President-elect Donald Trump has so far avoided public appearances for the last week after his election victory as he begins to staff his administration from his base at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club.
Trump has held no press conferences and given no speeches after the election as he’s surrounded by advisers, aides, friends, and club members guiding him on his next moves.
This comes as Judge Juan Merchan is postponing a decision on whether to undo Trump’s criminal conviction in the hush money case against him because of April’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
The judge had been set to rule on Tuesday but instead told Trump’s lawyers that he would delay until November 19.
The Republican has meanwhile chosen Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state and Florida congressman Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser as his White House team continues to take shape.
The president-elect is also reportedly preparing to appoint South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Trump will meet with Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday to discuss a transition schedule as the Senate elects a new majority leader.
Key Points
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Trump selects Mike Waltz to be national security advisor
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Judge delays ruling on whether to dismiss Trump’s criminal conviction
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Trump selects Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel
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White House defends Biden-Trump sitdown invitation: ‘The American people deserve this’
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Alina Habba frontrunner to be Trump press secretary: report
Just in: Trump names John Ratcliffe as CIA director and Bill McGinley as White House counsel
22:51 , Alex Woodward
Donald Trump has tapped his former national intelligence director John Ratfliffe to lead the CIA.
Trump has also named Bill McGinley — who formerly served as Trump’s Cabinet secretary — as White House counsel.
McGinley had recently worked alongside indicted former right-wing media personality Christina Bobb on the Republican National Committee’s “election integrity” team.
“Bill is a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement,” Trump said in a statement.
Ratcliffe, a former congressman who served on Trump’s impeachment team during his first impeachment, later was nominated to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, to which he was narrowly approved in the Senate by a vote of 49 to 44.
A month before the 2020 election, Ratcliffe declassified 2016 Russian disinformation that claimed Hillary Clinton had approved a scheme to tie Trump to Vladimir Putin and hacking of the Democratic National Committee — disinformation that was previously rejected by a Senate committee.
Ratcliffe “has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump said in a statement.
Biden appears to mock question about hostage deal
22:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump names Steve Witkoff as special envoy to Middle East
22:18 , Alex Woodward
Real estate developer and Trump donor Steve Witkoff has been named as a special envoy to the Middle East in Tump’s incoming administration.
“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous. Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” according to a statement from Trump.
Witkoff also is the co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, and he was golfing with Trump when the alleged second attempted assassination was averted at the former president’s Florida golf club.
Businessman Steve Witkoff stands next to Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, on November 3. (REUTERS)
Michael Flynn says Mar-a-Lago staff should be subjected to polygraph tests to catch Trump cabinet pick ‘leaker’
22:15 , Michelle Del Rey
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is calling for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago staff to be subjected to polygraph tests after a series of press reports about the incoming president’s cabinet picks.
Flynn, who briefly served in the Trump administration, made the remarks on X/Twitter on Tuesday in response to a tweet by controversial far-right activist Laura Loomer.
“It would be very easy to catch someone doing this. Give everyone that is there a one question poly (this is very easy to do). Ask them one question, “have you communicated with any media outlets in the past week?” You’ll see the leaks disappear,” Flynn said in response to a tweet by Loomer, a hard-right conspiracy theorist who traveled with Trump on the campaign trail.
Michael Flynn says Mar-a-Lago staff should be subjected to polygraphs
‘There is no such thing as a West Bank,’ Huckabee said in 2017
22:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick to be the next ambassador to Israel, told CNN in 2017 that he didn’t agree with the use of the word “settlements” to describe Israeli occupations on the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
He also said there is “no such thing” as the West Bank, the largest of two Palestinian territories that comprise the Palestinian state.
“I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee told the network, referencing the Biblical terms for the West Bank. “There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
J Street president says Huckabee selection shows that ‘the mask if off’
21:50 , Gustaf Kilander
The president of the pro-Israel nonprofit J Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said in a statement that the selection of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as Trump’s next ambassador to Israel shows that “the mask is off.”
“This announcement is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from any concern for Jewish values, safety or self-determination,” he said. “It’s all about what ‘pro-Israel’ means to extremists in the MAGA base.”
“Between Rubio and Huckabee, Trump and Netanyahu, we know the Trump Administration’s approach to Israel-Palestine will trample our values and endanger Israelis and Palestinians,” he added. “Biden has a narrow window of opportunity to blunt the impact before he leaves office – he must use it.”
