Politico reports that the Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said he is against the ethics committee releasing its report into drug use and sexual misconduct by Matt Gaetz, the former representative nominated by Donald Trump to serve as attorney general.
“I’m going to strongly request that the ethics committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House,” Johnson said, hours after returning from a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “And I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”
The committee had reportedly been near to releasing its inquiry, but Gaetz’s resignation has thrown into question whether such a report can be made public once a lawmaker exits the House. Some senators from both parties have said it should be shared with them, so they can assess Gaetz’s candidacy to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
Iran sent a message to the Biden administration in October stating it was not attempting to kill Donald Trump while he was president, aiming to reduce tensions with the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.
The message, delivered through an intermediary, followed a September warning from the Biden administration that any Iranian attempt on Trump’s life, then a Republican presidential candidate, would be considered “an act of war.”
Since Trump’s election victory last week, some Iranian former officials, analysts, and media figures have encouraged Tehran to engage with the president-elect and adopt a more cooperative stance, despite Trump allies’ promises to reintroduce a hardline approach against Iran.
The news comes the same week Elon Musk, whom Trump named as one of the heads of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, reportedly met with Iran’s UN ambassador to discuss how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States.
A former Virginia lawmaker has pleaded guilty to felony gun and drug charges and been sentenced to time already served in jail, according to the Associated Press.
Matt Fariss, who had served in the House of Delegates as a Republican since 2012 before running unsuccessfully last year as an independent, pleaded guilty Wednesday to meth possession and having a firearm while possessing an illegal drug, the Lynchburg News & Advance reported.
Judge Dennis Lee Hupp sentenced Fariss in Campbell circuit court to three years in prison and suspended all but 20 days, according to the News & Advance.
The appointment of a US health secretary with anti-vaccine views could cause deaths and have profound consequences around the world, global health experts fear.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s pick for the position, has a history of spreading misinformation on vaccines and questioning the science of HIV and Aids.
His nomination has been greeted with bemusement and alarm. One global health activist, speaking on background, said the move was akin to making the disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield, who falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine caused autism, the UK’s health secretary.
Prof Sir Simon Wessely, a regius professor of psychiatry at King’s College London, said of the move: “That sound that you just heard was my jaw dropping, hitting the floor and rolling out of the door.”
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said there was real concern that Kennedy might use the platform “to pursue the same anti-science positions on life-saving public health interventions that he has advanced previously”.
He added: “If this makes families hesitate to immunise against the deadly diseases that threaten children, the consequence will be fatal for some.”
Kat Lay and Kate Connolly explained what the latest appointment could mean:
After Donald Trump nominated him to lead the interior department and the new National Energy Council, North Dakota’s governor, Doug Burgum, wrote on X:
I’m deeply grateful to President @RealDonaldTrump for this amazing opportunity to serve the American people and achieve ENERGY DOMINANCE!
Expect that energy dominance to involve a lot of fossil fuels. Here’s more on what environmentalists fear Burgum as interior secretary could portend for fighting the climate crisis:
The Guardian’s Alice Herman has more on defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who concerns experts for his adherence to a number of rightwing ideologies:
Extremism experts are sounding the alarm about Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, whose writings and online presence reveal someone immersed in a culture of rightwing Christianity, political extremism and violent ideation.
The Fox & Friends host, who has served in the US army but has no experience in government, drew shock from Pentagon officials when Trump nominated him. Hegseth’s books on American culture and the military, his commentary on Fox and his frequent posts on social media showcase his far-right ideology. On these platforms, Hegseth telegraphs paranoia and anger toward “leftists”, an ultra-masculine Maga persona and apparent revulsion toward service members who do not fit his vision – including women.
“The thing that really worries me, is both the ideology of Christian nationalism and what that’s going to mean for the kind of policies he tries to put in place for the defense department,” said Thomas Lecaque, a historian focusing on religion and political violence.
Donald Trump said in a statement that he will appoint Doug Burgum as both interior secretary and the head of a new National Energy Council.
Trump announced the North Dakota governor would head up the department that handles oil and gas drilling on federal lands, rattling environmentalists who fear Burgum will pursue policies that will exacerbate the climate crisis.
“I am thrilled to announce that Doug Burgum, the Governor of North Dakota, will be joining my Administration as both Secretary of the Interior and, as Chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy,” Trump said.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation. With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down Inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.”
Much can change between now and whenever the Senate begins considering Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, likely after Donald Trump is sworn in on 20 January.
But the Wall Street Journal reports that perhaps as many as 30 Republican senators will not support the former representative’s nomination:
Trump can afford to lose the support of no more than three GOP senators on his most contentious picks, assuming all Democrats are opposed, in a chamber that will be split 53-47 in the new Congress. People familiar with discussions among Senate Republicans said that far more than three of them are prepared to vote no if the matter comes to a vote, and some said there was already talk of trying to convince Trump to pull Gaetz, or get Gaetz to voluntarily withdraw his name.
‘It’s simply that Matt Gaetz has a very long, steep hill to get across the finish line,’ said Sen Kevin Cramer (R, ND). ‘And it will require the spending of a lot of capital, and you just have to ask: if you could get him across the finish line, was it worth the cost?’
Cramer said he didn’t think Gaetz would have the votes to be approved by the Judiciary Committee, much less to be confirmed by the full Senate.
One person familiar with the conversations among Republican senators said ‘significantly more than four’ of them are opposed, which would be enough to tank Gaetz’s chances. ‘People are pissed,’ the person said.
