Donald Trump has announced his latest cabinet pick, nominating Brendan Carr to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the body charged with regulating the US media.
Currently a commissioner with the FCC, Carr contributed to the controversial Project 2025 manifesto and was described by the president-elect as “a warrior for Free Speech... [who] has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy.
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”
The Republican has yet to announce his choice for treasury secretary and two new candidates for the position will reportedly be interviewed at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday: former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan.
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, and Key Square Capital Management founder Scott Bessant were thought to be first in the line for the role but the incoming president is understood to be having second thoughts.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden announced on Sunday he had approved the use of American-made long-range missiles by Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Key Points
- Donald Trump picks Project 2025 co-author to lead FCC
- Trump to interview treasury secretary candidates at Mar-a-Lago
- Joe Biden accused of starting WWIII by permitting Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike Russia
- Mike Johnson denies discussing Matt Gaetz ethics report with Trump
Over half of voters were surprised by Trump’s win – including Republicans, new poll reveals
12:35
Joe Sommerlad
A majority of Americans were surprised by Trump’s win in the presidential election – including 43 percent of Republicans, according to exclusive data.
A poll of 1,941 US adults by Prolific, exclusively for The Independent, found that, following months of predictions on a knife’s edge, Americans on all sides ended up being surprised by the final outcome of the White House race.
Some 54 percent of people were at least quite surprised by the outcome of the election, with 14 percent of those “very surprised.”
A third were not very surprised, and 16 percent not surprised at all.
Here’s more from Alicja Hagopian.
‘Trump dance’ catches on in the NFL
12:15
Joe Sommerlad
LA Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Detroit Lions defenders Malcolm Rodriguez and Za’Darius Smith and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley were all doing the president-elect’s signature move at the weekend.
Brock Bowers did the Donald Trump dance after scoring a TD. pic.twitter.com/NLMwKl2U0G
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 17, 2024
Detroit Lions defenders Malcolm Rodriguez and Za'Darius Smith celebrate with the Donald Trump Dance ♂️ #Trump #JAXvDET #OnePride pic.twitter.com/xgOp06D1B5
— Bella (@Bella91320) November 18, 2024
For the first time in my life, the Right is cooler than the left
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) November 17, 2024
Jon Jones did the Trump dance last night. Calvin Ridley and his teammate do it today. Wild vibe shift pic.twitter.com/LyMJy0joqO
It’s even reached League One in England, thanks to Barnsley FC.
The Donald Trump tour has gone worldwide! Players from the English soccer club Barnsley hit the Trump dance after a goal. pic.twitter.com/re66NujG6w
— OutKick (@Outkick) November 16, 2024
Here’s more.
Even Matt Gaetz’s dad was surprised Trump picked him for attorney general
11:55
Joe Sommerlad
A number of the president-elect’s nominations to his new cabinet have raised eyebrows among political observers, but none more so than Matt Gaetz, who has been tapped to become America’s next attorney general.
Gaetz, 42, is known as a MAGA firebrand on Capitol Hill who was instrumental in the ousting of previous House speaker Kevin McCarthy.
He is also known for being the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) sex trafficking investigation and House Ethics Committee probe.
He has never been criminally charged and denies the allegations.
Few, it seems, saw him as a likely head of the DOJ – and, it turns out, that includes Gaetz’s his own father.
CBS’s 60 Minutes sparks right-wing backlash over brutal takedown of Trump’s cabinet picks
11:35
Joe Sommerlad
Host Scott Pelley began Sunday’s show with a monologue dissecting Donald Trump’s choices for his future administration, detailing one-by-one how the likes of Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr have “no compelling qualifications” and “no government experience” to take up the jobs they’ve been nominated for.
Trump’s incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung took to X shortly after to claim that Pelley’s segment was riddled with “disgusting bias” and was soon joined in his outrage by Elon Musk, Charlie Kirk and many other members of the MAGA-verse.
This is exactly why we rebuffed @60Minutes for an interview during the campaign.
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung) November 18, 2024
Their disgusting bias & unhinged “reporting” are out of touch with everyday Americans who voted for President Trump.
