November 13, 2024 - US election news

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President-elect Donald Trump picked Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. CNN’s Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid explains why the nomination is surprising.

Donald Trump is announcing key positions in his incoming administration as he prepares to return to the White House.

On Wednesday, Trump officially made a pick for one of his most important Cabinet positions, choosing Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general.

Trump also officially announced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his choice for secretary of state.

In his first selection, the president-elect last week picked his campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever hold that role.

Here’s what has been announced so far:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

What else we are watching:

This post has been updated with the most recent selections.

Sergio Gor speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, October 27, in New York.

Trump ally Sergio Gor, who ran a Trump aligned super PAC this election cycle, has been tapped for Presidential Personnel Office director, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Gor declined to comment.

The office is expected to play a key role in vetting and hiring Trump loyalists across the administration.

During the last administration, the role was held by Trump loyalist John McEntee.

Semafor was first to report on the selection.

Attorney Todd Blanche outside Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, in New York.

President-elect Donald Trump is seriously considering naming his lead attorney Todd Blanche to serve as the next deputy attorney general, the second-highest position in the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his thinking.

Blanche has represented Trump for the last 18 months and defended him during his criminal hush money trial in Manhattan this year. He has grown close to the president-elect in that time period and is often seen with Trump in Palm Beach or when he travels.

Because of his proximity and Trump’s trust in him, it was widely expected inside Trump’s inner circle that if he won, Blanche would likely follow him into the federal government.

One person close to the matter cautioned that no final decisions have been made.

If nominated, Blanche would need to be confirmed by the Senate before running the department that is one of the most prioritized by Trump.

On Wednesday, Trump announced that he’d selected Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, likely setting off a tough confirmation battle even in the Republican-held Senate.

Read more details here about Todd Blanche

Eric Hovde delivers a speech in Juneau, Wisconsin, on October 6.

Eric Hovde, the Wisconsin Republican who nearly unseated Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, acknowledged this week that he lost the election but also raised questions about the legitimacy of the result as he mulls requesting a recount.

Even as they celebrate President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, right-wing figures such as tech billionaire Elon Musk, as well as some prominent 2020 election deniers, have seized on Hovde’s refusal to concede. They have embraced his baseless claims on social media that there were statistically “improbable” results and “inconsistencies” with the vote count.

CNN projected last week that Baldwin would win a third term, and the latest unofficial results show Hovde losing by less than a percentage point. He fell short even while Trump narrowly carried the state: Baldwin and Vice President Kamala Harris finished with very similar vote totals, but Hovde lagged behind Trump by about 56,000 votes.

Despite delegitimizing the result and saying he was giving “careful consideration” to a recount, Hovde also did something Trump did not do in 2020: acknowledge that he lost.

Read more here about the Wisconsin Senate race

The House Ethics Committee was due to meet this week to vote on releasing a report about Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned from Congress on Wednesday after President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate him for attorney general, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

The long-awaited report was expected to be released as soon as Friday, those sources said. But with Gaetz’ resignation, it’s uncertain if the information will ever be made public.

The Ethics Committee, which has been investigating Gaetz for years, had a narrow window on when it could release its actual report. Because the bipartisan committee doesn’t allow reports to be published close to an election, it could not release the information around the time of Florida’s August primary or the November general election.

Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives, CNN projects, a victory for the party that has had a majority in the chamber since 2023.

This gives Republicans a sweep of the federal government. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump announced more cabinet picks.

Here’s what you need to know:

Trump announced the following Cabinet positions on Wednesday:

More on Gaetz’s selection: House Republicans gasped as they found out about Gaetz’s selection while they were in a closed-door meeting. Gaetz has been a critic of the Justice Department. If confirmed, he would be in control of the investigative files that detail the evidence the FBI uncovered in the sex trafficking investigation against him. The DOJ deemed the files too sensitive to release even to congressional investigators.

Trump’s federal cases: The DOJ has asked a federal appeals court to pause its appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against Trump and his two co-defendants, while prosecutors decide next steps. Separately, special counsel Jack Smith continues to discuss with DOJ leadership the mechanics of winding down Trump’s federal prosecutions, with the intention of stepping down before Trump retakes office, according to a DOJ official.

House leadership: Mike Johnson was nominated to be House speaker unanimously, sources told CNN. Johnson, who is currently the speaker of the House, will now face a floor vote on January 3, where he will need to receive 218 votes. Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was also reelected as House Majority Leader, sources said. Before the vote was held, Trump addressed the conference, and boasted about winning swing states.

