Donald Trump has confirmed he is prepared to declare a national emergency and use military assets to carry out his mass deportation campaign pledge.
Responding to a Truth Social post from Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch regarding reports that were the case, the president-elect wrote: “TRUE!!!”
As final votes are tallied from the November 5 election, Trump’s share of the popular vote has fallen below 50 percent and his mandate does not appear as sweeping as was first thought.
Nevertheless, as he continues to build his administration, Trump announced his latest nomination — “Warrior for Free Speech” Brendan Carr, who will be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the body that regulates US media.
Trump has yet to announce his choice for treasury secretary but two new candidates will reportedly be interviewed at Mar-a-Lago today: former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan.
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, and Key Square Capital Management founder Scott Bessant were favorites for the role but there appears to have been second thoughts.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has approved the use of American-made long-range missiles by Ukraine in its war against Russia, inspiring a conservative outcry.
Key Points
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Trump’s share of popular vote drops below 50% as true scale of mandate revealed
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Trump confirms he plans to use US military domestically for mass deportation
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Trump Media shares soar as report says company in talks to buy crypto trading platform
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Donald Trump picks Project 2025 co-author to lead FCC
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Morning Joe hosts reveal they went to Mar-a-Lago to ‘restart communications’ with Trump
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Trump dance takes the NFL by storm
Gaetz paid two House ethics committee witnesses for sex, lawyer says
21:45 , Oliver O’Connell
Two women who testified to the House Ethics Committee told investigators that now-former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz paid both of them for sex, according to their attorney.
One of his clients also told the committee that she had witnessed Gaetz having sex with a third woman who was 17 years old at the time.
“She testified that in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Representative Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,” attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.
Alex Woodward has the full story.
Matt Gaetz paid two ethics committee witnesses for sex, lawyer says
Is the shine coming off the Musk-Trump bromance for MAGAworld?
21:35 , Oliver O’Connell
John Bowden reports on how as Elon Musk pushes his influence on Trump cabinet picks, he starting to fall out with others surrounding the president-elect.
Elon Musk’s bromance with Trump is starting to irritate MAGAworld
Trump appears to be planning to attend SpaceX ‘Starship’ launch tomorrow
21:30 , Oliver O’Connell
President-elect Donald Trump appears to be planning to attend a SpaceX “Starship” rocket launch on Tuesday, in the latest indication of founder Elon Musk ‘s influence in the Republican’s orbit.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions over Brownsville and Boca Chica, Texas area for a VIP visit that coincides with the SpaceX launch window for a test of its massive Starship rocket from its launch facility on the Gulf of Mexico. The flight restrictions put in place over Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida when he is there will be lifted briefly while the Texas security measures are in place.
Read the full article here.
Profile: Attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz
21:20 , Josh Marcus
Donald Trump has announced he’s going to nominate former Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general.
In a statement, the president-elect praised Gaetz, 42, who has frequently defended Trump and criticized the various criminal and congressional probes against the Republican.
“On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization,” Trump wrote on Wednesday, calling Gaetz a “Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.”
Gaetz has faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing of his own, including a federal sex trafficking probe that ended without charges against him and a House ethics inquiry.
Here’s what you need to know about Gaetz, who was once dubbed the “Trumpiest Congressman” in Washington:
Who is Matt Gaetz? Trump’s attorney general nominee who is no stranger to controversy
Trump Media shares soar as report says company in talks to buy crypto trading platform
21:13 , Oliver O’Connell
The Financial Times reports that Trump Media is reportedly in “advanced talks” to buy the cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt. The outlet cited two people with knowledge of the talks.
Shares in both companies soared on the news with the the parent company of Truth Social shooting up by as much as 15 percent in the minutes after the report was published, CNBC reports.
Shares of Bakkt, created by Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, leaped more than 162 percent triggering repeated trading due to volatility in the price.
The share price of Trump Media has been on a rollercoaster ride since it went public earlier this year in the run-up to the presidential election. The company has reported a $363m net loss on revenues of just $2.6m so far this year, it boasts a market cap above $7bn.
