November 14, 2024 - Trump transition news

Donald Trump’s pick for the number two lawyer at the Justice Department is Todd Blanche, an attorney who represented him in several criminal cases, the president-elect announced Thursday.

Once he is formally nominated as deputy attorney general, Blanche would be subject to Senate confirmation.

The Justice Department’s deputy attorney general is tasked with managing the day-to-day functions of the department while advising the attorney general on policy priorities and other issues.

About the pick: Blanche played a central role in Trump’s defense teams in both the Manhattan hush money case, which resulted in a conviction earlier this year, and the federal classified documents prosecution, which was dismissed by a judge this summer. Blanche was also involved in the federal January 6 case.

Blanche defended Trump in his only criminal trial this year, serving as Trump’s lead attorney in the hush money case. He conducted the multi-day cross-examination of Michael Cohen and clashed on several occasions with Judge Juan Merchan, who at one point questioned Blanche’s credibility when he tried to defend Trump’s violations of the judge’s gag order.

Blanche spent several years as a federal prosecutor before entering private practice about a decade ago. When he took Trump on as client last year, he stepped down from the white-shoe New York law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he was partner.

Trump also said he is selecting Emil Bove for principal associate deputy attorney general. Bove is a former co-chief of the national security unit at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and was also part of Trump’s legal team in the hush money case.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced former Rep. Doug Collins as his pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2020, CNN reported that Collins apologized for making an unfounded claim that accused Democrats of being “in love with terrorists.”

For all the drama generated every four years by Cabinet appointments, defeat of a nominee by a vote in the Senate is extremely rare.

The only time a nominee by a new president was rejected by a Senate vote occurred in 1989. In fact, rather than face the humiliation of a rejection vote in the Senate, Cabinet nominees are more frequently withdrawn when it becomes clear they cannot be confirmed. Every recent president since Bill Clinton has withdrawn at least one of their initial nominees.

Here’s how the process works: In modern times, a president-elect nominates his picks for top officials ASAP after winning the election. Planning should ideally begin before Election Day.

Oversight committees in the Senate can conduct confirmation hearings before Inauguration Day on January 20. They can refer nominees to the full Senate or quick votes when the new president takes the oath of office. But things frequently take a lot longer.

There is sort of a way around the nomination process: There is that mention in the Constitution of recess appointments — something President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to use. While his fellow Republicans who will control the Senate in January have not rejected the idea, leaders like Sen. John Thune also clearly don’t want to give away their power over oversight.

Plus, recess appointments only last until the end of the next Senate session, usually around the calendar year. And the US Supreme Court ruled it takes at least a 10-day recess to justify a recess appointment.

But there’s a loophole: The House and Senate are each given the power to adjourn, but for anything longer than three days, they need each chamber’s approval. If the House and Senate can’t agree, the Constitution says the president could adjourn them.

That means Trump could then adjourn the Senate for 10 days to ram through a Cabinet. So far, no president has ever in US history tried to adjourn the House and Senate using this authority.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan expressed confidence Thursday that at least some of President Joe Biden’s administration’s foreign policy accomplishments will remain in place after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Sullivan, traveling with Biden to Lima, Peru, pointed to elevation of the Quad alliance and last year’s trilateral Camp David summit between the US, Japan and Korea as examples of accomplishments that may survive the transition, calling both “the kind of thing that has strong bipartisan support, that has obvious benefits to the United States, that doesn’t involve some massive incremental resource commitment.”

Pressed to respond on some of the names Trump has selected for his own national security team, Sullivan demurred.

“I do not want to do that,” he said.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz faces an arduous path to becoming attorney general and will have to answer questions about ethical concerns and fight for every vote, said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who acknowledged Gaetz may not be confirmed.

Mullin, who had clashed personally with Gaetz, said it was up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to decide whether to subpoena the House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz, and that he would not make up his mind on the nomination until it comes to the floor.

“A lot of the stuff is gonna be brought up,” by the Judiciary Committee, he said about ethics questions.

He said it’s possible Gaetz would pull out at some point if confirmation was in doubt.

“Matt will choose to go through the process or not. Because we’ve seen a lot of nominees, when they go through the process and it’s not going to happen and the pull out,” he said.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, placing a figure with a history of spreading false conspiracy theories at the forefront of federal public health policy.

Here is some of the immediate reaction from Capitol Hill:

House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the selection, saying Kennedy “brings a lot to the table.”

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he did not know whether Kennedy can be confirmed by the Senate, but said his views on vaccines are “not particularly an issue” for him. “I know it is for some people,” Cornyn added, saying, “I am sure it will come up” in confirmation hearings. The Texas Republican said the Senate will do its “due dilligence” on RFK Jr. and any other Trump picks once they are formally nominated.

Republican Rep. Jim Banks, now a senator-elect in Indiana, called Kennedy the “least surprising” of Trump’s picks. Banks told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Trump had campaigned on giving RFK Jr. a “seat at the table” to implement a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. In response to a question about Kennedy’s history of spreading falsehoods, Banks said Trump won the popular vote and has a mandate to have a “serious and thoughtful conversation” about vaccines, especially as it pertains to public health mandates, with Kennedy playing a key role.

Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune called for patience Thursday, dodging questions about RFK Jr.’s qualifications and whether he would have the Republican leader’s support. “The entire nomination process is just getting started, so let’s give it a chance and see what happens,” Thune said. “There are committees that are going to be conducting hearings, and there’ll be plenty of scrutiny of these nominees’ records when the time comes.”

This post has been updated to reflects comments from the Senate majority leader-elect.

Shares of prominent vaccine makers plunged Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

An hour before the market closed Thursday, as news reports of Trump’s choice began trickling out, Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna dipped as much as 6%, and Pfizer fell almost 2%. Novavax, which created a protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, fell almost 6%.

Kennedy has been one of the country’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists for years and has frequently spread falsehoods about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Last week, Kennedy said he would “immediately” begin studying vaccine safety and efficacy but promised to not “take vaccines away from anybody.”

Read more on the shares of prominent vaccine makers.

Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, the New York Times reported, citing two Iranian officials.

The meeting between Musk and Iran’s envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, was held at a secret location in New York and lasted more than an hour, the NYT reported, citing the Iranian officials, who reportedly described the discussion as focused on how to defuse tensions between the two countries.

CNN has reached out to Musk and Trump’s transition team for comment.

Biden administration officials at the UN were not notified that the meeting was happening, and still have not received independent confirmation it took place, a US official told CNN.

Some context: The billionaire’s reported conversation with the Iranian official raises questions about what his influence might look like in the incoming administration.

Trump announced Tuesday that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration. Musk has benefitted from billions of dollars worth of federal contracts, including from NASA, the military and other US government agencies, and the announcement prompted concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

It is not immediately clear how the department — which Trump said would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” — would operate, and whether a Congress even fully controlled by Republicans would have the appetite to approve such a massive overhaul of government spending and operations.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed reporting to this post.

Jay Clayton, former chairman of the US SEC, speaks during 13D Monitor's Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York, on October 22.

President-elect Donald Trump picked Jay Clayton, his former financial regulator, to run the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the powerful, independent office of the Justice Department.

Clayton ran the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term. Clayton was also considered for attorney general, CNN has reported.

Why this is significant: The pick follows Trump’s pattern to buck tradition — Clayton is a long-time corporate lawyer who has represented financial institutions, but he has never been a prosecutor. SDNY has a long-standing tradition of being run by an alum of the office.

Clayton’s name came up once before for SDNY — Trump moved to oust Geoffrey Berman, his choice for SDNY, after he jousted with then-Attorney General Bill Barr. Berman later resigned and his deputy stepped into the role.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was officially selected by President-elect Donald Trump to head the US Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday.

As the HHS secretary, if he is confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will oversee many agencies that handle a variety of health care regulations and decisions.

Here are some of the best-known agencies that fall under HHS:

President-elect Donald Trump is considering several of the attorneys who have worked on his criminal defense and other legal cases over the past few years to take on the role of US solicitor general, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The solicitor general oversees and argues the government’s cases before the Supreme Court.

Among those being considered for the job is John Sauer, who successfully argued Trump’s immunity case before the Supreme Court, sources said. The justices ultimately ruled that Trump is entitled to immunity from prosecution for official actions taken as president.

Another Trump attorney in the mix is Jonathan Mitchell, who argued before the Supreme Court on Trump’s behalf in the case over whether he should be disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist clause.” Trump also notched a win in that case, as justices ruled he should appear on the ballot.

Mitchell also was considered the architect of Texas’s six-week abortion ban, which the Supreme Court allowed to go into effect while Roe v. Wade was still on the books, and has been involved in other anti-abortion litigation since.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed reporting.

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is set to reclaim the chair of the committee in charge of vetting President-elect Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, would not say if he’d ask for the House Ethics report in the vetting process his committee will do.

He also told reporters he’d answer more when Gaetz was officially before the committee.

“I think all of the questions on Matt Gaetz would be more appropriate when we get to the vetting process,” he said.

Grassley added he didn’t think the Senate would be gone long enough for recess appointments to be a real issue.

Such an appointment would cause Congress to adjourn for 10 days, to which Grassley said, “I don’t want the Senate to adjourn for 10 days.”

As secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr. would oversee operations of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid.

Though President-elect Donald Trump has moved away from seeking to fully repeal Obamacare, it remains to be seen whether he and his health officials will release a plan to change the law, as he promised on the campaign trail.

Still, there are some important deadlines coming up in 2025 that would allow the Trump administration to more quickly pivot away if he chooses from the programs put in place by President Joe Biden.

Notably, the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies are set to expire at the end of next year. The beefed-up assistance, which was put in place by congressional Democrats in the first half of Biden’s term, has led to record interest in the Obamacare exchanges. Extending the more generous subsidies is in doubt with Republicans in control of both the White House and Congress.

And just around the corner is the February 1 deadline to announce the 15 medications that will be included in the second round of Medicare drug price negotiations. The initial round is expected to lead to an estimated $6 billion in savings for the federal government and a $1.5 billion reduction in out-of-pocket costs for seniors, according to the Biden administration.

It’s unclear how the Trump administration will handle the controversial program – or address the multitude of lawsuits that drug makers have filed to squash it. During his first term, the president-elect supported an effort to base US drug prices on those in certain other industrialized nations, but he has since moved away from that proposal.