Senate voting and election: In a secret ballot voting, the GOP elected John Thune as the next majority leader. John Barrasso will be the assistant majority leader, Tom Cotton will serve as Republican conference chair, Shelley Moore Capito will be the Republican policy committee chair, James Lankford will serve as Republican conference vice chair, and Tim Scott will be the national Republican senatorial committee chair. Separately, the Pennsylvania Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick will head to a recount as unofficial results show the race to be within the one-half of one percent margin to automatically trigger a recount under state law.

Trump and Biden: Trump told the New York Post that he and President Joe Biden “both really enjoyed seeing each other” and expect to see each other again just before Inauguration Day. The meeting was “very cordial, very gracious, and substantive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The meeting lasted approximately two hours, and included White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign — which has been rebranded as the “Harris Fight Fund” following her electoral defeat earlier this month — is fundraising Wednesday following the announcement President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate controversial Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general.

The swipes at Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, mark the first explicit references to Trump’s cabinet picks the entity has made in an email appeal since its rebrand — up until now, fundraising appeals have largely focused instead on raising funds for disputed Senate and House races down-ballot.

“Donald Trump is making good on his promise to install loyalists who will do his bidding and that starts with nominating Matt Gatez [SIC] to be Attorney General,” the appeal warns. “They will weaponize the DOJ to protect themselves and their allies and we must stop them from executing Trump’s plans for revenge and retribution.”

Family members of American hostages being held by Hamas told reporters at the White House Wednesday that President Joe Biden told them he’d discussed the hostages during today’s Oval Office meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is believed to be among the hostages still being held by Hamas, said that Biden expressed an openness to working with the incoming Trump administration to negotiate a deal to secure their family members’ release.

“On our part, we impressed upon the president, of course, the urgency of getting the hostages home before another rough winter as hostages … we ask, and we have asked, the president and his senior staff, as well as the incoming administration, to begin work immediately together, arm in arm, in order to not delay in any way,” he said.

“The president absolutely, and the national security adviser yesterday, absolutely confirmed their willingness to do so — we call upon here, the incoming Trump administration to do the same,” he added.

In a readout following his meeting, the White House said Biden “reaffirmed the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to getting the hostages home to their loved ones and families.”

House Republicans announced Wednesday an agreement to raise the threshold to invoke a motion to vacate in exchange for amendment changes.

The motion to vacate rule currently allows just a single member of Congress to call for a vote of no confidence against the Speaker of the House. The new agreement raises that threshold to nine.

Rep. Andy Harris of the House Freedom Caucus said the new agreement would be able to “eliminate the controversial issues” in order to “deliver on the president’s agenda.”

Confirming CNN’s earlier reporting, the group announced they have raised the motion to vacate from one being able to invoke the motion to nine in return for getting rid of amendments.

“We understood that by — we had an opportunity to set the motion to vacate at a higher than number one, that motion to vacate will be set at nine in return for getting rid of some amendments that probably would have divided this conference. Andy did a good job of explaining to Main Street leadership why those amendments would have divided the Republican conference,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, a member of the Main Street group.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned today as he prepares for the attorney general confirmation process.

Johnson said Gaetz resigned now in hopes that Republicans could fill his seat in time for the new Congress, where Republicans are expected to have a very narrow majority. Johnson said under Florida state law, there’s about an 8-week period to select and fill a vacancy.

The new Congress starts on January 3.

“So, Matt would have done us a great service by making that decision, as he did on the fly. And so, we’re grateful for that,” Johnson said.

Johnson said President-elect Donald Trump informed him this morning that he was nominating Gaetz for attorney general.

CNN has reached out to Gaetz about his resignation.

Rep. Chip Roy looks on during a House Rules Committee meeting on September 23.

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said “we’ll have to see” when asked on Wednesday if he thought Mike Johnson could earn enough votes to become speaker of the house again in one round in January.

“We’ve got to see how things go in negotiations and lame duck. And you know, anything that’s going to happen with the expiring government funding,” he said.

Roy was involved in negotiations between the conservative Freedom Caucus and governing-focused GOP Main Street group to reach a deal to raise the motion to vacate threshold to nine votes.

In exchange for raising the threshold, lawmakers also agreed that there would not be retribution for dissenters who vote against procedural votes.

Roy said there were “strides” made on Wednesday to “get us on the same team,” again emphasizing the importance of advancing President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.

“We worked hard with Mike here on the rules process. I think we had some success here,” he said, adding now House Republicans need to figure out other structural issues and also “talk about the actual policies.”

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears on Inside Politics Sunday on June, 2, with CNN's Manu Raju.

