December 15, 2024 - Presidential transition news

Our live coverage of the Trump administration’s transition has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina blames “third parties,” not the president-elect, for pressure on senators to fall in line behind Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks.

“I don’t believe that it’s coming directly out of Mar-a-Lago,” Tillis said of the pressure campaigns in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, is seen as one of the Republican senators most likely to potentially stand in the way of Trump’s more controversial picks.

“A lot of this are third parties,” Tillis said. “Here’s what I would tell them: If they really support President Trump’s nominees, they should stand down and let the nominees win on their own merits — and I think most of them will.”

“Pete Hegseth had a good week this week on Capitol Hill. I’m working with Kash Patel,” Tillis said, referring to Trump’s choices for defense secretary and FBI director, which are among his most controversial.

Tillis also defended his colleague, GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who has come under fire from the right for her hesitance to support Hegseth. The military veteran and former Fox News host faced a sexual assault allegation in 2017 and claims of excessive drinking in the past. Hegseth was never charged in the assault case and denies wrongdoing.

“Anyone who wants to challenge her in a primary for being thoughtful needs to be held accountable for that sort of garbage,” Tillis said of Ernst, who has been vocal in the past about being a sexual assault survivor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he had a “very warm” phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump, during which they spoke about Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.

In a video statement, Israel’s leader said he discussed a range of issues with Trump during the call on Saturday evening, including Israel’s stance on Syria, its commitment to preventing Lebanon-based Hezbollah from rearming, and the “need to complete Israel’s victory” in Gaza, where nearly 45,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s offensive against Hamas.

The leaders also spoke of the need to bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu said. Hamas and other groups are believed to still be holding 100 hostages in the strip — all but four of whom were captured during the October 7, 2023, attack. Around half are believed to still be alive.

“I discussed all of this again last night with my friend, US President-elect Donald Trump,” Netanyahu said.

CNN has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.

Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a news conference on July 31 in Washington, DC.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pushed back Sunday on Trump’s isolationist stance toward Syria in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsing.

During an interview with NBC, Graham said Syrians should be left to self-determination — but only to the extent that ISIS does not reclaim power in the region.

A week ago, as the Assad regime was being overthrown by rebel groups, Trump posted on Truth Social, “This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.”

Graham referenced the tens of thousands of ISIS fighters currently in prisons overseen by the US’ Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria.

“If Turkey attacks the Kurds, and these ISIS fighters break out of jail, it’s a nightmare for us. It’s a nightmare for Syria. It’s a nightmare for the world. That cannot happen,” Graham added.

What the incoming administration is saying: Rep. Mike Waltz, who will serve as Trump’s national security adviser, suggested Sunday that Trump intends to keep some military personnel in Syria to quell a potential resurgence of the terror group.

“Look, our number one interest is keeping a lid on ISIS. We cannot have an explosion of ISIS back into a caliphate that threatens Iraq, threatens Jordan, threatens Turkey and Europe, inspires attacks in the United States like we saw in 2014,” Waltz said in an interview on CBS News on Sunday.

Rep. Mike Waltz speaks during the Concordia Annual Summit on September 23 in New York.

Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, suggested Sunday that Trump intends to keep some military personnel in Syria to quell a potential resurgence of ISIS.

The US currently has about 900 troops in Syria as part of an anti-ISIS coalition of military groups. The war-torn country is gripped with uncertainty in the wake of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power.

Waltz said US troops are working alongside the Israeli military to take control of chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria. He added that he believes European allies should be “taking a greater role” in the anti-ISIS coalition’s efforts.

Trump has advocated for the US largely staying out of Syria. A week ago, as the Assad regime was being overthrown by rebel groups, Trump posted on Truth Social, “This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.”

New Jersey drone sightings: Waltz said the mysterious drones flying over high-security sites in the Northeast highlight “gaps” in the government’s ability to secure no-fly areas from the unmanned aircraft, which he said would be a focus of the Trump administration.

Waltz said the incoming administration plans to take “a hard look” at homeland security vulnerabilities, including combatting drones, and again floated the possibility of building an Iron Dome in the US to combat aerial threats.

US officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings pose a security threat, but they have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the aircraft, and Trump has seized on the issue to criticize the Biden administration.

Devin Nunes, left, and Donald Trump attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17.

Incoming Trump administration official Devin Nunes said he hopes to serve as a “backstop” for President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to “depoliticize” the US intelligence community.

Trump announced Saturday that Nunes, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, will be chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The board is intended to serve as an independent source of advice within the executive branch about how the country’s intelligence community is performing.

“We will focus on making sure that the intelligence products … make sure that it’s not politicized,” Nunes told Maria Bartiromo during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”

The former congressman and Truth Social CEO took aim at the media and the left, harkening back to his efforts to discredit the FBI’s Russia investigation and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe during Trump’s first term.

