Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter Subscribe Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition — Plus: DOJ pressuring Google to sell Chrome{beacon} 12:30 REPORT It’s Thursday. Thanksgiving is one week from today! 🦃 Here’s what’s happening: GOP senators expect Gaetz’s confirmation battle to be ugly.Police report reveals more details in Hegseth’s 2017 assault allegation.The DOJ is trying to force Google to sell Chrome.The Boston Celtics are at the White House.   I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to [email protected]. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   📺 In Congress Will these confirmation hearings be rated TV-MA?:Two of President-elect Trump’s nominees are drawing renewed scrutiny over past allegations that could make for some intense Senate confirmation hearings.  First, there’s Pete Hegseth: A newly released police report details an alleged 2017 sexual assault involving the then-Fox News host, whom Trump chose as Defense secretary. The woman involved says Hegseth took her phone and refused to let her leave a hotel room. He denies the allegations and says the encounter was consensual, according to AP. No charges were ever filed against Hegseth.  What we know about the incident   What does this mean for his confirmation?: Trump and his team have stuck with Hegseth. And The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports that Republican senators are withholding their opinions until there is a full background check on Hegseth.  And then there’s Matt Gaetz: The House Ethics Committee voted Wednesday to keep its now-defunct investigation on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) under wraps. But a few of its findings leaked. The investigation reportedly found that Gaetz paid two women more than $10,000, in part for sex, according to The Washington Post.   Gaetz may have a very tough time getting confirmed: While we still do not know the details of the probe, the sexual assault investigation is said to be “highly damaging.” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that some Senate Republicans are privately suggesting that Gaetz should withdraw his nomination to save himself from an ugly confirmation circus. Some are even comparing the expected process to be like the contentious hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.  Read more: ‘GOP warns Gaetz hearings will be “Kavanaugh on steroids”’  For what it’s worth: NBC News reports that more than half of Republican senators privately doubt Gaetz will ever be confirmed as attorney general. 💡 The big picture: Trump’s rapid pace of Cabinet picks has set the tone for his incoming administration. He wants to hit the ground running in the first 100 days. But brutal confirmation hearings could distract and detract from his agenda.   ➤  TIDBITS: This photo wins the week: ©  AP This is how new House members get their offices: Incoming House freshmen select their offices through a lottery, which happened this morning. 📸 Here’s a photo of the House lottery happening.  ^ Who won the lottery: Rep.-elect Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.) got the first pick. 📸 Watch her reaction. I cracked up watching this.  Do you also like Oreos dipped in peanut butter?!: Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) reposted on X an image advertising a “U.S. senator look-alike contest.” Smith posted a photo twinning with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and wrote, “They didn’t let @SenatorBaldwin and me enter because they knew we’d win.” 📸 The senators twinning  ➤  MORE READS: The Washington Post: Amazon and SpaceX aim to defang the federal labor board. Trump may help. The New York Times: Republicans Target Social Sciences to Curb Ideas They Don’t Like The Hill: Medicaid cuts in crosshairs as Trump, GOP take control Time: Why Trump Actually Needs Mexico Politico: Here Are the GOP Senators Best Positioned to Take on Trump, via Jonathan Martin The New York Times: How Retirement Rules Might (or Might Not) Change Under Trump The Hill: What Trump’s win means for renewable energy The Washington Examiner: The Laken Riley case and presidential politics, via Byron York🔎 News This Morning Google may be forced to break up with Chrome: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, arguing that it has an illegal monopoly over online search.  If this happens: “The DOJ’s proposal would require Google to divest from Chrome and prohibit the search giant from owning another browser for five years. It would also block the company from owning or investing in other potential rivals over the same period.” (The Hill) They made Sen. Peters big mad: “The Democratic chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee blasted the heads of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, issuing a rare but sharp rebuke of the two officials for failing to appear for a public hearing,” reports The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch.  “Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said both Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray ‘refused to appear’ before the panel for its annual hearing about threats to the homeland, saying it was the first time in 15 years officials have done so.”  It’s not just Peters, though: “Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), in an interview on Fox News, also criticized the officials for not appearing at the public hearing. Lankford said the only reason given was that the officials did not want to offer the testimony in public.” (The Hill) Where the skies are blue and the trolls are fewer: Bluesky, the social media competitor to X, has exploded in popularity over the past few weeks. The company’s CEO says roughly 1 million people have joined every day since last week.  What to know about Bluesky: The platform looks *very* similar to Twitter.  What sparked the surge in popularity: A postelection surge from X. Thousands of users left X’s platform, citing a “toxic” or “disturbing” content environment. Others were critical of Elon Musk’s role in the company while actively helping to elect President-elect Trump. Read from the NYT: ‘How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth’ ➤  IF YOU’VE JOINED — OR ARE THINKING ABOUT JOINING:Say hello! I’m on Bluesky. 👉 Follow me   And follow The Hill’s writers: My colleague, Taylor Giorno, assembled a list of The Hill’s reporters and editors who are on Bluesky. 👉 Follow The Hill’s journalists  If you want to follow a broad swath of journalists: Talking Points Memo’s Hunter Walker compiled two “starter packs” of journalists and media figures. 👉 Follow them here and here 🐝 Internet Buzz  🥘 Celebrate: Today is National Stuffing Day! 🍌 Remember when a banana hung with duct tape art sold for $120,000?: The piece of art just sold again — for $6.24 million. (CNN) 📺 ESPN is ending a longtime show: ESPN’s show “Around the Horn” is reportedly coming to an end in 2025 after a 23-year run. (The Athletic) 📆 On The Agenda  The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, and Vice President Harris is in Hawaii. (all times Eastern)  1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 2:15 p.m.: Biden receives his daily briefing.4:30 p.m.: Biden welcomes the Boston Celtics to the White House to celebrate their NBA championship. 💻 Livestream 👋 And Finally...   If you don’t mind weighing in, does this animal look more like a dog or an eager beaver to you? Stay Engaged  Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to [email protected]. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.   View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!