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Reports: Biden to pick ex-Fed chair Yellen for Treasury Secretary

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The Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and Reuters are reporting that Joe Biden will choose former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to be his Treasury Secretary. If she is appointed by Biden and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will be the first woman to ever serve in the position.

To pull the U.S. economy out of its current recession brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Yellen has called for an increase in government spending. She is widely seen as a respected and experienced policymaker.

This comes after Biden announced a whole slate of national security and foreign policy officials on Monday. Some of these picks include his longtime foreign policy advisor Antony Blinken for secretary of state, former Sec. of State John Kerry for a newly created climate change role on the National Security Council, and Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security, which would make Mayorkas the first Latino and immigrant to serve in the position if confirmed by the Senate.

Another woman who many thought Biden was considering for the Treasury job was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of his main rivals during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Progressives have been pushing Biden to appoint her, but chances are low that Senate Republicans would confirm her if they hold on to their majority in the Senate after the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia on January 5.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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BREAKING: Disney drops suit challenging special district status in settlement with Florida, DeSantis

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A settlement was reached Wednesday in the two-year lawsuit over who controls the special governing district that encompasses the Walt Disney World Resort, which includes Disney dropping its lawsuitsagainst a newly created tourism board.

“We are glad that Disney has dropped its lawsuits against the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and conceded that their last-minute development agreements are null, void, and unenforceable,” Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement. “No corporation should be its own government. Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Fox News explains the dispute began “after Disney’s criticism of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act – derided by critics as the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill – prompted the DeSantis administration to revoke the special Disney-controlled tax district that gave the entertainment autonomy over its theme parks in the region.”

“No corporation should be its own government,” Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said in an emailed statement. “Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Misleadingly deemed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prohibited the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to young students in the state. National Review reports:

After receiving pressure from employees, Disney’s then-CEO, Bob Chapek, said that the company’s leaders had been opposed to the bill “from the outset,” and Disney declared that the legislation “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”

In February 2023, DeSantis signed House Bill 9B, which established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to replace Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. Reedy Creek was a 56-year-old special taxing district that allowed Disney control its own development, regulations, building codes, and other municipal services.

Lawmakers voted to give the governor the power to appoint the district’s board members.

However, before a DeSantis-appointed board took over last March, the Disney-controlled board handed control of the district’s development over to Disney…

As part of the settlement, Disney acknowledges that the development agreement approved by the outgoing Reedy Creek board has “no legal effect or enforceability.”

As for the media reports that DeSantis had been humiliated and out-maneuvered by Disney, Griffin said that “as usual, the media were wrong.”

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