President Trump nominates co-author of Project 2025 to lead FCC as speculation rises over Treasury secretary appointment
good morning. Welcome to the US Politics Blog.
President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Brendan Carr to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent agency that regulates telecommunications.
Mr. Kerr is a long-time member of the Commission and previously served as General Counsel to the FCC. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated to the commission by both Trump and Joe Biden.
The FCC is overseen by Congress, but President Trump has placed it under tighter White House control as part of his plan to use the agency to punish television networks that report it in a way that is unfavorable to him. He suggests that he wants to.
“Commissioner Carr is a free speech fighter who has fought against restrictive laws that have stifled the freedoms of the American people and stifled the economy,” President Trump said.
Carr, a major technology critic, last week sent letters to Meta Inc.’s Facebook, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Apple and Microsoft, saying they had taken steps to censor Americans. Carr said Sunday that the FCC must “restore the free speech rights of ordinary Americans.”
Mr. Carr has recently embraced Mr. Trump’s ideas on social media and technology. Carr wrote a section dedicated to the FCC in Project 2025, Trump’s right-wing plan to crack down on immigration, dismantle LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, and roll back environmental protections.
In a chapter of Project 2025, Kerr said the FCC’s primary goals are to “curb Big Tech, promote national security, unleash economic prosperity, and ensure FCC accountability and good governance.” argued that it should be.
In his chapter, Kerr also suggested that social media platform TikTok should be banned if it does not end its relationship with its China-based parent company.
Read more about Mr. Kerr’s appointment here.
President Trump has not yet announced his choice for Treasury Secretary. Two candidates, former Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh and billionaire Mark Rowan, are scheduled to be interviewed later today at their Mar-a-Lago mansion, according to reports.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty, 65, of Tennessee, whom Trump recently met at Mar-a-Lago, is also a candidate for the role.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and investor Scott Bessent are also considered front-runners.
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If President Trump decides to make Cabinet nominations by bypassing the Senate, could there be a backlash from Republicans?
Under the U.S. Constitution, the Senate and the president share the power to appoint government officials. Typically, senators question candidates for defense secretary and other key posts at hearings before voting on whether the candidates are suitable for office.
But Donald Trump wants the Senate to give up its gatekeeping role and allow “recess appointments” even though Republicans will control at least 52 seats next year.
He has called for the chamber to be closed after he takes office in January, allowing his staff to hold office without Senate scrutiny.
Reuters analyzes whether the Republican Party will oppose President Trump’s plan as follows:
Republicans are expected to narrowly control both houses of Congress next year, leaving little room for failure if they follow Mr. Trump’s proposal.
In the Senate, Trump allies such as Florida Sen. Rick Scott were quick to voice their support, while other Republicans have said they are reluctant to give up so much power.
Incoming Senate Republican leader John Thune has not ruled out that possibility. “All options are on the table, including the possibility of recess,” he told Fox News on Nov. 14.
Republicans could warm to the idea next year if Democrats are able to block or slow down some of President Trump’s nominees. Recessed appointments require voters to vote yes on polarizing candidates like former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spreads misinformation about vaccines and supports abortion rights. There is a possibility that it will disappear.
In the House, Mr. Johnson, a close ally of Mr. Trump, has yet to say publicly what he thinks about the idea. If he pursues it, he will need to keep nearly all of his fellow Republicans on board, as he will likely start next year with a majority of less than three votes in the 435-seat majority.
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Updated on 07.15 ET
Linda McMahon expected to be announced as Secretary of Commerce – Report
Several roles on Donald Trump’s new team have yet to be announced, including the secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, and Labor (including the secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, and Labor departments), including the secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, and Labor departments, including those who have taken or are likely to be given key positions during Trump’s inauguration in January. A complete list of individuals can be found here).
Reuters reports that former Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon is seen as the front-runner to lead the Department of Commerce, the federal agency that promotes economic growth and job creation.
Mr. McMahon, 76, is a major donor and an early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House in 2015. Now, President Trump has named her co-leader of a transition team formed to support veterans and military service members. He set policy ahead of the Nov. 5 election, which he decisively won.
