What we're watching: Trump's picks are complete but Hill fights loom
Here’s what we’re watching in transition world today:
????️ What we're watching
- GOP lawmakers are pushing back against President-elect Donald Trump and his attempt to control Congress, including his apparent attempt to go around Congress' constitutionally guaranteed power to control federal spending and, in the Senate, confirm presidential nominees. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) predicted that Republican senators won’t allow the latter.
????What’s up with the nominees?
- While Trump’s replacement for Matt Gaetz as attorney general is a relief to many Justice Department staffers, Pam Bondi does not have their full support either. One former prosecutor asked if she would “just be a somewhat more palatable, esthetically more enhanced version of Gaetz or something else?”
????ICYMI: Here are the latest Cabinet picks
- Hedge fund manager and Trump’s Wall Street ally Scott Bessent is the president-elect's pick to be Treasury secretary. If confirmed, Bessent would be the first openly gay person to hold this position.
- Former director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration Brooke Rollins was tapped on Saturday to be Agriculture secretary. The pick came as a surprise to some who witnessed infighting over the role between Trump advisers, family members and agriculture groups.
- Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer was chosen as Labor secretary on Friday by Trump. Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her Oregon House seat this year to Democratic Janelle Bynum, is seen as another surprising choice. The secretary-designate would be a staunchly pro-union voice in an administration expected by many to favor business interests over those of organized labor.
- Former NFL player and chair of the Center for Education Opportunity Scott Turner was picked by Trump on Friday to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Turner also previously served as a Texas House representative from 2013 to 2017 and was the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. If confirmed, he is expected to attempt to cut HUD funding and reverse Biden’s fair housing policies.
⏱️What Cabinet secretary announcements are we still waiting on?
- None — in a flurry of announcements on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, Trump rounded out his Cabinet secretary nominees.