Women denied abortions tell court they were ‘made to feel like medical refugees’ as they sue Idaho
21:40 , Kelly Rissman
An Idaho woman who was denied an abortion in her home state felt like a “medical refugee” when she had to cross state lines to obtain abortion care, she has told a court hearing a case against the state.
Four Idaho women denied abortion care after experiencing pregnancy complications and physicians are suing the state of Idaho, which has two abortion bans in place and only allows abortions in the case of rape or incest or to save the pregnant person’s life with limited medical exceptions. The plaintiffs, represented by lawyers at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), are seeking clarity on medical exceptions and when providers are legally allowed to provide life-saving care.
Women denied abortions tell court felt ‘like medical refugees’ as they sue Idaho
Alina Habba frontrunner to be Trump press secretary: report
21:33 , Gustaf Kilander
Alina Habba has emerged as a possible frontrunner to be Trump’s next White House press secretary, according to Mediaite.
The attorney has represented the former president in a series of cases.
The outlet reported that there are ongoing discussions about Habba taking on the role, but it remains unclear if she will accept the position.
“She’s expected to be at Mar-a-Lago this week for conversations regarding a potential role,” a source told Mediaite.
WATCH: Trump’s transition to the White House
21:25 , Gustaf Kilander
Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge
21:17 , Associated Press
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine.
Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years. He was brought into court in an orange jumpsuit and showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.
Earlier in the hearing he apologized before the judge.
Prosecutors had originally requested a 17-year sentence for Teixeira, saying he “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”
Defense attorneys had sought an 11-year sentence. In their sentence memorandum, they acknowledged that their client “made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months,” but they argued that Teixeira’s actions, though criminal, were never meant to “harm the United States.” He also had no prior criminal record.
The security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout.
White House defends Biden-Trump sitdown invitation: ‘The American people deserve this’
21:10 , Andrew Feinberg
The White House is defending President Joe Biden’s decision to invite President-elect Donald Trump for an Oval Office discussion on the presidential transition process, four years after Trump denied Biden the same courtesy after losing the 2020 election.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily briefing on Tuesday that Biden extended the invitation to Trump because of his reverence for the peaceful transfer of power that has been a hallmark of the American system of government for nearly 250 years.
Asked why he is granting Trump the exact sort of privilege that Biden himself was denied four years ago, Jean-Pierre replied that it was “easy” to answer the question.
White House defends Biden-Trump sitdown: ‘The American people deserve this’
Draft executive order would establish board to remove generals
21:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump and his advisers are considering enacting an executive order that would create a board to remove certain generals, sparking concerns about the politicization of the military, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The order would establish a “warrior board” of retired military personnel which would be handed the authority to review three- and four-star officers and to recommend firings of anyone considered unfit to lead.
The draft order reviewed by The Journal states that if Trump were to sign the order, it could expedite the removal of generals and admirals who are deemed to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities.”
Taylor Budowich to join administration as deputy chief for personnel and communications
20:40 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump adviser Taylor Budowich is expected to be named Deputy Chief of Staff of Presidential Personnel and Communications in the next few days, according to CNN.
Budowich was previously a spokesperson for Trump as he exited the presidency before leading the MAGA, Inc PAC. In August, he became deputy campaign manager.
WATCH: Scalise praises Trump’s ‘really good smart picks’ for cabinet
20:20 , Gustaf Kilander
Europe is in immense danger if Trump hands any kind of victory to Putin on Ukraine
20:00 , Keir Giles
According to anonymous sources quoted in The Washington Post, one of Donald Trump’s first actions on being re-elected was to call Vladimir Putin. That call was immediately denied by the Kremlin. As Trump moves back into power, we should get used to confusion and mixed messaging – between him and Vladimir Putin, it’s always going to be hard to tell which, if either, might actually be telling the truth on any given occasion.
In fact, Russia’s response to the return of Trump has been a similarly confusing mixture of shameless flattery and blatant trolling. Putin’s comments on “courageous” Trump were accompanied by Russia’s prime-time television propaganda show welcoming Trump to the White House by airing nude photographs of his wife from a quarter-century ago while its presenters smirked.
Europe is in immense danger if Trump hands any kind of victory to Putin on Ukraine
Trump selects Mike Waltz to be national security advisor
19:40 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump has officially announced that Florida congressman Mike Waltz is set to be his national security adviser.