Kennedy would also be involved in any changes Trump and congressional Republicans attempt to make to Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for low-income Americans. In Trump’s first term, the agency tried to institute work requirements, which was largely blocked in court, and lawmakers unsuccessfully sought to reduce the program’s funding.

The program, which covers nearly 72.5 million Americans, is expected to be a target in Trump’s second term, especially is the GOP seeks savings to offset the tax relief it hopes to implement.

Matt Gaetz attends a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 18, 2023.

The House Ethics Committee is expected to discuss the fate of a report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz in a Friday morning meeting, according to three sources with knowledge of plans.

Gaetz was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be his next attorney general on Wednesday.

What the report is about: The Ethics Committee had been probing allegations that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens during a campaign rally for Donald Trump on August 23, in Glendale, Arizona.

President-elect Donald Trump picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump announced Thursday.

A source told CNN that Kennedy accepted the offer Thursday. Kennedy has been in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days following the election.

Some background: Kennedy has been one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists for years and has frequently spread false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

He launched his own presidential bid last year – first as a Democratic challenger to President Joe Biden, then as an independent – focused largely on reversing “the chronic disease epidemic.” He proposed numerous policies aimed to overhaul food safety and environmental guidelines, promote holistic medicines and restructure public funding for vaccine research.

In the final days of his campaign, he met with Trump on multiple occasions and the two discussed the possibility of him endorsing the president-elect in exchange for a role in his administration. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump that same day.

This post has been updated with background on Kennedy and a quote from Trump.

Sen. Kevin Cramer arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the US Capitol on Wednesday, November 13.

Sen. Kevin Cramer again expressed skepticism of Matt Gaetz’s nomination to be attorney general, but wouldn’t rule out ultimately voting for him.

Pressed on if he would vote to confirm Gaetz, Cramer said “I never say what I’ll never do, because I want to hear the case.”

“I like the process to work out, work its way through. So I’d be open to it, but he’s got a really steep hill to climb to get lots of votes,” he said.

Cramer estimated that there could be “more” than five to 10 GOP senators who would vote against Gaetz if the confirmation vote was held today.

“But it’s not today, so we’ll have to see if that’s truly the case. If it becomes apparent, there are lots of options … the president could withdraw him, that he could withdraw himself. They could say, hey, let’s spend more political capital,” he said.

Cramer said he did want to see the House Ethics Committee’s report on Gaetz, saying at least the Senate Judiciary Committee should have access to it. The committee was supposed to meet and vote on the report this Friday, but with Gaetz’s resignation from Congress, the investigation came to an end.

“At this point, given, particularly given his abrupt, you know, departure from Congress just prior to that report coming out, considering the job that he is being appointed to, considering that the FBI is going to do a background check anyway. I can’t imagine that the committee is not going to want to see it,” he said.

“At the very least, those of us that will have a vote at some point, starting with the Judiciary Committee, should see that,” he said.

President-elect Donald Trump is on the verge of announcing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his next secretary of Health and Human Services, according to two people close to the situation, in a move that would add to Trump’s provocative picks whose confirmation process will test the loyalty of Senate Republicans.

Trump has formally offered the role to Kennedy, a source familiar told CNN. Trump could announce it as soon as today.

The move is a notable one given that only days before the election, Trump’s transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy was “not getting a job for HHS.”

“He would not be in charge of HHS?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him.

“No,” Lutnick said, “of course not.”

That answer set off an internal uproar in Trump’s orbit, with Trump making clear to Kennedy that he would make the ultimate decisions.

Removing large amounts of general officers in the military would “have an impact on operations” and morale, the Pentagon said Thursday amid reports that President-elect Trump’s team is planning to fire so-called “woke” leaders from the military.

CNN has reported that Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has said he is in favor of firing “woke” leaders in the military, and firing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh declined to comment directly on reports of plans to fire military leaders, but said that “whenever you have or put a strain on the system where there are not enough people in a position, or not enough people sharing the burden of work, of course, it’s going to strain the system.”

There are people in the Pentagon who “have dedicated their life to public service, whether it being in uniform or career civil servants,” and they are “focused on the mission,” Singh added.

Senate Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn, are leery of President-elect Donald Trump’s push to use recess appointments to bypass the chamber’s involvement in confirmations and avoid Democratic opposition to his picks.

“I don’t think we should be circumventing the Senate’s responsibilities,” Cornyn told CNN’s Manu Raju. “But I think it’s premature to be talking about recess appointments right now.”

Previously, when he was running for Senate GOP leader, Cornyn had indicated that he was open to using recess appointments to bypass Democratic opposition to Trump’s nominees.

Remember: Recess appointments are temporary hirings made while the Senate is out of session, allowing a president’s nominees to avoid confirmation hearings. In recent administrations, Senate leaders from both parties have used procedural moves to prevent the possibility of such appointments.

More from GOP leaders: Sen. James Lankford, a newly elected member of Republican leadership, argued that the use of recess appointments “shows the Senate is not doing their work,” and noted that the Supreme Court has already ruled on the idea.

However, Sen. Rick Scott said he approves of the use of recess appointments, saying he has been “very clear” on the issue. “I think both John Cornyn and John Thune committed to recess appointments,” he added.