Pennsylvania court rules mail-in ballots without dated signature will not be counted.
21:05 , Oliver O’Connell
Mail-in ballots that arrived in time but without a dated signature will bot be counted, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered.
Some county election boards had moved to segregate and count these ballots, citing mixed messages from earlier state court rulings.
The court ruled 4-3 against counting the ballots with two Republican and two Democrat judges forming the majority.
The many controversies of RFK Jr
21:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and former independent presidential candidate, has been tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services under Donald Trump’s government.
Kennedy ran an independent presidential campaign alongside running mate Nicole Shanahan, attempting to rival both Trump and Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. In August, Kennedy suspended his independent campaign for president and backed the now-president-elect.
The 70-year-old has spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, admitted to bizarrely dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park and allegedly engaged in an online relationship with a political reporter despite being married, among other incidents.
Now, he’s Trump’s pick to lead the nation in a mission to “make America healthy.”
Eric Garcia and Katie Hawkinson break down Kennedy’s most notable controversies as he gears up to potentially serve in Trump’s cabinet:
RFK Jr’s controversies: From dumping a bear in Central Park to a brain-eating worm
What have Trump’s cabinet nominees said about climate change?
20:40 , Julia Musto
As President-elect Donald Trump‘s picks for his upcoming administration continue to roll in, many have a noticeable link – their stance on climate change.
The former president, who has pledged to “drill, baby, drill,” while in office for his second term, has called climate change a “scam.” Many of his nominees share that thinking.
This year was the warmest in Earth’s record, fueled by the fossil fuel industry’s continued production of greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet’s atmosphere. Without reductions, Earth could pass worrisome tipping points, with consequences for all of its inhabitants.
Here’s where some of Trump’s cabinet picks stand on the issue:
Here are what Trump’s cabinet picks have said about climate change
He’s joke about it, but could Trump run again in 2028?
20:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump has repeatedly mused about the prospect of serving a constitutionally-barred third term as president, though his Republican colleagues insist he’s just joking.
Josh Marcus and Alex Woodward take a look.
Trump joked about a third term in 2028. So can he run again?
Biden seeks nearly $100bn in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton
20:10 , AP
President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters.
In a letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Biden said he has met firsthand with those harmed by the storms and heard what they need from the federal government. “Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities,” Biden said.
The largest share of the money, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. An additional $24 billion would help farmers and $12 billion would go toward community development block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Johnson, R-La., said Congress will evaluate the request and “we’ll make sure we deliver for the hurricane victims and the people that have suffered from that.”
Watch: CNN breaks down ‘depth’ of Trump’s 2024 victory
20:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Speaker Johnson denies consulting with Trump on Matt Gaetz ethics report
19:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Speaker Mike Johnson defended his call for the House Ethics Committee to withhold the release of its report on the investigation into Matt Gaetz and allegations that the former congressman engaged in sex crimes.
Johnson appeared across the DC news circuit on Sunday as he continues to ride the waves propelling his ascent in MAGAworld; his interviews with two networks came just hours after the GOP House leader was seen alongside Donald Trumpat the UFC championship at Madison Square Garden.
John Bowden reports.
Mike Johnson denies consulting with Trump on Matt Gaetz ethics report
Trump claims he has an ‘unprecedented’ mandate. Experts say it’s actually very small
19:30 , Oliver O’Connell
As the votes were tallied and the Electoral College map turned red, Donald Trump declared to supporters at his election night victory party that the American people had given him “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.” A wave of cabinet nominations consisting of MAGA loyalists and fringe figures in the days that followed showed he really believed it. There was to be no reaching across the aisle.
But Trump’s margin of victory, historically speaking, is very small, as Richard Hall explains.
Despite what he says, Trump actually has a very small mandate
Before Trump returns to White House, Haitian families are fleeing Springfield
19:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Haitian families are said to be leaving Springfield, Ohio, in droves over fears they’ll be rounded up and deported following Donald Trump’s re-election, according to reports.
