SEC Chair Resigning to Clear Way for Trump, Putin Calls President-Elect and More You Missed in Politics Today

It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in this country and to break through the clutter, so we’re here to make it easier. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:

1. "Putin, Trump speak by phone, aim for cooperation: Kremlin"

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Monday, for the first time since the presidential election, agreeing to a more cooperative relationship, particularly in targeting terrorism, according to the Kremlin.

"The importance of creating a solid basis for bilateral ties was underscored, in [particular] by developing the trade-economic component," the Kremlin said in its statement.

Read more at Reuters.

2. "SEC chair to step down, clearing path for Trump to eliminate tough Wall Street regulations"

"Mary Jo White, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced Monday that she will step down nearly three years before the end of her term, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to reshape the way Wall Street is regulated. … In addition to replacing White, Trump will be able to fill two openings on the five-member commission."

Read more at the Washington Post.

3. "Trump picks Priebus as White House chief of staff, Bannon as top adviser"

President-Elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will name RNC chairman Reince Priebus as his Chief of Staff in the White House and Steve Bannon, "the Trump campaign CEO and executive chairman of Breitbart News, as chief strategist and senior counselor." In an “unusual arrangement,” the Trump campaign said that Priebus and Bannon will serve as "equal partners” advising Trump. Priebus, a Wisconsinite who is close to House Speaker Paul Ryan, will provide Trump with some caché among establishment Republicans both in D.C. and around the country, while Bannon “represents bare-knuckle style politics” and the inflammatory, anti-Washington rhetoric that was characteristic of the campaign.

Read more at CNN.

4. "Here’s What President Trump Means For Your Student Loans"

"President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to make dramatic changes to the student loan system," including, potentially, giving private banks more power to create and handle student loans, rather than the federal government. Trump is likely to keep income-based repayment as an option for borrowers, but his plan “would require borrowers to make repayments equal to 12.5% of their income, for 15 years, while the current system requires payments of 10% for 20 years. … Trump has [also] indicated he would consider getting rid of public service loan forgiveness, which wipes out the loans of those who work in public-sector jobs after 10 years of loan repayment.”

Read more at Buzzfeed.

5. "Gwen Ifill dead at age 61"

Longtime PBS newscaster Gwen Ifill died on Monday at 61, after a battle with cancer. Ifill "served as a co-host of PBS’s NewsHour and as moderator of ‘Washington Week,’" and hosted the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in 2008, in addition to a Democratic primary debate last year. “Ifill’s acclaimed career was also marked by the obstacles she overcame as a black woman in the news business. … One of the most visible African American female broadcast journalists, she received more than 20 honorary doctorates” and was honored with numerous awards for her journalism.

Read more at Politico.

6. "Chelsea Manning Calls on Obama to Commute Her Sentence"

"Chelsea Manning has formally petitioned President Obama to commute her 35-year sentence to the time that she has already served. Manning has been incarcerated for more than six years after it emerged that she had leaked a cache of secret military and diplomatic documents — including a video that proved that the U.S. military killed two Reuters journalists in a helicopter strike — to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010. … Many believe that this is Manning’s last chance for a reduced sentence, as the Republican-dominated government under Donald Trump will be less sympathetic to her situation."

Read more at New York Magazine.

— Sarah Mimms
Photo by Vlad Lazarenko/Wikimedia Commons