Trump cabinet live updates: Karoline Leavitt named press secretary as ethics report hangs over Gaetz
Doug Burgum and Matt Gaetz are among Donald Trump’s latest cabinet picks as he gears up for a second term in the White House
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has named Karoline Leavitt as his White House press secretary after tapping Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and be chair of the newly-created National Energy Council.
If confirmed, the North Dakota Governor would be responsible for both federal lands and maximizing energy extraction, with the president-elect reiterating his call to “drill baby drill.”
Trump’s selection of scandal-plagued Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general continues to cause a stir in Washington, DC. Speaker Mike Johnson said he will request the House Ethics Committee to not release its report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against the former Florida representative.
Robert F Kennedy Jr was also branded “dangerous” and “unserious” by Democratic Senator Ed Markey after Trump announced he had picked the vaccine-skeptic to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has also spoken out over the choice, given Kennedy’s stance on abortion.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth is in the spotlight after the Associated Press reported he was flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member because of a tattoo with links to white supremacy.
Trump warned his second term would mean ‘retribution’. His alarming cabinet picks show he means it
Trump makes not-so-subtle jab at RFK Jr during Mar-a-Lago speech: ‘Don’t get too popular Bobby’
RFK Jr’s many controversies: From dumping a bear in Central Park to a worm eating his brain
Sylvester Stallone calls Trump ‘the second George Washington’ in Mar-a-Lago warm-up speech
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Who has been tapped to carry out his agenda
NY Post editorial board condemns RFK Jr cabinet pick: ‘Nuts on a lots of fronts'
The New York Post editorial board has condemned Donald Trump’s decision to pick Robert F Kennedy Jr as his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Referring to a meeting with Kennedy in May 2023, the board writes on his views about health:
When it came to that topic his views were a head-scratching spaghetti of what we can only call warped conspiracy theories, and not just on vaccines.
“Neocons” are responsible for America’s policy ills. “Pesticides, cellphones, ultrasound” could be driving an upswing in Tourette syndrome and peanut allergies.
He told us with full conviction that all America’s chronic health problems began in one year in the 1980s when a dozen bad things happened.
Convincing to the gullible conspiracy-hungry crowd on Twitter, but not to the rest of us.
In fact, we came out thinking he’s nuts on a lot of fronts.
Yikes.
The Post gave a ringing endorsement of Donald Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
A guide to RFK Jr’s many controversies
Gustaf Kilander and Katie Hawkinson report:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and former independent presidential candidate, has been tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services under Donald Trump’s government.
Kennedy ran an independent presidential campaign alongside running mate Nicole Shanahan, attempting to rival both Trump and Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. In August, Kennedy suspended his independent campaign for president and backed the now-president-elect.
The 70-year-old has spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, admitted to bizarrely dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park and allegedly engaged in an online relationship with a political reporter despite being married, among other incidents.
Now, he’s Trump’s pick to lead the nation in a mission to “make America healthy.”
Here’s a breakdown of Kennedy’s most notable controversies as he gears up to potentially serve in Trump’s cabinet:
RFK Jr’s controversies: From dumping a bear in Central Park to a brain-eating worm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s legacy is ridden with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, brain worms and bizarre bear-cub deaths, Gustaf Kilander and Katie Hawkinson report
Gretchen Carlson reacts to Hegseth sexual misconduct investigation report
As reports of a sexual misconduct investigation surfaces, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson doubles down on criticism of Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense.
Here’s James Liddell’s report from earlier this week on Carlson’s initial reaction to the nomination of Pete Hegseth:
Ex-Fox News host slams colleague’s appointment to run Pentagon under Trump
‘I never thought I’d say I’m stunned about any pick after the election but nominating Pete Hegseth for this incredibly important role?’ Gretchen Carlson questioned
Republican senators don’t sound hopeful over Gaetz’s confirmation hearings
The nomination of former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general is facing an “uphill climb,” according to GOP senators.
