Trump delivers Mar-a-Lago speech with Elon Musk and new HHS RFK Jr in attendance: Live updates
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were in attendance for Donald Trump’s first public speech since winning the White House
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Your support makes all the difference.President-elect Donald Trump spoke publicly for the first time since winning the White House at the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday night.
Those in attendance included billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were recently named co-chairs of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency. While speaking, Trump announced that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum will be his nominee to lead the Department of the Interior.
Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general, was also in attendance. Gaetz resigned from his seat representing Florida in the House in light of the news on Wednesday. This will effectively end the House Ethics probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use made against him.
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said.
Members of both parties have called for the House Ethics report to be released.
Trump also nominated former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in statement.
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‘We need to get access to everything’: Cornyn says he wants to see Gaetz ethics report
Texas Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said that he wants to see the House Ethics Committee report into AG nominee Matt Gaetz.
“I can’t understand any situation under which we would deny ourselves access to full and complete information,” Cornyn said, according to Punchbowl. “Part of this is not only to determine fitness for the nominee, it’s also to protect the president. Because there may be information that the investigation would find forthcoming that would ultimately be an embarrassment to the president. So this is for all of the above reasons, we need to get access to everything.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper’s shares five words he ‘never contemplated using’ to describe Trump’s shock cabinet pick
CNN anchor Jake Tapper was among those to express his shock at some of the picks for Donald Trump’s coming administration, describing the top item as words he had “never contemplated using before.”
Tapper’s disbelief shone through as he kicked off Wednesday’s episode of The Lead With Jake Tapper, highlighting one of the more controversial selections by the President-elect.
“Welcome to The Lead, I’m Jake Tapper,” he said. “Let me begin the show by uttering some words that I never contemplated using together before. And those words are: U.S. Attorney General Matt Gaetz.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper shares disbelief over Trump’s shock cabinet pick
CNN anchor’s disbelief shone through as he kicked off his Wednesday show
Secret Service agent fired for taking lover to Obamas’ Hawaii home and suggesting tryst in Michelle’s bathroom
A Secret Service agent assigned to Barack Obama’s detail has been fired for allegedly inviting his girlfriend to the former president’s Hawaii beach house and suggesting they have sex in Michelle Obama’s bathroom.
Koryeah Dwanyen, the girlfriend of the unnamed security official known only as “Dale”, detailed the incident in her self-published memoir, Undercover Heartbreak: a Memoir of Trust and Trauma.
According to the exposé, the agent sent Dwanyen “several photographs” of the former first family’s sprawling beachfront mansion, a week before inviting her over to the property on November 6 2022 while they were away.
James Liddell reports.
Secret Service agent fired for taking lover to Obamas’ Hawaii beach home
Secret Service said it fired the agent following an investigation
Gaetz AG nomination continues to shock Republicans and Democrats
Gaetz’s nomination to be Trump’s attorney general continues to stun Republicans and Democrats.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called Gaetz’s nomination a “living nightmare.”
“Donald Trump is raiding our state for any Florida Man loyal to him, no matter how incompetent, unqualified, or extreme they may be,” Fried said in a statement. “Tapping Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor is a serious cause for concern, but nominating Matt Gaetz as Attorney General is beyond catastrophic for the country.”
Former GOP Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois told The Independent that “no one should be surprised” by Gaetz’s nomination.
“F*** ‘em,” Walsh said. “This is what America voted for.”
“Are you s****ing me?” Republican Representative Mike Simpson told The Hill when they informed him of the news.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis also told reporters on Capitol Hill: “I’m sure it’ll make for a popcorn-eating confirmation.”
Read more about the reaction below.
Republicans and Democrats in shock after Gaetz tapped as Trump’s attorney general
‘God help us,’ Representative Maxwell Frost, a fellow Floridian, posted in response to the news
Gaetz’s resignation from the House came two days before ‘highly damaging’ ethics report release
Matt Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday after Donald Trump tapped him for attorney general – and, according to new reports, two days before a “highly damaging’ ethics report on his conduct was set to be released.
