Closing summary
This blog is closing now, but you can read all our coverage of US politics here . Here’s a roundup of the key developments:
Donald Trump said he would nominate far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to be the US attorney general on Wednesday. Gaetz’s nomination is one of the most significant to date. As attorney general, he would be the country’s chief law enforcement officer and oversee the legal positions that the government takes on key issues, including abortion, civil rights laws, and first amendment issues.
The pick proved extremely controversial even among Republicans, with many critics pointing to a House ethics committee that is investigating him for allegations of sex trafficking and corruption among other things, which he denies. Gaetz resigned from Congress after news of his nomination broke, meaning that the investigation will come to an end.
Trump named the former Democratic congresswoman and Trump campaign surrogate Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence. That choice also raised eyebrows given Gabbard’s choice to meet Syrian president Bashar al-Assad her skepticism about well-documented atrocities during the country’s civil war.
The president-elect officially named Florida senator Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state. The son of Cuban immigrants is a hawk on China and Iran and a firm supporter of Israel.
Joe Biden met Trump at the White House, extending a courtesy to the president-elect and avowed political adversary that the Republican did not reciprocate in 2020, when he refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. Melania Trump declined an invitation to meet with Jill Biden.
Before heading to the White House, the president-elect stopped by a meeting of House Republicans, who appear on course to preserve their majority, where he joked about seeking a third term. The constitution prohibits that, since he already served one term in the White House.
House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged that “we will not regain control of the Congress in January”. In a statement, he said Democrats would “continue to seek bipartisan common ground on any issue … while pushing back on far right extremism whenever necessary.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson won the House Republican nomination to stay on the job, on track to keep the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump ahead of a full House vote in the new year.
Republican senators chose South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader, replacing long-serving Mitch McConnell, who opted not to stand again for the job.
Jack Smith will reportedly wind down his two prosecutions of Trump, one concerning the 2020 election and the other the classified documents found at his properties, and resign before the inauguration. The president-elect has vowed to fire Smith upon taking office, and justice department policy also prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents.
The unofficial results in the race for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania triggered a legally required statewide recount, commonwealth secretary Al Schmidt said. Democratic Senator Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick have vote totals within the one-half of 1% margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law, Schmidt said in a statement.
US government employees have been injured by UFOs and the US government has conducted a secret UFO retrieval program, a former department of defense official told a congressional committee on Wednesday. The hearing lacked any direct evidence to back up the startling claims.
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Indivisible, a leftwing political umbrella movement founded in response to Donald Trump’s election as president in 2016, has responded to Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general with a strongly worded press release titled “For Fuck’s Sake”. Among other things, it says:
Putting Matt Gaetz in charge of the Department of Justice is like handing a matchbook to an arsonist and asking him to protect the forest. This is a man who’s been investigated for sex trafficking a minor, attended drug-fueled parties with underage girls and is still under House Ethics investigation for sexual misconduct.
This isn’t just a reckless choice; it’s a calculated move to dismantle the DOJ and turn it into Trump’s personal revenge squad.
The vice-president elect, JD Vance, has dismissed widespread concerns about Trump’s selection of Matt Gaetz as attorney general, saying in a post on X:
The main issue with Matt Gaetz is that he used his office to prosecute his political opponents and authorized federal agents to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings.
Oh wait, that’s actually Merrick Garland, the current attorney general.
Until he resigned moments ago, Gaetz was under investigation by a House ethics committee over allegations of “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” He has denied all wrongdoing.
Garland was criticised by Republicans over a memo he issued in 2021, in which he raised concerns about a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” at schools, sparking false claims by Republicans that Garland had accused parents of “domestic terrorism”.
House foreign affairs chair Michael McCaul confirms he was detained at airport
Republican representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, has confirmed reports that he was detained by police at an airport near Washington, DC earlier this month, the Associated Press reports. The news wire writes:
McCaul said he became “disoriented” at Dulles International Airport after he took medication and drank alcohol before his scheduled flight back home to Texas.
“Two weekends ago, I made a mistake – one for which I take full responsibility. I missed a flight to Texas and found myself disoriented in the airport. This was the result of a poor decision I made to mix an Ambien – which I took in order to sleep on the upcoming flight – with some alcohol,” McCaul said in a statement.
“Law enforcement officers briefly detained me while I waited for a family member to pick me up. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the officers who intercepted me that evening. This incident does not reflect who I am and who I strive to be. As a human, I am not perfect. But I am determined to learn from this mistake and, God-willing, make myself a better person.”
McCaul was reelected this month to an 11th term in his district that runs from Austin to the Houston suburbs.
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US government employees have been injured by UFOs and the US government has conducted a secret UFO retrieval program, a former department of defense official told a congressional committee on Wednesday, though the hearing lacked any direct evidence to back up the startling claims.
The hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), which has become the more accepted term for UFO, also heard that the government has a “huge amount” of secret information on UAPs, including “photos, video, photos, other information”. But it also learned, following a query from Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert, that there is no evidence of aliens having a secret underwater “base” on this planet.
The hearing came more than a year after the Pentagon was accused of running a secret UFO retrieval program by whistleblower David Grusch, though no physical evidence has also ever emerged to back up these claims.
The lack of concrete proof has been a consistent thorn in the side of those who believe the government is harboring UAPs, with Wednesday’s hearing again focussing on testimony from people who said they were aware of secret government programs, rather than witnesses presenting actual hard evidence.
Read on below:
Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress after Donald Trump nominated him for the post of attorney general, the Associated Press is reporting, ending a bipartisan House ethics probe into him that was launched in June over longstanding allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and other alleged ethical breaches.