Around 200,000 Haitian immigrants legally live and work in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – granting them immunity from deportation for a limited time because of emergency conditions in their home nation. Thousands of these have settled in Springfield – a city of about 58,000 residents.
Despite having legal status, the president-elect has signaled that immigrants living under TPS could have their status revoked.
James Liddell has the story.
Haitian families are fleeing Springfield before Trump returns to White House
Watch: State Dept will ensure successful transition to Secretary-designate Rubio
19:17 , Oliver O’Connell
Who does Elon Musk want Trump to pick as Treasury secretary?
19:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump’s search for someone to lead the Treasury Department continued over the weekend while one of his new close allies placed his thumb on the scale.
Elon Musk, the Twitter/X/Tesla/SpaceX CEO and top Trump booster, has been increasingly hanging around Mar-a-Lago and the president-elect himself in the days since Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. Having put a considerable sum behind backing Republicans this cycle, Musk seems eager for a return on his investment — he is now publicly urging the incoming president towards one of the two men seen as finalists for the job of Treasury secretary.
On Saturday — the same day he appeared alongside the president-elect at the UFC championship at Madison Square Garden — Musk made his appeal public.
John Bowden has the story.
Elon Musk wants this man to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary
Alex Jones-affiliated company affiliated seeks to disqualify The Onion’s auction bid on Infowars
18:50 , AP
A company affiliated with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asked a federal judge on Monday to disqualify a bid by the satirical news outlet The Onion to buy Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, alleging fraud and collusion.
The company, First United American Companies, which is affiliated with a Jones website that sells dietary supplements, was the only other bidder at the recent auction, offering $3.5 million. In a filing in federal bankruptcy court in Houston, a lawyer for the company asked the judge to declare it the winning bidder instead of The Onion.
The lawyer, Walter Cicack, claimed that the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the auction improperly colluded with The Onion and families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in naming The Onion the winning bidder. Cicack also alleged the trustee violated rules for the sale set by the judge, and said the company’s cash offer was twice the amount of The Onion’s.
The bankruptcy auction was held last week as part of the liquidation of Jones’ assets, including Infowars. Proceeds from the sale will go to Sandy Hook families and other creditors. Jones filed bankruptcy in 2022 after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits filed by the families for calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Chicago-based Global Tetrahedron, issued a statement Monday through a spokesperson.
“We’re obviously disappointed he’s lashing out by creating conspiracies, but we’re also not surprised,” he said, referring to Jones.
The bankruptcy trustee appointed to oversee the sale, Christopher Murray, declined to comment Monday. A lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, Christopher Mattei, also declined to comment.
In a response filed in court later Monday, Murray called the allegations “baseless.” He said the motion by First United American to disqualify The Onion was “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process.”
Murray also wrote, “Having failed in its prior efforts to bully the Trustee and his advisors into accepting its inferior bid, FUAC now alleges, without evidence, collusion and bad faith in an attempt to mislead the Court and disqualify its only competition in the auction.”
Continue reading the full article.
ICYMI: RFK Jr could soon oversee Health in the US – here’s the areas he will have control over
18:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
When president-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominateRobert F Kennedy Jr to be his secretary of Health and Human Services, the move shocked many. Kennedy, the son of the late senator from New York and US attorney general, has made a name for himself primarily promoting the bogus link that vaccines cause autism.
It is unclear whether Kennedy could get confirmed, even with a Republican Senate majority. Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, made the rare move of denouncing Kennedy as insufficiently opposed to abortion.
Needless to say, almost all, if not all, Democrats will oppose Kennedy’s confirmation. Plenty of Republicans might have some objections as well.
Continue reading…
RFK Jr could soon oversee Health in the US – here’s what he’ll have control over
Ruben Gallego begs Democrats to ditch ‘Ivy League’ advisers
18:20 , Oliver O’Connell
Kamala Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump was caused by many factors, and one of them was a surge of Latino support for the GOP ticket even as Democrats were confident that warnings about Trump’s mass deportation plan would prevent that from happening.
