The latest on President-elect Donald Trump's transition

Biden prepares farewell address from Oval Office as he prepares to cede power to Trump

President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation Wednesday night, seizing what may be his final opportunity to reshape Americans' grim views on his term before he departs the White House.

He plans to deliver the speech at 8 p.m. ET in the Oval Office, the latest in a series of remarks on domestic policy and foreign relations that are intended to cement his legacy. Earlier in the day, he heralded a long awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which could end more than a year of bloodshed in the Middle East.

But Biden isn't leaving the White House in the way that he hoped. He originally tried to run for reelection, brushing aside voters' concerns that he would be 86 years old at the end of a second term. After stumbling in a debate with Republican Donald Trump, Biden dropped out of the race under pressure from his own party.

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Rubio vows to place US interests 'above all else' as Trump's top diplomat

WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio promised on Wednesday to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” vision as secretary of state, vowing in his confirmation hearing that the incoming administration will forge a new path by placing American interests “above all else.”

“Placing our core national interests above all else is not isolationism," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "It is the commonsense realization that a foreign policy centered on our national interest is not some outdated relic.”

“The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us,” Rubio said.

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Bondi says she won't play politics as attorney general but doesn't rule out probes of Trump foes

Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, sought to reassure Democratic senators Wednesday that her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes but also refused to rule out the potential for investigations into adversaries of the Republican president-elect.

Her often-testy confirmation hearing centered on concerns that Trump would seek to use the Justice Department's law enforcement powers to exact retribution against opponents, including investigators who investigated him. Democrats pressed her on whether she could maintain the department's independence from the White House and say no to the president if asked to do something unethical, while Republicans welcomed her as a course correction for a Justice Department they believe has pursued a liberal agenda and unfairly pursued Trump through investigations resulting in two indictments.

“What would you do if your career DOJ prosecutors came to you with a case to prosecute, grounded in the facts and law, but the White House directs you to drop the case?” asked Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat.

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Bondi says she accepts results of the 2020 election at her confirmation hearing for attorney general

WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, said she accepted the results of the 2020 election that Trump lost to President Joe Biden but suggested during a confirmation hearing Wednesday that she had witnessed significant problems in Pennsylvania when she traveled to state as an advocate for the Republican's campaign.

“Do I accept the results? Of course I do,” Bondi said in response to a question from Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel tasked with deciding whether to confirm the former Florida attorney general to become the country's chief law enforcement officer.

“No one from either side of the aisle should want there to be any issues with election integrity and our country,” she said, adding that she had seen “so much” while on the ground in Pennsylvania. “We should all want our elections to be free and fair.”

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Hegseth confronts allegations of misconduct as senators grill Trump's choice for Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and questions about his derisive views of women in combat during a heated Senate confirmation hearing.

Hegseth repeatedly deflected the various misconduct allegations and instead focused on his own combat experience in the Army National Guard as senators determine whether the combat veteran and former TV news show host is fit to lead the U.S. military.

“It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks.

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Mark Zuckerberg will cohost reception with Republican billionaires for Trump inauguration

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cohosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors next week for Donald Trump’s inauguration, the latest sign of the Facebook founder's embrace of the president-elect.

The reception cohosted by Zuckerberg is set for Monday evening, shortly before the inaugural balls, according to two people familiar with the private plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

The other cohosts are Miriam Adelson, the Dallas Mavericks owner and widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; Tilman Fertitta, casino magnate, Houston Rockets owner and Trump's pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy; Todd Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs; and Ricketts' wife, Sylvie Légère.

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Top DC prosecutor: Trump pardons couldn't erase impact of Capitol riot convictions

Pardoning rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol four years ago can't erase the truth about what happened that day, the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., said Tuesday as he prepares to leave office.

“There is no undoing these prosecutions,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves told The Associated Press. “The vindication of the rule of law is something that has already occurred. And no one can take that away.”

Graves helped lead the largest investigation in Justice Department history, overseeing hundreds of cases against rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His successor, whoever that will be, may preside over an abrupt end to that work.

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Trump's Cabinet picks are set for Senate hearings. Here's the schedule

After the initial crush of personnel announcements for President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, now the nominations process officially begins.

Senate hearings are scheduled this week for several of Trump's picks for the Cabinet. Many nominees have met with senators individually. Now, they will go before the committees overseeing the agencies that Trump wants them to run.

Here's a look at the schedule for Senate hearings set so far, in Eastern time:

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New Jersey to stockpile abortion pills ahead of Trump's return to office

New Jersey is going to build up a supply of medication used in abortions, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday during his state of the state address as he both pledged to work with President-elect Donald Trump and warned that the state is ready to push back against the incoming administration.

Murphy is one of a handful of Democratic governors who criticized Trump on the campaign trail yet now say they're open to cooperation. But Murphy said he will not back down in the face of “anti-choice” policies supported by the Republican majorities in Congress. He said the state will stockpile mifepristone “so every woman can access this crucial form of reproductive care.”

“I will never back away from partnering with the Trump Administration where our priorities align,” Murphy said during his address before a joint meeting of the Democrat-led Legislature. “But just as importantly, I will never back down from defending our New Jersey values — if and when they are tested.”

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Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses, but former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will be there.

Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will join their husbands for the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, representatives said.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” said a statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama that was shared with The Associated Press.

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Judge clears the way for release of special counsel Smith's report on Trump's Jan. 6 case

WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Monday that the Justice Department can release special counsel Jack Smith’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, is latest back and forth in a court dispute over the report from the special counsel who prosecuted Trump in two cases the Justice Department abandoned in November.

Cannon had earlier temporarily blocked the department from releasing the report. Cannon's latest order on Monday cleared the way for the release of the volume on Trump's 2020 election interference case.

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Donald Trump's remarks buffet an already reeling wind energy industry

The U.S. wind energy industry, still reeling after a year of costly retrenchment, is facing severe new headwinds from Washington as a second Trump administration prepares for office, with potential ramifications for New York State and Long Island.

Whether the anti-wind power rhetoric from President-elect Donald Trump is enough to stall projects already underway, or nix ones teed up for federal approval, remains to be seen. New York and other states are already building projects and new ones could be announced as soon as this week. New York proposes getting all of its power from wind and other non-emission sources by 2040.

Trump, in an hourlong briefing from Mar-a-Lago in Florida last week, derided wind-energy turbines as little more than "garbage in a field," while vowing to undo recently enacted oil and gas offshore drilling bans. Trump also said he’d end electric-car mandates and even denounced electric heat while promoting "clean natural gas" as "much better heat ... you don’t itch."

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Trump's plan to deport criminals: Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen back the idea, but offer advice on enforcement

WASHINGTON — In 2007, then-Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi barred federal immigration agents from the county after their raids seeking gang members here illegally — conducted without local police — also barged into homes of innocent U.S. citizens.

As President-elect Donald Trump calls for mass deportations of criminals without legal U.S. immigration status, now-U. S. Rep. Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) has offered support for those raids — but also advice.

"It’s really important that this is coordinated at the local level," Suozzi told Newsday. "I think that corrections, jails, maybe even probation and parole should play a very heavy role in coordinating with the federal government."

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Trump nominee for top federal prosecutor on LI has long history of government service

In the early 1990s, Joseph Nocella Jr. was a young assistant U.S. Aattorney in New York's Eastern District prosecuting cases in Central Islip against the head of the Lucchese crime family, a married couple who defrauded a half dozen banks of $38 million and a woman accused of threatening the life of feminist leader Betty Friedan.

More than 30 years later, Nocella, a newly elected Nassau County Family Court judge, is poised to return to the Eastern District — this time as the office's top prosecutor.

On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump named Nocella as his selection for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District. Nocella "has a strong record of bringing Law and Order to the incredible people of New York," Trump said in a statement on his social media platform Truth Social.

