This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Democrats may slow-walk Trump's nominees, Garland style. Huntsman now possible choice as secretary of state. Pollsters explain how they got it wrong in 2016.
Happy Monday. Senate Democrats are preparing to put Donald Trump's Cabinet picks through a grinding confirmation process, weighing delay tactics that could eat up weeks of the Senate calendar and hamper his first 100 days in office. Part of that is revenge for Senate Republicans holding up the confirmation of Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland, and part because some of Trump's choices are more controversial. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-cabinet-democrats-senate-232136">Politico</a>]
<strong>Topping the news: </strong>Inside sources say President-elect Donald Trump isn't so keen on Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney for Secretary of State anymore and that his short list has expanded to include former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4668425-155/ap-jon-hunstman-jr-in-late"; target="_blank">APviaTrib</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/12/04/former-utah-governor-jon-huntsman-jr-in-running-for-secretary-of-state-according-to-trump-transition-source/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/former-gov-huntsman-on-trumps-short-list"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>] Such a move could help out Sen. Orrin Hatch; both Hatch and Huntsman are considering a 2018 Senate run. [<a href="http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/11642-">UtahPolicy</a>]
-> Huntsman weighs in on Donald Trump's unconventional phone call with Taiwan, wondering if the United States' relationship with China couldn't use some fresh thinking. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4667017-155/jon-huntsman-jr-trumps-nontraditional-thinking"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Pollsters scramble to answer why they missed the mark so dramatically in predicting Trump's win despite accuracy in forecasting state races. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4664772-155/election-aftermath-pollsters-scratching-heads-over"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
<strong>Tweets of the weekend: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/pete_schultz"; target="_blank">pete_schultz</a>: "People are mad at Trump for taking that Taiwan call, but I'm impressed that a dude with that much debt answers the phone at all."
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/jonfavs"; target="_blank">jonfavs</a>: "Obama should probably send a New Contact Info email to world leaders, just in case they want to keep in touch."
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/ditzkoff"; target="_blank">ditzkoff</a>: "President-elect Trump accepts congratulatory call from Sauron, dark lord of Mordor. 'It's a terrific eye, hovers over everything, terrific.'"
<strong>Happy Birthday: </strong>to Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, and happy belated birthday to state Rep. Mark Wheatley.
<strong>Opinion section: </strong>Amos Guiora, a professor at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, argues that the tone across America since the election begs for a reevaluation of how much hate speech to legally tolerate. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4654643-155/op-ed-in-this-age-of-internet"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Dixie Huefner, John Bennion, Kim Burningham, M. Donald Thomas and Rickie McCandless of the Utah Citizens' Council say that Utah's thriving economy can afford to make big — and necessary — investments in preschool, teacher salaries and resources to keep new teachers in schools. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4649659-155/op-ed-public-schools-need-more-money"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Don Peay, chairman of Utah Citizens for Trump, says Sen. Orrin Hatch — with his powerful leadership position in Congress, favor with President-elect Trump and unwavering dedication to Conservatism and Western values — should run for re-election, and Utahns should vote him in. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4649679-155/op-ed-utah-needs-hatch-in-dc"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Kristy Money, a psychologist specializing in faith journeys and relationship counseling, among other things, rebuts the ideas that people who leave the Mormon church are morally weak and that confronting them with contrary evidence will satisfy their doubts. Instead, she says love and acceptance are the only thing that will save those relationships. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4660975-155/op-ed-those-who-leave-church-deserve"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Paul Rolly reports on a Mormon "sister-night" meeting that drew almost triple its normal attendance after the election as women struggled to come to grips with how their fellow church members could support Donald Trump's assault on LDS values. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4655393-155/some-mormon-women-ask-how-could"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] Then, he details a campaign finance mystery in which the Utah Republican Party appeared to roast another Republican candidate in a state school board race flier. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4660567-155/paul-rolly-one-state-school-board?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski relays the city's plans to make the northwest quadrant around the new prison an economic masterpiece. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4660855-155/biskupski-slc-is-moving-to-capitalize"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman puts in a plug for his bipartisan group No Labels, promising President-elect Trump that politics that last are always goals-driven, consensus, bipartisan movements. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4654045-155/jon-huntsman-enduring-policy-come-from"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Elizabeth T. Craft, an assistant professor of musicology at the University of Utah, posits that the "Hamilton" cast getting political with Mike Pence was nothing out of place in American theater history. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4653350-155/op-ed-politics-invades-the-theater-its"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute, says a plan to increase income tax to fund education is misleading and would pay into an already inefficient institution — all to take a gamble on the premise that more funding means better education. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4660884-155/op-ed-higher-taxes-wont-improve-our"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Tribune editorial writer George Pyle paints a dystopian picture of the present in which Trump pulls a Fidel Castro and sneaks into authoritarian power by rallying the American people against "other" enemies. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4659942-155/george-pyle-trump-takes-some-pages?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> M. Royce Van Tassell, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, expresses disappointment in The Salt Lake Tribune for lending credibility to what he says are fringe opponents of public charter schools. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4659602-155/op-ed-solving-real-problems-new-public"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Pat Bagley sketches his rendition of Donald Trump's tactless foreign policy approach. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4664879-155/bagley-cartoon-trumps-foreign-relations"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> J. Spencer Fluhman, executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and associate professor of history at Brigham Young University, explains why all Americans, and previously persecuted Mormons in particular, should fight against anti-Muslim rhetoric. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668470/Why-Mormons-and-all-Americans-should-support-Muslims.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Greg Bell, former Utah lieutenant governor and president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association, hopes that the GOP in control in Washington can navigate the federal government's complex problems and argues that Utah Democrats must move closer to the middle. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668432/Republicans-in-Washington-Democrats-in-Utah.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Republican and Democratic columnists LaVarr Webb and Frank Pignanelli go over the hopping holiday political agenda: an income tax for education ballot initiative, Sen. Orrin Hatch's consideration of another term and two Utahns vying for Donald Trump's secretary of state. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668547/Taxes-Trump-Romney-Hatch-Huntsman-hot-politics-in-December.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
