President-elect Donald Trump is quickly filling out key roles for his new administration following his defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in this month’s presidential election.
Trump has announced a flurry of intended nominations, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who recently changed her party affiliation from independent to Republican, as director of national intelligence. He’s also selected campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy.
Catch up on our previous coverage here, and scroll down for live updates:
CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this post stated that former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard recently changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Gabbard became an independent in 2022 and registered as a Republican in 2024.
Elizabeth Warren Warns Trump Nominee: Hands Off The Fed
The soon-to-be top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee cautioned Scott Bessent, Donald Trump’s pick to be the next treasury secretary, to respect the Federal Reserve’s policy independence.
“I have been a fierce critic of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s extreme interest rate hikes and lack of transparency, but I have never questioned that it is his job to make those decisions. It would be a serious error for the Trump administration to interfere with the Fed’s independence, as Mr. Bessent has suggested,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement Monday.
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Tammy Duckworth Says Pete Hegseth ‘Inordinately Unqualified’ To Lead Pentagon
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Sunday she believes former Fox News host Pete Hegseth is “inordinately unqualified” to run the Pentagon after he was nominated to be the nation’s next defense secretary by President-elect Donald Trump.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls NPR 'Democrat Propaganda,' Threatens To Slash Funding
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) railed against National Public Radio while addressing her new role as overseer for the “Department of Government Efficiency” during an interview on Fox News this weekend.
Promising to take a “deep dive” into government excess, Greene put NPR at the top of her list of what she thinks should be on the chopping block, saying, “We’ll be looking at everything from government-funded media programs like NPR that spread nothing but Democrat propaganda.”
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Sen.-Elect Adam Schiff ‘Strongly Inclined’ To Vote For This 1 Trump Cabinet Pick
Incoming Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who was previously a senior member of the House, said on Sunday that he is "strongly inclined" to vote yes on at least one person nominated to serve in President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet.
"I think Marco Rubio is enormously well-qualified for the job for which he’s been nominated," Schiff told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s "Meet the Press." "I still want to ask questions. I'm not going to completely prejudge even him, but he's unquestionably qualified. And there are others as well, but some really stand out for the risk they would present to the American people."
Earlier this month, Trump nominated Rubio to be considered for secretary of state under his administration. The Republican senator from Florida ran against Trump in 2016, but eventually became his informal policy adviser. Rubio was a fierce Trump supporter during this year’s presidential campaign, helping the incoming president prepare for his debate with President Joe Biden.
Schiff also expressed deep concern over some of Trump’s other Cabinet picks, including former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew from consideration to lead the Justice Department amid sexual misconduct allegations. Schiff, who used to chair the House Intelligence Committee, also criticized Trump’s decision to nominate former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
Trump Picks Brooke Rollins For Agriculture Secretary
The president-elect said he intends to nominate America First Policy Institute President Brooke Rollins to be the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins, a Texas native, previously served in the first Trump administration as director of the Domestic Policy Council and director of the Office of American Innovation.
“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump said in a statement. He went on to tout her "upbringing in the small and Agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas," and "deep Policy credentials."
Rollins’ America First Policy Institute was founded in 2021 and has spent years making plans for a second Trump administration, similar to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. She is an ally of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is not expected to take a White House job. (Nor will his wife, Ivanka Trump.)
Moderate House Democrats Have A Message To Their Party: A Little Humility, Please
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s local run-into-your-neighbor meeting place is a dump. Literally.
“Our kind of community center where I live is actually the dump, because we don’t have trash service. So that’s where you see your neighbors that you don’t live near,” the Washington Democrat told HuffPost in an interview.
“To be considered there to be hardworking and honest and loyal,” she said — “that’s what matters to me.”
Stemming from that approach, Gluesenkamp Perez’s message to her fellow Democrats quietly reeling from the Nov. 5 election losses is pretty simple: be humble, be authentic and be willing to listen.
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Trump Is Promising Mass Deportations. Can He Do It?
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election to a second term as president, attention has turned to his highest-profile campaign promise: the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
But uncertainty remains about the scope of Trump’s plans. Who exactly does he want to deport? And will he actually be able to carry out a “mass” deportation operation?
Trump and his allies say they will focus on “violent criminals,” staging rallies with posters of mugshots showing alleged “illegal immigrant gang members” and talking about immigrants as “invaders” who are “poisoning” the country with their “bad genes.”
But the fine print is always the same. When they say “criminals,” they mean all roughly 11 million undocumented people in the country, most of whom have lived in the United States here for years, have family and loved ones who are U.S. citizens, and have never committed a serious crime.
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Trump Taps Former NFL Player To Lead HUD
The onslaught of Cabinet nominees continued Friday night, with Trump tapping former NFL player and White House aide Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Scott will work alongside me to Make America Great Again for EVERY American,” he said in his announcement.