Other estimates ranged from more than a dozen Republican ‘no’ votes to more than 30. ‘It won’t even be close,’ another person said.
‘It’s going to be very difficult,’ said Sen Markwayne Mullin (R, Okla), when asked if Gaetz could win the votes necessary for confirmation. Mullin, a close Trump ally, said he would keep an open mind because he trusts Trump to pick his cabinet. But he said Gaetz will have to go through the vigorous vetting process required of any nominee, and said the former Florida congressman might decide to opt out and withdraw.
“We’ve seen a lot of nominees, when they go through the process, they’re like, ‘You know, it’s not going to happen,’ and they pull out,” Mullin said.
In an interview with CNN, Mike Rounds, a Republican senator from South Dakota, said that the chamber should be able to see the House ethics committee’s report into Matt Gaetz.
“We do have a process in place which includes the ability to get that type of information, in many cases. And what we want to do is make good decisions based upon all the relevant facts and information that we can get,” Rounds said.
“We should be able to get a hold of it, and we should have access to it one way or another, based on the way that we do all of these nominations.”
Politico reports that the Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said he is against the ethics committee releasing its report into drug use and sexual misconduct by Matt Gaetz, the former representative nominated by Donald Trump to serve as attorney general.
“I’m going to strongly request that the ethics committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House,” Johnson said, hours after returning from a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “And I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”
The committee had reportedly been near to releasing its inquiry, but Gaetz’s resignation has thrown into question whether such a report can be made public once a lawmaker exits the House. Some senators from both parties have said it should be shared with them, so they can assess Gaetz’s candidacy to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
Donald Trump has also appointed his top ally Sergio Gor as assistant to the president and director of the presidential personnel office.
Gor was the CEO of Winning Team Publishing while also serving for the pro-Trump Super Pac Right for America, the Trump-Vance campaign said.
Commenting on the nominations of Steven Cheung (as White House communications director) and Gor, Trump said:
Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted advisors since my first presidential campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion American First principles throughout my first term, all the way to our historic victory in 2024 … I am thrilled to have them join my White House as we, Make America Great Again.
Donald Trump has appointed his campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung as the next White House communications director.
Replacing Ben LaBolt, Cheung will be tasked with steering Trump’s strategy of selling his presidency to the American people.
In a statement on Friday, the Trump-Vance campaign said:
Steven Cheung will return to the White House as assistant to the president and director of communications. Cheung was director of communications on the Trump-Vance 2024 presidential campaign and previously served in the Trump White House as director of strategic response.
Donald Trump will appoint his main campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, as the White House communications director, Politico reports, citing someone familiar with the matter.
Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Cheung was Trump’s primary vessel to mainstream media outlets, frequently defending the president-elect and remaining close to his side at campaign events and rallies.
Environmental groups are sounding the alarm over Donald Trump’s nomination of North Dakota’s governor, Doug Burgum, as interior secretary.
Since 2016, the former businessman has been governor of North Dakota, which is the third-largest oil and natural gas producer in the country. Burgum, if confirmed by the Senate, would manage US federal lands including national parks and wildlife refuges, as well as oversee relations with 574 federally recognized Native American tribes.
The Sierra Club, the country’s largest non-profit environmental organization, said: “It was climate skeptic Doug Burgum who helped arrange the Mar-a-Lago meeting with wealthy oil and gas executives where Donald Trump offered to overturn dozens of environmental rules and regulations in exchange for $1bn in campaign contributions.”
Similarly, the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation policy organization focused on land and energy issues across the western states, said: “Doug Burgum comes from an oil state, but North Dakota is not a public lands state. His cozy relationship with oil billionaires may endear him to Donald Trump, but he has no experience that qualifies him to oversee the management of 20% of America’s lands.”
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Donald Trump has not nominated anyone new for his cabinet yet today, but many names are flying around for top posts. Larry Kudlow could reportedly return to his old job heading the National Economic Council, or even the treasury, while Mike Rogers, who just lost election to the Senate from Michigan, may be tapped to lead the FBI. Meanwhile, we have learned more about Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee. He was reportedly involved in a sexual assault investigation in 2017 – a surprise to Trump’s transition team – but no charges were ever filed. The president-elect has taken to announcing his nominations in the later half of the day, so perhaps we will hear from him this afternoon.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
Dick Durbin, the outgoing Senate judiciary committee chair, warned that Trump’s justice department will use its powers to “seek vengeance”.
Mike Pence came out against Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the health department, citing the nominee’s support for abortion.
Scott Bessent, a hedge fund founder, and Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, are also reportedly in the running to head up the treasury.
The outgoing Democratic chair of the Senate judiciary committee Dick Durbin warned that Donald Trump’s appointees to top justice department posts are a sign that he will direct prosecutors and law enforcement to retaliate against his political opponents.
Durbin singled out the president-elect’s nomination of Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in his hush-money trial in New York, as deputy attorney general, and John Sauer, who argued before the supreme court in his immunity case, as solicitor general:
Coupled with the announcement that he intends to nominate former Congressman Matt Gaetz to be attorney general, these selections show Donald Trump intends to weaponize the justice department to seek vengeance. Donald Trump viewed the justice department as his personal law firm during his first term, and these selections – his personal attorneys – are poised to do his bidding.
The American people deserve a justice department that fights for equal justice under the law. This isn’t it.
Democrats are losing control of the Senate at the beginning of next year, and it will be up to the incoming Republican majority to confirm Trump’s appointees.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
