Matt Gaetz withdraws his name to be Donald Trump’s attorney general
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he is withdrawing his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump‘s attorney general.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday,” Gaetz wrote in a post on X. “I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history,” Gaetz added. “I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
Gaetz informed Trump late Thursday morning that he’d be withdrawing, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Trump issued a statement after Gaetz’s announcement saying he appreciated his “recent efforts” to seek Senate approval.
“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump wrote. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
Trump announced last Wednesday he was tapping Gaetz to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. Gaetz, a conservative firebrand in Congress, resigned shortly after.
The choice shocked many Republicans on Capitol Hill and raised eyebrows within Justice Department.
Gaetz has been under scrutiny amid sexual misconduct allegations, including accusations he had sex with minors, which he’s long denied.
Sources told ABC News in the last few days it became clear to the Trump team that Gaetz was not going to have enough votes for a Senate confirmation with sources close to the president-elect telling ABC News “no path to 50” senators.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, said on Wednesday he will not “back down” after new misconduct allegations have caused growing concern among Republican lawmakers.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers. The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump — and me. So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth. Our warriors never back down, & neither will I,” Hegseth wrote on X.
His comments come as a number of senators have privately signaled that they are not inclined to vote to confirm Hegseth as Trump’s next defense secretary, leading Trump’s advisers to begin discussing who may be a viable replacement, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Sources tell ABC News that at least six senators have privately indicated that they don’t intend to vote for Hegseth amid the growing allegations, including about his mistreatment of women.
Multiple sources also tell ABC News that Trump and Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about the job Tuesday and DeSantis expressed interest in it.
Hegseth is expected to be back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for meetings with more senators.
(WASHINGTON) — Election eve has arrived with the race for the White House still very tight — with the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll out Sunday showing Kamala Harris slightly ahead nationally but Donald Trump ahead in some key swing states — and the two candidates deadlocked in Pennsylvania.
Harris is spending her last full day campaigning in battleground Pennsylvania while Trump is hitting the trail in North Carolina and Pennsylvania before ending the day in Michigan.
Georgia Supreme Court reverses deadline extension for voters who received ballots late
In a win for the Republican National Committee, the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday ruled that thousands of voters whose mail-in ballots were delayed will not have extra time to send them back.
The ruling from the court reversed a lower judge’s ruling that had granted 3,000 voters an extension of the mail-in-ballot deadline, after Cobb County election officials admitted they missed the deadline to ship them out.
The deadline for mail-in ballots to be received in Georgia is Election Day — but the lower judge had given those voters an extension for them to be postmarked by election day and received by Nov. 8, the same deadline for overseas ballots.
The RNC had appealed the ruling, saying it was a violation of the election code and that voters still had other ways they could vote, including in person.
The Georgia Supreme Court ordered the Cobb board to “keep separate” the absentee ballots of those voters that are received after the deadline on Election Day but before Nov. 8 “in a secure, safe, and sealed container separate from other voted ballots.”
Cobb County had previously been ordered to ship out all of the delayed ballots by Nov. 1 with express shipping and overnight return envelopes.
The court also ordered the board to notify the voters by email, text or public announcement of the change.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Trump: ‘If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax’
At a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Trump called on residents to turn out and vote tomorrow.
“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax,” he said. “It’s over. It’s over.”
“We’re just one day away. Oh, we’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been waiting four years for this,” he said.
DC mayor says no known threats, but not taking any chances Washington, D.C., officials say they have no credible threats to the city, however, they will be fully activating police and have received support from Virginia and Maryland law enforcement agencies.
“I feel very strong about the district’s preparation,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday. “I feel very sad that this is the state of things to be honest with you, but the way that I deal with anxiety is to work and to make sure that we are as prepared as we can be, and that people, all people, win or lose, do the right thing.”
D.C. police will have increased patrols in key areas downtown and around the White House, Police Chief Pam Smith told reporters Monday.
“[The] proactive presence is a preventive measure, and while there is no credible threat to the District of Columbia, we want residents and visitors alike to feel sure that MPD is here prepared and dedicated to keep communities safe across all seven districts.,” Smith said.
The mayor said before Jan. 6 and the inauguration she expects to make a National Guard request for additional assistance, but no request will be made for election week.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Judge’s decision coming ‘shortly’ on Elon Musk giveaway case
Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta said he plans to issue a decision “shortly” after a nearly six-hour hearing over Elon Musk’s America PAC’s million-dollar giveaway, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is seeking an emergency injunction to stop the sweepstakes.
During closing arguments, a lawyer for Krasner called Musk’s giveaway “one of the great scams of the last 50 years” by deceiving more than a million swing state voters to sign a petition in the hopes of winning a million dollars.
“There is nothing random about that process,” the lawyer, John Summers, said. “This was a profound, devastating and widespread deception.”
Summers argued that Musk attempted to “influence the election” by encouraging hundreds of thousands of voters to sign a petition while preselecting the winners based on their “suitability” to serve as spokespeople for the political action committee. Summers argued that even if the lottery was not random, it’s still illegal under Pennsylvania law.
“They essentially advertised this as a lottery. It’s not a defense that what we said it was isn’t true,” Summers said.
Andy Taylor, a lawyer for Musk’s America PAC, argued that the DA’s case falls apart after today’s revelation that the alleged lottery awarded preselected winners.
“It’s an opportunity to earn. It’s not a chance to win,” Taylor said, emphasizing the winners’ roles as spokespeople for the PAC.
Taylor emphasized that the case centers on a petition in support of the First and Second amendments, arguing that shutting down the giveaway would infringe on free speech.
“You are going to smother in the crib the rights of millions of Pennsylvanians from exercising constitutional magnitude free speech,” Taylor said.
Speaking outside court, Krasner’s attorney declined to comment on the specifics of the case, simply acknowledging, “It’s in the hands of the judge.”
