Trump team prepares dramatic cuts  —  is ready to take an ax to government spending.  —  Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday's presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned.

‘Learning Curve’ as Rick Perry Pursues a Job He Initially Misunderstood  —  WASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil …

Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Nominee, Failed to Disclose $100 Million in Assets  —  WASHINGTON — Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick to be Treasury secretary, failed to disclose nearly $100 million of his assets on Senate Finance Committee disclosure documents and forgot …

EXCLUSIVE: Florida man charged with threatening to kill President-elect Trump at his inauguration on Twitter was a close family friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton  — Dominic Puopolo, 51, is being held without bail on charges of threatening harm against a public servant

Army: Manning to lose transgender benefits  —  The Army says former Pvt. Chelsea Manning will lose her military healthcare benefits following President Obama's commutation of her prison sentence.  —  “If Pvt. Manning is discharged with a dishonorable discharge, she will lose her entitlement to benefits …

At Dinner Honoring Mike Pence, Donald Trump Touches Many Bases  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday evening at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of …

Thank You  —  Editor's note: President Obama sent this final message to the White House email list this morning.  —  My fellow Americans,  —  It's a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his or her place.

Caitlyn Jenner is attending the inauguration  —  President-elect Donald Trump is being urged by some advisers to save at least one dance, as he celebrates his inauguration on Friday night, for a very special Republican lady — Caitlyn Jenner.  —  “It's a brilliant idea,” a member of the incoming administration told me.

Schumer grills Trump on ‘swamp cabinet’  —  's nominees on Wednesday, saying the president-elect is setting up a “swamp cabinet.”  —  “This is a swamp cabinet full of bankers and billionaires,” Schumer told reporters at his weekly press conference.  —  The Senate minority leader …

Hearing derailed after senator suggests colleague needs Valium … Steven Mnuchin's confirmation hearing quickly went off the rails Thursday as Democrats and Republicans feuded over a GOP lawmaker's quip about giving antidepressants to the panel's top Democrat.  —  Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump

CNN: Assassinating Trump Could Keep Obama Administration in Power  —  As the nation prepares for the peaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day, CNN is dreaming up scenarios whereby the Obama administration can keep power if President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence …

Facebook's Zuckerberg sues to force land sales  —  When Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg paid around $100 million for 700 acres of rural beachfront land on Kauai two years ago to create what Forbes magazine described as a secluded family sanctuary, he actually acquired a not-so-secluded property.

Spicer on Trump going to hotel: 'Shouldn't be a shocker'  —  President-elect Donald Trump's decision to spend time at his Washington, D.C., hotel does not represent a move to profit off the presidency and does not blur the lines between his business and his administration, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday.

Ivanka Trump Says She Will Not Be Filling In as First Lady in Trump Administration  —  Ivanka Trump dispelled speculation that she would be filling in as a surrogate first lady or occupying the East Wing office of the White House, traditionally reserved for the president's wife.

Russia Fears That Trump Won't Be Such a Great Deal After All  —  Top officials fret furor in U.S. over hacking could hurt thaw  —  Doubts about Trump hints that sanctions could be eased  —  Russia is giving Donald Trump the kind of fawning television coverage usually reserved for Vladimir Putin …

Obama's biggest whoppers … The Fact Checker started during the 2008 campaign and then went on hiatus for the first two years of President Obama's presidency before becoming a permanent Washington Post feature in 2011.  All told, we've fact-checked more than 250 statements by Obama.

Daughter of close Obama adviser will cover DOJ for CNN  —  More On:  —  CNN has tapped the daughter of President Obama's closest adviser to cover the Department of Justice, The Post has learned.  —  Laura Jarrett quietly joined the network in September as a reporter in the network's Washington bureau.

Trump's nuclear wake-up call  —  By the time he is sworn in tomorrow, Donald Trump will have undergone a haunting rite of passage: the classified briefing given to every incoming president that explains how he can order a nuclear attack.  —  While neither U.S. nor Trump officials would confirm …

Trump Cabinet will be the first in decades without a Hispanic member  —  WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's Cabinet is poised to become the first since 1988 without any Hispanic officials — a huge disappointment for members of the nation's second-largest ethnic group — as reports indicate he'll tap former Georgia …