Some context: Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed they will “depoliticize” the country’s intelligence community and justice system, painting past probes into allegations against the president-elect as politically motivated.

At the same time, Trump and his inner circle have suggested he could unleash the Justice Department on his political enemies during his second term.

Then-Rep. Adam Schiff speaks during a hearing in Washington, DC in June 2023.

Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California blasted President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks for FBI director and national intelligence director — Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard — citing their lack of experience and controversial past comments.

Schiff said some of Patel’s past remarks show he would be detrimental to the FBI, the organization he has been picked to run.

“This is a conspiracy theorist,” the California lawmaker said, adding that “the remedy there is not to confirm him.”

Schiff lamented Gabbard’s “complete lack of experience,” “poor judgment” and perceived failure to differentiate between the nation’s allies and adversaries.

“This gets to the point about her comments about Bashar al-Assad, or her echoing of Kremlin talking points about the origin of the war in Ukraine,” Schiff explained, citing two particular areas where Gabbard’s public record has been questioned by Democrats and some Republicans.

On January 6 pardons: Schiff, who served on the January 6th Select Committee, also condemned Trump’s promise to pardon Capitol rioters who were found to have committed crimes.

“He could pardon people who beat police officers, gouged them, bear sprayed them,” Schiff said.

The senator said Trump’s pardoning of convicted rioters could set a dangerous precedent for who presidents can and should grant clemency.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who stood by his criticism of Donald Trump’s character but acknowledged in a CNN interview that the party has been reshaped in the president-elect’s image, says it’s up to Congress to weigh the suitability of some of Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks.

Trump’s picks are “an unusual collection of individuals, not the people that I would have chosen,” but the president-elect is “entitled” to make his selections because he won the election, Romney told Jake Tapper in an interview airing on “State of the Union” Sunday.

But, Romney said, “the Senate has a responsibility to make sure that these people are legitimate, that there’s no skeleton that could be an embarrassment to them or the country” and that nominees are qualified for the position.

On concerns of retribution: Elected to the Senate in 2018, Romney has become known as a distinctive voice in the chamber who was willing to take on his own party. During Trump’s first impeachment trial, Romney was the only Senate Republican to find him guilty of abuse of power. In 2021, he was one of seven Senate Republicans who crossed party lines to find Trump guilty of inciting the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Trump and his allies have suggested that, in his second term, he could unleash the Justice Department on his political enemies.

But Romney said he thinks American institutions will hold up in the years to come, “because I think people, when faced with the reality of what’s at stake, they’re going to want to protect the roots of freedom.”

Asked whether he is worried that he or his family could become targets for political retribution by Trump, Romney said, “No, actually, I’ve been pretty clean throughout my life. I’m not particularly worried about criminal investigations.”

Romney suggested it was possible some of what Trump has said is “hyperbole,” and said the president-elect is likely to “focus on the future.”

Fog hovers over the dome of the US Capitol on December 10 in Washington, DC.

Senators from both parties are ratcheting up pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to reverse his stance on legislation to protect kids online and pass it as soon as possible.

The legislation, known as The Kids Online Safety Act, requires platforms to provide safeguards for minors, including restricting access to minors’ personal data and providing parents with tools to supervise minors’ use of a platform, such as control of privacy and account settings. Johnson earlier suggested the legislation was dead until next Congress.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sponsors the bill, said Johnson is “virtually alone in the United States Congress” in opposing its advancement, as it has passed by an “overwhelming bipartisan authority” in the Senate and has support from Republican House members.

While Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino have voiced their support, some Big Tech companies like Google and Meta have lobbied against the bill.

It passed in the Senate this July with a 91-3 vote, and advanced through the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but Johnson has not yet brought it for a vote.

Johnson defended his resistance to pass the bill due to concerns about free speech, telling Raju, “We’ve got to get it right.” The speaker said online safety is a “very delicate balance” that he was familiar with as a constitutional attorney.

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Johnson halts Kids Online Safety Act over free speech fears

02:28 - Source: CNN

Sen. Mitt Romney attends a hearing in Washington, DC on May 21.

Sen. Mitt Romney, a frequent Donald Trump critic who will soon retire from Congress, stood by his criticism of the president-elect’s character but said Trump and his MAGA movement now define the Republican Party.

“I’m, as you know, not a supporter of President Trump’s. I didn’t support him in this election. I didn’t the last time he ran either, largely for matters of character,” the Utah Republican, who was the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a wide-ranging interview on “State of the Union” on Sunday.

But Romney acknowledged Trump’s grip on the party he once led.

Asked about his sustained criticism of Trump, which dates to the president-elect’s first White House run in 2016, Romney described himself as “kinda outspoken” and said he felt that Trump “was wrong for the country, wrong for our party, that he wouldn’t win.”

