This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

House GOP readies big agenda under President Trump. Hughes reportedly in talks over Transportation secretary gig. Kanter concedes to Snelgrove.

Happy Monday. The House GOP, stoked about a Republican White House, is already mapping out its agenda for next year: Repealing a host of late-issued Obama administration regulations,<b> </b>muscling through tax reform and dismantling <b></b>Obamacare. The majority is even looking to expand its usual three-day workweek in Washington to Monday through Friday. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/house-republicans-donald-trump-231636">Politico</a>]

<strong>Topping the news: </strong>Mitt Romney met with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday and both said it was a productive talk but there was no word of a job offer. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4608954-155/trump-praises-great-meeting-with-romney"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] Trump aides had touted the meeting as an effort to gather ideas from the country's best and brightest — friend or foe. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4604981-155/trump-aides-meeting-with-mitt-romney"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/11/19/after-hostile-election-exchanges-trump-and-romney-talk-role-in-new-administration/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/nation-world/trump-romney-meeting-another-wild-2016-twist"; target="_blank">CNNviaKUTV</a>]

-> House Speaker Greg Hughes is in talks with Trump world as a possible secretary of Transportation. [<a href="http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/11514-">UtahPolicy</a>]

-> Catherine Kanter, who ran as a Democrat to unseat Republican Richard Snelgrove from Salt Lake County Council, conceded the race Friday as more and more votes landed in Snelgrove's camp. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4605912-155/kanter-concedes-salt-lake-county-council"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Lee Davidson dives into the election stats and demographics of Salt Lake County, Utah's one Democratic county — or at least a purple swing county compared to the crimson red of the rest of the state. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4594951-155/utahs-blue-island-afloat-ona-red?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<strong>Tweets of the weekend: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/danpfeiffer"; target="_blank">danpfeiffer</a>: "After a $25 million settlement and the appointment of a couple of racists & a conspiracy theorist, the use of a private server seems quaint."

From @<a href="https://twitter.com/ashleylynch"; target="_blank">ashleylynch</a>: "When Jimmy Carter was elected, he had to give up his sole asset — a peanut farm that he built with his own hands."

From @<a href="https://twitter.com/gilbertjasono"; target="_blank">gilbertjasono</a>: "One thing we can all agree on: This is the worst night an American politician has ever had at the theater."

From @<a href="https://twitter.com/RexHuppke"; target="_blank">RexHuppke</a>: "I hope Trump fans boycotting a play they weren't going to see doesn't distract them from protesting Starbucks by buying Starbucks coffee."

From @<a href="https://twitter.com/UtMormonDemoGuy"; target="_blank">UtMormonDemoGuy</a>: "If you're bothered by hearing people express concern about their rights and treatment by the government, perhaps public office isn't for you."

<strong>Happy Birthday: </strong>to Salt Lake County Council member Arlyn Bradshaw and Adam Gardiner, newly elected Utah House District 43 representative. Happy belated birthday to State Rep. Francis Gibson and GOP consultant Mike Deaver.

