President-elect Donald Trump attends the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. The annual event supports Grey Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing military suicide. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump continued his blitz of Cabinet and senior staff selections, closing the week Friday with the announcement that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former presidential rival turned Trump surrogate, is his candidate to lead the federal department responsible for vast swaths of federal lands and U.S. relations with Native American tribes.

Burgum also will head up a brand new “National Energy Council,” Trump said.

In just 10 days since his decisive win, Trump from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida rapidly disclosed his picks to lead major U.S. policy areas, including relationships around the globe and the health and well-being of Americans at home.

The president-elect, who trounced Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Nov. 5, has named roughly half of his intended nominees for the 15 executive departments that traditionally comprise a president’s Cabinet. If Trump follows through on his nominations, he’ll need the U.S. Senate’s approval for each.

That feat could be an uphill battle for Trump’s more controversial nominees — namely a Fox News host to oversee the entire U.S. military, a vaccine skeptic to administer health and science funding, and a recent Florida congressman who was investigated by the Department of Justice to wield the power of attorney general.

Trump has also drawn from his 2024 campaign staff, personal attorneys and pool of first-administration loyalists to fill several senior White House staff picks that do not require Senate approval.

Here are some of the president-elect’s latest choices:

• Burgum as secretary of the Interior. Trump announced Friday he will nominate Burgum, a former 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior. The $18 billion, 70,000-employee department oversees 11 bureaus that have a vast reach over relations with Native American tribes; control of hundreds of wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries; and the management of 245 million acres of public land, a third of the country’s minerals, and leasing for energy extraction from U.S. ocean waters. Trump said in a statement Friday that he will create a National Energy Council, with Burgum at the helm, “to oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE,” he wrote. Burgum, a wealthy software executive turned governor, has filed a handful of lawsuits against the agency, including a challenge to open more oil and gas leasing in his state, according to the North Dakota Monitor. He dropped his 2024 presidential bid in January and endorsed Trump.

• Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia as secretary of Veterans Affairs. Trump announced Thursday his choice of the ex-congressman from Georgia to lead the agency that distributes health care to 9 million veterans at over 1,200 facilities annually. The department, which asked Congress for a $369.3 billion budget for next year, also oversees veterans disability benefits and manages national veterans cemeteries and memorials. Collins, a lawyer, pastor and member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve since 2002, served in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2021, according to his congressional biography.

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services. The president-elect tapped Kennedy Jr. Thursday as his choice to lead the massive 80,000-employee Department of Health and Human Services that projects mandatory spending — think Medicare and Medicaid — will reach $1.7 trillion in 2025, and discretionary spending at $130.7 billion. Also under the huge HHS umbrella are the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy Jr., a former 2024 presidential hopeful who dropped out and endorsed Trump, is well known for his spreading of vaccine misinformation. The former environmental lawyer and son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy also made headlines during the 2024 race for admitting he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park nearly a decade ago, among other unusual revelations.

• Trump attorney D. John Sauer as solicitor general of the United States. In his last staffing announcement Thursday, Trump said he intends to nominate his defense attorney in his federal election interference case to be the U.S. Justice Department’s litigator before the U.S. Supreme Court. Sauer successfully argued Trump’s presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court in April. Sauer made headlines at Trump’s federal January appeal hearing for appearing to argue that a president’s order for SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival would be covered under presidential immunity. Sauer, Missouri’s former solicitor general, was among those who filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Texas’ lawsuit to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

• Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Trump dropped a bombshell Wednesday afternoon when he revealed he will nominate the now-ex-lawmaker Gaetz of Florida as attorney general. Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House hours after Trump’s announcement, getting ahead of an anticipated ethics report on his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use that could have been released Friday, according to several news outlets. Politico reported Friday that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., does not want the report released, despite pressure from some in his own party. Gaetz, who if confirmed by the Senate would be the nation’s top law enforcement officer, was investigated by the Justice Department for two years, beginning under Trump’s first administration, for possible sex trafficking. The probe was dropped last year, as has been widely reported. Trump campaigned on meting out retribution from the Justice Department for his political foes following two federal investigations into his alleged stockpiling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and his alleged subversion of the 2020 presidential election. Gaetz is a staunch Trump ally and was among the nearly 140 House Republicans who objected to the 2020 election results. Trump has also tapped his personal criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as deputy attorney general.

Within the past seven days, Trump also announced his plans to nominate former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Jay Clayton as a U.S. attorney, former Democratic Congresswoman-turned-Republican Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence, Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of State, Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security chief, GOP Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, former head of national intelligence John Ratcliffe as CIA director, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as “border czar,” former Trump White House adviser and immigration policy architect Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former Congressman Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and his 2024 campaign manager, Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. 