This is despite the fact that Republicans will hold the majority in the upper chamber with 53 seats come January. While Gaetz will get an opportunity to make his argument for why he should lead the Department of Justice, his confirmation hearings may pose a serious challenge for the Trump ally.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Republican senators don’t sound hopeful over Gaetz’s confirmation hearings
Republicans say Gaetz is not ‘a serious’ nominee who doesn’t have the ‘moral authority’ to lead the Department of Justice
Pete Hegseth ‘faced sexual misconduct claims investigated by police’
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, previously faced accusations of sexual misconduct that were investigated by police, according to a report.
Trump’s newly-appointed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was briefed on Wednesday evening about an allegation that Hegseth engaged in sexual misconduct in Monterey, California seven years ago, according to Vanity Fair.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth ‘faced sexual misconduct police probe’
Donald Trump announced he’s picking the Fox News host for defense secretary on Tuesday
UK chancellor targets trade deal with Trump as British economy stalls
Rachel Reeves has set out plans to target a free trade deal with Donald Trump after saying she is “not satisfied” with the UK’s flatlining economy.
As official figures showed economic growth stalling under Labour, the chancellor said she wanted to boost trade with the US and “looks forward to working with president-elect Trump”.
“There’s more than £300bn of trade flows between the UK and the United States every year, and we want to see that trade increase, whether that’s through a free trade agreement or through further improvements in our trade and investment flows,” Ms Reeves told ITV.
Archie Mitchell reports from London.
Rachel Reeves targets trade deal with Donald Trump as UK economy stalls
As official figures showed economic growth stalling under Labour, Rachel Reeves said she wanted to boost trade with the US and ‘looks forward to working with president-elect Donald Trump’
COMMENT: Trump can smell weakness – but there is a way to beat his dark arts
Alan Rusbridger writes:
Among Elon Musk’s current obsessions is his view that the only place – the only place – where truth can be found is on X, formerly known as Twitter. That need not worry us unduly except that he is said to regard himself as the real vice-president of the United States come next January.
It is clear that he shares with the incoming president a complete and utter contempt for what we are nowadays obliged to call legacy media. Which, again, might not matter much except for the absence of any other meaningful restraint on the autocrat who has captured the White House, Congress, and, to all intents and purposes, the Supreme Court.
Continue reading...
Trump can smell weakness – but there is a way to beat his dark arts
The president-elect – along with his sidekick-in-chief Elon Musk – has utter contempt for the mainstream media, writes Alan Rusbridger. But a strong press is the best hope we have of restraining their excesses and protecting the ideals of liberal democracy
WATCH: Trump makes jab at RFK Jr after picking him for health secretary
Jim Jordan says Matt Gaetz ethics report ‘shouldn’t go public'
Both Republicans and Democrats have been calling for the House Ethics Committee to release the report from its investigation into Matt Gaetz.
But, MAGA Rep Jim Jordan thinks it shouldn’t be made public.
“It’s my understanding that it’s not supposed to go public,” he told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham.
“So if it’s not supposed to under the rules, it shouldn’t go public.”
Jordan went on to lavish praise on Gaetz, who was tapped to become Donald Trump’s attorney general this week.
“There are very few people who have the cross-examination skills he does, and I want someone in the Justice Department who’s not going to say moms and dads in school board meetings need to be investigated,” he said.
Sylvester Stallone fans react as Rocky star emerges as big Trump fan
Sylvester Stallone fans are reacting as the actor emerged as a Donald Trump fan and compared him to fictional boxing champion Rocky Balboa.
The week after his fellow action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Trump’s Demoratic rvial Kamala Harris, Stallone, who played Balboa in the Rocky franchise, celebrated the president-elect’s victory at a black tie event attended by numerous controversial figures, including his new health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Stallone delivered a speech before Trump arrived on stage, calling him “a mythical character” and his election win a feat that nobody else “in the world could have pulled off”.
Read more...
Sylvester Stallone fans react as Rocky star emerges as big Trump supporter
Many are making the same Arnold Schwarzenegger claim after Stallone’s Trump support
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