The results of an ethics investigation into now-former congressman Matt Gaetz will be made public after a secret vote to share the report in the final days of 2024.
Members of the House Ethics Committee voted again earlier this month, reversing a decision to withhold the findings of a long-running probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
The report is expected to be made public as lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for the holidays, CNN reported. Gaetz, 42, responded on X, arguing his actions in his thirties were “not criminal” and he now leads a different life.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has claimed ex-Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney “could be in a lot of trouble” after a House GOP subcommittee called for her to be investigated by the Justice Department over her stewardship of the panel that examined the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, accusing her of witness tampering by “colluding” with Cassidy Hutchinson on her testimony.
The president-elect posted the taunt on Truth Social, thanking Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who led the subcommittee and produced the interim report, for “a job well done”.
Cheney herself has already rubbished Loudermilk’s report as “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth”.
House reverses course and plans to release Matt Gaetz ethics report
Matt Gaetz responds to impending release of ethics report
Donald Trump claims Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan 6 probe
Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100bn in disaster aid
Republican formally clinches presidency with Electoral College win
ANALYSIS: Trump’s $15m settlement with ABC shook the First Amendment’s foundation. It’s just the beginning
16:15 , Oliver O’Connell
The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the emergency appeal by TikTok to stop the app being banned in the U.S., with briefs due by December 27, replies due by January 3, 2025, and oral arguments set for January 10 — just nine days before the ban is supposed to go into effect.
Here’s what you need to know about the case:
TikTok asks Supreme Court to block potential ban
16:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
opular progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made her play. While her policy positions never changed, some noted that she seemed to push to the political middle during the campaign season. It was a move to seemingly curry favor with some of the party’s power brokers.
When she tried to play that chip on Tuesday for a powerful position on a House committee, it showed her progressive label still rankles in Washington. Even in her own party.
On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to lead the Oversight Committee to Gerry Connolly after Democratic leadership stated its preference for the 74-year-old from Virginia. The vote wasn’t even close, with Connolly winning 131 votes to Ocasio-Cortez’s 84 votes. The panel has broad powers and will help keep oversight of President-Elect Donald Trump.
Continue reading…
AOC played the inside game – and insiders rejected it (for now)
15:50 , Oliver O’Connell
Former congressman Matt Gaetz has released the following statement regarding the upcoming public release of the House ethics committee report on his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use.
He posted the following statement on X:
The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes.
I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me.
Then, the very “witnesses” DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims absent any cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I’ve had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued.
Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.
In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated — even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no such claim was ever made in court.
My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too.
It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.
But at least I didn’t vote for CR’s that fuck over the country!
The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes.
I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me.
Then, the very “witnesses” DOJ deemed not-credible were…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 18, 2024
15:38 , Oliver O’Connell
“Let me tell you, I think that men and women serving in Congress, House and Senate, by and large, are hardworking, principled people who deserve to be adequately compensated and no [COLA] for 10 years plus is inexcusable,” Durbin said
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2024
15:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Incoming US president Donald Trump threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on India as he reiterated his longstanding complaints of New Delhi charging high tariffs.
Mr Trump made the comment at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, standing alongside his commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick.
The former president, who has threatened tariffs on several countries as part of his “America First” approach, ended preferential trade status for India during his first term in 2019.
Shweta Sharma reports.
Trump threatens to impose reciprocal tariffs against India
15:20 , Oliver O’Connell
House lawmakers are expected to publicly release the results of an ethics investigation into now-former congressman Matt Gaetz after a secret vote last month to share the report in the final days of 2024.
House Ethics Committee members reportedly held a secret vote earlier this month, reversing course on a decision to withhold the findings of a long-running probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
The report is expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this week as lawmakers prepare to leave Washington, D.C., for the holidays, according to CNN.
Alex Woodward reports.
House reverses course and plans to release Matt Gaetz ethics report
15:05 , Oliver O’Connell
15:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is now prohibiting “editorials containing criticism” of Donald Trump “unless they are presented side-by-side with another opinion piece representing the ‘opposing view,’” according to a memo written by the newspaper’s editors.
As Oliver Darcy first reported in his Status newsletter, the staff memo reveals that Soon-Shiong’s “meddling” of the LA Times’ coverage – especially regarding the president-elect – has “grown more pervasive than previously realized.”
The memo, signed by several members of the LA Times’ opinion section, was sent to the newspaper’s executive editor, Terry Tang. It comes after Soon-Shiong killed an op-ed last month critical of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks and the incoming president’s suggestion that he may use recess appointments to circumvent the confirmation process.
Justin Barangoa reports.
LA Times staffers say owner’s pro-Trump meddling worse than previously reported
14:45 , Oliver O’Connell
President Joe Biden has said he is in favor of a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.
Speaking with Faiz Shakir, an adviser for Senator Bernie Sanders, in an interview on the progressive nonprofit news site More Perfect Union, the president said he did not know how lawmakers could trade stocks in good conscience.
“I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because the job they gave you, it gave you the inside track to make more money,” Biden said.
BREAKING: Joe Biden told us in an exclusive interview that he thinks members of Congress should be banned from trading stocks.
