Donald Trump has delivered his first speech since winning the US presidential election, saying the war in Ukraine “has got to stop” and calling his nominated health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr a “great mind”.
The President-elect told supporters that ending the war between Ukraine and Russia will be a priority when he returns to the White House in January.
The 45th, and soon-to-be 47th, President has repeatedly said he will immediately end the conflict but has yet to reveal a detailed plan.
In a wide-ranging speech at Mar-a-Lago, Trump added that his other priorities included “cleaning out the corrupt, broken, failing bureaucracies" and ending "child sexual mutilation".
He said: “We are going to work on the Middle East and we are going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It’s got to stop.”
Trump also used the speech to unexpectedly announce Doug Burgam as interior secretary and joked “I can’t get him out of here” when pointing over to tech billionaire Elon Musk.
It comes after Mr Musk, the owner of Tesla and social media platform X, was handed the job of running a new 'Department of Government Efficiency'.
“Elon, what a job, what a job he does,” Trump said. “He's great, he happens to be a really good guy. You know, he likes this place. I can't get him out of here. He just likes this place.”
Meanwhile, Mr Kennedy Jr, the vaccine-sceptic environmental activist, has been selected to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump described how Mr Kennedy Jr had a “great mind” during his speech but his appointment has startled Washington, with Robert Garcia, Democrat representative for California, saying it was “insane” to appoint a “vaccine denier and a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist”.
Matt Gaetz's nomination to lead the Department of Justice, which once investigated him for allegations of sex trafficking, also sent a shock wave through Washington, and his confirmation to be the country's top law enforcement officer is not a done deal.
But the vacancy for his seat in northwest Florida's first Congressional District is after Mr Gaetz resigned Wednesday night.
That decision effectively ended a House Ethics Committee investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, though the allegations could resurface in Senate confirmation hearings. Mr Gaetz has categorically denied them all.
Speaking about his shock victory over Kamala Harris, Trump boasted in his speech on Thursday night: “The market has gone through the roof, enthusiasm has doubled in the last short while.”
