Trump’s transition latest updates: Matt Gaetz resigns from Congress after being picked as Attorney General
Donald Trump has picked his controversial MAGA ally to oversee the nation’s Justice Department
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Your support makes all the difference.President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general.
Gaetz resigned from his seat in the US House of Representatives in light of the news, Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed on Wednesday. This will effectively end the House Ethics probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use made against him.
Trump has also chosen former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio to join his administration. Gabbard is set to serve as the director of national intelligence while Rubio has been nominated to be secretary of state.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are projected to retain control of the House, completing their trifecta.
Trump met with Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday to discuss a transition schedule, with their opening sitdown warm and cordial in tone. Their remarks lasted about a minute, with Trump observing “Politics is tough” and adding: “And in many cases, it’s not a nice world. But it’s a nice world today.”
The men subsequently met in private without the press pack present, with Trump apparently getting a laugh by joking about bringing an end to term limits.
Trump nominates MAGA congressman Matt Gaetz as surprise attorney general pick
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Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress
Republicans will control both houses of Congress next year.
The GOP held onto their narrow majority, giving them the opportunity to pass much of President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
The victory means that House Speaker Mike Johnson will almost certainly stay in his position. It also came as Senate Republicans flipped the upper chamber.
Democrats flipped a number of seats, including in California and New York. But they didn’t win enough to make up for losses of incumbent Democrats like Yadira Caraveo in Colorado or Republicans flipping Michigan’s open 7th district seat that was vacated when Elissa Slotkin won her senate race. Democratic Representatives Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania both fell short.
Many races remain uncalled, but Republicans earned the required 218 votes to keep the lower chamber.
Republicans win control of both Houses of Congress
The unified government gives Trump fewer checks on his power
Trump officially announces Marco Rubio as Secretary of State nominee
Trump issued a statement on Wednesday officially nominating Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State.
It is my Great Honor to announce that Senator Marco Rubio, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The United States Secretary of State.
Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom.
He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.
I look forward to working with Marco to Make America, and the World, Safe and Great Again!
Trump is struggling to find an attorney general candidate who ‘ticks all the boxes’
President-elect Donald Trump is struggling to find a candidate for attorney general who checks all his boxes even after taking on the opinions of his closest advisors and aides.
The former president has already met with several candidates for the post, including at least one on Tuesday, according to CNN. Trump currently has no favorites for the post, the network noted.
While Trump’s relationships with many of his cabinet secretaries in his first administration ended badly, few were as chaotic as his failed connections with his attorneys general – Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr. Trump fired Sessions after he recused himself from the Russia investigation and Barr eventually resigned after the 2020 election amid Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
Trump is struggling to find an attorney general candidate who ‘ticks all the boxes’
Justice Department official says ‘handcuffs are going to be off’ ahead of Trump’s second term
Trump education secretary hopeful floats national mandate to require Bibles in school classrooms
Donald Trump’s potential education secretary pick has floated the idea of a national mandate to require Bibles in classrooms.
Oklahoma’s chief school official Ryan Walters, one of the names rumored to be in the running to become the next education secretary, did not reject the idea of rolling out the controversial policy across schools nationwide when it was put to him on Tuesday.
“Look, if you’re teaching American history, the Bible has to be included and we cannot allow left-wing activists to sit here and say we don’t like Christianity,” Walters told Blake Burman on NewsNation’s The Hill.
“We will ensure that history is taught in every class. That means kids will know American exceptionalism. That means kids will know the role that faith played. We will be unapologetic about that here in Oklahoma,” he added, pointing to the policy already in place in his home state.
“We want to make sure that every student knows the role that the Bible played in American history.”
Rhian Lubin has more.
Trump education secretary hopeful floats mandate for Bibles in school classrooms
Ryan Walters is rumored to be in the running to become Donald Trump’s education secretary
New Senate Republican Conference chair Tom Cotton recalls ‘low prices, high wages’ during Trump’s first term
The newly elected chair of the Senate Republican Conference, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that he’s “looking forward to working with Senator Thune and the rest of this leadership team. I'm very grateful for the confidence that my peers placed in me.”
“We all remember what it was like when President Trump was in office and we had Republicans in charge of the Senate. We had low prices, we had high wages, we had a secure border, we had a strong military, we had a peaceful, stable world,” he claimed. “Starting on January 3, that's what we'll all be working to build again with President Trump, with Mike Johnson, and the rest of the House Republicans on behalf of the American people.”
Joe Rogan lists Harris campaign’s ‘hilarious’ requirements for appearing on his podcast
Joe Rogan has divulged a list of what he called “hilarious” requirements that Vice President Kamala Harris had in order to appear on his show.
In Tuesday’s episode, the podcaster revealed that he and the Harris campaign had “multiple conversations” about her potential appearance on the show and that he gave her an “open invitation” to come by.
But, a series of demands from her campaign ultimately blocked the interview from going ahead, Rogan claimed.
“They had requirements on things she didn’t want to talk about,” he said. “She didn’t want to talk about marijuana legalization — which I thought was hilarious.”
Joe Rogan lists Harris campaign’s ‘hilarious’ requirements for appearing on his show
While Kamala Harris never ended up sitting down with the podcaster, her Republican opponent took part in a three-hour-long interview on the show
Watch live: Senate Republicans speak for first time since John Thune elected Senate majority leader
Watch live as the Senate Republicans speak for the first time since John Thune was elected to serve as Senate majority leader for the next two years.
Senate Republicans nominated the Senate Minority Whip to succeed Mitch McConnell as majority leader, setting him up to be the main force to push through President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
The South Dakotan beat Florida Senator Rick Scott, a favourite of allies of Trump’s such as Elon Musk, and Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who previously held the job of whip.
Trump and Thune have previously clashed, at one point seeing the President-elect encouraging South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to challenge Thune for his seat.
The two appear to have put their differences aside after the minority whip endorsed Trump.
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