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
CISA continues to see threats toward election officials
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency continues to see threats towards election officials a day before Election Day, according to a top official for CISA, the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
In a call to reporters Monday, Cait Conley, who is in charge of CISA’s election security portfolio, called these threats “fundamentally un-American.”
CISA Director Jen Easterly said most local elections officials are in touch with law enforcement.
“We’ve not seen specific reporting about violence at polling places, so I certainly don’t want voters to feel at all intimidated about going to voting locations,” Easterly said, saying it should “really be a day of celebration.”
Easterly said they “expect” disruptions throughout Election Day, and they are prepared for it. Foreign adversaries — particularly Russia, China and Iran — are looking to “undermine American confidence and the legitimacy of our elections and to stoke partisan discord,” she said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Trump campaign looks to Vance to help them over the finish line in Pennsylvania
From the moment he arrived in Milwaukee, after being named former President Donald Trump’s running mate, it was clear that one of Sen. JD Vance’s primary roles was to help deliver battleground Pennsylvania for the former president.
The day Vance was announced as Trump’s vice presidential pick in July, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl that he was “going to leave [Vance] in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s importance in this election can’t be overstated — it’s a crucial swing state with 19 coveted electoral votes where Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck. Whoever wins the state is very likely win the presidential election. During the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was the state that sealed the presidency for President Joe Biden.
Click here to read more about Vance’s efforts in Pennsylvania.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Musk’s sweepstakes winners were vetted, signed NDAs: Political adviser
Before announcing the winners of Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaway, America PAC employees conducted background checks on them, vetted their social media and had them sign non-disclosure agreements, Elon Musk’s political adviser Chris Young testified during an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia on Monday.
The inside look at how winners were selected is at odds with how Musk himself described the “random” selection process.
“Were you surprised that he used the word ‘randomly’?” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, asked.
“That’s not the word I would have selected,” Young said.
Young testified that he reviewed candidates based on the location of Musk’s next rally before vetting the people who signed America PAC’s petition in support of the First and Second amendments.
“I essentially used the petition like a job application,” Young said, with America PAC considering the number of eligible voters that the candidate referred to the petition, their personality and social media history.
According to Young, Musk was notified when a candidate was selected. Young also said that winners signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from talking publicly about their “consulting agreements.”
While the testimony contradicts Musk’s public statements, Young insisted that the winners “earned” their money by doing work on behalf of the PAC, seemingly supporting the defense argument that the giveaway is not an illegal lottery.
“Anyone who participated in the program knew what they were entitled to for their participation in the program,” Young said.
Closing arguments in the hearing will happen after a brief break.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
‘Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections’: Michigan secretary of state
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was asked during a press briefing Monday about the possibility that Trump could declare victory tomorrow before all the votes are actually counted.
“Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections, voters do,” Benson responded. “And so we will keep reminding folks of that truth. Candidates certainly can say and will say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t change the facts. It doesn’t change the tallies of the votes that are cast on paper ballots that will be audited after the fact and securely tabulated throughout the election to ensure the accuracy of the results, whatever those results may be.”
Benson added that they “hope and expect and ask all the candidates to respect the will of the people and respect those results, and to not claim something is true when it’s not.”
In 2020, Trump claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.
Benson said she and her staff will be debunking false statements and conspiracy theories as they arise, but that “truth and transparency are on our side.”
“We’ve seen how completely innocent things can be misused to spread false aspersions about our election, so let’s all be vigilant,” she said.
She also urged the public to question what they see on social media.
“Don’t assume anything that you’re seeing from a source other than a trusted voice or an election official has truth until you cross-check it with other sources of information,” she said.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
Trump expected to host dinners at Mar-a-Lago on election night with club members, donors and close friends
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to host multiple dinners on election night at his Mar-a-Lago club — including with his close friends, donors and club members, multiple sources familiar with the dinners told ABC News.
Trump is expected to dine with an intimate group of close friends Tuesday night, and there will be a separate Mar-a-Lago club member dinner in the ballroom. A source familiar with the dinners said there won’t be any formal speeches but Trump will likely stop by to greet them all.
Earlier that day, Trump is expected to cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
Several of the attendees of the dinners told ABC News that they’re planning on heading over to the Palm Beach Convention Center after the dinner.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris emphasizes unity while addressing canvassers in Pennsylvania
Harris addressed canvassers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, ahead of a rally later this afternoon in the battleground state, where she emphasized building community and unity.
“I can feel the mood in here because it’s the best of who we are as a democracy,” Harris said at the event at the Montage Mountain Resort. “We are a people-driven campaign, and we love the people, and we see in the face of a stranger a neighbor, right? And that’s the spirit of what we are doing.”
She said the “whole era of this other guy” and discussion about “trying to point fingers at each other and divide each other” makes people feel alone.
“As we are getting out to vote, as we are canvassing, let’s be intentional about building community, about building community, about building coalitions, about reminding people we all have so much more in common than what separates us,” she said.
CAIR sends 600,000 texts to Muslim voters asking them to vote
The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization has sent out 600,000 text messages to ask American Muslim voters to vote on Election Day. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has been targeting Muslim voters across the country, including those in key swing states.
CAIR has not endorsed a candidate and will not do so as a 501(c)(3) organization. However, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement, “Turnout numbers for our community so far are promising, but they need to be much higher. We encourage all remaining American Muslim voters to show up on Election Day.”
Acknowledging some Muslim American’s views on the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, Awad acknowledged that many may be “disillusioned and frustrated due to U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
“But sitting on the sidelines of this election will not help the people of Gaza or anyone else,” Awad said. “Elected officials take communities seriously when they fully participate in the political process, including by exercising their right to vote. No matter who you support, showing up to vote is a display of political strength.”
