Politics

By Paula Reid, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith intends to step down before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and is discussing the mechanics of winding down the federal prosecutions against him with Justice Department leadership, a DOJ official familiar with the discussions said. Trump has threatened

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — In choosing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his homeland security secretary, President-elect Donald Trump is tapping a long-time loyalist to helm an agency that’s expected to play a central role in his immigration crackdown. She will work closely with two immigration hardliners, incoming deputy chief of staff for

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — The last time Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, he scrawled out a two-page letter to Joe Biden in his distinctive jagged penmanship, slipped it into the drawer of the Resolute Desk and — notwithstanding the note’s surprisingly gracious tone — walked away from the building defeated

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — It was a night of MAGA shock and awe that even Donald Trump’s most devoted fans might not have dreamed possible. But the president-elect’s blizzard of Cabinet and staff picks on Tuesday, each one more unorthodox than the last, only bolstered fears among his critics that his

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Tami Luhby, Aaron Pellish and Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess

CNN By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday was his pick to serve as US ambassador to Israel, previously argued that there was “no such thing as a Palestinian.” Huckabee, who has been a strong defender of Israel throughout his career, made the statement during

By Jeremy Herb, Haley Britzky, Oren Liebermann, Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene and Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army veteran, to serve as his secretary of defense. Hegseth’s selection was a surprise, as he was not among those considered as a likely pick by

CNN By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has chosen John Ratcliffe to serve as his CIA director. Ratcliffe had been high on the list of potential attorney general candidates, sources told CNN. He currently serves as co-chair at the Center for American

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that veteran Republican lawyer Bill McGinley will serve as his White House counsel. “Bill is a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement,” Trump said in

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday was his pick to serve as US ambassador to Israel, previously argued that there was “no such thing as a Palestinian.” Huckabee, who has been a strong defender of Israel throughout his career, made the statement during his

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has chosen John Ratcliffe to serve as his CIA director. Ratcliffe had been high on the list of potential attorney general candidates, sources told CNN. He currently serves as co-chair at the Center for American Security

By MJ Lee and Arlette Saenz, CNN Washington (CNN) — The families of US hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023, remain in agony, waiting for any sign that their loved ones might finally come home to them. Now, more than a year into the Israel-Hamas conflict and on the heels of last week’s

By Kit Maher and Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as United States ambassador to Israel, a strong defender of Israel who once argued that there was “no such thing as a Palestinian.” “Mike has been a great public

CNN By Katie Lobosco, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to abolish the Department of Education. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly pointed to the agency as a symbol of federal overreach into the everyday lives of American families. “I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to do

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away an appeal from John Nassif, a January 6 defendant who challenged a law that bans “parading, picketing, and demonstrating” at the US Capitol as a violation of the First Amendment. Nassif, who was sentenced to seven months in prison for his role

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to let Mark Meadows move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court, effectively barring the former chief of staff during Donald Trump’s first term from claiming immunity from those charges. Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman who served as White House chief of

By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Brussels Tuesday as President-elect Donald Trump’s possible moves on support for Ukraine, NATO and tariffs raise serious questions and concerns among European officials. The trip comes a week after the US presidential election and as European leaders brace