Scott had supported recess appointments during his bid for GOP leader, which he lost to Sen. John Thune in yesterday’s election. Scott also indicated his support for Trump’s controversial nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, saying “I think he’ll do a good job.”

William Pope

A federal judge on Thursday agreed to delay a trial set for next month for a US Capitol riot defendant, saying there is a “real possibility” that President-elect Donald Trump could pardon him after taking office next year.

William Pope had been set to go on trial early next month for several misdemeanor charges stemming from his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. But days after Trump’s reelection last week, he asked the judge to postpone the trial until after Trump takes office, citing the president-elect’s campaign pledge to pardon some people who took part in the attack.

US District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee, said during a hearing Thursday that there is a “real possibility” Trump will eventually pardon Pope.

Contreras said that the “conservation of resources” warranted holding off on the impending trial since going through jury selection would be a “significant burden” on the public as well as the court if a trial began only for Trump to later pardon Pope.

When a Justice Department attorney argued that the possibility of a pardon “is not a significant reason” to put off the trial and brought up the fact that other judges in Washington, DC, have recently been denying requests by January 6 defendants to delay proceedings in their cases, Contreras said a multi-day trial is much different than sentencing hearings, which have continued in the wake of Trump’s win.

No new trial date has been set, and the parties are planning to reconvene in mid-December to search for a new date for next year.

Read more about how federal judges are handling January 6 defendants after Trump’s election win.

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed to report.

Top Senate Democrats are calling on the House Ethics Committee to release their findings on Matt Gaetz following President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to select the former Republican lawmaker from Florida for attorney general.

Senate Judiciary chair Dick Durbin of Illinois, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Delaware Sen. Chris Coons are among those calling for the report to be released.

The House Ethics Committee was supposed to meet and vote on the report this Friday. With Gaetz’s resignation from Congress, the investigation came to an end.

Meanwhile, Democratic Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper said he didn’t want to “prejudge” any nominations, explaining he thinks it’s important Trump’s picks go through the full Senate vetting process.

More on the report: The House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating Gaetz for years, had a narrow window on when it could release its actual report. Because the bipartisan committee doesn’t allow reports to be published close to an election, it could not release the information around the time of Florida’s August primary or the November general election.

The committee had been probing allegations that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.

But the chair of the committee, GOP Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, said the ethics probe into Gaetz would end if he resigned his seat to prepare for the attorney general confirmation process — as the panel only has jurisdiction over a member when they are serving in Congress.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris, Annie Grayer and Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this report. This post has been updated with more reactions from lawmakers on the report.

Janelle Bynum, the Democratic candidate running to represent Oregon's 5th Congressional District, poses for a photo on Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Portland, Oregon.

Democrat Janelle Bynum will win the race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, flipping one of the most competitive seats in the country.

Bynum’s opponent, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, conceded the race Thursday, telling supporters in a statement posted on X that, “Although this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, I’m very proud of what we accomplished together.”

Bynum, a small business owner and the daughter of teachers, will be the first Black person to represent Oregon in Congress.

Chavez-DeRemer was one of just 16 House Republicans defending a seat whose district voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Her victory is a boon to Democrats, who boosted the Oregon state representative in the primary to increase their odds of winning back a seat that had long been in their control.

Where things stand: Republicans have won enough seats to retain a majority in the House of Representatives, along with control of the Senate and White House, securing unified power in Washington.

Some key House races remain uncalled, however, and are being watched closely to determine how thin of a majority the GOP will have in the lower chamber.

An outside group is up with a TV ad in Pennsylvania criticizing the coming recount of the state’s 2024 Senate race between Republican Dave McCormick, currently leading by less than 1%, and Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey.

The ad, backed by about $178,000 worth of reservations this week, is from a group called the “Fair Elections Fund,” a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that has disclosed little about its funding. The spot accuses Casey of hypocrisy for not conceding the race, comparing his current position to his calls for Donald Trump to accept the outcome of his loss in 2020.

“Bob Casey had a lot to say about conceding,” the ad says, featuring a clip of Casey in 2020 saying that “peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy.”

“But now that he’s lost, he’s changing his tune,” the ad continues. “They’re denying the results and trying to force an unnecessary recount using your tax dollars. Casey and the Democrats are sore losers and they’re disrespecting our democracy.”

Pennsylvania saw more ad spending during the 2024 cycle than any other state — more than $1.2 billion total since the start of 2023, including the presidential race, senate race, and other down ballot races — and more than a week after Election Day, its voters are still seeing political ads.

While provisional and mail ballots are still being counted, unofficial results show the Senate race to be within the one-half of 1% margin to automatically trigger a recount under state law.

Currently, McCormick leads Casey by fewer than than 30,000 votes, an advantage that has shrunk since election night. CNN has not made a projection in the race, although McCormick, a former hedge fund executive who lost a bid for the Senate GOP nomination in 2022, attended new senator orientation in Washington, DC, this week.

CNN has projected that Republicans will win the US Senate majority and retain the House majority, which means that, with control of the White House, the GOP will complete a sweep of the federal government. While the Pennsylvania race is still to be declared, Republicans will have at least 52 seats in the Senate.

Pennsylvania counties will be required to start the recount by November 20. They must complete the recount by November 26 and report results to the state by the next day.

