US: MNI POLITICAL RISK - Trump Taps Sacks For White House Job

• US President-elect Donald Trump nominated David Sacks to serve as his science and tech advisor and 'AI and crypto czar' - another nod towards a crypto-friendly administration that will give the libertarian wing of the tech sector more influence over administration policy.
• Trump tapped former Senator David Purdue to serve as his ambassador to China, a potential counterbalance to the more hawkish appointments to his China team.
• Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, appears unlikely to pass Senate confirmation after failing to sway key votes on Capitol Hill.
• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will need Democrat support to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the government beyond December 20. He intends to wrap negotiations on a CR this weekend, teeing up a floor vote around December 16.
• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy met lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday to sketch out their vision for reducing the size of the federal workforce and cutting government spending.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his South Korean counterpart for the first time since President Yoon Suk-yeol’s aborted attempt to declare martial law.
• The Commerce Department announced three new PMTs to allocate funding from the CHIPS Act.
• Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-OH) and members of Trump’s national security team met with a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials on Wednesday. The top US and Russian generals held their first-ever call on November 27.
• Poll of the Day: 57% of Americans believe the US should be more engaged on the world stage. 

Full article: US Daily Brief