60 Minutes is an out-dated relic of the past. CANCEL!pic.twitter.com/42bTKUsLwH
Here’s more from James Liddell.
Truth Social: Trump whitewashes Covid response and leans on Republicans to fall in line
11:15
Joe Sommerlad
Here are the latest posts from Trump’s non-Elon social media feed, which find him taking a revisionist attitude towards his first administration’s pandemic response and issuing a veiled threat to the GOP not to engage in any funny business.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 18, 2024
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 17, 2024
Trump’s pick of Marco Rubio as secretary of state ignites fears of fiercer US-China rivalry
10:55
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump once belittled him as “Little Marco” and a “choke artist”, only to then nominate him as his US secretary of state and describe him as “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 Florida Senator’s appointment as arguably the most powerful diplomat in the world will likely reshape American foreign policy towards allies and rivals alike – and dealing with China’s continued economic, diplomatic and military rise is set to be one of his top priorities.
That Trump moved swiftly to staff his foreign policy and national security team with China hawks is an indication that relations between the two superpowers will deteriorate further, writes Shweta Sharma.
RFK Jr dines on McDonald’s with Trump as ex-health sec warns role is ‘life or death’
10:35
Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was pictured looking slightly awkward in the company of Don Jr, Elon Musk and Mike Johnson over the weekend as the group posed with boxes of McDonald’s junk food aboard the Republican’s private plane.
POV: walking by the cool kids table pic.twitter.com/RWkw6CufKB
— Margo Martin (@margomartin) November 17, 2024
That “Make America Healthy Again” agenda already appears to be in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, this is what one of RFK Jr’s predecessors in that office, Kathleen Sebelius, had to tell MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart about the seriousness of the role the notorious vaccine sceptic has been nominated to:
“I think that we’re talking about magnitudes of danger beyond erroneously making legal decisions. This is life or death. The HHS affects people from birth to their grave and is intimately connected with every state in the country. So this could be very dangerous. I think it’s totally disqualifying for anyone who seeks to lead the major health agency in this country and one of the leaders in the world to just unequivocally say there is no safe and effective vaccine.
“That in and of itself, from the bully pulpit of HHS, could end up killing people, could end up harming children. My grandson is too young to get a lot of vaccinations yet, and having him exposed to unvaccinated people with polio and measles is a terrifying thought. Having eradicated those diseases as a major health initiative, Jonathan, I think this is absolutely terrifying and people should understand how serious it is.”
Mike Johnson denies discussing Matt Gaetz ethics report with Trump
10:15
Joe Sommerlad
The House speaker defended his call for the House Ethics Committee to withhold the release of its report on the investigation into Matt Gaetz – Trump’s pick for attorney general – during a round of TV appearances on Sunday amid allegations that the former Florida congressman paid for sex with an underage girl.
"The president and I have literally not discussed one word about the ethics report,” Johnson told CNN’s State of the Union yesterday.
“Not once.”
Here’s more from John Bowden.
Joe Biden accused of starting WWIII by permitting Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike Russia
09:55
Joe Sommerlad
The president has authorised Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike hundreds of miles inside Russia for the first time, according to reports.
The decision marks a major policy shift and comes after Russia warned that it would interpret the move to permit the use of US-made missiles as an “escalation”.
With Biden leaving office in two months, President-Elect Trump has indicated he will limit American support for Ukraine and has pledged to end the war quickly.
His predecessor’s decision has already led both Donald Trump Jr and Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to accuse Biden of attempting to start a Third World War.
The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 17, 2024
Gotta lock in those $Trillions.
Life be damned!!! Imbeciles! https://t.co/ZzfwnhBxRh
On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) November 17, 2024
The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign…
Barney Davis and John Bowden have this report on a big call.
Trump to interview treasury secretary candidates at Mar-a-Lago
09:35
Joe Sommerlad
The Republican has yet to announce his choice for treasury secretary and two new candidates for the position will reportedly be interviewed at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday: former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan.
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, and Key Square Capital Management founder Scott Bessant were thought to be first in the line for the role but the incoming president is understood to be having second thoughts, according to The New York Times.
Here’s John Bowden on which man Musk favors.
