December 5, 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.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during the FOX Nation's Patriot Awards in Greenvale, New York, on December 5.

President-elect Donald Trump during an awards ceremony on Thursday detailed his conversations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reiterating his claim that Mexico’s president agreed to stop the influx of migrants over the US-Mexico border and suggesting that his proposed 25% tariff on the two countries is “just the beginning.”

While accepting the “Patriot of the Year” award at Fox Nation’s Patriot Awards in Brookville, New York, Trump reflected on his meeting last week with Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago, who he said “came flying right in” amid Trump’s suggested tariff.

“As you know, I spoke with Canada, and Justin came flying right in because we talked about 25% tariffs,” Trump said. “That’s just the beginning.”

Trump then elaborated on his phone call with Sheinbaum last week, telling the crowd he emphasized to her the importance of curbing immigration over the US-Mexico border in their conversations about his proposed tariff.

“I spoke with, as you probably read, I spoke the other day to the president, the new president of Mexico, very nice woman, and we had a very nice conversation,” Trump said. “But she said, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ I said, ‘I’m not. I’m just putting a lot of tariffs on because you’re allowing criminals to pour into our country, and we can’t allow that anymore.’ It stopped. It stopped. It was so fast it stopped.”

Following the two leaders’ conversation, Trump said Sheinbaum had agreed to shut down the US-Mexico border, a claim she denied. Sheinbaum has previously suggested Mexico may implement retaliatory counter-tariffs in response to any US tariffs.

Under the trade agreement signed by the US, Mexico and Canada during the first Trump administration, US imports from their two neighboring countries are exempt from tariffs. Trump has yet to details how he would implement his proposed tariff increases without violating the trade agreement.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his choices for the heads of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two key agencies handling immigration policy, as Trump rounds out the team that will be responsible for carrying out the aggressive immigration reforms he’s proposed.

Trump announced on social media Thursday that Rodney Scott, former head of the US Border Patrol, is his nominee to be CBP commissioner, and he selected an ICE assistant director, Caleb Vitello, to be the acting director of ICE.

Trump also announced Anthony Salisbury, the Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Miami, as his Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. He also tapped Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, as his nominee to be ambassador to Chile.

The appointments help round out the team of officials who will help carry out Trump’s plans to implement strict border measures and launch detention and deportation programs for migrants.

David Perdue speaks to supporters at an election-night event on May 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday he has selected former Georgia Sen. David Perdue as the next US ambassador to China, a key role as Trump is expected to implement measures to reform the trade relationship between the two countries.

“Tonight, I am announcing that former U.S. Senator, David Perdue, has accepted my appointment as the next United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders. David has been a loyal supporter and friend, and I look forward to working with him in his new role!” he continued.

Perdue, a former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General before he joined the Senate in 2015, served as a close ally to Trump while in the chamber. Perdue lost his reelection battle to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2021. Perdue ran in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary in 2022, losing to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.

David Sacks, a venture capitalist is seen in Fiserv Forum on the first day of Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, on July 15.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that tech investor David Sacks will be the White House “czar” overseeing artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy.

“In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas. He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship. He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.”

Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, has since embraced it, promising during his presidential campaign to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”

On Wednesday, Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time, surging to a new record after Trump unveiled administration picks seen as holding the keys to ushering in crypto-friendly policies when he takes office in January.

Trump also said Sacks will lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.

Sacks is the co-host of the popular “All-In” podcast and interviewed Trump on the show in June.

Some context: The term “czar” has come to refer to a political appointee with a specific problem to solve. Trump had previously announced Tom Homan will step back into the role of “border czar” that he occupied in 2019.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth visits Senators on Capitol Hill on Thursday, December 5.

Pete Hegseth, the military veteran and television anchor tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to run the Pentagon, has concluded a first week of meetings on Capitol Hill with “no noes on the board,” according to a senior transition official.

Hegseth’s selection has been clouded by allegations of excessive drinking, mistreatment of women and embezzlement of money – resulting in conversations with lawmakers that focused more on his character than his plans for the sprawling Defense Department.

