Mike Pence, Joe Rogan, tech CEOs attend Trump’s inauguration

(WASHINGTON) — As Election Day arrives, polling still shows razor-thin margins between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in battleground states.

If the actual vote margin remains that thin in some states, it is possible that automatic recounts could be triggered or that a campaign could request a recount, depending on that state’s rules.

A recent analysis of statewide recounts in general elections from 2000-2023 by the advocacy group FairVote found that statewide recounts in general elections are very rare and usually have not changed much of the vote count. Recounts have almost never changed the state’s winner of a presidential election, although in 1960, a recount in Hawaii changed the winner of the state’s Electoral College votes from Richard Nixon to John F. Kennedy.

More recent presidential recounts have not impacted the winner in the states they were held in, including the attempted 2000 recount in Florida meant to deal with a razor-thin margin between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which the Supreme Court halted. (If Florida’s results had flipped, Al Gore would have won that election.)

In 2020, Donald Trump’s campaign requested recounts in Georgia (after the secretary of state had already undertaken a recount) and some Wisconsin counties. In 2016, the campaign of Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested a recount that was fully undertaken in Wisconsin, and requested one in Michigan (which was halted) and Pennsylvania (which was denied).

Here’s what to know about the rules that govern if and how presidential race recounts are conducted in each of the seven battleground states.

The “canvass of the vote” discussed below refers to the county and/or state procedures that compile, confirm, and validate every vote cast. Recount rules may vary for other races, such as congressional or mayoral races. An “automatic recount” means a recount that is mandated by state law because of the results; the term does not reflect how votes are recounted.

Arizona

A recount is automatically triggered in Arizona if the margin between the two candidates who received the most votes is equal or less than half a percent of the total votes cast, according to Arizona law. The recount must be completed five days after the canvass of the vote is completed, which is Nov. 30.

It is not possible for a candidate, party or voters to request a recount in Arizona. (A Republican-aligned review of election results in Arizona’s Maricopa County in 2021 was not a state-run recount and found no evidence that changed the results in the county.)

Georgia

According to Georgia law, a candidate can ask for a recount within two days of results being certified if the margin between the candidates is less than half a percentage point of the vote. Election officials can also request recounts if they think there is an issue with the results, while the secretary of state can ask for a recount if a candidate petitions them about a suspected issue. There is no explicit deadline for a recount to be completed.

There are no automatic recounts in Georgia.

Michigan

According to Michigan law, an automatic recount is triggered in statewide races if the margin between the top two candidates is 2,000 votes or less.

A candidate can petition for a recount if a few requirements are met, including “a good-faith belief that but for fraud or mistake, the candidate would have had a reasonable chance of winning the election,” according to Michigan law. The petition needs to be filed within 48 hours of the canvass of votes being completed.

Recounts must be completed within 30 days of the end of the period that candidates are allowed to file petitions challenging results, or within 30 days of when recounts are allowed to begin.

(New laws changing how recounts can be done in Michigan were signed into law this year, but will not be in effect for the 2024 election.)

Nevada

A candidate for presidential elector — specifically an Electoral College elector, not the candidate — can request a recount in Nevada up to the 13th day following the election, according to Nevada statutes. The requester needs to deposit the estimated cost of the recount with the secretary of state, but gets the deposit refunded if the recount results in a change in the winner.

The recount needs to be started within a day after being requested and finished within 5 days.

There is a more general statute in Nevada law that allows statewide candidates to request recounts, but this does not apply to presidential races, according to Nevada-based attorney and election law expert Bradley Schrager. Rather, the specific and more recent statute overrides the more general one, so the recount request would have to come from the presidential elector.

“In practice, that’s not really significant, however, because any elector candidate would follow the direction of his or her presidential candidate,” Schrager said.

There are no automatic recounts in Nevada.

North Carolina

A presidential candidate can request a recount in North Carolina if the margin between the candidates is less than half a percentage point or 10,000 votes, whichever is less, according to state law. (The North Carolina State Board of Elections told ABC News that the threshold this year will likely be 10,000 votes.)

The candidate needs to ask for a recount by noon on the second day after the county canvassing of the vote. (In 2024, that day is Tuesday, Nov. 19.)

There are cases where a requested recount would trigger an automatic recount as well, but the election results themselves do not trigger automatic recounts in North Carolina.