But, he noted, “I was wrong about that.”

But Romney argued the incoming president deserves a “chance” to do what he has promised upon his return to the White House.

“I agree with him on a lot of policy fronts. I disagree with him on some things,” Romney said of Trump. “But it’s like, OK, give him a chance to do what he said he’s gonna do and see how it works out.”

From left: Bill White, Troy Edgar and Devin Nunes.

President-elect Donald Trump announced five more picks for roles in the incoming administration Saturday, as his impending presidency takes shape.

Here are the new names to know:

Former Rep. Devin Nunes, the CEO of Trump’s Truth Social platform, has been tapped as chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The board is intended to serve as an independent source of advice within the executive branch about how the country’s intelligence community is performing.

Nunes served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when Republicans were in the majority during his first term, and led efforts among Trump’s allies to discredit the FBI’s Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. He was also an outspoken defender of Trump during his first impeachment.

Troy Edgar, an IBM executive and former Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, has been called back to DHS to serve as Trump’s deputy secretary of the department.

In his announcement Saturday, Trump praised Edgar, who was previously mayor of Los Alamitos, California, for helping the president-elect “lead the City and County revolt against Sanctuary Cities” during his first presidential term.

Ric Grenell, who served as the acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first administration and also played diplomatic roles for the then-president, has been selected as the presidential envoy for special missions.

While serving in Trump’s first administration, Grenell embarked upon an effort to declassify documents that were of interest to the then-president, who believed they could delegitimize the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Grenell remained in Trump’s orbit after the former president left office and was floated for the role of CIA director in Trump’s second term, though the position ultimately went to John Ratcliffe.

Bill White, the CEO of the consulting firm Constellations Group, has been tapped as US Ambassador to Belgium, marking another reward for a campaign surrogate who helped boost his 2024 candidacy. The president-elect praised White, who is also the former president of the Intrepid military and maritime history museum in New York, for his work raising money for wounded service members.

White previously led an ultimately unsuccessful movement split off Buckhead, a mostly white, wealthy neighborhood in Atlanta, from the greater Atlanta city. He also boosted Trump in Georgia amid his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Edward Walsh, who helms a construction and real estate company and was previously the chair of the New Jersey agency that manages the construction of new school facilities, according to Trump’s announcement, was picked to serve as US ambassador to Ireland.

The American public is closely divided on the outlook for Donald Trump’s second term, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with 52% of adults expressing positive feelings and 48% responding negatively.

Those contrasting emotions stem from very different sets of concerns and priorities.

One of the biggest drivers for Americans who express enthusiasm or optimism about Trump’s next stint in the White House is the hope that he’ll improve the economy, with many also approvingly citing his first term in office.

By contrast, those who are pessimistic are most likely to cite concerns about his character. And a significant share of those who say they’re afraid of what’s to come say they’re frightened by the prospect of rising bigotry, weakened democracy, or the impact his administration could have on their own lives.

In the survey, roughly a thousand Americans weighed in about their feelings about Trump’s return to office, and explained in their own words why they felt that way.

The share of Americans who say they’re not only pessimistic but afraid, 29%, outnumbered the 19% who call themselves not just optimistic but enthusiastic.

Views in the most recent survey are sharply divided along partisan lines, with 93% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents expressing a positive outlook, and 85% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents sharing a negative view.

Some historical context: Public sentiment is generally similar to the outlook in CNN’s polling after Barack Obama was reelected in November 2012, when 15% of Americans called themselves enthusiastic and 29% afraid.

In November 2004, strong opinions on George W. Bush’s second term were more evenly divided, with 23% enthusiastic and 24% afraid. Trump, who, unlike Obama and Bush, is serving nonconsecutive terms, saw public assessments of his first term rise retrospectively.

Read more takeaways from CNN’s poll here.

President-elect Donald Trump is joined House Speaker Mike Johnson, Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Pete Hegseth, at the football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on December 14.

President-elect Donald Trump was at Northwest Field in Landover, Maryland, for the 125th edition of the Army-Navy football game Saturday.

Vice President-elect JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth and Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, could all be seen waving from a box at the stadium alongside the president-elect.

A loud cheer went up as Trump was shown on the stadium’s video boards. The presence of the president-elect added additional heft to the tradition and pomp that comes before the rivalry game between the nation’s service academies.

Also joining the president-elect at the game were tech billionaire Elon Musk — the Trump confidante set to co-lead his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and GOP Sen.-elect Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.

Daniel Penny, the former Marine who was acquitted on criminal charges this week in the death of Jordan Neely, was also spotted in the presidential suite. Vance invited Penny last week after he was acquitted by a jury on a criminally negligent homicide charge in a case that raised questions about the safety of New York City subways and what constitutes self-defense.

Saturday marked the fifth time Trump has attended the rivalry matchup: three times as president, and twice now as president-elect.