Democrats plan to elect new party leader days after Trump’s inauguration

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WASHINGTON — The chair of the Democratic National Committee informed party leaders on Monday that the DNC would choose his successor in February, an election that will speak volumes about how the party wants to present itself during four more years of Donald Trump in the White House. Jaime Harrison, in a letter to members of the party’s powerful Rules & Bylaws Committee, outlined the process of how the party would elect its new chair. Harrison said in the letter that the committee would host four candidate forums — some in person and some virtually — in January, with the finalmore

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Biden to attend Trump inauguration, White House says

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U.S. President Joe Biden will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the White House said Monday, calling it a “commitment to our democratic values” despite Trump’s skipping Biden’s own swearing-in. Then-President Trump refused to attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021, after falsely claiming Biden’s election win was fraudulent and whipping up a mob of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. “The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whoever won the election,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told reporters flying with Biden on Air Force One. “He and the first lady are going to honor that promise and attendmore

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Trump taps America First Policy Institute CEO to be agriculture secretary

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, to be agriculture secretary. “As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our Country,” Trump said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Rollins would lead a 100,000-person agency with offices in every county in the country, whose scope includes farm and nutrition programs, forestry, home and farm lending, food safety, rural development, agricultural research, trade and more. It had a budget of $437.2 billion in 2024. Themore

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What to know about Scott Turner, Trump’s pick for housing secretary

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Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term. Turner, 52, is the first Black person selected to be a member of the Republican’s Cabinet. Here are some things to know about him: From professional football to politics Turner grew up in a Dallas suburb, Richardson, and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a defensive back and spent nine seasons in the NFL beginning in 1995, playing for the Washington Redskins, San Diegomore

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Trump picks hedge fund manager for treasury secretary

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Scott Bessent as secretary of the treasury, according to a statement released Friday night. Bessent, 62, is the founder of Key Square Capital Management, a hedge fund, and has worked on and off for Soros Fund Managment since 1991. If confirmed, Bessent will be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He is a deficit hawk and has said he would work to lower the U.S. national debt. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sortmore

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Allies ponder NATO’s future with Trump

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NATO allies are preparing for a potentially turbulent transatlantic relationship after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. During his first term, he questioned NATO’s relevance and berated allies for not spending more on defense. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, many European nations are echoing calls to spend more in the face of the threat from Russia. …

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Trump names Pam Bondi as new nominee for US attorney general

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s latest nominee for U.S. attorney general has established herself as a staunch conservative, Trump loyalist and outspoken defender of the president-elect, both personally and professionally.    Trump announced his selection of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, just hours after former Florida U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the post.    From his Truth Social media account, Trump praised Bondi and what she will bring to the office.     “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore,” Trumpmore

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Trump gets permission to seek dismissal of hush money case

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NEW YORK — A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to seek dismissal of the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the November 5 U.S. presidential election. New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan formally delayed the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled to take place Tuesday. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office this week asked Merchan to consider deferring all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, finishes his four-year presidentialmore

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Democrat Casey concedes to Republican McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest

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HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap, and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Casey’s concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hourslong election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law. Republicans had been claiming that Democrats were trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting “illegalmore

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Dr. Oz nominated to oversee Medicare, Medicaid

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WASHINGTON — Mehmet Oz, a renowned heart surgeon and television host best known for “The Dr. Oz Show,” has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. If confirmed by the Senate, Oz will oversee two of the nation’s most vital health insurance programs, which provide coverage for elderly and low-income Americans. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960, Oz is the son of Turkish immigrants — Dr. Mustafa Oz, a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon, and Suna Oz. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Oz graduated from Harvard University in 1982 with amore

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Gaetz withdraws name as Trump’s attorney general nominee

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Former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz is withdrawing his name from consideration as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on social media platform X. The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on Gaetz. The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michaelmore

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Emboldened North Korea awaits second Trump administration

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WASHINGTON — In his first message aimed at Washington since the U.S. presidential election, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his unwavering determination to hold onto nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say. At a conference with army officials last Friday, Kim vowed to bolster his country’s nuclear capabilities “without limit,” while condemning Washington for its nuclear deterrence strategies with Seoul. “The U.S., Japan and South Korea will never get away from the responsibility as the culprits of destroying the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “The mostmore

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US House panel: No agreement on release of report on Trump’s attorney general nominee

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The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general.  The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michael Guest, emerged from a lengthy committee meeting, saying, “There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.”  He declined further comment. The other nine committee members — four Republicans and five Democrats — also did not comment immediately.  Gaetz was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by Trump to becomemore

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Trump picks former acting attorney general as US envoy to NATO

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Matt Whitaker, a former acting attorney general from his first presidency, as the U.S. ambassador to NATO, the cornerstone Western military alliance whose member countries Trump has criticized for not spending enough money on defense. In a statement, Trump described Whitaker, 55, as “a strong warrior and loyal patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and stand firm in the face of threats to peace and stability.” As with several of Trump’s choices for positions in his new administration, the nominationmore

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Trump plans to nominate billionaire Wall Street banker for commerce secretary

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary in his new administration, Trump announced on Tuesday.  The 63-year-old billionaire has been co-chair of Trump’s transition team, helping to consider and vet numerous people to assume top-level government jobs after Trump takes office on January 20. Lutnick has been an outspoken Trump supporter in recent months.  The CEO and chairman of the Cantor Fitzgerald global financial services firm, Lutnick was reported to be in contention to become Treasury secretary, another top job Trump has yet to fill. But Trump associates say Lutnick fell outmore

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US House panel to consider releasing report on Trump’s attorney general nominee

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The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee is set to meet Wednesday to decide whether to release its investigative report on former Representative Matt Gaetz, who was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general in his new administration. Several U.S. senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, are demanding that the report be released so they can consider the scope of Gaetz’s background as they undertake their constitutionally mandated role of confirming or rejecting a new president’s Cabinet nominees. Last Wednesday, Trump named Gaetz, 42, a Republican congressman frommore

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Trump’s Cabinet picks will shake status quo, House speaker says

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Some of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are being described as “controversial” in both Democratic and Republican circles. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reminded critics Sunday that the American people voted to shake up the status quo, and that’s what these new Cabinet officials, if confirmed, will be tasked with doing. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. Video editing by Henry Hernandez. …

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Two Trump Cabinet nominees embroiled in sex controversies

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Two of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s key nominations – Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former lawmaker Matt Gaetz as attorney general — have become embroiled in sex controversies that could threaten their Senate confirmations to serve in Trump’s Cabinet.     Hegseth, 44, paid an undisclosed amount to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avert the threat of what he viewed as a baseless claim becoming public, his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told U.S. news media this weekend.   Gaetz, 42, resigned abruptly last week from the House of Representatives near themore

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