While Hegseth’s team acknowledges there are senators who have not yet committed to a “yes,” his advisers also appear more optimistic than earlier this week when Trump sources suggested the nomination was in trouble and floated possible replacements.

Hegseth is expected to face another round of grilling next week, when he plans to meet with Sens. Josh Hawley, Susan Collins and others.

He will be joined by another crop of Trump picks: Kristi Noem, the choice for Department of Homeland Security; Linda McMahon, the choice for the Department of Education; Howard Lutnick, whom Trump wants to oversee the Commerce department; and others chosen to run agencies who have not grabbed the same headlines.

Kash Patel, Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation – which has an independent director whose term is not finished – will also meet with lawmakers.

Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to be Trump’s director of national intelligence, is also finalizing plans for a potential visit to the Hill as well.

Former President Barack Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday, December 5.

Former President Barack Obama suggested the results of November’s presidential election, which saw President-elect Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris, “proved that democracy is pretty far down on people’s priority list” while speaking at an event Thursday.

Obama began his keynote address at the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum by acknowledging the timing of the conference and its focus on the importance of democracy a month after the presidential election, in which Democrats, including Obama, warned voters against backing Trump by portraying him as a threat to democracy.

Obama also urged attendees at the conference to seek common ground with people they disagree with and avoid sacrificing opportunities for compromise with political opponents due to disagreements with other issues.

Pete Hegseth meets with Sen. Mike Rounds in Washington, DC, on December 5.

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday “we will continue with the vetting process” when it comes to considering President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and would not yet commit to supporting his nomination.

Pressed by Fox host Bill Hemmer that it “doesn’t sound in your answer that you got to a yes” in responding to a previous question about Hegseth, Ernst responded “I think you are right.”

Ernst is a key senator for Hegseth to win over, well-regarded by her colleagues and both a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor. Hegseth has said women should not be in combat roles and been accused of sexual assault, which he has denied.

Meanwhile, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, also downplayed allegations Hegseth has faced for alcohol abuse, saying drinking is “part of our society.”

“I think at times, we’ve all — if we indulge in an alcoholic beverage, you’ve had a problem or two, not whether it’s a habit, it’s just, it’s something that’s in society. I mean, we, we can’t — if you live in a glass house, don’t throw stones, right?”

He added, “I’m not saying Pete’s involved in all that. I’m just saying this part of our our life, and, you know, it’s legal.”

GOP Sen. Mike Rounds told CNN that he does “see a path forward,” for Hegseth to be confirmed after their meeting earlier today.

The South Dakota Republican also told reporters that he’s not ready to commit to backing Hegseth — yet.

Rounds noted that during the meeting, Hegseth was “not running away” from the allegations against him. “He’s hitting stuff head on, which is exactly what you want.”

Republican Sen. Katie Britt said she asked Hegseth about the “allegations that have been reported by the media” during their meeting today on Capitol Hill.

“During our conversation, I asked direct questions about allegations that have been reported by the media, which Pete answered with candor and transparency. Based on our meeting and his answers, he has my support,” Britt posted on X.

This post has been updated with additional reactions.

Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz attends the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024.

House Republicans voted on Thursday to block a Democrat-led effort to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.

The House took a step to effectively shut down a resolution from Democrats that would have required the public release of the report. House GOP leaders sidelined the effort by Democrats by setting up a vote to refer the resolution to the committee, a move that blocks the report’s release for now. The outcome of the vote raises the question of whether the findings of the panel’s investigation will ever become public.

Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general last month after it became clear he didn’t have the votes in the Senate to win confirmation. The former congressman had faced headwinds on Capitol Hill in his bid to lock down sufficient support, and some Senate Republicans had called for the release of the ethics report as part of the vetting process.

Read the full story here.

Elon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for the planned Department of Government Efficiency, carries his son X Æ A-Xii on his shoulders, following a meeting with members of Congress at the Capitol, on Thursday, December 5, in Washington, DC.

