December 17, 2024 - Presidential transition news | CNN Politics

December 17, 2024 - Presidential transition news

Maureen Chowdhury Tori B. Powell
By Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN
Updated 9:59 PM EST, Tue December 17, 2024
President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington.
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President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington.
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What we covered here

• Electoral College win: President-elect Donald Trump has received enough electoral votes to officially clinch the presidency, a major milestone that he reached when Texas’ electors awarded him the state’s 40 electoral votes at their meeting Tuesday.

• Trump’s Cabinet: Key choices for Trump’s Cabinet are back on Capitol Hill this week, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his Health and Human Services secretary pick, and Tulsi Gabbard, his choice for intel chief, making the rounds with lawmakers. CNN has found that Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, spread baseless conspiracy theories surrounding the January 6 Capitol attack.

• Government funding deal reached: Meanwhile, congressional GOP leaders say they’ve reached a funding deal in principle, according to sources. Republicans sought to avoid a chaotic fight in Congress from dominating the early days of Trump’s second term in office.

Live: Electoral vote count

Updates

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Our live coverage of the Trump administration’s transition has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

Trump selects Herschel Walker as his pick for ambassador to the Bahamas

From CNN's Brian Rokus

President-elect Donald Trump has named Herschel Walker as his pick to be the US ambassador to the Bahamas.

Walker, who lost a bid for Senate in Georgia in 2022, has been a longtime Trump supporter.

Trump also announced Nicole McGraw has his choice to be ambassador to Croatia in a Truth Social post.

Sullivan says incoming Trump team and Biden administration are aligned

From Donald Judd
Jake Sullivan attends a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China on August 29.
Jake Sullivan attends a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China on August 29.
Tingshu Wang/Reuters/File

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that he’s seen “more alignment” with incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz than he expected, telling political scientist Ian Bremmer: “Where we agree is on many of the fundamentals here — and especially on the point that we should not let anyone take advantage of the United States during this time of transition.”

Sullivan said the Biden Administration “has been subject to criticism from President Trump’s team,” while also acknowledging that the Biden Administration has criticized Trump.

“So, it’s not like we see everything the same way,” Sullivan said. “But at this moment on big ticket items, when we need some degree of smoothness and continuity in the handoff from one administration to the next, we, I think — both the outgoing and incoming administration — see the bigger picture, and that’s really important.”

Biden’s national security adviser, who was participating in an interview with Bremmer as part of a discussion on the state of national security at the 92nd Street Y in New York Tuesday, acknowledged that both he and Waltz have recognized that the upcoming presidential transition period could put the nation’s national security at risk, “and so the imperative on us both, the outgoing Biden administration, the incoming Trump administration, has to be to lash up more tightly than is typical, to spend more time together than is typical, and to try to ensure we are sending a common clear message to both friends and adversaries in the Middle East, and we have endeavored to do that over the last few weeks.”

Sullivan and Waltz first spoke last month, shortly after Trump named the Republican congressman as his pick for NSA. After, in an interview with Fox News, Waltz said the current administration and the Trump transition team “are hand in glove. We are one team with the United States in this transition.”

Still, Sullivan said Tuesday, there would likely be plenty of room for disagreement in the coming years as a second Trump administration begins to enact its own foreign policy vision.

Sen. Jon Ossoff says he had a "useful conversation" with Tulsi Gabbard

From CNN's Aileen Graef

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff said his talks with Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, was a “useful conversation.”

“We covered a wide range of topics,” Ossoff said of the meeting.

Ossoff is one of the first Democrats to meet with Gabbard.

Hegseth says he had “excellent” meeting with Sen.-elect John Curtis

From CNN's Kit Maher
Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet move between meetings in the Russell Senate Office Building on December 12, in Washington, DC.
Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet are seen at the Russell Senate Office Building on December 12, in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary pick, characterized his meeting with Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah as “excellent,” but did not presume he has earned his support.

Asked if he feels like Curtis was brought to a yes or no, Hegseth said “I would never presume to answer to answer for the Senator.”

Pressed on what concerns Curtis raised or if he expressed any hesitation, Hegseth did not elaborate.

“I’ve said what I’m going to say,” Hegseth said.

This was the final meeting for Hegseth on Capitol Hill today.

Electoral College voting concludes with no faithless electors

From CNN's Ethan Cohen, Matt Holt and Molly English

Electoral College voting concluded Tuesday evening as Hawaii cast its four electoral votes for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The final national totals matched the results from November’s election: President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance each won 312 votes and Harris and Walz each won 226.