A few more reactions to Trump’s selection of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general have also been coming in, with one Republican representative, Mike Simpson, reportedly responding “Are you sh---ing me?” when asked whether he had the right character for the role.
Another Republican representative, Max Miller, called the selection “silly,” according to NBC, adding:
I believe that the president is probably rewarding him for being such a loyal soldier to the president. But the president is smart enough, and his team is smart enough to know that Mr Gaetz will never get confirmed by the Senate whatsoever.
Hakeem Jeffries acknowledges Democrats 'will not regain control' of House
Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic minority leader, has acknowledged that “we will not regain control of the Congress in January”.
In a statement, he said House Democrats had “overperformed the national political environment” and praised them for running “aggressive, forward-looking and people-centered campaigns.”
He also said Democrats would “continue to seek bipartisan common ground on any issue … while pushing back on far right extremism whenever necessary.”
Associated Press has yet to make an official call on the House, where the Republicans are one seat short of a majority with 11 races yet to be officially called.
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Pentagon stunned by Trump defence secretary pick Pete Hegseth
The Pentagon has been stunned by Donald Trump’s pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, a national guard veteran and Fox News presenter who has called for a purge of generals for pursuing “woke” diversity policies.
Hegseth has questioned whether the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Charles Brown, was given the top job because he is black and accused him of “pursuing the radical positions of leftwing politicians”.
Hegseth was a major in the Minnesota national guard who served as a prison guard at Guantánamo Bay detention camp and served in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming an outspoken rightwing critic of the military.
He has argued for faster provision of more US weapons to Ukraine for its defence against Russia, but also called US Nato membership into question. His nomination is also a boost for the far right in Israel, as he has shown support for territorial expansion and suggested that Jews could build a new temple on the sacred compound around al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Hegseth told an audience in Jerusalem in 2018: “There’s no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible.”
Read on below:
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The head of the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, Dr Mandy Cohen has voiced concerns about the potential role of Robert F Kennedy Jr in a Trump administration, saying he could use it to spread misinformation.
Trump has said he wants Kennedy, a vaccine-sceptic and opponent of the fluoridization of drinking water, to “take care of health” in his second administration.
In an interview with the New York Times, Cohen said that even if Kennedy was not appointed to a high-level position, he appears likely to have some role at the White House and in that case would “have a lot of influence in things”. She added:
Even without changing one regulation or one piece of guidance, the sharing of misinformation from a place of power is concerning.
She also said she hoped “we can all have a conversation with scientists who work on fluoride” to “make sure we’re all looking at the same set of data and evidence.”
Mike Johnson wins Republican nomination to stay on as House Speaker
House Speaker Mike Johnson has won the House Republican nomination to stay on the job, on track to keep the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump ahead of a full House vote in the new year the Associated Press reports.
While Johnson has no serious challenger, he faces dissent within his ranks, particularly from hard-right conservatives and the Freedom Caucus withholding their votes as leverage to extract promises ahead.
Trump told House Republicans, during the president-elect’s first trip back to Washington since the party swept the 2024 election, that he’s with the speaker all the way, according to a person familiar with the remarks but unauthorized to discuss the private meeting near the Capitol.
Johnson heaped praise on Trump, calling him the “comeback king”.
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Senator Tammy Duckworth, one of the first women to fly combat missions in Iraq, has condemned Trump’s choice of Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth for next secretary of defence, calling him “dangerously unqualified” and called on her Republican colleagues to oppose the nomination. In a statement, she said:
This pick is dangerous, plain and simple. Being Secretary of Defense is a very serious job, and putting someone as dangerously unqualified as Pete Hegseth into that role is something that should scare all of us.
By choosing to put a TV personality with little experience running much of anything in charge of the Defense Department’s almost 3 million troops and civilian employees, Donald Trump is once again proving he cares more about his MAGA base than keeping our nation safe—and our troops, our military families and our national security will pay the price.
Our troops and our country deserve better. In this moment, my Republican colleagues must recognize the danger that confirming a wholly unqualified Secretary of Defense nominee would put our country in, stop rolling over for Donald Trump and oppose this nomination.
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Unofficial results in Pennsylvania Senate seat trigger recount, official says
The unofficial results in the race for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania have triggered a legally required statewide recount, commonwealth secretary Al Schmidt has said.
Democratic Senator Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick have vote totals within the one-half of 1% margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law, Schmidt said in a statement.
As of Wednesday, McCormick led by about 28,000 votes out of more than 6.9 million ballots counted.
Counties must begin the recount no later than November 20 and must finish by noon on November 26. It largely involves running paper ballots through high-speed scanners, a process that former election officials say might not change the outcome by more than a few hundred votes.
“It is an infinitesimal number, compared to the overall vote totals,” said Jeff Greenberg, a former Mercer County elections director.
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Moderate Republican senator Lisa Murkowski calls Gaetz an unserious choice
Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican of Alaska, was open about her views on Matt Gaetz’s nomination.
“We need a serious attorney general. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious,” she told reporters. “This one was not on my bingo card.”
The New York Times also quoted her as adding: “I think it is really important that we don’t roll over on that role of advise and consent and we move through the nomination process.
“If we get good candidates, we will be able to move through the nominations process, hopefully, really readily and that’ll be good for the president, good for him to get his team. But when you put forward picks that are really going to generate controversy, and not just controversy on one side of the aisle, it is going to take longer.”
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Today so far
Donald Trump has been busy planning for his presidency, continuing to nominate a cadre of loyalists with few relevant qualifications to key posts. He named the former Democratic congresswoman and Trump campaign surrogate Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence, raising eyebrows given Gabbard’s choice to meet Syrian president Bashar al-Assad her skepticism about well-documented atrocities during the country’s civil war.
