Trump announces ex-national intelligence chief as CIA director amid flurry of cabinet appointments – live | Donald Trump

Key events

Today so far

Here is a summary of the key recent developments:

The judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money case has paused legal proceedings at the request of prosecutors and the president-elect’s attorneys, both of whom pointed to his victory in last week’s presidential election.

Republicans are getting ready for Trump’s visit to the White House, with House speaker Mike Johnson saying he planned to have Trump address his lawmakers. Speaking of Congress, we still do not know for sure which party will control the House for the next two years. Counting of ballots in key races remains ongoing, though Republicans seem on track to keep their majority.

Samuel Alito, a long-serving conservative justice on the supreme court, has no plans to step down, the Wall Street Journal reported. If he changes his mind, Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate could confirm a replacement and likely prolong the court’s conservative supermajority.

Trump will reportedly oppose a US law that could lead to popular social media app TikTok being banned, despite bipartisan support for the measure.

Despite taking office with Republicans in control of Congress in 2017, Trump’s first years in office were marked by legislative chaos. Johnson vowed that won’t happen again when Trump returns to the White House in January.

Trump chose an ex-national intelligence chief as CIA director. Trump has named John Ratcliffe, who served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, as his pick for CIA director, and William Joseph McGinley, who served as cabinet secretary in the first term, to serve as White House counsel.

Trump chose a real-estate mogul as Middle East envoy. Donald Trump has picked Steven Witkoff, a New York City-based real estate executive and longtime friend, to serve as Middle East envoy in his upcoming administration.

Trump announced that he will nominate Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, to be the US ambassador to Israel. Huckabee “loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday.

Trump advisers mulling ‘warrior board’ to organize purge of top military officers – report. Donald Trump’s transition team is working on an executive order that would create a new body tasked with naming military leaders who should be demoted, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reported proposal for a “warrior board” staffed by former military officers loyal to the president-elect is the latest sign that Trump may make due on his threat to retaliate against leaders at all levels of government who have broken with him, or who are perceived as disloyal.

Trump issued a statement announcing his appointment of Mike Waltz to serve in his cabinet as the national security adviser. Waltz “has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda, and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday.

Share

Trump chooses ex-national intelligence chief as CIA director

Trump has also named John Ratcliffe, who served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, as his pick for CIA director, and William Joseph McGinley, who served as cabinet secretary in the first term, to serve as White House counsel.

Share

Updated at 17.56 EST

Trump picks real-estate mogul as Middle East envoy

Donald Trump has picked Steven Witkoff, a New York City-based real estate executive and longtime friend, to serve as Middle East envoy in his upcoming 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,” Trump said in a statement announcing the appointment. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.”

Witkoff has longtime ties to Trump and the Trump organization, serving as a major donor and as an adviser. He testified as an expert witness in the New York attorney general’s case against the Trump family and its namesake business.

Share

Updated at 17.24 EST

Trump’s cabinet picks and likely contenders – so far

Donald Trump has tasked Howard Lutnick, a longtime friend, with recruiting officials who will deliver, rather than dilute, his agenda. During his first term, several of Trump’s key appointees tried to convince Trump out of his more extreme plans.

Here’s a look at those who have been and could be offered key positions when Trump takes office:

Share

The House is scheduled to vote today on a bill targeting non-profit organizations deemed to be supporting “terrorism”.

Civil rights advocates have raised alarm that bill, which was first introduced in response to nationwide protests on college campuses against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, could be used against pro-Palestinian groups as well as those that environmental groups, reproductive rights groups and other human rights organizations during the upcoming Trump administration.

The language in the bill would give the Treasury Department broad authority to determine which organizations are “terrorist-supporting” without requiring evidence, and allow the agency to revoke tax-exempt status from those non-profits.

Republicans drafted the policy as part of a popular measure to prevent the IRS from issuing fines and tax penalties to Americans held hostage by terrorist groups. The measure, which is being fast-tracked in the House, would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to pass.

“This bill requires no oversight. No due-process. No justification. In Trump’s hands, it would be a weapon of mass destruction against dissent,” said Andrew O’Neill, legislative director of the group Indivisible. “The vote today requires a two-thirds threshold to pass, so Democrats really do have agency here. The question is whether they’ll use it to stand up against authoritarian overreach, or if they’ll sit back and hand Trump more power.”

“Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block HR 9495 before it’s too late.”

Share

Updated at 16.36 EST

Trump advisers mulling ‘warrior board’ to organize purge of top military officers – report

Donald Trump’s transition team is working on an executive order that would create a new body tasked with naming military leaders who should be demoted, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The reported proposal for a “warrior board” staffed by former military officers loyal to the president-elect is the latest sign that Trump may make due on his threat to retaliate against leaders at all levels of government who have broken with him, or who are perceived as disloyal.

Here’s more on the proposal, from the Journal:

If Donald Trump approves the order, it could fast-track the removal of generals and admirals found to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities,” according to a draft of the order reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. But it could also create a chilling effect on top military officers, given the president-elect’s past vow to fire “woke generals,” referring to officers seen as promoting diversity in the ranks at the expense of military readiness.

