Trump cabinet live updates: Vance attempts to secure support for picks; Ethics Committee to vote on Gaetz report
President-elect’s pick for attorney general was investigated by House panel two years ago and its dossier could yet be published ahead of Senate confirmation hearings
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Your support makes all the difference.The House Ethics Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss whether or not to publish a report into Donald Trump’s controversial choice for US attorney general, Matt Gaetz, examining allegations against him that he paid for sex with a minor in 2017 that it investigated in 2022.
ABC News reports that the former Florida congressman sent two women who testified as part of the probe more than $10,000 in Venmo payments over two years.
Gaetz has always denied the accusations and resigned from the House of Representatives last week, ending the committee’s jurisdiction over him.
That has not stopped it from facing pressure to reveal its findings just as Gaetz joins Vice President-Elect JD Vance and others on a mission to Capitol Hill lobby Republican senators ahead of January’s confirmation hearings.
Trump has meanwhile made a further series of additions to his new cabinet, moving on Tuesday to nominate former WWE boss Linda McMahon as education secretary, TV’s Dr Mehmet Oz as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary.
Also on Tuesday, Trump joined Elon Musk in Texas to watch a SpaceX Starship test launch.
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Gaetz sent more than $10,000 in Venmo payments to women who testifed in ethics probe, report says
Per ABC News:
The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by ABC News.
The Venmo records show that between July 2017 and late January 2019, Gaetz -- who was first elected in 2016 -- allegedly made 27 Venmo payments totaling $10,224.02 to the two witnesses, who were over the age of 18 at the time.
The payments, which sources said were displayed during closed-door testimony, ranged from $100 to more than $700 each.
Jimmy Kimmel coins new nickname for Matt Gaetz
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel didn’t hold back while criticizing Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, referring to him as “Caucasian Diddy” as the former representative faces sexual misconduct allegations.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Jimmy Kimmel coins new nickname for Trump’s AG pick Matt Gaetz: ‘Caucasian Diddy’
The late-night host ripped Gaetz and tied him to another famous sexual assault investigation
Trump names nominee for NATO ambassador role
Donald Trump has named his choice as the US ambassador to NATO.
The president-elect released the following statement:
I am pleased to announce that former Acting Attorney General, Matthew G. Whitaker, from the Great State of Iowa, will be the United States Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Matt is a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended. Matt will strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability - He will put AMERICA FIRST.
I have full confidence in Matt’s ability to represent the United States with Strength, Integrity, and unwavering Dedication. I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to promote PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, Freedom, and Prosperity around the World.
Matt is also the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.A., MBA and J.D., where he played football, and received the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
Whitaker served as acting United States Attorney General from November 2018 to February 2019. He was appointed to that position by then-President Trump after Jeff Sessions resigned at Trump's request.
Whitaker had previously served as chief of staff for Sessions from October 2017 to November 2018.
NY Post calls on Trump to ditch ‘dreadful duo’ Gaetz and Gabbard
Despite voicing approval for most of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks for his second administration — and cheering on the coming Department of Government Efficiency, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — The New York Post has a blunt message regarding Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz: “Ditch this dreadful duo.”
The editorial board writes that the “distracting chaos agents” won’t accomplish what Trump intends them to and “will most likely backfire on his agenda.”
With Gabbard as the proposed director of national intelligence, the Post notes that while they have some affinity over wanting to limit foreign escapades, the former Democrat representative disagreed with Trump on key first-term moments — pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and killed Qassem Soleimamni.
She has also been “sympathetic to dictators in Syria and Russia, instead blaming the victims of violence like Ukraine and Israel” and while they say Trump understands the Teddy Roosevelt maxim of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, Gabbard speaks softly and carries no stick.
“There’s a real fear that Gabbard won’t provide Trump with the intelligence he needs, but rather downplay threats with the intention of isolationism,” the Post writes.
As for Gaetz, the editorial board calls him “even worse”.