I am honored to announce that Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL) is hereby appointed to serve in my Cabinet as my National Security Advisor.
Mike is the first Green Beret to have been elected to Congress, and previously served in the White House and Pentagon.
Mike served in the Army Special Forces for 27 years where he was deployed multiple times in combat for which he was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two with Valor.
Mike retired as a Colonel, and is a nationally recognized leader in National Security, a bestselling author, and an expert on the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, and global terrorism.
He serves as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Mike is a distinguished graduate with honors of the Virginia Military Institute.
Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda, and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!
President-elect Donald Trump
Trump stays out of view following election victory
19:26 , Gustaf Kilander
President-elect Donald Trump has been staying out of the public limelight since his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president has been conspicuously absent from the public stage, holding no press conferences, and giving no speeches as he begins to staff his next administration and reconnect with foreign leaders from his base in Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club.
While Trump has not been seen in public, he has been surrounded by advisers, aides, friends, and club members advising him on his next moves as he prepares to move back into the White House.
Billionaire Elon Musk has been at his side throughout the last week – Musk leads companies with billions in federal contracts.
There are some who view Musk as the second most influential person at Trump’s side, following the woman he has chosen to be his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
19:20 , Associated Press
Wall Street is already making big bets on what take two for a White House led by Donald Trump will mean for the economy.
Since Election Day, investors have sent prices zooming for stocks of banks, fossil-fuel producers and other companies expected to benefit from Trump’s preference for lower tax rates and lighter regulation. For retailers, meanwhile, the outlook is murkier because of uncertainty about whether they’ll be able to absorb any of the higher costs created by tariffs.
Professional investors are warning about the risk of getting carried away by the momentum. While strong rhetoric on the campaign trail can cause these big swings, not all of the promises turn into actual policy. Plus, the broad U.S. stock market tends to move more on long-term growth in profits than anything else.
Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
Trump selects Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel
19:14 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump has chosen former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to be the US ambassador to Israel.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
‘He doesn’t listen to anyone’: Author of Trump tell-all rejects idea groups can influence his decision making
19:00 , Kelly Rissman
As President-elect Donald Trump picks his Cabinet members for his second administration, veteran journalist Michael Wolff warns that Trump’s second term will be no different from his first.
Despite the fear surrounding Project 2025’s influence during the 2024 campaign cycle, the Fire and Fury author expects that prominent rightwing think-tanks will have little influence over the president-elect. Wolff, who has written numerous books about Trump during his presidency, predicted his second term will serve as the preamble for his first: “He doesn’t listen to anybody…he just does what he wants to do.”
When asked what Trump 2.0 would look like, the journalist told the Hollywood Reporter: “The obvious answer is: we know what it’s going to be like because we’ve already lived through it before.”
Author of Trump book rejects idea groups can influence his decision making
Fetterman announces support for Rubio as secretary of state
18:40 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump converts campaign to leadership PAC
18:20 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump has converted his presidential campaign to a leadership PAC entitled “Never Surrender, Inc,” according to a new filing.
‘I apologize to absolutely nobody’: Tony Hinchcliffe addresses ‘garbage’ remarks
18:00 , Gustaf Kilander
The comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, known as Kill Tony, addressed his remarks during Trump’s October Madison Square Garden rally when he referred to Puerto Rico as an island of “garbage.”
On a podcast episode he released on Monday, he said: “It was a speech about free speech, believe it or not. I am currently under attack. I am the news. I referenced Puerto Rico, which currently has a landfill problem in which all of their landfills are filled to the brim. I am the only person who knew about this, unfortunately.”
“With that said, I just want to say that I love Puerto Ricans, they’re very smart people — they’re smart, they’re street smart, they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder. Right now that is happening,” he added. “I apologize to absolutely nobody. Not to the Puerto Ricans, not to the whites, not to the Blacks, not to the Palestinians, not to the Jews, and not to my own mother, who I made fun of during the set.”
“Nobody clipped that. No headlines about me making fun of my own mother. Perhaps that venue at that time wasn’t the best f****** place to do this set at,” Hinchcliffe said. “But in any matter, to the mainstream media and to anybody trying to slander me online: That’s what I do, and that’s never going to change.”
Cornyn appeals to Trump supporters in Senate leadership race
17:50 , Gustaf Kilander
Texas Senator John Cornyn made an appeal to Trump supporters in the upper chamber in a letter to colleagues amid the Republican senate leadership race to replace outgoing leader Mitch McConnell.