As commander in chief, Trump can fire any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he intends to purge a number of generals and admirals.

The draft order says it aims to establish a review that focuses “on leadership capability, strategic readiness, and commitment to military excellence.” The draft doesn’t specify what officers need to do or present to show if they meet those standards. The draft order originated with one of several outside policy groups collaborating with the transition team, and is one of numerous executive orders under review by Trump’s team, a transition official said.

The warrior board would be made up of retired generals and noncommissioned officers, who would send their recommendations to the president. Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, declined to comment on this draft executive order but said “the American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”

Share

Updated at 16.01 EST

At the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre is taking questions from reporters who are asking for an idea of what to expect when Joe Biden meets Donald Trump tomorrow.

But the US press secretary does not have much to say. Responding to a reporter who wanted to know if they would discuss foreign policy issues such as US assistance to Ukraine and Israel, she said:

I’m not going to get into the details of what’s going to be discussed tomorrow. That’s not something I’m going to get into here.

What about concerns about Trump’s contacts with foreign leaders, many of whom have spoken to him by phone since he won the election? Jean-Pierre didn’t have much of a comment on that question, either:

He’s the president-elect. Every president-elect receives calls from world leaders, takes calls from world leaders, has calls from world leaders. It is not unusual. (I) don’t have a comment beyond that, any specifics or details. That’s something for the … Trump transition.

Share

Updated at 15.44 EST

Donald Trump plans to begin his second presidential term with a bang, the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports:

Donald Trump will mark the first day of his return to the White House by signing a spate of executive orders to reinstate signature policies from his first presidency that were revoked by Joe Biden, according to his incoming chief of staff.

Susie Wiles’s disclosure came in a closed-door meeting in Las Vegas of the Rockbridge Network, a group of conservative donors co-founded by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, the New York Times reported.

She did not specify which policies were likely to be reintroduced in the flurry of signing that is expected on Trump’s first day back in the Oval Office.

But several of Trump’s higher-profile executive orders that Biden revoked include leaving the Paris climate agreement, withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and banning entry to citizens from a list of predominantly Muslim countries.

Share

Did a majority of Latino men support Donald Trump, as some national exit polls suggest?

No, according to the researchers behind the 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll, a survey of more than 9,400 voters that emphasizes accurately representing Black, Latino and AAPI voters.

“The national exit polls are wrong about Latinos in general and Latino men in particular. They did shift more Republican, however a majority of Latino men continued to vote Democrat in 2024,” said Matt Baretto, a co-founder of BSP Research, told reporters on a call in which he presented the survey’s findings.

“We’re extremely confident that our sample is accurate – that it is an accurate portrait of Latino men and Latino women and that it is balanced to measure the demographics and that it was available in Spanish at every stopping point in the survey.”

According to the survey, Hispanic men supported Kamala Harris over Trump by a 13-point margin, compared with the 34-point margin among Hispanic women. Among Hispanic men under 40, Harris held an only four-point margin.

Baretto said it was “incorrect, categorically” to suggest that any cohort of Latino men supported Trump over Harris.

Even as he acknowledged Trump had made clear gains with Hispanic voters, he noted that Democrats performed worse this election cycle with “every single racial and ethnic group” than they did four years ago.

The poll also found an uptick in support for Harris among Puerto Ricans, particularly in Pennsylvania, which Hispanic organizers attributed to a surge in fundraising after a shock-jock comic made disparaging comments about the island during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.

“The participation rate of Puerto Ricans and Latinos in Pennsylvania increased noticeably after the Madison Square Garden rally – a nine-point shift in Latino voter sentiment in Pennsylvania towards Harris,” said Frankie Miranda, president and CEO at Hispanic Federation, on the call.

“The effect is undeniable, but it took a fluke very late in the game to get the attention of the campaigns and funders to provide investment desperately needed to ensure mobilization.

Share

Updated at 15.43 EST

Newly elected senators are in Washington DC for orientation, and true to form, West Virginia’s Jim Justice brought along his bulldog, Babydog.

The dog has been by Justice’s side throughout his term as West Virginia’s governor, and the senator-elect was hoping to bring Babydog into the Senate chambers. But Axios reports that is against the rules:

Justice was told by Senate floor staff that only service dogs are allowed onto the floor of the Senate, and that even in that case there would need to be an analysis on potential allergies.

Justice had no such problems at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee this past summer, where Babydog was by his side throughout.

Share

Updated at 15.41 EST

Mike Johnson has congratulated congressman Mike Waltz on being selected as Donald Trump’s national security advisor.

“Congressman Mike Waltz is a brilliant and faithful patriot, who has served our country as a Green Beret and a member of Congress. It has been his life’s mission to help protect the United States, and he will continue to do so as the President’s National Security Advisor,” the Republican House speaker said.

He added that the Florida congressman is “the perfect person to advise President Trump and defend our interests on the world stage. I look forward to continuing to engage with him as Congress works to implement America First national security policies under the new Trump administration”.

Waltz just won re-election to his district just north of Orlando, and his departure from Congress will trigger a special election to replace him. But Democrats are unlikely to win in Waltz’s district, which is sharply Republican.