Republicans emerged from their meeting with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy saying “everything is on the table” when it comes to how to cut federal spending, describing the meeting as a listening session where members asked questions and exchanged ideas.

Those cuts could include cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, some lawmakers said, even though those programs are widely popular on a bipartisan basis.

GOP Rep. Aaron Bean, who is also co-leading the caucus, added that Social Security and Medicare need to be “more efficient.”

After the meeting, Musk ignored a question from CNN’s Manu Raju about whether Medicare and Social Security would be safe from DOGE cuts.

Thursday’s meeting included a broad range of topics, including how to make cuts to the education budget, bring federal workers back to work and eliminate redundancy in the federal government, lawmakers said.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene talks to reporters following a meeting about President-elect Donald Trump's picks for the planned Department of Government Efficiency.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters that Musk and Ramaswamy proposed having a “naughty list” and “nice list” to hold lawmakers accountable on government spending.

GOP Rep. Mary Miller put her finger on the pressure Republicans are feeling to deliver on making massive cuts, telling reporters that Republican voters will be “furious” if Congressional Republicans and DOGE are unsuccessful.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the meeting was “very productive” as he left.

With a Trump-imposed expiration date of July 4, 2026, Republicans said today’s ideas forum helped them start to chart a course forward about what needs to happen between now and then.

Sessions said the DOGE caucus already has 63 members, including some Democrats.

A source told CNN four Democrats are part of the caucus: Reps. Steven Horsford; Greg Landsman; Val Hoyle; and Jared Moskowitz, who has publicly announced his participation.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden walks to the Rose Garden to deliver remarks at the White House on Tuesday, November 26.

Senior Biden White House aides, administration officials and prominent defense attorneys in Washington, DC, are discussing potential preemptive pardons or legal aid for people who might be targeted for prosecution by President-elect Donald Trump after he retakes power, multiple sources told CNN.

Reports of these conversations have captured the attention of Trump’s legal advisers, who, according to a source familiar with their strategy, believe President Joe Biden would be setting a new precedent in terms of the scope of pardons that they could take advantage of, down the line, to help their own allies.

Biden’s senior aides inside the White House have been deliberating for weeks about the possibility of issuing preemptive pardons, according to the sources familiar with the discussions. The move, which would cover people who haven’t ever been formally accused of any crimes, would be an extraordinary step and shows the grave concerns many Democrats have that Trump will prosecute a range of figures that he considers to be his enemies.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

Read the full story here.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend the Army-Navy football game, a source familiar with the plans told CNN. The game will be held next Saturday on December 14 in Landover, Maryland.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also expected to attend the Army-Navy game, according to a source familiar. DeSantis served in the United States Navy as a JAG officer.

It’s unclear if Trump’s and DeSantis’ trips to the game are related.

CNN previously reported that DeSantis is one of the names Trump’s team is considering as a potential replacement for defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth.

However, on the Hill today, Hegseth insisted Trump is behind him “all the way.”

As Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy make the rounds with House and Senate Republicans, a key group of House Democrats had a strategy session of their own, according to multiple sources.

House Budget Ranking Member Brendan Boyle and Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro met with a small group of Democrats on Thursday to discuss the threat of President-elect Donald Trump using a procedural tool to unilaterally make spending decisions for the federal government by usurping the authority of Congress, multiple sources told CNN.

Boyle and DeLauro are working to educate their colleagues about the process of impoundment, which occurs when Congress appropriates money that the president then declines to spend. The Democratic lawmakers shared a fact sheet, obtained by CNN, at the Democratic whips meeting.

While Democrats support the broader idea of eliminating excess spending, particularly when it comes to the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, the strategy session shows how the caucus is also preparing to push back on Trump and his allies if they try to make cuts without consulting Congress.

It’s not just Democrats who are against the idea of Trump using impoundments.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the incoming Appropriations Chair for the next Congress, told CNN she was against the practice ahead of her meeting with Musk.

“To me, that violates the separation of powers,” Collins said.