If the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate confirms him, Nocella, 60, of Seaford, would succeed Breon Peace, who announced last month he was resigning effective Jan. 10. The district covers Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

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Judge who blocked release of Trump report was 'plainly' wrong, special counsel tells appeals court

The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to move swiftly in reversing a judge's order that had blocked the agency from releasing any part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump.

The emergency motion late Friday is the latest back and forth in a court dispute over whether any portion of Smith's report can be made public before Trump takes office Jan. 20. The push to release it before Trump’s inauguration reflects concerns that the Justice Department under the Trump administration, which will include members of his personal legal team in key leadership roles, would be in position to prevent the report from coming to light.

The department is hoping to release in the coming days one part of its two-volume report focused on Trump's efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. The department has said it will not publicly disclose a separate volume — about Trump's hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left the White House in January 2021 — as long as criminal proceedings against two of Trump's co-defendants remain pending.

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Trump is planning 100 executive orders starting Day 1 on border, deportations and other priorities

President-elect Donald Trump is preparing more than 100 executive orders starting Day One of the new White House, in what amounts to a shock-and-awe campaign on border security, deportations and a rush of other policy priorities.

Trump told Republican senators about the onslaught ahead during a private meeting on Capitol Hill. Many of the actions are expected to launch on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, when he takes office. Trump top adviser Stephen Miller outlined for the GOP senators the border security and immigration enforcement measures that are likely to launch soonest. Axios first reported on Trump and his team's presentation.

“There will be a substantial number,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Allies of the president-elect have been preparing a stack of executive orders that Trump could sign quickly on a wide range of topics – from the U.S.-Mexico border clampdown to energy development to federal Schedule F workforce rules, school gender policies and vaccine mandates, among other day-one promises made during his campaign.

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U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump's request to delay his sentencing on hush money case conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s request to stay his sentencing clearing the way for a historic hearing that would leave the incoming president a convicted felon for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to try to hide a sexual encounter with a porn start ahead of the 2016 election.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan scheduled the sentencing for Trump for Friday at 9:30 a.m. The judge gave him the option of appearing in person or via video feed.

Merchan had previously signaled that he would not impose a prison term to the president elect, leaving only a public record of Trump’s felony conviction, which he can appeal.

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US orange juice and steel will be on Canada's list for retaliation if Trump imposes tariffs

TORONTO — Canada is looking at putting retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel products if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products, a senior official familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The official said the wide-ranging list hasn't been completed yet. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Trump said this week he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nation’s 51st state. And he continues to erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil — as a subsidy.

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Vice President-elect JD Vance resigns from the Senate

Vice President-elect JD Vance is resigning from his seat in the U.S. Senate, effective Friday.

Vance made his intentions known in a letter Thursday to Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who will choose his successor.

“To the people of Ohio, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of representing you in the United States Senate. When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and I’ve made sure to live by that promise every single day,” Vance wrote.

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Germany's leader says all countries must respect existing borders, in a rebuttal of Trump

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, however powerful, and suggested that expansionist comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are meeting with “incomprehension” among European leaders.

Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland — an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a member of NATO and the European Union. He declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

In a hastily arranged statement to reporters, Scholz said he spoke earlier Wednesday with several European leaders, whom he didn't name, and the president of the European Council.

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Mexico's President Sheinbaum offers sarcastic response to Trump's 'Gulf of America' comment

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum responded sarcastically on Wednesday to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Standing before a global map in her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum proposed dryly that North America should be renamed “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America,” because a founding document dating from 1814 that preceded Mexico's constitution referred to it that way.

“That sounds nice, no?” she added with a sarcastic tone. She also noted that the Gulf of Mexico had been named that way since 1607.

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Blinken says Trump's push for US to take control of Greenland is 'not going to happen'

PARIS — Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is advising the world “not to waste a lot of time” on what President-elect Donald Trump has been saying about Greenland.

Trump made clear again this week that he’d like the semiautonomous territory of Denmark to come under U.S. control and said he would not rule out the use of military force to make that happen.

“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said.

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Justice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel's Trump report for now

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the record focused on the president-elect's hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The revelation was made in a filing to a federal appeals court that was considering a defense request to block the release of the two-volume report while charges remain pending against two Trump co-defendants in the Florida case accusing the Republican former president and current president-elect of illegally holding classified documents.

Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the classified documents case, granted the request Tuesday, issuing a temporary block on the report.

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Canadian leaders say Trump's talk about Canada becoming the 51st state isn't funny anymore

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s comments that Canada should become the 51st state are no longer a joke and are meant to undermine America’s closest ally, Canada’s finance minister said Wednesday.

Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for U.S-Canada relations, said Trump was smiling when he first made the comment during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in late November.

“The joke is over,” said LeBlanc. “It’s a way for him, I think, to sow confusion, to agitate people, to create chaos knowing this will never happen.”

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Sen. Warren presses Hegseth to answer questions about his past actions and statements

WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, to answer additional questions about his past actions and statements before next Tuesday's confirmation hearing.

In a letter to Hegseth sent Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat asked the former Fox News host and Army veteran to respond no later than Friday to questions on allegations of past drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies. She also wants to know about statements he's made concerning minorities, women and LGBTQ people serving in the military.

Hegseth has the support of some veterans groups that believe the military has overemphasized diversity at the cost of troop readiness. A group of former Navy SEALs is planning a rally in support of Hegseth in Washington next week.

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Trump floats renaming Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America' 

President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would move to try to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” a name he said has a “beautiful ring to it.”

It's his latest suggestion to redraw the map of the Western Hemisphere. Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the “51st State,” demanded that Denmark consider ceding Greenland, and called for Panama to return the Panama Canal.

Here's a look at his comment and what goes into a name.

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Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

Speaking to reporters less than two weeks before he takes office on Jan. 20 and as a delegation of aides and advisers that includes Donald Trump Jr. is in Greenland, Trump left open the use of the American military to secure both territories. Trump's intention marks a rejection of decades of U.S. policy that has prioritized self-determination over territorial expansion.

“I’m not going to commit to that," Trump said, when asked if he would rule out the use of the military. "It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added, “We need Greenland for national security purposes."

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Judge temporarily blocks release of special counsel report on Trump cases as court fight simmers

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the public release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on investigations into Donald Trump as an appeals court weighs a challenge to the disclosure of a much-anticipated document just days before the president-elect reclaims office.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon may represent a short-lived victory for Trump, but it's nonetheless the latest instance of the Trump-appointed jurist taking action in the Republican's favor. The halt followed to an emergency request Monday by defense lawyers to block the release of a report that they said would be one-sided and prejudicial. Smith's team is expected to respond later Tuesday.

Trump responded to Cannon's order by complaining anew at a news conference about Smith's investigation and saying, “It'll be a fake report just like it was a fake investigation.”

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Trump taps Nassau Judge Joseph Nocella Jr. to be U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named Nassau County District Court Judge Joseph Nocella Jr. as his pick for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Nocella has served as a Nassau County District Court judge since 2022, and previously served as a town attorney for Hempstead and Oyster Bay. He also served as chief of staff to Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. from 2020 to 2021.

“Judge Nocella has a strong record of bringing Law and Order to the incredible people of New York,” Trump said in a statement released by his transition team.

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Trump promises to replace national archivist after the agency's role in documents case against him

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump is promising to replace the head of the National Archives, thrusting the agency back into the political spotlight after his mishandling of sensitive documents led to a federal indictment.

“We will have a new archivist," Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.

The agency piqued Trump's ire after it alerted the Department of Justice about potential problems with Trump’s handling of classified documents in early 2022. That set in motion an investigation that led to a dramatic FBI search of Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago, which culminated in him becoming the first former president charged with federal crimes.

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Harris to oversee certification of her defeat to Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday is set to preside over the certification of her defeat to Donald Trump four years after he tried to stop the very process that will now return him to the White House.

In a video message, Harris described her role as a “sacred obligation” to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.