It takes 270 out of 538 electoral votes to be elected president.

For the second election in a row, there were no “faithless electors” –– every elector voted for the candidates they had been elected to represent.

Electors in every state and Washington, DC, voted Tuesday in what is a largely symbolic but important part of the presidential election process.

Next, each state’s votes will be sent to Congress. Lawmakers will meet in joint session on January 6 to formally tally the electoral votes and officially declare Trump and Vance the next president and vice president.

They will take office at noon on January 20, 2025.

Renee Baharaeen, Kim Berryman, Will Brown, Will Cadigan, Grace Chinowsky, Marshall Cohen, Emily Condon, Ebony Davis, Ariel Edwards-Levy, Matt Holt, Arit John, Aaron Pellish, Nicky Robertson, Daniel Strauss and David Wright contributed reporting.

Lawmakers unveil text of government spending bill

From CNN's Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris

Lawmakers have unveiled a massive spending bill that includes government funding through March 14 at current levels as well as a series of other legislative priorities from health care provisions to a bill that would allow NFL team, the Washington Commanders, to return to RFK stadium.

The bill also includes nearly $100 billion in disaster relief and another $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, an issue that became a massive last-minute negotiation in the package.

The breakdown will include $29 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund, another $2.2 billion for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, $21 billion in disaster relief for farmers including the $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers and $3.5 billion for state and tribal assistance grants to go toward water systems damaged in disasters.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program for disaster relief will get $12 billion and the federal highway and roads disaster relief will total $8 billion.

The funding bill also has a huge win for the city of Washington as it seeks to become the future home of the Washington Commanders. After years of infighting, hill leaders allowed the team to negotiate with Washington, D.C., leaders to return to the site of RFK stadium. The provision came after hill leaders satisfied other demands from Maryland leaders including for the federal government to cover the full cost of the replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The legislation will also allow the US Treasury department to eventually recoup funds from any settlements related to the Key Bridge collapse to pay for the rebuilding.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been in close contact with Democratic leaders as they landed the deal.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands Trump answer conflicts of interest questions about Elon Musk

From CNN’s Annie Grayer
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to reporters at the Capitol on November 14.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to reporters at the Capitol on November 14.
Allison Robert/AFP/Getty Images/File

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren demanded President-elect Donald Trump answer whether Elon Musk faces a conflict of interest by serving as a top advisor to the incoming administration while being a CEO of several companies with interests before the federal government.

Warren pointed to reports of Musk’s company, Tesla, obtaining nearly $42 million in government contracts and his rocket company, SpaceX, receiving nearly $20 billion in government contracts, as examples of a potential conflict of interest.

The progressive senator asked Trump to respond to seven questions by December 23, including how the billionaire’s role on Trump’s transition team and role leading the new Department of Government Efficiency fits up to ethics standards.

RFK Jr. says he will start meeting with Democrats after the holiday recess

From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will start meeting with Senate Democrats after the holiday recess, he told CNN.

“Probably when we come back in January,” he said.

Asked if he plans to meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kennedy said “I hope so.”

On Friday, McConnell echoed concerns about Kennedy’s views on vaccines, after news broke that Kennedy’s lawyer had asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for the polio vaccine. McConnell is a polio survivor.

Thune says RFK Jr. is going to have to address comments linking vaccines to autism

From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have to address his comments linking vaccines to autism, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN, saying “I would expect the nominee to have answers to those questions.”

Thune sounded upbeat after his meeting Tuesday with Kennedy, saying he “understands the value and benefit” vaccines play stopping diseases.

“I think he’s done a good job of answering a lot of the questions about his views on vaccines,” Thune told CNN exclusively. “But I think he understands the value and benefit that vaccines play and have played through the years preventing disease.”

“I think he did a really nice job in kind of explaining his overall philosophy and kind of how that translates on some of the specific issues,” Thune said when asked if he is personally comfortable with where Kennedy is on vaccines.

When asked if the Trump transition team has done enough outreach to Democratic senators, as they work to get the president-elect’s picks approved by the Senate, Thune alleged that some nominees had been snubbed by Democrats.

“I think they tried, I think there’s been an attempt,” he said. ” I know some of the nominees I’ve met with, I’ve asked if they’ve been, there’s been outreach (to) Democrats, and there has been. In some cases, that hasn’t been responded to by the Democrats.”