<strong>Opinion section: </strong>Jay Henry, laboratory director for Utah's Public Safety Department, nudges the U.S. House to pass a bill clearing criminal labs to use Rapid DNA technology before the session winds to a close. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4540710-155/op-ed-update-law-so-labs-can"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Tribune editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce presents the paper's plans for the future and asks for reader donations to help out Volunteers of America this Christmas. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4606171-155/editor-column-tribune-plans-for-2017"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Don Gale hopes that millennials, with their never-before-seen spread of opportunities and affinity for thinking outside the box, can unravel the mystery of old-age diseases like Alzheimer's, which took Gale's wife a few days ago. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4569698-155/don-gale-perhaps-a-free-thinking-millennial"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, recalls an LDS General Conference in Salt Lake City with a diverse crowd and a powerful address on refugees which, blended with the Utah Compact, could be the model for a balanced and compassionate U.S. immigration policy. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4600801-155/op-ed-in-the-tough-immigration-debate"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Morgan Lyon Cotti, an associate adjunct professor of political science at the University of Utah, talks about being on the losing end of the presidential election but says that fighting fire with fire won't work — empathizing and engaging in democracy will. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4598807-155/op-ed-even-as-we-struggle-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Rep. Mia Love goes over her congressional record of improving health care, including pushing for community health centers, lobbying for more spots in medical schools and crossing party lines to pass long-term, system-strengthening legislation. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4594890-155/rep-love-we-are-taking-bipartisan"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Thomas Burr, the Tribune's Washington correspondent and president of the National Press Club, explains why the United States president's traditional press pool is so essential to democracy and implores Donald Trump not to violate it again. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4596090-155/op-ed-when-trump-ditches-the-press"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Christopher Collard, a research analyst with Utah Foundation, puts a recent Tribune poll of Utahns' standings on the state's Zion Curtain law into context: average Utahns across religions and political parties don't care about liquor laws. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4600878-155/op-ed-upset-over-zion-curtain-actually"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> David Mason, chair of theatre and director of Asian studies at Rhodes College and editor-in-chief of Ecumenica, posits that if Mormons have to answer in the negative to harboring any views that contradict the church's doctrine to keep their eligibility to worship in temples, they could presumably lose their recommends for supporting Donald Trump. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4585275-155/op-ed-should-mormons-who-voted-for?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Michelle Taylor, a West Jordan mom of three, lays out what Utah's health care system could do better to treat opioid addiction after she scrambled to find anyone available and willing to help before her 22-year-old son died of an overdose. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4564780-155/op-ed-we-can-do-more-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Scott Sprenger, dean of Weber State University's Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts and Humanities, offers his rebuttal to the college student woe that general education is a waste: employers need workers with a combination of technical skills and liberal arts thinking. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4588851-155/op-ed-why-general-education-because-anything"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> George Pyle, as a self-proclaimed privileged white male, asserts that privileged white males taking back the power in America by electing Trump is a loss for everyone. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4600504-155/george-pyle-ive-had-about-enough"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Paul Rolly says a bill in the Utah Legislature that would add Utah to a compact of states pledged to award all their electoral votes to the state's presidential popular vote winner — thus rendering the Electoral College useless — is dead after that very institution brought on Hillary Clinton's loss. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4600805-155/paul-rolly-clinton-won-the-popular?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] Then, he gives a rundown on investment advisor Howard Ruff's contributions to the world in the wake of Ruff's death this month. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4605395-155/rolly-remembering-mormon-investment-guru-howard"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Pat Bagley draws up his take on the Trump University scam. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4606097-155/bagley-cartoon-the-high-cost-of"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Shane Higgins, a 26-year-old Centerville resident and Afghanistan vet, argues protesting millennials aren't spoiled — they're exercizing one of their rightful tools in a political world controlled by an older generation. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667611/My-view-Millennial-stereotypes-misplaced.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Matt Haber, chairman of the philosophy department at the University of Utah, says his experience as a Jewish man living in a Mormon culture has shown him that most Utahns, even those who voted for Trump, would not be okay with Stephen Bannon's white nationalist ideologies in the White House. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667607/My-view-Utahns-should-publicly-denounce-Steve-Bannons-appointment.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Hal Boyd, opinion editor at the Deseret News, frames post-truth politics, which center on emotional appeal rather than objective facts, with Latter-day Saint hymns. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667588/Oh-Say-What-Is-post-Truth-And-other-hymns-in-the-age-of-Trump.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Jonathan Wilcox, co-founder and policy director for Patients Rising and Patients Rising NOW highlights the crisis of insurers refusing to cover medication prescribed by doctors to one in five Utahns. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667470/My-view-Utahns-want-health-plans-to-disclose-why-they-wont-cover-doctor-prescribed-treatments.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Greg Bell, CEO and president of the Utah Hospital Association and former lieutenant governor of Utah, uses Amazon as an example of a company whose dedication to above-and-beyond customer service pays off. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667469/Customer-service-is-the-ultimate-survival-skill-for-businesses.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> LaVarr Webb and Frank Pignanelli talk about Sen. Jim Dabakis' scathing campaign finance rebuke, nationwide anti-Trump protestors and the Salt Lake County Clerk's office's slow ballot counting. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667612/Post-election-developments.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

<strong>Weekend in review: </strong>Sen. Orrin Hatch says Trump's Washington shake-up will be for the good, that he has admirably been reaching out to one-time rivals and that his stance on some of his more radical campaign promises is softening. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4605280-155/orrin-hatch-is-cheerleader-for-trumps"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667513/Hatch-Lee-support-Trumps-choice-for-US-attorney-general.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/11/18/senator-hatch-hopeful-for-outcome-of-romney-trump-meeting/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]

-> State Rep. Lavar Christensen overtakes Democratic challenger Suzanne Harrison's early lead, setting himself up to stay put in the Utah House and whittle the Democrats' number of predicted legislative seat snatches down to one. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4605699-155/lavar-christensen-takes-lead-to-hold"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667565/Republicans-pull-ahead-in-near-final-vote-tallies.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/11/18/only-6-votes-separate-candidates-in-race-for-utah-state-legislature/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/after-latest-election-numbers-longtime-utah-lawmaker-hanging-on-by-just-6-votes"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]

