TOP HEADLINES
Trump enters pivotal stretch as Cabinet hearings begin:
It’s a big week for President-elect Donald Trump, and likely the most consequential since his election victory in November [The Hill].
Ethics officials clear EPA nominee Pruitt:
Federal ethics officials have cleared Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, to be confirmed by the Senate [AP].
CONGRESS
Sen. Todd Young’s bipartisan pitch for the REINS Act:
Now the bill could become a reality, radically transforming both federal bureaucracy and American government [Washington Examiner].
GOP pushing 3 bills in Congress to restrain federal regulations:
The act would require any rule costing industry more than $100 million — a dollar figure that amounts to any significant regulation — to be submitted to Congress. If either chamber fails to approve the rule within 70 days, the rule would die [San Francisco Chronicle].
TRUMP TRANSITION
Trump’s delay on USDA pick invites suggestions:
The great driver of news cycles and his transition team have been remarkably quiet on the Agriculture secretary front of late — and farm-state lawmakers, officials and business owners have been more than happy to fill the vacuum and suggest candidates to lead USDA [Politico].
ASA, farm groups stress importance of agricultural trade with Trump administration:
In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence Friday, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and a coalition of 15 other farmer organizations called on the incoming administration to protect and enhance the positive impact of agricultural trade on jobs and growth in rural America [AJOT].
STATE
Oklahoma revenue slumps two years in a row:
Revenue to Oklahoma’s government contracted for the second calendar year in a row, according to figures released by Treasurer Ken Miller [The Oklahoman].
Oil-rich Oklahoma still under financial pressure:
The revenue stream for the shale-rich state of Oklahoma shows lingering, but easing, pressure from the energy sector downturn, the state treasurer said [UPI].
Oklahoma shouldn’t sell GRDA:
Hopefully our legislators, when properly educated on the facts, will shelve their well-intentioned but misguided attempts to sell the state’s goose that lays free golden eggs [NewsOK].
MISCELLANEOUS
These foods aren’t genetically modified but they are ‘edited’:
In a few years, you could be eating the next generation of genetically altered foods — potatoes that do not turn brown or soybeans with a healthier mix of fatty acids. And you may have no idea that something is different, because there may be no mention on the labeling even after a law passed by Congress last year to disclose genetically modified ingredients takes effect [New York Times].
