Trump taps Brooke Rollins for agriculture; Pam Bondi for attorney general: Live

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense, has called for an “educational insurgency” to take over American schools in an appearance on a right-wing podcast.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has poked fun at Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy after it was announced their new government department would be teaming up with Marjorie Taylor Greene, joking that the experience would be a “privilege.”

The New York congresswoman blasted Greene’s competency and said she was “absolutely dying [with laughter]” at the thought of the trio’s new working relationship.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

Amid the rampant speculation about what’s next for Matt Gaetz after the MAGA firebrand abruptly and dramatically withdrew his nomination for attorney general, one right-wing cable channel is making it abundantly clear they’d like him to join their lineup.

Hours after the former Florida congressman pulled his name from consideration to be the nation’s top prosecutor amid sexual misconduct allegations, Newsmax host Greg Kelly told his viewers that there was a job waiting for Gaetz at the network if he wanted it.

Justin Barangoa has the story.

Gustaf Kilander looks at the numbers.

The congressman from Florida resigned abruptly from the House days after winning another term, and stated that he wouldn’t serve in the upcoming Congress set to take shape in January. His departure — and his nomination to the post of attorney general — were a shock to Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill.

The drip-drip quickly began, as John Bowden reports.

Trump’s former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in his first administration Ric Grenell is under consideration to be the special envoy for the war between Russia and Ukraine.

There’s currently no special envoy for the conflict, but Trump is seriously considering whether to create the role, according to Reuters, pointing to four sources with knowledge of the president-elect’s thinking.

If the position is indeed created, Grenell is reportedly a top contender, but Trump may still choose another candidate, the news agency noted. The sources reportedly said that there’s no guarantee that Grenell would take the job if offered.

Grenell was reported to be one of the candidates to be secretary of state, a nomination that eventually went to Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

While Trump hasn’t outlined a specific plan on how to end the war, he has promised to do so quickly once in office.

Grenell has made statements previously that may concern the Ukrainians, telling Bloomberg in July that he would back the creation of “autonomous zones” to end the war. He has also said that he would not back NATO membership for Ukraine in the near future.

The 58-year-old has also served as a special presidential envoy for the Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations and as a spokesperson to the UN during the presidency of George W Bush. He was also the foreign policy spokesperson during Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign for the White House.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

The outgoing and incoming national security advisors for the Biden and Trump administrations met earlier this week, two people familiar with the meeting told Axios.

It was the first meeting between Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Trump’s appointee to the role, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz.

Waltz is set to take over the White House advisory role amidst several global crises. The meeting occurred despite the Trump transition team not having signed a memorandum of understanding to allow the transition process to start.

The meeting went ahead after Sullivan returned from Biden’s trip to South America, and several global issues were discussed, such as the war in Gaza and the hostages still being held by Hamas, according to Axios.

Sullivan noted last week that he had met Waltz previously during his time as a member of the House.

“He and I obviously don’t see eye to eye on every issue, but I am very much looking forward to engaging him over these next 60 days, as I said, so that we can have this smooth handoff,” Sullivan noted.

President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, rewarding longtime loyalists, aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign and in his legal battles.

In the weeks since winning the election, Trump has named dozens of appointments to major government roles including some highly controversial picks. A week after he was nominated, Trump’s first pick for attorney general — now-former congressman Matt Gaetz — withdrew his name from consideration amid a looming congressional report into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Here’s a look at who Trump has selected for Cabinet positions and key roles so far.