President-elect Donald Trump has announced that tech billionaire Elon Musk and ex-Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will head a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), tasked with cutting the cost of government, stripping away regulations and restructuring federal agencies.
Musk responded to the news by pledging that DOGE “will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people”.
The incoming 47th president unveiled a number of other appointments to his new administration on Tuesday, picking John Ratcliffe, his director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021, to be his next CIA director and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense.
Trump also revealed that Mike Huckabee has been chosen as his new ambassador to Israel, Steven Witkoff will be his special envoy to the Middle East and William Joseph McGinley his White House counsel.
The former and future commander-in-chief will return to Washington DC on Wednesday to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill and Joe Biden at the White House to discuss a transition schedule as the Senate elects a new majority leader in place of Mitch McConnell, with Rick Scott, John Cornyn and John Thune in contention.
Key Points
- Donald Trump names Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to ‘Manhattan Project’ of government cuts
- White House defends Biden-Trump sitdown invitation: ‘The American people deserve this’
- Trump picks John Ratcliffe as new CIA director
- President-elect announces Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
- Judge delays ruling on whether to dismiss Trump’s criminal conviction
Trump taps Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel
10:10
Joe Sommerlad
Other cabinet appointments confirmed by Trump on Tuesday included Mike Huckabee being nominated as his new ambassador to Israel, Steven Witkoff as his special envoy to the Middle East and William Joseph McGinley as his White House counsel.
Here’s a little more on Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and long-standing conservative favorite.
President-elect announces Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
09:50
Joe Sommerlad
If this one beggars belief at first glance, here’s a little explanation.
Hegseth, 44, is a former Bear Stearns banker who served tours with the Army National Guard in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan and has led veterans-focused advocacy organizations.
He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and is a co-host on its morning show Fox and Friends.
During his time with the network, Hegseth has lobbied Trump to support US soldiers and contractors accused of war crimes, including Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher and a group of Blackwater personnel accused of massacring civilians in Baghdad.
On air, Hegseth has complained that the US is spending too much supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia, has been an outspoken advocate for Israel and made a series of controversial pronouncements, a sample of which follows:
Pete Hegseth 5 days ago: "I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles." pic.twitter.com/0W3LDSakud
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2024
Soon to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth complained on Fox that veterans who use the benefits they've earned are dependent on the government and lack "personal integrity".
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) November 13, 2024
This is what every Vet who wore their MAGA hats to the VA hospital voted for.
pic.twitter.com/H1bfbCLPUi
In 2019, Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth said that he never washes his hands and can’t remember washing them once in the past 10 years: “Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them.” pic.twitter.com/4qNO1SL6Q0
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) November 13, 2024
There was also this noteworthy near-miss:
here’s pete hegseth, fox news host and trump’s pick for secretary of defense, nearly killing a drummer with an axe on live TV pic.twitter.com/b1RHmVz6vZ https://t.co/qkpekjqnIQ
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) November 13, 2024
“Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops, and for the country,” Trump said in a statement yesterday.
“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down.”
Josh Marcus has more.
Trump picks John Ratcliffe as new CIA director
09:30
Joe Sommerlad
The incoming 47th president unveiled a number of other appointments to his new administration on Tuesday, picking John Ratcliffe, his director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021, to be his next CIA director.
Josh Marcus has more on a returning face from Trump’s first term.
White House defends Biden-Trump sitdown invitation: ‘The American people deserve this’
09:10
Joe Sommerlad
The former and future commander-in-chief will return to Washington DC on Wednesday to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill and Joe Biden at the White House to discuss a transition schedule as the Senate elects a new majority leader in place of Mitch McConnell, with Rick Scott, John Cornyn and John Thune in contention.
Biden’s team has defended making the invitation to Trump, who did not extend the same courtesy to his successor in late 2020 while he disputed his election defeat on false grounds.
Asked why the president is granting the Republican a grace he was not afforded four years ago, White House press secretart Karine Jean-Pierre replied that it was “easy” to answer the question.
“Because he believes in the norms, he believes in our institutions, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” she said.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Donald Trump names Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to ‘Manhattan Project’ of government cuts
08:50
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
President-elect Donald Trump has announced that tech billionaire Elon Musk and ex-Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will head a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), tasked with cutting the cost of government, stripping away regulations and restructuring federal agencies.
Musk responded to the news by pledging that DOGE “will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people”.
Trump compared the office to the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first atomic bombs.
Here’s Alex Woodward’s report.