He also named Matt Gaetz, who has protested election results along side far-right Proud Boys and is facing an ethics investigation over allegations he engaged in sex trafficking and had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Trump has officially named Florida senator Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state. News of the choice filtered out over the past day or so, but Trump had not made it official, until today.
Joe Biden met Trump at the White House, extending a courtesy to the president-elect and avowed political adversary that the Republican did not reciprocate in 2020, when refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory.
Before heading to the White House, the president-elect stopped by a meeting of House Republicans, who appear on course to preserve their majority, where he joked about seeking a third term. The constitution prohibits that, since he already served one term in the White House.
Republican senators chose South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader, replacing long-serving Mitch McConnell, who opted not to stand again for the job.
Jack Smith will reportedly wind down his two prosecutions of Trump, one concerning the 2020 election and the other the classified documents found at his properties, and resign before the inauguration. The president-elect has vowed to fire Smith upon taking office, and justice department policy also prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents.
Matt Gaetz nomination draws criticism – and evasion
Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general has sparked outrage and shock.
“This guy has been on the run from the law for quite some time now, so he’ll think he’s above it. He’ll be corrupt as hell,” said Olivia Troye, a former official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration who has become an outspoken critic of the former president.
Robert Weissman, the co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen said it was “hard to imagine a worse and more unqualified candidate” than Gaetz.
“As a member of Congress, Gaetz has demonstrated contempt for the rule of law, truth and decency. He is singularly unqualified to lead an agency that enforces civil rights laws and environmental protection statutes. Under Gaetz, we’d have every reason to expect an America where corporate criminals walk free but immigrants and people of color are harassed or rounded up with minimal pretext,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have been evading questions from reporters about whether they found Gaetz to be qualified and whether they would approve his nomination.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator of North Carolina, told Politico’s Burgess Everett: “I’m all about counting votes, and I would think that he’s probably got some work cut out for him.”
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Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman of Kentucky, had an interesting response to reporters asking him what he made of the Matt Gaetz nomination: “Recess appointments.”
Despite coming into office with a Republican Senate full of supporters, Donald Trump has been pushing for “recess appointments” to give himself even more authority to pick whomever he wants to fill cabinet positions.
Normally, the Senate approves presidential nominations for high-level posts, but the the constitution allows the president to install officials without Senate approval while Congress is not in session.
In recent years, the Senate has avoided going on extended recesses to block the president from making such appointments. Neither Trump nor Joe Biden used recesses to make appointments during their terms, in part because the practice of using the loophole to make appointments was curtailed following a supreme court ruling that Obama overstepped his power in making recess nominations.
Trump wants the practice reinstated. Amid the race to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate leader, however, Trump posted on X: “Any Republican senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!)”
If Trump is able to bring back recess appointments, then Gaetz becomes attorney general, Massie told reporters. “He’s the attorney general. Suck it up.”
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Donald Trump will be taking office with a Republican Senate, one filled with allies who appear ready to enable him fully.
Though it remains unclear if Matt Gaetz will receive a Senate confirmation, it’s clear that some of Gaetz’s one-time critics are ready to back Trump’s nominees.
Oklahoma congressman Markwayne Mullin has previously accused Gaetz of sharing videos of girls he slept with on the House floor. He told CNN last year that Gaetz would “brag about how he would crush ED medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night”.
On CNN just now, he said: “I completely trust President Trump’s decision making on this one.”
Mullin admitted that Gaetz is likely to face tough questions at his hearing. “Hopefully he’s able to answer the questions right, and if he can then we’ll go through the confirmation process.”
Mullin himself has been floated as an option for Interior secretary or secretary of Veterans Affairs.
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Moderate Republican senator Susan Collins 'shocked' by Gaetz appointment
Susan Collins, the moderate Republican senator of Maine told reporters she was “shocked” but the Matt Gaetz nomination.
“I was shocked by the announcement – that shows why the advise-and-consent process is so important,” Collins said. “I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.”
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Matt Gaetz has been one of the most loyal backers of Donald Trump in Congress, supporting Trump’s attempts to deny the results of the 2020 election.
He voted with about 150 Republicans to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Along with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, he took part in protests against the result of a Senate race in Florida.
He also evoked language adopted by the Proud Boys at Trump’s hush money trial earlier this year, posting on social media: “Standing back, and standing by, Mr President”, along with a photo of him with Trump and other congressional Republicans.
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Capitol Hill reporters are gathering shocked and evasive responses from Republicans reacting to the Gaetz nomination.
Senator Chuck Grassley stopped talking to reporters when asked for his reaction.
House appropriations chair Tom Cole avoided responding as well: “I know nothing about it.”
Senator Ron Johnson: “The president gets to pick his nominees.”
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Attorney general-nominee Gaetz remains under ethics committee investigation over sexual misconduct
Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman who Donald Trump just nominated to be his attorney general, has for years faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
Last year, Gaetz said the justice department had closed an investigation that began after allegations emerged of the congressman having sex with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her travel. The House ethics committee earlier this year announced that it was beginning its own inquiry into whether Gaetz “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favours to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct”.
That investigation has not yet been publicly concluded. Here’s more about it:
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Since he first arrived in Congress in 2017, just days before Donald Trump took office, Matt Gaetz has been one of his most vocal advocates on Capitol Hill.
Now, Gaetz may lead the justice department, and ensure that prosecutorial decisions, which are normally made independently by the attorney general, are to Trump’s benefit.
