Donald Trump has accused Iowa pollster Ann Selzer of “possible election fraud.”
Selzer announced her retirement weeks after the Des Moines Register’s respected Iowa Poll incorrectly showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a 3 percentage point lead over Trump in the state.
Trump slammed the poll in a Truth Social post on Sunday, claiming it caused “great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time.”
“Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited ‘newspaper’ for which she works. An investigation is fully called for!” Trump fumed.
Meanwhile, after attending a UFC event at Madison Square Garden with his entourage, Trump’s cabinet picks continue to cause headaches for his transition team.
New details emerged over the weekend about the sexual assault allegation against Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to run the Department of Defense.
And a woman who gave testimony to the House Ethics Committee probing Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general, claims that she witnessed him having sex with a minor, her lawyer said. Gaetz denies all wrongdoing.
Trump also revealed his choice for energy secretary is oil CEO Chris Wright.
Key Points
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Trump accuses Iowa pollster of ‘possible election fraud’
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Pete Hegseth paid woman as part of NDA after she accused him of sexual assault, report claims
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Donald Trump, DJT Jr, Elon Musk and RFK pose with McDonald’s
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Trump defense pick Pete Hegseth ‘faced sexual misconduct claims investigated by police’
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Trump names oil boss Chris Wright as his pick for Energy Secretary
Explainer: Will Trump’s cabinet picks get approved?
01:30 , Rhian Lubin
In addition to the 15 officials Trump will choose to join his cabinet, there are hundreds of positions, including ambassadors and lower-level roles, that typically require Senate approval.
Nominees face a grilling during the Senate confirmation process as it typically requires them to submit financial disclosures and testify before a committee.
Members from both political parties get a chance to interrogate nominees about their plans for the post and their backgrounds.
The Senate committee votes on the nominee following the hearing and if it passes, it then goes to the full Senate for a vote.
However, Trump has signaled he could bypass the process via recess appointments.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote in a social media post on X last weekend before John Thune was confirmed as the next majority leader, replacing the outgoing Mitch McConnell.
Recess appointments would allow Trump to make administration appointments without a vote in the Senate while the upper chamber is in recess. The process is not unconstitutional, and it has been done before by other administrations.
Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments while in the White House, and Barack Obama made 32. George W. Bush made 171, ABC noted, according to the Congressional Research Service.
After beating Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego begs Democrats to ditch ‘Ivy League’ advisers
01:00 , Rhian Lubin
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.
Ruben Gallego, the senator-elect from Arizona, said on CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats too readily dismissed real economic hardships for lower and middle income Americans in favor of statistics purporting the economy to be getting better overall.
He explained to host Jake Tapper that he’d seen the results of inflation in his neighborhood — people increasingly buying offbrand groceries rather than higher-quality items, and feeling the hurt in their checking accounts regardless. Gallego also pointed to credit card debt, which is at an all-time high across the United States, as evidence that many people are still suffering from residual financial stresses stemming from the Covid pandemic.
“Yes, costs were going down. [But] people were still paying down credit card debt that they used, basically, to survive,” he said.
John Bowden has the details.
After beating Kari Lake, Gallego begs Democrats to ditch ‘Ivy League’ advisers
Trump announces ‘warrior for free speech’ Brendan Carr as FCC chairman
00:38 , Rhian Lubin
Trump has announced Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Below is the president-elect’s full statement:
“I am pleased to announce that Commissioner Brendan Carr will be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Commissioner Carr currently serves as the senior Republican on the FCC. Before that, he was the FCC’s General Counsel. I first nominated Commissioner Carr to the FCC in 2017, and he has been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times.
His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman. Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and 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. Commissioner Carr has served at the FCC since 2012, including as an Advisor to then FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai. Earlier in his career, Commissioner Carr worked as an attorney specializing in Appellate, Litigation, and Regulatory matters.
Previously, Commissioner Carr clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Judge Dennis Shedd. After attending Georgetown University for his undergrad, Commissioner Carr earned his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where he served as an Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. Congratulations to Chairman Brendan Carr on a job well done. Lead us into a great future, Brendan!”
Elon Musk wants this man to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary
00:30 , Rhian Lubin
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 reports.
Elon Musk wants this man to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary
‘We’re so back’: How the Heritage Foundation is creeping back into Trump’s sphere after months of criticism
00:00 , Rhian Lubin
After Donald Trump attempted to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, the organization behind it “kind of went dark,” an official admitted.
