Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump's picks. The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It's a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time "with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump's “border czar.” In another sign of Vance's influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump's first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships," he said. "But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he's not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
By WILL WEISSERT, JUAN ZAMORANO and GARY FIELDS PANAMA CITY (AP) — Teddy Roosevelt once declared the Panama Canal “one of the feats to which the people of this republic will look back with the highest pride.” More than a century later, Donald Trump is threatening to take back the waterway for the same republic. Related Articles National Politics | Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug use National Politics | An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump National Politics | Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal National Politics | House Ethics Committee accuses Gaetz of ‘regularly’ paying for sex, including with 17-year-old girl National Politics | Trump wants mass deportations. For the agents removing immigrants, it’s a painstaking process The president-elect is decrying increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He says if things don’t change after he takes office next month, “We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.” Trump has long threatened allies with punitive action in hopes of winning concessions. But experts in both countries are clear: Unless he goes to war with Panama, Trump can’t reassert control over a canal the U.S. agreed to cede in the 1970s. Here’s a look at how we got here: What is the canal? It is a man-made waterway that uses a series of locks and reservoirs over 51 miles (82 kilometers) to cut through the middle of Panama and connect the Atlantic and Pacific. It spares ships having to go an additional roughly 7,000 miles (more than 11,000 kilometers) to sail around Cape Horn at South America’s southern tip. The U.S. International Trade Administration says the canal saves American business interests “considerable time and fuel costs” and enables faster delivery of goods, which is “particularly significant for time sensitive cargoes, perishable goods, and industries with just-in-time supply chains.” Who built it? An effort to establish a canal through Panama led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built Egypt’s Suez Canal, began in 1880 but progressed little over nine years before going bankrupt. Malaria, yellow fever and other tropical diseases devastated a workforce already struggling with especially dangerous terrain and harsh working conditions in the jungle, eventually costing more than 20,000 lives, by some estimates. Panama was then a province of Colombia, which refused to ratify a subsequent 1901 treaty licensing U.S. interests to build the canal. Roosevelt responded by dispatching U.S. warships to Panama’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The U.S. also prewrote a constitution that would be ready after Panamanian independence, giving American forces “the right to intervene in any part of Panama, to re-establish public peace and constitutional order.” In part because Colombian troops were unable to traverse harsh jungles, Panama declared an effectively bloodless independence within hours in November 1903. It soon signed a treaty allowing a U.S.-led team to begin construction . Some 5,600 workers died later during the U.S.-led construction project, according to one study. Why doesn’t the US control the canal anymore? The waterway opened in 1914, but almost immediately some Panamanians began questioning the validity of U.S. control, leading to what became known in the country as the “generational struggle” to take it over. The U.S. abrogated its right to intervene in Panama in the 1930s. By the 1970s, with its administrative costs sharply increasing, Washington spent years negotiating with Panama to cede control of the waterway. The Carter administration worked with the government of Omar Torrijos. The two sides eventually decided that their best chance for ratification was to submit two treaties to the U.S. Senate, the “Permanent Neutrality Treaty” and the “Panama Canal Treaty.” The first, which continues in perpetuity, gives the U.S. the right to act to ensure the canal remains open and secure. The second stated that the U.S. would turn over the canal to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, and was terminated then. Both were signed in 1977 and ratified the following year. The agreements held even after 1989, when President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama to remove Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. In the late 1970s, as the handover treaties were being discussed and ratified, polls found that about half of Americans opposed the decision to cede canal control to Panama. However, by the time ownership actually changed in 1999, public opinion had shifted, with about half of Americans in favor. What’s happened since then? Administration of the canal has been more efficient under Panama than during the U.S. era, with traffic increasing 17% between fiscal years 1999 and 2004 . Panama’s voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said in a video Sunday that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to.” He added that, while his country’s people are divided on some key issues, “when it comes to our canal, and our sovereignty, we will all unite under our Panamanian flag.” Shipping prices have increased because of droughts last year affecting the canal locks, forcing Panama to drastically cut shipping traffic through the canal and raise rates to use it. Though the rains have mostly returned, Panama says future fee increases might be necessary as it undertakes improvements to accommodate modern shipping needs. Mulino said fees to use the canal are “not set on a whim.” Jorge Luis Quijano, who served as the waterway’s administrator from 2014 to 2019, said all canal users are subject to the same fees, though they vary by ship size and other factors. “I can accept that the canal’s customers may complain about any price increase,” Quijano said. “But that does not give them reason to consider taking it back.” Why has Trump raised this? The president-elect says the U.S. is getting “ripped off” and “I’m not going to stand for it.” “It was given to Panama and to the people of Panama, but it has provisions — you’ve got to treat us fairly. And they haven’t treated us fairly,” Trump said of the 1977 treaty that he said “foolishly” gave the canal away. The neutrality treaty does give the U.S. the right to act if the canal’s operation is threatened due to military conflict — but not to reassert control. “There’s no clause of any kind in the neutrality agreement that allows for the taking back of the canal,” Quijano said. “Legally, there’s no way, under normal circumstances, to recover territory that was used previously.” Trump, meanwhile, hasn’t said how he might make good on his threat. “There’s very little wiggle room, absent a second U.S. invasion of Panama, to retake control of the Panama Canal in practical terms,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. Gedan said Trump’s stance is especially baffling given that Mulino is a pro-business conservative who has “made lots of other overtures to show that he would prefer a special relationship with the United States.” He also noted that Panama in recent years has moved closer to China, meaning the U.S. has strategic reasons to keep its relationship