November 8, 2024 - US election news | CNN Politics

November 8, 2024 - US election news

Jessie Yeung

Shania Shelton

Elise Hammond

Tori B. Powell

By Jessie Yeung, Shania Shelton, Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 2:02 AM EST, Sat November 9, 2024

Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport on July 27.

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Trump said his new WH chief of staff likes to ‘stay in the back.’ Randi Kaye explains why he is right

02:35 • Source: CNN

Trump said his new WH chief of staff likes to ‘stay in the back.’ Randi Kaye explains why he is right

02:35

What we covered here

• Preparing the new administration: President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is working quickly to fill critical White House positions, sources tell CNN, noting that additional positions could be unveiled today. Trump announced yesterday his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, will serve as White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever serve in the role.

• Pentagon discussions: Pentagon officials are holding informal discussions about how the defense department would respond if Trump issues orders to deploy active-duty troops domestically and fire large swaths of apolitical staffers, defense officials told CNN.

• House yet to be called: Republicans are defending a narrow majority in the chamber after flipping the Senate, and it could be some time before control is determined. Track the latest House results here.

58 Posts

Our live coverage of the 2024 US election has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

CNN Projection: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez will win reelection in Washington

From CNN’s Kaanita Iyer

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez speaks during a Washington 3rd District debate at KATU studios on Monday, October 7 in Portland, Oregon.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez speaks during a Washington 3rd District debate at KATU studios on Monday, October 7 in Portland, Oregon.

Jenny Kane/AP

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez will win a rematch against Donald Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, CNN projects.

Gluesenkamp Perez, a freshman lawmaker, previously defeated Kent in 2022 by less than 1 percentage point. She was vulnerable in this race and has voted in favor of controversial GOP-led legislation, including a defense bill last year that prohibited the Defense Department from paying for or reimbursing service members’ expenses relating to abortion services and barring a health care program from covering treatments for transgender service members.

Musk has been on other Trump calls and joined conversations about staffing

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

Elon Musk speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Sunday, October 27.

Elon Musk speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Sunday, October 27.

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images/File

Elon Musk’s influence is on display amid President-elect Donald Trump’s fast-moving transition.

When Trump was connected with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the day after he won the 2024 election, there was another voice in the room that the wartime leader is quite familiar with: Musk, whose Starlink satellite communications have been vital for his Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.

While it was notable for the world’s richest man to join one of the president-elect’s calls, several sources tell CNN that it was not the only one Musk has joined since Trump’s victory.

Musk, who has been spotted in and out of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club several times since Tuesday, has also been on other calls the president-elect has held — and has joined conversations where Trump has mulled staff decisions, showcasing how influential Musk could be during the incoming administration.

Sources have described Trump as enamored with Musk.

“We have to protect our geniuses, we don’t have that many of them,” Trump said during his victory speech early Wednesday morning.