Donald Trump picks Project 2025 co-author to lead FCC
09:15
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump has announced his latest cabinet pick, nominating Brendan Carr to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the body charged with regulating the US media.
Currently a commissioner with the FCC, Carr contributed to the controversial Project 2025 manifesto and was described by the president-elect as “a warrior for Free Speech... [who] has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy.
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”
Thank you, President Trump!
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 18, 2024
I am humbled and honored to serve as Chairman of the FCC.
Now we get to work. pic.twitter.com/MPyL2d38kT
The pundits are already looking ahead to his possible role in realising Trump’s threat to revoke broadcast licences and benefiting Elon Musk.
Trump has threatened virtually all of the major American TV networks. Will he push his pick for FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, to follow up on his talk about revoking licenses from stations? pic.twitter.com/90LnTzEQob
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2024
Brendan Carr successfully auditioned to be Trump’s FCC Chairman. Was clear as day after his Fox News appearance where he indicated he would be willing to target broadcast licenses of networks Trump doesn’t like. pic.twitter.com/xbEbCd5JAM
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) November 18, 2024
Trump to name Brendan Carr--a massive champion for Elon Musk and his Starlink system--as chairman of the F.C.C. which controls orbital access by space communications companies in the US. pic.twitter.com/WS52cPopzl
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) November 18, 2024
‘We’re so back’: How the Heritage Foundation is creeping back into Trump’s sphere after months of criticism
09:00
Rhian Lubin
After Donald Trump attempted to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, the organization behind it “kind of went dark,” an official admitted.
Kamala Harris linked the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 – a radical conservative 900-page blueprint for the second Trump administration, which includes proposals for shutting down the Department of Education and federal limits on abortion – to the Trump campaign.
After Democrats hit Project 2025 hard in campaign ads, the organization faced widespread backlash and had no choice but to quietly back away. Trump’s campaign also publicly shunned the proposals. “We did not anticipate that,” a Heritage official told Politico’s Playbook. “And wish it didn’t happen. But you know, we had to do what we had to do.”
As Trump distanced himself from the document, the think tank also stopped touting it on social media. Their president, Kevin Roberts, even pushed his own book publication launch back from September to after the election.
Now the book, titled Dawn’s Early Light, the foreword of which is penned by vice president-elect JD Vance, has been published, and the mood seems to be changing in the group, who are creeping back out of the shadows into Trump’s sphere after months of fierce criticism.
Last week in Washington D.C, the group marked the book’s publication with a cocktail party where one Heritage official, with “a nervous laugh,” told Politico’s Playbook: “We’re so back.”
Read more below.
ICYMI: SNL skewers Donald Trump’s ‘crazy’ cabinet picks in brutal Cold Open
08:30
Rhian Lubin
Saturday Night Live took a hit at Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet picks in their Cold Open sketch on Saturday night.
The skit, which started by poking fun at Trump and President Joe Biden’s transition meeting, took jabs at the many people who could join the president-elect’s cabinet come January.
“It’s all about surrounding yourself with the best people,” comedian James Austin Johnson said, playing Trump in the sketch. “And I am very vastly picking the most epic cabinet of all time. They’re some of the most dynamic, free-thinking, animal-killing, sexually-criminal, medically-crazy people in the country.”
Watch below.
President Biden and President-Elect Trump meet to discuss the transition of power pic.twitter.com/e2Q9p7icGZ
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) November 17, 2024
Inside the Harris campaign’s 15-week, $1.5 billion spending spree that has left Democrats looking for answers
08:00
Rhian Lubin
The Harris campaign burned through $1.5 billion in a failed bid to send the vice president to the White House, and now Democrats are searching for answers after the stunning defeat.
Kamala Harris’s 15-week operation splashed out on celebrity concerts, social media influencers, an Oprah town hall event, and ramped up its advertising campaign and ground game at an average cost of roughly $100 million a week, according to The New York Times.
The biggest expense, according to the outlet, was the campaign’s advertising spend – including producing television and digital ads – which amounted to $494 million between July 21 and October 16.
Other costs included $2.5 million for three digital agencies that worked with online influencers and $900,000 to advertise on the Las Vegas Sphere venue, according to officials who spoke to theTimes.