Now, one of the Democrats who won on November 5 despite the underperformance of the top of his party’s ticket is warning members of his party to actually listen to Latino voters if they want to win them back for future election cycles.
John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.
After beating Kari Lake, Gallego begs Democrats to ditch ‘Ivy League’ advisers
Trump thinks he can fix golf’s mess
18:05 , AP
President-elect Donald Trump boasted during the campaign he would need about 15 minutes to get a deal done between the PGA Tour and the Saudi investors of LIV Golf. That started with four hours on the golf course with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
The Washington Post reported Monahan accepted an invitation from Trump to play golf last Friday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The PGA Tour confirmed the outing in a statement.
Read the full article here.
18:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Kremlin responds after Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles in Russia
As Trump threatens to use military, polls show growing support for mass deportation
17:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump has confirmed the military could be used to carry out mass deportations, just as a new review of polling revealed growing support for his approach to tackling illegal immigration.
The president-elect also suggested a national emergency could be declared on the issue once he is in power when he responded to a supporter’s post on his Truth Social platform on Monday morning.
Alex Woodward reports.
Polls show growing support for mass deportation as Trump threatens to use military
20% of Americans are now getting their news from influencers on X
17:20 , AP
About one in five Americans – and a virtually identical share of Republicans and Democrats – regularly get their news from digital influencers who are more likely to be found on the social media platform X, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center.
The findings, drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults and an analysis of social media posts posted this summer by influencers, provide an indication of how Americans consumed the news during the height of the U.S. presidential campaign that President-elect Donald Trump ultimately won.
Continue reading…
20% of Americans are now getting their news from influencers on X
Hovde concedes to incumbent Democrat Baldwin in Wisconsin Senate race
17:10 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Hovde, the Republican challenger to Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, has conceded the race in a video message. He says that he won’t request a recount as he doesn’t want to add to “political strife”
Senator Baldwin’s lead is just over 27,000 votes, out of more than 3 million cast.
DeSantis addresses upcoming Florida Senate vacancy as Rubio departs for Trump admin role
17:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has released a statement about the upcoming vacancy in the Senate when Florida Senator Marco Rubio departs for his new role as Secretary of State for Donald Trump’s second administration.
It is the role of the governor to appoint an interim senator to serve in the role ahead of a special election likely in the 2026 mid-terms.
DeSantis writes:
Senator Marco Rubio is expected to resign from the Senate to assume duties as Secretary of State when the Trump administration takes power on January 20th, creating a vacancy roughly two months from today.
We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting. More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.
Florida deserves a Senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results.
Watch: CNN breaks down ‘depth’ of Trump’s 2024 victory
16:50 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump dance takes the NFL by storm
16:41 , AP
Yes. That dance.
The Trump dance takes the NFL by storm
Don Jr hints about ‘backup plans’ if controversial picks don’t get confirmed
16:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump Jr suggests that his father has “backup plans” if his cabinet picks aren’t confirmed by the Senate.
Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Robert F Kennedy Jr are receiving the most pushback in President-elect Donald Trump’s list of controversial cabinet picks. But his eldest son told Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that even if the Senate doesn’t confirm some of his nominees, Trump has a plan B.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Don Jr hints Trump has ‘backup plans’ if controversial picks don’t get confirmed
Watch: Morning Joe hosts reveal they went to Mar-a-Lago to ‘restart communications’ with Trump
16:10 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump feels ‘obligation’ to Americans to work with press, even those who treat him badly
15:50 , Oliver O’Connell
In an interview with Fox News Digital this morning, Donald Trump said that it is “vital” to have a “free, fair and open media” and that he feels he has “an obligation” to the American people to work with the press — even those who had treated him “badly beyond comprehension”.
The president-elect also spoke of his meeting with the MSNBC hosts of Morning Joe: “I received a call from Joe Scarborough requesting a meeting for him and Mika [Brzezinski], and I agreed that it would be a good thing if such meeting took place.”
Trump said he met with the two at 8am on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago and that it was “extremely cordial”.
“Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication,” he said. “In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago.”
