Trump cabinet latest: Hegseth and Gaetz’s nominations under fire over sexual misconduct allegations
Donald Trump’s cabinet picks of Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Pete Hegseth for defense secretary continue to face backlash
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump's transition team is firefighting serious allegations surrounding two of his top cabinet picks – Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
A woman who gave testimony to the House Ethics Committee probing Gaetz claims that she witnessed him having sex with a minor, her lawyer told ABC. Gaetz denies all wrongdoing.
The investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against the former Florida representative was dropped after Gaetz immediately resigned from the House on Wednesday following Trump's decision to nominate him to run the Justice Department.
However, there are growing calls for the ethics report to be released.
It comes as the president-elect's transition team is reportedly "stunned" by a sexual assault allegation regarding Hegseth that only emerged within 48 hours of announcing him for the top defense job, CNN reports.
Trump's communications director Steven Cheung told the network that Hegseth “has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed.”
Meanwhile, Trump has announced Karoline Leavitt will be his White House press secretary and tapped Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and be chair of the newly-created National Energy Council.
Trump warned his second term would mean ‘retribution’. His alarming cabinet picks show he means it
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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
ICYMI: Trump was convicted in his hush money case. His lawyers were rewarded with top Justice Department jobs
The lawyers who defended Donald Trump in his criminal cases and demanded the Supreme Court shield him from prosecution have been awarded job offers for some of the biggest roles in federal law enforcement.
Todd Blanche, who has steered the defense of the former president in courtrooms in New York, Florida, and Washington DC, is nominated for the second highest role in the Department of Justice.
If confirmed, he could serve as deputy attorney general to far-right Trump ally Matt Gaetz, who Trump has nominated for attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official, in a role that is likely to be used to target the judges and prosecutors overseeing the mountain of litigation against the former president.
Emil Bove, Trump’s criminal defense attorney in his so-called hush money case, is nominated for principal deputy attorney general. He could be acting deputy attorney general while Blanche is awaiting confirmation in the Senate.
Alex Woodward writes how the three attorneys central to Trump’s criminal defense and ‘immunity’ victory could lead the daily operations of a Justice Department the president-elect wants to upend.
Trump’s hush money lawyers are rewarded with top Justice Department jobs
Three attorneys central to Trump’s criminal defense and ‘immunity’ victory could lead the daily operations of a Justice Department the president-elect wants to upend, Alex Woodward reports
Gaetz’s hire at DOJ will prompt ‘mass exodus’ - former federal prosecutor
A former federal prosecutor has said that Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, would fail a background check for an entry-level role at the DOJ.
Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney, said that Gaetz’s hire could prompt a “major exodus” at the agency.
“There’s never been someone as unqualified, no prosecutorial experience, no legal experience to speak of, but that’s the least of it. Someone who comes to the department with actual contempt and hostility for it, it’s gonna prompt a major exodus,” Litman told MSNBC’s All in with Chris Hayes on Friday.
“It’s gonna prompt judges and juries around the country to have less credibility in the DOJ, which is the really stock and trade of the DOJ,” he added.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman says Democrats need to quit ‘freaking out’ about Trump
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is advising his fellow Democrats to “chill” about Donald Trump.
Fetterman pointed out during an NBC News interview on Friday that Trump “hasn’t even been inaugurated yet.”
He warned Democrats that they needed to “pace themselves” since it’s still very early days for the Trump presidency round two.
“And that’s the thing. If you’re already exhausted, freaking out, and it’s not even Thanksgiving, then you really ought to pace yourselves. Because he hasn’t even been inaugurated yet,” he said.
“So you really have to chill out, and you’re going to have to be more discerning or discriminate on what’s going to freak you out, or what’s just trolling, Because it’s not the weather, it’s the climate now for the next four years.”
Graig Graziosi has the details.
John Fetterman says Dems ‘freaking out’ about Trump need to ‘chill’
Fetterman said Trump’s decision to pick former Congressman Matt Gaetz as his attorney general was ‘nothing but trolling’
‘The least qualified nominee in American history’ - Why Trump picked Pete Hegseth for defense
The second in command to the nation’s military could end up being a Fox News pundit who wants to launch a “frontal assault” against top brass, kick women out of combat, and implement Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda for the world’s third-largest standing fighting force.
The president-elect has nominated Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense, overseeing a budget of roughly $850 billion and roughly 3 million service members and personnel serving in the nation’s oldest-running agency while the US is embroiled in global conflicts in a period of escalating tensions.
The office was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to centralize governance of the newly renamed Department of War and the various branches of the military.