Kamala Harris linked the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 – a radical conservative 900-page blueprint for the second Trump administration, which includes proposals for shutting down the Department of Education and federal limits on abortion – to the Trump campaign.
After Democrats hit Project 2025 hard in campaign ads, the organization faced widespread backlash and had no choice but to quietly back away. Trump’s campaign also publicly shunned the proposals. “We did not anticipate that,” a Heritage official told Politico’s Playbook. “And wish it didn’t happen. But you know, we had to do what we had to do.”
Their president, Kevin Roberts, even pushed his own book publication launch back from September to after the election.
Now the book, titled Dawn’s Early Light, the foreword of which is penned by vice president-elect JD Vance, has been published, and the mood seems to be changing in the group, who are creeping back out of the shadows into Trump’s sphere after months of fierce criticism.
Last week in Washington D.C, the group marked the book’s publication with a cocktail party where one Heritage official, with “a nervous laugh,” told Politico’s Playbook: “We’re so back.”
Read more below.
‘We’re so back’: How the Heritage Foundation is creeping back into Trump’s sphere
Trump accuses Iowa pollster of ‘possible election fraud’
23:40 , Rhian Lubin
Donald Trump has slammed the Iowa pollster behind the Des Moines Register’s respected Iowa Poll and accused her of “possible election fraud.”
Ann Selzer has announced her retirement just weeks after the survey incorrectly showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a 3 percentage point lead over Trump in the state.
“A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social tonight. “She knew exactly what she was doing.
“Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited “newspaper” for which she works. An investigation is fully called for!”
Inside the Harris campaign’s 15-week, $1.5 billion spending spree that has left Democrats looking for answers
23:21 , Rhian Lubin
The Harris campaign burned through $1.5 billion in a failed bid to send the vice president to the White House, and now Democrats are searching for answers after the stunning defeat.
Kamala Harris’s 15-week operation splashed out on celebrity concerts, social media influencers, an Oprah town hall event, and ramped up its advertising campaign and ground game at an average cost of roughly $100 million a week, according to The New York Times.
The biggest expense, according to the outlet, was the campaign’s advertising spend – including producing television and digital ads – which amounted to $494 million between July 21 and October 16.
Read more.
Harris campaign’s $1.5 billion spending spree leaves Democrats looking for answers
WATCH: Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia for first time
21:50 , Graig Graziosi
WATCH: Biden sends climate warning to President-elect Trump in historic Amazon speech
21:36 , Graig Graziosi
Biden sends climate warning to President-elect Trump in historic Amazon speech
Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia for first time
21:10 , Graig Graziosi
Joe Biden 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 Moscow would see the move to allow the use of US-made missiles as an “escalation.” With Biden leaving office in two months, president-elect Donald Trump has indicated he will limit American support for Ukraine and pledged end the war quickly once he takes office in January.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has campaigned for months to allow Ukraine’s military to use US weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border, and retains important allies in both parties in Congress.
READ MORE:
Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles inside Russia for first time
Biden insists that “nobody” can reverse the “clean energy revolution”
20:42 , Graig Graziosi
Joe Biden addressed a crowd today in Brazil, where he visited the Amazon Rainforest on his way to the G20 Summit in Rio de Janiero.
He insisted that “nobody” — just months before his successor President-elect Donald Trump takes office — can reverse the “clean energy revolution.”
“I will leave my successor and my country with a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so,” Biden said. “It’s true, some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that’s under way in America, but nobody, nobody can reverse it.”
Elon Musk wants this man to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary
20:11 , Graig Graziosi
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.
READ MORE:
Elon Musk wants this man to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
19:27 , Graig Graziosi
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.
READ MORE:
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
Donald Trump shares photos from UFC fight, of him with RFK Jr
19:08 , Graig Graziosi
Iowa pollster Ann Selzer to retire after ‘big miss’ predicting Kamala Harris win in Iowa
18:43 , Graig Graziosi
Ann Selzer, the pollster behind the Des Moines Register’s respected Iowa Poll, has announced her retirement just weeks after the survey incorrectly showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a 3 percentage point lead over Donald Trump in Iowa.
Just before Election Day, the poll showed Harris leading Trump 44-47 among likely voters. The news was a last minute injection of hope for Democrat voters desperate to keep Trump out of the White House.
Those hopes turned to ash on Election Day; Trump defeated Harris soundly, 56 to 43 per cent.
Selzer penned a guest column in the Des Moines Register announcing her retirement. After the poll failed to reflect reality, she called it a “big miss” and theorized that her poll may have “energize[d] and activate[d] Republican voters who thought they would likely coast to a victory.”