In this September 2023 photo, migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the US from Mexico are lined up for processing by US Customs and Border Protection in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Senior administration officials are bracing for the incoming Trump administration to scrap the immigration policies put in place under President Joe Biden — many of which can be undone with the stroke of a pen, leaving many immigrants in limbo.

Multiple administration officials who spoke to CNN said there are few, if any, ways to protect the policies implemented by Biden that, for example, provided temporary protections to certain migrants in the United States.

It’s a reflection of the state of immigration policy, which for the last several years has been made through the executive and as a result, vulnerable to change depending on who’s in office.

In the aftermath of the election, immigration advocates have been scrambling to determine what, if anything, Biden and his administration might be able to do before Donald Trump comes back to the White House — and potentially follows through on his long-stated promise of mass deportations and curbing migration.

One advocate who works closely with the Biden White House floated ideas like expanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) eligibility for people coming from places like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Ecuador; making a fresh push on DACA renewals and to get resolution for individuals with pending cases; and corralling local elected leaders to raise money for legal services.

But internally, administration officials are skeptical that expanding or designating new TPS would pass muster. There is also expected to be a robust push for action across the private sector.

The House clerk read former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s letter of resignation on the floor of the House at the opening of legislative business at 12:02 p.m. ET Thursday.

Gaetz resigned effective immediately and said he will not take the oath of office in the new Congress in January.

The chair announced the resignation to the House and said the whole number of the House is now 433.

The letter, as read:

The Honorable, the Speaker, the House of Representatives

Sir,

I hereby resign as a United States representative for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, effective immediately. And I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to pursue the position of attorney general in the Trump administration.

Sincerely,

Matt Gaetz, Member of Congress

President-elect Donald Trump has announced a few key picks for his Cabinet — including Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general — but a batch of open positions remain.

The Senate must confirm Trump’s Cabinet picks before they take their positions.

Here are some of the top seats left and what we know about names being floated for them:

Treasury: Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick, who is the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, is making a pitch to be treasury secretary, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. A person close to the process says no final decision has been made. Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager, has also been in pole position for the job. Robert Lighthizer, who served as US trade representative in the first Trump administration, has also expressed interest in the post. Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty have been mentioned as “dark horses.”

Labor: Clayton has also been under consideration for secretary of labor.

Commerce: Both Lighthizer and former Administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon are also under consideration to run the Commerce Department, according to CNN reporting.

Energy: While the secretary position has yet to be announced, discussions about a future role for North Dakota Gov.-turned-Trump-ally Doug Burgum have evolved into that of an “energy czar,” according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Education: Trump has pledged to shutter the Department of Education, an idea he has been floating since his 2016 campaign.

Veterans Affairs: Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana has been mentioned by sources as an option to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

US Trade Representative: Jamieson Greer, who served as Lighthizer’s deputy when Trump instituted across-the-board tariffs on adversaries and allies alike, is the name sources raise most often for this role.

What’s left: Trump’s possible choices are still unknown for secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Management and Budget, Council of Economic Advisers, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Small Business Administration.

It’s also unclear what changes the president-elect will enforce in the makeup of his advisory body. Trump has picked tech billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a Department of Government Effiency (or DOGE). Musk has also taken aim at the Education Department, while Ramaswamy pledged when he was a presidential candidate to cut 75% of all federal workers.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Sen. John Cornyn walks to a vote in the Senate Chambers at the US Capitol on February 7, in Washington, DC.

Top Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are being careful to keep their options open regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s selection for attorney general, former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Asked if the Senate should receive the House Ethic Committee report on Gaetz, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, said: “I haven’t given that any thought yet. I just know that the nomination isn’t formalized yet, but when it is, we’ll process it in the way we typically do and provide our advise and consent.”

Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he “absolutely” wants to see the findings of a House Ethics Committee probe into sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz. He also did not rule out backing the former congressman, saying important questions about his nomination would be considered through the Senate’s normal process. “I intend to play my part as a member of the Judiciary Committee,” he said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis were less insistent on seeing the House committee’s report. Tillis said it is “up to” the Ethics Committee, and Graham said, “I don’t know what the rules are.” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley added, “That’s really a matter for the House.”

Tillis said he expects any presidential nominee to be treated with respect, “but at the end of the day, you got to have the votes and you better have the resume. That’s how this process works.”

Pressed on the allegations against Gaetz, Hawley replied, “If there are real and serious issues there, there’ll be time for all of that. I’m sure there will be a thorough background look into all of the nominees.”

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said, “We’ll all look (at the report). Look at everything, because we’ll make sure we do the right thing. I’m a Matt Gaetz fan because I’ve known him for a long time.”

Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, who will depart the Senate after this term to serve as Indiana’s governor, acknowledged that “issues” with Gaetz’s record might make it “more complicated” to confirm him as attorney general when he was asked if he’s concerned about sex trafficking allegations against Gaetz.

Latest from the Ethics Committee: Asked about the pending report on Gaetz, House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest said Thursday, “What happens in Ethics is confidential. We’re going to maintain that confidentiality.”

Gaetz resigned two days before the committee was set to vote on releasing the report. His resignation ended the investigation, since the House only has jurisdiction over current members of Congress.

This post has been updated with comments from additional senators.

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have big ambitions for making the federal government leaner and more efficient by reviewing its budget and operations from top to bottom.

