Trump and Biden both call for smooth transition in historic Oval Office meeting

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has chosen Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, a move that, if he’s confirmed by the Senate, would place a firebrand and one of Trump’s most loyal allies at the head of the Justice Department.

“Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” Trump said in his social media post.

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 Justice Department would not seek changes just last year. He has long denied any wrongdoing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced later Wednesday that Gaetz offered his resignation from Congress effective immediately.

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 the vacancy.

“So Matt would have done us a great service by making that decision, as he did, on the fly. And so we’re grateful for that so we move forward,” Johnson added.

Gaetz’s resignation will narrow the slim majority that Republicans will have in the new Congress in January, but he represents a reliably Republican district in the Florida Panhandle.

Gaetz has been a member of Congress since winning in 2017, riding the MAGA wave that brought Trump to Washington eight years ago. Over the years, Gaetz has become one of Trump’s most ardent, and according to some allies, effective, defenders in Washington while also growing close to Trump.

Gaetz has been down at Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago almost every day since Election Day, helping make suggestions and input on other administration selections, sources tell ABC News. Gaetz was also seen traveling with Trump in his motorcade during his visit to Washington on Wednesday.

Notably, Gaetz is very close with Trump’s newly selected chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who also has deep and storied roots in Florida politics.

Beginning in 2019, Gaetz faced a yearslong Justice Department investigation into allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Justice Department informed Gaetz in 2023 that it was declining to bring charges against him after its investigation.

The investigation into Gaetz stemmed from a probe into the Florida congressman’s one-time friend, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, who was sentenced in 2022 to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including sex trafficking a minor and introducing the minor to other “adult men.”

Since the Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz following its investigation, the Florida congressman has faced an ongoing probe by the House Ethics Committee regarding the same allegations.

In September, Gaetz released a lengthy statement concerning the ongoing House Ethics probe into his alleged conduct. Gaetz stated that he would no longer voluntarily participate in the probe and included a string of answers seemingly to questions the committee asked the Florida congressman earlier that month.

The House Ethics Committee drops an investigation into a member once they leave Congress, House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest told ABC News.

“You know, once a member is no longer a member of Congress, then ethics has no jurisdiction. So if Matt Gaetz were to be appointed as the Attorney General, the ethics investigation is currently ongoing, would cease at that point,” Guest said.

House Republicans were meeting behind closed doors when Trump announced he would be nominating Gaetz to serve as attorney general. There was an audible gasp in the room, several members who were inside told ABC News.

Many House Republicans on Capitol Hill are reacting to Trump’s pick of Gaetz.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Guest expressed support for Trump’s selection of Gaetz as attorney general. Republican Rep. Max Miller, a former aide to Donald Trump who was particularly critical of Gaetz following Florida congressman’s efforts to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year, said the pick was “silly” and that Gaetz would “never get confirmed by the Senate.”

“I believe that the President is probably rewarding him for being such a loyal soldier to the president, but the President is smart enough, and his team is smart enough to know that Mr. Gaetz will never get confirmed by the Senate. Whatsoever,” Miller said.

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Lauren Peller and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump announced that Alina Habba, his senior adviser and attorney, will serve as counselor to the president.

The appointment was shared through a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening, in which he wrote, “Alina has been a tireless advocate for Justice, a fierce Defender of the Rule of Law, and an invaluable Advisor to my Campaign and Transition Team. She has been unwavering in her loyalty, and unmatched in her resolve – standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles, and countless days in Court.”

“As a first generation American of Middle Eastern Heritage, she has become a role model for women in Law and Politics, most recently being named Chaldean Woman of the Year,” the post continued, before congratulating Habba and her family on the appointment.

In his former administration, the position was held by Kellyanne Conway. It is not associated with the White House counsel’s office.

In additional social media posts the same evening, Trump announced several State Department roles, including Michael Anton as director of policy planning, Michael Needham as counselor and Christopher Landau as deputy secretary.

“Michael served me loyally and effectively at the National Security Council in my First Term,” Trump’s post regarding the director of policy planning position said.

“He spent the last eight years explaining what an America First foreign policy truly means,” it added.

