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4 days ago

Confirmation hearings live updates: Pam Bondi evades questions on Trump loyalty as protesters interrupt Marco Rubio

President-elect’s picks for attorney general and secretary of state, Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio, among those facing senators on Wednesday

Oliver O'Connell,Joe Sommerlad
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:36 GMT
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Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth heckled by protesters at Senate confirmation

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Donald Trump’s nominees to be the next US attorney general and secretary of state, Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio, are among the latest batch of cabinet picks sitting for Senate confirmation hearings today.

Florida Attorney General Bondi has been accused of amplifying Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election and represented him at his first impeachment trial in 2019. Senator Rubio was once a bitter rival to the president-elect for the Republican presidential nomination, trading insults in the 2016 primaries — something that will likely come up today.

Chris Wright (secretary of energy), John Ratcliffe (director of the CIA), Sean Duffy (secretary of transportation), and Russell Vought (director of the Office of Management and Budget) also have hearings scheduled today with the relevant committees.

They follow in the footsteps of Pete Hegseth, the president-elect’s choice for secretary of defense, who endured a fiery hearing on Tuesday in which he called for the return of “American warriors” at the Pentagon but faced aggressive questioning about his checkered personal history.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom has invited Trump to visit Los Angeles to witness the devastation wrought by January’s wildfires, rather than merely criticize the emergency response from social media.

4 days ago

Bondi would be joined by other members of Trump’s legal team if confirmed

If she’s confirmed, Pam Bondi — who represented Donald Trump during his impeachment — could end up overseeing a Justice Department led by other attorneys for the president. Her deputy managing the agency’s day to day could be Trump’s criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche, his deputy could be his law partner Emil Bove, and the deputy handling the civil rights division could be Harmeet Dhillon, who led more than a dozen election challenges on behalf of the Trump campaign.

Alex Woodward15 January 2025 14:37
4 days ago

Watch LIVE: Trump's attorney general pick Pam Bondi grilled at Senate Judiciary Committee

Oliver O'Connell15 January 2025 14:29
4 days ago

Watch: Hulk Hogan downs can of beer during live Fox News interview

The aforementioned Fox News host Jesse Watters was interviewing the retired professional wrestler on Tuesday when talk soon turned to Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration.

Hogan suddenly cracked open a can of his own brand of beer before telling Watters: “We got a real American president, brother.

“And we're already celebrating the inauguration even before it happens because we know we're getting our country back, brother.”

Hulk Hogan downs can of beer during live Fox News interview

Hulk Hogan downed a can of beer during a live interview on Fox News, much to the surprise of presenter Jesse Watters. The Fox News host was interviewing the retired professional wrestler on Tuesday, when talk soon turned to Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration. Hogan suddenly cracked open his can of Real American Beer - which he co-founded over the summer and has promoted heavily in recent months - before telling Watters: “We got a real American president, brother. And we're already celebrating the inauguration even before it happens because we know we're getting our country back, brother.”

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 14:20
4 days ago

What can we expect to hear from Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for AG?

Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, formerly attorney general of Florida, will tell the Senate today that “most importantly,” if confirmed, “the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end--America must have one tier of justice for all.”

Bondi, who was part of Trump’s defense team at his first impeachment, will also pledge a “new golden age” at the DOJ and will tell senators that as attorney general, she would get back to basics like prosecuting violent crime, child predators and drug traffickers while addressing issues at the southern border.

She will also focus on defending “free speech, free exercise of religion, and the right to bear arms.”

Oliver O'Connell15 January 2025 14:08
4 days ago

NY Republicans say they met with Trump to help end congestion pricing

A group of Republican lawmakers from New York say they met with the president-elect over the weekend to recruit his assistance in ending congestion pricing in the Empire State.

Less than a week into the newly implemented congestion pricing plan, Representatives Nicole Malliotakis, Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Nick Langworthy and Claudia Tenney took a trip to Mar-a-Lago to speak with the incoming president about it.

Trump has already signaled his support for ending congestion pricing – though he did not explain how he would go about doing so.

Ariana Baio reports.

New York Republicans say they met with Trump to help end congestion pricing

New York City is one of the most congested cities in the United States

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 13:55
4 days ago

Puerto Rico calls on Trump to respond after Maduro threatens to invade

Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon has called on the president-elect to respond after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro threatened to invade the US territory.

Gonzalez-Colon called on Trump’s administration to “swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro narco-regime that the US will protect American lives and sovereignty and won’t bow down to petty, murderous thugs” in a letter addressed to him on Monday.

She called Maduro’s threat “an open threat to the United States, our national security and stability in the region.”

Puerto Rico calls on Trump to respond after Maduro threatens to invade

Maduro said he wants to ‘achieve’ Puerto Rico’s ‘liberty’ with military force

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 13:35
4 days ago

Trump continuing to name nominees to his new administration

The president-elect is already up and posting on Truth Social this morning, albeit so far only Fox News clips of conservative lawyer David Shoen attacking Jack Smith and the FBI on his behalf.

This was his last substantial post, announcing his latest new hire:

It is also being reported that the incoming leader has appointed himself a new head speechwriter:

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 13:15
4 days ago

Two House Democrats join Republicans to ban trans athletes from women’s sports

Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to restrict transgender youth from participating in women’s sports on Tuesday, with two Democrats – Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas – joining them.

The legislation amends Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs if they receive federal money.

The bill would amend the term “sex” so that it is “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth”.

Eric Garcia has this report.

Two House Democrats join Republicans to ban trans athletes from women’s sports

‘We can’t be ninnies about this,’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells The Independent about the latest Republican attack on transgender people

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 12:55
4 days ago

Fox host Jesse Watters slams Michelle Obama for snubbing Trump inauguration

He forgot one detail, however, as this gentleman points out.

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 12:35
4 days ago

Republican senator says California ‘doesn’t deserve funding’ for wildfires

Alabama GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, said he didn’t object to sending the state “some money” but not unless state leaders “change their ways”, his comments following on from House Speaker Mike Johnson saying their should be “strings attached” to any federal disaster relief funding heading west.

This is what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had to say about that:

Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.

GOP senator says California ‘doesn’t deserve funding’ after devastating wildfires

Tuberville joins a growing number of Republicans who have hit out at California lawmakers for the fires

Joe Sommerlad15 January 2025 12:15

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