Good morning! It’s a wild week for weather. Our prayers are with the thousands of Angelenos, many celebs among them, who have lost their homes as the LA-area wildfires spread unabated. Meanwhile, many Midwesterners are digging themselves out from under some of the heaviest snow in decades.

On a lighter note, President Biden is now a great-grandfather. Naomi Biden, his 31-year-old granddaughter, gave birth on Wednesday to lil William Brannon Neal, IV.

TRANSITION

📛 Trump suggests renaming Gulf of Mexico

Say what you will about Donald Trump. But the man has a knack for making mountains out of the most obscure, seemingly half-baked issues that we didn’t even know were issues. Fresh off of trolling Canada about statehood, the president-elect is now proposing the Gulf of Mexico be renamed to, of course, the Gulf of America.

Trump announced the change on Tuesday, saying “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.” He called the new name “beautiful” and “appropriate” but didn’t go into detail on how this is supposed to work.

• The U.S. has about 1,500 miles of coastline along the gulf, stretching from Florida to Texas. Mexico has about 1,100.

• The name “Gulf of Mexico” has been used for more than 400 years, since long before Mexico as we know it existed.

Can he just… do this? Hey, everyone’s “tallest mountain in North America” knowledge went out the window in 2015 when the Obama administration renamed Alaska’s Mount McKinley to Denali. But that change had longstanding support from Alaska’s congressional delegation and was made official by the Interior Department.

• The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), comprised of officials from across the federal government, exists to "maintain uniform geographic name usage.”

• Its process leans heavily on names in common usage and any change typically requires a “compelling reason.”

At least one U.S. representative has already hopped aboard this hype train. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Tuesday that she plans to introduce legislation to make the name change reality.

If either the BGN or Congress goes along with it, that’s enough for the federal government. But getting the rest of the world to buy in is another story. In response to Trump’s new policy, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sarcastically suggested that all of North America be renamed “Mexican Americana.”

Elsewhere in Trump World… Donald Trump, Jr. swung by mineral-rich Greenland this week “for a little bit of fun” as his dad doubled down on buying the island “for national security” purposes (perhaps using military force). Greenlanders are iffy on the idea for now.

GOVERNMENT

🚒 President Biden declared a "major disaster" in California as windstorm-driven wildfires surround Los Angeles. The move makes more federal funds available for fire response and recovery efforts. Meanwhile, cash from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ready to help the state bear the cost of fighting the fires. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) helicopters and air tankers are also in the fight, with "dozens of fire engines" on the way.

⚕️ Unpaid medical debt will no longer kill your credit. That's thanks to a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) banning it from credit reports. The CFPB, says the new policy will boost the credit scores of 15 million Americans by 20 points each. This is an agency rule rather than a law passed by Congress. That means it could be on the chopping block for the new Trump administration.

🔱 The U.S. Navy has bigger dreams than it has cash (who among us?). According to the number nerds at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Navy's plan to grow its fleet from 295 "battle force ships" to its goal of 390 by 2054 would be, well, expensive. CBO estimates say the service needs to shake out an extra $85 billion from the couch cushions each year to hit its goal.

CARTER

🇺🇸 All five presidents to attend Carter funeral today

Today is a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, per a proclamation signed by President Biden. Most banks and financial markets are closed, as are most federal government offices (that junk mail will have to wait).

• In honor of President Carter, flags will remain at half-staff until January 28.

Carter’s six-day funeral continued yesterday with a horse-drawn military procession down Pennsylvania Avenue and a service in the Capitol Rotunda, where he was eulogized by Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional leaders. Harris told stories of Carter sleeping in supporters’ homes during his 1976 campaign and called him “that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace.”

Washington National Cathedral will host President Carter's official state funeral service today at 10 a.m. EST, where President Biden will deliver the eulogy. All five living American presidents will attend.

One last ride: The plane typically used as Air Force One will transport Carter to Georgia this afternoon. He’ll be laid to rest next to his wife (of a very casual 77 years) at their home in Plains, Georgia.

POLITICS

🏛️ Congress gets to work as inauguration nears

We’re six days into the new Congress and bipartisanship is, miraculously, still going strong. The House passed its first bill of the year with a bipartisan 264 to 159 vote. The Laken Riley Act, named for a young Georgia murder victim, would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested for other crimes, like burglary. It would also allow states to sue the feds for failing to uphold immigration law.

• The bill faces a tougher road in the Senate. But four Democrats have already signed on, along with all Republicans.

Bipartisanship may be alive, but Republicans are arguing amongst themselves about how best to squeeze their wish list through a tightly divided Congress. Do they go with one big bill that’s packed with all the goodies but harder to pass? Or do they split it into two parts that are less exciting but easier to pass?

• Meanwhile, Trump's Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is hiring "a very small number" of full-time tech roles.

TRIVIA

Sen. Tim Scott became the longest-serving Black U.S. senator last week, surpassing the record of 12 years set by Sen. Edward Brooke back in 1979. In its 236-year history, the Senate has seen more than 2,000 members. How many have been Black?

Hint: We’re into the low double digits now.

WORLD

🧊 Canadian Obama steps down as Trump hits the gas

Seven of the NHL’s 32 teams are based in Canada. And yet, despite the nation’s love of hockey, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993 (Florida alone has won it three times since 2020). In that time, Canada’s had five prime ministers. It’ll soon have a sixth.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week that he plans to resign as prime minister and as leader of the Liberal Party. Son of 70s-era leader Pierre, ole Justin’s been in charge since 2015. Resigning in parliamentary systems is pretty standard — no scandal required. If you lose enough political support, you’re outta there.

• Trudeau’s resignation speech admitted that “internal battles” have made it clear that he’s not “the best option” moving forward.

There’s no VP in Canada, so Trudeau’s sticking around until his Liberal Party chooses a successor. That will happen in a party leadership election in about 90 days. The winner of that race will take the reigns both as leader of the Liberal Party and as prime minister of Canada. They might not last long, though.

Canadian law requires an election by October (resignation or not), but Parliament can move that up whenever it likes. Expect the opposition parties to strike while the iron is hot. Based on current polling, that probably means a Conservative Party victory and a Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre.

• 51st state? Poilievre hit back this week on Trump's suggestion that Canada join the Union, calling his homeland a "great and independent country."

BRIEFS

● Families of Sept. 11 victims are in court this week at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Defense Department is scrambling to undo a plea deal it made last year with a 9/11 mastermind that would allow him to avoid the death penalty.

● The 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria need to stay there, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says. Since 2015, they've been "keeping a foot on the throat of ISIS" to ensure the terror group doesn’t regain its footing — a mission Austin doesn’t see going away.

● Tesla's board of directors got rocked by a judge this week. Board members, not including CEO Elon Musk, lost a lawsuit brought by shareholders alleging they overpaid themselves by nearly $1 billion in recent years.

● Say goodbye to Facebook's official fact checkers. In light of “recent elections,” parent company Meta will switch to a user-generated "community notes" system like the one used by X. Additionally, content moderation teams will move from California to Texas.

QUOTE

ANSWER

When Scott joined the club in 2013, he was No. 7. By the time two new members were sworn in last week, that number had doubled to 14.