Trump taps Pam Bondi for attorney general after Gaetz withdraws; hedge fund boss Scott Bessent to lead treasury: Live
President-elect made flurry of nominations on Friday night to form his new administration
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump wasted little time after Matt Gaetz said he was dropping his bid to become attorney general, soon naming Pam Bondi, former attorney general of Florida, as his choice to lead the Justice Department instead.
Bondi represented the president-elect at his first impeachment trial in the Senate and is both an experienced public official and a long-time Trump ally.
The president-elect has also announced that he wants the job of treasury secretary to go to hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
Trump called Bessent “one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists.”
In a flurry of announcements on Friday night, Trump revealed his picks to lead the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the FDA, the CDC, the Office of the Surgeon General, and the Department of Labor.
The president-elect also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
They discussed the range of global security issues facing the alliance and Rutte also sat down with Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice for national security adviser.
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Melania Trump names Haley Harrison as Chief of Staff
Melania Trump has named her longtime aide, Haley Harrison, as her next chief of staff.
On X, the Office of Melania Trump announced that Harrison would lead operations in the East Wing when the Trumps return to the White House in January.
According to a report from ABC News, Harrison is an unnamed “Trump Employee” in the federal classified documents case brought by Jack Smith earlier this year. That has not been publicly confirmed.
Florida Surgeon General issues guidance against fluoride in water
Already, Trump loyalists across the country are adopting the beliefs and policy suggestions of the presumed cabinet – starting with the Florida Surgeon General who sided with RFK Jr. on putting fluoride in water.
Joseph Ladapo, Florida Surgeon General, issued guidance on Friday suggesting fluoride should be removed from tap water due to “neuropsychiatric risk” – a claim with little scientific that Kennedy has elevated recently.
Fluoride, low levels of which are commonly added to tap water, strengthens teeth and helps prevent decay.
But a growing health trend, that often capitalizes on pseudo-science and conspiracy theories, has claimed fluoride can harm people’s brains, specifically lowering IQ in children.
Ladapo has seemingly capitalized on Kennedy’s recent nomination to secretary of health and human services to prove his alliance with Trump and his cabinet.
According to reports, Ladapo is also under consideration to head a health agency like the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or serve as assistant secretary for health under Kennedy.
Matt Gaetz reveals what he plans to do next
The former Florida rep will not return to Congress, he told conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in an interview slated to air on Friday, answering lingering questions about whether a special election would be called to fill his vacant seat.
With Congress off the table, Gaetz said he intends to help the Trump administration recruit for key positions.
“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch,” he reportedly said.
The incoming administration moved quickly to choose a new nominee for attorney general, tapping longtime Trump ally and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
ICYMI: Marjorie Taylor Greene will lead ‘DOGE’ panel in Congress
Far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will lead a new congressional panel to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on their plans to slash the federal budget and fire workers across the government.
Greene has been tapped to chair a House subcommittee that will work in tandem with Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory board that the president-elect appointed the billionaire and wealthy entrepreneur to lead.
The “Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency” is “designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the entire DOGE team,” the congresswoman from Georgia said in a statement to CNBC.
The panel, first reported by Fox News Digital, will recommend firing government “bureaucrats” and will provide “transparency and truth to the American people through hearings,” according to Greene.
“No topic will be off the table,” she said.
Trump expected to offer Kelly Loeffler agriculture secretary
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to offer his friend and ally, Kelly Loeffler, the position of secretary of agriculture, according to reports.
Loeffler served as a Senator from Georgia for one year between January 6, 2020 and January 20, 2021.
Trump’s transition team was ‘blindsided’ by new details of Pete Hegseth’s sexual-assault allegation
In yet another example of the Trump transition team being blindsided by claims about Pete Hegseth, members of the team were reportedly startled to see a California police report go public on Wednesday, detailing the 2017 night on which Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
The heavily redacted report from the Monterey Police Department details two different accounts from a night of drinking at a hotel bar in 2017 that ultimately ended in a sexual encounter between Hegseth and an unnamed woman.
The report arrives nearly a week after Trump tapped Hegseth to head the armed forces and reports emerged revealing Hegseth paid a settlement to the woman who accused him of assault.
Members of the Trump transition team were reportedly unaware of the settlement, which led to concerns about whether Hegseth was still fit to be the defense secretary nominee. They were dealt another surprising blow on Wednesday evening when the Monterey Police Department released the redacted report and revealed Hegseth was given a copy in March 2021.
Trumpworld insiders rule out potential FBI boss pick amid bureau shake-up
Donald Trump insiders have ruled out the possibility of former special agent Mike Rogers being named as FBI director.
Earlier reports suggested that Rogers was tipped to take the top job with controversial MAGA loyalist Kash Patel as his deputy.
But Dan Scavino, who was last week named as the president-elect’s deputy chief of staff, revealed that Trump has ruled out Rogers, contrary to earlier reports.
“Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI. It’s not happening,” he said in a post on X. “In his own words, ‘I have never even given it a thought.’ Not happening.”
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones brushes off Gaetz sexual misconduct allegations as just him ‘being a stud’
The embattled InfoWars host has been busy downplaying the misconduct allegations against Trump’s original pick for US attorney general.
“They interviewed a bunch of the women on Gaetz, you know, that are all like 35, 40 years old now, because this goes back 12, 13, 40, 50 years,” the Texan said on his ailing conspiracy show yesterday.
“The women, they said, ‘Oh, that guy’s so nice,’” he continued.
“‘Oh yeah, I did date him. Yeah, you know, I did have sex with him in a hotel room. We took ecstasy. It was me and two other girls.’
“People are like, damn, Matt Gaetz is quite the stud. So yeah, Matt Gaetz is human. Okay, so now we know.”
Katie Hawkinson has more.
InfoWars’ Alex Jones praises Matt Gaetz after latest sexual assault allegations
Matt Gaetz ended his bid for attorney general this week
Megyn Kelly claims she’s an ‘independent’ and slams Morning Joe for partisanship – weeks after hugging Trump on stage
Weeks after helping President-elect Donald Trump deliver his campaign’s closing message while embracing him on a rally stage, right-wing podcaster Megyn Kelly insisted that she is “not on anybody’s team” and is merely an “independent” journalist.
Uh huh.
Justin Baragona reports.
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