President Trump is expected to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Monday, followed a week later by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Axios and The Washington Post reported Sunday evening. Trump "is using his final days in the White House in part to reward friends and allies with pardons and other decorations," the Post notes, and Nunes and Jordan are two of Trump's closest allies in Congress.
Jordan was a vocal and passionate defender of Trump during his impeachment hearings, and Nunes was one of the president's biggest allies in his effort to undermine the Justice Department's investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump cited Nunes' "bravery" in the Russia imbroglio when suggesting to Fox & Friends in 2018 that he might give Nunes the "very important" Medal of Freedom, after first calling it the Medal of Honor, the Post reports. The Medal of Honor is a military decoration while the Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor, though Trump has bestowed that honor on some controversial recipients.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for November 29Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Kash Patel's travel perks, believing in Congress, and more
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
