Trump’s defense nominee Pete Hegseth ripped by Tammy Duckworth as GOP grilled on cabinet picks: Live updates
President-elect also made flurry of nominations on Friday night to form his new administration
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has named Brooke Rollins, founder of the America First Policy Institute, as his pick for secretary of agriculture, completing nominations for his cabinet.
The president-elect wasted little time after Matt Gaetz said he was withdrawing from consideration for attorney general. Hours later, Trump named Pam Bondi, former Florida AG, as his choice to lead the Department of Justice. Bondi represented him in his first impeachment trial.
Trump also announced hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as his choice for treasury secretary, and in a flurry of announcements on Friday night, he named Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought as the White House budget chief.
Trump also picked heads for the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a surgeon general — rounding out his nominees to join Robert F Kennedy Jr in radically transforming the nation’s healthcare and disease preparedness agencies.
On Sunday morning’s political talk shows, Republican lawmakers stepped up to defend some of Trump’s choices, including defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth who has been mired in scandal all week because of sexual assault allegations and views on women in combat roles.
Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, called him “unqualified and dangerous”.
Trump’s Cabinet and staff tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
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Gaetz without ‘the baggage’: Trump’s new pick Pam Bondi could still disrupt Justice Department
What to know about Brooke Rollins, Trump's pick for agriculture secretary
Trump’s counter terror pick Sebastian Gorka is a ‘conman’ who needs FBI background check, Bolton says
When Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton appeared on CNN Friday night, he didn’t hold back when commenting on Trump’s pick for his counterterrorism director.
“Sebastian Gorka is a con man,” Bolton told host Kaitlan Collins.
“He needs a full-field FBI background investigation about his educational claims and things like that,” he added. “I think he is a perfect example of somebody who owes his position purely to Donald Trump, he doesn’t display loyalty, he displays fealty, and that’s what Trump wants.”
Read more:
Trump’s counter terror pick Sebastian Gorka is a ‘conman,’ John Bolton says
Former Trump national security adviser calls right-wing personality the ‘perfect example of somebody who owes his position purely to Donald Trump’
Seth Meyers skewers Gaetz over 8-day run for AG
Seth Meyers roasted Matt Gaetz for his failed eight-day run to become Donald Trump’s attorney general, marking one of the quickest withdrawals from a cabinet nomination in US history.
On Thursday’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, the comedian skewered the former Florida congressman after he dropped out of the confirmation process to head up the Justice Department following resurfaced sexual misconduct claims.
One allegation, which Gaetz denies, is that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl on more than one occasion.
“Matt Gaetz is out? But his nomination was only eight days old,’ Meyers said.
“Once again, he can’t even make it to 18,” he quipped.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Seth Meyers skewers Matt Gaetz’s failed 8-day run for attorney general
The comedian roasted Gaetz, who dropped out of the process amid resurfaced sexual misconduct claims
Profile: Pam Bondi — Trump’s new pick for attorney general
The incoming Trump administration didn’t waste any time on Thursday after Matt Gaetz said that he was dropping his bid to become attorney general. Soon afterwards it announced that Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, would seek the top position at the Justice Department instead.
Bondi, 59, who served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and represented the president-elect at his first impeachment trial in the Senate, is both an experienced public official and a long-time Trump ally.
Gaetz reacted to the choice on X by calling her “a stellar selection” as well as “a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans”.
South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham was even more effusive, posting: “Well done, Mr President. Picking Pam Bondi for Attorney General is a grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick. She will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed quickly.”
Here’s what you need to know about her.
Trump’s AG didn’t sue Trump University after $25K donation
Former Florida official has lengthy record of high-profile prosecutions, as well multiple moments of ethical scrutiny
Former Trump surgeon general sounds alarm on infectious diseases
Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general in the first Trump administration is sounding the alarm about alarming trends in infectious diseases.
He says he hopes the incoming administration has a strong response plan and can ensure vaccine confidence stays high “or they’ll be distracted with outbreaks for 4 years this time instead of 1.”
Election workers defamed by Giuliani pen scathing letter accusing him of an ‘obvious attempt to intimidate’
Attorneys for election workers that Rudy Giuliani defamed wrote a scathing letter accusing the former New York City mayor of launching a crusade meant to “to obstruct and intimidate” them as they try to recover his assets.
In a Friday letter to a federal judge, Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer representing election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, accused Giuliani of orchestrating a “public relations campaign” meant to stop the women from collecting the belongings they are owed.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Defamed election workers accuse Giuliani of ‘obvious attempt to intimidate’ them
Trump’s former lawyer launched a ‘public relations campaign’ to block them from his property, attorneys claim
Sen. Ernst of the ‘DOG caucus’ met with Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago today
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is leading the newly formed Senate DOGE Caucus in support of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency, today met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
They were joined at lunch by Musk and Howard Lutnick, who is nominated to be secretary of commerce.
Delta CEO: Trump as a ‘breath of fresh air’
The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden.
The airline industry has chafed under consumer-protection regulations imposed by the Biden administration. And Delta is facing a federal investigation into its slow recovery from a global technology outage this summer.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian made the comment as he and fellow Delta executives prepared to host Wall Street analysts at an investor day Wednesday in Atlanta.
Continue reading...
Delta CEO praises Trump as a ‘breath of fresh air’
The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden
Trump has now named all 15 heads of executive departments
- Agriculture - Brooke Rollins
- Commerce - Howard Lutnick
- Defense - Pete Hegseth
- Education - Linda McMahon
- Energy - Chris Wright
- HHS - RFK Jr.
- Homeland Security - Kristi Noem
- HUD - Scott Turner
- Interior - Doug Burgum
- Labor - Lori Chavez-DeReme
- State - Marco Rubio
- Transportation - Sean Duffy
- Treasury - Scott Bessent
- Veterans Affairs - Doug Collins
- Attorney General - Pam Bondi
Hegseth threatens ‘educational insurgency’ in schools
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense, has called for an “educational insurgency” to take over American schools in an appearance on a right-wing podcast.
During a CrossPolitic discussion about religiously affiliated schools, Hegseth explained his idea for a system of “classical Christian schools” to provide “recruits” for an underground army that could eventually launch an “educational insurgency”.
Read on...
Trump’s defense pick Pete Hegseth threatens ‘educational insurgency’ in schools
Pete Hegseth says ‘classical Christian schools’ can act as boot camps to establish ‘foothold’
Trump names Brooke Rollins as his pick for secretary of agriculture
As first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier today, Donald Trump has picked Founder and CEO of the America First Policy Institute Brooke Rollins as his choice to be secretary of agriculture.
The president-elect released the following statement:
It is my Great Honor to nominate Brooke L. Rollins, from the Great State of Texas, to serve as the 33rd United States Secretary of Agriculture.
Brooke was on my 2016 Economic Advisory Council, and did an incredible job during my First Term as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Director of the Office of American Innovation, and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives. In these roles, she helped develop and manage the transformational Domestic Policy Agenda of my Administration. Brooke has spent the past four years as the Founder and CEO of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and America First Works (AFW), building a team of loyal Patriots, and championing the Policies of our America First Agenda.
Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none. A proud Graduate of Texas A&M University, Brooke earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Agriculture Development, and J.D., with Honors. From her upbringing in the small and Agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America and 4H, to her generational Family Farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep Policy credentials in both Nonprofit and Government leadership at the State and National levels.
As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our Country. Congratulations Brooke!
Earlier reporting indicated that Trump might pick former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler.
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