The president-elect said they discussed his campaign and his cabinet picks and the meeting ended with an agreement to speak in the future.
He said his obligation is “to be open and available to the press” but added: “If not treated fairly, however, that will end.”
Over half of voters were surprised by Trump’s win – including Republicans, new poll reveals
15:30 , Joe Sommerlad
A majority of Americans were surprised by Trump’s win in the presidential election – including 43 percent of Republicans, according to exclusive data.
A poll of 1,941 US adults by Prolific, exclusively for The Independent, found that, following months of predictions on a knife’s edge, Americans on all sides ended up being surprised by the final outcome of the White House race.
Some 54 percent of people were at least quite surprised by the outcome of the election, with 14 percent of those “very surprised.”
A third were not very surprised, and 16 percent not surprised at all.
Here’s more from Alicja Hagopian.
Over half of voters were surprised by Trump’s win — including Republicans
Musk is fighting with top Trump adviser on cabinet picks
15:20 , Oliver O’Connell
The world’s richest man has appointed himself Donald Trump’s “first buddy” as he plays an influential role shaping the incoming administration, but tension between Trump’s closest allies and Elon Musk is reportedly boiling over.
Musk is clashing with longtime Trump attorney and adviser Boris Epshteyn, including questioning his influence in president-elect’s nominations for his Cabinet and top White House jobs, Axios has reported, citing people familiar with the conversations.
Alex Woodward reports.
Musk is fighting with top Trump adviser on cabinet picks
Trump’s pick of Marco Rubio as secretary of state ignites fears of fiercer US-China rivalry
15:15 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect once belittled him as “Little Marco” and a “choke artist”, only to then nominate him as his US secretary of state and describe him as “a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries”.
The Florida Senator’s appointment as arguably the most powerful diplomat in the world will likely reshape American foreign policy towards allies and rivals alike – and dealing with China’s continued economic, diplomatic and military rise is set to be one of his top priorities.
That Trump moved swiftly to staff his foreign policy and national security team with China hawks is an indication that relations between the two superpowers will deteriorate further, writes Shweta Sharma.
Trump’s pick of Marco Rubio ignites fears of tougher US-China rivalry in second term
House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday about Gaetz report
15:07 , Oliver O’Connell
The House Ethics Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss its long-awaited report on former congressman Matt Gaetz, CNN reports.
A planned meeting was postponed last week following news of Gaetz’s sudden resignation after his nomination to the post of Attorney General by President-elect Donald Trump.
Even Matt Gaetz’s dad was surprised Trump picked him for attorney general
15:00 , Joe Sommerlad
A number of the president-elect’s nominations to his new cabinet have raised eyebrows among political observers, but none more so than Matt Gaetz, who has been tapped to become America’s next attorney general.
Gaetz, 42, is known as a MAGA firebrand on Capitol Hill who was instrumental in the ousting of previous House speaker Kevin McCarthy.
He is also known for being the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) sex trafficking investigation and House Ethics Committee probe.
He has never been criminally charged and denies the allegations.
Few, it seems, saw him as a likely head of the DOJ – and, it turns out, that includes Gaetz’s his own father.
Even Matt Gaetz’s dad was surprised Trump picked him for attorney general
MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ hosts traveled to Florida to meet with Trump
14:42 , Oliver O’Connell
Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Mar-a-Lago to meet President-elect Donald Trump, they revealed.
Scarborough and Brzezinski have been highly critical of Trump leading up to the election, calling him “erratic,” slamming his election fraud efforts and warning of “how dark of a place” the US would be if Trump won. But after airing their concerns with a second Trump presidency, the pair met with Trump Friday for the first time in seven years to “restart communications.”
Kelly Rissman has the story.
‘Morning Joe’ hosts traveled to meet with Trump and ‘restart communications’
The Trump dance takes the NFL by storm
14:30 , Joe Sommerlad
LA Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Detroit Lions defenders Malcolm Rodriguez and Za’Darius Smith and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley were all doing the president-elect’s signature move at the weekend.
It’s even reached League One in England, thanks to Barnsley FC.
