Both pieces will likely be welcome news to Republican senators who’ve been haranguing leadership for a return to so-called regular order.

Emma Dumain and Andres Picon contributed to this report. 

Lee Zeldin has begun meeting with senators to smooth his path for confirmation as President-elect Donald Trump’s EPA administrator.

On Monday, the former New York Republican representative met with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who will soon chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Securing Capito’s support will be key for Zeldin.

Capito said on social media she had “an excellent meeting” with Zeldin to talk about his vision for the agency.

“Congressman Zeldin understands the need to roll back regulatory overreach, unleash American energy, and allow Americans to build again — all while protecting public health and the environment,” Capito wrote. “His skillset is well suited to implement the agenda of President Trump.”

She added, “I look forward to quickly considering his nomination in” the committee.

Zeldin also posted on X, saying, “Just wrapped up a great meeting on the Hill with soon-to-be Senate EPW Chair @SenCapito.”

He continued, “Looking forward to collaborating with her to make the EPA work best for the American people!”

This was Zeldin’s first senator meeting as part of his confirmation process, according to a spokesperson for EPW Republicans. Zeldin is expected to win approval from the Republican-controlled Senate to head up EPA early next year.

He has not attracted the same level of scrutiny as Trump’s more controversial Cabinet choices, including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense.

First lady Jill Biden will cross paths with President-elect Donald Trump in Paris on Saturday when both attend the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The White House has not yet shared President Joe Biden’s schedule past Thursday, when he returns from a diplomatic trip to Angola. But about 50 heads of state will attend the reopening for the landmark church, according to the Associated Press.

The first lady’s office did not include in the schedule whether Jill Biden will meet with Trump while in Paris. Her office did not share any additional details when asked for comment.

Joe Biden and Trump met for several hours in the Oval Office a week after the election, but incoming first lady Melania Trump did not travel to Washington to meet with her counterpart during that visit.

Paris’ Notre Dame was damaged in a fire in 2019, and French President Emmanuel Macron raised financial support internationally for its reconstruction. Trump praised Macron in a social media post announcing his attendance at Saturday evening’s ceremony.

The visit to Notre Dame Cathedral is the final leg of Jill Biden’s foreign travels, which also include stops in Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be defense secretary, is back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to continue meeting with Republican senators. This time, the embattled nominee is branching out beyond the Trump-allied GOP senators to some who aren’t yet committed.

Hegseth is set to meet with at least three Republicans this afternoon: Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).

Budd and Schmitt both sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee that will handle the nomination and have expressed support for Hegseth. But Risch, who will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hasn’t yet committed to supporting him.

Hegseth will have two Washington insiders with him when he meets with lawmakers: Eric Ueland, a former Senate aide who served as Trump’s legislative affairs director, and former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, a lobbyist who represented Minnesota from 2003 to 2009.

Early Senate meetings for Hegseth, who has faced allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse, have focused on staunch Trump allies who have defended the Army veteran and former Fox News personality with no Pentagon experience. Those allies have so far argued Hegseth is an outsider who’ll shake up the Defense Department.

Hegseth met Monday with another Trump ally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), as well as vocal defense hawk Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Tuberville said his meeting with Hegseth was focused on his priorities, such as military recruiting, Pentagon waste and defense assets in Alabama.

“He’s got to continue to do this. He’s going to have to answer a lot of questions … to people that are going to either possibly give him a confirmation vote or not give him a confirmation vote,” Tuberville told reporters.

Late Monday, Hegseth also met with a group of roughly 10 Republican senators, where he was accompanied by his wife and did not address the misconduct allegations against him, several senators said afterward. Hegseth did defend his lack of DOD experience.

“He said, ‘Look, what I lack in terms of knowledge of the E-ring of the Pentagon, I will more than make up for by surrounding myself with the best and the brightest people who are familiar with what goes where,’” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told reporters.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) waved off the allegations of impropriety, citing Fox News news host Megyn Kelly’s defense of Hegseth, who argued that combat veterans can have difficulty navigating their personal lives.

“Are soldiers sometimes wild childs? Yeah, that can happen, but it is very clear that this guy is the guy who, at a time when Americans were losing confidence in their own military, in our ability to project strength around the world, Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could face the biggest test of her influence yet if a coveted spot as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee opens up.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who currently holds the job, is running against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the top Democratic spot on the Judiciary Committee. If Raskin successfully ousts Nadler, that will kick off a scramble to replace him.

Although Democrats are reluctant to publicly discuss an Oversight bid before the Judiciary challenges are settled, lawmakers are privately making calls to test the waters, quietly jockeying behind the scenes. In addition to Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), possible contenders for the top spot include Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).

It’s the latest example that will test how far House Democrats are willing to go in shaking up their seniority-dominated conference. Several lawmakers are already openly challenging senior Democrats for the gavels on key panels.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said Monday he would end his bid for reelection as the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, potentially clearing the way for Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who’d been challenging Grijalva, though Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) has also signaled interest. And atop the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who’s faced questions about his health and his ability to lead the panel’s Democrats, is facing strong challenges from Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.).

But the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez is a different case. She’s not just significantly younger than those other contenders, she’s also frequently challenged the party’s status quo writ large. She was often at odds with the previous generation of House leaders and, along with other members of the progressive “Squad,” has used her powerful microphone to, at times, express skepticism of Democratic leadership.

It’s unclear if she could be swept in with a wave of generational change or could face turbulence in the Steering and Policy Committee, a leadership-appointed panel that decides most committee positions. The committee is expected to start considering the contested ranking member slots next week and will make recommendations to the full caucus after holding secret-ballot votes.

If Ocasio-Cortez mounts a bid and wins her caucus’ support, it could amount to the ultimate inside power play for the outspoken progressive, who first came to office by primarying a powerful committee chair in 2018. A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez didn’t respond to a request for comment.

It would come less than two years after Raskin and Oversight Committee Democrats gave her the vice ranking member position, a move that gave her a high-profile perch amid concerns that Raskin could be absent during his cancer treatments at the time.

Ocasio-Cortez is also close with Raskin, first serving as his vice ranking member on a previous Oversight subpanel overseeing civil rights issues. She’s also helped mentor younger committee members and gone viral for high-profile tangles with Republicans on the panel, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.