Our full interview coming soon. pic.twitter.com/X0b6LKf37J
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) December 17, 2024
14:38 , Oliver O’Connell
Per CNN:
The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
The report is now expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this year as lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays, those sources said.
The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted.
Here’s what you need to know about the investigation into Matt Gaetz and the previous failed attempt by lawmakers to release the report:
House GOP blocks release of Gaetz ethics report on accusations of sex with minor
14:30 , Oliver O’Connell
The rash of mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey continues to cause panic down the US east coast — and on Capitol Hill, frustrations are bubbling.
Joe Biden’s administration, with just over one month left in office, is heading into the holiday season in full lame-duck mode. As rumors of a ceasefire in Gaza being “close” raise the hopes of some Democrats eager to see the president pull out a final legacy-defining win, more are becoming vocal about the failure of the broader administration to address what is quickly becoming a source of serious misinformation.
Read more:
DC lawmakers frustrated as officials provide no clear answers on drone sightings
14:18 , Oliver O’Connell
President Biden on drones: “Nothing nefarious apparently. But they’re checking it all out…there’s a lot of drones authorized up there. I think one started and they all got, everybody wanted to get in the deal. But I’m – we’re following it closely. So far no sense of a danger” pic.twitter.com/aHjMXNZ7vF
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 18, 2024
14:06 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump district Democratic Rep. Jared Golden says he “will not vote for this CR” if it includes a pay raise for members of Congress: pic.twitter.com/CVoyU5HZaC
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) December 18, 2024
14:00 , Oliver O’Connell
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle revealed that President-elect Donald Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself” after she tried to set up an interview with him before the election to discuss his Madson Square Garden campaign rally.
While noting that Trump profanely brushed off her invitation for a sitdown, Ruhle also used this anecdote as an example of how much more accessible Trump is to the press than President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, who she claimed are nearly impossible to contact due to buffers put up by their staffs.
Appearing on Lukas Thimm’s live variety stage show So Many Issues, Ruhle brought up the wild MSG rally in October, which was described as “an orgy of fascism” and sparked outrage after a right-wing comic called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Ruhle said she “rolled the dice” and decided to call up Trump to see if he’d agree to talk to her about the fallout.
Read more from Justin Barangoa:
MSNBC host jokes Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself’ when she called for an interview
13:49 , Oliver O’Connell
Per the White House:
The President, the First Lady, and their family are attending a private memorial mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church.
Today is the anniversary of the death of President Biden’s first wife Neilia Hunter Biden and their one-year-old daughter Naomi.
13:40 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump reportedly met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday to discuss the app’s potential ban by the US government.
The two men reportedly had a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, according to NBC News.
In the days leading up to the meeting, Trump had expressed some degree of sympathy for the company, saying he had a “warm spot” for the app, and promising that he’d “take a look” at the ban.
Read more:
Trump meets TikTok CEO as platform fights US ban
13:29 , Oliver O’Connell
After the future heads of the Department of Government Efficiency expressed their disapproval of the continuing resolution to fund the federal government through until March 14, 2025, they apparently had a group chat with Speaker Mike Johnson.
He told Fox News that he spoke with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy about the stopgap bill.
Johnson told the network: “They say, ‘This is not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, guess what fellas? I don’t either.”
Speaker @MikeJohnson tells Fox News he talked to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy about the stopgap bill last night in a group chat.
“They say, ‘This is not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, guess what fellas? I don’t either.”
— Akayla Gardner (@gardnerakayla) December 18, 2024
Musk also asked: “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?”
13:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Senate Republicans fear that the confirmation hearings for secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth will be a repeat of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s heated 2018 hearings.
Both Kavanaugh and Hegseth have been accused of sexual misconduct and have rejected the allegations. Hegseth’s plan to release his accuser from a nondisclosure agreement is setting up the hearing to be filled with tension and fervor from both Democrats and Republicans.
Hegseth is set to push ahead with his nomination despite warnings from Senate Republicans that he’s likely to face a frenzy of uncomfortable questions about the sexual misconduct allegations and the claims against him of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.
Read more:
Senators warn that Pete Hegseth’s hearings will echo Brett Kavanaugh’s
12:41 , Oliver O’Connell
Legal experts and press organizations are warning that ABC News settling a defamation case with Donald Trump will have a “chilling effect” on the media going forward, while the president-elect seems determined to prove them right by unleashing more legal threats and lawsuits against news outlets and reporters.
Meanwhile, journalists are lighting into ABC’s willingness to “obey in advance” and “bend the knee” to Trump, claiming that the network and its corporate parent Walt Disney showed the incoming president just how to silence reporters.
Continue reading…
After the $15 million ABC settlement, is Trump going to keep going after the press?
12:35 , Oliver O’Connell
Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son and President-elect Donald Trump have announced plans for technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States over the coming four years.
Trump said the investments in building artificial intelligence infrastructure would create 100,000 jobs, twice the 50,000 promised when Son pledged $50 billion in U.S. investments after Trump’s victory in 2016.
Son, a founder and CEO of SoftBank Group, is known for making bold choices that sometimes pay big and sometimes don’t. SoftBank has investments in dozens of Silicon Valley startups, along with big companies like semiconductor design company Arm and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The stock market rally and craze for AI has boosted the value of its assets, but it’s unclear whether its investments will create that many jobs.