“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile," she said. “And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”

Harris will be joining a short list of other vice presidents to oversee the ceremonial confirmation of their election loss as part of their role of presiding over the Senate.

Richard Nixon did it after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Al Gore followed suit when the U.S. Supreme Court tipped the 2000 election to George W. Bush.

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Congress ready to certify Trump's election win, but Jan. 6 legacy hangs over the day

As Congress convenes during a winter storm to certify President-elect Donald Trump's election, the legacy of Jan. 6 hangs over the proceedings with an extraordinary fact: The candidate who tried to overturn the previous election won this time and is legitimately returning to power.

Lawmakers will gather noontime Monday under the tightest national security level possible. Layers of tall black fencing flank the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago, when a defeated Trump sent his mob to “fight like hell” in what became the most gruesome attack on the seat of American democracy in 200 years.

No violence, protests or even procedural objections in Congress are expected this time. Republicans from the highest levels of power who challenged the 2020 election results when Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden have no qualms this year after he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Reminders of Jan. 6 attack fade in the Capitol as Trump retakes power

Inside the Capitol, reminders of the violence are increasingly hard to find.

Scars on the walls have been repaired. Windows and doors broken by the rioters have been replaced. And there is no plaque, display or remembrance of any kind.

Lawmakers rarely mention the attack, and many Republicans try to downplay it, echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s claims that the carnage of that day is overblown and that the rioters are victims. 

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House Speaker Mike Johnson held onto his job, but there are signs of trouble ahead

This time was supposed to be different.

But while House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday avoided the dayslong ordeal that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, endured to become speaker, his relatively swift victory was hardly a unifying moment. The tumult of the day laid bare that Johnson retains only tenuous support from hard-line conservatives who gave him their votes for now, but stand ready to dispatch him just as they did McCarthy if their demands aren't met.

“Is he going to fight?” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican who initially opposed Johnson but ultimate changed his vote.

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Judge sets Trump's sentencing in hush money case for Jan. 10, but signals no jail time

In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he's due to return to the White House — but indicated he wouldn't be jailed.

The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he'd sentence the former and future president to what's known as a conditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation.

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Republican Mike Johnson reelected House speaker vote after dramatic floor vote

Republican Mike Johnson won reelection to the House speakership on a first ballot Friday, pushing past GOP hard-right holdouts and buoyed with a nod of support from President-elect Donald Trump.

A collection of hardline Republicans convened in the back of the House chamber during a tense roll call on the first day of the new Congress, one by one declining to vote or choosing another lawmaker. The standoff sparked fresh turmoil signaling trouble ahead under unified GOP control of Washington.

In the end, however, Johnson was able to flip two remaining holdouts who switched to support him, drawing applause from Republicans.

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Trump's strength and unpredictability can help end the war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is “strong and unpredictable,” and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, Zelenskyy said it won’t be possible to end the almost three years of war in one day, as Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could do.

“The ‘hot’ stage of the war can end quite quickly, if Trump is strong in his position,” Zelenskyy said in a Ukrainian television interview late Thursday, referring to fighting on the battlefield.

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Republicans' trust in accuracy of US elections jumps after Trump's win, AP-NORC poll finds

A majority of Republicans say they are confident in the 2024 vote count after Donald Trump’s win, according to a new poll that finds a sharp turnaround from GOP voters’ skepticism about U.S. elections after the president-elect spent four years lying about his loss to President Joe Biden.

About 6 in 10 Republicans said they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that the votes in last year's presidential election were counted correctly nationwide, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That's a sharp rise from about 2 in 10 Republicans who were confident in an AP-NORC poll in October. And about two-thirds of Republicans in the new survey said they were confident in their state’s vote count, up from about 4 in 10 before the election.

That helped drive up the share of Americans saying they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the accuracy of the election to about 6 in 10. That's higher than in October, when roughly half of Americans said they were highly confident the votes would be counted accurately.

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Trump to rally in DC ahead of inauguration

Donald Trump is expected to hold a big Washington rally the day before he's sworn in as the nation's 47th president.

The victory rally, as it's being billed, will be held at the Capitol One Arena in the District of Columbia on Jan. 19. Trump has always preferred rally-style events where he can freewheel and joke with his supporters. He'll be inaugurated in a formal ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20th.

“This is President Trump’s VICTORY RALLY the DAY before being sworn in as the 47th President — the crowd needs to be HUGE!” read an email to supporters advertising the event.

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Why Mike Johnson's bid to remain House speaker could be a struggle despite Trump's support

Mike Johnson is fighting for his political life, again.

The Louisiana Republican's hold on the House speaker's gavel and his position as second in line to the presidency will be tested Friday when a new Congress convenes and House Republicans weigh whether to reelect him to the post.

The challenge, as always, is that Johnson will need almost every Republican vote to win.

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Trump says he is planning to attend Jimmy Carter's funeral

President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's planning to attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

Asked about it as he walked into a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump responded, "I'll be there.” Pressed on whether he'd spoken to members of Carter's family, Trump said he'd rather not say.

Funeral services honoring Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, will be held in Georgia and Washington, beginning Jan. 4 and concluding Jan. 9.

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Trump calls it the 'center of the universe.' Mar-a-Lago is a magnet for those seeking influence

The cars begin lining up early in the morning to be screened by Secret Service agents under white tents near the fence that surrounds President-elect Donald Trump’s vast south Florida estate.

Famous figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Tesla and X owner Elon Musk pop up at breakfasts, luncheons and other social gatherings held daily at the opulent Mar-a-Lago club.

Over the weekend, Mike Love, one of the original members of the Beach Boys, performed the band’s greatest hits under an outdoor tent there as Trump, trailed by Secret Service agents, wandered through the crowd, swinging his fists to the music, according to videos posted online. At other parts of the evening, he stood next to his wife, Melania, near the pool, bobbing his head to the music.

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Appeals court upholds $5 million award in sexual abuse verdict against President-elect Donald Trump

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury’s finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion upholding the $5 million award that the Manhattan jury granted to E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse.

The longtime magazine columnist had testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack after they playfully entered the store’s dressing room.

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Trump endorses Mike Johnson to stay on as House Speaker after government funding turmoil

President-elect Donald Trump is endorsing House Speaker Mike Johnson as he prepares to fight to keep his role leading Republicans in Congress.

Trump said Monday in a post on his social media network that Johnson “is a good, hard working, religious man” and said the Louisiana Republican “will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”

“Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement," Trump wrote.

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Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.

“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump’s choice for solicitor general.

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Fate of Trump's Cabinet picks unclear as Republicans prepare to take power in Senate

The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard's 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria.

While some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in for Trump’s picks, others have withheld support, for now, especially on some of his more controversial nominees. The dynamic is injecting uncertainty into the process as Republicans prepare to take the Senate majority in January with a four-seat margin and as Trump aggressively challenges them to confirm his Cabinet immediately.

It’s not unusual for senators to wait until after confirmation hearings to publicly announce a decision. But Republicans are under more pressure than usual as Trump and his allies make clear that they will confront senators who don’t fall in line.

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Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.

Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”

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A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can't take it back on his own

Teddy Roosevelt once declared the Panama Canal “one of the feats to which the people of this republic will look back with the highest pride.” More than a century later, Donald Trump is threatening to take back the waterway for the same republic.

The president-elect is decrying increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He says if things don't change after he takes office next month, "We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”

Trump has long threatened allies with punitive action in hopes of winning concessions. But experts in both countries are clear: Unless he goes to war with Panama, Trump can't reassert control over a canal the U.S. agreed to cede in the 1970s.

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President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America's tallest peak

President-elect Donald Trump has once again suggested he wants to revert the name of North America’s tallest mountain — Alaska's Denali — to Mount McKinley, wading into a sensitive and decades-old conflict about what the peak should be called.

