This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Trump inauguration and protests could make D.C. a powder keg. Trump names Hatch chief of staff as White House staff secretary. Hatch speaks to Interior nominee about Bears Ears.
Happy Friday. It's going to be a powder keg in Washington next week. Protesters distraught over President-elect Donald Trump's victory will be flooding into Washington next weekend, creating a potent – and potentially tense – mix as they collide with the billionaire's die-hard supporters at hotels, restaurants, and on the National Mall. Like much of Trump's campaign, the festivities and crowd descending on Washington for the inauguration will not neatly fit into Washington's norms. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-inauguration-dc-bookings-233564">Politico</a>]
<strong>Topping the news: </strong>Breaking this morning: President-elect Donald Trump has named Rob Porter, Sen. Orrin Hatch's chief of staff, as the an assistant to the president and White House staff secretary. The position puts Porter right outside the Oval Office and in a vital role in the incoming administration. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4816172-155/trump-names-hatch-chief-of-staff">Trib</a>]
-> Utah officials and lawmakers ponder how they would fill a vacant U.S. House seat were Rep. Chris Stewart to join Trump's administration as Air Force secretary. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4812708-155/utah-law-unclear-on-filling-vacant?fullpage=1">Trib</a>]
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch spoke with Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Interior Department about repairing "much of the damage" Hatch believes was caused by the designation of Bears Ears National Monument. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4813918-155/hatch-prods-interior-nominee-to-help">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/hatch-on-bears-ears-incoming-interior-secretary-will-help-right-this-wrong">KUTV</a>]
-> The president of the Utah Senate suggests a gas tax increase may be more efficient than raising income taxes to support education in the state. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865670968/Lawmaker-calls-income-tax-hike-worst-thing-we-can-do-to-bolster-school-funding.html">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://www.ksl.com/?sid=42851552&nid=148&title=lawmaker-calls-income-tax-hike-worst-thing-we-can-do-to-bolster-school-funding">KSL</a>]
<strong>Tweets of the day: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/BraleyDodson">BraleyDodson</a>: "Prediction: @BarackObama and @JoeBiden will leave office and go on to star on a buddy cop show similar to @KimmySchmidt's 'Bunny and Kitty.'"
-> From @<a href="https://twitter.com/MoIIyWaIsh">MollyWalsh</a>: "President Obama awarding VP Biden today was like the sweetest patriotic cherry on the largest friendship sundae"
-> From @<a href="https://twitter.com/cadamj">cadamj</a>: "I feel like Twitter is trolling me. Every time I open it. Boom there is Mitt Romney courtside"
<strong>Programming note: </strong>Political Cornflakes will be off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday but back in your inboxes Tuesday.
<strong>Behind the Headlines: </strong>Tribune reporter Matt Piper, columnist Paul Rolly and government editor Dan Harrie join KCPW's Roger McDonough to talk about the week's top stories, including homelessness in Salt Lake City and state education funding. Listen at KCPW.org or tune into KCPW or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast from 9-10 a.m.
<strong>In other news: </strong>SLC Mayor Jackie Biskupski said the city is "on the same page" as Salt Lake Country about the number of homeless shelter sites to be built, though SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams previously said the Simpson Avenue site should be used instead for affordable housing. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4812907-155/biskupski-downplays-city-county-rift-on-homeless">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865671018/McAdams-Biskupski-meet-to-work-through-tensions-McAdams-asking-state-for-Medicaid-dollars.html">DNews</a>]
-> The State Records Committee unanimously voted to release video footage captured by body cameras during the officer-involved shooting in February 2016 that injured then-17-year-old Abdullahi Mohamed. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4810650-155/body-cam-footage-of-police-shooting">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865670994/Committee-votes-to-release-video-of-police-shooting-a-17-year-old.html">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2017/01/12/video-of-abdi-mohamed-shooting-ordered-released/">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/board-says-video-of-controversial-police-shooting-should-be-released-appeal-expected">KUTV</a>]
-> The controversy surrounding the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's bid to sing during Donald Trump's inauguration is not the first time the group has faced a political dilemma. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4812342-155/mormon-tabernacle-choir-no-stranger-to">Trib</a>]
-> Cristi Brazao, a member of the choir, explains why she has chosen to perform at the Jan. 20 ceremony in Washington. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4812876-155/why-this-black-member-of-the">Trib</a>]
-> Eric Fombonne, an autism researcher, worries that President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead a possible vaccine-safety commission would be a setback for science. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4812784-155/trumps-ideas-on-vaccine-safety-worry">Trib</a>]
-> Utah attorneys question what kind of regulatory climate will exist under Trump's administration. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4813496-155/trump-has-business-regulators-and-attorneys">Trib</a>]
-> Pat Bagley suggests Utah lawmakers have a different idea of what outdoor recreation is than the state's hikers, bikers, fishers and kayakers. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4813970-155/bagley-cartoon-utahs-official-outdoor-recreation">Trib</a>]
-> Comcast has apparently declined to air ads targeting the LDS Church's tax-exempt status. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4812171-155/comcast-wont-air-ads-pursuing-mormon">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/comcast-refuses-to-air-ad-going-after-mormon-churchs-tax-exempt-status">KUTV</a>]
-> Rep. Mia Love proposes, for the second time, to increase transparency in Congress by having single-subject bills with clear titles. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865670967/Utah-Rep-Mia-Love-renews-call-for-single-subject-bills-in-Congress.html">DNews</a>]
-> Will Salt Lake County split into two? Paul Rolly explores that possibility, as well as why the websites for Utah's House members only accept emails from constituents within their corresponding zip codes but allow donations from out of state. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4807853-155/rolly-is-salt-lake-county-too?fullpage=1">Trib</a>]
<strong>Nationally:</strong> President Barack Obama bestowed Presidential Medal of Freedom on Vice President Joe Biden. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-surprises-biden-with-medal-of-freedom/2017/01/12/31aa24a0-d90c-11e6-9a36-1d296534b31e_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.2c0c2ee22f33">WaPost</a>]
-> Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Department's inspector general, will investigate how FBI Director James B. Comey handled the timing of investigating Hillary Clinton's during the election. [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/james-comey-fbi-inspector-general-hillary-clinton.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/12/justice-department-inspector-general-to-investigate-pre-election-actions-by-department-and-fbi/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_inspectorgeneral-2pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.096a588ab585">WaPost</a>]
-> Some of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees disagree with some of the major statements the president-elect has made on policy issues, including torture, a wall at Mexico's border, a ban against Muslims and climate change. [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/trump-cabinet-mattis-tillerson.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news">NYTimes</a>]
<strong>Where are they?</strong>
<ul>
<li>Rep. Jason <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/jasoninthehouse"; target="_blank">Chaffetz</a></strong> chats with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the LDS Church and returns to Utah.</li>
<li>Rep. Chris <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/RepChrisStewart"; target="_blank">Stewart</a></strong> visits with constituents in his D.C. office, casts his vote and comes back to Utah.</li>
<li>Rep. Mia <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMiaLove"; target="_blank"><strong>Love</strong></a> chats with staff, votes and flies back to Utah.</li>
<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> sits in on a BYU Public School Partnership meeting.</li>
<li>State Auditor John <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong>meets with a legislative fiscal analyst, sits down with local government officials and reviews draft audit results.</li>
<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>holds meetings in the White House.</li>
</ul>
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— Thomas Burr and Miranda Tilley
<a title="Thomas Burr" href="https://twitter.com/thomaswburr"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/mtilley11">Twitter.com/mtilley11</a>