Thune continued, “I think our nominees, to the best of my knowledge, are doing their best to try and, as they reach out to Republicans, particularly on the relevant committees, also try and make contact with Democrats. But I had a conversation with one earlier this morning who hasn’t had any success doing that just yet.”

GOP senators react to their conversations with RFK Jr.

From CNN’s Kit Maher and Morgan Rimmer
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meets with Sen. Tommy Tuberville in the Senate Office Building on December 17 in Washington, DC.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meets with Sen. Tommy Tuberville in the Senate Office Building on December 17 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Various GOP senators met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Tuesday.

Here’s what they have shared from their discussions:

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said he and Kennedy discussed abortion during their meeting today.

Tuberville said that RFK Jr. assured him that he would back President-elect Donald Trump “100%” on abortion. Tuberville also said that Kennedy has his support to become the next Health and Human Services secretary.

Tuberville said they didn’t talk about abortion drugs or mifepristone abortion drug authorization.

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri also told reporters that RFK Jr. is committed to “absolutely implement President Trump’s pro-life agenda,” and said that he wants a “top to bottom review” of the science behind various vaccines.

Kennedy previously said he supports the right to abortion until viability, when he was running for president, which raised some concerns with conservatives.

Sen. John Barrasso, the incoming Senate Majority Whip and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters he believes Kennedy will be confirmed, after their meeting that lasted around 40 minutes on Tuesday evening.

Barrasso, who is a medical doctor, said they discussed Kennedy’s views on vaccines and that he thinks Kennedy will “bring a fresh set of eyes to Health and Human Services.” Barrasso added that Kennedy does not want to roll back the polio vaccine after news broke that Kennedy’s lawyer had asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for it.

Sen. Mike Crapo, the incoming Senate Finance Committee chairman, said he had a “good discussion about his vision for HHS, priorities and the opportunity to work with the Finance Committee” with Kennedy. He called Kennedy “passionate about ending our chronic disease epidemic and making measurable improvements in America’s federal health care programs.”

This post has been updated with additional comments from GOP senators.

11 members of Trump transition team met with Pentagon on Monday

From CNN's Michael Conte and Haley Britzky

Eleven members of the Trump transition Agency Review Team (ART) met with Defense Department officials at the Pentagon on Monday, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

Ryder did not say whether the Trump transition team has signed a memorandum of understanding with the General Services Administration, though a defense official told CNN on Monday they had not.

GOP lawmakers make final push to shore up DHS funding to ensure Trump's deportation pledge

From CNN’s Annie Grayer and Priscilla Alvarez

Some House Republicans are making a last-minute push to shore up funding for the Department of Homeland Security in the continuing resolution, hoping to give President-elect Donald Trump the resources to fulfill his mass deportation pledge.

Amodai said the number “still isn’t decided” but the longer the negotiations take the more the process becomes “like whack a mole.”

ICE has generally been under funded, and detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants at large scale would require an influx of funds, according to current and former Homeland Security officials.

While Trump aides haven’t clarified the scope of his mass deportation plan, there are around 1.4 million people who have pending deportation orders, according to Republicans who have reviewed ICE data. Removing that number of individuals would cost significantly more money.

Trump formally clinches Electoral College victory with Texas’ 40 votes

From CNN's Ethan Cohen

President-elect Donald Trump has received enough electoral votes to officially clinch the presidency, a major milestone that he reached when Texas’ electors awarded him the state’s 40 electoral votes at their meeting Tuesday in Austin.

While Trump won the election on November 5, his victory was formalized Tuesday as presidential electors gathered across the country as part of the constitutional process to officially elect a President known as the Electoral College.

More on the process: It takes 270 of the 538 electoral votes to be elected President. Trump won 312 in November’s election to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 226. So far, every elector has voted for the candidate they were elected to represent.

Next, each state’s votes will be sent to Congress. Lawmakers will meet in joint session on January 6 to formally tally the electoral votes and officially declare Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance the next president and vice president. Trump and Vance will take office at noon on January 20, 2025.

Analysis: Here's how the Electoral College has changed this year

From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf and Ethan Cohen

More than 150 million Americans cast ballots for president in November, but it’s 538 electors who actually elect the president when they meet in state capitols every four years.

That archaic process, known as the Electoral College, has endured multiple repeal efforts and one very serious attempt to undermine it in 2020.

