President-elect Donald Trump is making pivotal picks for his second administration, including tapping Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving top immigration advisers, as deputy chief of staff for policy in the incoming White House.
The quick appointment of the hardline conservative signals Trump plans to move aggressively on the “America first” agenda he ran on. Miller was picked before traditional national security roles such as attorney general, secretaries of State and Defense, and national security adviser.
-
Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will become a “border czar” overseeing deportation policy.
-
Trump also named Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the next ambassador to the United Nations.
-
Trump’s choices come as Republicans are poised to keep control of the House. Remember, a party needs 218 seats to lead the lower chamber, and Republicans have locked up 213 so far compared to Democrats’ 203.
Keep up with live updates from the USA TODAY Network.
Former Kamala Harris aide says Joe Biden should resign so she can serve as 47th president
Jamal Simmons, a former communications director for Kamala Harris, made an unlikely suggestion about how the vice president might still have a chance of becoming president in 2024: If Joe Biden steps down from office.
Asked on Sunday what they thought would be the most important thing to watch for in the 71 days until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, panelists on CNN’s “State of the Union” Scott Jennings, Ashley Allison and Brad Todd pointed to the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza or Trump’s actions while setting up his administration.
Simmons went in a different direction. Biden, he said, “could resign the presidency in the next 30 days (and) make Kamala Harris the president of the United States.”
“Joe Biden’s been a phenomenal president,” Simmons said. “He’s lived up to so many of the promises he’s made. There’s one promise left that he can fulfill: being a transitional figure.”
– George Fabe Russell
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt pulls out of attorney general’s race
The jockeying for jobs in the next Trump administration is well underway – and is starting to include the names of people who are pulling themselves out of the various races.
For example: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., confirmed Monday he has asked Trump transition officials not to consider him for attorney general.
“I ran for the U.S. Senate to represent the people of the Show Me State and I’m just getting started,” Schmitt said in a post on X.
Among the names thought to still be under consideration for the Justice Department: Mike Lee, a senator from Utah; John Ratcliffe, Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence, and Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant attorney general.
– David Jackson
Trump advised Putin not to escalate war with Ukraine
President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters on Sunday, as President Joe Biden plans to urge Trump not to abandon Kyiv.
Trump and Putin spoke in recent days, said the source. Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. Trump has criticized the scale of U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv, vowing to end the war quickly, without saying how.
– Reuters
Stephen Miller named Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy
Donald Trump has tapped Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving top immigration advisers, as deputy chief of staff for policy in the incoming White House.
Vice President-elect JD Vance congratulated Miller on his new role in a post on X after CNN first reported the move. “This is another fantastic pick by the president,” Vance said.
Miller’s appointment comes after Trump campaigned for president in 2024 on mobilizing mass deportations of undocumented immigrants who are in the country unlawfully.
Miller, 39, served as senior advisor to Trump and director of speechwriting during the Republican’s first term in the White House and is credited with shaping Trump’s immigration policies, which included separating migrant children from their families and a ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries. Miller played a central role in Trump’s 2024 campaign.
– Joey Garrison
Who will control the House next year? What about the Senate?
Republicans will take control of the Senate from Democrats in 2025. They’re expected to control the chamber 53-47, though one Senate race in Arizona hasn’t formally been called.
In the House, either party would need 218 seats to take control of the chamber. Republicans are poised to reach that crucial number: Of the 435 seats in the House, 203 have been called for Democrats, and 213 have been called for Republicans.
– Marina Pitofsky
Donald Trump picks Tom Homan, former head of immigration enforcement, to be ‘border czar’
Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will become a “border czar” overseeing deportation policy for undocumented immigrants and aviation security, President-elect Donald Trump announced.
Homan was a controversial figure in Trump’s first term because he oversaw the “zero tolerance” policy that separated families of undocumented immigrants.
But he has been a vocal defender of strict immigration enforcement for Trump, who vowed a mass deportation of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants will begin on his first day in office Jan. 20.
– Bart Jansen
Who is Elise Stefanik? Donald Trump picks major House ally to be next UN ambassador
Donald Trump has named Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, according to multiplereports. The New York lawmaker has accepted the offer.
Trump’s nomination of Stefanik, a longtime congressional ally, is his first cabinet pick after being reelected Tuesday for a second, nonconsecutive term in the White House.
One of Stefanik’s most prominent moments came last year during a congressional hearing with college presidents from Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. During the hearing, she asked them whether calling for the genocide of Jews warranted disciplinary action.
All three presidents waffled and dodged the question, instead offering legal responses without directly condemning calling for the genocide of Jews. Two of the presidents, former Penn president Liz Magill, and former Harvard President Claudine Gay, have since left their posts.
– Savannah Kuchar
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump transition updates: Picks for UN ambassador, border czar are in
