The House Ethics Committee met Wednesday to discuss whether to publish a report into Donald Trump’s controversial choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, examining allegations against him that he paid for sex with a minor in 2017 that it investigated in 2022.
ABC News reports that the former Florida congressman sent two women who testified as part of the probe more than $10,000 in Venmo payments over two years, some of which they said were for sex. Gaetz has always denied the accusations.
After meeting for two hours, chair Rep Michael Guest told reporters: “There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.”
Gaetz was on Capitol Hill with Vice President-elect JD Vance and others on a mission to lobby Republican senators ahead of January’s confirmation hearings. Vance says Trump “deserves” a loyal cabinet for helping Republicans retake the Senate.
Trump has meanwhile made a further series of additions to his new cabinet, moving on Tuesday to nominate former WWE boss Linda McMahon as education secretary, TV’s Dr. Mehmet Oz as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, and Matthew Whitaker as NATO ambassador.
Trump nominates Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
I am very pleased to announce that former Ambassador, and former Congressman, Pete Hoekstra, has been nominated as my United States Ambassador to Canada.
Pete is well-respected in the Great State of Michigan – A State we won sizably.
He represented Michigan’s 2nd District in Congress for nearly 20 years, where he was also Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and was a great help to our Campaign as Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
I overhauled the disastrous NAFTA Agreement, the worst Trade Deal in the History of the United States, which was switched to the USMCA (Mexico/Canada), which no one thought could be done.
We brought Trade with Mexico and Canada to a level playing field for our wonderful Farmers and Working Families. In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST.
He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.
Thank you, Pete!
Pete Hegseth’s comments about women in the military met with outrage
Pete Hegseth, who Trump has nominated to be the next secretary of defense, has been widely derided for a lack of qualifications to lead the country’s largest federal agency and its 3 million service members and civilian staff members.
In a recent podcast appearance, Hegseth said the nation’s military “should not have women in combat roles” and that men are “more capable” in those positions.
Alex Woodward reports.
Matt Gaetz has a new nickname courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel
Ariana Baio has the story.
Harris campaign accused of ‘malpractice’ for silence on Trump’s transgender attacks
Several prominent Democrats have slammed the Harris campaign’s decision to stay silent over Donald Trump’s transgender attack ads, including one who described the inaction as “malpractice.”
Rhian Lubin reports.
Alex Jones sues Sandy Hook families and ‘The Onion’ for ‘Frankenstein bid’ to buy Infowars
Conspiracy theorist and right-wing media personality Alex Jones sued on Monday to challenge the sale of his Infowars platform to the parent company satirical news outlet The Onion and the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass school shooting.
Jones alleged in a filing in Texas bankruptcy court on Monday that “conspiratorial negotiation and agreement” involving his bankruptcy trustee and a “flagrantly non-compliant Frankenstein bid” led to the Sandy Hook families and Global Tetrahedron, The Onion’s parent company, winning an auction last week for the site.
Josh Marcus reports.
Inside Trump and Musk’s controversial bromance
On Tuesday, Trump accompanied Musk to a SpaceX launch in Brownsville, Texas. Also in attendance was Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, a possible pick to be Trump’s Treasury secretary, according to Politico.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump feuded with NFL players in his first term. Now, some are busting out his dance moves
If the latest dance sweeping the sports world is any indication, Donald Trump and the NFL might get along much better in his second term in the White House than they did the first time around.
Several NFL players have taken a cue from the college ranks and even soccer pitches and mixed martial arts octagons and are celebrating big moments by hitting the “Trump dance.”
Read on…
Trump’s cabinet is filling up with Project 2025 authors despite past disavowals
Donald Trump said he has “no idea” who’s behind it. His presidential transition chair and the man he picked to be the secretary of commerce said he wouldn’t touch it. “They made themselves nuclear,” he said.
Trump is reportedly expected to appoint Russell Vought as the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, a key role that oversees spending across the administration. Vought also is among the architects of the Heritage Foundation’s plan and wrote the chapter on transforming the executive branch.
He was among the authors of the blueprint’s playbook for the first 180 days of the administration, and his Center for Renewing American is on Project 2025’s advisory board.
Alex Woodward reports.
Trump eyes right-wing radio host Dan Bongino to head the Secret Service
Donald Trump is reportedly considering right-wing radio host Dan Bongino to head the Secret Service, as the embattled security outfit seeks to rebuild credibility after multiple near-miss assassination attempts against Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump is also reportedly considering Sean Curran, the current head of the president-elect’s security detail, and Robert Engel, the former leader of his detail, for the position, which does not require Senate confirmation.
“President-Elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, told The Independent.
Dr Oz has a history of baseless medical claims — here are some of them
Rhian Lubin writes:
A decade ago, Dr Mehmet Oz was hauled in front of a Senate subcommittee where he faced a grilling over false claims he had been peddling about diet and weight loss on TV.
“The scientific community is almost monolithic against you,” then-Senator Claire McCaskill said, referring to products he had been touting as “miracle” weight loss cures.
He went on to host his own program, The Dr Oz Show, where he spouted other dangerously misleading claims ranging from “magic” coffee beans to spur weight loss and selenium supplements to prevent cancer.
A 2017 paper published by the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics called him “a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.”
Here’s a look at some of his past baseless medical claims:
Source: independent.co.uk