WATCH: Scalise praises Trump’s ‘really good smart picks’ for cabinet
08:00
Gustaf Kilander
Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally continues amid ‘Trump bump’ crypto frenzy
07:00
Anthony Cuthbertson
The price of bitcoin hit a new record on Tuesday, marking the third consecutive day that the cryptocurrency has reached an all-time-high.
The new price high above $89,900 forms part of a broader rally that began when Donald Trump emerged as the likely winner of the US presidential election on 6 November.
Positioning himself as a pro-crypto candidate, the president-elect has promised to end what he calls the “persecution” of the crypto industry and to position the United States as the “bitcoin superpower of the world” once in power.
Election ‘Nostradamus’ blames incorrect prediction on Elon Musk and ‘explosion’ of disinformation
06:15
Rhian Lubin
Allan Lichtman, who incorrectly predicted that Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election, blamed Elon Musk and the “explosion” of disinformation during the campaign.
The American political historian had been dubbed the “Nostradamus” of elections because – until last week – he successfully predicted the last nine out of 10 presidential races since 1984. He consistently backed his original prediction that Harris would win in 2024.
But since Donald Trump claimed victory last week, the professor acknowledged he was wrong and would reassess his method.
Reflecting on the result, Lichtman said he was “sounding the alarm” about Musk.
Susie Wiles hints at Trump’s plans for day one in office during private Republican event
05:30
Ariana Baio
President-elect Donald Trump plans to restore multiple executive orders from his first term that President Joe Biden rescinded as soon as he takes office, Susie Wiles, the incoming White House chief of staff, told Republican donors at a private event on Monday.
While speaking with donors at a closed-door conference in Las Vegas, Wiles said Trump is prepared to take action on day one by reinstating previous policies through executive orders – though, she did not specify which ones Trump is prioritizing, the New York Times reported.
Biden reversed at least 24 Trump administration policies within his first 100 days in office.
WATCH: Who is who in the new first family?
04:45
Reann Philogene
Donald Trump was elected the 47th United States President on Tuesday, November 6th, 2024.
While the Trump family name has been long famous in the business and entertainment industry, Donald Trump’s political reputation has made the family more prominent than ever. Some members have expressed they share different views with Donald Trump’s conservative political agenda, yet the family have all shown their encouragement one way or another throughout Trump’s presidential campaign. Donald Trump has a total of five children and ten grandchildren in his immediate family.
With his second presidential term approaching, the public has seen more of the younger generation of family members enter the public arena to support him.
Starmer and Trump on collision course over climate change ambitions as PM unveils ambitious target
04:00
David Maddox, Stuti Mishra
Keir Starmer and Donald Trump are on a collision course over global warning after the prime minister positioned himself as the international leader on attempting to achieve net zero.
The prime minister used his position as one of the only world leaders from the G20 nations to attend the COP29 climate conference in Baku to announce that carbon emissions in the UK will be slashed by 81 per cent by 2035.
But it came as president-elect Trump indicated that he would be taking the US in the opposite direction with the controversial appointment of Lee Zeldin to lead the US Environment Protection Agency.
WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel savages Trump’s new partner 'Elonia Musk’
03:15
Gustaf Kilander
Who is in Trump’s Cabinet so far? From ‘ice maiden’ Susie Wiles to border czar Tom Homan
02:30
Thomas Beaumont
President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill 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.
Kamala Harris was convinced to abandon her progressive ideas. So Democrats didn’t vote for her
02:05
John Bowden
Democrats are looking at spending at least the first two years of Donald Trump’s second presidency in the wilderness after losing the Senate. It looks increasingly likely they will fail to retake the House of Representatives, too. Now, many are questioning whether the party is truly going to learn anything of value from the second defeat of the Democratic standard-bearer to Trump and MAGA Republicanism.
Centrist Democrats in particular are taking it from all sides, humiliated with a seven-swing-state sweep after successfully talking Harris into abandoning the progressive-ish agenda she championed in her 2020 bid for the White House. Those centrists spent the past few months stating plainly that she would not be a meaningful departure from the presidency of Joe Biden, with whom Harris could not identify a single issue on which she disagreed.
WATCH: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize for Puerto Rico joke at Trump rally
01:45
Gustaf Kilander
Full story: Trump names Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to ‘Manhattan Project’ for government cuts
01:33
Alex Woodward
Donald Trump has nominated billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created office designed to fire workers and make drastic cuts to government funding.