Musk, the world’s richest person who owns or runs several companies, has warned that his goals – including cutting at least $2 trillion in federal spending – could cause “temporary hardship” before ultimately creating “long-term prosperity.” His pronouncements are prompting budget experts to scoff, while sending chills down the spines of many federal workers and those who depend on the federal government for assistance or their livelihood.

Details about how the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will operate – and how Musk and his co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy will avoid conflicts of interest – remain scarce.

But, speaking last month, Musk said there was so much government waste it would be easy to find targets.

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former 2024 Republican presidential candidate who shifted his support to Trump said he would get rid of up to 75% of the federal workforce. About 2.3 million civilians are employed by the federal government, with nearly 60% working for the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

The plan also called for closing the Education Department and shifting its workforce training programs to the Labor Department; eliminating the FBI and relocating its 15,000 special agents who solve cases to other agencies; and getting rid of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and shifting its duties to other departments.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks before President-elect Donald Trump arrives to meet the House GOP conference on November 13 in Washington, DC.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to pick GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general “happened organically” and was not related to a forthcoming House Ethics Committee report this week.

CNN reported Wednesday night that the House ethics panel planned to meet and release a report on Gaetz this week. Gaetz resigned immediately from the House for the Cabinet confirmation process – possibly halting the release of the report altogether.

Johnson said he had no awareness of the timing of the Gaetz report.

Asked if someone investigated by the Department of Justice for sex trafficking should be in charge of it, Johnson responded: “It’s not my decision. It’s the president’s decision. But Matt’s a colleague, and he’s someone who’s worked really hard against the weaponization of government, the lawfare that’s happened at DOJ. He’d be an instant reformer if given the position, and I understand the pick.”

Matt Gaetz attends a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation hearing on Capitol Hill on July 18, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

The role of attorney general has long been viewed by President-elect Donald Trump as one of, if not the, most important positions he would fill. When he left office in January 2021, he privately griped that his biggest regret was who he had chosen to lead the Justice Department — specifically referring to his attorneys general Jeff Sessions and William Barr, both of whom, by the end of his term, he viewed as disloyal.

Now, Trump plans to scrap the Justice Department’s tradition of operating independently from White House political pressure. He has also been given reassurance by the Supreme Court’s recent decision that presidents receive immunity for official acts. Trump has told those working on the transition that this time, he wants to surround himself with people who will carry out his agenda and those he can trust — with loyalty remaining the leading prerequisite.

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz — a longtime supporter of Trump who two sources familiar with his plans said spent several days at Mar-a-Lago over the past week — fit that bill, even though he is a controversial figure loathed by many Republicans on Capitol Hill in part because of his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023 and throwing the party into weeks of chaos.

Those sources added that a slate of deputy attorneys general who weren’t expected to have reputations as controversial as Gaetz would follow, and would be tasked with executing the day-to-day operations of the department.

Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley said President-elect Donald Trump knew that she “had no interest” serving again in his administration, and even when his longtime friend Steve Witkoff came to her house in South Carolina and asked what she wanted, she said “nothing.”

On Saturday, Trump publicly posted that he would not be inviting Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join his administration. In return, Haley posted, “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”

Haley said Trump’s post did upset her family, but she also also noted that the president-elect can be “shallow at times, and I think he showed that, but I don’t have to be shallow, at the end of the day I’m very comfortable with where I am and I’m comfortable with what happened.”

Haley said, “And the truth is, I know the game he was playing. I don’t need to play that game. But more importantly, we have to look at the bigger picture. It is time to move on.”

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together after a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' week in Woodside, California on November 15, 2023.

Joe Biden will meet for a final time this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the US president prepares to hand over power — and the reins of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship — to President-elect Donald Trump in January.

The meeting, set for Saturday on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific leaders in Peru, serves as a bookend to the president’s high-stakes attempts to position the US against an increasingly assertive Beijing. It will be the third sit-down between the two leaders since Biden took office.

Unlike their previous meetings, the Lima talks won’t result in a long list of takeaways or deliverables. Instead, senior US officials described the meeting as a moment for reflection between two men whose relationship began more than a decade ago on a lengthy trip through China.

For all of the reminiscing Biden and Xi may do, however, their final encounter will be shadowed by the results of last week’s election. Trump enters office having promised a hard line on China and has already placed a string of China hawks in key positions ahead of his swearing-in in January, portending a contentious relationship in the years ahead.

As he builds out his administration, Trump has selected advisers who advocate a tough approach to China, including Rep. Mike Waltz to serve as national security adviser and potentially Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Trump has also vowed to impose tough tariffs on Chinese imports as a way to protect American industry.

Read more about the US-China relationship over the years.

In the days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, allies described his transition effort as far more disciplined than his first post-victory period in 2016.

Then, a 24-hour stretch — that started with Trump’s selection of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary on Tuesday night, included tapping former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence on Wednesday, and culminated with his selection of bomb-throwing Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general later that day — turned that perception on its head.

Trump’s transition effort had begun with relatively orthodox choices — including Susie Wiles, who led Trump’s campaign, as chief of staff. CNN reported on Monday Trump was likely to tap Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state – an announcement he made official on Wednesday.

