National Politics

By Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Plenty of House Republicans are privately jockeying for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. There’s one big problem: Speaker Mike Johnson can’t afford to lose their votes in the next Congress. GOP leaders in Congress are signaling that Trump can’t poach more of their members after Trump on Monday named long-time

By Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox and Clare Foran, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump won’t arrive back at the White House until January. But the president-elect will have fingerprints over every piece of the lame-duck session of Congress. A week after Election Day, lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to the fast-approaching threat of a government

By Kayla Tausche, CNN (CNN) — Less than a week into the Trump transition – with some of the most critical personnel decisions still underway – the president-elect has elevated a new class of candidates: the czars. Discussions about a future role for North Dakota governor-turned-Trump-ally Doug Burgum have evolved into that of an “energy

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to two people familiar with the selection. “Kristi has been very strong on Border Security,” Trump said in a statement officially announcing the pick later Tuesday. “She will

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Biden administration has not assessed that Israel is in violation of US law and will not change its policy at this time, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday on the US-mandated 30-day deadline for the Netanyahu government to take specific steps to improve the humanitarian situation in

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego will win a closely watched US Senate seat in Arizona, CNN projects, defeating Republican Kari Lake to become the state’s first Latino senator. Gallego will succeed retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat, as he joins the soon-to-be-GOP-controlled chamber in January. His win is

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk wants to radically reshape who controls America’s money supply. The billionaire is among several people in Donald Trump’s inner circle calling for sweeping changes to the Federal Reserve. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. 1.

By Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes and Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is likely to pick Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN, as he rounds out his national security team in a second term. It was not clear as of Monday night

By Kaitlan Collins and Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida to serve as his national security adviser, according to a source familiar. In the role, Waltz would have to navigate a number of geopolitical conflicts that Trump’s administration will assume as part of his second term,

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Republicans flipped the Senate, but Democratic candidates often outran the top of the ticket, winning at least four battleground states that Vice President Kamala Harris lost. Harris lost all seven swing states to President-elect Donald Trump, while her party’s Senate candidates narrowly held Wisconsin, Nevada and open seats in

By Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — From his seaside Florida resort, Donald Trump is holding a casting call to fill the toughest job in Washington: attorney general. While Trump ended on bad terms with many Cabinet members, no post was more the focus of his cauldron of chaos than the leader of

By Kristen Holmes and Betsy Klein, CNN Washington (CNN) — Melania Trump is not expected to attend the traditional White House meeting with first lady Jill Biden, sources familiar with her plans said. It’s a decision that underscores Melania Trump’s long-held willingness to buck tradition as she prepares to retake the high-profile – but unelected

By Tierney Sneed and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — The first vote the lame-duck Senate will take as it returns Tuesday will be on a nominee for a Chicago federal court, kicking off Democrats’ uphill campaign to confirm as many of President Joe Biden’s picks for the judiciary as possible before losing power at the

By Alayna Treene, Kit Maher and Ella Nilsen, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Zeldin announced that he has accepted the role. “It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of Tim Pawlenty, former Republican governor of Minnesota. Personal Birth date: November 27, 1960 Birth place: St. Paul, Minnesota Birth name: Timothy James Pawlenty Father: Gene Pawlenty, a truck driver Mother: Virginia “Ginny” Pawlenty Marriage: Mary (Anderson) Pawlenty (1987-present) Children: Mara, 1996; Anna, 1993

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here is a look at the life of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Personal Birth date: November 17, 1948 Birth place: New York, New York Birth name: Howard Brush Dean III Father: Howard Brush Dean Jr, stockbroker Mother: Andrea (Maitland) Dean Marriage: Dr. Judith Steinberg (1981-present) Children: Anne and Paul

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce in the coming days that Stephen Miller, his top immigration adviser, will serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN. Miller, who served as a senior adviser to Trump and was his