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 Plus: Where Trump's legal woes go next{beacon}   12:30 REPORT It’s Wednesday. Happy almost Thanksgiving! It sounds like we may have a cold and wet holiday weekend on the East Coast. It’s a pretty quiet day so far, but here’s what’s happening: Trump tapped a prominent critic of pandemic lockdowns to run the NIH.What to know about the incoming administration’s health care priorities.Trump’s criminal cases begin to disappear.Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire begins. 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.   🕶️ Transition Lenses Meet your 2025 health care leaders: © GIPHY/ Coventry University President-elect Trump nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as his next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), completing his administration’s health team. Most notable about Bhattacharya: He was a prominent critic of lockdowns in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, even before a vaccine was developed. He argued that herd immunity could be reached even before the vaccine. The health team lineup:Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Health and Human Services (HHS) Jay Bhattacharya: NIHMartin Makary: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Mehmet Oz: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Janette Nesheiwat : Surgeon generalFormer Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)What to know about Trump’s health team: Kennedy and Weldon are both vaccine skeptics. Weldon pushed a false claim that an ingredient in vaccines causes autism.Almost all of Trump’s nominees have been critical of the agencies they would run if confirmed. Trump’s picks may prioritize chronic diseases over infectious diseases.In Kennedy, Trump has tapped a former Democrat who is supportive of abortion rights to run the country’s health departments. Some Democrats have criticized Trump’s health picks, but not all Democrats. For example, health committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hasn’t spoken out about any of them.Despite Kennedy’s controversial opinions on vaccines and other health care issues, Republicans have largely been receptive to him. Republicans are broadly supportive of Trump’s other health picks, including Oz and Weldon. More takeaways related to Trump’s health agency nominations, via The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel  Guest essay in The New York Times: ‘The MAGA Science Agenda Reveals America’s Future’   ➤  KEEP AN EYE ON THIS: Donald Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., says the president-elect has floated keeping some mainstream media outlets out of the White House press briefing room.  Don't forget: Trump railed against The New York Times for a story about his top aide reportedly soliciting payments from Cabinet candidates. Plus, Trump recently sued CBS News over its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Harris. ➤  MORE READS ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION: The Washington Post: Trump’s Cabinet: Loyalists, competing ideologies and government skeptics The Wall Street Journal: Trump Returns to ‘Maximum Pressure’ as Era of Biden Alliances Ends The Hill: School choice movement embraces new possibilities with Trump presidency The Atlantic: The Fox News Rebound: After the 2020 elections, the network seemed in peril. Today, it’s where Donald Trump goes for Cabinet members. CNN: 7 charts and maps show where Harris underperformed and lost the election National Review: Trump’s Faulty Recess Appointments Stratagem The Nation: Somehow, Americans Are Liking Trump Better Every Day Op-ed in The Hill: How Trump has changed and will change the Constitution ⚖️ Trump’s legal woes The saga may be coming to anti-climactic end:© AP Photo/Alex Brandon President-elect Trump’s classified documents case was dropped Tuesday, ending a years-long battle over him allegedly retaining documents with classified markings when he left office. That means Trump is no longer facing charges for violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.  Why was it dropped?: Basically, because Trump won the election. Special counsel Jack Smith requested an appeals court drop the case because of Trump’s upcoming inauguration and a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. And say farewell to the Jan. 6 election interference case: Smith has also moved to dismiss Trump’s election interference case related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.  There’s some frustration with the Justice Department: There’s been a lot of finger-pointing from those eager to see Trump held to account, The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports. The major multi-year investigations and prosecutions came to an end with just a short, two-page order from a judge. What’s the criticism?: Some question whether the DOJ moved too slowly on the case, which was serious enough to come with potential jailtime.  From Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.): “The Justice Dept and the court system failed to uphold the principle that no one is above the law. DOJ by neglecting to promptly investigate the events of Jan 6, and the courts by willfully delaying progress of the case and providing immunity.” Schiff served on the now-disbanded Jan. 6 House committee.    From Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.): “While this outcome might have been avoided if Attorney General Garland had initiated the investigations sooner or if the Supreme Court had not excessively delayed its ruling, the net result of today’s actions is that Donald Trump will escape accountability for violations of law alleged in great detail by two grand juries – placing Trump squarely above the law,” he said in a statement.   But as Beitsch pointed out: “The DOJ was always up against a clock in investigating Trump. Trump had established a reputation for seeking delay in court cases, and his intention to seek reelection raised the prospect of activity bumping into an election season Trump could win.” Why the cases took so long: It took officials more than a year after Trump left office to secure the missing classified documents. And in the Jan. 6 case, officials were busy unpacking charges for more than 1,000 rioters. Read more on the low-key end to two major criminal cases: ‘End of Trump prosecutions renews scrutiny of DOJ’s pace’   What about the other two legal cases?: Trump’s New York hush money case is in limbo, and legal experts think the Georgia election interference case could stay frozen while Trump is in the White House. ‘Here’s where Trump’s criminal cases stand’ 📰 Quick Hits  Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect: The Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to a ceasefire that took effect this morning. The proposal had been negotiated by the U.S. (The Hill)  The next phase of the Biden-to-Trump transition: “After a lengthy delay, President-elect Trump has signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the White House, which will allow officials to meet with counterparts at departments and agencies ahead of the January transition of power.” (The Hill) Keep in mind: Trump’s team has yet to sign an agreement with the DOJ that would involve background checks and vetting for certain picks.   3 American prisoners were freed from China: Three Americans who had been detained in China have been freed as part of a prisoner swap. (The Hill){{if !contains(profile.lists,"Evening Report")}Sign up for The Hill's free Evening Report newsletter  Stay on top of news from the afternoon and what to look forward to tomorrow, published Monday-Friday. Click here to sign up & get it in your inbox.{/if}}🐝 Internet Buzz  🥧 Celebrate: Today is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day!  🥦 Did you know that George H.W. Bush hated broccoli?: C-SPAN Radio published its annual food-themed podcast. This year’s episode is all about broccoli, including how former President George H.W. Bush despised it. 🎙️ Listen here   ☃️ Wow, nature is cool: The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore reposted an incredible video from @UtahWxMan of a snow squall moving across Utah. 📹 Watch the video  🍌 This number is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S: Remember the banana art that recently sold for $6.2 million at auction? Well, that banana came from a sidewalk fruit vendor who sells bananas for 25 cents, The New York Times reports. 📆 On The Agenda  Not much. The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Nantucket, Mass., and Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C. Thanksgiving vibes. 👋 And Finally… And to leave you on a happy note, check out this incredible camouflage. 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 week!