The men leading the Office of Government Efficiency — or DOGE, named after Musk’s favorite meme — “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies — Essential to the ‘Save America; Movement,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk added.
WATCH: Trump and Alina Habba dance to ‘Trump Won’ song
01:20
Reann Philogene
Republicans push for criminal probe into judge in Trump hush money case – and the judge’s daughter
01:00
Mike Bedigan
In the wake of Donald Trump’s sweeping victory, Republicans are turning their attention to those in the judicial system who went up against the president-elect in the courts.
Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Florida Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Cory Mills floated the idea that criminal charges could be brought against Judge Juan Merchan – and his daughter Loren Merchan.
Merchan oversaw Trump’s high-profile hush money case where he was ultimately convicted of 34 felonies in New York earlier this year. His daughter subsequently became the target of attacks by the president-elect due to her Democrat-leaning political activities.
Donald Trump taps Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency'
00:42
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump has chosen billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the 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 - Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday night.
Musk added that “this will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people.”
Musk first promoted the idea at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on October 27.
“How much do you think we can rip out of this wasted, $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?” Howard Lutnick, the billionaire chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, who is advising Trump’s campaign, asked at the event.
“I think we can do at least $2 trillion,” Musk said.
“Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that,” he added. “We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.”
Trump’s November sentencing in hush money case now in jeopardy after judge delays ruling on verdict
00:30
Alex Woodward
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial is delaying a ruling on whether to toss out a verdict after the Supreme Court’s landmark “immunity” ruling.
A decision on Tuesday from New York Justice Juan Merchan, a week after Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, adds yet another delay to proceedings in a case that resulted in his 34-count criminal conviction.
Merchan was scheduled to issue a ruling on Trump’s “immunity” argument on Tuesday.
Instead, he told Trump’s lawyers he will delay a decision until November 19.
Merchan initially moved his decision on the “immunity” question until after Election Day “to avoid any appearance” of political interference.
Trump was scheduled to be sentenced on November 26. That will also be put on hold for now.
Trump announces Defense Secretary pick
00:18
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump has announced he is nominating Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, as his Secretary of Defense.
“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country,” Trump said in a press release on Tuesday night. “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice - Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
“Pete is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University,” Trump added. “He is an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan.”
Inside Kristi Noem’s many controversies - from dog killing to Kim Jong Un ‘meeting’
00:00
Gustaf Kilander
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s reported pick to serve as the next Homeland Security secretary, has had her fair share of controversies, from shooting her dog to a disputed claim regarding a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, making the department one of the most important in Trump’s efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the US.
Noem was elected governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022.
UK risks infuriating Donald Trump as frontrunner to be Britain’s US ambassador suggests it is a part-time job
Tuesday 12 November 2024 23:30
Kate Devlin
The UK risks infuriating Donald Trump after the frontrunner to be Britain’s next ambassador to the US suggested he could combine the job with another role.
Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Mandelson said that becoming the UK’s man in Washington was not “incompatible” with being next chancellor of the University of Oxford.
Lord Mandelson is seen as the leading contender for the Washington job, as the Labour government comes under pressure to woo the president-elect.
‘I apologize to absolutely nobody’: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe blasted for Puerto Rico joke again defense his set
Tuesday 12 November 2024 23:00
Ariana Baio
Tony Hinchcliffe, the controversial comedian who faced backlash for calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during a Donald Trump rally, remains unapologetic about his ill-received joke.
“I apologize to absolutely nobody,” Hinchcliffe said to thunderous applause at the top of his live podcast and comedy show Kill Tony on Monday.
“Not to the Puerto Ricans. Not to the whites. Not to the Blacks. Not to the Palestinians. Not to the Jews,” he added, “and not to my own mother, who I made fun of during the set.”
Just in: Trump names John Ratcliffe as CIA director and Bill McGinley as White House counsel
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:51
Alex Woodward
Donald Trump has tapped his former national intelligence director John Ratfliffe to lead the CIA.
Trump has also named Bill McGinley — who formerly served as Trump’s Cabinet secretary — as White House counsel.
McGinley had recently worked alongside indicted former right-wing media personality Christina Bobb on the Republican National Committee’s “election integrity” team.
“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.
Ratcliffe, a former congressman who served on Trump’s impeachment team during his first impeachment, later was nominated to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, to which he was narrowly approved in the Senate by a vote of 49 to 44.