In recent months, some Muslim American activists have called on Muslim Americans to mobilize as a way of leveraging the community’s power post-election.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Pennsylvania secretary of state: Election will be ‘safe and secure’
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt projected confidence about the security of the election, saying it will be “free, fair, safe and secure,” during brief remarks Monday.
Schmidt warned Pennsylvania voters to “remain vigilant” about any last-minute misinformation and disinformation that may try to persuade them not to vote.
Schmidt also seemed to try to set expectations for the timing of results in the key battleground state, reminding people that Pennsylvania has “never” had final official results on election night regardless of when the media have called the state.
“We can’t predict what percentage of those votes will be counted on election night,” Schmidt said.
He noted that 2 million mail-in ballots have been returned so far, which officials can’t begin opening until Tuesday morning.
“That means election officials can’t even remove the ballot from their envelope,” Schmidt underscored.
He said counties will begin to submit unofficial election results beginning at 8 p.m. ET — and will continue updating throughout the night and “in the subsequent days.”
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Trump tells hurricane victims to ‘sit back and relax’ at poorly attended NC rally
Former President Donald Trump kicked off his final day on the campaign trail Monday at a poorly attended rally in North Carolina, where the venue was at least a third empty.
Sparsely populated to begin with, dozens of people left the venue in a steady stream throughout the rambling, unfocused speech.
At one point, Trump told North Carolinians who are desperately waiting for help after hurricane devastation to “sit back and relax” until he takes office.
“Those people, they better get that FEMA here fast. But we’re going to on Jan. 20,” Trump said. “Just tell everybody to sit back, relax. On Jan. 20, you’ll see people come in and help you out like we did in the past.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Trump tells hurricane victims to ‘sit back and relax’ at poorly attended NC rally
Former President Donald Trump kicked off his final day on the campaign trail Monday at a poorly attended rally in North Carolina, where the venue was at least a third empty.
Sparsely populated to begin with, dozens of people left the venue in a steady stream throughout the rambling, unfocused speech.
At one point, Trump told North Carolinians who are desperately waiting for help after hurricane devastation to “sit back and relax” until he takes office.
“Those people, they better get that FEMA here fast. But we’re going to on Jan. 20,” Trump said. “Just tell everybody to sit back, relax. On Jan. 20, you’ll see people come in and help you out like we did in the past.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Philly DA wraps up testimony during hearing on Musk giveaway
During his two-hour testimony at an ongoing hearing over Elon Musk and his super PAC’s $1 million voter sweepstakes, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner characterized America PAC’s admission that winners are preselected as the “most amazingly disingenuous defense I have ever heard.”
“This was all political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner said during the hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. “This has been a grift from the beginning. This has been a scam from the very beginning.”
According to Chris Gober, a lawyer for Musk and America PAC, the winners were selected based on their “suitability” as spokespeople, signed a contract and received the million dollars as a “salary” for their work, despite Musk himself publicly saying that winners would be selected “randomly.”
Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, described the claim as “a flat-out admission of liability.” While America PAC has openly acknowledged that winners would serve as spokespeople, the hearing marks the first time they have disclosed that the winners were preselected.
“It is deceptive. It is misleading. It is taking advantage of people,” Krasner said. “They are doing everything under the sun to cover it up.”
Musk’s lawyers have repeatedly argued that the case itself is politically motivated, accusing Krasner of creating a “political circus.” Krasner’s attorney attempted to counter that argument by mentioning that Krasner drives a Tesla — made by the electric car company owned by Musk — and would theoretically bring the same case against Taylor Swift if she arranged a similar scheme for Harris.
“I have brought action against Democrats in the past,” Krasner said. “I would have brought an action against Taylor Swift if she did this. As far as I know, she didn’t.”
The court is currently on a lunch break following testimony from Krasner, who was the hearing’s first witness.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Harris supporters say they know Republicans who are secretly voting for her
Several Harris supporters at her rally in battleground Michigan on Sunday told ABC News they were confident in Harris’ prospects because they knew Republicans in their community who are casting a ballot for Harris — many of them secretly.
Andrea Galindo said she believes Harris will win “because I know a lot of Republicans voted Democrat.”
Mike Arvizu said his father is a lifelong Republican who is voting for Harris.
“If my father-in-law can do it, there’s a lot more people out there,” Arvizu said.
Their optimism reflects a defining strategy of the Harris campaign: to reach every possible voter in battlegrounds, including Republicans and independents. In her final rally speeches, the vice president is stressing that she would invite those who disagree with her to have a seat at the table.
But voters said that the toxic and divisive nature of politics today means that many of these Republicans aren’t openly saying that they’re backing Harris.
“We’ve become so divided in this country that people don’t even have Thanksgiving with their own family members anymore. I think there is a fear in this country about even talking about politics, especially if you don’t know if someone agrees with you,” said Curtis Hertel, who is running for Congress in Michigan.
But Hertel said he’s seeing more conversation now across party lines, with Harris canvassers making headway even in deep-red areas like Livingston County.
-ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang
North Carolina elections chief pleads for ‘peaceful transition of power’
On the eve of Election Day, the head of elections in the battleground state of North Carolina has issued an on-camera plea to candidates on the ballot tomorrow: “I would just make a plea to the candidates and elected officials: Have a peaceful transition of power. Accept the results. Concede defeat when necessary,” Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the state’s board of elections, said during a press conference Monday.
While saying that “there’s more hostility” this election, she also urged candidates, voters and others to “please recognize” that election workers are “members of this community” who have “sworn oaths … [as part of] a bipartisan effort to ensure that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot, and that these results are tabulated and determined securely, accurately and correctly.”
