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A civil judge in Syracuse, New York, recently refused to officiate a wedding between two women, in an apparent violation of anti-discrimination laws.

That's according to a Wednesday article in the Syracuse Post-Standard, which reported that Judge Felicia Pitts Davis walked out of her chambers on Nov. 16 as soon as a same-sex couple walked in. The couple — 33-year-old Shawntay Davis and 29-year-old Niccora Davis — were left alone in the chambers until another city court judge, Mary Anne Doherty, came in and officiated their wedding.

Donald Trump and his transition team are firing a warning shot at Fox News personality Pete Hegseth and his troubled nomination for Secretary of Defense by allowing leaks that they are considering other people for the role, Biden White House communications strategist Meghan Hays told a CNN panel on Wednesday.

Hegseth appears not to have the votes among Senate Republicans for confirmation, amid the release of a police report into his alleged history of sexual assault, and colleagues coming forward to say he has a severe drinking problem. He has sat for an interview with Fox News to try to get all of these problems cleared up — but the Trump team is already floating replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) warned that if some of Donald Trump's nominees make it to confirmation hearings, they will have to extensively explain themselves to Senate members.

Speaking to MSNBC on Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee member said he expects "very, very serious questions" to be asked of Kash Patel, who Trump has nominated to lead the FBI.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) suggested on Wednesday that Donald Trump defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth was not an adult seven years ago — although the MAGA nominee was 37 years old.

Associated Press congressional reporter Farnoush Amiri wrote via X: "Asked Sen. Mullin if Hegseth gave members assurances following reports of excessive drinking: 'Listen, all of us, at least all of us, have a time to grow up. We’re nominating Pete for who he is today not for what he did seven years ago or five years ago or whatever it was.'"

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) will no longer serve as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and is opening the door to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to take his place.

The New York Times reports that the 77-year-old Nadler is withdrawing from consideration to be the next top Democrat on the committee after Raskin reportedly garnered enough support from fellow Democrats to take his place.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said he was open to voting for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to be secretary of defense if the Florida governor "finally admits that he has lifts in his boots."

Fetterman made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to CNN's Manu Raju about the possibility that DeSantis could replace former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary.

President-elect Donald Trump has already tipped his hand about how he's going to handle trying to free the hostages still trapped in Gaza, wrote Zeeshan Aleem for MSNBC — and it's all but doomed to fail.

Specifically, Trump is going to go for flash and thunder, as he made clear in aTruth Social rant this week demanding Hamas surrender.

Embattled Trump Defense Department nominee Pete Hegseth has enlisted a new ally to help win over skeptical Republican senators: His own mother.

As reported by The Hill's Mychael Schnell, Hegseth told Republican Study Committee members on Wednesday that "his mom has been making calls to senators on his behalf."

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) criticized President-elect Donald Trump for nominating billionaires and people with problematic records to serve in his incoming administration.

In a House floor speech on Wednesday, McGovern argued that Trump was not fulfilling voters' expectations with his nominations.

Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, compared himself to conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after facing allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

Punchbowl News correspondent Mica Soellner reported that Hegseth's remarks came during a Wednesday lunch with congressional Republicans.

During the United States' 2024 presidential election, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was hoping to be Donald Trump's running mate. Instead, she got the president-elect's nod to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

READ MORE:'Check please!' Political experts mock second Trump nomination withdrawal

Donald Trump made a flurry of moves to fill out his administration Wednesday — and some of his latest choices left many observers scratching their heads.

The president-elect announced an apparent shakeup in the Office of White House Counsel, with his campaign lawyer David Warrington taking over that position, as well as assistant and counsel to the president, and William McGinely moving over from leading that office to serve instead as counsel to the newly created quasi-governmental agency aimed at drastically cutting the federal budget and whose acronym is a nod to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin championed by Elon Musk.