Former President Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives as well as the preference of many Alaska residents. The federal government in recent years has endeavored to change place-names considered disrespectful to Native people.

“Denali” is an Athabascan word meaning “the high one" or “the great one.” A prospector in 1896 dubbed the peak “Mount McKinley” after President William McKinley, who had never been to Alaska. That name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until Obama changed it over opposition from lawmakers in McKinley's home state of Ohio.

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Government shutdown is averted just after deadline as Congress rejects Trump's debt limit demands

Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson's new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

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House approves funding bill and sends to Senate hours before government shutdown deadline

Hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan late Friday from Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

Johnson insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The bill was approved 366-34, and now goes to the Senate, for expected quick passage.

“We will not have a government shutdown,” Johnson said ahead of the vote.

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Trump wants debt ceiling in the budget deal. If not, he says let the government shutdown start now

WASHINGTON — Hours before the start of a federal government shutdown, President-elect Donald Trump doubled-down Friday on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — and if not, let the closures “start now.”

Trump, who is not yet even sworn into the White House, issued his latest demand as House Speaker Mike Johnson arrived early at the Capitol, instantly holing up with some of the most conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus who helped sink Trump's bill in a spectacular Thursday evening flop. The clock is now racing toward the midnight deadline to fund government operations.

“ff there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted on social media.

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House rejects Trump-backed plan on government shutdown, leaving next steps uncertain

WASHINGTON — A day before a potential government shutdown, the House resoundingly rejected President-elect Donald Trump's new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.

In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage — but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reassess, before Friday's midnight deadline.

“We're going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.

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Alaska governor asks Trump to roll back restrictions on oil and gas drilling

JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s wish list for the incoming Trump administration includes oil and gas exploration in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and reversing restrictions on logging and road-building in a temperate rainforest that provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon.

Dunleavy has asked President-elect Donald Trump to issue a state-specific executive order that would set in motion “critical agency actions that would restore opportunity to Alaska" in line with Trump's first administration. Dunleavy and other Republican political leaders in the state have expressed excitement about Trump's return to the White House and believe he will be more friendly to oil and gas, mineral and other resource development than President Joe Biden.

Alaska has a long history of fighting what it sees as federal overreach, particularly when it comes to decisions that hinder development of the state’s vast resources.

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Musk ascends as a political force beyond his wealth by tanking budget deal

In the first major flex of his influence since Donald Trump was elected, Elon Musk brought to a sudden halt a bipartisan budget proposal by posting constantly on his X megaphone and threatening Republicans with primary challenges.

The social media warnings from the world's wealthiest man preceded Trump's condemnation of a measure negotiated by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, which effectively killed the stopgap measure that was designed to prevent a partial shutdown of the federal government.

Washington was scrambled a day after Musk's public pressure campaign. Trump on Thursday declined to say if he had confidence in Johnson, telling NBC News, “We'll see.” And there was no clear path to keeping the government open beyond Friday, raising the specter of a government shutdown heading into the holidays. Congressional Democrats mocked their GOP counterparts, with several suggesting Trump had been relegated to vice president.

“Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency,” Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California wrote on X.

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Trump backs new GOP plan to fund government and raise debt limit as shutdown nears

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced “success” in coming up with a new plan to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, urging Congress to swiftly pass it in votes as soon as Thursday evening.

Trump's social media post landed as Republicans said they had narrowed in on a tentative accord after grueling closed-door talks. The new plan would keep government running for three more months, add disaster assistance for hurricane-hit states and others, and allow more borrowing through Jan. 30, 2027, Republicans said.

“SUCCESS in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal,” Trump posted.

Next steps were highly uncertain, and it was particularly unclear if Democrats, who votes would certainly be needed on any package in the face of hardline Republican opposition, were on board — or even brought into any negotiations.

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Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdown

President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.

Trump's sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to engineer a new plan before Friday's deadline to keep government open.

“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.

The president-elect made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined the some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation's debt limit — something his own party routinely rejects. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” they wrote.

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Senate committee to hold confirmation hearing for defense secretary nominee Hegseth on Jan 14

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense is expected to face his first public questioning from U.S. senators on Jan. 14.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters Wednesday that the committee is planning to hold Pete Hegseth’s hearing in mid-January as the former Fox News host and veteran has visited Senate offices in an effort to rally Republicans around him. Some senators have questioned his fitness for the role amid allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.

Hegseth has told senators that he wouldn’t drink while defense secretary and pushed back on the reports of misbehavior, and Trump has publicly boosted his nomination, posting on his social media platform last week that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Hegseth also attended the Army-Navy football game with the president-elect over the weekend.

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Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for 'election interference' after inaccurate poll

President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of three percentage points in the state.

The Register's parent Gannett Co. on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit as meritless and said it would vigorously defend its First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit continues the president-elect's campaign against media outlets he feels have wronged him. ABC this past weekend agreed to pay $15 million toward a Trump presidential library in order to settle a defamation lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos for inaccurately saying Trump had been found civilly liable for rape.

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RFK Jr. meets with senators as questions swirl about Trump's pick to lead health agency

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swept onto Capitol Hill late Monday, as the anti-vaccine health guru from the famous political family reintroduced himself to senators, this time as President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's Health and Human Services Department.

It was a soft-opening debut for Kennedy, whose wide-ranging views — yes to raw milk, no to fluoride, Ozempic and America's favorite processed foods — are raising alarms in the scientific community and beyond. In the Senate he's facing a mix of support, curiosity, skepticism and downright rejection among the senators who will be asked to confirm him to Trump's Cabinet.

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Trump says he'd consider pardoning NYC Mayor Adams

President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he’d consider pardoning Mayor Eric Adams because federal prosecutors have treated Adams "pretty unfairly," remarks that came hours after New York City’s Campaign Finance Board denied Adams’ reelection bid matching funds, citing allegations of lawbreaking and other misconduct.

At a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump was asked whether he'd pardon Adams, who has been indicted on corruption charges alleging he traded campaign contributions and municipal favors for luxury travel funded by foreign governments.

"Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly," Trump said. "Now, I haven’t seen the gravity of it all, but it seems, you know, like being upgraded in an airplane many years ago? I know probably everybody here has been upgraded. They see you’re all stars."

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Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what's next for those who oppose Trump

WASHINGTON — She’s an Iraq War combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct.

But when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, appeared initially cool to the nomination of President-elect Donald Trump ’s choice of Pete Hegseth to serve as defense secretary — a man who once said women should not serve in combat and who has himself been accused of sexual assault — she faced an onslaught of criticism from within her own party, including threats of a potential primary challenge in 2026.

“The American people spoke,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader and a conservative activist in Ernst’s home state.

“When you sign up for this job, it’s a big boy and big girl job, and she’s feeling the pressure of people vocalizing their disappointment, their concern with how she’s handling this.”

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Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell as he's named Time's Person of the Year

Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year, according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time.

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Trump names Kimberly Guilfoyle as Ambassador to Greece

Kimberly Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign. Trump called her “a close friend and ally,” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” She had been engaged to Don Jr. since 2020, they arrived together at the convention center on election night and she was on stage with the family.

“I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted.

Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, and Dan Bishop as deputy director for budget at the Office of Budget and Management.

Making a $1B investment in the US? Trump pledges expedited permits — but there are hurdles

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is promising expedited federal permits for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion. But like other Trump plans, the idea is likely to run into regulatory and legislative hurdles, including a landmark law that requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impact before deciding on major projects.

In a post on his Truth Social site Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”

“GET READY TO ROCK!!!" he added.

While Trump did not specify who would be eligible for accelerated approvals, dozens of energy projects proposed nationwide, from natural gas pipelines and export terminals to solar farms and offshore wind turbines, meet the billion-dollar criteria.

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Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars' worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior.

Ferguson is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans.

“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.”

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Trudeau says Americans are realizing that Trump's tariffs on Canada make life a lot more expensive

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday Americans “are beginning to wake up to the reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive."

Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Donald Trump on trade will be “a little more challenging” than the last time.

Trudeau said that’s because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016.

The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.

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Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for intel chief, faces questions on Capitol Hill amid Syria fallout

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country's hardline Assad rule.

Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump's unusual nominees.

But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump's America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas.

“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting.

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Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next

CHICAGO — As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, those on both sides of the abortion debate are watching closely for clues about how his picks might affect reproductive rights policy in the president-elect’s second term.

Trump’s cabinet picks offer a preview of how his administration could handle abortion after he repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue on the campaign trail. He attempted to distance himself from anti-abortion allies by deferring to states on abortion policy, even while boasting about nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down the constitutional protections for abortion that had stood for half a century.

In an NBC News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he doesn't plan to restrict medication abortion but also seemed to leave the door open, saying “things change.”

“Things do change, but I don't think it's going to change at all,” he said.

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Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is appointing one of his defense attorneys in the New York hush money case as counselor to the president.

Alina Habba, 40, defended Trump earlier this year, also serving as his legal spokesperson. Habba has been spending time with the president-elect since the election at his Florida club Mar-a-Lago.

“She has been unwavering in her loyalty and unmatched in her resolve — standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles and countless days in Court," Trump posted on his social network Truth Social. “Few understand the Weaponization of the ‘Injustice’ System better than Alina.”

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Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and says a US withdrawal from NATO is possible

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office.

“Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness," Trump wrote on social media, referring to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a television interview that aired Sunday, Trump also said he would be open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of NATO. Those are two threats that have alarmed Ukraine, NATO allies and many in the U.S. national security community.

Asked on NBC's “Meet the Press” if he were actively working to end the nearly 3-year-old Ukraine war, Trump said, “I am.”

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Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise US prices and promises swift immigration action

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can't guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned.

The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.

Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.”

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Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders

He's making threats, traveling abroad and negotiating with world leaders.

Donald Trump has more than a month and a half to go before he's sworn in for a second term. But the Republican president-elect is already moving aggressively not just to fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but to achieve those priorities.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, prompting emergency calls and a visit from Canada's prime minister that resulted in what Trump claimed were commitments from both U.S. allies on new border security measures.

The incoming president has warned there will be “ALL HELL TO PAY" if, before his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, Hamas does not release the hostages being held in Gaza . He has threatened to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, warning "Buyer Beware!!!”

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Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Donald Trump to Paris on Saturday with a full dose of presidential pomp as the two held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy before celebrating the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

On a day that mixed pageantry with attention to pressing global problems, the once and future American president was warmly embraced by Macron upon arriving at the Elysee Palace.

“It’s a great honor for French people to welcome you five years later,” Macron told Trump. “Welcome back again.”

Trump said it was a “very great honor" to be there, while hinting at challenges ahead.

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Trump taps forceful ally of hard-line immigration policies to head Customs and Border Protection

The picture of who will be in charge of executing President-elect Donald Trump's hard-line immigration and border policies has come into sharper focus after he announced his picks to head Customs and Border Protection and also the agency tasked with deporting immigrants in the country illegally.

Trump said late Thursday he was tapping Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief who’s been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures, for CBP commissioner.

As acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump said he'd nominate Caleb Vitello, a career ICE official with more than 23 years in the agency who most recently has been the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs.

They will work with an immigration leadership team that includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security; former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan as border czar; and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff.

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Trump offers a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee to lead the Pentagon

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday offered a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Defense Department, whose confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.

Hegseth, a former Fox News Host, Army National Guard major and combat veteran, spent much of the week on Capitol Hill trying to salvage his Cabinet nomination and privately reassure Republican senators that he is fit to lead Trump’s Pentagon.

“Pete Hegseth is doing very well,” Trump posted on his social media site. “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense." The president added that "Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”

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Trump talks up his transition and election victory as he receives Fox Nation award

Not yet even in office, Donald Trump said Thursday he's already accomplished more than President Joe Biden did in his entire term, an outsized claim by the president-elect just a month out from the election.

Trump, who has been largely ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago club in recent weeks as he's worked to staff his new administration, made the comment as he ventured to New York's Long Island to be honored as part of Fox Nation’s annual Patriot Awards on Fox's streaming platform.

“I think you have seen more happen in the last two weeks than you have in the last four years,” Trump told the crowd at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.

“It was a tremendous day, a tremendous night,” he said, recalling his election victory in a 10-minute acceptance speech that sounded like a highlight reel of his campaign rally speeches. It came complete with a live performance of “God Bless the USA” by the singer Lee Greenwood, calls to “get the criminals out of our country” and an embrace of all-paper election ballots and mandatory voter ID.

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Trump names former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he is choosing former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China.

Trump said in a social media post that Perdue, a former CEO, “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are bringing Trump's DOGE to Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — It's DOGE time at the U.S. Capitol.

Billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy arrived Thursday on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators behind closed doors about President-elect Donald Trump's plans to “dismantle” the federal government.

Trump tapped the two business titans to head his Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with firing federal workers, cutting government programs and slashing federal regulations — all part of what he calls his "Save America" agenda for a second term in the White House.

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Former officials urge closed-door Senate hearings on Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for intel chief

WASHINGTON — Nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government's files on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's pick to be national intelligence director.

The former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.”

A spokesperson for Gabbard on the Trump transition team on Thursday denounced the appeal as an “unfounded” and “partisan” attack.

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An architect of Project 2025 is pressuring Republican senators to confirm Pete Hegseth

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The think tank behind Project 2025, the conservative blueprint linked to President-elect Donald Trump, is launching an effort to back Trump's imperiled selection for secretary of defense in its latest attempt to wield influence in the incoming Republican administration.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said Thursday that his group will spend $1 million to pressure senators unwilling to back Pete Hegseth, whose nomination to lead the Pentagon has come into question due to his views on women serving in combat and reports about his personal behavior. A number of Republican senators have declined to commit to backing Hegseth or have asked for more information about his drinking and treatment of women.

“It’ll be messaging right now with their constituents about how out of step they are with the Trump agenda,” Roberts said in an interview, who argued that criticism of Hegseth was being driven by “the establishment.”

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Trump names new point person for negotiating the release of hostages, detainees abroad

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named a health care executive to serve as his administration's lead hostage negotiator at a time when the U.S. is trying to secure the release of prisoners in Gaza and other regions around the world.

Adam Boehler will serve as the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. That role has been held since 2020 by Roger Carstens, who was appointed by Trump and remained in the job for the duration of the Biden administration.

During that period, the U.S. has brought home several dozen Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained in countries including Russia — among them, WNBA star Brittney Griner and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich — Iran, China, Venezuela and Afghanistan.

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Billionaire who performed the first private spacewalk is Trump's pick to lead NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk's SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to lead NASA.

Jared Isaacman, 41, CEO and founder of a card-processing company, has been a close collaborator with Musk ever since buying his first chartered flight with SpaceX. He took along contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX's new spacewalking suits.

If confirmed, Isaacman will replace Bill Nelson, 82, a former Democratic senator from Florida who was nominated by President Joe Biden. Nelson flew aboard space shuttle Columbia in 1986 – on the flight right before the Challenger disaster — while a congressman.

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Trump selects a former soldier and Iraq War veteran to serve as Army secretary

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has selected a former soldier and Iraq War veteran to serve as secretary of the Army.

Trump said Daniel P. Driscoll had completed Army Ranger school and deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Iraq. Driscoll, who is from North Carolina, had been recently serving as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Driscoll graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale Law School.

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Trump hires Peter Navarro as White House adviser

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is bringing Peter Navarro, a former adviser who served prison time related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, back to the White House for his second administration.

Navarro will serve as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media website.

Trump wrote that the position “leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills.”