Who is Masayoshi Son?
Why is tech giant SoftBank investing over $100 billion in the US?
12:29 , Oliver O’Connell
.@KSoltisAnderson: “The Silicon Valley pivot toward Republicans is in some ways a little bit overdue. I mean, when you think about the mindset of a lot of these tech founders, it’s move fast and break things… And so I feel like this tension was long going to come.”@kasie,… pic.twitter.com/tPXrj1FrCb
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) December 18, 2024
12:05 , Oliver O’Connell
11:50 , Oliver O’Connell
Today in late-night posts from the president-elect, Donald Trump wrote this 3:23 a.m. ET after his post about Liz Cheney:
No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!
No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!
Donald Trump Truth Social…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 18, 2024
11:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The British populist met the world’s richest man at Trump’s Florida mansion this week amid rumours the tech mogul is preparing to donate $100m to Reform UK.
The two men met at the the president-elect’s club on Monday alongside Reform’s new party treasurer Nick Candy.
In a statement, Farage and Candy described their hour-long meeting as “great”.
They did not mention money but said they had “learned a great deal about the Trump ground game” and would have “ongoing discussions” with the Tesla, SpaceX and X boss on other areas.
“We only have one more chance left to save the West and we can do great things together,” they added.
“Our thanks also to president Trump for allowing us to use Mar-a-Lago for this historic meeting. The special relationship is alive and well.”
The money would be by far the largest donation in British electoral history if it is indeed handed out.
Here’s more from out Whitehall editor Kate Devlin.
Farage meets Musk at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion amid rumours of $100m donation
11:30 , Oliver O’Connell
In response to a post on X by Vivek Ramaswamy, his co-head of the upcoming Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk has come out against the plan to keep the US government funded through March 14, 2025, as backed by congressional leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson.
Ramaswamy wrote about the proposed continuing resolution: “Currently reading the 1,547-page bill to fund the government through mid-March. Expecting every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same.”
To which Musk replied: “This bill should not pass.”
Here’s what you need to know about the bill:
Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid
11:20 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect’s transition performance is continuing to unnerve voters, according to the latest survey from Reuters/Ipsos, which has found that 55 percent of the US public take an unfavorable view of him.
Just 41 percent say they support the incoming commander-in-chief a month before he takes office.
Missing-in-action incumbent Joe Biden did not fare well in the poll either, garnering an approval rating of just 38 percent as he sees out his single term.
11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed three bills aimed at cracking down on China’s role in the American fentanyl crisis, with measures that would set up a US task force to disrupt narcotics trafficking and pave the way for sanctions on Chinese entities.
China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by the Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, while Chinese money launderers have become key players in the international drug trade, US authorities say.
The proposed legislation would help hold China’s Communist Party (CCP) accountable for “directly fueling the fentanyl crisis through its state subsidies of precursors,” said the House of Representatives’ select committee on China, on which all of the sponsors of the bills sit.
🚨BREAKING: The Fentanyl Policy Working Group introduces three bills to hold China responsible for the fentanyl crisis.
– JTF to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act
– CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act
– International Protecting from PRC Fentanyl Act. ⬇️https://t.co/KyvJ2p9XqB
— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) December 17, 2024
One bill, the CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act, introduced by Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss, would codify authorities for the US to cut off Chinese companies from the American banking system, including vessels, ports and online marketplaces that “knowingly or recklessly” facilitate shipment of illicit synthetic narcotics.
“This is state-sponsored poisoning of the American people,” Auchincloss said at an event introducing the legislation.
“The genesis of this is squarely on the mainland of the People’s Republic of China.”
Two other bills would create a task force of US agencies to conduct joint operations to disrupt trafficking networks, and allow for the imposition of civil penalties on Chinese entities that fail to properly manifest or follow formal entry channels when shipping precursors to the US, the committee said.
There is growing consensus in Republican circles close to Donald Trump that Beijing has exploited, even engineered, the synthetic opioid epidemic to harm Americans, an accusation Beijing denies.
China says it has some of the strictest drug laws in the world and that the US needs to curb narcotics demand at home.
China’s anti-drugs authorities have always cracked down on incidents linked to missing drug-making chemicals, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, told a news conference on Wednesday when asked about the bills.
#FMsays The root cause of the rampant drug abuse in the United States lies within its own borders, FM spokesman Lin Jian said after a bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Tuesday proposed three bills aimed at cracking down China’s so-called role in the #US #fentanyl crisis. Lin… pic.twitter.com/AwwJwOqK0W
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) December 18, 2024
With little time remaining in the current congressional term, the bills would likely need to be reintroduced next year after the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the select committee, wrote in an article this month that it was “time to get tough” on Beijing over fentanyl.
10:40 , Joe Sommerlad
Back on Truth Social, the president-elect has warned Senate Republicans against agreeing a deal with Democrats on his nominees to top cabinet positions.
“To all Senate Republicans: NO DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS TO FAST TRACK NOMINATIONS AT THE END OF THIS CONGRESS,” Trump shouted in all-caps.
“I won the biggest mandate in 129 years. I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in.”
To all Senate Republicans: NO DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS TO FAST TRACK NOMINATIONS AT THE END OF THIS CONGRESS. I won the biggest mandate in 129 years. I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in.
