It’s Political: After a Twitter whipping by President-elect Donald Trump and public outrage, House Republicans scurried yesterday to reverse their vote to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The headline on a NY Times editorial says, “House Fires at Ethics and Shoots Self.”

Earlier in the day Trump tweeted, “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it … may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!” He finished with the hashtag “#DTS” for “Drain the Swamp.”

Surviving his first screw-up of the 115^th Congress, Paul Ryan was re-elected Speaker of the House. Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill that would cripple and crumble Obamacare by spring, even before the Republicans create a replacement, if they ever intend to do so. Twenty million Americans have health insurance under Obamacare and Republicans are intent upon taking it away.

In Transition: Robert Lighthizer, a Washington lawyer who’s a well-known trade protectionist has been named to be Trump’s US Trade Representative, a clear sign that Trump plans to get tough with China and Mexico.

The President-elect, by the way, who has not held a press conference since July, announced that he will hold one on January 11^th.

Econ 101:  The Ford Motor Company, which was a campaign target of Donald Trump for exporting jobs, abruptly announced that it is cancelling plans to build a $1.9 billion plant in Mexico and instead will sink $700 million into a Michigan assembly plant.

The decision came in part because of a fading interest in the small cars that would have been built in the Mexico factory, but Ford CEO Mark Fields told Fox News host Neil Cavuto that, “One of the factors that we’re looking at is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies he said he’s going to pursue. And so, this is a vote of confidence.”

General Motors still plans to make its compact Chevy Cruze in Mexico and Trump tweeted, “Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!”

Lacking Intelligence: Donald Trump took to Twitter last night to once again mock US intelligence agencies about Russian hacking. “The ‘Intelligence’ briefing on so-called ‘Russian hacking’ was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!”

Channel Change: Megyn Kelly, the biggest star in the Fox News galaxy, announced that she’s leaving the hyper-conservative network for NBC News. The 46-year-old Kelly, who was instrumental in toppling Fox News creator Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, is walking away from a reported offer of $20 million a year at Fox. Kelly felt unsupported by Fox when she was attacked by Donald Trump during the campaign.

Kelly is being given a weekday show, a Sunday magazine, and involvement in special coverage events.

The move leaves Fox without a major female host, or anyone who will challenge Donald Trump. It’s also a risk for Kelly, who might end up with less power and profile at a major broadcast network than she did on cable.

Oh, Jack: A new theory on the sinking of the Titanic 104 years ago says that a fire that burned for three weeks in a coal bunker aboard the ship weakened a portion of the hull, contributing to the damage done by an iceberg.

The fire in the coal bunker isn’t news. That was known, but a documentary broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 says

Irish journalist Senan Molony came across an album of Titanic photographs that revealed a 30-foot dark spot on the hull, possibly caused by the coal fire, in the area where the iceberg cracked the ship. Molony said, “She should never have been put to sea.”

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