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Trump considers DeSantis for the Pentagon with Hegseth under pressure over a series of allegations

WASHINGTON — The nomination of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Pentagon, is under pressure as senators who would need to confirm him weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him.

Hegseth's mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to defend her son, who faces multiple allegations that have emerged in the media about alcohol intoxication at work events, sexual misconduct and potential financial mismanagement.

The Trump transition team was growing concerned about Hegseth's path to confirmation and was actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said.

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Trump and Republican senators plan agenda for first 30 days

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump dialed in to what was described as a “love fest” Tuesday with Senate Republicans as they begin laying the groundwork for control of government in the new year, and a potential first-30-days agenda.

Trump's brief call was more celebratory than a prescriptive policy agenda, according to those attending the private GOP retreat, encouraging the senators to confirm his Cabinet nominees as they launch an agenda of tax cuts, deportations and other priorities.

"It was a love fest," said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “There was a real sense of unity in the room.”

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Chad Chronister, Donald Trump's pick to run the DEA, withdraws name from consideration

Chad Chronister, Donald Trump's pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position.

Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.”

“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote. He did not elaborate, and Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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Trump signs agreement to allow Justice Department to conduct background checks on nominees, staff

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay.

The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to get the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them.

“This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," said Susie Wiles, Trump's designate to be White House chief of staff.

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Trump to visit Long Island University for Fox Nation Patriot Awards

President-elect Donald Trump is coming to a North Shore college campus on Thursday for an awards show weeks after becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to flip Nassau County in more than three decades.

Trump plans to attend the 2024 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on LIU Post’s Brookville campus, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Fox News Network host Sean Hannity will host the sixth annual event, replacing former “Fox & Friends” host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary. Thursday marks the first time the event will be hosted at LIU. The Patriot Awards will “honor and recognize America’s finest patriots, including military veterans, first responders and other inspirational everyday heroes,” according to Fox.

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Trump says he'll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend, his first foreign trip since the election.

The cathedral will reopen after more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating 2019 fire. The invite-only ceremonies Saturday and Sunday are expected to be high-security affairs, with about 50 heads of state and government expected to attend.

Trump announced his trip in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening.

“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he wrote. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

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Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is required to confirm the choice.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post.

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LIers Trump could pardon

A former Long Island congressman, a number of Jan. 6 rioters and a former Nassau County executive.

They are among notable Long Islanders convicted of federal crimes who could see good legal fortune come January.

President-elect Donald Trump could potentially pardon them when he takes over the Oval Office for a second term next year.

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Canada's ambassador to the US says Trudeau's dinner with Trump key to getting tariffs removed

TORONTO — Canada's ambassador to the United States said Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was successful in getting President-elect Donald Trump and key Cabinet nominees to understand that lumping Canada in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S. is unfair.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador in Washington, told The Associated Press in an interview that Trudeau's dinner with Trump on Friday was a very important step in trying to get Trump to back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner.

Hillman was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump.

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Trump names Massad Boulos, campaign liaison and family relative, as a senior adviser on Middle East

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who is the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

Boulos arranged Trump campaign efforts to engage the Arab American community in Michigan, organizing dozens of meetings in areas with large Arab American populations angered by Democratic President Joe Biden's backing of Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. Trump won the majority Arab American city of Dearborn Heights on his way to sweeping Michigan and other swing states.

“He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump and Boulos said the Republican president-elect would bring peace to the Middle East, but neither has publicly offered concrete details on Trump's plans for the region.

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Trump taps LI native Kash Patel for FBI director, a loyalist who would aid effort to upend law enforcement

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Garden City native Kash Patel for FBI director turning to a fierce ally to upend America’s premier law enforcement agency and rid the government of perceived “conspirators.” It’s the latest bombshell Trump has thrown at the Washington establishment and a test for how far Senate Republicans will go in confirming his nominees.

“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Trump posted Saturday night on Truth Social. “Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.”

Patel was born and raised in Garden City and received his law degree from Pace University.

The selection is in keeping with Trump's view that the government's law enforcement and intelligence agencies require a radical transformation and his stated desire for retribution against supposed adversaries. It shows how Trump, still fuming over years of federal investigations that shadowed his first administration and later led to his indictment, is moving to place atop the FBI and Justice Department close allies he believes will protect rather than scrutinize him.

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Wisconsin certifies Trump victory in back-to-the-routine teleconference

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s election commission leader quietly certified Donald Trump ’s victory on Friday, moving past the chaos that surrounded the 2020 election results in the battleground state.

Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified results that show Trump won the state with 1,697,626 votes compared to Democrat Kamala Harris' 1,668,229 votes during a morning Zoom teleconference that lasted six minutes.

The certification felt almost anticlimactic compared with the aftermath of the 2020 election, when Trump refused to accept that Joe Biden had won the state by about 21,000 votes.

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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat

TORONTO — Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.

A Canadian government official said Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

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Trump turns to outsider to shake up Navy, but his lack of military experience raises concerns

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service. While officials and defense experts said the Navy is in sore need of a disruptor, they cautioned that Phelan's lack of experience could make it more difficult for him to realize Trump's goals.

Trump late Tuesday nominated Phelan, a major donor to his campaign who founded the private investment firm Rugger Management LLC. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment on his qualifications. According to his biography, Phelan's primary exposure to the military comes from an advisory position he holds on the Spirit of America, a non-profit that supports the defense of Ukraine and the defense of Taiwan.

Not all service secretaries come into the office with prior military experience, but he'd be the first in the Navy since 2006. Current Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth similarly does not have prior military service. She, however, has spent her career in a host of defense civilian positions.

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Trump nominates longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account, and said “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!"

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Bomb threat at Lee Zeldin's home probed by Suffolk police, officials say

Suffolk County police are investigating a bomb threat in Shirley tied to an address belonging to former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Police said they were called to the home on St. George Drive at 8:52 a.m. for a report of a bomb threat. The address is listed as Zeldin's home in Shirley.

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Trump picks Jay Bhattacharya, who backed COVID herd immunity, to lead National Institutes of Health

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the nation's leading medical research agency.

Trump, in a statement Tuesday evening, said Bhattacharya, a 56-year-old physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, "to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives.”

“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," he wrote.

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Trump's CDC pick Dr. Dave Weldon, a Long Island native, stirs concern

A Farmingdale High School and Stony Brook University graduate is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and if confirmed, he’d replace another Long Island native.

The nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Republican congressman from Florida, has provoked concern from public health experts.

He sponsored a bill to limit the use of vaccines containing mercury because of concerns the mercury-based preservative thimerosal could cause autism despite the CDC’s and leading health experts’ insistence that it does not, and sponsored a 2007 bill to strip the CDC of vaccine-safety responsibilities and move it to another agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Trump won about 2.5M more votes than in 2020, some in unexpected places

It’s a daunting reality for Democrats: Republican Donald Trump's support has grown broadly since he last sought the presidency.

In his defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, Trump won a bigger percentage of the vote in each one of the 50 states, and Washington, D.C., than he did four years ago. He won more actual votes than in 2020 in 40 states, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Certainly, Harris’ more than 7 million vote decline from President Joe Biden’s 2020 total was a factor in her loss, especially in swing-state metropolitan areas that have been the party’s winning electoral strongholds.

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After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reached a required agreement with President Joe Biden’s White House to allow his transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office on Jan. 20.

The congressionally mandated agreement allows transition aides to work with federal agencies and access non-public information and gives a green light to government workers to talk to the transition team.

But Trump has declined to sign a separate agreement with the General Services Administration that would have given his team access to secure government offices and email accounts, in part because it would require that the president-elect limit contributions to $5,000 and reveal who is donating to his transition effort.

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Trump's threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for relief

DETROIT — If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation.

Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, booze and other goods.

The president-elect floated the tariff idea, including additional 10% taxes on goods from China, as a way to force the countries to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S. But his posts Monday on Truth Social threatening the tariffs on his first day in office could just be a negotiating ploy to get the countries to change behavior.