Share

Updated at 15.41 EST

Anna Betts

A new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom by the beginning of 2025 has been temporarily blocked after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday.

The judge said the law was “unconstitutional on its face” – and plaintiffs were likely to win their case with claims that the law violates the US constitution’s first amendment, which bars the government from establishing a religion and guarantees the right to religious freedom.

The ruling marks a win for opponents of the law, who argue that it is a violation of the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.

They also argue that the poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian.

Proponents say that the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance to the foundation of US law.

Share

Trump says he will nominate Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel

Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, to be the US ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee “loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” Trump added.

Huckabee, who served as Arkansas governor from 1996 to 2007, is two-time Republican presidential hopeful and father to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the current governor of the state and Trump’s former White House press secretary.

He is an outspoken settlement backer; in 2018, he said he dreamed of building a “holiday home” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Share

Updated at 14.04 EST

Several hundred White House staffers loudly cheered for the vice-president, Kamala Harris, who was arriving for her lunch with Joe Biden.

Staffers shouted “MVP”, for Madame vice-president, as she got out of her SUV and clapped and waved, per pool report.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Harris addressed staffers. “So thank you all very much.

“Listen, we do the best work anybody could do, which is to dedicate ourselves to the people, to public service, to lifting folks up, knowing we have the power, and when we do that work, we make a difference, and you all are a part of doing that work every single day, and I am so grateful to each of you.

“So let’s get back to work, because we still have work to get done. And I am sending all my love and thanks. Thank you, everyone.”

Share

Joni Ernst, the Republican senator for Iowa, has privately expressed interest in becoming Donald Trump’s defense secretary, according to multiple reports.

If nominated and confirmed, Ernst, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, Iraq War veteran and member of the Senate’s armed services committee, would be the first woman to serve in the role.

National security leaders have told Ernst that she would be a good fit for the job, but those conversations have not yet escalated to anything official, Notus reported.

A source told the Washington Post on Tuesday that the idea started “gaining a life of its own yesterday”, but it’s not clear whether Trump will consider her for the role.

Share

Updated at 15.36 EST

Trump confirms appointment of Mike Waltz as his national security adviser

Donald Trump has issued a statement announcing his appointment of Mike Waltz to serve in his cabinet as the national security adviser.

Waltz “has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda, and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday.

Waltz, a Republican congressman representing east-central Florida and Trump loyalist who served in the national guard as a colonel, has criticized Chinese activity in the Asia-Pacific and voiced the need for the US to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.

Waltz is a combat-decorated Green Beret and a former White House and Pentagon policy adviser. He was first elected in 2018, replacing Ron DeSantis, who ran for governor, in Florida’s sixth congressional district.

Waltz served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, and he was awarded four bronze stars. He was one of the lawmakers appointed in July to serve on a bipartisan congressional taskforce to investigate the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

Share

Updated at 15.38 EST

The day so far

The judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money case has paused legal proceedings at the request of prosecutors and the president-elect’s attorneys, both of whom pointed to his victory in last week’s presidential election. Republicans are getting ready for Trump’s visit to the White House, with House speaker Mike Johnson saying he planned to have Trump address his lawmakers. Speaking of Congress, we still do not know for sure which party will control the House for the next two years. Counting of ballots in key races remains ongoing, though Republicans seem on track to keep their majority.

Here’s what else has happened today so far:

Samuel Alito, a long-serving conservative justice on the supreme court, has no plans to step down, the Wall Street Journal reported. If he changes his mind, Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate could confirm a replacement and likely prolong the court’s conservative supermajority.

Trump will reportedly oppose a US law that could lead to popular social media app TikTok being banned, despite bipartisan support for the measure.

Despite taking office with Republicans in control of Congress in 2017, Trump’s first years in office were marked by legislative chaos. Johnson vowed that won’t happen again when Trump returns to the White House in January.

Share

Callum Jones

As Donald Trump appoints his cabinet, and searches for a treasury secretary, the billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson – a key backer of the president-elect – has withdrawn his name. He had been widely tipped as a likely candidate for the role.

“Although various media outlets have mentioned me as a candidate for secretary of the treasury, my complex financial obligations would prevent me from holding an official position in President Trump’s administration at this time,” Paulson told The Wall Street Journal in a statement.

He pledged to remain “actively involved” with Trump’s economic team, however, and in helping to implement the incoming administration’s policy agenda.

Share

Updated at 12.47 EST

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Bob Casey still is not conceding, despite grim signs for the Democratic senator’s prospects of re-election.

The Associated Press has already called the race for Republican challenger David McCormick, but ballot counting is ongoing. In a new statement, Casey signaled he is waiting for that process to finish:

My priority has always been standing up for the people of Pennsylvania. Across our Commonwealth, close to seven million people cast their votes in a free and fair election. Our county election officials will finish counting those votes, just like they do in every election. The American democratic process was born in Pennsylvania and that process will play out.

I want to thank the election workers across our Commonwealth who have been working diligently over the weekend. Their work will ensure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard.”

Share

Updated at 12.28 EST