Trump tried to defy the impoundment law during his first term by withholding funds to Ukraine as he pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky to help engineer an investigation into Joe Biden, and there is concern among Democrats that Trump will do it again to enact cuts recommended by Musk and Ramaswamy without working with Congress.

Historical context: Richard Nixon abused the privilege, at least according to Congress at the time. After his reelection in 1972, Nixon planned to use impoundment to achieve sweeping policy aims, according to the Congressional Research Service. He wanted to halt federal housing programs, reduce disaster aid and more.

When Congress overrode his veto of the Clean Water Act of 1972, he used impoundment to refuse to spend a good portion of the $24 billion in funds meant to help clean sewage out of municipal water systems.

As a result of these standoffs, Congress passed the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to curtail a president’s use of impoundment, particularly for policy reasons.

In some of her first public remarks since conceding the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris urged positivity to Black state legislators at a national conference in Washington on Thursday.

Harkening back to a familiar refrain of her campaign, Harris said she believed “the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down. It is based on who you lift up.”

She thanked the group for “the support you’ve given me” and for their work for their constituents. She said 2025 would be an “important year” and encouraged the lawmakers to “think about how we are going to use the limited resources we have to serve the greatest number of people.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said part of the discussions with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been partly about what federal funds can be clawed back that the Biden administration is pushing out in its final days.

“And so the efforts here, both with our subcommittees that are being created here and with the DOGE effort itself, will be to explore that, to investigate it, and lay it bare for the American people to see. I think that’s how we’ll begin to bring about the change that we all need,” he added.

Ramaswamy told CNN in a story published Thursday, “Those types of last-minute actions that are taking place in the lame duck merit particularly special scrutiny.”

Johnson also said a major part of the effort will be ending remote work for federal workers.

CNN has reported that forcing federal workers back to the office is a way DOGE hopes to reduce the federal workforce through attrition.

“You’ve heard what DOGE is all about, the Department of government efficiency. It’s a new thing, and this is a new day in Washington and a new day in America,” said Johnson.

A bridge with Mexican and US flags is seen on the border of El Paso, Texas, United States, with Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico, on November 28.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration “hopes” to reach an agreement with President-elect Donald Trump like the one in place with the Biden administration that sends deportees directly to their country of origin.

Trump made promises to carry out mass deportations a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign.

To address the possibility of mass deportations, Sheinbaum said her administration is setting up meetings with Mexican border states governors — Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas — so “we can agree on how to receive our paisans.”

“We hope (mass deportations) don’t happen, but if they do, we will be ready to receive them.”

Sheinbaum’s immigration comments are the latest after her November 27 call with Trump to address the border and fentanyl crisis. On a post on X, she labeled the call as “excellent” and said migrant caravans were assisted in Mexico were no longer reaching the border.

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, on Thursday.

Trump followed by saying the conversation was “wonderful” and claimed Sheinbaum “agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.” This was later denied by the Mexican president.

That was the first time they talked since Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods from Mexico on the first day of his administration – a move he claims is retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border.

Mexico has since highlighted their actions to address the fentanyl and border crisis.

Elsewhere in Latin America: The Panamanian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the country would not accept migrants of other nationalities who may be deported by the future Trump administration from the United States.

“In light of international law, we have no obligation to accept deportees of nationalities other than Panamanian. We wish to maintain relations with the United States always within the framework of mutual respect,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This Foreign Ministry clearly understands that our main mission is to protect the interests of the Republic of Panama,” it added.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s team, told CNN that the president-elect received a mandate from the American people to stop what she called “the invasion of illegal immigrants, secure the border and deport dangerous criminals and terrorists” who make their communities less safe. “He will comply,” she said.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Senators who have spent years coming up with their own ideas about how to slash government waste, fraud and abuse acknowledge that the goals of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are worthwhile — but some Republicans argue the reality of implementing cuts to federal spending are another issue entirely.