“Gaetz may provide the disruption, but he has neither the ethics nor the discipline to rebuild a proper system that will pursue fair prosecutions,” the Post says. “The congressman may have convinced Trump that he is the subject of ‘lawfare,’ but it’s obvious all he wants is an escape hatch.”
Noting his resignation ahead of the release of an ethics report over allegations of sex with an underage girl and drug-fueled parties, the board writes: “His own colleagues say he’s a sleaze.”
By nominating the pair, the Post says Trump is wasting important political capital “out of stubbornness, not necessity” when the Senate would quickly confirm almost every other member of the cabinet.
“There’s no need to go to the mattresses over Matt Gaetz.”
In conclusion, the editorial board notes that any battle over nomination provides ammunition for Trump’s opponents and puts the Republican Congress at risk in 2026, potentially grinding the agenda to a halt.
How much does Trump education pick Linda McMahon actually know about education?
While Trump’s pick for education secretary is relatively unknown in academic circles, she is famous in another: the WWE ring.
Former wrestling mogul and billionaire Linda McMahon has stunned educators by being unveiled as Trump’s choice to run the Department of Education – or, perhaps, to lead the operation to scrap it altogether.
But how much education experience does she actually have?
Rhian Lubin reports.
How much does Trump education pick Linda McMahon actually know about education?
Trump stunned educators by unveiling Linda McMahon as his choice to run the Department of Education
Vance tells Senate Republicans Trump ‘deserves a cabinet that is loyal'
Vice President-elect JD Vance has posted a not-so-subtle dig at incoming Republican senators saying Donald Trump’s electoral victory provided the coattails for them to take the majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
Therefore, the president-elect “deserves a cabinet that is loyal to the agenda he was elected to implement.”
There have been significant rumblings about the qualifications and quality of some of Trump’s choices for cabinet posts within Republican ranks in the Senate — most notably over his pick for attorney general, former congressman Matt Gaetz.
Vance is currently on Capitol Hill trying to ensure enough support for the confirmation process.
Trump biopic star says that actors have begun to distance themselves from him
The Apprentice star Sebastian Stan has admitted that other actors have been afraid to do appearances with him as they didn’t want to discuss Donald Trump.
Stan stars as Trump in a controversial biopic about the president-elect, which focuses on his early days as a real estate tycoon and his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn, played by Succession’s Jeremy Strong.
The movie, which received mixed reviews and was released prior to the US election on November 5, received strong backlash from Trump himself, branding the creative team involved “human scum”.
Stan has now said that there has been so much of a row around the film that other actors are now starting to distance themselves from him.
Greg Evans reports.
Trump biopic star says that other actors have begun to distance themselves from him
‘We’re really going to have a problem’ said Stan when reflecting on the problems he’s encountered after playing Trump
Giuliani defamation victims file contempt motion against him for repeating same false statements
The two Georgia election workers who were defamed by Rudy Giuliani, winning a court case against him for which they were awarded $148 million, have filed a motion for contempt against the former New York City mayor after he repeated defamatory statements about them:
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss say Giuliani, who acted as a personal lawyer for Donald Trump, should be held in contempt of court for repeating his false claims about them during recent podcast episodes.
On his livestreams, Giuliani has recently said the women were “quadruple counting the the the ballots” and “passing hard drives” — claims that were central to the original $148 million defamation judgment against him.
“I’m sorry they’re going to sue me again for saying it but what am I going to do but tell the truth,” he said on his broadcast this month.
The “hard drives” of which Guliani spoke was in fact a pack of ginger mints.
In the filing, Moss and Freeman say Judge Beryl Howell should consider an evidentiary hearing in Washington, D.C. to determine the appropriate punishment for his defiance of court orders.
Watch: Lincoln Projects says ‘President Musk’ really running the show
Graham says he won’t be part of ‘lynch mob’ against Gaetz
Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters he met with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz this morning.
The South Carolina Republican said: “I think Matt is very, very smart guy, and these allegations will be dealt with in committee, but he deserves a chance to confront his accusers, and the process is turning into a lynch mob, and I'm not going to be part of that.”
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