From a profile of Gaetz the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino published last year, shortly after he led the successful effort to oust fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House:
“Florida Man. Built for Battle,” reads Gaetz’s bio on X, formerly Twitter.
Gaetz followed his father into politics more than two decades ago. After serving in the Florida statehouse, Gaetz was elected in 2016 to represent a ruby-red chunk of the Florida panhandle.
Since his arrival in Washington, the pompadoured lawmaker has built a political brand as a far-right provocateur, courting controversy seemingly as a matter of course.
Like Donald Trump, to whom he is fiercely loyal, Gaetz is more interested in sparring with political foes than in the dry business of governance, according to his critics. On Capitol Hill, he has repeatedly disrupted House proceedings, including once barging into a secure facility where Democrats were holding a deposition hearing.
In 2018, he was condemned for inviting a Holocaust denier to Trump’s State of the Union address. A year later, he hired a speechwriter who had been fired by the Trump White House after speaking at a conference that attracts white nationalists.
Months after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Gaetz embarked on an “America First” tour with Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgia congresswoman, in which they amplified the former president’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election. He also continued to attack Republicans critical of Trump, using language that reportedly alarmed McCarthy, who feared the lawmakers’ words could incite violence.
Trump nominates Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general
Donald Trump has chosen Matt Gaetz, of his most prominent defenders in Congress, to serve as attorney general.
The appointment could put Gaetz in charge of Trump’s promised effort to retaliate against his political opponents, including officials who served in his previous administration but have since repudiated him. Trump announced the nomination, which must be confirmed by the Senate, on Truth Social:
It is my Great Honor to announce that Congressman Matt Gaetz, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The Attorney General of the United States. Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice. Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department. On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization. He is a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law…
Gaetz, a congressman representing a very conservative district in the Florida panhandle, became known nationally last year when he was a key player in the putsch that ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
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The Senate confirms nominees for director of national intelligence, a cabinet-level position created after 9/11 to oversee the intelligence community and liaise directly with the president.
There is reason to think that Tulsi Gabbard might raise a few eyebrows in the Senate, even when it is controlled by Trump-aligned Republicans, as it will be from January.
As a congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard visited Syria, met with its president Bashar al-Assad, and expressed skepticism about well-documented atrocities attributed to his forces during the country’s civil war. More recently, she has spent time attacking Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It’s all a turnabout from her days in Democratic politics, when she vyed unsuccessfully for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020 and backed Bernie Sanders’ candidacy four years prior. Here’s more about how her views have shifted dramatically:
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Trump nominates former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for top intelligence post
Donald Trump has named former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence. Gabbard is another loyalist who frequently joined Trump at campaign events.
Here’s what he had to say in announcing in picking Gabbard, who represented Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, and endorsed Trump after leaving the Democratic party:
I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!
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Trump makes pick of Rubio for secretary of state official
Donald Trump has just officially named Florida senator Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state.
News of the choice filtered out over the past day or so, but Trump had not made it official, until now. Here’s what he said:
It is my Great Honor to announce that Senator Marco Rubio, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The United States Secretary of State. Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom. He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries. I look forward to working with Marco to Make America, and the World, Safe and Great Again!
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Joe Biden’s meeting with Donald Trump was attended by Susie Wiles, who the president-elect recently announced would serve as his White House chief of staff.
Wiles, who co-managed Trump’s campaign, will be the first woman to hold role. Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, also attended.
While Donald Trump appears to have mostly stayed out of the race for Senate Republican leader, the Maga hardcore were rooting for Florida senator Rick Scott.
He unsuccessfully challenged Mitch McConnell for the leadership post two years ago, and his bid this year was similarly unsuccessful. In a statement released after John Thune won the race, Scott said:
I may have lost the vote, but I am optimistic. I ran for leader with one mission: to fundamentally change how the Senate operates and upend the status quo so we can actually start representing the voters who put us here. When I announced, I said that we are in a moment where we need dramatic change. The voters confirmed that last week when they elected President Trump and Republicans took the majority in both chambers of Congress with a clear mandate.
…
While it isn’t the result we hoped for, I will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump’s agenda.
When asked about comments made by Trump’s new pick for secretary of defense, Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth, that “we should not have women in combat roles”, Jean-Pierre spoke to the “importance of gender equality, of women in the workforce”.
She said the Biden administration does not agree with those views.
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Biden “looked forward to the conversation and appreciated the conversation,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the two met for nearly two hours.
“I think the length of the meeting tells you they had an in-depth conversation on an array of issues.”
A reporter asked Jean-Pierre if there were any conversations between Biden and Trump about not accepting the results of the 2020 election, but she said it was now about “moving forward”.
“There was an election last week and the American people spoke.”
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Biden stressed peaceful transition in meeting with Trump, White House says
Jean-Pierre said she won’t go into “granular detail” about the Biden-Trump meeting.
“What I can say it was indeed cordial, very gracious and very substantive. National security was discussed. Domestic policy issues were discussed,” she said.
She added that Biden stressed the importance of a peaceful transition.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is now addressing the press following the Trump-Biden meeting.
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Thune points to immigration as key Senate priority
“We have a mandate from the American people – a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda but also to deliver on President Trump’s priorities,” Thune said.
Thune said the party would give Trump the tools to “enforce border security laws and remove violent criminals who are wreaking havoc in every one of our states”.
Cracking down on immigration has been a key plank of Trump’s campaign.
Trump’s newly appointed “border czar” Tom Homan said earlier this year: “I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen. They ain’t seen shit yet. Wait until 2025.””
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New Senate GOP leader John Thune vows to clean up what he claims is Democrats' 'mess'
“It’s a new day in the United States Senate and it’s a new day in America,” John Thune said in a press conference shortly after being chosen as the new Republican Senate conference leader.