McMahon is the co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE. She then served on the SBA board, resigning in 2019 to lead a pro-Trump political action committee that supported his 2020 reelection bid.
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After more than 20 years of predicting outcomes in the politically important Midwestern state, Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer announced that she is moving on to “other ventures and opportunities.”
In her last poll (three days before the national vote on Election Day), Kamala Harris had a 47% lead over Donald Trump, with older women showing support for the Democratic Party on reproductive rights issues. It was expected that they would lead by a margin of 44%.
Trump leads in Iowa in nearly every poll, and the former president won by 8 points in 2020. At the time of vote counting, Selzer was trailing by 16 points as the former Republican president won the state decisively.
Selzer announced his decision to retire from voting in a guest column published Sunday in the Des Moines Register. she wrote:
Over a year ago, I informed the Registrar that I would not renew my contract when it expires in 2024 at the latest election survey as I will be moving on to other businesses and opportunities.
Would we have wanted to make this announcement after the final vote on Election Day results? Of course. It’s ironic that it’s exactly the opposite.
I’m proud of the work I’ve done for the Register, the Detroit Free Press, the Indianapolis Star, Bloomberg News, and other public and private organizations interested in elections. They were great customers and happy with my work.
Indeed, shocking polls were conducted on each. As it turned out, my findings were positive.
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Updated on 06.19 ET
Elon Musk has publicly weighed in on his selection for Treasury secretary, one of the remaining key Cabinet nominations that President-elect Donald Trump will make in the coming days.
Musk expressed support for Trump’s transition co-chairman, Howard Lutnick, who heads the Treasury Department, and urged his followers to support candidates who are “actually making change” rather than “business as usual.” I called out.
Mr. Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees in the 9/11 attacks, is the chief executive of Key Capital Management, a capital management firm that wants the United States to remain the world’s reserve nation. Change currency and use tariffs as a negotiating tactic, believed to be at odds with Square founder Scott Bessent.
“My view is that while Bessent is the traditional choice, it’s @howardlutnick who will really make a difference,” Musk posted on Saturday. “Something has to change because business as usual is leading America to bankruptcy.”
You can read the full article by my colleague Edward Helmore here.
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President Trump nominates co-author of Project 2025 to lead FCC as speculation rises over Treasury secretary appointment
good morning. Welcome to the US Politics Blog.
President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Brendan Carr to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent agency that regulates telecommunications.
Mr. Kerr is a long-time member of the Commission and previously served as General Counsel to the FCC. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated to the commission by both Trump and Joe Biden.
The FCC is overseen by Congress, but President Trump has placed it under tighter White House control as part of his plan to use the agency to punish television networks that report it in a way that is unfavorable to him. He suggests that he wants to.
“Commissioner Carr is a free speech fighter who has fought against restrictive laws that have stifled the freedoms of the American people and stifled the economy,” President Trump said.
Carr, a major technology critic, last week sent letters to Meta Inc.’s Facebook, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Apple and Microsoft, saying they had taken steps to censor Americans. Carr said Sunday that the FCC must “restore the free speech rights of ordinary Americans.”
Mr. Carr has recently embraced Mr. Trump’s ideas on social media and technology. Carr wrote a section dedicated to the FCC in Project 2025, Trump’s right-wing plan to crack down on immigration, dismantle LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, and roll back environmental protections.
In a chapter of Project 2025, Kerr said the FCC’s primary goals are to “curb Big Tech, promote national security, unleash economic prosperity, and ensure FCC accountability and good governance.” argued that it should be.
In his chapter, Kerr also suggested that social media platform TikTok should be banned if it does not end its relationship with its China-based parent company.
Read more about Mr. Kerr’s appointment here.
President Trump has not yet announced his choice for Treasury secretary. Two candidates, former Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh and billionaire Mark Rowan, are scheduled to be interviewed later today at their Mar-a-Lago mansion, according to reports.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty, 65, of Tennessee, whom Trump recently met at Mar-a-Lago, is also a candidate for the role.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and investor Scott Bessent are also considered front-runners.
share