Donald Trump Truth Social 09:08 PM EST 12/17/24
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 18, 2024
With that in mind, here’s Gustaf Kilander on Trump’s already-embattled nominee for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, who has been told his Senate confirmation hearing in January will be “a miserable experience” like that endured by Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
Senators warn that Pete Hegseth’s hearings will echo Brett Kavanaugh’s
10:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Yesterday, Donald Trump formally won the US presidency after Texas electors handed him the Lone Star State’s 40 Electoral College votes
Following the Republican’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris on November 5, his victory was formalized on Tuesday as presidential electors gathered across the US.
It takes 270 electoral votes to win the Electoral College – Trump won 312 last month to Vice President Harris’s 226.
The votes of each state will be sent on to Congress next month, where Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be declared the next president and vice president before they take office at noon on January 20.
Speaking of the Electoral College, here’s why three Democratic senators are pushing for its abolition.
Senate’s progressive wing proposes bill to end the Electoral College
10:00 , Joe Sommerlad
House and Senate leaders have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government funded through to March 14 2025 and provide more than $100bn in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.
The measure would prevent a partial government shutdown that is set to begin after midnight on Friday without a deal in place.
It would kick final decisions on this budget year’s spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Trump.
The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies.
Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress.
It’s the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began October 1, as they typically do.
The bill will provide $100.4bn in disaster relief, with an additional $10bn in economic assistance for farmers.
“We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
Here’s more.
Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid
09:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect has announced two more nominees to his incoming administration, naming Florida philanthropist Nicole McGraw as the the next US ambassador to Croatia and, more surprisingly, ex-NFL star and failed 2022 Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.
This is what Trump had to say about the former athlete:
I am pleased to nominate Herschel Walker as United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
Herschel has spent decades serving as an Ambassador to our Nation’s youth, our men and women in the Military, and athletes at home and abroad.
A successful businessman,…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 18, 2024
Here’s Ariana Baio with a throwback to Walker’s last appearance in the public eye on Election Eve, a gaffe-heavy appearance stumping for Trump at a Peach State rally.
Herschel Walker encourages supporters to vote for the wrong Trump in rally gaffe
09:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump has claimed ex-Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney “could be in a lot of trouble” after a House GOP subcommittee called for her to be investigated by the Justice Department over her stewardship of the panel that examined the Capitol riot of January 6 2021, accusing her of witness tampering by “colluding” with Cassidy Hutchinson on her testimony.
The president-elect posted the taunt on his Truth Social platform, thanking Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who led the subcommittee and produced the interim report, for “a job well done”.
Cheney herself has already rubbished Loudermilk’s report as “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth”.
Here’s her statement in full:
“Chairman Loudermilk’s ‘Interim Report’ intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator, or judge would take this seriously.
“January 6th showed Donald Trump for who he really is – a cruel and vindictive man who allowed violent attacks to continue against our Capitol and law enforcement officers while he watched television and refused for hours to instruct his supporters to stand down and leave.
“The January 6th Committee’s hearings and report featured scores of Republican witnesses, including many of the most senior officials from Trump’s own White House, campaign and Administration. All of this testimony was painstakingly set out in thousands of pages of transcripts, made public along with a highly detailed and meticulously sourced 800-page report.”
John Bowden has this report on the subcommittee’s dubious recommendations.
GOP House subcommittee wants Liz Cheney investigated for ‘witness tampering’
09:00 , Alex Woodward
President Joe Biden’s administration is violating U.S. law that blocks aid to foreign militaries credibly accused of committing human rights abuses, according to a federal lawsuit from a group of Palestinians in Gaza and their American families.
A lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday marks the first time that victims are alleging the government’s “calculated failure” to follow the so-called Leahy Law, a decades-old statute that prohibits taxpayer-funded weapons and aid towards foreign militaries implicated in human rights abuses.
Former State Department officials who navigated Leahy Law requirements helped draft the lawsuit.
Read more:
Gaza families sue Biden administration to block military aid to Israel
08:00 , Matthew Daly
The United States should proceed cautiously as officials consider new natural gas export terminals, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday, warning that “unfettered exports” of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, could raise wholesale domestic prices by more than 30% and increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Granholm’s statement came as the Energy Department released a long-awaited study on the environmental and economic impacts of natural gas exports, which have grown exponentially in the past decade. The analysis found that U.S. LNG shipments drive up domestic prices and frequently displace renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Read more:
Energy chief Granholm warns against ‘unfettered exports’ of liquefied natural gas
07:00 , Valerie Gonzalez
The U.S. still separates some migrant children from parents while holding them after they cross the border despite broad improvements at detention centers in Texas, according to a court-ordered monitor’s final report.
The heightened scrutiny of the Border Patrol’s Texas holding facilities is part of broader court-appointed oversight, which President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have criticized.
The report, issued Friday under a monitoring agreement that began in 2022, offers a final glimpse into conditions inside the facilities ahead of Trump’s return to office. The report noted improvements to hygiene, food and medical care but found that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents routinely separated children from adult relatives during their time in custody.
