December 4, 2024 - Presidential transition news

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

Sen. Markwayne Mullin talks with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” on Wednesday, December 04.

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma on Wednesday said he has spoken with Donald Trump and the president-elect’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and that both men are still “all in the fight.”

“I spoke to President Trump and I spoke to Pete both. They are still both all in the fight,” Mullin told CNN.

Hegseth remained defiant Wednesday in the face of doubts that he can win Senate confirmation to the role as he met with Republican lawmakers and sought to address concerns about a series of misconduct allegations.

Mullin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he believed Hegseth’s chances of getting confirmed had improved over the last 24 to 48 hours.

“He’s up here working hard, and the more he meets with people, as I said, the more positive response we get,” he said, adding that “it’s a tough road for him, but it is a 100% doable.”

Mullins said “no” when asked whether he is concerned Trump has considered alternative picks for defense secretary.

“As I said, I visited with President Trump personally. He wants to see Pete get confirmed. But any business guy — which is what President Trump is and people know that, and a very successful business guy — always has Plan A, B and C. They’re contingency plans,” Mullin said.

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, center, walks through the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, December 3.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, met with key GOP senators on Wednesday as some lawmakers raise questions about his fitness to serve amid reports of past misconduct allegations.

Hegseth took to social media to hit back at a series of stories that have put his viability for the cabinet position into question. He struck a tone on X that was both combative and confident, posting dozens of messages of support while vowing never to back down as he works to keep his confirmation chances alive.

Hegseth’s former colleagues at Fox News also rallied to his side Wednesday.

Here’s what Republican senators are saying:

Trump also announced another round of picks for key posts Wednesday.

Here’s who he announced today:

Check out the full list of Trump’s picks Cabinet and key administration roles here.

Frank Bisignano delivers a keynote address at the Transact 15 conference in San Francisco, California, on April 1, 2015.

President-elect Donald Trump named Frank Bisignano as his pick for commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

Trump highlighted Bisignano’s professional experience in two Truth Social posts, particularly focusing on his role as chairman, president and CEO of Fiserv, the world’s largest payments and financial technology company.

Additionally, Trump praised Bisignano’s involvement in philanthropic organizations, such as the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, walks through the Senate subway in the US Capitol on Wednesday, December 4.

Sen. Susan Collins, who is meeting with Pete Hegseth next week, told reporters she plans to discuss his position on Ukraine, in addition to the allegations against him.

“I’m going to have a host of questions for him, ranging from his views on Ukraine and the size of our Navy to the allegations that have been lodged against him,” she told reporters.

Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has faced scrutiny over past misconduct allegations, causing GOP senators raise questions about his fitness to lead the Pentagon.

Hegseth vowed to “fight like hell” to win confirmation.

Pam Bondi, attorney general nominee, has now met with all the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a source familiar with the meetings.

The source said the talks have been “great” and that no concerns have surfaced — likely because she has only met with Republicans.

Bondi’s team will now expand their outreach to Democrats on the committee as well as leadership and she is expected to be back on the Hill next week to continue meetings.

Pete Hegseth’s former colleagues at Fox News are rallying to his side. After disregarding a series of misconduct allegations against Hegseth for days on end, the right-wing network has shifted into a new posture: defense.

On Wednesday, several prominent personalities on Fox News, where he was a weekend co-host of “Fox and Friends,” defended him on-air and provided a forum for others, including his own mother, to do the same.

Fox personality Emily Compagno said on Wednesday’s “Fox & Friends” that it’s “laughable” to think that Hegseth “will back down now or will in any way capitulate to the witch-hunt being wielded by the left.”

During the same segment, co-host Brian Kilmeade delivered an impassioned argument on Hegseth’s behalf, saying “he knows his stuff, he’s got the vision, he fought in the wars.”

By midday Wednesday, the alcohol use allegations had spurred more than a dozen Fox hosts and regular guests to defend Hegseth, including the third co-host of the weekend show, Rachel Campos-Duffy.

“This is why Americans hate the media & politics,” Campos-Duffy remarked. “GOP senators CANNOT fold to these cheap anonymous attacks.”

