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
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
ICYMI: Speaker says he will ‘strongly request’ committee does not release Gaetz’s ethics report
Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he will request that the House Ethics Committee not release its report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use made against former Florida Congressman and Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz.
Asked if he thinks the report should come out, Johnson told reporters: “I do not. No, I think it’s a terrible breach of protocol.”
Gustaf Kilander reports.
House speaker says he will ‘request’ committee does not release Gaetz’s ethics report
Republican senators say Gaetz is not ‘a serious’ nominee who doesn’t have the ‘moral authority’ to lead the Department of Justice
How can Trump can bypass FBI background checks and security clearance for his key cabinet picks?
The FBI has vetted cabinet picks since President Dwight D Eisenhower was in the White House.
But if he so chooses, Donald Trump, himself a convicted felon, can bypass background checks for those he has nominated for key roles in his administration.
Incoming cabinet members have traditionally faced intensive screening from the FBI with a binary purpose: to help with the Senate confirmation process and to vet nominees for security clearance.
Criminal histories, conflicts of interest, financial problems or other potentially disqualifying factors are typically investigated through this process.
But, despite established procedure, the president does have the power to bypass such checks and grant immediate security clearance to officials.
James Liddell explains.
How Trump can bypass FBI background checks and security clearance for cabinet picks
President-elect allegedly granted clearance to at least 25 people flagged by the FBI as possible dangers to national security in his first term
Who’s who in Trump’s proposed cabinet
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.
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
Here is who Donald Trump has chosen to fill key cabinet positions in his second administration
Could a bankruptcy judge could pump the brakes on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars?
The bankruptcy judge overseeing the auction of Alex Jones’s InfoWars has raised concerns over the process by which satirical publication The Onion won the bid for the conspiracy theorist’s website and related properties, ending his 25-year run of the media company.
During a status conference on Thursday, hours after Jones raged on his final InfoWars broadcast that the “deep state” was shutting him down, District Judge Christopher Lopez said “no one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Bankruptcy judge could pump the brakes on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars
The satire publication won a bid for the conspiracy theorist’s website and properties and a sale is underway
Iran sent note to the White House promising not to kill Trump
Iran sent a private letter to the Joe Biden administration last month vowing it wouldn’t plot to kill Donald Trump, according to a report.
The letter from Tehran — delivered on October 14 — came in response to US officials’ private hand-written warning to the country in September, relating that any threats against the then-Republican nominee’s life would be “treated as an act of war,” the Wall Street Journal first reported.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Iran sent note to the White House promising not to kill Trump
The message came in response to a September letter from the US warning against making any threats against Trump’s life
Trump’s cabinet picks show he’s ‘running the country like a reality show’, says Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel has mocked Donald Trump for “running the country like a reality show” as the president-elect works to fill his second administration.
In the past two days, Trump has nominated former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, former Florida representative Matt Gaetz as attorney general, vocal anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr as Health and Human Services secretary and Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon.
While Republicans and Democrats have reacted to Trump’s controversial cabinet picks with a mixture of praise, criticism and confusion, the Jimmy Kimmel Live host described the nominations as being even “crazier “ than predicted.
James Liddell reports.
Jimmy Kimmel says Trump’s cabinet picks show he’s ‘running US like a reality show’
‘Who better to be in charge of health in humans than a guy whose brain was partially devoured by a worm?’ the late night host said of RFK Jr
Trump aide in charge of mass deportations threatens ‘shock and awe’ on day one of new administration
Trump border czar Tom Homan has pledged to institute a regime of “shock and awe” on the first day of the new administration.
The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took part in Donald Trump Jr’s program on the video streaming platform Rumble this week.
The pair discussed Homan’s plans to put together mass deportations of millions of illegal immigrants.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump aide in charge of mass deportations threatens ‘shock and awe’
‘You’re going to see us take this country back and ... it isn’t just about the deportation operation,’ Tom Homan says
IN DEPTH: Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
Tom Watling reports:
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seriously underestimate what the other is capable of and that carries far-ranging risks for Ukraine over Russia’s invasion, Britain’s former spy chief and ex-diplomats have told The Independent.
Trump’s US election victory last week has upended Europe’s plan to back Kyiv for “as long as it takes”. His focus is on ending the war quickly, even if that potentially means pushing Kyiv to cede territory currently occupied by Russia.
Sir Alex Younger, former chief of MI6 from 2014 to 2020, believes both the incoming president and his Russian counterpart overestimate their ability to influence the other.
“I think Trump overestimates his ability to force Putin into a land swap where Putin clearly wants a lot more, when he feels that he is winning and when he has to show [the Russian people] a lot more if he is to justify the appalling sacrifice he’s imposed,” he says. “Trump is underestimating the challenge and overestimating his influence.”
Continue reading...
Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
With Donald Trump vowing to the end war in Ukraine quickly, Tom Watling speaks to American and British former officials about the overconfidence of both the US president-elect and the Russian leader
How has RFK Jr said he will remake nation’s top health agencies?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmentalist, for years gained a loyal and fierce following with his biting condemnations of how the nation’s public health agencies do business.
And that’s put him on a direct collision course with some of the 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials who work for the Department of Health and Human Services, especially with President-elect Donald Trump tapping him to head the agency.
If confirmed, Kennedy will control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.
The agency’s reach is massive. It provides health insurance for nearly half of the country — poor, disabled and older Americans. It oversees research of vaccines, diseases and cures. It regulates the medications found in medicine cabinets and inspects the foods that end up in cupboards.
A look at Kennedy’s comments about some of the agencies that fall within the HHS arena, and how he has said he plans to shake them up:
Here's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to remake the nation's top health agencies
If confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F
FBI: Offensive, racist texts sent to Black people, now expanded to other communities
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released an update on the offensive and racist text messages sent to African American and Black communities across the country after the election, saying they have spread to Hispanic and LGBT+ communities.
A new statement was released on Friday:
The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to African American and Black communities around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter. The reports are not identical and vary in their specific language, but many say the recipient has been selected to pick cotton on a plantation.
The text message recipients have now expanded to high school students, as well as both the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities. Some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. The messages have also been reported as being received via email communication.
Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners and community, academia, and faith leaders.
Recipients of messages consistent with those described are encouraged to report the details to the FBI by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
As always, we encourage members of the public to remain vigilant and report threats of violence or anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement immediately, call their local FBI office, or submit a report to tips.fbi.gov.
Here’s Katie Hawkinson with our initial reporting on the matter:
Black people across the US are receiving racist messages saying they’re ‘slaves’
The FBI is now investigating these texts, which have been sent to Black people across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory
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