Read more:
US border facilities for migrant children are improving but still need work, court monitor says
06:00 , Guy Walters
When Justin Trudeau became the Canadian prime minister in 2015, people were still using that thing called Facebook. I can remember well the frothing posts by female friends, none of whom could contain their excitement at the election of this hottie PM. Furthermore, they gushed at the notion that what made him hotter still was not only that he was young and handsome, he was a lovely liberal dude too, which made him even more super-duper guy.
(If my male friends had written about an equally attractive female prime minister in such a way, they might well have been cancelled, but let’s park that.) As far as my friends were concerned – and to be fair, Trudeau had plenty of male fanboys – here was the perfect Generation X politician, and all would surely be well in his good hands.
Read more:
Justin Trudeau and the downsides of being the handsome poster boy for ‘goodness’
05:00 , Julia Musto
Pennsylvania Republican Doug Mastriano is facing some heat after posting a picture of what appears to be a Star Wars prop instead of one of the mysterious drones that are flying around the East Coast this month.
The meme the politician shared on the social media platform X includes a picture of what looks like a replica of a TIE Fighter, which is a fictional spacecraft used by the Sith Empire’s Imperial Fleet and seen in the 1977 classic and first film Star Wars: A New Hope.
“Breaking News: Crashed drone in Orange Beach retrieved from water, and taken to undisclosed location for further investigation,” the meme’s caption reads.
Mastriano reposted the image with a serious comment on Tuesday.
Trump-backed lawmaker roasted after mistaking Star Wars prop for captured drone
04:00 , Larry Neumeister
A federal judge said Tuesday that he won’t dismiss a bribery charge against New York Mayor Eric Adams because prosecutors described the allegations adequately in an indictment.
Judge Dale E. Ho wrote in an opinion that an indictment unsealed against the Democrat in September sufficiently details alleged bribery crimes, preventing dismissal of the charge prior to an April trial.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges stemming largely from his relationships with several Turkish government officials and businesspeople from 2015 to 2022. The indictment alleged that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in overseas travel benefits and illegal campaign donations from people seeking to buy his influence.
Read more:
Judge refuses to toss out bribery charge against NYC mayor
03:00 , John Bowden
The rash of mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey continues to cause panic down the US east coast — and on Capitol Hill, frustrations are bubbling.
Joe Biden’s administration, with just over one month left in office, is heading into the holiday season in full lame-duck mode. As rumors of a ceasefire in Gaza being “close” raise the hopes of some Democrats eager to see the president pull out a final legacy-defining win, more are becoming vocal about the failure of the broader administration to address what is quickly becoming a source of serious misinformation.
Read more:
DC lawmakers frustrated as officials provide no clear answers on drone sightings
02:00 , Alex Woodward
Donald Trump says privatizing the United States Postal Service — an idea Republicans have been circling for years in a crusade to kill one of America’s most popular public agencies — is “not the worst idea” he’s ever heard.
It’s the clearest signal yet that his incoming administration is reviving plans to gut the agency, which is empowered by the Constitution and older than the nation itself.
His remarks on Monday followed reporting in The Washington Post that Trump and his billionaire nominee for commerce secretary Howard Lutnick are mulling plans to overhaul the agency, including whether to privatize it entirely.
Read more:
Trump backs idea to make constitutionally-backed Postal Service private
01:00 , Ariana Baio
Reflecting on an election cycle that was dominated by podcasts and non-traditional media, the deputy campaign manager for the Harris–Walz campaign said there’s “no value” in speaking to mainstream press, notably the New York Times or Washington Post anymore.
Rob Flaherty, a key figure in crafting Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign strategy, admitted to Semafor in an interview that Republicans successfully expanded their alternative media presence with influencers, streamers, podcasters and more.
He maintained that stance in a recent interview with the online news outlet, saying the Harris campaign chose to focus on podcast appearances and interviews with influencers over traditional media to compete with Donald Trump’s campaign.
Read more:
Harris campaign head dismisses mainstream media: ‘Those readers are already with us’
00:15 , Justin Baragona
Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is now prohibiting “editorials containing criticism” of Donald Trump “unless they are presented side-by-side with another opinion piece representing the ‘opposing view,’” according to a memo written by the newspaper’s editors.
As Oliver Darcy first reported in his Status newsletter, the staff memo reveals that Soon-Shiong’s “meddling” of the LA Times’ coverage – especially regarding the president-elect – has “grown more pervasive than previously realized.”
The memo, signed by several members of the LA Times’ opinion section, was sent to the newspaper’s executive editor, Terry Tang. It comes after Soon-Shiong killed an op-ed last month critical of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks and the incoming president’s suggestion that he may use recess appointments to circumvent the confirmation process.
Read more:
LA Times staffers say owner’s pro-Trump meddling worse than previously reported
Tuesday 17 December 2024 23:30 , Justin Baragona
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle revealed that President-elect Donald Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself” after she tried to set up an interview with him before the election to discuss his Madson Square Garden campaign rally.
While noting that Trump profanely brushed off her invitation for a sitdown, Ruhle also used this anecdote as an example of how much more accessible Trump is to the press than President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, who she claimed are nearly impossible to contact due to buffers put up by their staffs.
Appearing on Lukas Thimm’s live variety stage show So Many Issues, Ruhle brought up the wild MSG rally in October, which was described as “an orgy of fascism” and sparked outrage after a right-wing comic called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Ruhle said she “rolled the dice” and decided to call up Trump to see if he’d agree to talk to her about the fallout.