with the Central American nation friendly. Panama is also a U.S. partner on stopping illegal immigration from South America — perhaps Trump’s biggest policy priority. “If you’re going to pick a fight with Panama on an issue,” Gedan said, “you could not find a worse one than the canal.” Weissert reported from West Palm Beach, Florida, and Fields from Washington. Amelia Thomson-Deveaux contributed to this report from Washington.There have been several infra developments in Visakhapatnam this week that showcase significant advancements across various sectors. Here’s a roundup of the key highlights you need to know: 1. CBRN Medical Centre at VIMS According to a recent announcement, Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) is set to host a secondary-level Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) medical management centre. Thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding between the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, this cutting-edge facility will cater to industrial accident victims. Located on a strategic 1.5-acre site within the VIMS campus, the centre will feature multiple approach roads for smooth ambulance movement, ensuring timely assistance for emergencies involving hazardous substances. 2. Solar Energy Pilot Project in Bheemili In a move towards sustainable energy, six villages in the Bheemili constituency—Anandapuram, Gambhiram, Chippada, Reddipalli, Vellanki, and Rajula Tallavalasa—have been selected for a pilot solar energy project. MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao announced the project during a press meet. Awareness campaigns will soon follow to educate locals on the advantages of renewable energy. 3. Adventure Activities Begin at Kailasagiri The Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) has begun the previously-announced zip line and a sky cycling ride activities at Kailasgiri. One of tbe most exciting infa developments this month, these facilities were developed at a cost of Rs 2 crore. The rides were inaugurated by VMRDA Chairman M V Pranav Gopal, with Commissioner KS Viswanathan in attendance. 4. Extra Vistadome Coach for Araku Tourists Tourist rush to Araku and Borra Caves peaks in winter, and to meet the demand, an additional Vistadome coach will be attached to the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul train throughout December, according to a latest report. The extra coach will be available on select dates for both onward and return journeys. 5. APSRTC Organises Special Buses for Margasira Masam Pilgrimage Devotees have much to cheer about as APSRTC launches special buses to five iconic Vaishnava temples—Dwaraka Tirumala, Antarvedi, Appannapalli, Gollala Mamidada, and Annavaram—during Margasira Masam. Starting December 7, these buses will depart every Friday evening from Dwaraka Bus Station. With a fare of Rs 1,800 for Super Luxury buses, devotees can enjoy a comfortable and spiritual weekend journey. Bookings are available online at APSRTC’s website . 6. South Coast Railway Office Construction Gains Momentum After much anticipation, work on the South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone headquarters in Visakhapatnam has been kickstarted with the call for tenders made by the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on X (Twitter) earlier this week. The Rs 149.16-crore project, which includes a 12-floor complex, is expected to be completed within 24 months. 7. ASM International Office Opens at AMTZ In a boost to Visakhapatnam’s reputation as a hub for innovation, ASM International inaugurated its office at the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ). As a global leader in materials science, this addition strengthens the city’s positioning in the advanced technology and engineering sectors. The infra developments in Visakhapatnam this week are a step towards progress and growth in the city. Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram for more city and news updates. Discussion about this post
(Bloomberg) — Mexican lawmakers took the first step toward eliminating several autonomous watchdogs, including the antitrust regulator and the transparency institute, as part of a broader reform push. The lower house of Congress on Wednesday night in a 347-128 vote approved the general text of a constitutional proposal to scrap the oversight bodies. The lawmakers approved individual articles of the bill Thursday, clearing the way for it to advance to the Senate, where the ruling coalition only needs one more vote to reach the two-thirds majority required to pass such legislation. The proposal seeks to end seven organizations: the transparency institute (INAI), the antitrust regulator (Cofece), the telecommunications watchdog (IFT), the energy regulator (CRE), the hydrocarbon regulator (CNH), the commission for oversight of education (Mejoredu) and the council to evaluate social policies (Coneval). Mexico’s government is backing the legislation, saying that eliminating the regulators will generate savings for public coffers. The functions of those oversight agencies won’t disappear, but rather they will be taken over by different ministries, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum. Critics of the plan, however, say that it will jeopardize the institutions’ independence. Among the individual articles approved Thursday is a proposal presented on Wednesday by Ricardo Monreal, leader of the ruling Morena party in the Lower House. His proposal would create decentralized agencies to guarantee that the antitrust regulator and the telecommunications institute maintain technical independence and their own resources, despite some of its functions being absorbed by government offices. Monreal’s plan looks like a sign of moderation after criticism from opponents, who argue that it could even jeopardize parts of the trade pact known as the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) that will be reviewed in 2026. The new agencies will be responsible for preventing, investigating and combating monopolies in order to eliminate barriers to free competition, newspaper Reforma reported after the individual articles vote Thursday. The new agencies fully comply with the provisions of the USMCA, said Morena lawmaker Alfonso Ramirez Cuellar. Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday that the reform did not violate the USMCA, and that the model in Mexico would be similar to the one that exists in the US. He also said that the government would seek to speak with US President Donald Trump about the USMCA starting in February. The bill was drafted under Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and forms part of a broader reform blitz. Since the new Congress took office in September, a slew of changes to Mexico’s laws have been approved by lawmakers, including overhauls of the judicial system and energy sector, as well as a plan that guarantees the minimum wage will rise above inflation. The existing autonomous bodies have not “demonstrated their efficiency,” Sheinbaum said in a morning press conference this month. She also called for lawmakers to bear in mind that the USMCA calls for certain independent bodies to exist and to avoid “contradictions” with the treaty. “This is another blow by Morena to our rights and democracy,” said lawmaker Veronica Martinez Garcia, from the opposition PRI party, during the debate. “With this supposed administrative simplification, they are doing away with the last remainder of political checks and balances in the Mexican State.” —With assistance from Maya Averbuch. (Updates with approval of individual articles in second, fifth, seventh and eight paragraphs.)A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own