“This Republican team is united. We are one team and excited to reclaim the majority.”
Thune vowed to clean up the “mess” left by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer.
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Donald Trump opposes efforts to fight climate change, but the Guardian’s Fiona Harvey reports that Barbados’s prime minister Mia Mottley wants to sit down with him to see if there may be proposals he would be willing to support to counter the crisis. Here’s more:
Mia Mottley, the climate-championing prime minister of Barbados, has invited Donald Trump to a face-to-face meeting where she would seek “common ground” and persuade him that climate action was in his own interests.
“Let us find a common purpose in saving the planet and saving livelihoods,” she told the Guardian at the UN’s Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. “We are human beings and we have the capacity to meet face-to-face, in spite of our differences. We want humanity to survive. And the evidence [of the climate crisis] we are seeing almost weekly now.”
Only by personal meetings among world leaders can the massive changes needed on climate action be achieved, she believes. “President Trump has been very clear about the importance of that kind of face-to-face conversation in the things that he believes that he can solve as well.”
Mottley, the prime minister who took Barbados out of the Commonwealth realm to be a republic, has been an electrifying presence at recent UN climate summits since she took to the stage at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 with an impassioned speech demanding world leaders “try harder” to avoid passing a death sentence on her country. Since then, she has gained a global reputation as a formidable champion of the developing countries most affected by climate breakdown.
She has also led a movement among developing and some developed countries to change the global financial system to generate the funds needed to shift the world to a low-carbon economy.
Donald Trump has announced several cabinet picks in recent days, often only after word of his selection was leaked or revealed by other parties.
Indeed, Trump still has not officially announced Florida senator Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state, though it has been reported widely in the press. NBC News asked Rubio today if the appointment is confirmed, and he replied:
Those are media reports, any announcements will come from the Trump transition team.
Here is a look at who has been named for the second Trump administration, and who is said to be under consideration:
Thune says Republicans 'united behind President Trump’s agenda' after election as Senate leader
John Thune had this to say following his election as the Senate Republican leader, a position in which he will be tasked with steering the incoming president’s legislative proposals through Congress’s upper chamber:
I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House. This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.
Thune will likely face two obstacles in the job over the next two years: Democrats, who can use the filibuster to stop Trump’s bills, and Republicans who are not onboard with Trump’s proposals, or Thune’s strategy.
The day so far
Joe Biden is presently meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, extending a courtesy to the president-elect and avowed political adversary that the Republican did not give him in 2020, when he instead refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. Despite all that, the meeting appeared friendly, at least from what reporters witnessed, with Biden promising “a smooth transition” and Trump saying “it is a nice world today”. Before heading to the White House, the president-elect stopped by a meeting of House Republicans, who appear on course to preserve their majority, where he joked about seeking a third term. The constitution prohibits that, since he already served one term in the White House.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
Republican senators have chosen South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader, replacing long-serving Mitch McConnell, who opted not to stand again for the job.
Trump is reportedly considering nominating former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. She’ll have to be confirmed by the Senate, who might want to know more about her visit with Bashar al-Assad.
Jack Smith will reportedly wind down his two prosecutions of Trump, one concerning the 2020 election and the other the classified documents found at his properties, and resign before the inauguration. The president-elect has vowed to fire Smith upon taking office, and justice department policy also prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents.
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Senate Republicans elect South Dakota's John Thune as leader
Republican senators have elected John Thune of South Dakota as their new leader, replacing Mitch McConnell, the Associated Press reports.
Thune, who serves as the minority whip, the second-highest-ranking position among Republicans, will become the chamber’s majority leader in January, once newly elected GOP lawmakers take their seats and give the party control of the Senate.
McConnell has led Senate Republicans since 2007, spearheading the opposition to Barack Obama and assisting Donald Trump during his first term in office. The Kentucky senator played a decisive role in creating the supreme court’s conservative supermajority by blocking Obama from appointing a justice, then presiding over the confirmation of three of Trump’s appointees.
McConnell opted not to stand again as Senate leader, but holds his seat through 2026.
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From what reporters were able to see, there was a degree of comity between Joe Biden and Donald Trump when they met in the Oval Office.
But Reuters reports that the formal arrangements of the presidential transition have seen delays:
Trump’s team, which has already announced some members of the incoming president’s cabinet, has yet to sign agreements that would lead to office space and government equipment as well as access to government officials, facilities and information, according to the White House.
“The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris Administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” said Brian Vance, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, referring to the law that governs the transfer of power.
Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition, a non-profit that advises incoming administrations, said the agreement underscores that the United States only has one president at a time and includes pledges to sign ethics pacts not to profit off information provided in the transition.
“That needs to be signed for interaction to begin with federal agencies,” she said. “Everything is hinging on that.”
It does not appear that Melania Trump, the incoming first lady, joined her husband during his visit to Washington today.
But the White House said that Jill Biden greeted Donald Trump when he arrived, and gave him a “handwritten letter of congratulations” for his wife, while saying her team was ready to help with their transition.
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Here is a full transcript of the few words Joe Biden and Donald Trump said to each other while reporters were present in the Oval Office.
Biden:
We’re looking forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition, do everything we can make sure you’re accommodated, what you need, and we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. Welcome, welcome back.
Trump:
Thank you very much. And politics is tough, and it’s, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Joe.
Biden:
You’re welcome. Thank you all.
At that point, reporters were asked to leave. Some shouted questions at the two leaders, but they did not answer.