Turner previously served as the director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which Trump established.
Sebastian Gorka Lands Spot In Trump's Second Administration
Trump Announces His Picks For CDC, FDA
Trump Names Fox News Medical Contributor As Surgeon General
Trump Nominates Project 2025 Author To Head Budget Office
Trump announced on social media that he’s nominating Russ Vought, one of the authors of Project 2025, to once again lead the Office of Management and Budget.
In his announcement, Trump described Vought, who served as the OMB director during Trump’s first term, as “an aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies,” praising him as someone who “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government.”
The nomination comes in spite of Trump repeatedly distancing himself from Project 2025, an agenda assembled by a conservative think tank in preparation for a Republican’s return to the White House. Vought wrote a section of the initiative focused on management of the executive office. The agenda is largely focused on centralizing governmental authorities within the presidency.
Trump Picks Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer For Labor Secretary
Trump announced Friday he is nominating Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the labor department.
"Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success - Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!" Trump said in a statement.
Chavez-DeRemer, who narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, was reportedly backed for the role by Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Trump Picks Billionaire Scott Bessent For Treasury Secretary: Reports
The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported Friday evening that Trump has offered the role of Treasury secretary to Scott Bessent, the billionaire investor.
Bessent is the founder of Key Square Capital Management. Prior to starting his investment firm, he worked as a top investor for Soros Fund Management, founded by the famed philanthropist and Democratic donor George Soros.
Bessent served as economic adviser on Trump's campaign and appeared at one of the president-elect's campaign rallies in August.
Trump Plans To Fire Jack Smith’s Team, Use DOJ To Probe 2020 Election: Report
Trump plans to fire the team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith in pursuing federal prosecutions against the former president, The Washington Post reported.
A source told The Washington Post that Trump also plans to put together a Justice Department investigation into the 2020 election, which Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed was riddled with fraud.
Tulsi Gabbard Was Placed On Watch List Over Foreign Connections: Report
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, was reportedly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list after she was flagged for her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections.
Gabbard was later removed from the list, which used an algorithm to flag people, CNN reported.
During a Fox News interview, Gabbard claimed that she was put on a “domestic terror watchlist” because of her criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris. Sources who spoke to CNN said the claim was false.
You Can Already See Signs Of Trump's Crony Capitalism In Action
A hallmark of Trump’s first presidency was the way major policy developments would sometimes get almost no attention, because they were competing with the flurry of higher-profile, sometimes mind-blowing controversies swirling around him and his team.
Evidently Trump’s second presidency is going to unfold in the same way.
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Key Senate Democrat Notes ‘Serious Questions’ About Conduct Of Trump’s New AG Pick
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he’s aware of concerns about the behavior of Pam Bondi, Trump’s new nominee for attorney general.
“Serious questions have been raised about Ms. Bondi’s conduct as Florida’s Attorney General and President-elect Trump’s personal attorney,” Durbin posted on social media, noting that Trump’s transition team is not doing the customary FBI background check on her.
“After the controversial announcement and awkward withdrawal of Matt Gaetz, the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee should insist that President-elect Trump, like prior Presidents-elect of both parties, follow the rules,” Durbin continued.
Bondi has been under fierce scrutiny for taking a $25,000 check around the same time her office was considering joining an investigation on allegations of fraud at Trump University. She ultimately declined to join the probe. Read more about her background here.
Trans People Are Scrambling To Prepare For The ‘Waking Nightmare’ Of Trump’s Second Term
On the night of the election, Red Broadwell was home with his cat in Wilmington, North Carolina, working on his master’s thesis about transness and body horror in film. He tried not to doomscroll about the election results.
But when the 23-year-old trans graduate student woke up the next morning to the news that Trump had won the presidency, Broadwell began to panic.
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RFK Jr. Once Said The World Health Organization ‘Fabricated’ Swine Flu To Sell Vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, once said he thought the World Health Organization “fabricated” pandemics to boost the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies.
Kennedy made the incendiary and baseless claim on the Russian TV network RT. PatriotTakes, a watchdog group that monitors right-wing figures, surfaced the undated clip on BlueSky Thursday.
The WHO is “absolutely controlled top to bottom by the pharmaceutical companies, and particularly the vaccine makers, who use WHO to fabricate pandemics,” Kennedy says in the clip. He went on to say, again offering no evidence, that swine flu and H1N1 were “fabricated” so the pharmaceutical industry could “make billions of dollars on pandemics that never happened.”
Between 151,700 and 575,400 people died in the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, according to CDC estimates.
Matt Gaetz Won't Return To Congress Next Year
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his nomination to be Trump’s attorney general, said he won’t return to Congress next year.
“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz told conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Friday.
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