Read more:
MSNBC host admits Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself’ when she called for an interview
Tuesday 17 December 2024 22:00 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump reportedly met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday to discuss the app’s potential ban by the US government.
The two men reportedly had a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, according to NBC News.
In the days leading up to the meeting, Trump had expressed some degree of sympathy for the company, saying he had a “warm spot” for the app, and promising that he’d “take a look” at the ban.
Read more:
Trump meets TikTok CEO as platform fights US ban
Tuesday 17 December 2024 21:47 , Gustaf Kilander
Republicans released a 128-page report Tuesday which suggested that former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney be investigated for her work probing the January 6 Capitol riot.
The report looked at the “failures and politicization” of the now-dissolved January 6 Committee, claiming that President-elect Donald Trump was unfairly blamed for the attack.
“Speaker Pelosi’s multimillion-dollar Select Committee was a political weapon with a singular focus to deceive the public into blaming President Trump for the violence on January 6 and to tarnish the legacy of his first Presidency,” it says.
The conclusion argues that the FBI should investigate Cheney, claiming that her contact with witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide, amounted to witness tampering.
“January 6th showed Donald Trump for who is really is – a cruel and vindictive man who allowed violent attacks to continue against our Capitol and law enforcement officers while he watched television and refused for hours to instruct his supporters to stand down and leave,” Cheney said in a statement, according to The Hill.
She went on to note that “Chairman [Barry] Loudermilk’s (R-Ga.) ‘Interim Report’ intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously.”
Tuesday 17 December 2024 21:30 , Rachel Clun
After nearly 10 years at the country’s helm, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing growing calls from his own party to resign.
Mr Trudeau’s latest crisis has been sparked by the sudden resignation of his finance minister Chrystia Freeland, amid a row over how best to handle US President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened trade tariffs.
Once the poster-boy for liberal politics, his popularity has waned and his approval rating has dipped below 30 per cent several times this year.
So what went wrong?
The rise and fall of Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister is on the brink
Tuesday 17 December 2024 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander
I take the actual drone story seriously but re the below, I’m pretty sure Red Leader Garven Dreis shot down that TIE fighter in ep IV A New Hope https://t.co/MD4nRsZqQ7
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 17, 2024
Tuesday 17 December 2024 20:55 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump has formally won the Electoral College and the presidency after Texas’ electors handed him the state’s 40 electoral votes Tuesday.
After Trump’s election win on November 5, his victory was formalized Tuesday as presidential electors gathered across the U.S.
It takes 270 electoral votes to win the Electoral College — Trump won 312 last month to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 226.
The votes of each state will be sent on to Congress next month, where Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will be declared the next president and vice president before they take office at noon on January 20.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Senate Republicans fear that the confirmation hearings for secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth will be a repeat of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s heated 2018 hearings.
Both Kavanaugh and Hegseth have been accused of sexual misconduct and have rejected the allegations. Hegseth’s plan to release his accuser from a nondisclosure agreement is setting up the hearing to be filled with tension and fervor from both Democrats and Republicans.
Hegseth is set to push ahead with his nomination despite warnings from Senate Republicans that he’s likely to face a frenzy of uncomfortable questions about the sexual misconduct allegations and the claims against him of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.
Read more:
Senators warn that Pete Hegseth’s hearings will echo Brett Kavanaugh’s
Tuesday 17 December 2024 20:00 , Ariana Baio
Incoming First Lady Melania Trump is devoted to ensuring her 18-year-old son, Barron Trump, is happy and healthy which will likely make her role in the White House less visible than other first ladies, insiders say.
Melania, 54, strives for “open communication” with her son, who recently began attending college at New York University, to help him adjust to the spotlight, two sources familiar with the Trump family told People.
“Melania worries about the hate in the country and how it falls on her son, who is innocent of any of this,” a social source told the magazine.
Read more:
Trump insiders reveal candid details about Melania and Barron’s relationship
Tuesday 17 December 2024 19:30 , Chris Blackhurst
The moment my children became interested in the US election was not when Taylor Swift declared her support for Kamala Harris, it was when Elon Musk appeared alongside Donald Trump.
They’re late teenagers – young adults – and Musk is their hero. It’s not just that he’s the world’s richest man, although that adds considerable lustre. It’s because he breaks boundaries, not least with his attempts to award himself a $56bn pay package, compensation that a judge this week ruled excessive.
He’s also the future, their future. They admire the Tesla – ‘faster than a motorbike from traffic lights’ one said to me recently. They can take or leave X, it’s not their network. And the space rocket reversing into a dock, as neatly as any car – that video has been replayed in our household countless times.
Read more:
Why Elon Musk should get every cent of his $56 billion pay package
Tuesday 17 December 2024 19:00 , Elaine Kurtenbach
Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son and President-elect Donald Trump have announced plans for technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States over the coming four years.
Trump said the investments in building artificial intelligence infrastructure would create 100,000 jobs, twice the 50,000 promised when Son pledged $50 billion in U.S. investments after Trump’s victory in 2016.