“Please treat others with dignity and respect,” she said, adding that state and federal law forbids people from trying to intimidate voters or interfere with election officials carrying out there duties — and the penalties can include prison time or fines, or both.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
‘Swifties for Kamala’ target 250,000 Pennsylvania voters via mailers in closing push
“Swifties for Kamala,” the grassroots organization of Taylor Swift fans working to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris, announced over the weekend they had sent over 250,000 mailers to Pennsylvania voters encouraging them to pledge their support to Harris, make a voting plan and encourage their friends to do the same.
Included in 50,000 of the mailers were friendship bracelets beaded with the words “voting era,” a reference to the bracelets fans trade at Swift’s Eras Tour.
“Every vote in this election matters, especially in Pennsylvania, which could be the state that makes the planets and the fates and all the stars align for VP Harris,” the mailers read. “We think you belong in the voting booth because we are never going back, like ever.”
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Walz appeals to Wisconsin voters: Election ‘could be won’ through state
Tim Walz called on voters in battleground Wisconsin to vote for an “optimistic” future during a rally in La Crosse.
“This election could be won, quite literally, through the state of Wisconsin, and it could be won right here through La Crosse,” Harris’ running mate said. “That’s how close this thing could be. So we’re taking nothing for granted.”
Walz addressed policies he and Harris will focus on, including working to lower the cost of living for middle class Americans, addressing price gouging on groceries and making reproductive rights enshrined into law.
He said they have an opportunity to vote for “a future that either goes backwards — is divisive, dark and angry — or one that is hopeful, unified, inclusive.”
Musk’s attorney says winners of America PAC giveaway not chosen by chance
At an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia over Elon Musk and his super PAC’s $1 million voter sweepstakes, a defense attorney said the giveaway is a way to recruit spokespeople for America PAC, while the Philadelphia district attorney testified it is a “scam.”
According to defense attorney Chris Gober, the recipients of the million-dollar checks sign contracts after being selected from a pool of people who signed the petition to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC. Tomorrow’s winner has already been decided to be a registered voter from Michigan.
“They were not chosen by chance,” Gober said during the hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
Minutes later, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s team played a video in court where Musk vowed the money would be awarded “randomly.”
“So I have a surprise for you, which is that we are going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,” Musk told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Oct. 19.
Testifying from the witness stand, Krasner slammed the giveaway as a “scam” and “grift” intended to “flood money into American elections.”
“That ain’t a contract and that’s not employment,” an animated Krasner, the first witness in the hearing, said. “There are certain words that stick out — awarding. Doesn’t sound like a spokesperson contract.”
“It is unquestionably supposed to be random selection despite what I think is a very disingenuous version of it that I think I heard today,” Krasner said.
Krasner testified that the America PAC has effectively scammed Philadelphia residents out of their personal information — which they entered to sign the petition to enter into the giveaway — while the giveaway never actually offered them a random chance of winning the million-dollar prize.
“They were scammed for their information,” said Krasner, who is asking a judge to immediately stop the giveaway.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Former Rep. Liz Cheney responds to Trump’s violent rhetoric about her, compares him to an autocrat
Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney responded to former President Donald Trump’s attacks on her in an interview with ABC’s “The View” on Monday, including a remark he made suggesting she should “have guns trained on her face.”
“He knows what he’s doing,” Cheney said. “He knows it’s a threat with the intent to intimidate. Obviously, the intimidation won’t work.”
Cheney emphasized Trump’s history of violent rhetoric, including how he responded to the violence on Jan. 6.
“For over three hours, he watched police officers be brutally beaten. He was told the vice president had been evacuated, he said, ‘So what?'” Cheney said. “People were rushing in, pleading with him, ‘Tell the mob to leave,’ and he wouldn’t.”
“That level of depravity, he knows he has no defense to that, and he knows that the American people will not entrust again with power anyone who would do something that cruel,” she continued. “And so because he can’t respond to that, he tries to change the subject, he tries to threaten. It’s what autocrats do to try to get their political adversaries to be silent.”
Vance: ‘Tomorrow is our last chance’
JD Vance addressed voters in Wisconsin during a rally in La Crosse on Monday.
“Tomorrow is our last chance,” Trump’s running mate said. “Tomorrow is the big day when we are going to vote in very big numbers in the state of Wisconsin. We’re going to vote for change. We’re going to vote for American prosperity.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is also campaigning in Wisconsin on Monday. Vance called it “tough work” to “convince the American people” that Harris can be president.
“I think that’s the toughest job in the United States of America,” Vance said, saying Harris is “more of the same” high grocery prices, unaffordable housing and “wide open border.”
Alabama GOP mobilizes 400 poll workers in Georgia and Alabama
The Alabama Republican Party announced on Monday it has launched its most comprehensive poll watcher deployment, with more than 400 poll watchers and election lawyers in Georgia and Alabama.
Over 200 Alabama poll watchers and dozens of election lawyers will be stationed in targeted districts across Alabama, which the party says is part of an effort to ensure a “secure and transparent election process.” The Alabama GOP added that the placement of election lawyers across the state “provides an extra layer of security and real-time responsiveness.”
The Alabama GOP is also deploying more than 200 poll watchers to Georgia, supporting the critical southern battleground state on behalf of former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Trump speaks at campaign rally in Raleigh
At a campaign rally Monday in Raleigh, former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to turn up to the polls on Election Day.
“If we get everybody out and vote, there’s not a thing they can do,” Trump told the crowd of North Carolinians, saying the state was “ours to lose.”
Trump smeared the Democratic Party as a “horrendously dangerous party that’s going to destroy our country.”
“We cannot let that happen,” he said. “So here’s my only purpose in even being here today: Get out and vote.”
Musk doesn’t show at hearing on Philly DA’s challenge to $1 million giveaways
Entering court without his client, Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, criticized Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner for wanting to “silence Elon Musk for supporting Donald Trump.”