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Mexico suggests it would impose its own tariffs to retaliate against any Trump tariffs

MEXICO CITY — President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested Tuesday that Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% import duties on Mexican goods if the country doesn’t stop the flow of drugs and migrants across the border.

Sheinbaum said she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, but said drugs were a U.S. problem.

“One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said, referring to U.S. automakers that have plants on both sides of the border.

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Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office

President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices on everything from gas to automobiles. The U.S. is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent Census data.

Trump made the threats in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site Monday evening in which he railed against an influx of illegal migrants, even though southern border crossings have been hovering at a four-year low.

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Trump 2.0 has a Cabinet and executive branch of different ideas and eclectic personalities

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s personnel choices for his new Cabinet and White House reflect his signature positions on immigration and trade but also a range of viewpoints and backgrounds that raise questions about what ideological anchors might guide his Oval Office encore.

With a rapid assembly of his second administration — faster than his effort eight years ago — the former and incoming president has combined television personalities, former Democrats, a wrestling executive and traditional elected Republicans into a mix that makes clear his intentions to impose tariffs on imported goods and crack down on illegal immigration but leaves open a range of possibilities on other policy pursuits.

“The president has his two big priorities and doesn’t feel as strongly about anything else — so it’s going to be a real jump ball and zigzag,” predicted Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s 2017-21 term. “In the first administration, he surrounded himself with more conservative thinkers, and the results showed we were mostly rowing in the same direction. This is more eclectic.”

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Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference, classified documents cases 

Federal prosecutors moved to abandon the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. The court filing on Monday came shortly after a similar filing was made by prosecutors in Washington, D.C., where they asked to dismiss the case accusing Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The move amounts to a predictable but nonetheless stunning conclusion to a criminal case that just one year ago had been seen as the most perilous legal threat that he faced.

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Big question after Trump's win: What's next for health care?

WASHINGTON — New York health care providers are weighing the future of health care under a second Trump Administration amid vows by congressional Republican leaders to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.

President-elect Donald Trump pushed unsuccessfully during his first term to repeal the Obama-era health care law when Republicans were in control of Congress. But during this year’s presidential campaign he pledged to revisit the issue, saying he had "concepts of a plan" to replace the sweeping 2010 law.

Without any detailed proposals from Trump, health care providers are looking to his past attempts to undo the Affordable Care Act and the words of his allies and advisers to prepare for possible changes to the 14-year-old law, widely known as Obamacare.

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Republicans lash out at Democrats' claims that Trump intelligence pick Gabbard is 'compromised'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's pick to lead U.S. intelligence services, is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, a veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice to be director of national intelligence.

“I think she’s compromised," Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union," citing Gabbard's 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time.

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Trump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretaries

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary. Rollins, who heads the Trump-allies America First Policy Institute, was the director of his office of American innovation in his first term.

The nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition.

What to know about Brooke Rollins

Trump chooses Bessent to be Treasury secretary and Vought as top budget official

President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he'll nominate former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.

Trump also said he would nominate Russel Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position Vought held during Trump's first presidency.

Bessent, 62, is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

What to know about Scott Bessent

Trump chooses Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the Labor Department

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the Labor Department.

The Oregon House member who narrowly lost her reelection bid earlier this month received strong backing from union members in her district.

As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce and its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health, safety and ability to unionize, and employers' rights to fire employees, among other responsibilities.

What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Trump chooses former NFL player Scott Turner to be his housing secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate former NFL player and White House aide Scott Turner to be his secretary of housing and urban development.

Turner ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office.

Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”

What to know about Scott Turner

Vance takes on a more visible transition role

After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years.

Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz. He spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed.

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Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing

A judge confirmed Friday that President-elect Donald Trump won't be sentenced this month in his hush money case, instead setting a schedule for prosecutors and his lawyers to expand on their ideas about what to do next.

Amid a flurry of filings in the case since Trump's election win this month, it had already become clear that the Nov. 26 sentencing date wouldn't hold. Judge Juan M. Merchan's order Friday formalized that without setting a new one.

He called for more filing from both sides over the next 2 1/2 weeks about how to proceed in light of Trump's impending return to the White House.

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Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name.

Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.

She has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.

What to know about Pam Bondi

Gaetz withdraws as Trump's pick for attorney general, averting confirmation battle in the Senate

WASHINGTON — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer.

The announcement caps a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement.

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Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far

President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ambassador to Greece

Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign. Trump called her “a close friend and ally,” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” She had been engaged to Don Jr. since 2020, they arrived together at the convention center on election night and she was on stage with the family.

“I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted.

Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission chairman

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars' worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior.

Ferguson is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans.

Alina Habba, counselor to the president

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is appointing one of his defense attorneys in the New York hush money case as counselor to the president.

Alina Habba, 40, defended Trump earlier this year, also serving as his legal spokesperson. Habba has been spending time with the president-elect since the election at his Florida club Mar-a-Lago.

“She has been unwavering in her loyalty and unmatched in her resolve — standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles and countless days in Court," Trump posted on his social network Truth Social. “Few understand the Weaponization of the ‘Injustice’ System better than Alina.”

David Purdue, ambassador to China

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he is choosing former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China.

Trump said in a social media post that Perdue, a former CEO, “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Adam Boehler, lead hostage negotiator

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named a health care executive to serve as his administration's lead hostage negotiator at a time when the U.S. is trying to secure the release of prisoners in Gaza and other regions around the world.

Adam Boehler will serve as the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. That role has been held since 2020 by Roger Carstens, who was appointed by Trump and remained in the job for the duration of the Biden administration.

During that period, the U.S. has brought home several dozen Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained in countries including Russia — among them, WNBA star Brittney Griner and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich — Iran, China, Venezuela and Afghanistan.

Daniel P. Driscoll, Army secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has selected a former soldier and Iraq War veteran to serve as secretary of the Army.

Trump said Daniel P. Driscoll had completed Army Ranger school and deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Iraq. Driscoll, who is from North Carolina, had been recently serving as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Driscoll graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale Law School.

“Dan will be a fearless and relentless fighter for America’s Soldiers and the America First agenda,” Trump said on his social media platform.

Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator

A tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk's SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to lead NASA.

Jared Isaacman, 41, CEO and founder of a card-processing company, has been a close collaborator with Musk ever since buying his first chartered flight with SpaceX. He took along contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX's new spacewalking suits.

If confirmed, Isaacman will replace Bill Nelson, 82, a former Democratic senator from Florida who was nominated by President Joe Biden. Nelson flew aboard space shuttle Columbia in 1986 – on the flight right before the Challenger disaster — while a congressman.

Peter Navarro, White House adviser

President-elect Donald Trump is bringing Peter Navarro, a former adviser who served prison time related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, back to the White House for his second administration.

Navarro will serve as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media website.

Trump wrote that the position “leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills.”

Navarro, a trade adviser during Trump's first term, was held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated Jan. 6. Sentenced to four months in prison, he described his conviction as the “partisan weaponization of the judicial system.”

Warren Stephens, U.S. ambassador to United Kingdom

President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is required to confirm the choice.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post.

Massad Boulos, senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs
 

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who is the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

Boulos arranged Trump campaign efforts to engage the Arab American community in Michigan, organizing dozens of meetings in areas with large Arab American populations angered by Democratic President Joe Biden's backing of Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. Trump won the majority Arab American city of Dearborn Heights on his way to sweeping Michigan and other swing states.

“He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump and Boulos said the Republican president-elect would bring peace to the Middle East, but neither has publicly offered concrete details on Trump's plans for the region.

Kash Patel, FBI director

President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the homeland and investigating federal crimes.

Patel, a steadfast Trump ally with plans to shake up the bureau, is a study in contrasts from the current tight-lipped director, Christopher Wray, who preaches a “keep calm and tackle hard” mantra.