During an appearance on CNN’s Inside Politics Sunday in June, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted Rep. Matt Gaetz — who led the charge to oust McCarthy from the speakership — saying he didn’t think the Florida congressman was a “conservative” and that he “should be convicted.”

During an appearance on Inside Politics Sunday in September, after Gaetz won his primary despite McCarthy backing his opponent, the former speaker repeated his criticism of Gaetz, as well as new detailed allegations against Gaetz that had recently emerged.

“When it comes to Matt Gaetz, I just hope the young women get the justice they deserve,” McCarthy said.

Remember: The House Ethics Committee has been investigating allegations that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”

Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.

Committee Chairman Michael Guest said Wednesday the investigation will end if Gaetz resigns from Congress to become attorney general.

Bob Casey and Dave McCormick

The incredibly tight Pennsylvania Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick will head to a recount, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday.

While provisional and mail ballots are still being counted, unofficial results show the race to be within the one-half of one percent margin to automatically trigger a recount under state law.

Currently, McCormick leads Casey by less than 30,000 votes, an advantage that has shrunk since Election Night. CNN has not made a projection in the race, although McCormick attended new senator orientation in Washington this week.

Counties will be required to start the recount by November 20. They must complete the recount by November 26 and report results to the state by the next day.

Senator Susan Collins speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday, September 24.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she was “shocked” at the news President-elect Donald Trump nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general.

She said she expects “an extensive background check by the FBI and public hearings and lots of questions asked” before a confirmation vote.

Collins is a frequent critic of Trump’s.

Another Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, called Gaetz an “unserious candidate” when asked by CNN.

This post has updated with a comment from Murkowski.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks keep getting more outlandish, which may be part of the point.

Attorney general? Rep. Matt Gaetz, the right-wing provocateur who is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct.

Secretary of defense? Pete Hegseth, a weekend Fox News host who served in the Army National Guard.

Director of national intelligence? Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who has expressed sympathy for Russia.

Jennings said no one should underestimate Trump’s ability to push some of these nominees through the Senate now that he’s claiming a mandate after winning the presidential election.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who served with Gaetz in both the Florida legislature and US House, said there should be no surprise that Trump would pick Gaetz, who has been one of Trump’s most effective advocates in Congress.

Gaetz is known for scorched-earth tactics in the House and was instrumental in ousting then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year for negotiating with Democrats. He might be controversial enough to challenge even Trump’s ability to get an attorney general confirmed.

Read more here about how Trump is stirring the pot with his shock picks

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries heads to a closed door meeting at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, November 13.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries concedes that Democrats failed to win the House.

CNN projected that Republicans would maintain their majority earlier Wednesday.

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on August 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the August 8 FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to pause its appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against Donald Trump and his two co-defendants, while prosecutors decide next steps.

The department took a similar step last week when it asked a trial-level court to put on hold the 2020 election interference case against Trump.

The developments in the two cases reflect that the DOJ leadership and the special counsel’s office are in talks about what to do with the criminal cases against Trump, given he is now returning to the White House. Under department policy, a sitting president cannot face prosecution.

The prosecutors say they plan to update the court on what they decide by December 2.

A one-page filing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles federal cases in Florida, says the department needs more time “to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”

At the same time, special counsel Jack Smith is working toward shuttering his office, which brought the two cases.

There is still some question whether the department would try to disentangle the portion of the classified documents case against Trump’s co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, who are private citizens, from the case against Trump himself.

The Justice Department had appealed Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that the special counsel’s office didn’t have the ability to bring charges in court.

If Rep. Matt Gaetz becomes attorney general, he would be in control of the investigative files that detail the evidence the FBI uncovered in the sex trafficking investigation against the congressman.

The Justice Department has deemed the files too sensitive to release even to congressional investigators, declining to provide the House Ethics Committee documents that the panel subpoenaed because they contain sensitive details of young women who were witnesses, people briefed on the matter said.

House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest said Wednesday the ethics probe into several allegations, including that Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use or accepted improper gifts, will end if he resigns from Congress to become attorney general.

The criminal investigation began during the Trump administration. One person familiar the matter said it wasn’t a difficult decision at the Justice Department to open the investigation of a sitting congressman. But two years later, the Justice Department under President Joe Biden declined to bring criminal charges against Gaetz, who has denied wrongdoing.

CNN previously reported that Gaetz sought a broad preemptive pardon for himself near the end of Donald Trump’s term, but his request was never seriously considered by the White House. Gaetz has denied that he ever sought a pardon.

Gaetz has been an outspoken critic of the Justice Department in recent years, lambasting prosecutions of Trump and January 6 rioters. He said the US Capitol attack “wasn’t an insurrection” on the one-year anniversary of the attack.