“We don’t allow our rights to be trampled upon bipartisan agendas masquerading as legal arguments,” Gober said.
In a late filing this morning, Krasner’s attorney continued to push for Musk to attend the hearing in person because his testimony would demonstrate “he is the beating heart of America PAC’s unlawful lottery and deceptive/unfair practices scheme.”
“Musk cannot distract from his central role by saying that he wants to be busy out campaigning, rather than attending to his responsibilities to this Court,” attorney John Summers said in the filing.
Earlier this morning, America PAC announced that the newest winner of their daily $1 million giveaway is a registered voter from Phoenix. One day remains until the sweepstakes ends on Election Day.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous and Chris Boccia
How Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ could prove pivotal in the Electoral College
Amid an increasingly tight election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in several key swing states, Nebraska, and more specifically, its 2nd Congressional District, has taken on an outsize role in this year’s presidential election.
Because Nebraska currently awards three of its five Electoral College votes based on the results in each of its three congressional districts, the so-called “blue dot,” as the 2nd district has come to be known, could be critical to either campaign’s path to 270 electoral votes.
Early vote tops 78 million
As of 5:30 a.m. ET on Monday, more than 78 million Americans have voted early (a combination of absentee and early, in-person totals), according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
The total breaks down into 42,654,364 in-person early votes and 35,348,858 mail ballots returned.
The number of in-person early votes has surpassed 2020’s total number of in-person early votes. However, the overall number of early votes so far (including mail-in and absentee ballots) is still lower than 2020’s overall number.
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
Jeffries says Republicans ‘will take a blow torch’ to social security
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Good Morning America on Monday that Democrats are “on the right side” of the presidential election’s most pressing issues.
“The extreme MAGA Republicans have clearly and unequivocally articulated what they will do to America moving forward,” Jeffries said.
“They will take a blow torch to social security, they will take a blow torch to Medicare, they will take a blow torch to the Affordable Care Act,” Jeffries said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Jeffries said, is “closing with a positive vision” while former President Donald Trump and his Republican party are “trying to tear us apart.”
Jeffries will become House speaker if Democrats win back control of the chamber this week.
“The majority of current House Republicans voted not to certify the election in 2020,” Jeffries said. “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle don’t seem to be capable of unequivocally saying that they will certify the election and the verdict that is rendered by the American people.”
“As House Democrats, that’s what we will do,” Jeffries added.
“We believe in democracy even when we disagree with the outcome. That’s been part of what’s made America the greatest democracy in the history of the world.”
Candidates vie for every vote in key swing states
Highlighting how important Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes are to her campaign, Kamala Harris is spending her last full day on the trail with multiple events in the state.
Her search for voters includes a rally in Allentown and then she ends with an event in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump is trying to shore up support in battleground North Carolina – where Harris has made inroads – for a rally in Raleigh, before he, too, heads to Pennsylvania for events in Reading and Pittsburgh before ending his final day campaigning in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead. Via Flickr
(WASHINGTON) — After a sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5, President-elect Donald Trump is now set to become just the second ever to serve nonconsecutive terms in office.
Trump has wasted no time in moving to assemble his team for a second term in the White House — naming Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser and Tom Homan as his “border czar,” among other positions.
Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
Nov 14, 2024, 6:59 AM EST – DeSantis says he’s instructed Florida’s secretary of state to make a schedule for upcoming special elections
With both Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz being tapped for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on X on Thursday morning that he’s instructed Florida’s secretary of state to make a schedule for the special elections to replace them.
“Congratulations to the Floridians being appointed to key positions in the Trump Administration: Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Matt Gaetz, and Congressman Mike Waltz,” DeSantis wrote on X. “I’ve instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately.”
However, DeSantis’ post did not mention anything about when these elections could happen.
Nov 13, 2024, 9:25 PM EST – Trump considering his lawyer for deputy attorney general: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump is considering his top defense attorney for the second highest position in the Department of Justice, sources tell ABC News.
Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in the hush money case and in both of Jack Smith’s federal probes, is being considered as the deputy attorney general, multiple sources said.
Blanche had been widely speculated to join Trump in the federal government in some form.
The position would need Senate confirmation.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Nov 13, 2024, 7:20 PM EST – Gaetz already resigned from Congress, Speaker Johnson says
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general, offered his resignation from Congress earlier Wednesday — effective immediately, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced.
Johnson said the resignation took him by “surprise” but that the Florida congressman did so to “start the clock” on the process for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to call a special election to fill his vacancy.
“We’re grateful for that so we move forward,” Johnson said.
The move slims the new House GOP majority.
Johnson did not weigh in on the House Ethics Committee probe into Gaetz that will now cease with no report released, as Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Isabella Murray
Nov 13, 2024, 3:31 PM EST – Trump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general
Trump has nominated Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general, he posted on his social media.
Gaetz was seen traveling with Trump in the motorcade Wednesday during the president-elect’s visit to Washington, D.C.
The role is a Senate-confirmed appointment.
Trump called Gaetz a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who will “end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”
Gaetz is an explosive selection by Trump to be the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government, leading the very same executive branch of government that spent years investigating allegations regarding the Florida congressman. Gaetz was informed that the DOJ would not seek charges just last year. He has long denied any wrongdoing.
Gaetz faces an ongoing probe by the House Ethics Committee for the same allegations, related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.
Gaetz has been down in Mar-a-Lago almost daily since Election Day, helping make suggestions and input on other administration selections, sources told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
Nov 13, 2024, 3:20 PM EST – Tulsi Gabbard tapped as director of national intelligence
Trump announced that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is his pick for director of national intelligence.
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength,” Trump said in a statement.
The role is a Senate-confirmed appointment.
Gabbard, who once ran for president as a Democrat, had a prominent role as part of Trump’s 2024 campaign team.