“In order to Make America Great Again, we must Make the Senate Work Again,” Cornyn wrote.
Chris Christie says Trump’s most effective campaign ad was one on Harris’s trans rights policy
17:35 , Joe Sommerlad
The ex-New Jersey governor has claimed that the Trump campaign’s most effective ad during the 2024 race was one which focused on attacking Kamala Harris’s transgender rights policy.
The former Trump ally-turned-critic said that Democrats focused on trans issues and pronouns during the Harris campaign, which could have pushed moderate liberals to vote Republican.
He specifically pointed to one particular Trump campaign attack ad which ran with the argument: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
“The most effective ad that the Trump campaign ran in this campaign was, you know, ‘Kamala Harris is for they/them, and Donald Trump is for us,’” Christie said in a panel discussion on ABC News’s This Week with Jonathan Karl.
“That’s because most people don’t see themselves as they/them. Yet, the Democrats have spent more time talking about a trans issue, which, quite frankly, is infinitesimal.”
Rhian Lubin has more.
Christie says Trump’s most effective campaign ad was on Harris’s trans rights policy
Trump to address House Republican Conference
17:25 , Gustaf Kilander
President-elect Donald Trump is set to address the full House Republican Conference when he visits Capitol Hill on Wednesday, according to Punchbowl News.
South Korean president takes up playing golf in anticipation of Trump’s White House return
17:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Yoon Suk Yeol has been practicing the sport so he can play with the president-elect after he takes office, officials in Seoul have told Korean media.
Yoon has been advised to improve his golf game so he can “strengthen his rapport” with Trump, The Korea Times reported.
Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.
South Korean president takes up playing golf in anticipation of Trump’s return
Analysts say there has been one other post-election stock rally similar to Trump’s – 1928
17:05 , Joe Sommerlad
The surge in stocks after Trump was elected to the White House last week may not be a positive omen, market analysts are warning, as it resembles the market after Herbert Hoover was elected shortly before the Wall Street Crash that led to the Great Depression.
Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones rose significantly after the Republican’s victory was confirmed last Wednesday morning, with both closing at “record highs” on Friday, according to CNN.
“Recent days prove markets’ unambiguous embrace of the Trump 2.0 economic vision,” the aforementioned Scott Bessent, a potential Trump treasury secretary pick, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
“Markets are signaling expectations of higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans.”
But Robert Burgess, a Bloomberg opinion editor, warned that the post-election stock market might not be a positive sign. He noted that this market is similar to the booming market after Hoover’s election, which came just one year before the 1929 stock market crash.
Kelly Rissman has more.
Analysts say there’s been one other post-election rally similar to Trump’s – in 1928
Watch: Sir Keir Starmer dodges questions over Trump climate fears at Cop29 summit
16:50 , Joe Sommerlad
Keir Starmer dodges questions over Donald Trump climate fears at Cop29 summit
Trump may move to halt TikTok ban, allies say
16:35 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect will reportedly try to stop the social video app from being banned in the United States, as he promised to do on the campaign trail, according to The Washington Post.
The hugely popular app currently has until January to find a non-Chinese owner or lose its foothold in America in compliance with a law passed in April with bipartisan support.
“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Kellyanne Conway told The Post.
“There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million US users each month.
“Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans – gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws and TikTok – and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal choice space.”
Details are currently scarce on how Trump might go about it (executive order or otherwise) but he told his followers in June in one of his very first video posts: “I’m gonna save TikTok.”
Tiktok (AP)
Senate leadership hopeful Rick Scott questions Department of Education
16:20 , Joe Sommerlad
We covered the question of the new Trump administration potentially abolishing the DOE a little earlier and here’s Florida Senator Rick Scott, who could be elected as Mitch McConnell’s replacement tomorrow, questioning its very existence.
Education should be left up to the states, Scott argues, just as Trump did about reproductive rights.
Trump reportedly eyeing Scott Bessent for treasury secretary
16:05 , Joe Sommerlad
Bloomberg is currently reporting that members of the president-elect’s inner circle are backing Scott Bessent, who runs macro hedge fund Key Square Group, to be his new treasury secretary, which would see him taking a role occupied by Steve Mnuchin last time around.
Trump-backing hedge fund chief John Paulson, meanwhile, has ruled himself out of the running, according to CNBC.