But the Electoral College survives.

As electors meet on Tuesday, it’s likely to be a much less dramatic affair in 2024 than it was in 2020, simply because President-elect Donald Trump won the election and is not contesting the results. His Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is also respecting the will of voters this year.

Another contributor to the less dramatic Electoral College meetings this year is that Congress came together in 2022 to pass a bipartisan law, the Electoral Count Reform Act, clarifying how exactly the process should work and making it harder to dispute the results.

Here’s what to know.

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

GOP senator, a doctor, dismisses concerns about RFK Jr.’s views on GMOs and says they didn't discuss vaccines

rom CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leaves a meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Monday, December 16, in Washington, DC.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leaves a meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Monday, December 16, in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

GOP Sen. Roger Marshall dismissed concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and seed oils after meeting with him earlier today.

Marshall — who represents Kansas, a state with a large agricultural industry — argued that Kennedy knows that rural voters largely supported President-elect Donald Trump this cycle and said he understands farming.

“We had a great conversation about agriculture, and I was excited to learn that he’s a former 4-H himself, that he spent time working on farms, and certainly he understands how important American agriculture is — just from a general health standpoint, as well as national security,” said Marshall.

“I don’t think you’re going to see anything drastic out of (him),” Marshall said.

Marshall, who is also a medical doctor, told CNN that they did not discuss vaccines when pressed about Kennedy tying vaccination to autism.

Duckworth calls Gabbard "compromised" and attacks RFK Jr. as an "anti-vaxxer"

From CNN’s Manu Raju

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth accused President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, of being “compromised” by Russians.

Gabbard has publicly adopted positions on Syria and the war in Ukraine that many national security officials see as Russian propaganda.

Duckworth told CNN the Senate should reject Gabbard from leading the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

She also took a swipe at Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him an “anti-vaxxer.”

Duckworth said Democrats plan to ratchet up their criticism of Trump’s nominees in the new year.

Incoming Senate majority leader lays out "aggressive" calendar with few recesses for 2025

From CNN’s Ted Barrett
Senate Minority Whip John Thune speaks to reporters following a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on November 19 in Washington, DC.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune speaks to reporters following a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the US Capitol on November 19 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he has prepared an “aggressive” Senate calendar — with Friday votes, weekend work and few recesses at the beginning of the new Congress.

It’s an effort, he said, to quickly approve President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections and pass budget reconciliation measures on the border, taxes and other policies.

“The American people handed President Trump and Vice President-elect Vance a decisive mandate in November,” Thune said today on the Senate floor.

“And we are going to honor that mandate by making sure that President Trump has the people he needs in place as soon as possible — starting with the heads of the Cabinet departments,” he continued.

Gillibrand says she will consider RFK Jr.'s "full record" before deciding how to vote

From CNN's Pamela Brown

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told CNN on Tuesday that she is open to supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his bid to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Gillibrand said she will “look at his full record” before deciding how she will vote on his nomination.

Gillibrand said she wants to make sure that there is “no reduction in access to vaccines for school aged children,” but also highlighted Kennedy’s focus on food issues as something she also cares about.

Connolly beats AOC to lead Democrats on House Oversight Committee as party prepares to take on Trump

From CNN’s Annie Grayer and Sarah Ferris
Rep. Gerry Connolly prepares to give a television interview on Capitol Hill on December 12.
Rep. Gerry Connolly prepares to give a television interview on Capitol Hill on December 12.
Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP

Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly deflected a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and will be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee next Congress, according to multiple sources in the room.

Connolly won the majority of the House Democratic caucus in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday after Ocasio-Cortez challenged the initial recommendation from the steering committee on Monday.

The results of the secret ballot were 131-84.

What this means for Dems: Connolly’s victory signifies the party did not want to embrace Ocasio-Cortez to lead the coveted committee, as Democrats grapple with who can be their most effective leader as they look to rebuild after Republicans swept Washington in the 2024 elections.

The position became available after the current top Democrat on Oversight, Rep. Jamie Raskin, challenged Rep. Jerry Nadler, to lead Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, prompting Nadler to bow out.

Prior to the vote, Rep. Steny Hoyer stood up in the private meeting on behalf of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and urged his colleagues to weigh deference to seniority with who is best suited for the job, according to a source in the room. Pelosi, who had hip replacement surgery after a fall in Luxembourg on Friday, had been making calls in support of Connolly, according to multiple sources.

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