Nov 13, 2024, 3:06 PM EST – Marco Rubio announced as secretary of state pick
Trump has officially announced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his nomination for secretary of state.
“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” Trump said in a statement. “He will be 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 role must be confirmed by the Senate.
November 13, 2024, 2:23 pm EST – Biden, Trump had ‘substantive meeting and exchange of views’: White House
President Joe Biden and Trump had a “substantive meeting and exchange of views” during their nearly two-hour Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, according to the White House press secretary.
“They discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world,” Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing following the meeting. “President Biden also raised important items on Congress’s to-do list for the lame duck session, including funding the government and providing the disaster supplemental funding the president requested.”
Biden also reiterated that “we will have an orderly transition and a peaceful transition of power,” she added.
On the national security discussion, ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan if Biden made the case for the U.S. not to walk away from Ukraine, and how the message was received.
“I will only note that President Biden reinforced his view that the United States, standing with Ukraine on an ongoing basis, is in our national security interest,” Sullivan responded, adding that “standing up to aggressors and dictators and pushing back against their aggression is vital to ensuring that we don’t end up getting dragged directly into a war.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
November 13, 2024, 11:37 AM EST – The battle for Trump’s treasury secretary
As Trump continues to round out his cabinet, the job of treasury secretary remains in flux, with the co-chair of Trump’s transition team actively vying for the job, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Howard Lutnick is looking to be tapped as treasury secretary, sources said, a move that comes as investor and hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is also a top contender for the role.
Bessent traveled to Mar-a-Lago as recently as Friday to meet with Trump about the job, the sources said.
Lutnick, on the other hand, spends hours with Trump nearly each day, presenting candidates for top roles in the administration. As such, the move by Lutnick to attempt to get a cabinet position for himself has frustrated some close to Trump.
Sources caution the job is still in flux and neither man could get the job — with the potential for other candidates to emerge.
One potential dark horse for the job, one source told ABC News, is former Trump administration trade representative Robert Lighthizer, who Trump sees as an aggressive advocate for his tariff-heavy approach to international trade.
-ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Olivia Rubin and Katherine Faulders
November 13, 2024, 11:32 AM EST – Trump and Biden meet in Oval Office
President Joe Biden and Trump are meeting in the Oval Office, resuming a tradition that Trump himself flouted in 2020.
Biden spoke first and called for a smooth transition. Trump then said politics is tough but the transition will be smooth.
They did not answer questions.
November 13, 2024, 11:06 AM EST – Trump announces senior White House staff
Trump announced his senior staff on Wednesday, bringing back some of his well-known names from his first term and those who helped on his campaign.
Dan Scavino, one of Trump’s long-time allies, was named assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff. Stephen Miller was named assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff, a move reported earlier this week.
James Blair, the Republican National Committee political director and campaign aide, has been named assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs. Taylor Budowich will serve as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. He was a senior member of several of Trump’s PACs.
November 13, 2024, 9:50 AM EST – Trump struggles with attorney general decision, Musk sits in on interviews for key positions: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump is moving quickly to install loyalists and allies into his administration. But he’s struggling with making a decision on one of his top law enforcement positions: attorney general, multiple sources told ABC News.
Trump interviewed multiple candidates for attorney general on Tuesday, but he came away unsatisfied, sources with knowledge of the conversations told ABC News.
Trump interviewed Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Monday, and sat down with lawyers Jay Clayton and Bob Giuffra about the post, sources said. No final decision has been made, sources said.
Notably, billionaire Elon Musk has been involved in — and sitting in on — interviews with potential attorney general candidates, the sources said.
In a sign of how quickly other positions are moving, Pete Hegseth — the Fox News host selected as the nominee for Defense Secretary — was just called Monday and interviewed for the position Tuesday, a source familiar told ABC News.
Within hours, Trump made his choice, sources added. Several Republicans on Capitol Hill and even some Trump allies described being “caught off guard” by the pick.
-Katherine Faulders, Will Steakin, Rachel Scott, John Santucci
November 13, 2024, 5:30 AM EST – Illinois, Colorado governors announce state-level coalition to resist Trump policies
Democratic Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Polis of Colorado will be the co-chairs of a new “non-partisan” coalition of the nation’s governors committed to protecting the “state-level institutions of democracy” ahead of Donald Trump’s incoming presidency.
Governors Safeguarding Democracy, or GSD, will be overseen by governors and supported by a network of senior staff designated by each leader while being supported by GovAct, an organization “championing fundamental freedoms.”
GovAct is advised by a bipartisan board that includes former Republican and Democratic governors and senior officials like former GOP Gov. Arne Carlson of Minnesota, former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and former GOP Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
November 12, 2024, 7:59 PM EST – Gov. Kristi Noem picked for Homeland Security secretary
Trump confirmed he has picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be his Homeland Security secretary.
Trump said in a statement that Noem will work closely with “border czar” Tom Homan and “will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”
The role requires Senate confirmation.
November 12, 2024, 7:47 PM EST – Trump announces Department of Government Efficiency led by Musk, Ramaswamy
Trump has announced that billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and ally of the president-elect, will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
The Department of Government Efficiency is not a new government agency. Trump said it will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” and “partner” with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to drive structural government reform.
Trump has previously said Musk would take a role in his administration as head of a new “government efficiency commission.”
November 12, 2024, 7:27 PM EST – Trump nominates Pete Hegseth for defense secretary
Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth to be his defense secretary.
Hegseth is currently a host of “Fox & Friends” as well as an Army combat veteran.
“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” Trump said in a statement.
The role requires Senate confirmation.
November 12, 2024, 5:57 PM EST – Trump picks John Ratcliffe for CIA director
Trump announced that John Ratcliffe is his pick for director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The role requires Senate confirmation.
Ratcliffe was a former director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term.
“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, adding that Ratcliffe “will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans.”