Kilmeade also alluded to the reports on air, commenting that “Pete is cut out of stone. He is a rock. The guy eats healthier, acts healthier, works harder.”

Hegseth taped a sit-down interview with former Fox host Megyn Kelly and then told journalists on Capitol Hill that Kelly’s podcast would probably answer the questions they wanted to ask him. Hegseth told Kelly that he has “never had a drinking problem” but acknowledged that when he returned from a tour of duty he began drinking “to deal with the demons.”

Read more about Hegseth’s former colleagues defending him.

Sen. Mitt Romney speaks from the Senate floor on Wednesday, December 4.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah delivered his final Senate floor speech Wednesday warning about those “who would tear at our unity” and hailing the importance of bipartisan cooperation.

The remarks marked the end of Romney’s career in public service, stretching from a term as governor of Massachusetts to six years as US senator from Utah — with two presidential bids in between, including being the GOP’s nominee in the 2012 election against President Barack Obama.

During his time in the Senate, Romney has been a leading Republican critic of Donald Trump, having voted to convict the now president-elect during both of his impeachment trials in his first term.

As he departs the Senate, Romney said he plans to remain engaged in public discourse — as a citizen.

“A country’s character is a reflection not just of its elected officials but also of its people,” Romney said. “I leave Washington to return to be one among them and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue.”

Jeff Bezos speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 on Wednesday, December 04, in New York.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he’s “super optimistic” about the incoming Trump administration.

“He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation,” Bezos said during an interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit Wednesday. He added that he would be willing to “help him do that” and that he believes America is “burdened by excessive regulation.”

Bezos’ comments come as various tech executives have begun seeking to engage with President-elect Donald Trump, including around tech policy. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also seeking an “active” role in policy discussions with Trump’s team, an executive for the company said this week.

Bezos also said he is not concerned about the relationship between billionaire Elon Musk — whose SpaceX competes with Bezos’ Blue Origin and xAI competes with Amazon’s AI efforts — and Trump. He said that he takes at “face value” Musk’s commitments that he will not use his political power against his corporate rivals.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also briefly commented on the incoming Trump administration in a separate interview during Tuesday’s event. Pichai said of his conversations with Trump: “He’s definitely very focused on American competitiveness, particularly in technology, including AI.”

Sen. John Cornyn speaks with members of the media after a meeting with Pam Bondi on Wednesday, December 4.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he is looking for Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for attorney and FBI director, to make quick reforms at their agencies so they are not viewed by the public as political organizations.

Cornyn’s comments come after his meeting with Bondi.

Cornyn, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he didn’t expect Bondi to “slash and burn and fire a bunch” of career officials because “that wouldn’t be prudent,” but would do “due diligence” to make appropriate changes at the justice department.

Coryn was asked about concerns by some critics regarding Patel on if he will carry out politically motivated prosecutions, the same way Republicans believe the current and previous FBI directors did against Trump.

“I’m going to ask him about that,” Coryn said. “What we need is a restoration of the previous reputation of the Department of Justice and FBI for a nonpolitical law enforcement agency, not a continuation of the current policy. So I’m going to look to both Pam Bondi and to Kash Patel as being reformers and restorers of the reputation of the FBI and Department of Justice.”

Former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler speaks at Erick Erickson's conservative political conference "The Gathering" in Atlanta, on August 18, 2023.

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler as his pick to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Loeffler is also co-chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

In a barrage of posts and reposts on the social media site X, defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth hit back at a series of stories that have put into question his viability for the cabinet position.

In his first post of the morning at 7:42 a.m. ET, Hegseth shared a picture from his time serving in Iraq in 2005, saying, “Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.” Hegseth accused “The Left” of trying to “smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories.”

Hegseth struck a tone on X that was both combative and confident, posting dozens of messages of support while vowing never to back down as he works to keep his confirmation chances alive.

Hegseth also reposted a message from JD Vance. The Vice President-elect referenced a Wednesday Fox News appearance by Hegseth’s mother who explained an email she sent, first reported by the New York Times. His mother said in the interview that she regrets sending a 2018 email to her son accusing him of mistreating women, and urged female senators to support his confirmation.

