Trump chooses top aides in the transition

On By Littum

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As President-elect Donald Trump is busy selecting top aides to serve in his incoming administration, his allies are adding their votes to another high-stakes election: the race to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader.

Trump allies Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others weigh in on the critical vote to become McConnell’s heir. The new Senate leader will play a major role in the incoming administration’s vision for the country.

McConnell – a Republican from Kentucky who is the longest-serving Senate leader in US history – will step down from his leadership post in January.

Meanwhile, Trump has tapped Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving immigration advisers, as deputy chief of staff for policy in the incoming White House. Miller is one of several nominations Trump has announced.

Trump’s election comes as Republicans are poised to retain control of the House. Remember, a party needs 218 seats to lead the lower chamber, and Republicans have so far locked up 213 to Democrats’ 205.

Stay up to date with live coverage from the USA TODAY Network.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that President Joe Biden invited his predecessor, and soon-to-be-president, Donald Trump to meet with him because it is the norm.

“Because he believes in the norm, he believes in the institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” she said during the White House press briefing.

She said Biden reached out to Trump and asked that they meet in the Oval Office.

“It’s what’s supposed to happen. And it’s also what the American people deserve,” she said.

– Francesca Chambers

President-elect Donald Trump announced that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee would be his pick for US ambassador to Israel. “Mike has been a great public servant, governor and leader of faith for many years,” Trump said.

“He loves Israel and the people of Israel, and in the same way the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring peace to the Middle East!” Huckabee’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is now governor of Arkansas, previously served as Trump’s press secretary during his first term.

Trump formally names Mike Waltz as national security adviser

Trump made it (finally) official: Florida congressman Mike Waltz will be his new national security adviser. The former Green Beret “is a nationally recognized national security leader, a best-selling author and an expert on the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and global terrorism,” Trump said in a statement announcing Waltz’s appointment.

Sources said Monday that Waltz was the national security adviser’s choice.

The political world is still awaiting Trump’s comments on other members of his national security team, including reports that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio may become secretary of state and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security.

-David Jackson

Trump plans to meet with congressional leaders tomorrow

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump plans to come to Capitol Hill to meet with Johnson and the next Senate majority leader, who will be elected tomorrow morning.

Johnson said he expects the meeting to take place in the morning before Trump meets with President Joe Biden at the White House at 7 p.m. 11. The Senate leadership election is scheduled for 9:30.

Trump has already appointed two sitting members of the House of Representatives – Rep. Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. — to serve in his administration.

That could spell trouble for the House GOP, which is on track to hold the majority in the lower chamber by a razor-thin margin.

“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here,” Johnson said, adding that he doesn’t expect Trump to pick more current members of the House, but noted that it’s up to Trump.

– Riley Begin

Three senators are running to succeed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down in January.

The two main candidates to be McConnell’s heir are Sen. John Thune, RS.D., who is currently the Senate GOP second-in-command as Republican whip, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also served as whip and previously led the Senate The campaign arm of the GOP.

But several of President-elect Donald Trump’s most recognized allies, including billionaire tech titan Elon Musk, are launching a campaign to get Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., elected to the post. They argue that Scott is the only candidate who has been sufficiently loyal to Trump and would be best equipped to represent the president-elect’s interests.

The election will be held behind closed doors on Wednesday.

– Riley Beggin

Donald Trump is expected to tap Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to serve as his secretary of state, according to news reports.

Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is Trump’s pick to be the nation’s top diplomat, according to CNN and The New York Times. Rubio, a Cuban American, would be the first Latino to serve as secretary of state. However, The Times noted that its sources said Trump could still change his mind at the last minute.

Rubio has deep foreign policy experience and has transformed from a Trump opponent to a close ally who was a finalist to serve as Trump’s vice president. Rubio has expressed support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, but voted against further aid to the country last year.

– Riley Beggin and Michael Collins

Donald Trump is expected to pick South Dakota’s governor. Noem of Christ to lead the Department of Homeland Security, according to multiple news reports.

CNN first reported that Noem was Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem, a longtime Trump loyalist who joined Trump on the 2024 campaign trail, served as a Republican congresswoman in South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. She was elected the state’s first female governor in 2018 and was up for re-election in 2022.

A rancher, farmer and small business owner, the 52-year-old Noem was briefly considered as Trump’s vice presidential running mate this year. But her bid quickly crumbled amid a public backlash after Noem admitted in a memoir earlier this year that she shot and killed her dog Cricket for being “untrainable”.

– Joey Garrison

Donald Trump has tapped Florida congressman Mike Waltz to serve as his national security adviser, according to two sources familiar with his selection.

Waltz, 50, will join the new administration as it navigates several tense geopolitical battles, including the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars. The role Trump asked Waltz to serve in does not require Senate confirmation.

The three-term lawmaker has served on the House Armed Services Committee, served in civilian roles at the Pentagon and is a decorated Green Beret combat veteran. He is also an outspoken critic of the Defense Department’s diversity programs.

– Tom Vanden Brook and David Jackson

Donald Trump tapped former representative Lee Zeldin to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

As head of the EPA, Zeldin is expected to be tasked with rolling back many of the environmental regulations from the Biden administration as Trump pushes for an expansion of fossil fuel energy.

“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true champion of America First policies,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be passed in a way that unleashes the power of corporate America while maintaining the highest environmental standards.”

– Joey Garrison

Donald Trump has tapped Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving top immigration advisers, as deputy director of policy in the incoming White House.

Vice President-elect JD Vance congratulated Miller on his new role in a post X after CNN first reported the move. “This is another great choice by the president,” Vance said.

Miller’s appointment comes after Trump campaigned for president in 2024 to mobilize mass deportations of undocumented immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Miller, 39, served as Trump’s senior adviser and director of speechwriting during the Republican’s first term in the White House and is credited with shaping Trump’s immigration policies, which included separating migrant children from their families and a ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries. Miller played a central role in Trump’s 2024 campaign.

– Joey Garrison

Donald Trump appointed Rep. Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, according to more reports. The New York legislature has accepted the offer.

Trump’s nomination of Stefanik, a longtime congressional ally, is his first Cabinet pick after being re-elected to a second, non-consecutive term in the White House on Tuesday.

One of Stefanik’s most prominent moments came last year during a congressional hearing with university presidents from Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. During the hearing, she asked them whether calling for the genocide of Jews warranted disciplinary action.

All three presidents dithered and dodged the question, offering legal responses instead without directly condemning the call for genocide against Jews. Two of the presidents, Penn’s Liz Magill and Harvard’s Claudine Gay, have since left their posts.

– Savannah Kuchar