Pennsylvania

An automatic recount is triggered in Pennsylvania if the margin between the candidates is within half a percentage of the vote.

The recount must begin “no later than” the third Wednesday after Election Day and be done by noon on the next Tuesday, according to guidance published by the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Candidates themselves cannot request recounts in Pennsylvania.

Wisconsin

In a presidential race, any presidential candidate can request a recount if the margin between the candidates that got the most votes is one percent or less of the total votes cast, according to Wisconsin state statutes. The candidate must request it within the first day after the canvass of the vote is completed.

The state itself pays if the margin is 0.25% of the vote or less; if it is larger, then the candidate who requested the recount must pay. (They receive a refund if the election result changes due to the recount.)

The recount must be completed within 13 days of being ordered.

There are no automatic recounts in Wisconsin.

ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan and Mitch Alva contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — After meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump appeared ambivalent about the debate over whether to craft two legislative attempts to reshape fiscal policy for his agenda or settle on one sweeping package in an “all-in” approach.

Trump told reporters that he had “a great meeting” with the senators, although it appeared that the closed-door meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes did not lock down an agreement on how to proceed.

“There’s great unity,” Trump said. “I think there’s a lot of talk about two [bills], and there’s a lot of talk about one, but it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same. We’re going to get something done that’s going to be reducing taxes and creating a lot of jobs and all of the other things that you know about.”

Despite Trump’s comments, senators in the room heard Trump loud and clear: His preference, though he’s open to alternative ideas, is one “big, beautiful bill” to deal with many of his legislative priorities in a single swoop.

But just because senators heard him doesn’t mean they agree with him.

There was hope going into tonight’s meeting with Trump, the Senate’s first since he won the presidential race in November, that it could bring the Senate, which has largely favored a two-bill approach, and the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson prefers a one-bill approach, into one line of thinking on the matter.

Senators leaving the room Wednesday night seemed unmoved.

“It’s no mystery we’re advocating for two,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said as he departed.

There were a number of senators, including Trump allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who forcefully made the case for a two-bill solution while in the room with Trump. Cruz and his allies want one bill to address border security, military spending and energy. A second bill addressing tax policy could come later, they said.

With little to no support expected from Democrats, Republicans plan to push forward through “reconciliation” — a fast-track process limited to spending and revenue legislation that needs only a majority rather than the 60-vote threshold in the Senate needed to pass legislation.

While the debate might seem in the weeds, it could have serious implications for Trump’s agenda. Bills passed through reconciliation give Republicans more wiggle room to pass certain measures that Democrats oppose. But these bills are cumbersome, bound by a number of rules about what may and may not be included, and will require the near-unanimous support of Republicans.

Senate Republicans continue to break with Trump and Johnson on the issue because they believe they can notch a win early in Trump’s presidency by breaking the package into two chunks.

“I expressed vigorously, as did numerous other people that the best path to success is winning two major victories rather than putting all the eggs in one basket and risking — a very real risk — of it not getting the votes to pass,” Cruz said. “I strongly believe the path that makes sense is to take up two bills. Why? Because that unifies Republicans. We can get that passed. We could have a major victory early on, and then to move to extending the tax cuts.”

Cruz said there was “complete consensus” among the senators on a two-part solution. “Not a single senator disagreed.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., who told reporters she served as the moderator for the meeting, said Trump was listening intently to their suggestions but she believes two bills provide the most viable path to victory.

“The two-bill approach that [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune had liked, I think is generally the direction the Senate has been wanting to go to get that quick victory,” Capito said. “I think there’s a lot of discussion that’s going to go on. What can the House pass? What does the Speaker think? So he [Trump] heard from us and from our leader that a two-bill strategy is very much alive over here and something we’re still very interested in. So no decisions were made.”.

Capito seemed uncertain if there would be cohesion with Trump moving forward.

“I don’t know — we’ll see,” she said, adding, “I think, you know, the leaders will get together with the president and they’ll make those decisions.”

Republican Whip John Barrasso will be a key part of rounding up votes for whatever package is ultimately advanced and he also sees two bills as the right direction to go.

“We think there’s a lot of advantages to get an early win and to focus immediately on the border, on energy and on the strong military,” Barrasso said.