Trump says 'it is a nice world today' in White House meeting with Biden
Reporters were let into the Oval Office for Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s meeting for a short period of time, and heard the two men say little.
“Politics is tough and in many cases it’s not a nice world, but it is a nice world today,” Trump said, in one of the few comments either made.
Video of their encounter shows Trump and Biden sitting in chairs by the fireplace and smiling as reporters shout questions. Neither man answers, though Trump appears to mouth “thank you” at one point.
The scene as Trump and Biden meet in Oval Office
Press photographers were allowed into the room at the beginning of Donald Trump’s meeting with Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Here’s what they saw:
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Trump, Biden meet at White House
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are meeting in the Oval Office, according to reporters at the White House.
The press was only let into the room for about a minute, but could hear Trump say something about how politics is tough, and thank Biden for a smooth transition of power. “You’re welcome,” the president replied.
As House Republicans cheer Donald Trump’s victory, Axios reports that Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, has acknowledged to his lawmakers that they are unlikely to become the majority.
Ballot counting is ongoing in races that will determine which party controls the chamber, but Jeffries said in a private meeting with his lawmakers that it was increasingly unlikely Democrats would win back control. “There is a mathematical ‘possibility’ we could still take the majority, but not a ‘probability’,” Jeffries said, according to a Democratic member quoted by Axio.
The New York lawmaker also said that “the buck stops with me” when it comes to the failure to take the House.
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Trump to meet Biden at White House
Donald Trump is scheduled to at 11am sit for a meeting with Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the transition between their administrations.
No such meeting happened after Biden won election in 2020, because Trump refused to acknowledge his victory, and instead tried to prevent him from taking office.
Biden and Trump have spent the past four years denouncing each other, but the president quickly reached out to set up a meeting with the Republican after he won last Tuesday’s election.
Reporters are scheduled to be allowed into the Oval Office, where Biden and Trump are meeting, for a few minutes when it begins. We’ll let you know what the two leaders have to say.
Here’s what it looked like when Donald Trump stopped by Capitol Hill to greet House Republicans:
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Trump jokes about running for third term in meeting with House Republicans
Donald Trump joked about running for a third term as president, during an address to House Republicans in Washington DC.
“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you say, he’s good, we got to figure something else,” Trump said.
The constitution prohibits Trump from running for re-election, since he previously served one term in office that lasted from 2017 till 2021.
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Trump mulling ex-Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for top intelligence job – report
Donald Trump is considering appointing Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who left the party and endorsed his candidacy, as his director of national intelligence, Punchbowl News reports.
Gabbard represented Hawaii from 2013 through 2021, and made a failed attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
As a congresswoman, she made an unusual trip to government-controlled areas of Syria during its civil war, met with its president, Bashar al-Assad, and later publicly doubted his responsibility in a well-documented chemical weapons attack. Should Trump nominate her for the job overseeing US intelligence agencies, you can expect that episode to come up at her confirmation hearings. Here’s more about her, from when she made her bid for president:
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Democratic governors launch new organization to fight Trump overreach
As the dawn of a new Trump era looms, two blue state governors are launching an initiative to confront the threat of authoritarianism and safeguard American democratic institutions.
Governors Safeguarding Democracy is a non-partisan coalition of governors, chaired by Illinois governor JB Pritzker and Colorado governor Jared Polis.
“We founded GSD because we know that simple hope alone will not save our democracy,” said Polis. “We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen.”
Across the country, Democratic governors and attorneys general are preparing for a second Trump administration by readying lawsuits and legislation that could serve as a bulwark against any attempts to undermine state-level climate initiatives, abortion access or federal disaster relief funding. The governors said they would seek input from thinktanks, legal experts and democracy advocates.
“What we’re doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend upon.” Pritzker told reporters on Tuesday.
The governors said they have been in contact with several governors about joining the initiative, including Republicans, but did not offer the names of any other members.
The alliance is modeling itself after the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a governors’ working group that formed after the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade. According to Pritzker and Polis, the new coalition will provide a more formal structure allowing for cross-state collaboration on policies that reinforce and protect the rule of law and democratic institutions. It is also aimed at allowing for a more coordinated response to “emerging threats”.
Polis said the governors were particularly concerned about threats to the integrity of the US election system, but that the group would also be focused on “protecting the principle of an independent judiciary, our Constitutional principles, the health of democracy and civil society”.
“It’s about being proactive around educating people and making sure governors have the toolkit to support our small d democratic institutions, as well as, of course, being reacting effectively and coordinating response to any threats to our democracy that come from any president or from foreign powers,” he added.
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Reporters on Capitol Hill have spotted JD Vance arriving for the Senate Republican Conference’s leadership election.
He will become vice-president along with Donald Trump on 20 January, but, until then, represents Ohio in the Senate, a job he got (only!) two years ago.
Punchbowl News reports that Vance declined to say which candidate he is supporting to lead the party.
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Senate Republicans to select new leader as McConnell steps down
Another story to watch today is the behind-closed-doors election Senate Republicans are holding to replace outgoing leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell is one of the most influential conservative politicians in the country. The Kentucky lawmaker led the opposition to Barack Obama’s presidency and blocked him from appointing a supreme court justice in 2014, paving the way for Donald Trump to appoint three justices that decisively tilted the court to the right and overturned Roe v Wade. But after a series of health scares, the 82-year-old announced earlier this year that he would not stand again to lead the party in Congress’s upper chamber.
Three candidates stand to replace him: top-ranking senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas, and Rick Scott, a Florida senator who has lately received a boost from people aligned with Trump’s Maga agenda. Whoever emerges as the GOP conference’s pick will become Senate majority leader next year, when the party officially takes control of the chamber from Democrats. He’ll also become a leading figure in implementing Trump’s legislative agenda.