READ MORE:
Pollster Ann Selzer to retire after ‘big miss’ predicting Kamala Harris win in Iowa
WATCH: Jon Jones gives UFC championship belt to Donald Trump
18:00 , Graig Graziosi
Mike Johnson denies consulting with Trump on Matt Gaetz ethics report
17:32 , Graig Graziosi
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.
On Sunday, the speaker faced expected questions about the former and soon-to-be-president’s most controversial Cabinet nomination: Matt Gaetz, the one-congressman from Florida, who was picked to be Trump’s attorney general. Gaetz was once investigated by the same Justice Department he now seeks to lead for allegedly having sex with an underage girl; he has strongly denied the allegations.
READ MORE:
Mike Johnson denies consulting with Trump on Matt Gaetz ethics report
SNL skewers Donald Trump’s ‘crazy’ cabinet picks in brutal Cold Open
16:49 , Graig Graziosi
Saturday Night Live took a hit at Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet picks in their Cold Open sketch on Saturday night.
The skit, which started by poking fun at Trump and President Joe Biden’s transition meeting, took jabs at the many people who could join the president-elect’s cabinet come January.
“It’s all about surrounding yourself with the best people,” comedian James Austin Johnson said, playing Trump in the sketch. “And I am very vastly picking the most epic cabinet of all time. They’re some of the most dynamic, free-thinking, animal-killing, sexually-criminal, medically-crazy people in the country.”
READ MORE:
SNL skewers Donald Trump’s ‘crazy’ cabinet picks in brutal Cold Open
Elon Musk says he wants ‘super high IQ’ workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
15:54 , Graig Graziosi
Elon Musk is looking for a few good “super high-IQ” volunteers to do the “tedious work” of gutting the federal government.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — whose acronym is DOGE — is apparently recruiting unpaid volunteers from X, according to posts from the nascent agency.
A post made by the department’s account said it was looking for the “top 1 percent” of X applicants who have a “super high-IQ” and are “small-government revolutionaries” to work 80-plus hour weeks identifying allegedly wasteful government spending.READ MORE:
Elon Musk says he wants “super high IQ” workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
Donald Trump, DJT Jr, Elon Musk and RFK pose with McDonald’s
15:25 , Graig Graziosi
A new Donald Trump with McDonald’s picture just dropped.
President-elect Donald Trump, his son Don Jr, Tesla/X CEO Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr posed for a photo together on what appears to be a private plane. In front of them are trays of McDonald’s. RFK Jr, who Trump wants to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, appears less than enthused to be associated with the fast food, though he may have just been caught off guard by the camera.
A caption on the picture read “Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW.”
Donald Trump fist pumps UFC crowd as president-elect joined by Elon Musk and Dana White
15:00 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Madison Square Garden for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday night (16 November).
The president-elect returned to the famed venue just weeks after it played host to a controversial campaign rally.
Trump entered the stadium with Elon Musk and Dana White to rapturous applause and was seen chatting with several members of his entourage.
WATCH HERE:
Trump fist pumps UFC crowd as president-elect joined by Elon Musk and Dana White
Elon Musk says he wants ‘super high IQ’ workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
15:00 , Graig Graziosi
Elon Musk is looking for a few good “super high-IQ” volunteers to do the “tedious work” of gutting the federal government.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — whose acronym is DOGE — is apparently recruiting unpaid volunteers from X, according to posts from the nascent agency.
A post made by the department’s account said it was looking for the “top 1 percent” of X applicants who have a “super high-IQ” and are “small-government revolutionaries” to work 80-plus hour weeks identifying allegedly wasteful government spending.
Read more:
Elon Musk says he wants “super high IQ” workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
Many of Trump’s nominees for key roles are his MAGA friends. They’ve also questioned climate change
14:43 , Graig Graziosi
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.
READ MORE:
Here are what Trump’s cabinet picks have said about climate change
ANALYSIS: Trump’s controversial cabinet picks will cost him political capital. Will they bankrupt him before he even takes office?
14:15 , Andrew Feinberg
Just over a week ago, Donald Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win both the Electoral College and the national popular vote since George W Bush in 2004.
And he appears to be repeating one of Bush’s most infamous mistakes.