Son, a founder and CEO of SoftBank Group, is known for making bold choices that sometimes pay big and sometimes don’t. SoftBank has investments in dozens of Silicon Valley startups, along with big companies like semiconductor design company Arm and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The stock market rally and craze for AI has boosted the value of its assets, but it’s unclear whether its investments will create that many jobs.
Who is Masayoshi Son?
Why is tech giant SoftBank investing over $100 billion in the US?
Tuesday 17 December 2024 18:35 , Gustaf Kilander
After losing the ranking member spot on the House Oversight Committee to Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on BlueSky: “Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone – we live to fight another day.”
Tuesday 17 December 2024 18:30 , Anthony Cuthbertson
After amassing more than 170 million users in the country in less than seven years, TikTok is now facing an outright ban in the US.
On 19 January, just one day before Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as president, the country is set to become the latest to completely ban the Chinese-owned app.
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is still attempting to reverse the ruling, and has three potential ways to avoid the nationwide ban. The first is to ask the US Supreme Court to intervene, which it did on Monday. The second is to convince Trump to reverse the decision when he comes into office, with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew reportedly meeting with the incoming president on Monday. And the third – though this appears increasingly unlikely – ByteDance can abide by the ruling and sell TikTok to a US-based owner.
Read more:
TikTok is about to be banned – it could change the world even more than we thought
Tuesday 17 December 2024 18:07 , Gustaf Kilander
Tuesday 17 December 2024 18:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump Jr has said he will always “care for” Kimberly Guilfoyle and that the couple retain “a special bond” amid reports that they have ended their four-year engagement and parted ways.
While the couple has still not officially confirmed the split, the president-elect’s eldest son, 46, was recently pictured with Florida socialite Bettina Anderson celebrating her 38th birthday at Buccan, an exclusive Palm Beach restaurant, and enjoying a romantic evening stroll along the beach.
The photos, published by The Daily Mail, coincided with Guilfoyle, 55, being picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be his next US ambassador to Greece, leading to jokes from the likes of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that she had effectively been exiled to Athens to avoid an embarrassing break-up.
Now, Don Jr has told Page Six he and Guilfoyle “will never stop caring for each other” – though he stopped short of confirming their relationship is over.
“Kimberly and I will never stop caring for each other and will always keep a special bond,” he said.
Don Jr insists he will always ‘care for’ Kimberly Guilfoyle
Tuesday 17 December 2024 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander
The US embassy was damaged Tuesday in an earthquake striking Port Vila, the capital of the South Pacific Ocean nation Vanuatu.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck at about 12.53 p.m. and there were following “aftershocks,” an embassy alert said.
“There are also reports of landslides in the Port Vila area. People are advised to avoid entering buildings as they may be damaged or unstable,” the embassy added. “The U.S. Embassy in Port Vila has sustained considerable damage during the earthquake and is closed until further notice.”
Tuesday 17 December 2024 17:13 , Gustaf Kilander
Presidential electors are meeting in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to ratify President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a mostly ceremonial voting process, 538 electoral votes will be handed down. Thirteen of the electors are Republicans who took part in the fake electors plot in 2020, and some of them face criminal charges.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 17:10 , Gustaf Kilander
Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly has beaten Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the ranking member spot on the House Oversight Committee.
Connolly received 131 votes to Ocasio-Cortez’s 84.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 17:00 , Gustaf Kilander
HHS secretary nominee Robert F Kennedy Jr. and the nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard are on the hill Tuesday to drum up support for their respective nominations.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 16:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Congressional Republicans have reached a deal in principle to fund the federal government, according to CNN.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said he hopes to release the on Tuesday afternoon. It reportedly includes almost $100 billion in disaster aid and another $10 billion in banking relief for farmers.
The deal also includes an extension of the farm bill for one year, a provision aiding biofuels, a measure extending telehealth flexibilities, and another measure for pharmacy benefit managers, the network noted.
Leaders of both parties remain confident that a government shutdown will be averted before Friday.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 16:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump lashed out at Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court Juan Merchan after he rejected the president-elect’s attempt to throw out his hush-money case conviction based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
“In a completely illegal, psychotic order, the deeply conflicted, corrupt, biased, and incompetent Acting Justice Juan Merchan has completely disrespected the United States Supreme Court, and its Historic Decision on Immunity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
Calling Merchan a “radical partisan,” the former president went on to claim that he wrote, “an opinion that is knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution, and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it.”
“I am the only Political Opponent in American History not allowed to defend myself,” Trump added in a subsequent post after nominating some of his own defense lawyers to top roles at the Department of Justice.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 16:00 , Alex Woodward
Rising Democratic star Mallory McMorrow isn’t running for DNC chair — she went viral for a Michigan Senate speech against anti-trans attacks and “groomer” panic and was on the stage during this year’s Democratic National Convention.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 15:30 , Alex Woodward
Donald Trump is suing the Des Moines Register, its top pollster J. Ann Selzer, her firm, and the newspaper’s parent group Gannett, alleging news coverage of Selzer’s poll showing Kamala Harris with a surprising lead was used to fraudulently boost his rival in the final days of the 2024 election.
The lawsuit accuses the newspaper of “brazen election interference” and violations of consumer protections — his latest line of attack against media outlets he disagrees with as he prepares to wage war against a critical press when he returns to the White House.