A month before the 2020 election, Ratcliffe declassified 2016 Russian disinformation that claimed Hillary Clinton had approved a scheme to tie Trump to Vladimir Putin and hacking of the Democratic National Committee — disinformation that was previously rejected by a Senate committee.
Ratcliffe “has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump said in a statement.
Biden appears to mock question about hostage deal
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:30
Gustaf Kilander
I asked President Biden if he thinks that he can get a hostage deal done by the end of his term. He answered, commenting on the number of cameramen in the room: “do you think that you can get hit in the head by the camera behind you?” pic.twitter.com/B3DCJoHdaw
— Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) November 12, 2024
Trump names Steve Witkoff as special envoy to Middle East
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:18
Alex Woodward
Real estate developer and Trump donor Steve Witkoff has been named as a special envoy to the Middle East in Tump’s incoming administration.
“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous. Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” according to a statement from Trump.
Witkoff also is the co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, and he was golfing with Trump when the alleged second attempted assassination was averted at the former president’s Florida golf club.
Michael Flynn says Mar-a-Lago staff should be subjected to polygraph tests to catch Trump cabinet pick ‘leaker’
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:15
Michelle Del Rey
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is calling for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago staff to be subjected to polygraph tests after a series of press reports about the incoming president’s cabinet picks.
Flynn, who briefly served in the Trump administration, made the remarks on X/Twitter on Tuesday in response to a tweet by controversial far-right activist Laura Loomer.
“It would be very easy to catch someone doing this. Give everyone that is there a one question poly (this is very easy to do). Ask them one question, “have you communicated with any media outlets in the past week?” You’ll see the leaks disappear,” Flynn said in response to a tweet by Loomer, a hard-right conspiracy theorist who traveled with Trump on the campaign trail.
‘There is no such thing as a West Bank,’ Huckabee said in 2017
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:00
Gustaf Kilander
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick to be the next ambassador to Israel, told CNN in 2017 that he didn’t agree with the use of the word “settlements” to describe Israeli occupations on the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
He also said there is “no such thing” as the West Bank, the largest of two Palestinian territories that comprise the Palestinian state.
“I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee told the network, referencing the Biblical terms for the West Bank. “There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
J Street president says Huckabee selection shows that ‘the mask if off’
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:50
Gustaf Kilander
The president of the pro-Israel nonprofit J Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said in a statement that the selection of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as Trump’s next ambassador to Israel shows that “the mask is off.”
“This announcement is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from any concern for Jewish values, safety or self-determination,” he said. “It’s all about what ‘pro-Israel’ means to extremists in the MAGA base.”
“Between Rubio and Huckabee, Trump and Netanyahu, we know the Trump Administration’s approach to Israel-Palestine will trample our values and endanger Israelis and Palestinians,” he added. “Biden has a narrow window of opportunity to blunt the impact before he leaves office – he must use it.”
Women denied abortions tell court they were ‘made to feel like medical refugees’ as they sue Idaho
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:40
Kelly Rissman
An Idaho woman who was denied an abortion in her home state felt like a “medical refugee” when she had to cross state lines to obtain abortion care, she has told a court hearing a case against the state.
Four Idaho women denied abortion care after experiencing pregnancy complications and physicians are suing the state of Idaho, which has two abortion bans in place and only allows abortions in the case of rape or incest or to save the pregnant person’s life with limited medical exceptions. The plaintiffs, represented by lawyers at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), are seeking clarity on medical exceptions and when providers are legally allowed to provide life-saving care.
Alina Habba frontrunner to be Trump press secretary: report
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:33
Gustaf Kilander
Alina Habba has emerged as a possible frontrunner to be Trump’s next White House press secretary, according to Mediaite.
The attorney has represented the former president in a series of cases.
The outlet reported that there are ongoing discussions about Habba taking on the role, but it remains unclear if she will accept the position.
“She’s expected to be at Mar-a-Lago this week for conversations regarding a potential role,” a source told Mediaite.
WATCH: Trump’s transition to the White House
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:25
Gustaf Kilander
Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:17
Associated Press
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine.
Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years. He was brought into court in an orange jumpsuit and showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.
Earlier in the hearing he apologized before the judge.
Prosecutors had originally requested a 17-year sentence for Teixeira, saying he “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”
Defense attorneys had sought an 11-year sentence. In their sentence memorandum, they acknowledged that their client “made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months,” but they argued that Teixeira’s actions, though criminal, were never meant to “harm the United States.” He also had no prior criminal record.
The security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced th