Veterans groups and service members are warning against Trump’s ‘dangerous’ appointment to the Pentagon, as the president-elect rewards loyalists dedicated to his agenda, Alex Woodward reports.
Why Trump nominated a ‘wholly unqualified’ Fox News host for defense secretary
Veterans groups and service members are warning against Trump’s ‘dangerous’ appointment to the Pentagon, as the president-elect rewards loyalists dedicated to his agenda, Alex Woodward reports
How the Trump family will influence from outside the White House
There may be fewer Trumps in the White House this time around but ethical questions and party influence will continue to swirl around the famous family, writes Josh Marcus.
This time around, things will look a bit different at 1600 Pennsylvania. Barron’s at college in New York.
Jared and Ivanka are in Miami after the latter formally announced her withdrawal from politics in 2022. Melania’s reportedly going to bounce between Palm Beach and Manhattan, rather than live full-time at the White House.
Don Jr. got a new job as a venture capitalist instead of joining the White House, and Eric is taking a back seat to his wife, Lara.
Read on for more...
Trump family won’t be in the White House, but they’ll be just as influential outside
There may be fewer Trumps in the White House this time around but ethical questions and party influence will continue to swirl around the famous family, writes Josh Marcus
RECAP: Who has Trump announced so far? Cabinet and other senior officials
Here’s how Trump’s cabinet, along with other senior White House positions, is looking so far. Most of them are subject to Senate approval.
White House Chief of Staff - Susie Wiles
White House Communications Director - Steven Cheung
White House Press Secretary - Karoline Leavitt
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy - Stephen Miller
Secretary of State - Marco Rubio
Attorney General - Matt Gaetz
Defense Secretary - Pete Hegseth
Health and Human Services Secretary - Robert F Kennedy Jr
Homeland Security Secretary: Kristi Noem
Directional of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
EPA Administrator: Lee Zeldin
Veterans Affairs Secretary: Doug Collins
Interior Secretary: Doug Burgum
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Elise Stefanik
CIA Director: John Ratcliffe
National Security Adviser: Mike Waltz
Border Czar: Tom Homan
How much power will RFK Jr have if he is confirmed as health secretary?
Donald Trump has nominated vaccine skeptic and conspiracy-spreader Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead America’s largest public health body, the Department of Health and Human Services.
It is unclear whether Kennedy could get confirmed, even with a Republican Senate majority. Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, made the rare move of denouncing Kennedy as insufficiently opposed to abortion.
Needless to say, almost all, if not all, Democrats will oppose Kennedy’s confirmation. Plenty of Republicans might have some objections as well.
Eric Garcia breaks down just how much power Kennedy would have should he lead the agency.
RFK Jr could soon oversee Health in the US - here’s what he’ll have control over
Eric Garcia breaks down just how much power Kennedy would have should he lead the agency
Explainer: Will Trump’s cabinet picks get approved?
In addition to the 15 officials Trump will choose to join his cabinet, there are hundreds of positions, including ambassadors and lower-level roles, that typically require Senate approval.
Nominees face a grilling during the Senate confirmation process as it typically requires them to submit financial disclosures and testify before a committee.
Members from both political parties get a chance to interrogate nominees about their plans for the post and their backgrounds.
The Senate committee votes on the nominee following the hearing and if it passes, it then goes to the full Senate for a vote.
However, last weekend Trump signaled he could bypass the process via recess appointments.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote in a social media post on X on Sunday before John Thune was confirmed as the next majority leader Wednesday, replacing the outgoing Mitch McConnell.
Recess appointments would allow Trump to make administration appointments without a vote in the Senate while the upper chamber is in recess. The process is not unconstitutional, and it has been done before by other administrations.
Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments while in the White House, and Barack Obama made 32. George W. Bush made 171, ABC noted, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Could a tattoo derail Trump’s pick for defense secretary?
There is yet more controversy surrounding Trump’s defense secretary pick.
Concerns have been raised over a tattoo belonging to Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host nominated by Trump to lead the Department of Defense – with opinion divided over whether it is a “Christian motto” or a white nationalist dog whistle.
Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, has the words “Deus Vult” tattooed on his bicep, which has been associated with white supremacist groups. “Deus Vult” is a Latin phrase meaning “God Wills It,” and was a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages.
The Associated Press reported that the tattoo previously resulted in Hegseth being flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member. However, the AP report has led to outrage on both sides, including from Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Could a tattoo derail Trump’s pick for defense secretary?
Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, has the words ‘Deus Vult’ tattooed on his bicep, a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages
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