What Donald Trump’s Staff Picks Mean

If you only read one thing: Donald Trump has made his first White House hires and they are a study in contrasts. As his chief of staff he has selected Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and a well-connected Washington insider. As his “chief strategist,” a role he created, Trump has selected Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart CEO who helped mainstream the “Alt-Right.” Where Bannon represents Trump’s worst instincts, Priebus represents his growing realization that the job of being president is a lot harder than he ever understood it to be. The question that may determine the success of the upcoming administration is which of these “equal partners” Trump listens to more.

Meanwhile, Trump is signaling that he doesn’t intend to be as disruptive to the nation as he let on during the campaign, saying same-sex marriage is settled law and promising to keep key portions of the Affordable Care Act. He’s also staffed his transition team with the Washington insiders he ran against, and in elevating Priebus, set off waves of relief among the D.C. Establishment.

Democrats are still struggling to explain their defeat, with Clinton laying it on FBI Director James Comey. Others in the party point to arrogance on the part of the Clinton team for failing to imagine the depths of frustration among the electorate and the lack of enthusiasm behind her. President Obama is set to address the defeat in a press conference Monday afternoon and again in a call with Democratic supporters later this evening. He will then embark on his final foreign tour, which has a new mission: reassuring American allies about the next four years.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

What Donald Trump’s Staff Choices Show So Far
A chief of staff and a chief strategist are a tale of opposites [TIME]

7 Key Takeaways from Donald Trump’s 60 Minutes Interview
What Trump plans to do in office [TIME]

Donald Trump’s Meeting with Nigel Farage Leaves Britain’s Leaders Red-Faced
The UKIP leader has told his country’s government that he is happy to “provide introductions” to the U.S. President-elect [TIME]

Harsher Security Tactics? Obama Left Door Ajar, and Donald Trump Is Knocking
Unintended consequences [New York Times]

How Historians of Tomorrow Will Interpret Donald Trump’s Election
Eight experts weigh in [TIME]

Obama Faces Task of Reassuring World Leaders on Trump
After the Republican’s upset win, president’s final world tour takes on different meaning [Wall Street Journal]

Clinton Blames FBI’s Comey For Her Defeat in Call With Donors
But others in the Democratic Party lay the blame closer to her [Reuters]

Sound Off

“For the good of the country, and the fact you don’t want a question coming up every time there’s a decision made, he should basically take himself out of it, and just be a passive participant in the sense that he has no decision-making, no involvement.” — Rudy Giuliani advising Trump to put his fortune in a blind trust

“It was respect for the office, it was respect for the president. Again, I never met him before, but we had– we had a very good chemistry going. And—and I really found—it might not be that I agree with him, but I really found the conversation unbelievably interesting.” — Donald Trump to 60 Minutes on his meeting with Obama

Bits and Bites

Racist Incidents Are Up Since Donald Trump’s Election. These Are Just a Few of Them [TIME]

Harry Reid Dismisses Donald Trump: ‘A Sexual Predator Who Lost the Popular Vote’ [TIME]

Donald Trump Appears to Soften Stance on Immigration, but Not on Abortion [New York Times]

Could Donald Trump’s kids serve in his administration? [CNN]

Anti-Trump Protests Continue in New York, L.A., and Elsewhere [Associated Press]