Trump meets with NATO secretary basic; hedge fund supervisor Scott Bessent tapped to guide treasury: Live

Matt Gaetz reveals he will not be returning to Congress

As Donald Trump continues to form his administration ahead of his inauguration in January, the president-elect met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

They discussed the range of global security issues facing the alliance and Rutte also sat down with Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice for national security adviser.

The president-elect has also announced that he wants the job of treasury secretary to go to hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.

Trump called Bessent “one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists.”

In a flurry of announcements on Friday night, Trump revealed his picks to lead the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the FDA, the CDC, the Office of the Surgeon General, and the Department of Labor.

Meanwhile, Trump is set to fire the attorneys who worked alongside Special Counsel Jack Smith on two federal investigations into the president-elect and use the Department of Justice to probe the 2020 election, according to The Washington Post.

He intends to put together teams of investigators to look for evidence of fraud in battleground states in the 2020 election. There’s no evidence that fraud affected the results.

Trump ally warns UK PM over any Netanyahu arrest

Senator Lindsey Graham said the US should “crush” the economies of all those who comply with the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Israeli prime minister faces arrest if he enters Britain, Downing Street has said.

Kate Devlin reports from London.

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 19:00

Watch: Trump treasury pick like ‘beauty pageant’ of Wall St players

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 18:40

Who’s who in Trump’s cabinet picks so far

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.

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 he’s selected so far.

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 18:30

Revealed: How Donald Trump’s alleged assassin tapped up UK-trained Afghan commandos to fight in Ukraine

Holly Bancroft and May Bulman report on the extraordinary story of how Ryan Wesley Routh apparently messaged Afghan special forces hiding in Iran just three days before being arrested with an AK-47 at Trump’s Florida golf club.

The UK is still dragging its feet over offering safe haven to these desperate men — paid and trained by the British — now being enticed to fight in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Revealed: How Trump’s alleged assassin tapped up UK-trained commandos for Ukraine

This is the extraordinary story of how Ryan Wesley Routh apparently messaged Afghan special forces hiding in Iran just three days before being arrested with an AK-47 at Trump’s Florida golf club. The UK is still dragging its feet over offering safe haven to these desperate men – paid and trained by the British – now being enticed to fight in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Holly Bancroft and May Bulman report

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 18:00

Trump expected to pick former adviser Brooke Rollins for agriculture, report says

Donald Trump is expected to select Brooke Rollins, a former Trump administration policy adviser, to lead the Agriculture Department, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Donald Trump and Brooke Rollins, President and CEO of AFPI and former Director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, pictured in 2022
Donald Trump and Brooke Rollins, President and CEO of AFPI and former Director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, pictured in 2022 (REUTERS)

Per the Journal:

Rollins is the president of the America First Policy Institute, a group led by former Trump administration officials that spent months planning for a potential second term. An ally of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, Rollins was once considered a contender to be White House chief of staff. But Susie Wiles, who helped run Trump’s campaign, was chosen for that role.

During Trump’s first term, Rollins led the Domestic Policy Council. A Texas native, she previously ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank.

If confirmed, Rollins would likely play a role in discussions about Trump’s plans for sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports, which could affect American farmers.

There was earlier speculation that the department could be led by former Georgia senator and businesswoman Kelly Loeffler.

Rollins has a degree in agriculture development and grew up on a farm.

If confirmed, Rollins would lead a 100,000-person agency with offices in every county in the country, whose remit includes farm and nutrition programs, forestry, home and farm lending, food safety, rural development, agricultural research, trade and more. It had a budget of $437.2 billion in 2024.

With reporting from Reuters

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 17:40

Hegseth’s odds of being confirmed almost halved after Gaetz withdrawal

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, D.C.

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 17:30

He views tariffs as a sanctions tool

Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

Bessent told Bloomberg in August that he views tariffs as a “one time price adjustment” and “not inflationary,” and tariffs imposed during a second Trump administration would be directed primarily at China. “I think that tariffs in a way can be regarded as an economic sanction without a sanction. If you don’t like Chinese economic policy, flooding the market with over production, you could put a sanction on them, or a tariff. Its also an answer to currency manipulation.”

And he wrote in a Fox News op-ed this week that tariffs are “a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy objectives. Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defense, opening foreign markets to U.S. exports, securing cooperation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role.”

He told CNBC that “I would recommend that tariffs be layered in gradually.”

He would be the first openly gay treasury secretary

If confirmed to the role, he would also be the first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed cabinet member in a Republican administration.

In 2020, Trump named Richard Grenell, who is openly gay, acting director of national intelligence. However, the role was not subject to Senate confirmation.

In 2015, Bessent told the Yale Alumni Magazine: “If you had told me in 1984, when we graduated, and people were dying of AIDS, that 30 years later I’d be legally married and we would have two children via surrogacy, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Pete Buttigieg is the first openly LGBT Senate-confirmed Cabinet member, nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the transportation department.

AP23 November 2024 17:15

What to know about Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary

Investor Scott Bessent speaks on the economy in Asheville, North Carolina, August 14, 2024
Investor Scott Bessent speaks on the economy in Asheville, North Carolina, August 14, 2024 (AP)

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction and deregulation, to serve as his next treasury secretary.

Bessent is a past supporter of Democrats who has become an enthusiastic supporter of Trump. He’s an advocate of cutting spending while extending the tax cuts approved by Congress in Trump’s first term.

Here are four things to know about the South Carolina billionaire who, if confirmed by the Senate, will manage the nation’s finances:

He worked for George Soros and donated to Democratic causes

Before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, Bessent donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run. He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats.

Bessent had an influential role in Soros’ London investment operations, including his famous 1992 bet against the pound, which generated huge profits on “Black Wednesday,” when the pound was de-linked from European currencies.

He worked for George Soros and donated to Democratic causes

Before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, Bessent donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run. He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats.

Bessent had an influential role in Soros’ London investment operations, including his famous 1992 bet against the pound, which generated huge profits on “Black Wednesday,” when the pound was de-linked from European currencies.

Continued…

AP23 November 2024 17:10

ANALYSIS: Trump got his first black eye with Matt Gaetz. His next problem? Pete Hegseth

Eric Garcia writes:

Continue reading…

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 17:00

Watch: John Bolton gives scathing opinion of ‘con man’ Sebastion Gorka

Oliver O’Connell23 November 2024 16:56

Source: independent.co.uk