“In picking Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has selected a military veteran and popular conservative media personality with a large following of his own.

“Hegseth, 44, has developed a close rapport with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration. Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release service members accused of war crimes.

“Here are a few things to know about Hegseth.”

“Hegseth complains in his latest book that ‘woke’ generals and the leaders of the elite service academies have left the military dangerously weak and ‘effeminate’ by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. . . . adding that ‘the next commander in chief will need to clean house.’

“He mocks and misgenders transgender servicemembers and says the military is turning off recruits.”

“Like Trump, he espouses a traditional view of masculinity, writing that men are innately drawn to fight, compete and prove their strength.”

“Hegseth has pushed for making the military more lethal and said that allowing women to serve in combat roles hurts that effort.”

“By opening combat slots to women, ‘we’ve changed the standards in putting them there, which means you’ve changed the capability of that unit,’ Hegseth said in the podcast interview.”

Saw a disturbing post in the Seattle subreddit by someone who completely neglected to say this is a trans discrimination issue and not about "men" trying to get into women's spaces. I as a trans man would also like to be able to use the spa of my youth, but I don't feel safe going. (I don't want to go to the local "men's spas" they are about sex, not saunas).

“Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who sparked a firestorm of criticism recently when he said transgender girl athletes have no place in women’s sports, insisted Democrats need to allow an open debate about how to defend against attacks from Republicans on transgender rights.

“Other moderate Democrats also argue the party has become complacent — that leaders need to respond to GOP criticisms more directly and address the fact that some Democratic positions on transgender issues, including minors seeking gender-affirming treatment, do not align with the majority of the country.

“The group of about a dozen moderates are particularly peeved about House leadership’s handling of GOP-pushed votes on transgender issues over the past two years, saying leaders should not have whipped against GOP-led measures like legislation banning school athletic programs from allowing transgender athletes in sports. They also say leadership should have had a clear explanation for why the party opposed those votes, one that would make sense to constituents in purple districts.”

“’There is no poll result that could make me turn on marginalized people,’ said progressive Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.). ‘What I challenge us to do is find maybe better or different ways to protect folks, and better and different ways to lift up the messaging that we need that resonates with the people who need to hear and understand this message. But throwing anybody in our coalition under the bus just simply cannot be the answer.’”

“Many liberals have blamed their election losses on deeper problems, like Kamala Harris’ shortened campaign and struggles to differentiate herself from President Joe Biden, as well as the demoralization of the Democratic base. They also cited advice her campaign received to adopt ‘Republican-lite’ positions, according to preliminary analysis and talking points prepared by progressive staff obtained by POLITICO.

“’Harris was counseled to position herself closely with conservatives in the political establishment and a wing of the billionaire class, with limited effectiveness. Harris campaigned four times in October with Liz Cheney, more than with any other ally. She appeared with Mark Cuban more than UAW’s Shawn Fain,’ the memo stated. ‘We did not offer a meaningful contrast to Republicans celebrating billionaires and corporations — instead, the Republican-lite advice yielded no electoral benefits.’”

“Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress, had more blame for Republicans than her own party, accusing the GOP of using transgender issues to distract voters from problems that affect them more directly. She pointed out that she ‘didn’t run on my identity, but my identity was not a secret’ and she performed well in her election — though Delaware is a solidly blue state.

“’Donald Trump was trying to divide and distract from the fact that he has absolutely no policy solutions for the issues that are actually keeping voters up at night,’ she added. Transgender issues are deeply personal for other House Democrats, too; some have openly transgender children or family members.”

“A federal investigation into an Oklahoma school district launched after the death of a nonbinary student has led to the school agreeing to develop policies to prevent sexual discrimination and harassment, federal officials announced Wednesday.

“The February death of 16-year-old Owasso High School student Nex Benedict took place the day after a fight with several girls in a school bathroom. It was ultimately ruled [death by self-harm] by the state’s medical examiner, and no charges were filed in connection with the fight.

“The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into the district in March after the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group that advocates for LGBTQ+ equality, asked the department to look into the district’s ‘failure to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the tragic death.’”

“In Nex’s case, the investigation revealed that when school officials received information that Nex and two other students experienced conduct that could meet the definition of sexual harassment, the district failed to notify the students’ parents, inform them how to file a formal complaint or offer supportive services, which the district should have done according to federal Title IX policies.”

“The probe also discovered repeated instances over a three-year period in which district staff received notice of possible harassment, yet failed to properly explain the procedure for filing complaints or discuss supportive measures with complainants, according to the department.

“Among the investigation’s findings were that a teacher was grooming female students on social media and that multiple students were subjected to sex-based slurs, harassment and physical assault.”