Trump announced on Wednesday that the Florida lawmaker, a staunch ally, will be his nominee for Attorney General when he takes office in January.
Gaetz and his associates were at the center of a sex trafficking investigation carried out by current Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The former Florida lawmaker was ultimately never charged with a crime but remained the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
The 42-year-old has denied all wrongdoing, and his resignation effectively ends their probe as he is no longer under their jurisdiction.
But, Gaetz’s resignation comes two days before the House Ethics committee was set to release a “highly damaging” report regarding their investigation, Punchbowl News reports.
More details from Katie Hawkinson.
Matt Gaetz resigns days before ‘highly damaging’ ethics report, report says
Gaetz’s resignation ends the House ethics probe into allegations of misconduct against him
NEW: Republican Senator ‘absolutely’ wants to review unreleased ethics report into Gaetz
Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn – who was in the running for Senate Majority leader – told reporters today that he “absolutely” wants to review an unreleased congressional ethics report on Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, according to Reuters news agency.
The president-elect’s nomination of Gaetz comes after the 42-year-old and his associates were at the center of a sex trafficking investigation carried out by current Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Gaetz was ultimately never charged with a crime but remained the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation regarding, among other claims, allegations of sexual misconduct.
However, the committee’s investigation is now over following Gaetz’s resignation, which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said was effective immediately.
Satirical news publication The Onion buys conspiracy site Infowars at bankruptcy auction
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax.
“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 shooting in Connecticut, said in a statement provided by his lawyers.
The Onion acquired the conspiracy theory platform’s website; social media accounts; studio in Austin, Texas; trademarks; and video archive. The sale price was not immediately disclosed. The Onion said its “exclusive launch advertiser” will be the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
Jones confirmed the news in a social media post on X.
Read more.
No foolin’: The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars site at auction
The sale price was not immediately disclosed
John Bolton gives damning assessment of Trump’s cabinet picks
Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor gave a damning assessment of picks for the president-elect’s new cabinet.
The president-elect has already demonstrated his willingness to appoint his cheerleaders to top positions, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were recently named as the joint heads of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Other eye-brow-raising picks include Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary.
During an interview with CNN, Bolton was asked about those selected by the President-elect so far.
“I do think there’s a group of people who think that they are going to be able to screen out people, not on the basis of philosophy so much as on their attitude toward the president,” he said.
Mike Bedigan reports.
John Bolton sums up Trump’s ideal cabinet picks in one damning word
Trump’s former National Security Advisor said that rather than having ‘loyalty’ from those selected to serve in his new administration, the President-elect would prefer ‘fealty’
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency faces roadblocks
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency might not be as plain sailing as they would hope.
Their plans to slash government spending and restructure federal agencies face roadblocks, experts have said.
Ramaswamy once said he had plans to cut the federal workforce by 75 percent on “day one,” while Musk has called for a 33 percent cut in federal spending.
Justin Schnitzer, a federal employment attorney, cautions that it won’t happen on day one.
“The maximalist numbers like 75 percent are unlikely to happen at all,” he said.
“Firings on this scale would bring government services across the country to a screeching halt, which would be unpopular with voters across the spectrum. Additionally, federal employees have rights and unjustified mass firings will result in justified mass appeals.”
Meanwhile, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Forum, told the Hill: “There’s the executive branch that might be in their way. The Congress might be in their way. The Constitution is a bit of an obstacle.”
“Other than that, clear sailing.”
Law expert says Gaetz confirmation as AG will be a ‘monumental challenge’
A law professor says Gaetz faces a “monumental challenge” to get confirmed as attorney general.
“If Trump wanted to defibrillate the Justice Department, the Matt Gaetz nomination is the 100,000-volt option,” Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said in a post on X.
“Just a day after the announcement, this is shaping up as one of the most intense confirmation fights in congressional history,” he added.
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