It has provoked the Democratic National Committee’s financial chair to “push for an introspective study and analysis” of how the campaign racked up a total spend of $1.5 billion.
Read more below.
ICYMI: Iowa pollster Ann Selzer to retire after ‘big miss’ predicting Kamala Harris win in Iowa
06:30
Rhian Lubin
Ann Selzer, the pollster behind the Des Moines Register’s respected Iowa Poll, has announced her retirement just weeks after the survey incorrectly showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a 3 percentage point lead over Donald Trump in Iowa.
Just before Election Day, the poll showed Harris leading Trump 44-47 among likely voters. The news was a last minute injection of hope for Democrat voters desperate to keep Trump out of the White House.
Those hopes turned to ash on Election Day; Trump defeated Harris soundly, 56 to 43 per cent.
Selzer penned a guest column in the Des Moines Register announcing her retirement. After the poll failed to reflect reality, she called it a “big miss” and theorized that her poll may have “energize[d] and activate[d] Republican voters who thought they would likely coast to a victory.”
While Selzer is retiring, the poll will reportedly continue to operate. Gannett Media — which owns the Register — told CNN via its chief content officer Kristin Roberts that the poll will “evolve as we find new ways to accurately capture public sentiment and the pulse of Iowans on state and national issues.”
‘The least qualified nominee in American history’: Why Trump picked Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense
05:30
Rhian Lubin
The second in command to the nation’s military could end up being a Fox News pundit who wants to launch a “frontal assault” against top brass, kick women out of combat, and implement Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda for the world’s third-largest standing fighting force.
The president-elect has nominated Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense, overseeing a budget of roughly $850 billion and roughly 3 million service members and personnel serving in the nation’s oldest-running agency while the US is embroiled in global conflicts in a period of escalating tensions.
The office was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to centralize governance of the newly renamed Department of War and the various branches of the military, writes Alex Woodward.
Read more below.
Trump’s Cabinet tracker: Here’s who is among the White House appointments so far
05:00
Rhian Lubin
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.
Mike Johnson shares pictures from ‘fun break’ at Madison Square Garden with Trump and co
04:30
Rhian Lubin
Speaker Mike Johnson posted photos of the “fun break” he enjoyed as part of Trump’s entourage to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
After our long day of work & planning at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, the trip to @ufc 309 was a fun break. Great days are ahead! pic.twitter.com/YQ9TTmaXQn
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) November 17, 2024
Pulitzer-winning Connie Shultz reflects on husband Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s Senate loss
04:00
Rhian Lubin
Connie Schultz, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist who spent much of her career at The Cleveland Plain Dealer shared what it was like on Election Night when her husband, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, learned that his time representing the Buckeye State was coming to an end.
Brown was one of the few remaining high-profile progressive voices left representing Ohio as the state shifted red in 2016. He took office in 2006 after he defeated now Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. His 2024 opponent, Republican Bernie Moreno, a car dealer, defeated him on Election Day.
Shultz recalled in a post on her Substack the complicated and often awkward early days of her relationship with Brown. As a columnist at a major Ohio newspaper, dating a politician raised ethical questions in the world of journalism and drew a lot of attention.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Vivek Ramaswamy suggests Department of Education will be ‘deleted outright’ by DOGE
03:30
Rhian Lubin
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is co-leading Donald Trump’sDepartment of Government Efficiency alongside X CEO Elon Musk, hinted that the dynamic duo of government gutting are planning to “delete” the US Department of Education.
He told Fox News‘ Maria Bartiromo that he and Musk were planning to make “deep cuts” unlike any in recent history.
“Elon and I aren’t in this for the credit,” Ramaswamy said on Sunday. “But I think we’re gonna build the consensus to make the kind of deep cuts that haven’t been made for most of our history.”
Bartiromo asked specifically about the Department of Education, and if Ramaswamy and Musk were planning on shutting down departments.
In response, he said: “We expect mass reductions. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.”
John Bowden reports.
ICYMI: Woman testified to House Ethics Committee she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with minor, her lawyer says
03:00
Rhian Lubin
A woman testified in front of the House Ethics Committee that she saw Matt Gaetz have sex with a minor, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Joel Leppard represents two women who gave closed-door testimony in the summer to the committee probing President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for attorney general, ABC first reported.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Leppard told the outlet.
Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.
Read the full story below.
Pete Hegseth paid woman as part of NDA after she accused him of sexual assault, report claims
02:30
Rhian Lubin
New details have emerged about the sexual assault allegation against Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Defense.
This week, a report emerged revealing police investigated Hegseth for alleged sexual misconduct in Monterey, California in 2017.
Now, The Washington Post reports the veteran and Fox News host paid the woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a non-disclosure agreement. Despite the payment, he maintained the encounter was consensual.
The Post, citing a statement from Hegseth’s attorney Timothy Parlatore, reported that Hegseth was “visibly intoxicated” when he encountered a woman in Monterey seven years ago.
Parlatore said in this statement that the woman contacted the police, and they concluded, “the Complainant had been the aggressor in the encounter.”
However, Monterey police did not confirm this to the Post.
Hegseth later agreed to pay the woman as part of an NDA because he was concerned he’d be fired by Fox News, the Post reports. The NDA and payment came after she threatened to litigate further in 2020, the Post reports, citing Hegseth’s attorney.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Post that Hegseth “vigorously denies” all wrongdoing.
Katie Hawkinson has the full story.
Elon Musk says he wants ‘super high IQ’ workers for DOGE — but they may not be paid
02:00
Rhian Lubin
Elon Musk is looking for a few good “super high-IQ” volunteers to do the “tedious work” of gutting the federal government.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — whose acronym is DOGE — is apparently recruiting unpaid volunteers from X, according to posts from the nascent agency.
A post made by the department’s account said it was looking for the “top 1 percent” of X applicants who have a “super high-IQ” and are “small-government revolutionaries” to work 80-plus hour weeks identifying allegedly wasteful government spending.
Based on one of Musk’s replies, it appears these super smart government gutters won’t actually be paid for their work.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies, & compensation is zero,” Musk wrote. “What a great deal!”
Graig Graziosi reports.
Explainer: Will Trump’s cabinet picks get approved?
01:30
Rhian Lubin
In addition to the 15 officials Trump will choose to join his cabinet, there are hundreds of positions, including ambassadors and lower-level roles, that typically require Senate approval.
Nominees face a grilling during the Senate confirmation process as it typically requires them to submit financial disclosures and testify before a committee.
Members from both political parties get a chance to interrogate nominees about their plans for the post and their backgrounds.
The Senate committee votes on the nominee following the hearing and if it passes, it then goes to the full Senate for a vote.
However, Trump has signaled he could bypass the process via recess appointments.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote in a social media post on X last weekend before John Thune was confirmed as the next majority leader, replacing the outgoing Mitch McConnell.
Recess appointments would allow Trump to make administration appointments without a vote in the Senate while the upper chamber is in recess. The process is not unconstitutional, and it has been done before by other administrations.
Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments while in the White House, and Barack Obama made 32. George W. Bush made 171, ABC noted, according to the Congressional Research Service.
After beating Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego begs Democrats to ditch ‘Ivy League’ advisers
01:00
Rhian Lubin
Kamala Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump was caused by many factors, and one of them was a surge of Latino support for the GOP ticket even as Democrats were confident that warnings about Trump’s mass deportation plan would prevent that from happening.
Now, one of the Democrats who won on November 5 despite the underperformance of the top of his party’s ticket is warning members of his party to actually listen to Latino voters if they want to win them back for future election cycles.
Ruben Gallego, the senator-elect from Arizona, said on CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats too readily dismissed real economic hardships for lower and middle income Americans in favor of statistics purporting the economy to be getting better overall.
He explained to host Jake Tapper that he’d seen the results of inflation in his neighborhood — people increasingly buying offbrand groceries rather than higher-quality items, and feeling the hurt in their checking accounts regardless. Gallego also pointed to credit card debt, which is at an all-time high across the United States, as evidence that many people are still suffering from residual financial stresses stemming from the Covid pandemic.
“Yes, costs were going down. [But] people were still paying down credit card debt that they used, basically, to survive,” he said.
John Bowden has the details.