Control of House still undecided, but GOP on track for another majority
It’s worth noting that we still do not know for sure if Republicans will continue to hold a majority in the House of Representatives.
Ballot counting is ongoing in a small number of close races in western states, but according to the Associated Press, the GOP has won 216 seats to the Democrats’ 207, with 218 seats needed for a majority. Donald Trump’s allies have managed to pick up four Democratic-held seats, while the Democrats have flipped only one.
Should Democrats pull of surprise victories in enough outstanding seats to gain a majority, it would put them in a position to block Trump’s legislative proposals. Even if the GOP wins the majority again, it will likely be a small one – which can pose its own problems.
Trump to meet with House Republicans before heading to White House
Donald Trump will meet with the House GOP before he sits down with Joe Biden to discuss the presidential transition at the White House.
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson announced the meeting yesterday, which comes as Republicans appear on track to keep their majority in Congress’s lower chamber. Politico reports that the president-elect will appear at the meeting beginning at 9am.
Jack Smith plans to end prosecutions of Trump, resign before president-elect sworn in – report
Justice department special counsel Jack Smith plans to end his two prosecutions of Donald Trump and resign before the president-elect takes office, the New York Times reports.
Smith last year indicted Trump for allegedly plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat, and for conspiring to hide classified documents. Neither case made it to trial before Trump’s election victory last week, which appeared to make it impossible for Smith to continue. Justice department policy prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents, and Trump has vowed to fire Smith within “two seconds” of becoming president again.
Here’s more, from the Times:
Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Donald J. Trump, plans to finish his work and resign along with other members of his team before Mr. Trump takes office in January, people familiar with his plans said.
Mr. Smith’s goal, they said, is to not leave any significant part of his work for others to complete and to get ahead of the president-elect’s promise to fire him within “two seconds” of being sworn in.
Mr. Smith, who since taking office two years ago has operated under the principle that not even a powerful ex-president is above the law, now finds himself on the defensive as he rushes to wind down a pair of complex investigations slowed by the courts and ultimately made moot by Mr. Trump’s electoral victory.
Mr. Smith’s office is still drawing up its plan for how to end the cases, and it is possible that unforeseen circumstances — such as judicial rulings or decisions by other government officials — could alter his intended timeline. But Mr. Smith is trying to finish his work and leave before Mr. Trump returns to power, the people familiar with his plans said.
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As he prepares for his last act as special counsel, Mr. Smith’s ultimate audience will not be a jury, but the public.
Department regulations call for him to file a report summarizing his investigation and decisions — a document that may stand as the final accounting from a prosecutor who filed extensive charges against a former president but never got his cases to trial.
It is not clear how quickly he can finish this work, leaving uncertain whether it could be made public before the Biden administration leaves office. But several officials said he has no intention of lingering any longer than he has to, and has told career prosecutors and F.B.I. agents on his team who are not directly involved in that process that they can start planning their departures over the next few weeks, people close to the situation said.
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Blinken: Biden administration will 'use every day' to continue supporting Ukraine before Trump becomes president
Secretary of state Antony Blinken is in Brussels in Belgium, where he has been meeting recently appointed Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
In comments after the meeting, he set out to the media how Joe Biden’s administration intends to continue supporting Ukraine as the transition to the second Donald Trump administration gets under way. He told reporters:
We have a very intense and important agenda over the next couple of months. And as I said to the secretary general, president Biden fully intends to drive through the tape and use every day to continue to do what we’ve done over these last four years, which is strengthen this alliance that’s so critical to the security of the US and security of countries throughout Europe.
And we will do that and as well to continue to shore up everything we’re doing for Ukraine to make sure that it can effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression.
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In a few hours Joe Biden and Donald Trump will meet at the White House, a courtesy that Trump did not afford to Biden when he succeeded him as president after the 2020 election.
Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, writing for MSNBC, suggests that today will see both men on their best behavior. She writes:
For the sake of the country, [Biden] will be gracious, congratulate Trump on winning a fair election and, most of all, emphasize the importance of a peaceful transfer of power.
Trump will likely be polite and probably bring up Biden’s call to him following the first attempt on his life in July — a call he seemed to genuinely appreciate. But don’t be surprised if he drops some sort of wisecrack walking out the door.
Do expect Biden to use a little humor — not only is it in his nature, but it is a disarming technique. It will likely end with Biden assuring Trump, and the public, that he will do everything possible to make this a smooth transition and promise to assist the president-elect in any way needed.
From our opinion desk Moira Donegan has her column today, in which she says that the “Your body, my choice” slogan is a creepy, snide and all-too-revealing mantra for pro-Trump young men.
You can read it here …
In his Axios newsletter this morning Mike Allen chooses to major on president-elect Donald Trump’s surprise pick of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, which Allen describes as a “Pentagon shocker.”
He writes:
President Trump made the biggest and most unconventional pick of his transition last evening by tapping Fox News host and decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, to be defense secretary.
Hegseth favors a non-interventionist America First foreign policy, in contrast with Trump’s more hawkish picks for other top national security roles.
The choice channels Trump’s affinity for cable news and high ratings.
Hegseth has lobbied heavily on behalf of several service members accused of war crimes and privately encouraged then-president Trump to issue pardons.
Mehdi Hasan writes for the Guardian today, asking “Is Donald Trump a foreign policy dove?”
You can read it here …
Who is Pete Hegseth, the Fox host tapped for Trump's defense secretary?
Associated Press has described Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, as “someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military”.