Read more:
Trump sues Des Moines Register and top pollster over election survey results
Tuesday 17 December 2024 15:00 , Kate Devlin
Nigel Farage has met Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago mansion amid rumours the tech billionaire is preparing to donate $100m to Reform UK.
The two men met at the Florida club on Monday, alongside Reform’s new party treasurer Nick Candy.
In a statement Mr Farage and Mr Candy said: “We had a great meeting with Elon Musk for an hour yesterday. We learned a great deal about the Trump ground game and will have ongoing discussions on other areas.
“We only have one more chance left to save the West and we can do great things together. Our thanks also to President Trump for allowing us to use Mar-a-Lago for this historic meeting. The special relationship is alive and well.”
Read more:
Farage meets Musk at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion amid rumours of $100m donation
Tuesday 17 December 2024 14:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump is ratcheting up the pressure on media companies by suing Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, her polling company, The Des Moines Register newspaper, and Gannett, its parent company. All this comes after a poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris winning Iowa towards the later stages of the 2024 campaign for the White House.
Trump is suing under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, which outlaws deception in advertising or the selling of merchandise, CNN noted.
The claims are unlikely to be successful in court, but Trump is using the measure to go after what he views as Democratic-friendly media outlets, pollsters, and press coverage of elections.
Trump claims that the news coverage of the Selzer poll was meant to help Democrats. The poll showed Harris with a surprising lead in the Hawkeye State, which didn’t come to pass in the actual vote.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect has made it clear that he wants to crack down hard on immigration once he’s in office.
But his own businesses keep employing foreign guest workers, hiring more of them this year than any other on record.
Here’s Gustaf Kilander’s report.
Trump wants immigrants gone. He keeps hiring them for his businesses
Tuesday 17 December 2024 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad
With the end of Joe Biden’s administration on the horizon, American foreign policy is in flux.
Donald Trump, the president-elect, remains in Mar-a-Lago for now, but even without a presidential seal behind him has taken to holding discussions with world leaders beyond the typical congratulatory calls that occur in the post-election period.
And it’s increasingly becoming clear that US-Iran policy will be an arena where one of the biggest shifts in the American posture will occur.
A Wall Street Journal report in November unveiled the discussions underway about “maximum pressure 2.0” — a return to an updated version of the hardline policy platform the first Trump administration deployed against Iran with the expressed intention of cutting off the country’s nuclear program and weakening its government and state economy.
John Bowden has more.
Trump is bringing a hawkish Iran policy back in with him
Tuesday 17 December 2024 13:30 , Joe Sommerlad
In what would be one of his more surprising cabinet nominations were it to come to pass, the president-elect is reported by CNN to be toying with the idea of appointing a Democrat, Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz, to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which handles natural disaster relief.
It is not clear whether Trump and Moskowitz have met yet to discuss the proposition, which would see him take a leaf out of Kamala Harris’s book.
Tuesday 17 December 2024 13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Shou Zi Chew became the latest Big Tech boss to meet with the president-elect in Florida yesterday, following in the footsteps of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai, all of whom have sought closer ties with the president-elect since his November election win.
This is what Trump had to say about the platform at yesterday’s press conference:
Trump on a possible TikTok ban: “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say TikTok had something to do with that.” pic.twitter.com/xv2rm78oMc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 16, 2024
That came as US lawmakers told Apple and Google to prepare to remove TikTok from their app stores on January 19 after the Chinese-owned platform failed in its bid to delay a nationwide ban.
China-based ByteDance must sell TikTok in the US before that date to avoid the ban, which has been ordered due to national security concerns.
TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week, asking for more time to make their case to the US Supreme Court.
Here’s the latest from Anthony Cuthbertson.
TikTok asks Supreme Court to block potential ban
Tuesday 17 December 2024 12:30 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect had this fairly frank dismissal of Chrystia Freeland after she resigned unexpectedly as Canada’s deputy prime minister and finance minister.
“She will not be missed!!!” he hisses.
The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau. Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 17, 2024
Here’s more on what’s going on up there.
Justin Trudeau ‘considering resignation’ after shock clash with finance minister
Tuesday 17 December 2024 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect named another quintet of nominees to his new administration late yesterday, who are as follows:
Arthur Graham Fisher was named as Trump’s choice to be the next United States Ambassador to the Republic of Austria
Leah Francis Campos will be United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
George Edward Glass will be United States Ambassador to Japan
Stacey Feinberg will be United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
Lou Rinaldi will be United States Ambassador to Uruguay
Tuesday 17 December 2024 11:30 , Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect also raised eyebrows at Mar-a-Lago yesterday after marveling at the number of countries that reached out to him following his election victory last month.
“I’ve spoken to way over 100, where they called to congratulate not only the election but also the size of the election and the extent of the victory,” Trump said on Monday.
“They were great. I spoke to over 100 countries.
“You wouldn’t believe how many countries there are. I’m trying the best I can to get back to everybody.
“There are a lot of countries. Literally, everyone called. It was very nice.”
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Trump mocked for geography snafu during press conference’
Tuesday 17 December 2024 11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
This is what the president-elect had to say about the matter of unidentified flying objects over the East Coast and the Biden administration’s odd failure to put people’s concerns at rest.
Trump makes drone sighting plea as he claims ‘something strange is going on’