November 12, 2024, 5:55 PM EST – Trump names attorney Bill McGinley as his White House counsel
Trump has named attorney Bill McGinley as his White House counsel, his transition team announced.
McGinley served as the White House Cabinet secretary during Trump’s first term and has served as general counsel at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“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.
The White House counsel is appointed by the president.
November 12, 2024, 5:27 PM EST – Trump taps friend and donor Steve Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East
Trump has tapped his longtime friend and donor Steve Witkoff as his special envoy to the Middle East, the president-elect’s transition team announced.
Witkoff, along with former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, has been leading the inauguration efforts.
Witkoff has held multiple fundraisers for Trump throughout the election cycle and accompanied him to numerous campaign rallies. He was also golfing with Trump during the alleged second assassination attempt in West Palm Beach earlier this year.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh and Lalee Ibssa
November 12, 2024, 4:42 PM EST – Trump expected to tap Kristi Noem for DHS secretary: Sources
Trump is expected to soon announce he has chosen South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his next secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, according to sources.
The role requires Senate confirmation.
Noem was on the short-list to be Trump’s running mate, but her chances dimmed as she fended off controversy over accounts in her book about killing her dog that she claimed was showing aggressive behavior.
She also faced backlash after her spokesperson said a claim she made about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and an account of an interaction with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were “errors.”
She is a loyal Trump ally who will work closely with Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan and new deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller. CNN was first to report the news of Noem as the secretary pick.
-ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders and Luke Barr
November 12, 2024, 3:25 PM EST – DeSantis must call for special elections to fill Waltz’s impending vacancy
To replace Florida Rep. Mike Waltz in the U.S. House following his selection to serve as Trump’s national security adviser, state statute requires Gov. Ron DeSantis to call for a special primary and then a special election in Florida.
The special elections to fill the House seat differ from Florida’s way of filling Senate seats. State law mandates that DeSantis appoint an individual to fill any Senate vacancy.
Waltz currently represents Florida’s solidly red 6th Congressional District, one that hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since 1989. DeSantis himself was the congressmember for the northeastern Florida seat ahead of Waltz.
ABC News has not yet reported a projection for who will have control of the House, but Waltz’s impending vacancy could impact Republicans’ numbers as they head toward a GOP “trifecta” in Washington.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
November 12, 2024, 2:01 PM EST – Trump nominates Mike Huckabee to be Israeli ambassador
Trump announced he has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “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!”
The role, which will need to be confirmed by the Senate, will be a key appointment as tensions remain high in the Middle East.
November 12, 2024, 1:37 PM EST – Trump officially announces Waltz as national security adviser pick
Trump has officially announced his appointment of Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser.
The president-elect highlighted Waltz’s military background in a statement on the appointment, noting that he is the first Green Beret to have been elected to Congress and served in the Army Special Forces for 27 years.
“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!” Trump said in a statement.
The national security adviser is appointed by the president without confirmation by the Senate.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh and Lalee Ibssa
November 12, 2024, 11:50 AM EST – Will Trump’s administration picks impact House control?
While control of the House has not yet been projected by ABC News, Republicans are inching toward maintaining their slim majority.
But already, Trump has picked several lawmakers to serve in his administration: Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador and Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser.
Speaker Mike Johnson, asked about the issue on Tuesday, said he’s spoken to Trump about it several times.
“We have a really talented Republican Congress … Many of them can serve in important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands, appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson said. “You know, we believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time.”
The speaker added: “I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving, but I’ll leave that up to him.”
November 12, 2024, 11:39 AM EST – Billionaire John Paulson says he’s not a candidate for Treasury role
Billionaire John Paulson said Tuesday he does not plan to formally join the administration as the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, though he said he intends to remain actively involved with Trump’s economic team.
“Although various media outlets have mentioned me as a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, my complex financial obligations would prevent me from holding an official position in President Trump’s administration at this time,” Paulson said in a statement.
“However, I intend to remain actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals,” he added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – Johnson teases Trump visit to the Capitol
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that Trump is expected to visit the U.S. Capitol to celebrate a potential Republicans “trifecta” on Wednesday morning before he sits down in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden later in the day.
“Well, I’ll say I didn’t intend to break this as news this morning,” Johnson quipped as he held a press conference with House Republican leadership.
“He wanted to come and visit with House Republicans, so we’re working out the details of him gathering with us potentially tomorrow morning, before he goes to the White House,” Johnson said. “And that would be a great meeting and a moment for all of us, there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of energy here. We’re really grateful for President Trump leaving it all on the field to get reelected.”
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Isabella Murray and Lauren Peller
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – House Republican leadership say they’re ready for Day 1 under Trump
Returning to Washington on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson and other top House Republicans took a victory lap on last week’s election results.
While ABC News has not yet projected House control, Republicans are three seats away from clinching the 218 needed for a majority.
Johnson said they are monitoring outstanding races closely but are confident they will have a “unified” government come January.
“This leadership will hit the ground running to deliver President Trump’s agenda in the 119th Congress, and we will work closely with him and his administration to turn this country around and unleash, as he says, a new golden age in America,” Johnson said at a press conference on the Capitol steps.
November 11, 2024, 11:22 PM EST – Trump’s new ‘border czar’ issues warning to sanctuary states and cities
President-elect Donald Trump’s newly picked “border czar” Tom Homan addressed his forthcoming deportation plan and state leaders who have objected to sweeping immigration policies.
During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Homan issued a warning to so-called “sanctuary” states and cities to “get the hell out of the way” of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
“I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job,” he warned, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he formerly served as director.
“I’ll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. We’re going to do our job despite the politics. We’re doing it. So get used to it, because we’re coming,” Homan said.