Kennedy said that for example, he’s spent years trying to cut down on fraud of individuals who cash government checks of dead relatives, but he said even that has been a challenge.

“You’d think that’d be low hanging fruit, it has been a nightmare to get that passed,” he said.

Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk’s efforts aren’t entirely unique. Former GOP Sen. Tom Coburn famously issued an annual “wastebook” filled with hundreds of suggestions on how the government could cut back on millions from pulling back on astronaut studies to freezing grants. GOP Sen. Rand Paul heads to the floor every holiday season for his recitation of “Festivus,” yet another report that has uncovered other oddball studies, “a monkey island” and other projects the government pursues he deems wasteful.

The DOGE is attempting to focus their cuts on far-wide reaching programs, but Republicans acknowledge that could open up the effort to even more challenges. What might be a waste of money to one senator, means jobs for another in their state. And going after popular entitlement programs that are the largest drivers of federal spending have never been popular and have been tried numerous times over the years with little success.

President-elect Donald Trump hosted the chief executives of Pfizer and Eli Lilly for dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday evening, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s picks to run the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also attended.

The dinner was organized by the industry’s biggest lobbying organization, Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America — known colloquially as PhRMA — whose CEO Steve Ubl also joined the group.

Despite working closely with pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic, Trump has pledged to crack down on the industry — which is under attack for high drug prices and growing vaccine skepticism among the electorate.

Axios was first to report the gathering. CNN has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, closes a door to a private meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 20.

The House is expected to vote Thursday evening over a Democrat-led push to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was Donald Trump’s former attorney general pick.

How the vote may unfold: House GOP leadership believes they will successfully block the release of the report during the vote. When Democrats move to force their vote, GOP leaders are expected to dismiss it by referring the matter back to the Ethics Committee.

Republican leadership feels confident they will have the votes on their side to keep the Gaetz report private, though there are some concerns about attendance in their narrow majority, according to multiple sources.

Democrats plan to force the vote at the end of the vote series today, according to a person familiar with the plans, which will be around 6 p.m ET.

Separately, the Ethics Committee is set to meet on the report behind closed-doors shortly, at 2 p.m. ET. It appears unlikely that Republicans on the panel would approve the release of the report during the meeting, but if the panel were to move to release the report this afternoon, then Democrats would not force their vote later this evening.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not think the report should be released because Gaetz is no longer a member of the House so the ethics panel no longer has jurisdiction over him. Rep. Michael Guest, the Ethics Committee chairman, has said he agrees.

Democrats are using a procedural move to force GOP leadership to hold a vote on the issue. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

Vice President-elect JD Vance and incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz met on Wednesday with top Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The meeting comes as President-elect Donald Trump has signaled a significant shift in policy toward Ukraine as he moves to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Wednesday’s meeting, which one source said was also attended by Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration Sergiy Boyev, was not intended to discuss a potential peace plan or resolution to the war. Instead, the Ukrainian officials sought to give Waltz and Vance their assessment of the situation and build rapport with them. The Ukrainian officials feel they were successful on those objectives and were pleased with the meeting, according to one of the sources.

More on the meeting: The more than hour-long meeting, held in Washington, DC, primarily focused on the Ukrainians’ battlefield assessment of where things stand now and where they expect them to stand when the Trump team takes office. The Ukrainians offered a broad outline of their defense strategy but did not go into granular details. Waltz and Vance were primarily in listening mode, that source said.

The Ukrainian delegation did not meet with Trump’s pick for Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, during their visit Wednesday. The source noted that Kellogg has traveled to Ukraine in the past and Yermak knows him, so they did not need a meeting to establish the initial interpersonal relationships.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week previewed that Yermak, who is his chief of staff, would soon travel to the US for meetings with Trump officials. Zelensky said he wants to work “directly” with Trump and “hear from him his ideas.”

One of the sources said that, as of now, there are not plans for Zelensky to meet with Trump before his inauguration. The two met in New York in late September and have spoken by phone following the election.

CNN has reached out to the Trump transition and the Ukrainian Embassy for comment.