presented by BP.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Playbook Deputy Editor Zach Stanton. It's Friday, December 6th,

and here's what's driving the day. With Joe Biden in Africa most of this past week,

and President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago, ahead of this weekend's trip to Paris, almost all the

important action in D.C. is happening on

Capitol Hill right now. So let's dig in. Pete Hegeseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Secretary

of Defense, continues to be in the fight of his political life. Yesterday, he met with more senators

as he works to shore up support from the Republican majority, and he got notable backing from

Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who said that in

their private meeting, she asked him direct questions about the allegations that have been reported on

in the press, allegations which he has denied, but which concerns sexual misconduct and alleged

alcohol abuse. And she says that Heggseth answered with candor and transparency, and that

based on their meeting, he has her support.

Now, that is welcome news for Hegeseth, of course, and might help stanch the bleeding.

You know, there's a reason after all that Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, among others, so publicly praised Britt for her statement.

But what should concern Hegeseth is that he didn't exactly win over any new

supporters, and he still seemed short of the 50 votes that he will need to get confirmed.

Last night we heard reports that President-elect Trump is not going to pressure senators to

support Heg-Seth. So, after a week of successive days where it seemed like Hegss's nomination was on its last

legs, we may actually see resolution here, one way or the other, in very short order.

On the other side of the hill, the House rejected two Democratic-led efforts to force the

release of Ethics Committee findings into former Congressman Matt Gates.

...