Latest Government appointments and nominations News

Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far

Nov. 20, 2024 20:28 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, and it's shaping up much differently than his first. He's prioritizing loyalists for top jobs. Trump was bruised and hampered by internal squabbles during his initial term in office. Now he appears...

Lawmakers are concerned about background checks of Trump's Cabinet picks as red flags surface

Nov. 20, 2024 16:18 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — As senators prepare to consider President-elect Donald Trump's picks for his Cabinet, they may be doing so without a well-established staple of the confirmation process: an FBI background check. The Trump transition team has so far not signed the requisite...

Trump sets records with pace of appointments, but that doesn't mean the transition is going smoothly

Nov. 19, 2024 17:37 PM EST

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In the two weeks since Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump has been setting records with the pace of appointments for his incoming administration. But speed shouldn’t be confused with organization. Trump has pumped out more than two dozen...

DeSantis aims to appoint Marco Rubio's Senate replacement by early January

Nov. 18, 2024 17:52 PM EST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Floridians will likely know who their next U.S. senator will be by the beginning of January, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday. With Florida's senior Sen. Marco Rubio tapped to be President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state, it's up to...

Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions

Nov. 18, 2024 11:01 AM EST

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Just a week after winning several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.”...

Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary

Nov. 17, 2024 01:17 AM EST

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration. CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas...

Trump is already testing Congress and daring Republicans to oppose him

Nov. 15, 2024 09:11 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a resounding election victory, delivering what President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans said is a mandate to govern, an uneasy political question is emerging: Will there be any room for dissent in the U.S. Congress? Trump is laying down a gauntlet even...

The last actions the Biden administration will take before Trump takes over the White House

Nov. 15, 2024 05:24 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Biden administration officials are working against the clock doling out billions in grants and taking other steps to try to preserve at least some of the outgoing president's legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. “Let’s make every...

The Latest: Trump selects anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary

Nov. 14, 2024 21:01 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump’s pick of conservative loyalist Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general has Democrats sounding the alarm with Sen. Dick Durbin...

What are recess appointments and how could Trump use them to fill his Cabinet?

Nov. 14, 2024 20:10 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump moves to set up a more forceful presidency than in his first term, he is choosing loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to skip over Senate confirmations for even some of the most powerful positions in U.S....