Barrasso said he was there when the Senate used this same fast-track budget tool to implement the Trump tax cuts in 2017. That took time, he said.

“There’s a lot of detail to be done with that, and so that’s going to take awhile” he said. “I think we can much more quickly deal with the border, energy, and military funding.”

Still, Trump continues to prefer the one-bill approach backed by Johnson, senators said.

“I think he’s still open to whatever can work. I think there seems to be movement from the House to do one, and so I think that’s the way he leans,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said.

Another option that was floated was holding a “horse race” which would see the House originating a sweeping proposal that includes tax policy as its base while the Senate originates a more narrowly tailored bill that just includes border and energy reform then see which package gains more momentum.

“I said, ‘Well, Mister President, you love a horse race, why don’t you set it up as a horse race? And then whatever works best is great,'” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. “HIs preference is one bill, but I think he’s open to it.”

Trump reiterated his preference for one bill when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, but said he could live with two.

“Well, I like one big, beautiful bill, and I always have, I always will, he said. But if two is more certain [to pass], it does go a little bit quicker because you can do the immigration stuff early,” he said.

Johnson said he hopes to have a bill ready by the first week in April, but it remains to be seen if he can get fiscal conservatives in his conference, who have long opposed all-in-one bills like the one Johnson is proposing, on board.

The speaker pushed back on Wednesday about the one-bill approach being a kitchen sink approach.

“This is not an omnibus spending bill, but appropriation,” Johnson said. “This is reducing spending, which is an objective we talked about. I’ll keep reiterating this: that just because the debt limit is raised, to give stability the bond markets and to send a message around the world that we will pay the nation’s debt. We are doggedly determined to decrease the size of scope of government and to limit spending, cut spending so you can you’ll see both of those things happen simultaneously.”

Johnson also intends to handle the debt limit in the reconciliation bill — without Democratic support.

“That way, as the Republican Party, the party in charge of both chambers, we again get to determine the details of that. If it runs through the regular order, regular process… then you have to have both parties negotiating. And we feel like we are in better stead to do it ourselves,” he said Tuesday.

But it remains to be seen whether Johnson can sell the fiscal conservatives in his conference on that idea. They nearly derailed the short-term government funding bill to avert a shutdown last month after Trump demanded that it dealt with the debt ceiling.

Trump will meet with groups of House Republicans at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida this weekend.

“He’s bringing in big groups of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago over the weekend three days in a row to meet with and talk with all of our team members about what’s ahead of us and the challenges and how we can accomplish all this together,” Johnson said, though the speaker is not expected to attend.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.

Speaker Johnson denies discussing Gaetz draft report with House Ethics chairman

House Speaker Mike Johnson denied that he has discussed the details of the draft ethics report on Matt Gaetz with House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, and further denied that President-elect Donald Trump or Gaetz have pressured him to bury the report.

“I haven’t talked to Michael Guest about the report. I talk to all my colleagues but I know where the lines are. I have no idea about the contents of the report,” Johnson told reporters as he walked back to his office after his news conference this morning.

Despite persistent questions, Johnson maintained his position that Gaetz’s resignation from the House last week should put an end to the ethics inquiry.

“My job is to protect the institution and I have made very clear that I think it’s an important guardrail for our institution that we not use the House Ethics Committee to investigate and report on persons who are not members of this body,” Johnson declared. “Matt Gaetz is not a member of the body anymore.”

Johnson denied that Gaetz or Trump had pressured him to block release of the draft report, repeating that the speaker “has no involvement” in the ethics report and “can’t direct the ethics committee to do anything.”

“I’ve simply responded to the questions that have been asked of me about my opinion on whether that should be released. Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress and so we don’t issue ethics reports on non-members,” he said. “I think it’s an important guardrail for us to maintain for the interest of the institution so that’s my position.”

“I wouldn’t have that conversation with [Gaetz]. Because that’s not appropriate for us to do that,” Johnson continued. “President Trump respects the guardrails of our institution as well, and I’m very guarded about those things. So neither of those gentlemen would breach that.”

-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Isabella Murray

Musk backs Gaetz for AG amid allegations: ‘Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice’

Billionaire Elon Musk is throwing his support behind Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, as allegations continue to surface surrounding what witnesses told the House Ethics Committee regarding the former congressman.

