Daily Digest: Lewis gets serious

Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday. It's slippery out, so slow down and be careful. Here's the Digest:

1. Minnesota's newest member of Congress says Republicans have a mandate to change government, and he intends to deliver. Former radio talk show host Jason Lewis has been on the job for a couple weeks already as part of the House Republican majority. He says he will approach his new duties much more seriously than his old job. (MPR News)

2. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison is the latest congressional Democrat to say he won't attend Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. Ellison said Monday he will not “celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate,” and said he was standing with Georgia Rep. John Lewis who was beaten and jailed in the 1960s fighting for civil rights. Lewis said last week he didn’t consider Trump a “legitimate president,” which prompted Trump to criticize Lewis and his district on Twitter. More than 15 members of Congress have said they will boycott the inauguration, although the rest of Minnesota's congressional delegation will attend. (Star Tribune)

3. Just before the new president takes office, the state of Minnesota is making people eligible for state-subsidized health insurance who are part of the Obama administration's deportation reprieve program. Minnesota is the fourth state to  open subsidized health coverage to recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which offers temporary work permits and deportation stays to people brought to the United States illegally as children. DACA critics have argued that extending benefits such as MinnesotaCare to the program’s recipients endorses illegal immigration. (Star Tribune)

4. President-elect Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary bought shares last year in a medical device company days before introducing legislation that would have directly benefited the company. Rep. Tom Price bought between $1,001 to $15,000 worth of shares last March in Zimmer Biomet, according to House records.

Less than a week later, Price introduced legislation that would have delayed until 2018 a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulation that industry analysts warned would significantly hurt Zimmer Biomet financially once fully implemented. (CNN)

5. Some European leaders are alarmed about comments Trump made in interviews with overseas newspapers. Trump said the EU is "basically a vehicle for Germany" and reiterated his view that NATO is "obsolete." Speaking about the EU, Trump said "people want their own identity," and therefore "I believe others will leave." He has previously applauded the U.K.'s decision last year to depart from the 28-nation bloc and repeated that sentiment, saying that "I think Brexit is going to end up being a great thing." (NPR)

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