Read more:
Trump’s latest cabinet picks could echo a major Bush-era post-election blunder
Watch: Progressive members of Congress brace for ‘challenging’ Trump fights
13:30 , Katie Hawkinson
ICYMI: Trump was convicted in his hush money case. His lawyers were rewarded with top Justice Department jobs
12:45 , Katie Hawkinson
Three attorneys central to Trump’s criminal defense and ‘immunity’ victory could lead the daily operations of a Justice Department the president-elect wants to upend, The Independent’s Alex Woodward reports:
Trump’s hush money lawyers are rewarded with top Justice Department jobs
‘He’s like the sleeper’: Lara Trump details Barron’s influence over his father
12:00 , Rhian Lubin
Lara Trump has shared details of how Barron influenced his father – and said the teenager should be given “serious credit” for his role in getting Donald Trump reelected.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, who is married to Eric, gushed about 18-year-old Barron on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, explaining that the NYU student stayed in the shadows when it came to the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Barron Trump is so cool. He’s like the sleeper a little bit. He’s kind of stayed out of the spotlight, probably intentionally,” she said.
Read on:
‘He’s like the sleeper’: Lara Trump details Barron’s influence over his father
See it: Trump returns to Madison Square Garden for UFC event
11:15 , Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump shakes hands with Joe Rogan at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (Getty Images)
Donald Trump poses for a photo with Kid Rock and Elon Musk at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (AP)
Donald Trump walks through the crowd at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (AP)
Democrats want to tear up 2028 primaries schedule after crushing 2024 defeats
10:30 , Katie Hawkinson
Democrats are already looking to revamp their primary schedule for 2028 following their electoral loss this year.
Just days after Kamala Harris lost her bid for the White House and Democrats lost their majority in the Senate, Democratic National Committee members are gearing up to draft a new order of states for the 2028 presidential primary, NBC News reports.
“The 2024 calendar will absolutely not be the calendar for 2028,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb told the outlet.
Read on:
Democrats want to tear up 2028 primaries schedule after crushing 2024 defeats
ICYMI: Jake Tapper shares five words he ‘never contemplated using’ to describe Trump’s cabinet pick
09:45 , Katie Hawkinson
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
09:00 , Katie Hawkinson
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far:
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
ICYMI: Jimmy Kimmel savages Trump’s new partner ‘Elonia Musk’
08:15 , Katie Hawkinson
Joe Rogan says many celebrities privately ‘thanked’ him for Trump endorsement
07:30 , Inga Parkel
Joe Rogan has claimed that several people in the entertainment industry have thanked him for endorsing President-elect Donald Trump.
Speaking on a recent episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the 57-year-old host shared that he had received praise from artists, musicians, and comedians for publicly supporting Trump in the 2024 election.
“A lot of what people say, they say it because they don’t want people to attack them. They say it because they think that if they say it, it will clear them, they’ll be OK,” Rogan said. “If you say you support ‘x’ – you might not even support ‘x’ – but if you say you support ‘x,’ you’re not going to get attacked and the right people will leave you alone or agree with you and appreciate you or praise you.”
Read on:
Joe Rogan says many celebrities privately ‘thanked’ him for Trump endorsement
Watch: Trump releases new ad stating ‘everyone thought he was done’ after winning presidency
06:45 , Katie Hawkinson
ICYMI: Jared Kushner expected to be an ‘outside adviser’ to Trump on Middle East
06:00 , Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is expected to be an “outside adviser” to the President-elect on Middle East issues, though reportedly may not have an official role in the administration.
Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, is a trusted advisor to the President-elect, having built up strong regional relationships during his time serving in the first Trump presidency from 2017 to 2021.
“No one on the incoming team has what Jared has, and that is trust. Jared earned it, he didn’t have it at the beginning. He earned it. That takes time to build,” a regional diplomat who worked with Kushner previously told CNN.
Continue reading:
Jared Kushner expected to be an ‘outside adviser’ to Trump on Middle East
Full story: Trump emerges from Mar-a-Lago seclusion to raucous reception at UFC with key allies
05:15 , Alex Pattle, Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump returned to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, attending UFC 309 with Dana White, president of the mixed martial arts promotion, and several other close Republican allies.
Trump has attended numerous UFC events with White, who spoke at the president-elect’s victory celebration earlier this month in Mar-a-Lago. And on Saturday, he was ringside at UFC 309 in New York City’s MSG. Trump has spent much of his time post-election at his Florida resort, making his attendance one of few public appearances since he secured the White House.
Read on:
Donald Trump to return to MSG weeks after controversial rally for UFC 309 – reports
Trump’s family won’t be in the White House, but they’ll be just as influential on the outside
04:30 , Josh Marcus
The first time Donald Trump was president, it was decidedly a family affair.