“Matt Gaetz has 3 critical assets that are needed for the AG role: a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind,” Musk wrote on X. “He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison.”

“Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice,” he added.

Musk also directly addressed the allegations against Gaetz, stating that he considers them “worth less than nothing.”

Musk’s public support for Gaetz comes as the billionaire continues to play a large role in Trump’s transition, as ABC News has previously reported.

Speaker Johnson says he hasn’t discussed Gaetz ethics drama with Trump

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday he has not talked to Trump about a draft report on the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz — as members on both sides of the aisle call on the speaker to release the draft despite Gaetz’s resignation and the committee’s lack of jurisdiction over former members.

“I have not discussed the ethics report with President Trump. And as you know, I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Johnson, R-La., said. “He respects the House and the parameters, and he knows that I would not violate any of those rules or principles, and so it has not been discussed.”

The speaker also said he hasn’t discussed the report with Trump’s advisers.

“They’re busy filling the Cabinet,” he said. “This has not been a subject of our discussion.”

Johnson reiterated his position against the release of the draft report. He also brushed off the fact that there is some precedent for its release following a member’s exit from Congress, saying the House is now in a “different era.”

“I’ve made this really clear. There’s a very important principle that underlies this, and that is the House Ethics Committee has jurisdiction over members of Congress — not former members, not private citizens, not someone who’s left the institution,” he said. “I think that’s a really important parameter for us to maintain. I think it’s important for the institution itself.”

Johnson said that he would not support a private viewing of the report for senators under the “same principle.”

-ABC News’ John Parkinson, Isabella Murray and Lauren Peller

Top Dem on House Ethics Committee says Gaetz report should be released

The top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee — Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild — told reporters Monday that she believes the committee’s report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz should be disclosed to the public.

“You either are going to disclose it or you’re not going to disclose it. So, and there’s plenty of precedents in the Ethics Committee to disclose the report even after a member has resigned,” Wild said.

Wild, who is leaving office at the end of this session, said it’ll take “one or more” Republicans to join Democrats on the committee to achieve a majority vote to release the report.

Asked if that’s a possibility, Wild said she hasn’t talked to all of the members and doesn’t know, but she stressed that all eight members of the ethics panel now have access to the draft report.

“I believe there will be a unanimous Democratic consensus that it should be released,” she added.

Wild said there is a scheduled committee meeting on Wednesday, but said it “remains to be seen” what the chairman’s agenda is.

“But I believe we should vote on whether we are to disclose it [Gaetz report] or not, and we’ll see what happens after that,” she said.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters Monday that he has read the Gaetz report but declined to comment further due to the confidentiality of the committee.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller, John Parkinson and Isabella Murray

Trump nominates Sean Duffy as transportation secretary

Trump announced Monday he is nominating former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for transportation secretary.

The position requires Senate confirmation.

“He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.”

Duffy co-hosts “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business and is a Fox News contributor.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

Trump to attend SpaceX launch on Tuesday: Sources

Trump is expected to attend Tuesday’s SpaceX launch in Texas, multiple sources told ABC News.

SpaceX said it is planning to hold the sixth integrated flight test of its Starship megarocket from its Starbase in Cameron County, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has rarely left Trump’s side since the election — appearing in family photos with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and even traveling with him to New York for Saturday’s UFC fight.

Trump frequently marveled at the intricacies of the SpaceX rocket launch while on the campaign trail.

“It was so exciting, so I’m watching it, and this monstrous thing is going down, right and it’s coming down, it’s first of all, doing all sorts of flips up in the air,” Trump said at his last campaign rally of the cycle in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Katherine Faulders

How Democrats could force the Ethics Committee to release the Gaetz report

All eyes will be on the House Ethics Committee’s expected closed-door meeting this Wednesday — but it’s possible that Congress can go around the committee entirely to release the panel’s findings on former Rep. Matt Gaetz.

According to House rules, any member of Congress can go to the floor and tee up a vote on a “privileged resolution” that would force the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz, within two legislative days.

The member would only have to argue that not releasing the report impacts the “dignity” or “integrity” of the House or “reputation” of its members.

The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Committee to divulge information about investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Those efforts came up short because Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is incredibly unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would only take a handful of Republicans — along with all Democrats — to pass the resolution.