But Trump, frustrated by his short list of potential Pentagon chiefs, chose Hegseth, a combat veteran and strident Trump promoter in his role as a Fox News host, who had abruptly been called to travel to Mar-a-Lago on Monday and announced as Trump’s choice for defense secretary after they met the next day.

Then, on Wednesday, Trump announced Gabbard, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and left the party in 2022, for director of national intelligence — another nomination sure to set off a major confirmation battle.

Read more about how Trump chose his Cabinet here.

Elisa Smithers

When Elisa Smithers was deployed to Iraq in 2005, there was a ban on women serving in ground combat operations.

Smithers was a “female searcher” with the National Guard and was attached to an infantry unit to help with searching detained Iraqi women, among other tasks. But she returned home to find she wasn’t offered the same support by the US Department of Veterans Affairs that male combat veterans were offered, Smithers said.

Now, the 48-year-old veteran fears the progress made for women in combat since then will be reversed after President-elect Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth this week as his pick for secretary of defense – a Fox News host and Army veteran who has criticized efforts to allow women into combat roles.

The ban on women serving in ground combat units was lifted in 2013 and, in 2016, all US military combat positions were opened to them, allowing women to fill about 220,000 jobs that were previously limited to men – including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units. Women account for roughly 17.5% of the Defense Department’s active-duty force, according to 2022 data from the agency.

Hegseth, who has a long record serving in the military in Afghanistan and Iraq, has not announced any plans to reinstate the ban if he’s confirmed, but has previously accused the military of lowering standards to allow women into combat jobs.

Read more about the ban and what it could mean for women serving in the US military here.

Elon Musk listens as President-elect Donald Trump speaks, during a meeting with the House GOP conference in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is the world’s wealthiest person. And he wants to remain so. To do that, he’s got to keep up the role of the eccentric genius sidekick to President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.

In case you missed it: The president-elect has said that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a two-bit pharma-bro-turned-right-wing-conspiracist, will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency.”

The goal is to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a trademark Randomly Capitalized Statement on his Truth Social site.

Here’s why it’s a very silly plan: Elon and Vivek are showmen, not accountants, and this “department” is not a department but rather a commission that would operate outside the government. (A department has to get authorization from Congress, and it’s not clear that even a fully Republican Congress wants anything to do with this.) They can advise on spending all day, but only elected lawmakers will have the power to actually make the cuts.

On the campaign trail last month, Musk was asked how much he thought he could cut from the nation’s $6.5 trillion budget.

And like anyone who’s gone out ahead of their skis, he grasped for an answer that seemed believable: “Well, I think we could do at least $2 trillion,” he said.

Two trillion. At least. Because everyone knows the federal government is bloated and inefficient and it’s long past time to tell those fat-cat civil servants in DC to get a real job … Except, that’s not how the budget works.

Read Morrow’s full analysis.

The US Capitol building is seen in Washington, DC on November 11.

More than a week after the US presidential election, a few congressional races remain uncalled, but CNN projects the Republicans will control both the Senate and the House.

The size of that majority — however — remains to be seen. There are still nine seats to be called in the House. They are:

What that means: The GOP’s control of both chambers of Congress – won after Republicans were projected to hold two House seats in California and Arizona – means that the president-elect will have a path to enact an agenda that could profoundly change America, including sweeping tax cuts, hardline immigration enforcement and a transformation of domestic and foreign policy.

The question now will be how large next year’s House majority becomes and whether the GOP can widen the margin of a handful of seats that has made managing the conference so complex for House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Senate recount: Elsewhere, the incredibly tight Pennsylvania race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick will head to a recount, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday. While provisional and mail ballots are still being counted, unofficial results show the race to be within the one-half of 1% margin to automatically trigger a recount under state law.

Ballot boxes: Meanwhile, the FBI is offering up to $25,000 in exchange for information about a suspect they believe set fire to several ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest during early voting last month. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed or damaged across three fires reported at drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon – both states where most people vote by mail or ballot drop off instead of in-person.

Pete Hegseth attends FOX News All American New Year at Wildhorse Saloon on December 31, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth has railed against women in combat, voiced support for troops accused and in some instances, convicted of war crimes, and advocated for the firing of the military’s most senior officers accused of supporting so-called woke policies.

Though he has pushed his positions primarily from a Fox News sofa and in best-selling books, Trump’s decision to catapult Hegseth into the top Pentagon job means he is set to put his ideas into action and clash directly with current Pentagon leadership.

Among the generals that Hegseth has suggested should be fired: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. CQ Brown.

The announcement of Hegseth — an Army National Guard veteran and Bronze Star recipient, and Fox News host — took many by surprise both inside the Pentagon and even among Trump allies. It was the first of several Cabinet picks made this week that Trump allies and adversaries alike described as “shocking” – all signs that the president-elect intends to rattle all branches of the federal government in his second term – including the military.

Trump’s unconventional background for such a pivotal national security role means he could face difficult confirmation process in the Senate.

While Hegseth has commented on several hot-topic foreign policy issues, including competition with China and the war in Ukraine, he has largely fashioned himself as a crusader against what many on the right perceive as the politicization of the military.

Read more about Hegseth’s potential clash with Pentagon officials here.

US Coast Guard officers patrol near Mar-a-Lago, the residence of US president-elect Donald Trump on November 8, in Palm Beach, Florida.