For Needham, he wrote, “Mike has capably served Senator Marco Rubio for many years, and is a key leader in the America First Movement. He has been on the front lines of the fight for the Forgotten Men and Women of America for nearly two decades, and will do a great job at State.”

In while appointing the deputy secretary of the State Department, the president-elect posted, “Chris will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through an America First Foreign Policy. Chris served as my Ambassador to Mexico, where he worked tirelessly with our team to reduce illegal migration to the lowest levels in History.”

“He is also one of our Country’s great lawyers, and clerked for both Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court,” the post continued. “He graduated from Harvard College, first in his Class, and Harvard Law School, and has argued nine cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

All four of the posts appeared on Trump’s account within the span of about one minute, just before 7 p.m.

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(WASHINGTON) — As Republicans senators returned to Washington after Thanksgiving recess to a renewed peppering of questions about President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, a familiar refrain emerged: trust the confirmation process.

“That’s why we’re going to take the normal process, vet all the nominees, and give everybody a chance to ask those questions during a hearing,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said when asked about new allegations concerning Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defense secretary.

“That is why our process is so important,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said when asked about the controversial reports surrounding Hegseth.

“The president is allowed to have his appointees who we will have to see,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said when asked about Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI. “I don’t know Kash Patel, we have to have him go through the process.”

“Like all the other nominees, he’ll get a process and a confirmation hearing and vetting and everything else. They’ll all have to through it, and we’ll see where the process takes us,” incoming Senate Republican Leader John Thune said about Patel.

The responses fell short of glowing endorsements for some of Trump’s nominees. And even as many Republicans call for regular processes to be followed as these nominations are considered, there remains at least one discrepancy on what a normal order process would look like.

Senators torn over FBI background checks

Though vetting of nominations has traditionally included an FBI background check, Republican senators are torn on whether one is 100% necessary for confirmation.

Thune told ABC News the issue over background checks will hopefully be “resolved.” While noting that there are “other alternatives” for getting information, Thune said that FBI background checks are “historically” the best way.

“I think, hopefully at some point they’ll get this background check issue resolved. At this point I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to be resolved but I think they will. I think the administration understands there’s got to be a thorough vetting of all of these noms,” Thune said. “And that, you know, historically, the best place to get that done has been through the FBI. They have other alternatives, you know, obviously, I assume our committee chairman will just want to make sure that they’ve got the background that they need to carefully evaluate these noms.”

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will be responsible for managing Hegseth’s nomination, told ABC News the panel is “looking at the way its been done traditionally and getting information about that as to who actually orders the FBI background check.”

But when pushed on whether he would want to see an FBI background check, he said he would.

“I would prefer a full background check, yes,” Wicker said.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he believes there will be background checks and he’d like to see them.

“My preference would be an FBI background check, and I’m not, I don’t know that we won’t have FBI background checks. I know that we have really good staffs and really good investigators, and they work closely with the FBI, so I’m not worried at all about — about not having background checks done on — not just these nominees, but any nominees by a president. I think that’s a false issue,” Kennedy said.

Some senators kept their cards close on this issue.

Cornyn ignored questions on whether he’d want to see a FBI background check for nominees like Patel.

But others are prepared to follow Trump’s lead.

“My position is what President Trump decides to do is what I will support,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said.

Lawmakers react to Kash Patel’s nomination

No Republican senator flatly rejected Patel as Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Justice, though many said they’ll wait for Patel to move through the Senate Judiciary Committee before making a decision on him.

But ultimately, for Patel to be installed, current FBI Director Chris Wray would need to be fired or step down.

There appears to be a general sense among Republicans that they would be okay with Wray being forced out.

“I am, I am,” Capito said when asked if she would be comfortable with Trump removing Wray to install Patel.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she likes Patel, and added that the FBI needs someone new to “go in and clean it up.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said it is reasonable for Trump to want to put in place someone he is comfortable with after his experiences during his first administration and in the years that followed.

“Think about what this guy has gone through, he’s had his house raided, he’s been indicted, so I think he’s probably in a position that you know, and then think about it in his first term, he had a special prosecutor, so I think he probably wants somebody that he knows is going to be loyal,” Scott said.

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