“The media never talks about the apology because they’re trying to destroy him, not tell the truth,” Vance said on X.

Hegseth later shared the interview on X with the message “Love you mom.”

In an effort to show the support he has from the Republican senators who will be crucial in his nomination process, Hegseth also shared a series of photos and statements from his meetings on Capitol Hill throughout the day.

Hegseth shared encouraging statements from President-elect Donald Trump’s allies, including Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri.

Fromer Rep. Billy Long speaks during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on May 14, 2019, in Washington, DC

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced former Missouri Rep. Billy Long as his pick for IRS Commissioner.

IRS commissioners serve five-year terms, with the term of the current commissioner, Danny Werfel, set to end in 2027. This means — like the FBI director — Trump would need to remove the person currently holding the job if he intends to install his pick for the role.

House Speaker Mike Johnson wouldn’t lay out congressional Republicans’ strategy for getting President-elect Donald Trump’s legislative agenda across the finish line early next year, instead referring to ongoing “critical discussions.”

CNN has reported on how House and Senate GOP leaders are ramping up talks about how to muscle Trump’s agenda — mainly border, energy, deregulation and taxes — through the GOP’s narrow margins.

Asked what legislative approach Trump supports, Johnson answered: “We all have the same priorities and it’s just a question of the sequence of how we do it,” adding he’s not going to “pre-guess” how things turn out, but “critical discussions” are ongoing.

Asked how difficult it may be to pass legislation with an extremely tight margin, Johnson responded with a smirk “easy.”

“We know how to work with a small majority,” he said.

Republicans are currently slated to have a 220-215 margin over Democrats.

After the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz and nominations to Cabinet positions for two other GOP lawmakers, Johnson could be left with a 217-215 majority if all three seats are vacant at once, meaning he couldn’t afford to lose a single member on a party-line vote.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be holding a smaller meeting on Capitol Hill with key Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene around 2 p.m. ET ahead of the broader meeting with House and Senate Republicans at 3 p.m. to discuss the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, two sources tell CNN.

Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz attends the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024.

The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday where they will discuss the fate of the report on Matt Gaetz, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Gaetz, first elected in 2016, had resigned from the House earlier this month after President-elect Donald Trump selected him to lead the Department of Justice and before the House Ethics Committee could release a report about its investigation into him, including alleged sexual misconduct, which he has denied.

Gaetz said on November 22 that he would not be returning to Congress.

The fate of the committee’s report — and whether it would be released with him no longer in Congress — had resulted in an animated debate on Capitol Hill about whether he could be confirmed.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernment initiative created by president-elect Donald Trump, suggested Wednesday that the group would seek to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse” in entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare as a first step but stopped short of endorsing cuts to the programs, which are on shaky financial ground.

Resolving “program integrity issues” with Social Security and Medicare, as well as Medicaid, could generate “hundreds of billions of dollars in savings” for the federal government, Ramaswamy said during a panel at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC. He made similar comments later Wednesday afternoon in an interview at the CNBC CFO Council.

But Ramaswamy, who heads Trump’s cost-cutting initiative alongside fellow tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, said it would “irresponsible” to discuss the possibility of making cuts to the programs before their efforts have “wrung all of that waste and all of that excess error out of the system.”

President-elect Donald Trump will sit for his first network interview since the election on “Meet the Press,” according to NBC.

The interview will take place on Friday and highlights will be released before the interview airs on Sunday.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins both said they will meet with Pete Hegseth next week, with Murkowski noting she’ll speak with him on Tuesday.

Murkowski said she “absolutely” plans to address the allegations against him, as well as his views on women in combat roles.

“I think I would be remiss if I didn’t speak about what everybody’s speaking about,” Murkowski said.

Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet arrive for a meeting with Sen. Joni Ernst on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

Pete Hegseth had “an engaging and constructive conversation” with GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, he told reporters after the 45-minute meeting.

He did not answer questions about allegations of alcohol abuse, and whether he had already stopped drinking.

Ernst, a Republican from Iowa and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has battled against sexual assault in the military, would not comment on the meeting, other than saying it was a “thorough” conversation. She wouldn’t say if she could vote for him.