President-elect made flurry of nominations on Friday night to form his new administration but has not signed transition agreement requiring disclosure of donor names
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As Donald Trump builds the most controversial cabinet in modern US history, Donald Trump Jr has emerged as the most influential Trump family member in the transition, according to reporting by Reuters.
The president-elect’s eldest son is playing a key role in elevating inexperienced loyalists over more qualified candidates for top positions in the administration.
Meanwhile it’s not just the cabinet picks attracting scrutiny, it’s now also Trump’s transition funding as he’s keeping the identities of donors a secret having not signed the traditional agreement for federal funds as part of the Presidential Transition Act.
In a flurry of nominations over the weekend, Trump has named Brooke Rollins to agriculture; Pam Bondi as attorney general, following the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz; Scott Bessent to treasury; and Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought as the White House budget chief.
On Sunday morning’s political talk shows, Republican lawmakers stepped up to defend some of Trump’s choices, including defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth who has been mired in scandal all week because of sexual assault allegations and views on women in combat roles.
Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, called him “unqualified and dangerous”.
Sen. Schmitt says ‘it’s a slur’ to call Gabbard a Russian asset
During his appearance on Meet the Press this morning, Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said it was a “slur” to call Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick as director of national intelligence, a Russian asset.
NBC’s Kristen Welker played a clip of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley saying of Gabbard, a veteran and former Democrat rep: “This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer. DNI has to analyze real threats. Are we comfortable with someone like that at the top of our national intelligence agencies?”
Welker asked Schmitt if he was comfortable and whether he would vote for Gabbard’s confirmation.
He replied: “I think it’s — it’s really interesting that anybody that has a different political view now is being cast as a Russian asset. It’s totally ridiculous. Tulsi Gabbard has served in our military. She served as a congresswoman from Hawaii, as a Democrat, I might add, part of this unique coalition that President Trump has put together and won and got that mandate. But I think it’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly.’
He continued: “You know, there’s no evidence that she’s an asset of another country. She served this country honorably, and by the way, she cares deeply about our Constitution and civil liberties and making sure people aren’t being targeted by these intelligence agencies. So again, I think this is a reformer who can come in, who maybe is not part of the same Washington cocktail party circuit that people in the intel community are used to, but maybe that’s exactly what we need right now. President Trump listened to the American people when they screamed about these issues. They want to be heard. They feel like Washington is broken. And I think bringing somebody in like Tulsi Gabbard is welcome news.”
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 06:10
ICYMI: Trump picks Scott Bessent for treasury as he announces flurry of cabinet picks
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 05:40
Watch: Trump NSA Waltz says ‘we are in hand in glove’ with Biden administration on US adversaries
Incoming Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News Sunday today that they are “hand in glove” with the outgoing Biden administration regarding “our adversaries” and that they are wrong to think they can play one administration off against another.
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 05:10
COMMENT: Why the Trump and Musk partnership is here to stay
John Sopel writes:
We’ve all been there. That infatuation moment. That time at the outset of a relationship when you can’t think about anyone else, don’t want to be with anyone else. Every minute without them is a minute wasted; where you find yourself engaging in their hobbies because if they love them, so must you, too.
And broadly speaking, that is where we are in that most unlikely of bromances: that of Elon and Don.
Read on…
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 04:40
Watch: Chris Christie says Gaetz was ‘abominable pick’ and Trump was ‘over-reading his mandate’
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 04:10
Trump’s counter terror pick Sebastian Gorka is a ‘conman’, says Bolton
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 03:40
GOP senators shrug off Trump’s weaponized Justice Department but also welcome retribution
In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma downplayed Donald Trump’s threats of payback at the Department of Justice over the criminal indictments he faced over election interference and classified documents.
However, he then told Dana Bash: “If someone is in the Department of Justice right now that is actively trying to undercut the president, they should be gone.”
This was a sentiment echoed by Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri, who told NBC’s Meet the Press that one of the president-elect’s first priorities should be to fire any staff at the Justice Department who worked on cases that involved charges against Trump.
“First and foremost, the people involved with this should be fired immediately,” he told Kristen Welker. “And anybody part of this, this effort to keep President Trump off the ballot and to throw him in jail for the rest of his life because they didn’t like his politics, and who continue to cast him as a quote, unquote threat to democracy, was wrong, and so we’ll see where that goes.”
Schmitt framed his stance as a form of “accountability,” telling Kristen Welker, “[The cases] all fell apart under the weight of the law. And so I do think there needs to be accountability. I think that getting it back to crime-fighting is important, but there has to be accountability for these kinds of abuses.”
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 03:10
ANALYSIS: What do Republican doctors really think of RFK Jr? I asked them
Eric Garcia writes:
Senator Bill Cassidy stood up to Donald Trump in 2021 after the January 6 riot — he was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump. And in January, he will become chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, making the Republican gastroenterologist from Louisana one of the most influential doctors in America.
Continue reading…
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 02:40
ICYMI: Ric Grenell under consideration to take on role of special envoy to Russia-Ukraine war
Trump’s former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in his first administration Ric Grenell is under consideration to be the special envoy for the war between Russia and Ukraine.
There’s currently no special envoy for the conflict, but Trump is seriously considering whether to create the role, according to Reuters, pointing to four sources with knowledge of the president-elect’s thinking.
If the position is indeed created, Grenell is reportedly a top contender, but Trump may still choose another candidate, the news agency noted. The sources reportedly said that there’s no guarantee that Grenell would take the job if offered.
Grenell was reported to be one of the candidates to be secretary of state, a nomination that eventually went to Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
While Trump hasn’t outlined a specific plan on how to end the war, he has promised to do so quickly once in office.
Grenell has made statements previously that may concern the Ukrainians, telling Bloomberg in July that he would back the creation of “autonomous zones” to end the war. He has also said that he would not back NATO membership for Ukraine in the near future.
The 58-year-old has also served as a special presidential envoy for the Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations and as a spokesperson to the UN during the presidency of George W Bush. He was also the foreign policy spokesperson during Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign for the White House.
Gustaf Kilander25 November 2024 02:10
Trump did a complete 180 on transgender bathroom controversy
“Kamala is for they/them. Trump is for you,” was the message of a widely aired ad for Donald Trump’ 2024 campaign.
But a resurfaced 2016 clip shows how much the president-elect’s view on transgender rights has shifted in eight years.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Oliver O’Connell25 November 2024 01:40