Here are a couple of Bessent’s post-election media appearances in which he outlines his fiscal philosophy, first with CNBC’s Squawk Box and then on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast.
Here he is attacking Kamala Harris as an “economic illiterate” on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show during the campaign for good measure.
Speaker Johnson says no election fraud this around
15:50 , Joe Sommerlad
House speaker Mike Johnson has just been giving a press conference on the steps of the Capitol at which he said he plans to spend his upcoming weekend at Mar-a-Lago hammering out strategy with Trump and that there was no election fraud this time around.
You can’t help but suspect he might have declared the exact opposite had Kamala Harris won in a landslide but here we are.
He also claimed to have no favorite in the Senate contest to replace Mitch McConnell, declining to back any of John Coryn, John Thune or Rick Scott.
Johnson further revealed that there are “preliminary plans” developing for Trump to visit Republicans on Capitol Hill tomorrow before he is received by Joe Biden at the White House at 11am ET.
Oprah Winfrey denies claims she was paid $1m by failed Harris campaign
15:35 , Joe Sommerlad
“Not true – I was paid nothing, ever,” said the TV star when buttonholed by a TMZ reporter on Monday and asked about the alleged fee.
Throughout the election, Kamala Harris wildly outraised and outspent her opponent, picking up numerous celebrity endorsements, including Winfrey’s – all in vain.
According to The Washington Examiner, her campaign spent more than $15m on production fees for events, as well as more than $654m on advertising between July 22 and November 5.
Io Dodds has more.
Oprah breaks silence on claims she was paid $1m for failed Kamala Harris campaign
Supreme Court rejects push to move Georgia case against ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows
15:20 , Joe Sommerlad
The US Supreme Court has refused to let former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows move the election interference case against him in Georgia to federal court.
Meadows was one of 19 people indicted in Georgia and accused of participating in an illegal scheme to keep then-president Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election.
Trump was also charged, though after he won re-election to a second term last week any trial appears unlikely, at least while he holds office. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
It’s unclear what affect the election results could have on others charged in the case, which is largely on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case.
Meadows had gone to the Supreme Court in an effort to move the charges out of Georgia courts. He argues the case belongs in federal court because it relates to his duties as a federal official and he pointed to the Supreme Court ruling giving Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution to support his argument.
“A White House chief of staff facing criminal charges based on actions relating to his work for the president of the United States should not be a close call – especially now that this court has recognized that federal immunity impacts what evidence can be considered, not just what conduct can form the basis for liability,” his attorneys wrote.
But prosecutors said that Meadows failed to show he was carrying out official duties during the alleged scheme, including participating in a phone call where Trump suggested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could help “find” votes he needed to win the state.
Mark Meadows (AP)
Breaking: Judge delays ruling on whether to dismiss Trump’s criminal conviction
15:05 , Joe Sommerlad
Judge Juan Merchan is postponing a decision on whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case because of a US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Judge Merchan had been set to rule Tuesday.
Instead, he told Trump’s lawyers this morning he’d delay the ruling until November 19.
According to emails filed in court, Trump’s lawyers asked for the delay over the weekend, arguing there are “strong reasons for the requested stay, and eventually dismissal of the case in the interests of justice.”
Here’s the very latest from Alex Woodward.
Judge delays decision on Trump’s attempt to throw out hush money conviction
Louisiana law that requires Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms deemed unconstitutional
15:00 , Joe Sommerlad
A federal judge has struck down a Louisiana law that required every public school and university classroom to display the Ten Commandments, drawing legal challenges from civil rights groups anticipating a Supreme Court battle with the state’s Republican governor.
The law clearly violates the First Amendment’s provisions against the government from establishing or favoring one religion over another, and from interfering with a right to practice a religion without government interference, according to the ruling.
There is a “real and substantial likelihood of coercion” if Louisiana students are forced to be a “captive audience” for “a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one posted in every single classroom,” District Judge John Wheadon deGravelles wrote on Tuesday.
The law signed by Governor Jeff Landry earlier this year — the first of its kind in the US — appears to be designed to invite a federal court battle that will work its way to the Supreme Court.
Conservative Christian legal groups have been angling for another shot at reversing Supreme Court rulings protecting the separation of church and state for decades.
Alex Woodward reports.
Judge strikes down Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms
Democrats in Congress race to blunt Trump’s agenda
14:45 , Joe Sommerlad
House Democrats are hoping to blunt Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda by putting pressure on President Biden before the Republican president-elect returns to the White House.