<strong>Weekend in review: </strong>Gov. Gary Herbert, gearing up to work for the first time with a GOP-led federal government, says he expects control to tilt back to the states where it belongs. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4646357-155/herbert-sees-gop-going-on-offense?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Roll Call looks at the unlikely allies of Sen. Orrin Hatch and President-elect Trump. [<a href="http://www.rollcall.com/orrin-hatch-unlikely-trump-ally/">RollCall</a>]
-> Universities across the country are banding together to protect immigrant students against any action Trump might take in office to deport them. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4667389-155/universities-across-us-exploring-sanctuary-status"; target="_blank">APviaTrib</a>]
-> Utah military veterans head to Standing Rock to stand between peaceful Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrators and local law enforcement. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4667513-155/utah-military-veterans-travel-to-standing"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Federal prosecutors have offered misdemeanor plea deals to the non-leaders of the FLDS bunch of defendants accused of felony food stamp fraud. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4659633-155/deals-reached-for-some-defendants-in?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/plea-deals-offered-in-flds-food-stamp-fraud-case-not-to-missing-jeffs"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> The Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area puts a 9.49 percent property tax increase — its first in five years — on the table to fund salaries and benefits for the Unified Police Department. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4660679-155/salt-lake-valley-law-enforcement-service"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The Central Valley sewer water treatment plant needs $250 million in upgrades — including an expanded water capacity, eliminating phosphorous and a possible pipeline — that will add $5 to the monthly bill of all the residents it serves. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4654652-155/sewer-treatment-plants-250-million-rebuild"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Experts predict a warmer than usual winter for Utah through February but say the question of snowpack could go either way. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4664201-155/warmer-winter-expected-for-utah-but"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Salt Lake City wants comments on the general neighborhood needs of low- and moderate-income residents. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4663776-155/slc-residents-invited-to-comment-on"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Congress passing Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch's National Defense Authorization Act soon means the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration will give 84,000 acres to expand a military test and training range in exchange for public lands with mineral potential. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4663384-155/national-defense-authorization-act-includes-land"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Union Pacific Railroad starts breaching its Great Salt Lake causeway. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4664792-155/photos-crews-breach-great-salt-lake"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> A Dan Jones poll finds 76 percent of Utahns against Rocky Mountain Power's proposal to charge solar customers for electricity, but a rep from the company says the survey's wording prompted negative answers. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4664865-155/poll-finds-large-support-for-solar"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The Bureau of Land Management moves to put a recreation plan in place for southern Utah's Temple Mountain that would cut down the crowds and bring local authorities into the decision-making. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4660493-155/utahs-greater-goblin-valley-to-get"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Salt Lake City honored successful female refugees and support group Women of the World on Saturday, and Mayor Jackie Biskupski reiterated her pledge to defend diverse cultures under a Trump administration. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4667588-155/utah-refugee-women-celebrate-reaching-goals"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.good4utah.com/news/top-stories/salt-lake-city-mayor-celebrates-the-successes-of-refugee-women"; target="_blank">ABC4</a>]
-> Tucker Davis tells a University of Utah crowd his father's incredible Pearl Harbor story on the attack's 75th anniversary. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4667625-155/utah-veterans-commemorate-75-years-since"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
<strong>Nationally: </strong>Donald Trump says he will slap American companies that move jobs overseas with a 35 percent tariff. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-warns-of-retribution-if-companies-move-jobs-out-of-us/2016/12/04/0f8007e8-ba51-11e6-ac85-094a21c44abc_story.html?utm_term=.508e075ae62a"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/donald-trump-twitter-tariffs-232160"; target="_blank">Politico</a>]
-> Trump has picked former rival Ben Carson to head up the Department of Housing and Urban Development. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/12/05/trump-to-nominate-carson-to-lead-u-s-housing-urban-policy/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_carson-630am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.3b141047671c">WaPost</a>]
-> The President-elect commits a foreign policy faux pas when he accepts a congratulatory call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that aggravated Chinese leaders. [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/us/politics/donald-trump-taiwan-china.html?ref=politics"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/politics/donald-trump-taiwan/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]
-> The Dakota Access Pipeline will take another route under Army Corps orders issued Sunday. [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/federal-officials-to-explore-different-route-for-dakota-pipeline.html?_r=0"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/us-army-corps-blocks-dakota-access-pipeline-232172"; target="_blank">Politico</a>]
<strong>Where are they?</strong>
<ul>
<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a></strong> takes a local business tour at Entrata in Lehi before catching up with staff and the Governor's Leadership Team.</li>
<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> flies to Honolulu, Hawaii.</li>
<li>State Treasurer David <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/DamschenDavid"; target="_blank">Damschen</a></strong> holds a meeting with his agency's investment committee.</li>
<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>receives his daiy briefing in the Oval Office.</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>