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 Evening Report newsletter Subscribe {beacon} Evening Report ©  AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteFirst Trump pick sinks. Will there be a second? Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew from consideration to be attorney general on Thursday, dealing a blow to President-elect Trump’s efforts to install a top ally in a key government role. Gaetz has been hounded by allegations of sexual misconduct, and he's attracted scores of enemies during his time in office, among both Democrats and Republicans. He faced an uphill battle to be confirmed in the Senate, even with the GOP winning a 53-seat majority earlier this month.  The Hill’s Alexander Bolton and Al Weaver report that GOP senators are breathing a sigh of relief that there will not be a prolonged and potentially ugly fight over Gaetz’s controversial nomination. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said Gaetz’s withdrawal is a “positive development,” while Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said Gaetz made “the right choice.” Gaetz met with many members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.  “He must have gotten some signals yesterday during conversations he was having with senators that this was going to be a distraction,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). “Good on him to recognize that and be self-aware.”  Trump praised Gaetz, saying he has a “wonderful future” ahead, although it’s unclear whether Gaetz, who resigned from the current Congress, will return to the next Congress convening in January after winning reelection this year.  Democrats say they’ll continue to push for the release of a House Ethics Committee report detailing allegations from several women about Gaetz.  Details of that investigation spilled into the press on Thursday, with The Washington Post and The New York Times reporting on records of Venmo payments Gaetz made to women who testified that he paid them for sex.  FOCUS SHIFTS TO HEGSETH Now, the spotlight turns to Pete Hegseth, the 44-year old Army National Guard veteran and longtime Fox News host who Trump tapped to lead the Department of Defense.  Hegseth was on Capitol Hill on Thursday to meet with senators as police documents were released detailing sexual assault allegations made against him in 2017. No charges were filed, and Hegseth and the woman settled the case privately. Read more about the allegations here.  The Trump pick faced reporters on Thursday, saying, “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.” Hegseth emerged from his Thursday meetings with some GOP senators saying they're optimistic he will be confirmed.  Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said he believes Hegseth “can explain all the situations” and that he is “going to be just fine.”  Hegseth will also likely have to account for his past remarks about keeping women out of combat roles in the military, as he seeks to get confirmed by a Senate that includes female military officers and combat veterans, including Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost her legs in battle.  Lloyd Austin, the current Defense chief, said in an interview with NBC:  “I have spent 41 years in uniform, three long tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and everywhere I went on a battlefield, there were women in our formation. I would tell you that, you know, our women are the finest troops in the world.”  💡Perspectives: • USA Today: The US needs Musk, Vivek to avert deficit disaster.• The Hill: Who will stand up to Trump’s unqualified nominees? • The Hill: Will DOGE put spending on the chopping block? • The Hill: What RFK Jr. could — and couldn’t — do with vaccines as HHS chief.  Read more:  • Lawmakers concerned about background checks as red flags surface. • Dem bill requires nat sec nominees to disclose foreign government work. • Trump shrugs off lack of school experience for Education nod. • Trump’s hunt for Treasury secretary down to the wire. Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.CATCH UP QUICK The Department of Justice asked a judge to order Google to sell Chrome. Jussie Smollett's conviction for a hate crime hoax was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court, which determined he had already entered into a plea agreement to avoid facing charges. The U.S. charged Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, with fraud.  A storm in Washington state left 300,000 without power. NEWS THIS AFTERNOON ©  AP Photo/Mariam ZuhaibDem chair blasts FBI, DHS heads for dodging hearing The Democratic chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee lashed out at the heads of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday, saying they “refused to appear” for an annual hearing about threats to the homeland.  Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said FBI Director Christopher Wray and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas skipping the hearing would “deny the public critical information and disregard Congress’ constitutionally recognized right to conduct oversight.” Spokespeople for Wray and Mayorkas said they offered to conduct classified briefings for lawmakers, but Peters said that’s not enough.  “Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face…Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit,” Peters said.  💡Perspectives: • The Liberal Patriot: Throw the left-wing groups under the bus. • MSNBC: Harris did not lose because of ‘woke’ politics. • The Hill: Rahm Emanuel is a terrible choice for DNC chair.  Read more:  • 5 obstacles Republicans will face on the road to tax cuts. • Medicaid cuts in crosshairs as Trump, GOP take control. • Republicans feel optimistic heading into New Jersey, Virginia elections. • Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to former Planned Parenthood leader. • 5 things to know about N.C. GOP's efforts to strip Dem power.  ELECTIONSHarris leads Dem poll of 2028 contenders It’s a long way away, but a new survey finds Vice President Harris topping the list of Democratic contenders for 2028.  The survey from Puck News/Echelon Insights finds Harris in the lead at 48 percent, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 8 percent and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 7 percent. This comes as Democrats continue to wrestle over what went wrong in 2024.  Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) says the Democratic Party brand is “broken” and that their message is only designed to permeate “a small group of people that fits certain preordained categories.”  “It is too narrow in its focus, and it doesn't help that whenever anybody questions this, the typical response is the person questioning it has to be some combination of ignorant, bigoted, or racist.”  Former President Clinton said in an interview airing this weekend on MSNBC’s “The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart”: “We have to learn to talk to people in ways that they can relate to that explains that.” ELSEWHERE... The Pennsylvania Democratic election official who said she wouldn’t abide the state Supreme Court’s ruling about counting ballots in the race between Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Republican David McCormick has apologized for her remarks. Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said she regrets “the upset and confusion that I have caused.” McCormick traveled to Washington for freshman orientation after narrowly defeating Casey, although the results are close enough to trigger an automatic recount. ON TAP 26 days until electors vote in their states.29 days until the government funding deadline. 43 days until the new Congress begins and the House leadership elections.46 days until Congress counts the electoral votes. 60 days until Inauguration Day.  IN OTHER NEWS©  Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via APRussia, Ukraine war escalates after Biden moves President Biden’s moves to expand Ukraine’s offensive capabilities have escalated the war with Russia.  Ukrainian officials say Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. ICBMs can be equipped with nuclear warheads. This comes after Biden allowed Ukraine to begin firing long-range U.S.-made missiles deeper into Russia, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has said is tantamount to the U.S. joining the war. The U.S. is also allowing for the use of a previously banned type of landmine.  💡Perspectives:• The Hill: Trump’s NATO tightrope.• The Hill: The Ukraine war Trump could inherit after Biden’s escalation.• The Hill: Will Trump end the ‘triple standard’ in the Middle East?   Read more:  • U.S. reopens Kyiv embassy after air attack warning. • Ukrainians’ approval of Zelensky hits new low. • Finnish authorities open probe into ruptured undersea cable.  ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Hamas leaderThe International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the leader of Hamas.  Republicans blasted the warrant for Netanyahu, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) calling it a “dangerous joke.”   Last night, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to block arms sales to Israel, although 19 senators voted in favor.   Amos Hochstein, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, will arrive in Israel this week, saying that a peace deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon is imminent.  Stay Engaged  Did I miss a story? Drop me a line. Follow TheHill.com for the latest and recommend us to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next time.