His wife Melania and young son Barron joined him in the presidential living quarters. His adult daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner served as top White House advisers. Sons Eric and Donald Jr. looked after the family business, the Trump Organization, which holds real estate across the world. Those properties resulted in the Trumps allegedly racking up thousands of conflicts of interest during his presidency, according to ethics experts.
This time around, things will look a bit different at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Read more:
Trump family won’t be in the White House, but they’ll be just as influential outside
Drugmakers see stocks tank after RFK Jr is nominated to oversee health department
03:45 , Gustaf Kilander
US drugmakers saw their stocks tank on Thursday and Friday following the announcement that former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr is president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Read more:
Drugmakers see stocks tank after RFK Jr is nominated to oversee health department
In pictures: Trump returns to Madison Square Garden for UFC event
03:17 , Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump poses for a photo with Kid Rock and Elon Musk at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (AP)
Donald Trump walks through the crowd at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (AP)
Donald Trump poses for a photo with popular podcaster Joe Rogan (Getty Images)
Donald Trump arrives at MSG for UFC fight night
03:04 , Katie Hawkinson
President-elect Donald Trump arrived at Madison Square Garden moments ago for tonight’s Ultimate Fighting Championship fight night.
He was accompanied by UFC CEO Dana White, billionaire ally Elon Musk, cabinet pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
Musk was recently appointed to lead Trump’s newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency, while Kennedy was named his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Joe Rogan, host of the popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, also attended and greeted Trump with a friendly handshake.
The crowd met the president-elect and his entourage with thundering cheers.
Donald Trump shakes hands with Joe Rogan at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (Getty Images)
Who is Trump’s latest cabinet pick Chris Wright?
03:00 , Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump Trump has tapped oil fracking CEO Chris Wright to serve as Secretary of Energy.
Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy in Denver, Colorado, is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development and one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight the ongoing climate crisis.
If confirmed, he’ll also serve on Trump’s newly-created Council of National Energy, alongside Burgum.
“Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy,” Trump said in a statement. “He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas. Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics.”
Pelosi’s ‘unhelpful’ press tour is upsetting Democrats who want her to take a back seat to younger leaders
02:15 , Katie Hawkinson
Nancy Pelosi is upsetting some Democratic lawmakers who are hoping she yields more power to younger party leaders, a new report reveals.
Read more:
Pelosi press tour is upsetting Democrats who want her to take a back seat
Donald Trump to return to MSG weeks after controversial rally for UFC 309 – reports
01:30 , Alex Pattle
Donald Trump will reportedly return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, attending UFC 309 with Dana White – president of the mixed martial arts promotion.
Trump has attended numerous UFC events with White, who spoke at the president-elect’s victory celebration earlier this month in Mar-a-Lago. And this weekend, he is expected to be ringside at UFC 309 in New York City’s MSG, according to the New York Post.
Read more:
Donald Trump to return to MSG weeks after controversial rally for UFC 309 – reports
Woman testified to House Ethics Committee she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with minor, her lawyer says
00:45 , Rhian Lubin
A woman testified in front of the House Ethics Committee that she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with a minor, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Joel Leppard represents two women who gave closed-door testimony in the summer to the committee probing President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for attorney general, ABC first reported.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Leppard told the outlet.
Read more:
Woman testified to ethics committee she saw Gaetz have sex with minor, lawyer says
Democrats are still trying to figure out how to work with – and counter – Donald Trump
00:00 , Rhian Lubin
Democrats are still trying to come to grips with the numerous reasons why Kamala Harris lost and now they have a new problem – how do they work with a Donald Trump administration and both houses under his party’s control.
Trump’s election win quickly turned to his transition, where he made a number of controversial appointments and threatened to use the recess process to get them into power.
In the Senate, Republicans have enough seats for a majority, but many bills need at least 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. That means Democrats are going to have to think fast about how they work with Republicans or counter them given their minority.
Eric Garcia reports.
Democrats are still trying to figure out how to work with – and counter – Trump
Elon Musk says he wants ‘super high IQ’ workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
Saturday 16 November 2024 23:40 , Rhian Lubin
Elon Musk is looking for a few good “super high-IQ” volunteers to do the “tedious work” of gutting the federal government.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — whose acronym is DOGE — is apparently recruiting unpaid volunteers from X, according to posts from the nascent agency.