The president-elect made waves as well when declaring this past week that billionaire campaign donor Elon Musk and former presidential hopeful, now a staunch Trump supporter, Vivek Ramaswamy will together run an ambiguous entity titled the Department of Government Efficiency. Shortened to DOGE, it is still unclear how the organization would operate and interact with the federal government.

This article has been updated to reflect the correct title for Jay Clayton.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense. In this photo, Hegseth speaks onstage during the 2023 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at The Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 16, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and a weekend host on Fox News’ morning show, as secretary of Defense.

Trump also announced on Wednesday afternoon he would nominate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of State and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence, as he rounds out his national security team.

The Hegseth pick, announced late Tuesday, immediately drew more scrutiny than some more conventional choices Trump announced for other Cabinet-level positions.

Outside of his time in the Army, Hegseth, 44, has no government experience. He was the CEO of the veterans’ advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America, according to a bio on his personal website. He served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his combat service.

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement from his transition team. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”

No women in combat

On Fox, in several books he’s written and in other public forums, Hegseth has been vocal about his socially conservative views.

He told a podcast host last week that “women should not serve in combat roles.”

“It hasn’t made us more effective, it hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast.

He’s also criticized the DoD’s work under Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“Unfortunately, the incentives for generals under the Biden administration and the Obama administration was to conform to ideologies of leftist politicians who were ramming stuff into the Pentagon that has nothing to do with winning wars,” he said during a Fox News appearance to promote a book on the military. “What is your gender? What is your race? DEI, (Critical Race Theory).”

Hegseth’s focus on culture war issues has won praise from some conservatives, including the influential think tank The Heritage Foundation.

“At a time when bloat and woke initiatives detract from the core warfighting mission of our armed forces, we need a secretary like Pete who has both served in combat and advocated for veterans on Capitol Hill. Under President Biden and Secretary (Lloyd) Austin, our military has grown weaker while foreign conflicts have increased. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth will make our military great again while continuing to put America First,” the foundation said in a statement.

Inexperience a factor?

But Democratic members of Congress voiced unease with the nomination, and even Republicans withheld full-throated endorsements.

Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on X that the Senate should give the nomination “the utmost scrutiny.”

“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position, and I question President-elect Trump’s choice of a television news host to take on this immensely important role,” Smith said. “While I respect and admire Mr. Hegseth’s military service, I am concerned about his inexperience given the security challenges we face around the world.”

Even Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican and close Trump ally, voiced skepticism over the pick, Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported.

“Really?  I’d have to think about it,” Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that will manage the confirmation process, reportedly said.

The ambivalence toward Hegseth stands out from Trump’s other early picks.

Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young sent a series of posts on X this week praising the selections of Rep. Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador, former Rep. Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Rep. Mike Waltz to be national security adviser, former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the ambassador to Israel.

He did not communicate on X his support of Hegseth.

Similarly, the official X account for the House Armed Services Committee, which is chaired by Alabama’s Mike Rogers, posted praise for Stefanik and Waltz on X, but did not comment on Hegseth.

Tattoos raised red flags

Hegseth grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota. He attended Princeton University as an undergraduate and received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.

He sought the 2012 Minnesota Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, but withdrew after the state convention backed the eventual nominee, Kurt Bills. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar easily defeated Bills in the general election.

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard until 2021, when he says he was taken off a detail to work Biden’s inauguration due to questions about a tattoo.

“Ultimately, members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have, which is a religious tattoo, it’s a Jerusalem Cross, everybody can look it up,” he said in the June appearance on Fox. “It was used as a premise to revoke my order to guard the inauguration.”

He speculated that there was another reason for his removal, possibly that he was a Trump supporter, Fox News host or a “patriot extremist.”

Hegseth has a chest tattoo depicting the Jerusalem Cross, a symbol of the crusaders that fought against Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages.

Broad support for Rubio

Trump’s selections of Rubio and Gabbard came Wednesday, although media reports for days had said Rubio would be named.

“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” a statement from Trump read. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”

Cabinet designees from the Senate often have an easier path to confirmation through that chamber due to the personal connections they’ve established.

That appears likely to be the case with Rubio, who quickly secured votes of confidence from Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Mark Warner of Virginia.

Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress from Hawaii who sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, campaigned for Trump this year.

“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength,” Trump wrote. “Tulsi will make us all proud!”

 

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Biden continued the tradition of inviting the newly elected president to meet at the White House after Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 5. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden welcomed President-elect Donald Trump to the White House Wednesday, a tradition between incoming and outgoing American leaders, though the courtesy was not extended to Biden after he won the 2020 election.