“If you’re a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?” former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who led the Ethics Committee, said to ABC News on Monday.

The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against Gaetz, who resigned last week after being named Trump’s pick for attorney general.

If the Ethics Committee doesn’t vote to release its findings on Wednesday, expect more Democrats to raise the possibility of forcing a floor vote — one that would force Republicans on the record about Gaetz.

-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel

Hegseth flagged as potential ‘insider threat’ by Guardsman who was ‘disturbed’ by ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo

The National Guardsman who in 2021 pegged Pete Hegseth as a potential “insider threat” clarified in an interview with ABC News that his complaint targeted a “Deus Vult” tattoo on the Fox News host’s arm, not a cross on his chest, as Hegseth has repeatedly claimed.

As Reuters and The Associated Press first reported, Sgt. DeRicko Gaither sent an image of the “Deus Vult” tattoo to Maj. Gen. William Walker shortly before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The phrase, which translates to “God wills it,” has since been co-opted by white nationalist groups.

“This information is quite disturbing, sir,” Gaither wrote in the email to Walker, who has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment. “This falls along the lines of (an) Insider Threat.”

Hegseth — Trump’s pick for defense secretary — claimed in his book, “The War on Warriors,” that he was removed from service ahead of Biden’s inauguration because fellow servicemembers had flagged a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross on his chest as a white nationalist symbol.

But Gaither clarified in a text message to ABC News that his complaint targeted the “Deus Vult” tattoo, despite “the narrative that has been out there.”

“Just so we are clear. This has NOTHING to do with the Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest,” Gaither said. “This has everything to do with the ‘DEUS VULT’ Tattoo on his inner bicep.”

Gaither, who confirmed the contents of his complaint to ABC News, emphasized that “this wasn’t then and isn’t now a personal attack towards Pete Hegseth.”

“The information received and [the] email sent on January 14th was the protocol that had to be followed because of the position assignment that I was assigned to,” explained Gaither, who was at the time assigned as the Guards’ head of security. “The protocol was followed and would be followed again if this issue involved any other service member, myself included.”

Hegseth fired back at the initial coverage of this matter in the AP by claiming it was “Anti-Christian bigotry.”

“They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD,” Hegseth wrote on social media on Friday.

-ABC News’ Nathan Luna and Lucien Bruggeman

Homan says he’s headed to Mar-a-Lago to put ‘final touches’ on deportation plan

Incoming “border czar” Tom Homan said Monday that Trump’s new administration is already working on a plan to deport undocumented immigrants and that he’s headed to Mar-a-Lago this week “to put the final touches” on it.

Speaking on Fox News’ America Reports, Homan reiterated his plan to “take the handcuffs of ICE” and ramp up arrests.

“ICE knows what they’re looking for. They just never go arrest them, because Secretary Mayorkas has told them [to] tone down the arrests,” Homan said.

Homan also repeated his claim that ICE will “arrest the bad guys first.” He said that under the Biden administration, the removal of “criminal aliens” has decreased 74%. ABC News has not independently verified the accuracy of that claim.

Homan acknowledged during the interview that a mass deportation plan will require significant resources and that he doesn’t know what the current ICE and Customs and Border Protection budgets are, though added that Trump is “committed” to getting the funding for his plan.

-ABC News’ Armando García

‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines

Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.

“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.

“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”

Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.

“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.

–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

Trump transition live updates: Ethics Committee expected to meet on Gaetz: Sources

President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.

‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines

Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.

“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.

“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”

Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.

“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.

–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

House Ethics Committee expected to meet to discuss Gaetz report

The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday and discuss its report of Rep. Matt Gaetz, multiple sources tell ABC News.

While the meeting can still be cancelled, sources said the committee could potentially take a vote on whether to release the report.

-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Will Steakin
 

‘Morning Joe’ co-hosts say they met with Trump on Friday

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said on Monday morning that they had met with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.

The goal of the meeting, they said, was to “restart communications” among the liberal-leaning morning show hosts and the incoming administration.

“Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast, and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,” Brzezinski said.

Scarborough said the hosts and Trump did not “see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.”

“What we did agree on was to restart communications,” Brzezinski added, noting that Trump seemed “cheerful” and “upbeat.”

—ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

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