A post made by the department’s account said it was looking for the “top 1 percent” of X applicants who have a “super high-IQ” and are “small-government revolutionaries” to work 80-plus hour weeks identifying allegedly wasteful government spending.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Elon Musk says he wants “super high IQ” workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
Watch: Trump’s White House staff secretary’s failed bid for Missouri AG
Saturday 16 November 2024 23:20 , Rhian Lubin
Will Scharf, who Trump has named as his White House staff secretary, ran an unsuccessful campaign to be Missouri’s attorney general in the summer.
In a campaign ad, he fired a grenade launcher at a stack of evidence boxes and indictments.
“Joe Biden and his corrupt allies are wrecking our legal system, doing everything they can to stop President Trump and the MAGA agenda,” he says in the ad. “It’s time for a Missouri attorney general who will return fire.”
Watch it here.
Trump to return to Madison Square Garden tonight – reports
Saturday 16 November 2024 23:10 , Rhian Lubin
Donald Trump is set to return to Madison Square Garden tonight for a UFC event, according to reports.
Trump is returning to the famed New York City venue just weeks after it played host to a controversial campaign rally.
Trump at MSG in October (AFP via Getty Images)
Energy secretary role oversees nuclear weapons program
Saturday 16 November 2024 23:00 , Rhian Lubin
Trump’s pick for energy secretary, Chris Wright, would be responsible for leading the department tasked with maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons fleet.
Wright would serve on a newly formed Council of National Energy which will be led by Doug Burgum, Trump said in the statement tonight.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump said.
The appointment requires Senate approval.
Lara Trump details Barron’s influence over his father
Saturday 16 November 2024 22:40 , Rhian Lubin
Lara Trump has shared details of how Barron influenced his father – and said the teenager should be given “serious credit” for his role in getting Donald Trump reelected.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, who is married to Eric, gushed about 18-year-old Barron on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, explaining that the NYU student stayed in the shadows when it came to the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Barron Trump is so cool. He’s like the sleeper a little bit. He’s kind of stayed out of the spotlight, probably intentionally,” she said.
Read more.
‘He’s like the sleeper’: Lara Trump details Barron’s influence over his father
Trump’s cabinet so far
Saturday 16 November 2024 22:20 , Rhian Lubin
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
Who is Chris Wright? Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary who is a loud voice against efforts to fight climate change
Saturday 16 November 2024 22:00 , Associated Press
Trump’s Energy Secretary pick Chris Wright is a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive.
Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.
Wright has won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term.
Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if re-elected.
Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.
Wright has criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”
NEW: Trump announces Will Scharf as White House staff secretary
Saturday 16 November 2024 21:35 , Rhian Lubin
Trump has also announced that Will Scharf, one of his personal attorneys, will be his White House staff secretary.
In a statement shared on Truth Social, Trump credited Scharf with playing “a key role in defeating the Election Interference and Lawfare waged against me, including by winning the Historic Immunity Decision in the Supreme Court.”
NEW: Trump nominates oil boss Chris Wright as Energy Secretary
Saturday 16 November 2024 21:30 , Rhian Lubin
Trump has announced that he is nominating oil industry CEO Chris Wright to be his Energy Secretary.
In a statement, Trump said:
“I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of National Energy.
“Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy. He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas. Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics.
“As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new “Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace.”
Two Senators call for investigation into Elon Musk amid alleged contact with Vladimir Putin
Saturday 16 November 2024 21:20 , Rhian Lubin
Two Democratic senators have urged for a review into Elon Musk’s alleged contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the contracts his companies currently hold with the federal government.
Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Democrat on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, called for the Pentagon and Justice Department to review the contracts in light of the reported contact with Russia, the BBC reports.
Last month The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had been in regular contact with Putin and the pair have spoken on the phone about business and geopolitical matters.
In their letter, Shaheen and Reed wrote: “We urge an immediate review to ascertain whether Mr Musk’s relationship with multiple high-level Russian officials warrant an investigation and a determination by the Department of Defense’s senior debarment official whether SpaceX should exclude Mr Musk’s involvement in current or future US Government contracts.”
When reached for comment from Musk at the time, a SpaceX spokesperson told The Independent the claims in the Journal were “misleading” and “unsubstantiated.”
Elon Musk (AP)
ICYMI: Woman testified to House Ethics Committee she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with minor, her lawyer says
Saturday 16 November 2024 21:00 , Rhian Lubin
A woman testified in front of the House Ethics Committee that she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with a minor, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Joel Leppard represents two women who gave closed-door testimony in the summer to the committee probing President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for attorney general, ABC first reported.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Leppard told the outlet.
Read the full story below.
Woman testified to ethics committee she saw Gaetz have sex with minor, lawyer says