As Donald Trump conducts a free-wheeling transition from his Mar-a-Lago estate, drawing flocks of business moguls, contractors, foreign dignitaries and anyone looking for jobs in the new administration, the federal agencies charged with protecting the president-elect and his communications face a daunting task.

Security at Mar-a-Lago has already ramped up since the election. The Secret Service has increased its footprint around the residence and private club, and now deploys robot dogs capable of surveillance and detecting explosive material. The US Coast Guard patrols the nearby waterways.

But with no restrictions on who Mar-a-Lago club members can bring as guests, the chaotic scene presents a unique counterintelligence and security challenge that sources told CNN is almost impossible to fully prepare for.

Trump enters his second term as president facing a combination of targeted cyber and physical threats. China has tried to hack the communications of Trump and his inner circle. Iran has allegedly tried to kill him. And during the campaign, Trump survived two separate assassination attempts.

Unwelcome guests have been a security issue before at Mar-a-Lago. Since July, a Chinese national has been arrested multiple times for trying to get onto the property. Yet sources told CNN that there’s only so much they can do to ratchet up security there.

“We can’t put him in a bubble,” one Secret Service official told CNN, adding that “everyone’s waiting” to see what the coming presidency will look like and what security challenges lay ahead.

Read more on what a former FBI counterintelligence official said about the challenges.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, arrives with Trump's motorcade at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced a controversial string of picks for his upcoming administration, setting up a potentially provocative confirmation process by the Senate.

His announcements came within hours of CNN projecting that Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives, seizing a sweep of the federal government with control of the White House and majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Here’s what you need to know:

Trump has announced his picks for the following Cabinet positions:

Here’s what we know about Trump’s new team as it continues to take shape.

Shock at Gaetz’s selection: Some House Republicans gasped as they found out about Gaetz’s selection, and there was an audible reaction inside the Justice Department headquarters. Gaetz has been a critic — and target — of the Justice Department. If confirmed, he would be in control of the investigative files that detail the evidence the FBI uncovered in the sex trafficking investigation against him. The House Ethics Committee was due to meet this week to vote on releasing a report on Gaetz, who resigned from Congress on Wednesday. Gaetz’s appointment will be subject to Senate approval once Trump formally nominates him, setting up the potential for a provocative confirmation process.

Senate leadership: By secret ballot, the GOP elected John Thune as the next majority leader to succeed Mitch McConnell. Thune has had a complicated relationship with Trump. He called for Trump to drop out of the 2016 race after the “Access Hollywood” scandal — but later said he still planned to vote for Trump. He also condemned Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

House leadership: Mike Johnson was nominated to be House speaker unanimously, sources told CNN. Johnson, who is currently the speaker of the House, will now face a floor vote on January 3, where he will need to receive 218 votes. Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was also reelected as House Majority Leader, sources said.

Trump’s federal cases: The DOJ has asked a federal appeals court to pause its appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against Trump and his two co-defendants, while prosecutors decide next steps. Separately, special counsel Jack Smith continues wind down Trump’s federal prosecutions, with the intention of stepping down before Trump retakes office, according to a DOJ official.

Trump and Biden: Trump told the New York Post that he and President Joe Biden “both really enjoyed seeing each other” and expect to meet again just before Inauguration Day. The meeting was “very cordial, very gracious, and substantive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

President-elect Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on November 13, 2024.

Donald Trump’s increasingly provocative Cabinet picks have left some Republican senators aghast and Washington in shock.

But they really shouldn’t. Because the outrage is the point.

The latest selections for Trump’s MAGA dream team — Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as America’s new top spy — caused such a stir that they almost overshadowed the pick of Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth to serve as defense secretary.

But they are perfectly in tune with Trump’s campaign trail promises and political project. The dismay engulfing establishment elites contrasted with the euphoria rocketing through conservative networks and social media among Trump fans. The president-elect draws political strength from his position as an outsider scourge of the establishment, and if his picks are confirmed by the Senate, they will be tasked with his mission of defenestrating government and driving out those Trump sees as enemies.

Trump won the election and has a mandate for change. And these and other picks are proof of a president-elect who is increasingly powerful and cares little for the critics who warn his second term poses a threat to the rule of law.

Trump’s short-lived former first-term communications director Anthony Scaramucci told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the president-elect’s personnel selections were purposely meant to “own the liberals.” Paraphrasing Trump’s intent, he added:

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman agreed, telling CNN’s Manu Raju of the Gaetz selection:

President-elect Donald Trump picked Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. CNN’s Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid explains why the nomination is surprising.

Attorney Todd Blanche outside Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, in New York.

President-elect Donald Trump is seriously considering naming his lead attorney Todd Blanche to serve as the next deputy attorney general, the second-highest position in the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his thinking.

Blanche has represented Trump for the last 18 months and defended him during his criminal hush money trial in Manhattan this year. He has grown close to the president-elect in that time period and is often seen with Trump in Palm Beach or when he travels.

Because of his proximity and Trump’s trust in him, it was widely expected inside Trump’s inner circle that if he won, Blanche would likely follow him into the federal government.

One person close to the matter cautioned that no final decisions have been made.

If nominated, Blanche would need to be confirmed by the Senate before running the department that is one of the most prioritized by Trump.

Read more about Todd Blanche.