The pair met behind closed doors in the Oval Office for most of the meeting that lasted just under two hours. Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Trump’s incoming counterpart, Susie Wiles, joined the president and president-elect.

Biden had been seeking reelection against Trump until late July, when Biden dropped his bid. Vice President Kamala Harris lost the race to Trump after just over 100 days of campaigning as the Democratic nominee.

Harris did not attend the meeting, according to the White House.

In brief remarks before cameras, Biden congratulated his predecessor who will again take the oath of office in January as the nation’s 47th president.

“Well, Mr. President-elect, former president, Donald, congratulations,” Biden said, as Trump interjected with “Thank you very much, Joe.”

“And looking forward to having a, like I said, smooth transition, do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need,” Biden continued. “And we’re gonna get a chance to talk about some of that today.”

Trump again thanked Biden and responded “And politics is tough. And it’s, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much, a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get. I very much appreciate that, Joe,” Trump said.

A ‘substantive’ conversation

First lady Jill Biden joined the president in greeting Trump and presented a handwritten letter of congratulations and offer for transition assistance addressed to incoming first lady Melania Trump, according to the White House.

The meeting got underway just after 11 a.m. Eastern, and the press was ushered out after the brief welcoming remarks and photo opportunity. Biden and Trump finished their private discussion at roughly 1 p.m. Eastern.

Neither addressed a large gathering of reporters and photographers outside afterward.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and Trump had “a very good back and forth.”

“(Biden) wants you all to know that the president-elect was gracious, came with a detailed set of questions, it was, again, substantive” Jean-Pierre said at the daily press briefing.

Jean-Pierre declined to provide the meeting’s specifics but said “the length of the meeting tells you they had an in-depth conversation on an array of issues.”

Trump did not invite Biden to the White House following his 2020 presidential election win, nor did he attend his successor’s inauguration that occurred just 14 days after a mob of his supporters violently tried to stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory.

The president-elect’s transition team did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s inquiries on why Trump did not invite Biden to the White House in 2020.

Musk, Ramaswamy to head new initiative

The president-elect continues to announce numerous Cabinet and staff positions, stacking his administration with staunch loyalists.

Late Tuesday, Trump announced he named billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to what he describes as a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” or shortened to “DOGE,” also the name for a popular internet dog meme and cryptocurrency in the last decade.

Trump said the new entity would function outside of government.

“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before,” Trump said in a statement.

Musk was also present, sitting in the front row during Trump’s visit with House Republicans earlier Wednesday.

Also on Tuesday night, Trump announced Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his pick for secretary of Defense, a position that requires managing hundreds of billions in Pentagon spending.

Trump endorses Johnson

Trump joined House Republicans Wednesday morning before his meeting with Biden at the White House. At a hotel near the U.S. Capitol, Trump received a standing ovation from GOP lawmakers, according to congressional pool reports.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, introduced Trump, calling him a “singular figure in American history,” according to congressional pool reports. 

House Republicans are also planning to have their leadership elections late Wednesday, but it’s expected that Johnson will be selected to continue the role, although an official vote for the speaker’s gavel will take place in January.

At the meeting, Trump threw his support behind Johnson to continue in his role as House speaker, according to NBC News.

During the meeting, Trump touted GOP wins in keeping control of the lower chamber. Although Republicans are on track to hold their slim majority, The Associated Press, the news organization that States Newsroom relies upon for race calls based on decades of experience, has not called the House for Republicans though it might happen soon.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Republicans have 216 seats, just two short of the 218 seats needed for control. Democrats have 207 seats, with 12 races still to be called.

Trump also joked about wanting to run for another term in office — something that the U.S. Constitution prohibits, as presidents are limited to only serving two terms. 

“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something,” Trump told members, who laughed, according to pool reports.

Democrats ready to push back

Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Pete Aguilar said Wednesday that Democrats are ready to work with the incoming administration in a bipartisan manner, but are also prepared to push back on efforts to further restrict reproductive rights, such as a national abortion ban, and any changes to the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re clear-eyed about the challenge ahead of us,” Aguilar, Democrat of California, said.

He acknowledged the failure of Democrats to regain control of the House.

“I think it’s appropriate for the current caucus to reflect on what happened, to listen to listen to our constituents, to listen to American people, to listen to our members, to gather data, and then to chart a path forward,” he said.

Aguilar added that Democrats plan to look at voter data to understand the issues important to their voting bloc.

“I don’t want to have broad generalizations of any group or geographic or otherwise, without that data in front of me,” he said. “I think it’s very clear to us that for people with two jobs, the economy is, gas and groceries and rent. We’ll need to speak to those issues if we’re going to be the party that speaks to our community members and people working, everyday Americans, then we need to speak to those issues, and … that’s on us to communicate.”