Trump’s transition live: Matt Gaetz’s Attorney General pick sends shockwaves around Washington
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’s pick of former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general has sent shockwaves around Washington.
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.
Republicans and Democrats are shocked by his nomination and there were audible gasps by House Republicans at a conference meeting on Wednesday when the news about Gaetz broke, according toAxios.
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said.
Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, told The Independent the announcement sounded like a headline in a satire publication. “That was in The Onion,” he said.
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 have gained control of the House, completing their trifecta.
Trump nominates MAGA congressman Matt Gaetz as surprise attorney general pick
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Trump’s win has been described as resounding. It was closer than you think
Matt Gaetz resigns from House of Representatives
Representative Matt Gaetz handed his resignation letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, just after Donald Trump named him the nominee for Attorney General.
Johnson told reporters the Florida lawmaker’s resignation is “effective immediately.” Gaetz’s resignation also ends the House ethics committee investigation into allegations against him of sexual misconduct and drug use, among other claims.
Far-right House members suggest rebellion against Johnson could be on the horizon
Republican members of the House of Representatives emerged from their caucus meeting on Wednesday with their moods bolstered by the successful retention of their majority - but with clear signs that a post-election unity period may be short-lived.
There’s clearly no appetite among the GOP’s party elders for another drawn-out leadership fight similar to the one that consumed the party in the fall of 2023, or the more than a dozen votes required to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker at the beginning of that same year.
But that isn’t likely to stop the party’s rowdy and camera-ready rank and file members, who indicated to reporters on Wednesday that Speaker Mike Johnson had yet to consolidate the kind of support he would need to avert such a conflict in January.
Far-right House members suggest rebellion against Johnson could be on the horizon
Even with Trump’s backing of Mike Johnson, conservative grievances threaten to derail incoming GOP Congress
Bull doge! Dogecoin soars as Trump announces a government efficiency group nicknamed DOGE
Wow, much bull market.
Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency whose mascot is a super-cute dog that muses things like “much wow,” has been surging in value since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week. It’s hitting the afterburners now, after Trump named Tesla‘s Elon Musk as one of the heads of a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” which is not a government agency but does have the acronym DOGE.
All this makes sense and is maybe humorous for anyone who’s chronically online. For others, here’s some explanation about what’s going on:
Bull doge! Dogecoin soars as Trump announces a government efficiency group nicknamed DOGE
Dogecoin is surging in value since Donald Trump won the presidential election
Lindsey Graham on Gaetz nomination: ‘I’ll think about that one’
VOICES: Is Musk’s new megajob for best business buddy Trump too much for even him to handle?
Just when you thought Elon Musk’s involvement in politics was over after he helped to secure the election of his new BFF, Donald Trump, it was announced that he is going to be a key figure in the running of the US for the foreseeable future.
The Tesla boss has been appointed to head up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman who briefly competed with Trump for the Republican ticket until the Iowa caucus, in which he finished fourth. He’s also a billionaire – just – albeit a relative pauper when compared to Musk, the world’s richest man.
We’re told that the Doge – coincidentally, also the name of both a meme and a cryptocurrency Musk is fond of promoting – won’t officially be a government agency. Presumably, then, there won’t be any need for things like confirmation hearings before the Senate, at which the opposition has a habit of asking awkward questions. Rather, it will offer “advice and guidance” to the president and work alongside the Office of Management and Budget to drive reforms and create an “entrepreneurial” approach to government.
Is Musk’s new megajob for best business buddy Trump too much for even him to handle?
On top of SpaceX, Tesla and X, Elon Musk is now joining forces with Vivek Ramaswamy to head up Trump’s Doge department charged with slashing red tape. What could possibly go wrong, asks James Moore
Stephen King addresses ‘rumor’ Elon Musk has banned him from X over brutal Trump joke
Stephen King has addressed a “rumor” about Elon Musk after claims the author was banned from X/Twitter.
The writer has spoken out against Musk numerous times, making no secret of his dislike for the billionaire.
In the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, King questioned Musk’s defence of Donald Trump and, in the days after Trump’s victory, has repeatedly poked fun at Tesla and SpaceX founder Musk for his staunch support of the president-elect.
It was claimed this week that King, 77, had made a jibe that angered Musk, 53, so much that he blocked the Shining and ‘Salem’s Lot author from posting on X/Twitter, which Musk owns. According to the rumor, King had jokingly referred to Musk as Trump’s “first lady”.
Stephen King addresses ‘rumor’ Elon Musk banned him from X over brutal Trump joke
It was claimed Musk was left furious over a quip about his friendship with the president-elect
Who is in Trump’s Cabinet so far? The MAGA ally, the Fox News host and the ex-Democrat
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.
Who’s in Trump’s Cabinet so far? The MAGA ally, the ice maiden and the Fox News host
The President-elect has wasted no time in building his top team including Tom Homan and Mike Waltz - with more announcements to come
Trump made anti-trans themes key to his campaign. Transgender teenagers are scared
Transgender youth in America have been flooding crisis hotlines since the election of Donald Trump, who made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign.
During his presidential bid, Trump pledged to impose wide-ranging restrictions and roll back civil rights protections for transgender students. And his administration can swiftly start work on one major change: It can exclude transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school policies on students’ use of pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms.
One ad that aired over 15,000 times crystallized Trump’s stance on rights for transgender and nonbinary Americans: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Trump made anti-trans themes key to his campaign. Transgender teenagers are scared
3.3% of US high school students identify as transgender
Don Lemon highlights alarming change to X’s terms of service as he leaves the platform
Don Lemon has announced that he will be leaving X due to his belief that the platform no longer serves the purpose of being a place for “honest debate and discussion, transparency and free speech” – and because of a specific new rule the platform, formerly known as Twitter, is introducing.
The former CNN anchor, who has clashed with the platform’s ownerElon Musk previously, delivered the news in a video posted on X on Wednesday, while highlighting several concerning changes to the terms of service of the company.
“I have loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform,” Lemon said.
Don Lemon highlights changes to X’s terms of service as he leaves the platform
The former CNN anchor delivered the news in a video posted on X on Wednesday
Who is Pete Hegseth? The Fox News anchor turned nominee for Defense secretary
The 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced his pick for Secretary of Defense: Fox News star Pete Hegseth.
Trump issued a statement on Tuesday to nominate Hegseth for the position in the US Department of Defense. “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” the president-elect said. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
The decision to pick the current Fox contributor was met with a mixture of praise, criticism and confusion due to his lack of national security experience.
Who is Pete Hegseth? The Fox News anchor turned nominee for Defense secretary
The ‘Fox and Friends’ co-host married television producer Jennifer Rauchet in 2019
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