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By MARY CLARE JALONICK, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill rallied around Pete Hegseth , Trump’s Pentagon pick, on Thursday even as new details surfaced about allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. The GOP embrace of Hegseth came as another controversial Trump nominee, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration for attorney general. Gaetz said it was clear he had become a “distraction” amid pressure on the House to release an ethics report about allegations of his own sexual misconduct. An attorney for two women has said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. Fresh questions over the two nominees’ pasts, and their treatment of women, arose with Republicans under pressure from Trump and his allies to quickly confirm his Cabinet. At the same time, his transition has so far balked at the vetting and background checks that have traditionally been required. While few Republican senators have publicly criticized any of Trump’s nominees, it became clear after Gaetz’s withdrawal that many had been harboring private concerns about him. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, said it was a “positive move.” Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said it was a “positive development.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.” After meeting with Hegseth, though, Republicans rallied around him. “I think he’s going to be in pretty good shape,” said Wicker, who is expected to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee in the next Congress. Republican senators’ careful words, and their early reluctance to publicly question Trump’s picks, illustrated not only their fear of retribution from the incoming president but also some of their hopes that the confirmation process can proceed normally, with proper vetting and background checks that could potentially disqualify problematic nominees earlier. Gaetz withdrew after meeting with senators on Wednesday. Sen. Thom Tillis said Gaetz was “in a pressure cooker” when he decided to withdraw, but suggested that it would have little bearing on Trump’s other nominees. “Transactions — one at a time,” he said. As the Hegseth nomination proceeds, Republicans also appear to be betting that they won’t face much backlash for publicly setting aside the allegations of sexual misconduct — especially after Trump won election after being found liable for sexual abuse last year. Hegseth held a round of private meetings alongside incoming Vice President JD Vance on Thursday in an attempt to shore up support and told reporters afterward: “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.” A 22-page police report report made public late Wednesday offered the first detailed account of the allegations against him. A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth. Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Palatore, said the incident was “fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false.” Hegseth paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit, Palatore has said. Wicker played down the allegations against Hegseth, a former Fox News host, saying that “since no charges were brought from the authorities, we only have press reports.” Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said after his meeting with Hegseth that he “shared with him the fact that I was saddened by the attacks that are coming his way.” Hagerty dismissed the allegations as “a he-said, she-said thing” and called it a “shame” that they were being raised at all. The senator said attention should instead be focused on the Defense Department that Hegseth would head. It’s one of the most complex parts of the federal government with more than 3 million employees, including military service members and civilians. Sexual assault has been a persistent problem in the military, though Pentagon officials have been cautiously optimistic they are seeing a decline in reported sexual assaults among active-duty service members and the military academies. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who will be the No. 2 Republican in the Senate next year, said after his meeting with Hegseth that the nominee is a strong candidate who “pledged that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power – not the current administration’s woke political agenda.” Related Articles National Politics | Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks — and Trump himself — have been accused of sexual misconduct National Politics | New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than ever National Politics | Was it all a joke? How stand-up comedy helped reelect Trump National Politics | California teachers are cursing Donald Trump in the classroom. Is it their right? National Politics | Airline CEOs and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg fight over regulations even after election Senate Republicans are under pressure to hold hearings once they take office in January and confirm nominees as soon as Trump is inaugurated, despite questions about whether Trump’s choices will be properly screened or if some, like Hegseth, have enough experience for the job. Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, who will be the top Democrat on the panel next year, said the reports on Hegseth “emphasized the need for a thorough investigation by the FBI on the background of all the nominees.” It takes a simple majority to approve Cabinet nominations, meaning that if Democrats all opposed a nominee, four Republican senators would also have to defect for any Trump choice to be defeated. Trump has made clear he’s willing to put maximum pressure on Senate Republicans to give him the nominees he wants – even suggesting at one point that they allow him to just appoint his nominees with no Senate votes. But senators insist, for now, that they are not giving up their constitutional power to have a say. “The president has the right to make the nominations that he sees fit, but the Senate also has a responsibility for advice and consent,” said Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. In the case of Gaetz, he said, “I think there was advice offered rather than consent.”Fairfield 72, Wake Forest 65