Trump is expected to enter office with GOP control of the House and Senate and plans to gut Biden’s achievements by reversing executive orders, swiftly passing an extension of his 2017 tax law and implementing anti-immigration measures aimed at the US-Mexico border.
The president-elect’s “day one” agenda includes an executive order that would end the legal right to citizenship for children born in the US if their parents are “illegal aliens.” His administration is also expected to revive a “denaturalization” plan that could strip Americans of their citizenship – a project that was abandoned in his first term.
Trump also has announced plans to mobilize federal, state and local law enforcement for a massive “deportation operation” that could see millions of people forcibly removed from the country.
But Democratic members of Congress are reportedly planning to push the Biden White House on bolstering immigration policy, including fast-tracking citizenship and legal residency paperwork for immigrants living in the US.
Alex Woodward has more.
Dems want to fast track citizenship in last-ditch effort to blunt Trump’s agenda
Republicans creep closer to securing House by slim margin – again
14:25 , Joe Sommerlad
The Republican Party is likely to retain control of the House of Representatives in the coming days, but with the makeup of the chamber virtually unchanged despite decisive victories in the presidential race and Senate contests.
GOP members are projected at this point to win a single-digit majority. Seventeen seats around the country remained up for grabs as of Monday evening, with Democrats currently leading in nine and Republicans in eight – in two cases, by just a few hundred votes.
Of the races already called, Republicans have secured 214 – four short of a majority. Democrats currently sit at 204 in the chamber.
Notable incumbents on both sides lost seats, including Anthony D’Esposito in the New York GOP and Pennsylvania’s Susan Wild on the Democratic side.
Here’s the latest from John Bowden.
Republicans creep closer to securing House of Representatives by slim margin — again
Fox News host Jesse Watters says his mom hasn’t invited him to Thanksgiving after Trump’s election win
14:05 , Joe Sommerlad
The anchor and staunch Trump supporter, who regularly shares details about clashes with his Democrat-voting mom, revealed on his show on Monday night: “People are taking some space in the Watters household.
“I’ll have you know that I wasn’t invited to my mother’s house for Thanksgiving.
“Apparently, there wasn’t enough room.
“She said it was a scheduling situation and then at the last second invited me to come over on Black Friday.
“I told her, ‘No thanks, I’ll be at Best Buy.’”
Rhian Lubin has more on this heart-breaking rift.
Jesse Watters says his mom hasn’t invited him to Thanksgiving after election
Melania Trump snubs Jill Biden’s White House meeting as first lady feud rumbles on
13:45 , Joe Sommerlad
The former first lady is said to have shunned an invitation from her successor for a post-election meeting at the White House later this week as the feud between the incoming and outgoing presidential wives rumbles on.
In recent months, Melania has re-entered the political spotlight thanks to the release of her self-titled memoir.
Though she largely avoided joining her husband Donald Trump on the campaign trail, a smiling Melania appeared by the president-elect’s side in Florida as he swept to victory on Election Night.
James Liddell has more.
Melania Trump snubs Jill Biden’s White House meeting as first lady feud rumbles on
Doug Burgum tipped to be Trump’s new ‘energy czar’
13:25 , Joe Sommerlad
The North Dakota Governor, a former presidential candidate himself, was in serious contention to be the Republican’s running mate before he opted for JD Vance instead.
But Burgum remained a reliable media performer on the 45th president’s behalf and looks like being rewarded with a place in his new cabinet, according to multiple media reports.
According to The New York Times, he has served as a useful liaison between Trump and America’s oil billionaires in recent months and would be expected to champion the incoming administration’s “drill baby drill” approach to fossil fuels.
Doug Burgum (AP)
Rubio’s past criticism of Trump comes back to haunt him on social media
13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
A few timely reminders here from X that the president-elect’s relationship with his new secretary of state was not always so cordial.
The feeling was mutual, incidently.
Watch: Jon Stewart criticises pundits for saying Democrats went ‘too woke’
12:40 , Joe Sommerlad
Back to late-night, where The Daily Show host offered a timely dismantling of the pundit class’s excuses for last week’s election disaster.
Greg Evans has more.
Jon Stewart names the one big problem with claiming the Democrats were ‘too woke’
Donald Trump Jr joining venture capital firm
12:20 , Joe Sommerlad
One person who won’t be part of the next Trump administration is the president-elect’s eldest son and namesake.
