Trump cabinet live updates: House speaker pushes to keep Matt Gaetz ethics report secret
Former Florida congressman among controversial picks to join Donald Trump’s cabinet with Robert F Kennedy Jr nomination condemned by Mike Pence
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump’s selection of scandal-plagued Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general continues to cause a stir in Washington as 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 the former Florida Congressman.
Meanwhile, Robert F Kennedy Jr has been branded “dangerous” and “unserious” by Democratic Senator Ed Markey after the president-elect announced he had picked vaccine-skeptic and conspiracy theorist to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has also spoken out over the choice, given Kennedy’s stance on abortion.
RFK Jr is just one of a string of controversial picks for the future cabinet, including veteran and Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as the joint leaders of a new Department of Government Efficiency.
RFK Jr, Gaetz, Musk, and other cabinet picks flocked to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night to see the president-elect speak publicly for the first time since winning the election.
Trump also announced North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his nominee to lead the Department of the Interior.
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
RFK Jr picked to lead health agencies. Doctors warned it could trigger disease outbreaks
Rates of routine vaccinations among children are dropping, the percentage of children who are exempted from vaccine requirements is at an all-time high and cases of measles are being reported across the country.
And it could soon get worse.
Doctors are now bracing for a future under president-elect Donald Trump’s and his administration. On November 14, Trump announced RFK Jr. as his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy, the former independent presidential candidate who bowed out of the race to endorse Trump, does not have a medical background, but his anti-vaccine Children’s Health Defense group and focus on chronic disease and chemicals in food — and promotion of misinformation and conspiracy theories — have drawn him enormous scrutiny and endorsements.
RFK Jr picked for health role. Doctors warned it could trigger disease outbreaks
Public health advocates are warning against an incoming powder keg of misinformation and conspiracy theories
Report: Woman testified to House Ethics panel that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17
The woman in the middle of the DoJ investigation into allegations of sex trafficking against Matt Gaetz testified in front of the House Ethics Committee that the former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old, according to ABC News.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would nominate Gaetz to be his attorney general.
The DoJ investigation ended last year without charges against the 42-year-old, who has rejected the allegations.
Matt Gaetz’s constant defense of Trump made him a pariah in the House. It is what landed him the AG nod
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his next attorney general.
The rightwing political bomb-thrower resigned from Congress on Wednesday, shortly before an Ethics Committee investigation was set to be released into his alleged drug use and sex with a minor, allegations Gaetz has rejected.
Trump was looking for someone who filled all of his requirements for what is likely to become the most important role following his own in the next administration. Gaetz is a loyal supporter and attack dog for the former president and much like Trump himself, he has been under federal investigation. The former congressman came out unscathed after a federal sex crime investigation, which he referred to as a product of the “deep state.”
How Matt Gaetz moved to the front of the line for America’s top lawyer
The former congressman came out unscathed after a federal sex crime investigation, which he referred to as a product of the “deep state”
Transition co-chair said before election RFK Jr would not be HHS Secretary
As Trump nominated RFK Jr to lead HHS, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins noted on X that transition co-chair Howard Lutnick said before the election that the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist would not be in charge of the department.
Trump nominates RFK Jr as health secretary
Donald Trump announced on Thursday that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr will be his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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.
The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.
Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!
RFK Jr to be nominated as Health Secretary, Donald Trump Jr confirms
Donald Trump Jr confirmed reports on Thursday that Robert F Kennedy Jr will be nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump picks RFK Jr to lead Health and Human Services as they vow to make America healthy
Donald Trump will nominate vaccine skeptic and conspiracy-spreader Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead America’s largest public health body, the Department of Health and Human Services.
Politico first reported the nomination on Thursday shortly followed by CNN; it was not something that came as a surprise, as Trump’s own press secretary Karoline Leavitt had referred to RFK Jr as qualified and mentioned him as someone who would likely be nominated to join the incoming administration in a Fox News interview the same day.
Of course, the head of Donald Trump’s White House transition team — the man supposedly leading the staff search for the incoming president — had assured CNN as recently as October 30 that RFK Jr would specifically not be nominated to lead HHS.
But Thursday’s news would be in line with reporting from The Independent and other outlets pointing to one reality: the breakneck pace at which these decisions are being made by Trump himself, in some cases while his top staff are not part of the conversation.
Trump picks RFK Jr to lead Health and Human Services: report
Kennedy ran as independent candidate while attacking Covid-era lockdown rules, and has referred to vaccines as unproven and dangerous
Former Ethics Committee counsel calls for release of Gaetz report
The Chief Counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Donald Sherman, wrote in a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Ethics Committee that they must release the report into allegations against attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz.
“While Mr. Gaetz can no longer be sanctioned by the Committee or the House, nothing in Committee or House rules bars the Committee from sharing its report, findings and exhibits with the public,” the former House Ethics Committee counsel wrote in a letter.
Report: Gorka and Anton possible picks for deputy national advisor
Trump advisors Sebastian Gorka and Michael Anton are both possible picks to serve as deputy national security advisor, according to Politico.
The president-elect has already announced that Florida Rep Michael Walz, a former Green Beret, will serve as his national security advisor.
Both Anton and Gorka would be controversial picks with some pushback to be expected.
Report: Trump expected to nominate RFK Jr to lead Health Department
Trump is expected to nominate former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Politico reported.
In his victory speech on election night, Trump said: “He’s going to help make America healthy again … He wants to do some things, and we’re going to let him get to it.”
“Go have a good time, Bobby,” he added.
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