When asked if he plans to deport American citizens, Homan said, “President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first, and that’s how the focus would be.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
November 11, 2024, 8:48 PM EST – Trump expected to tap Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce his intention to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Rubio, 53, has served in the Senate since 2011. He is currently the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Intelligence, and he also sits on the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee.
Several long-serving State Department officials tell ABC News they respect Rubio’s extensive foreign policy experience and view him as unlikely to overly politicize the secretary of state role.
The secretary of state is appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Shannon Kingston
November 11, 2024, 7:00 PM EST – Trump asks Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser: Sources
Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to be his national security adviser, multiple sources said.
Waltz was at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, sources said.
Waltz is a former Green Beret and China hawk who emerged as a key surrogate for Trump, criticizing the Biden-Harris foreign policy record during the campaign.
The Florida Republican sits on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
He has supported aid to Ukraine in the past but has demanded “conditions,” including increased spending from European allies, additional oversight of funds and pairing the aid with border security measures.
Waltz, who has visited Ukraine, was a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s policy towards Ukraine, criticizing the White House and allies for not providing Ukraine with more lethal aid — such as MiG fighter planes — earlier in the conflict.
Before running for elected office, Waltz served in various national security policy roles in the Bush administration, Pentagon and White House.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Benjamin Siegel, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 6:06 PM EST – Volunteer-run effort on RFK Jr.’s website crowd-sourcing ideas for Trump admin appointments
A volunteer-run effort on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s website has begun crowd-sourcing ideas for appointments in Trump’s administration.
A website titled “Nominees for the People” gives anyone the chance to submit names of people they’d like to see join the administration.
“President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. want your help nominating people of integrity and courage for over 4,000 appointments across the future Trump administration,” the website reads.
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News that the crowd-sourcing effort is “a grassroots initiative run by volunteers,” and is not actually spearheaded by Kennedy, although the page uses the “mahanow.org” URL that Kennedy’s official campaign website adopted after he exited the race.
“We’ve always offered space on our website to our grassroots movement,” Spear said.
This post has been updated to reflect that the crowd-sourcing effort is a volunteer-run effort.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
November 11, 2024, 5:55 PM EST – Trump’s ‘border czar’ says mass deportation strategy will be a main priority
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan, Trump’s newly announced “border czar,” said his main priority will be overseeing and formulating Trump’s long-vowed mass deportation strategy while consolidating decisions related to border security.
“Everybody talks about this mass deportation operation. President Trump talks about. I’ll oversee that and come up with a strategy for that,” Homan said during a lengthy interview with his hometown television station WWNY on Monday.
Homan said Trump’s mass deportations is “going to be a targeted enforcement operation, concentrating on criminals and national security threats first.”
He acknowledged that the deportations would be costly but argued the policy would “save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Homan said he does not plan to “separate women and children” but acknowledged that deporting alleged criminals would result in breaking up families.
“When we arrest parents here, guess what? We separate them. The illegal aliens should be no different,” Homan said.
Homan also said worksite enforcement — an aspect of immigration policy focused on unauthorized workers and employers who knowingly hire them — is “going to get fired back up.”
“Under President Trump, we’re going to work it and we’re going to work it hard,” he said.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
November 11, 2024, 5:46 PM EST – Melania Trump skipping meeting with Jill Biden: Sources
Melania Trump is not expected to travel to Washington with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, two sources told ABC News.
First lady Jill Biden had extended an invite to Melania Trump for a meeting, according to the sources. In 2016, Michelle Obama had hosted Melania Trump at the White House.
The Trump campaign declined to comment. The first lady’s office confirmed to ABC News that a joint invitation was extended to the Trumps to meet at the White House though declined to comment beyond that.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Molly Nagle
November 11, 2024, 4:26 PM EST – RFK Jr. advising Trump transition on health decisions: Sources
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to broadly advise Trump and the transition team on health-related appointments and has been in discussions to possibly fill a major role in the next administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
While sources caution that a role has not been finalized, RFK Jr. has been discussed as a potential candidate for the next secretary of Health and Human Services. But other roles are also on the table, including a broad “czar”-like position that would advise on policy and personnel decisions in other health arenas, the sources said.
RFK Jr. has been in active discussions with the transition team since Trump’s election victory last week. He’s been spotted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club multiple times and has been engaging in presentations which include candidates for specific Cabinet and health-related jobs, sources said.
He has spent hours with the co-heads of Trump’s transition team — billionaire Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon — in addition to others at Mar-a-Lago such as Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.; investor and donor Omeed Malik; Tucker Carlson; and Del Bigtree, RFK Jr.’s former campaign spokesperson who produced a documentary called “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Olivia Rubin and Will McDuffie
November 11, 2024, 3:30 PM EST – Lee Zeldin named to be EPA administrator
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.
Zeldin, who also ran for New York governor against Andrew Cuomo in 2022, confirmed he had been offered the job via a post on X.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” he wrote. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
-ABC News’ John Santucci, Rachel Scott and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST -RFK Jr. suggests he’ll gut NIH, replace 600 employees
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated over the weekend that he would fire 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health, replacing them with a new cohort of workers as he seeks to dramatically reshape America’s health agencies.
Speaking at the Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kennedy described his role vetting people for Donald Trump’s new administration.
“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on Jan. 20, so that on Jan. 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave,” Kennedy said, according to a video of his remarks posted on YouTube.
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST- Trump expected to announce Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner and one of his senior advisers, will become his deputy chief of staff for policy, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
It’s not clear when Trump plans to formally announce the job, the sources said.
Miller worked in the first Trump administration and played a key role in crafting immigration policies — including those that resulted in thousands of families being separated at the border.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:00 PM EST – Trump picks Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador
President-elect Donald Trump selected Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, multiple Trump officials told ABC News.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.
Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York’s 21st District, was elected last week to her sixth term in the House. She will inherit a role Nikki Haley held for two years in the first Trump administration.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