In selecting Patel late Saturday over more conventional contenders, the incoming Republican president is again testing the loyalty of Senate Republicans and their willingness to defy him.

Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account, and said “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!"

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health director

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the nation's leading medical research agency.

Trump, in a statement Tuesday evening, said Bhattacharya, a 56-year-old physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, "to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives.”

“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," he wrote.

Brooke Rollins, agriculture secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary. Rollins, who heads the Trump-allies America First Policy Institute, was the director of his office of American innovation in his first term.

The nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, labor secretary

"I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers," President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement.

Scott Bessent, treasury secretary

President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he'll nominate former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.

Bessent, 62, is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump's campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.

“This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then.

Russ Vought, White House budget director

President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Russel Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position Vought held during Trump's first presidency.

Pam Bondi, attorney general

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name.

Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.

She has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.

Bondi is from Tampa and spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor. She was Florida’s first female attorney general

Matt Whitaker, NATO ambassador

Donald Trump says he has chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has repeatedly expressed skepticism about.

Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot" who "will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.”

The choice of Whitaker as the nation's representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy.

Linda McMahon, education secretary

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle. 

McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.

McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

“Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World,” Trump said in a statement.

In nominating McMahon, Trump is rewarding a loyal backer of his movement who, along with Lutnick, has also helped lead his transition team. She was with him Tuesday as he attended a launch of SpaceX's Starship craft in Texas.

 After her time in the Trump administration, McMahon became the chair of the board of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank created by Trump supporters and former officials who have been preparing for his return to government. McMahon has also been chair of the pro-Trump America First Action SuperPAC.

She is married to Vince McMahon, who stepped down as World Wrestling Entertainment's CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into allegations that he engaged in sexual battery and trafficking. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of TKO Group Holdings this January, though he has denied the allegations.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

President-elect Donald Trump says he is nominating Dr. Mehmet Oz, who hosted a long-running television talk show, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country,” Trump said in a statement. “He will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”

Oz, who ran a failed 2022 bid to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate, has been an outspoken support of Trump and in recent days expressed support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for the nation’s top health agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.

Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary 

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs.

Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.

The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker." Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.

Sean Duffy, transportation secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he is naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as his nominee to be transportation secretary, as he continues to roll out picks for his Cabinet.

Trump said in a statement, “Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation.” He added, "Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!"

Duffy left Congress in 2019, and is now co-host of a show on Fox Business, the “Bottom Line." Before beginning his political career, he appeared on the MTV reality show “The Real World.”

Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chairman

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband.

Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC's general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.

The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, but Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesn’t like.

Carr has of late embraced Trump's ideas about social media and tech. Carr wrote a section devoted to the FCC in “Project 2025,” a sweeping blueprint for gutting the federal workforce and dismantling federal agencies in a second Trump administration produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Trump has claimed he doesn’t know anything about Project 2025, but many of its themes have aligned with his statements.

Carr said in a statement congratulating Trump on his win that he believed "the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.”

Chris Wright, energy secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in a second Trump administration.

Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

Wright has won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term.

Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if re-elected.

Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.

Wright has criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as his White House press secretary.

Leavitt, 27, currently a spokesperson for Trump's transition, would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously that distinction went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the position in 1969 in Richard Nixon’s administration.

“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement. "Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again.”

The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.

Doug Burgum, secretary of the Department of the Interior and White House council on energy

Trump has also picked Burgum to serve as chair of a new National Energy Council.

Trump had revealed his cabinet pick at a gala Thursday night, but issued a statement Friday confirming his pick.

He says the new energy council Burgum will lead will be “very important” and consist of all departments and agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation.

“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” he said.

Burgum will also have a seat on the National Security Council, he says.

Trump ran on a platform of dramatically expending gas and oil drilling, often repeating the mantra, “Drill baby, drill.”

Burgum grew close to Trump during the campaign and the governor was one of Trump’s finalists for running mate.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump's choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world.

Burgum, in his new role, will oversee a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.

Steven Cheung, White House communications director 

Cheung led communications for Trump's latest campaign, where he gained a reputation for combative and insulting attacks on the Republican's opponents. A native of Sacramento, California, he worked in Republican politics and for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining Trump’s team in 2016.

Sergio Gor, Presidential Personnel Office

Gor ran Winning Team Publishing, which he started with Donald Trump Jr. The company has published books by Trump and his allies. Gor also led the super PAC Right for America.

The Presidential Personnel Office will likely be a focal point of Trump's efforts to shape his administration's staff with loyalists.

Doug Collins, secretary of Veterans Affairs

Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate.

Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.

"We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.

Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.

A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations around the ingredients in foods.

With the Trump campaign, he worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, with his message of making food healthier in the U.S., promising to model regulations imposed in Europe. In a nod to Trump’s original campaign slogan, he named the effort “Make America Healthy Again.”

Matt Gaetz, attorney general (withdrawn)

President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor. In selecting the congressman, Trump passed over some of the more established attorneys whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job. On Thursday, Nov. 21, Gaetz withdrew his nomination for attorney general following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation.

Marco Rubio, secretary of state

President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state, setting up a onetime critic who evolved into one of the president-elect’s fiercest defenders to become the nation’s top diplomat.

The conservative lawmaker is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate this summer.

On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pushed for taking a harder line against China and has targeted social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers contend that Beijing could demand access to the data of users whenever it wants.

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as director of national intelligence, continuing to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities complimentary to his own, rather than long-term professionals in their requisite fields.

Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider, compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.

Gabbard hasn’t worked directly in the intelligence community, outside of House committees, including two years on the Homeland Security Committee. Like others Trump has selected for his agency leadership, she has been among his most popular political surrogates, often drawing thunderous responses from crowds as she stumped for him in the campaign’s closing months.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency

Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency.

The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.

It's 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.

Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense

Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.

Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.

Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year.

Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security

President-elect Donald Trump picked a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.

Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.

She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

Dan Scavino, deputy

Trump announced that longtime aide Dan Scavino will serve as a deputy without giving a specific portfolio. Scavino was a senior adviser on Trump’s campaign and, in his first term in the White House, he worked as a social media director.

He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign. He frequently posts memes and videos of Trump's campaign travel online, cataloguing the campaign from the inside on social media.

James Blair, deputy for legislative, political and public affairs

James Blair was the political director for Trump’s campaign and, once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, the political director for the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump's 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top aide for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel

Before joining Trump's campaign, Taylor Budowich worked for the pro-Trump Super PAC, Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump's political action committee, Save America.

John Ratfcliffe, CIA director

Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next.

Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Trump announced Tuesday.

Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

Mike Waltz, national security adviser

Trump asked Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before Trump made a formal announcement.

The move would put Waltz at the forefront of a litany of national security crises, ranging from the ongoing effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah.

Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.

He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its ongoing mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.

Lee Zeldin, EPA

Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.

During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.

In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”

Susie Wiles, chief of staff

Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.

Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary.

Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump's trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns.

Wiles was able to help keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.

Tom Homan, ‘border czar’

Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.

Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.

Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”

Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.

Elise Stefanik, United Nations ambassador

Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment.

Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership.

Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.

If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah.

Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy

Miller, an immigration hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration.

Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.

Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security.

Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump's defense secretary pick

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations surfaced last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.

Read more here.

Republicans on the House Ethics Committee reject releasing report on Matt Gaetz

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Ethics Committee voted Wednesday against releasing a report on the panel's long-running investigation into President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the top Democrat on the panel said.

Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania said the ethics panel, which is evenly split between the two parties, voted at a lengthy closed-door meeting, and no Republican joined Democrats who wanted to release the report.

Wild said she was compelled to speak up after the panel's Republican chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, characterized what had transpired at its session. He had said there was no agreement reached on the matter.

Read more here.