Don Jr is joining 1789 Capital instead, a venture capital firm that invests in conservative-leaning companies, according to multiple reports.
He has been involved in vetting potential members of his father’s new cabinet and was reportedly an influential voice behind the decision to pick Ohio Senator JD Vance and his running mate.
He was also a regular on the campaign trail and remains a popular presence in conservative media.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Donald Trump Jr gets a new job – but it’s not in his dad’s White House
Jimmy Kimmel savages Trump’s new partner ‘Elonia Musk’: ‘Like letting Dracula drive the blood mobile’
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
“Trump isn’t appointing comic book villains to run the government on his own. He’s been getting a lot of help from the richest man in the world,” the late-night host told his audience on Monday.
“Elon Musk has been in the room when world leaders have called Trump, and tonight we’ve learned he’s also weighing in on staffing decisions, making clear his preference for certain roles.
“He’s picking out outfits for Trump to wear, he’s been applying his bronzing cream to his face. Cute couple.
“Look out, Melania, Trump’s got a new squeeze named Elonia Musk.”
Rhian Lubin has more from Kimmel.
Jimmy Kimmel savages Trump’s new partner ‘Elonia Musk’
Rudy Giuliani says he can’t afford food after defamation payout
11:40 , Joe Sommerlad
Is there a more spectacular fall from grace than that suffered by “America’s mayor” since throwing in with Trump and backing his false 2020 election fraud narrative?
Giuliani is now claiming such hardship as a result of the court-ordered $150m compensation payout he was forced to make to Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman – the two Georgia election workers he was found guilty of defaming – that he can no longer afford a meal, despite, er, turning up to court in a Mercedes.
Here’s Rhian Lubin with more.
Rudy Giuliani says he can’t afford to buy food week after being pictured in Mercedes
Tom Homan threatens governors: ‘They better get the hell out of the way’
11:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s new border czar was busy making appearances on Fox News yesterday and struck an uncompromisingly macho note, warning Democratic governors not to interfere with his planned operations and moving to reassure Sean Hannity that American citizens will not get caught up in it all.
Will Trump eliminate the Department of Education?
11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
As we’ve seen, the president-elect has been moving fast in picking cabinet members, although he has so far largely focused on posts with responsibility for national security.
He has talked about making Elon Musk a commissioner in charge of cutting government inefficiency and has identified the Department of Education (DOE) as a clear target for cutbacks – or even abolition altogether.
Trump considers the DOE, created by Jimmy Carter in 1979, a source of needless interference into American family lives (think all of those “woke” culture war battles being fought in Florida schools about what books are made available and how history is taught) and an example of a poor return on investment for taxpayers.
The Republican complained on the campaign trail that the US spends three times more money on education than any other nation “and yet we are absolutely at the bottom, we’re one of the worst”.
He also bizarrely claimed, without evidence of course, that the DOE is staffed by officials who “in many cases, hate our children” and declared: “We want states to run the education of our children because they’ll do a much better job of it. You can’t do worse.”
The idea for closing the DOE altogether is listed in the Trump campaign’s Agenda47 list of election policies and in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page opus making recommendations for a future Republican administration that Trump had to work hard to distance himself from during the election cycle.
Less drastic steps are also raised in the Agenda47 proposals like cutting funding for schools that continue to teach critical race theory (a running conservative bugbear) and/or, as they put it, “transgender insanity” or awarding credentials to teachers who “embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life”.
We appear to be a long way from any of this happening but it’s certainly in the water.
Donald Trump delivers his victory speech in Florida last week (AP)
Trump ally Steve Bannon in court today
10:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect is not the only member of the MAGA-sphere awaiting the scales of justice today.
Trump’s former White House strategist and staunch ally Steve Bannon returns to a New York courtroom, having only been released from federal prison two weeks ago, in advance of his December trial for allegedly defrauding supporters of the 45th president’s attempt to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Bannon, the former Breitbart editor who is now primarily a podcaster, pleaded not guilty in 2022 to charges that he defrauded donors to “We Build the Wall”, an online fundraising effort to raise money for Trump’s signature policy.
The right-wing pundit told donors every cent they gave would go toward building the wall but prospectuses allege some of the $15m raised was secretly funnelled to Brian Kolfage, the campaign’s president.
Bannon’s trial is scheduled to begin on December 9 but he is trying to push it into January to give his attorney extra time to prepare.
Steve Bannon (AP)