Here’s more.
The Trump dance takes the NFL by storm
CBS’s 60 Minutes sparks right-wing backlash over brutal takedown of Trump’s cabinet picks
14:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Host Scott Pelley began Sunday’s show with a monologue dissecting Donald Trump’s choices for his future administration, detailing one-by-one how the likes of Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr have “no compelling qualifications” and “no government experience” to take up the jobs they’ve been nominated for.
Trump’s incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung took to X shortly after to claim that Pelley’s segment was riddled with “disgusting bias” and was soon joined in his outrage by Elon Musk, Charlie Kirk and many other members of the MAGA-verse.
Here’s more from James Liddell.
60 Minutes sparks right-wing backlash over brutal takedown of Trump’s cabinet picks
RFK Jr dines on McDonald’s with Trump as ex-health sec warns role is ‘life or death’
14:10 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was pictured looking slightly awkward in the company of Don Jr, Elon Musk and Mike Johnson over the weekend as the group posed with boxes of McDonald’s junk food aboard the Republican’s private plane.
That “Make America Healthy Again” agenda already appears to be in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, this is what one of RFK Jr’s predecessors in that office, Kathleen Sebelius, had to tell MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart about the seriousness of the role the notorious vaccine sceptic has been nominated to:
“I think that we’re talking about magnitudes of danger beyond erroneously making legal decisions. This is life or death. The HHS affects people from birth to their grave and is intimately connected with every state in the country. So this could be very dangerous. I think it’s totally disqualifying for anyone who seeks to lead the major health agency in this country and one of the leaders in the world to just unequivocally say there is no safe and effective vaccine.
“That in and of itself, from the bully pulpit of HHS, could end up killing people, could end up harming children. My grandson is too young to get a lot of vaccinations yet, and having him exposed to unvaccinated people with polio and measles is a terrifying thought. Having eradicated those diseases as a major health initiative, Jonathan, I think this is absolutely terrifying and people should understand how serious it is.”
Truth Social: Trump hints he will declare national emergency and deploy military to start mass deportation program
14:05 , Joe Sommerlad
This was the president-elect early this morning, reposting a claim from Judicial Watch founder Tom Fitton and endorsing it.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr accuse Biden of trying to start WWIII with Ukraine missiles move
13:45 , Joe Sommerlad
The president has authorised Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike hundreds of miles inside Russia for the first time, according to reports.
The decision marks a major policy shift and comes after Russia warned that it would interpret the move to permit the use of US-made missiles as an “escalation”.
With Biden leaving office in two months, President-Elect Trump has indicated he will limit American support for Ukraine and has pledged to end the war quickly.
His predecessor’s decision has already led both Donald Trump Jr and Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to accuse Biden of attempting to start a Third World War.
James Liddell has more.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr accuse Biden of trying to start WWIII
Trump to interview treasury secretary candidates at Mar-a-Lago
13:30 , Joe Sommerlad
The Republican has yet to announce his choice for treasury secretary and two new candidates for the position will reportedly be interviewed at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday: former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan.
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, and Key Square Capital Management founder Scott Bessant were thought to be first in the line for the role but the incoming president is understood to be having second thoughts, according to The New York Times.
Elon Musk appears to favor Lutnick, hinting at the first significant difference of opinion between the president-elect and his influential backer.
Here’s James Liddell with the very latest.
Trump throws two more names into ring for treasury secretary
Donald Trump picks Project 2025 co-author to lead FCC
13:15 , Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump has announced his latest cabinet pick, nominating Brendan Carr to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the body charged with regulating the US media.
Currently a commissioner with the FCC, Carr contributed to the controversial Project 2025 manifesto and was described by the president-elect as “a warrior for Free Speech… [who] has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy.
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”
The pundits are already looking ahead to his possible role in realising Trump’s threat to revoke broadcast licences and benefiting Elon Musk.
Hello and welcome!
13:10 , Joe Sommerlad
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the incoming Donald Trump administration as the president-elect continues to announce appointments to his next administration.