-> As state lawmakers gear up for another try at repealing Utah's death penalty law, Arizonian Ray Krone speaks to university students about how sometimes the justice system gets it wrong — like when it put him on death row for a murder he didn't commit. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4608444-155/exonerated-arizona-man-shows-utah-lawmakers?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/former-death-row-inmate-what-has-death-penalty-done-for-utah"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]

-> Christopher Smart traces skiffs between Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and the City Council. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4572600-155/a-rocky-marriage-the-salt-lake?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Utahns get ready for contentious post-election Thanksgiving dinners, and a Utah State University family relations professor offers some tips for getting through it with holiday love still intact. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4601497-155/thanksgiving-primer-how-to-survive-talking?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> A federal report says homelessness in Utah has decreased by 7 percent this year, but a more thorough state report contends it has jumped up 7 percent. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4605492-155/utah-homelessness-up-despite-federal-report"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865667553/US-Utah-homelessness-down-report-says.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> Utah's insurance exchange under Obamacare is bustling as residents sign up for 2017 coverage that can't be touched if Donald Trump repeals the act. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4600389-155/cloud-of-trump-aca-threats-hasnt"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> The Mexican consulate in Salt Lake City releases a video for Utah Latinos frightened by the election, pushing for calm and listing what the consul will do to defend them. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4604328-155/mexican-consul-to-utah-immigrants-we"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Two Latino groups with a tradition of giving out Thanksgiving turkeys to low-income families are shooting for 1,200 this year and need a few extra donations. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4604513-155/latino-groups-seek-to-distribute-1200"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.good4utah.com/news/top-stories/utahs-latinos-continue-the-legacy-of-community-leader-frank-cordova"; target="_blank">ABC4</a>]

-> The State Department's top religious freedom ambassador, David Saperstein, told a University of Utah crowd Friday that he is proud of and inspired by the work the U.S. government does to bring religious freedom to the rest of the world, where a quarter of countries have laws against blasphemy. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4606064-155/top-diplomat-says-us-committed-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> The Salt Lake Tribune takes on Brigham Young University in court today to decide whether BYU police should be subject to open records laws. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4595769-155/judge-to-decide-whether-brigham-young"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Utah Valley University renames its library after Ira A. and Mary Lou Fulton, longtime philanthropists who took the college under their wing. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4604741-155/uvu-library-named-for-philanthropist-ira"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Calculate how your bill could change under a new proposal if you're a Rocky Mountain Power solar user. [<a href="http://local.sltrib.com/solar/"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<strong>Nationally: </strong>Donald Trump opted out of a court fight and settled the fraud cases against Trump University for $25 million. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/source-trump-nearing-settlement-in-trump-university-fraud-cases/2016/11/18/8dc047c0-ada0-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-university.html"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>]

-> Future Vice President Mike Pence took to the theater in New York Friday night to see "Hamilton," where crowds booed him to his seat and the cast addressed Pence directly after the show challenging him to fairly govern a racially diverse America. The incident sparked a textbook Trump Twitter rant. [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/us/politics/hamilton-cast-mike-pence-donald-trump.html?ref=politics&_r=0"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-and-pence-vs-the-cast-of-hamilton-a-collision-of-two-americas/2016/11/19/9eb13104-ae93-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/20/politics/donald-trump-hamilton-feud/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]

-> Reince Priebus, slated to be Trump's chief of staff, says the White House team will make sure no conflicts of interest exist between Trump's public office and foreign business ventures, even with a Trump hotel welcoming foreign dignitaries just down the street on Pennsylvania Avenue. [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/20/politics/trump-business-conflicts-reince-priebus/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/20/reince-priebus-trump-will-avoid-conflicts-of-interest-as-president/"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>]

<strong>Where are they?</strong>

<ul>

<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a></strong> sticks around his office for budget reviews, sits down with Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and other aides.</li>

<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> pardons a Thanksgiving turkey at the Capitol before catching up with Gov. Herbert.</li>

<li>State Auditor John <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong>spends the day in the office and steps out for breakfast and lunch meetings.</li>

<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>returns to the White House after a week of international travel.</li>

</ul>

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— Thomas Burr and Zoe Woolf McGinn

<a title="Thomas Burr" href="https://twitter.com/thomaswburr"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/zoewmcginn"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/zoewmcginn</a>