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 21, 2024-- Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the latest results of its Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI). As the pension risk transfer (PRT) market continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to monitor the annuity market for plan sponsors that are considering transferring retiree pension obligations to an insurer. During October, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process decreased from 101.7% of a plan’s accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO) to 101.2% of those liabilities. That means the estimated retiree PRT cost is now 101.2% of a plan’s ABO. During the same time period, the average annuity purchase cost across all insurers in our index also decreased, from 104.4% to 103.9%. The competitive bidding process is estimated to save plan sponsors about 2.7% of PRT costs as of October 31. “Unlike what we saw in 2023, insurers still seem to have capacity as we approach year end,” said Jake Pringle, a Milliman principal and co-author of the MPBI. “With a new insurer entering the market in 2025, and a change in the political winds, we may see fluctuations in the PRT market in the new year.” The MPBI uses the FTSE Above Median AA Curve, along with annuity purchase composite interest rates from nine insurers, to estimate the competitive and average costs of a PRT annuity de-risking strategy. Individual plan annuity buyouts can vary based on plan size, complexity, and competitive landscape. To view the complete Milliman Pension Buyout Index, go to https://www.milliman.com/mpbi . To receive regular updates with Milliman’s pension buyout analysis, contact us at pensionbuyout@milliman.com . About Milliman Milliman leverages deep expertise, actuarial rigor, and advanced technology to develop solutions for a world at risk. We help clients in the public and private sectors navigate urgent, complex challenges—from extreme weather and market volatility to financial insecurity and rising health costs—so they can meet their business, financial, and social objectives. Our solutions encompass insurance, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, and employee benefits. Founded in 1947, Milliman is an independent firm with offices in major cities around the globe. Visit us at milliman.com . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241121690052/en/ CONTACT: Jake Pringle Milliman, Inc. Tel: +1 713 202 0819 jake.pringle@milliman.com KEYWORD: WASHINGTON UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INSURANCE FINANCE ASSET MANAGEMENT CONSULTING PERSONAL FINANCE ACCOUNTING SOURCE: Milliman, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/21/2024 02:47 PM/DISC: 11/21/2024 02:46 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241121690052/en
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg snapped back Thursday at criticism from airline executives who say the Biden administration over-regulated them, pointing out that some of those airlines are making large profits despite new passenger-protection rules . Buttigieg said the rules his department has imposed, including automatic cash refunds after flights are canceled, enjoy broad public support and “will stand the test of time.” The comments came after the CEOs of Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines said they hoped the government will be more pro-business when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the Trump administration will be “a breath of fresh air” for his industry. “I know that some airline CEOs have expressed hopes that the next administration will be less passenger-friendly and more corporate-friendly than this administration,” Buttigieg responded during a news conference to discuss Thanksgiving travel. “The passenger protections that we have put in place deservedly enjoy broad public, bipartisan support. I just don't run into a lot of people who are against the idea that you ought to get an automatic refund without any hassle, for example.” Buttigieg argued that strong passenger protections are good for the airline business. “Some of these companies have been showing very healthy profits even at this new and higher level of consumer protection, demonstrating to me that these things can travel together,” he said. It appeared to be a reference to Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline in recent years. Delta earned $2.6 billion in the first nine months of this year and $4.6 billion last year. The airline industry has opposed many consumer-protections written by the Biden administration, even suing the Transportation Department to kill a rule requiring greater transparency over fees that airlines charge their passengers. Airlines also oppose a current department inquiry into their frequent-flyer programs . Bastian, the Delta CEO, said he expected the Transportation Department under Trump to “take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy that exists in government, the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry.” Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan said last week, “We are hopeful for a DOT (Department of Transportation) that is maybe a little less aggressive in terms of regulating or rule-making.” Buttigieg noted that his department extracted a $140 million settlement from Southwest over widespread flight cancellations in December 2022 and is conducting a similar investigation into Delta, which canceled about 7,000 flights after a technology outage in July. He suggested airline CEOs should spend more time thinking about passengers and less about their regulator.
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