The news agency points out that in an interview the Shawn Ryan Show podcast, Hegseth has previously expressed the view that allowing women to serve in combat increases the number of casualties the US military suffers.
It quotes him saying:
Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse.
He said minority and white men can perform similarly but the same isn’t true for women, adding that by opening combat slots to women “we’ve changed the standards in putting them there, which means you’ve changed the capability of that unit”.
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Who is Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur tapped for a new Trump committee?
Donald Trump appointee Vivek Ramaswamy is somewhat less known outside the US than Elon Musk.
Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur, who ran for the Republican nomination for president against Trump, dropping out of the race early in 2024.
His parents moved to the US from Kerala, and he has attended Harvard and Yale. The 39-year-old lives in New York and has a house in Ohio, and is married with two children.
Forbes has stated he is one of the 20 youngest billionaires in the US, and his business interests have included biotech firm Roivant Sciences, Chapter Medicare and he also worked at hedge fund QVT.
Ramaswamy also notoriously appeared to broadcast himself urinating during a live X talk that featured Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, Matt Gaetz and others.
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Freedom caucus will not run House speaker candidate against Mike Johnson - report
US politics website the Hill is reporting that the hardline Trumpist Republican Freedom caucus in the House is to drop its objection to the re-election of speaker Mike Johnson, and will not be putting up an alternative candidate.
Instead it is believed the group will force an on the record vote on Johnson’s role, which will allow them to register their onjection to his reappointment. The caucus is unhappy with proposed rule changes intended to enforce better party discipline on the more rebellious Republican members of the House.
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Biden to host Trump at the White House
Joe Biden will host Donald Trump later today at the White House as part of transition efforts between the current administration and the incoming one.
Yesterday White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters “[Biden] believes in the norms, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power. That is what is the norm. That is what is supposed to happen.”
Reuters reports that Brian Vance, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said “The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act.”
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In an analysis piece for CNN, Stephen Collinson has described Donald Trump’s flurry of announcements as “a night of Maga shock and awe.”
The selection of people such as Elon Musk, Kristi Noem and Pete Hegseth are partly designed to honor the aspirations of Trump’s voters and epitomize the president-elect’s own outsider brand — as well as his deeply developed craving for loyalty.
His choice of ultra-loyalists is borne out of Trump’s frustration that establishment military officers, officials and conventional Washington operators reined in his own most extreme impulses in his first term.
But Trump is also taking a risk. While it makes sense to pick outside revolutionaries to tear down governance, many of his picks lack the kind of in-depth experience and knowledge of the departments they will run.
In its coverage of the controversial appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a non-governmental commission to cut government spending, the Washington Post reminds readers of something the latter said earlier in the year.
It quotes Ramaswamy saying “We have a fourth branch of government – the administrative state – that our Founding Fathers didn’t envision. Removing the excess bureaucracy is going to be good for our economy and for our national spirit.”
The Washington Post goes on to say:
A person familiar with the effort, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive negotiations, said that details of the organization’s funding would emerge soon. The [Republicans] had talked about reducing waste for many years, but had not been effective, the person added, leading the campaign to the conclusion ‘outsiders with a much more entrepreneurial approach’ were better suited to the task.
Some Trump advisers see Musk’s commission as an opportunity to implement long-sought goals to reduce federal spending and regulation. They have pointed to the Grace Commission, a Reagan-era panel that recommended billions of dollars in spending cuts. Under that model, which some Trump advisers hope the Musk plan will emulate, the commission identified hundreds or thousands of examples of wasteful government programs and regulations, and called on Congress to approve the recommendations, backed by the president.
The constitution gives Congress authority over taxation and spending, meaning any federal budget changes recommended by Musk’s commission would have to be approved by the House and Senate.
As my colleague Philip Wen noted in his report on the appointment of Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to the newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”, a lot of details remain unclear:
It is not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.
Trump said the agency will be conducting a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government, and making recommendations for drastic reforms”.
Trump said their work would conclude by 4 July 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a “gift” to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Read more here: Trump selects Elon Musk to lead government efficiency department
Ramaswamy and Musk to lead 'government efficiency' department sparking conflict of interest concerns
The announcement that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new non-governmental “Department of Government Efficiency” has immediately raised questions about conflicts of interest.
Both men, CNN notes, “lead companies with existing, lucrative government contracts”. Musk runs companies including Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink while Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotech entrepreneur.
In his statement announcing the new roles, president-elect Donald Trump said of Musk and Ramaswamy:
Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal agencies.
Reacting to his appointment, and giving his view of what he sees as government bureaucracy, Ramaswamy posted to X to say “Shut it down”.
Ramaswamy also announced he was ending his bid to be appointed Ohio senator in stead of JD Vance, who is set to become vice president.
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Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to the Guardian’s ongoing coverage of US politics. Here are the headlines …
President-elect Donald Trump has continued to make appointments as he prepares to return to the White House. Former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, who once said he dreamed of building a holiday home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, will be the US ambassador to Israel
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security. Fox News host Pete Hegseth will serve as secretary of defense, while John Ratcliffe will lead the CIA and William Joseph McGinley will serve as White House counsel
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency”, which Trump says will not actually be a government agency. They will, according to Trump, work from outside the government to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”. Both men already have lucrative government contracts, leading to questions about an immediate conflict of interest
Republican Rep David Valadao sealed California’s 22nd Congressional district, beating Democrat Rudy Salas, and edging the Republicans closer to the 218 mark which will give them control of the House
The judge in Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has postponed deciding on whether to throw out the conviction on presidential immunity grounds
Joe Biden’s administration has said it will not halt arms transfers to Israel, despite eight international aid groups saying Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has failed to meet US demands to increase humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip
