(LONDON) — President Joe Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday as the outgoing administration seeks cease-fire progress in Gaza and Lebanon before President-elect Donald Trump takes power in January.
“I know that you’re working very hard to make sure that this war will end,” Herzog told Biden as they met in the Oval Office. “And that there will be first and foremost security for the people of Israel, as well for the people of Lebanon.”
“Clearly, you’re thinking and working about the day after as well, which perhaps should be a trajectory of hope to the people of the region and the ability to have our neighbors, as well as us, live in security and peace,” Herzog added. “But first and foremost, we have to get the hostages back.”
“I agree,” Biden said.
While in Washington, Herzog’s office said, the president will also meet with Rep. Elise Stefanik — whom Trump has chosen to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime foreign policy adviser to Trump.
Biden hosted Herzog amid international concerns that Israel is still failing to facilitate adequate humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.
The Biden administration gave Israel a 30-day window to “surge” food and emergency aid into the devastated territory last month, warning that failure to address the issue may trigger U.S. laws requiring restrictions on military aid to Israel. The deadline for progress is Tuesday.
A letter signed by several international aid agencies and published Tuesday said Israel has failed to address the concerns. The “situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago,” the groups wrote, per a report by The Associated Press.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar appeared to downplay the situation on Monday, telling reporters that “the issue would be solved.”
Herzog’s visit comes as the Trump transition operation picks up steam, and shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted his recent close contact with the president-elect.
Netanyahu said this week he had spoken with Trump three times since the Nov. 5 election, describing the conversations as “very good and important talks designed to further enhance the steadfast bond between Israel and the U.S.”
Axios reported that Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — long a close confidante of Netanyahu — also met with Trump on Sunday at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump is expected to loom large over Biden’s last months of diplomacy in the Middle East, as his administration seeks an end to the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, plus the release of dozens of hostages — among them four Americans — taken by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack into southern Israel.
Trump’s first term saw close U.S.-Israel alignment. The incoming president is expected to cement American backing for Netanyahu’s government and revive his “maximum pressure” approach to Iran.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have framed Tehran as the “head of the octopus” funding and directing attacks against their nation.
Netanyahu said this week of his conversations with Trump, “We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects, and on the dangers they reflect.”
ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Dana Savir contributed to this report.
(ATHENS, Ga.) — The suspect accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia’s campus has waived his right to a jury trial.
The judge granted the defense’s motion for a bench trial for the suspect, Jose Ibarra, during a hearing in Athens-Clarke County on Tuesday.
The bench trial is scheduled to begin on Friday before Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who will render a verdict in the case.
Jury selection had been scheduled to start in the case on Wednesday.
When asked by Haggard if he understood the waiver of jury trial, and if it was “freely, knowingly and intelligently signed and considered,” Ibarra said yes.
The defense also said they agree with their client’s decision to waive a jury trial, and confirmed that the form had been translated appropriately into Spanish by a court interpreter for Ibarra.
Last month, Haggard denied the defense’s motion for a change of venue in the high-profile case.
Riley, a student at Augusta University, was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22 after she didn’t return from a run. The indictment alleges Ibarra killed her by “inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and by asphyxiating her” and seriously disfigured her head by striking her “multiple times” with a rock.
Additional charges in the 10-count indictment include aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call and tampering with evidence. The latter charge alleged that he “knowingly concealed” evidence — a jacket and gloves — involving the offense of malice murder.
He was also charged with a peeping tom offense. The indictment alleges that on the same day as Riley’s murder, he spied through the window of a different person who lived in an apartment on campus. The judge last month also denied a motion seeking to sever that charge from the case.
Ibarra was denied bond following his arrest on Feb. 23 and is being held at the Clarke County Jail.
Police have said they do not believe Ibarra — a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 — knew Riley and that this was a “crime of opportunity.” Her death has become a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives, including now President-elect Donald Trump.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday set a trial date for April 14 in the libel lawsuit that Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee, brought against The New York Times.
The trial date was decided over the objections of both the plaintiff and defense, who asked for a date in July to give the two sides time to possibly reach a settlement out of court.
“This case should not require very much preparation since it’s a retrial,” Judge Jed Rakoff said during a conference Tuesday.
A federal judge in New York on Tuesday set a trial date for April 14 in the libel lawsuit that Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee, brought against The New York Times.
The trial date was decided over the objections of both the plaintiff and defense, who asked for a date in July to give the two sides time to possibly reach a settlement out of court.
“This case should not require very much preparation since it’s a retrial,” Judge Jed Rakoff said during a conference Tuesday.
“We just wanted to take some of the pressure off,” Turkel said.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this summer that Palin can again try to hold the paper liable for a 2017 editorial that wrongly suggested she incited the 2011 mass shooting that killed six people and wounded then-Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
The federal appeals court said Rakoff made errors during the first trial that “impugn the reliability” of the jury’s verdict finding the Times not liable.
“If you’re seriously interested in settling you can settle in a matter of days,” Rakoff said Tuesday. “If you want to be referred to a magistrate for discussions I can do that on 24 hours’ notice.”
Rakoff, in a brief order last week, said the new trial “under no circumstances will be later than February 2025, and, if the parties prefer, can be as early as mid-December 2024.”
The appellate court said Rakoff erred when he excluded evidence about James Bennet, who oversaw the newspaper’s editorial board. Palin argued the evidence could help her show the Times acted with actual malice, the standard a public figure must meet to prevail in a libel case.
The 2017 editorial, entitled “America’s Lethal Politics,” linked the 2011 shooting of Giffords to a digital graphic of a crosshairs over Democratic congressional districts published in March 2010 by Palin’s political action committee. A relationship between the crosshairs map and the shooting was never established. Rather, at the time of the editorial, the attack was widely viewed as a result of the shooter’s mental illness.
Palin’s original defamation lawsuit was dismissed but, in 2019, the 2nd Circuit vacated the dismissal. The case went to trial in 2022, and Rakoff granted the Times’ motion for a directed verdict days before the jury found the newspaper was not liable for defaming Palin.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead. Via Flickr
(WASHINGTON) — After a sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5, President-elect Donald Trump is now set to become just the second ever to serve nonconsecutive terms in office.
Trump has wasted no time in moving to assemble his team for a second term in the White House — naming Susie Wiles as his chief of staff and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, among other positions.
Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
November 12, 2024, 11:50 AM EST – Will Trump’s administration picks impact House control?
While control of the House has not yet been projected by ABC News, Republicans are inching toward maintaining their slim majority.
But already, Trump has picked several lawmakers to serve in his administration: Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador and Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser.
Speaker Mike Johnson, asked about the issue on Tuesday, said he’s spoken to Trump about it several times.
“We have a really talented Republican Congress … Many of them can serve in important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands, appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson said. “You know, we believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time.”
The speaker added: “I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving, but I’ll leave that up to him.”
November 12, 2024, 11:39 AM EST – Billionaire John Paulson says he’s not a candidate for Treasury role
Billionaire John Paulson said Tuesday he does not plan to formally join the administration as the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, though he said he intends to remain actively involved with Trump’s economic team.
“Although various media outlets have mentioned me as a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, my complex financial obligations would prevent me from holding an official position in President Trump’s administration at this time,” Paulson said in a statement.
“However, I intend to remain actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals,” he added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – Johnson teases Trump visit to the Capitol
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that Trump is expected to visit the U.S. Capitol to celebrate a potential Republicans “trifecta” on Wednesday morning before he sits down in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden later in the day.
“Well, I’ll say I didn’t intend to break this as news this morning,” Johnson quipped as he held a press conference with House Republican leadership.
“He wanted to come and visit with House Republicans, so we’re working out the details of him gathering with us potentially tomorrow morning, before he goes to the White House,” Johnson said. “And that would be a great meeting and a moment for all of us, there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of energy here. We’re really grateful for President Trump leaving it all on the field to get reelected.”
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Isabella Murray and Lauren Peller
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – House Republican leadership say they’re ready for Day 1 under Trump
Returning to Washington on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson and other top House Republicans took a victory lap on last week’s election results.
While ABC News has not yet projected House control, Republicans are three seats away from clinching the 218 needed for a majority.
Johnson said they are monitoring outstanding races closely but are confident they will have a “unified” government come January.
“This leadership will hit the ground running to deliver President Trump’s agenda in the 119th Congress, and we will work closely with him and his administration to turn this country around and unleash, as he says, a new golden age in America,” Johnson said at a press conference on the Capitol steps.
November 11, 2024, 11:22 PM EST – Trump’s new ‘border czar’ issues warning to sanctuary states and cities
President-elect Donald Trump’s newly picked “border czar” Tom Homan addressed his forthcoming deportation plan and state leaders who have objected to sweeping immigration policies.
During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Homan issued a warning to so-called “sanctuary” states and cities to “get the hell out of the way” of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
“I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job,” he warned, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he formerly served as director.
“I’ll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. We’re going to do our job despite the politics. We’re doing it. So get used to it, because we’re coming,” Homan said.
When asked if he plans to deport American citizens, Homan said, “President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first, and that’s how the focus would be.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
November 11, 2024, 8:48 PM EST – Trump expected to tap Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce his intention to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Rubio, 53, has served in the Senate since 2011. He is currently the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Intelligence, and he also sits on the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee.
Several long-serving State Department officials tell ABC News they respect Rubio’s extensive foreign policy experience and view him as unlikely to overly politicize the secretary of state role.
The secretary of state is appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Shannon Kingston
November 11, 2024, 7:00 PM EST – Trump asks Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser: Sources
Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to be his national security adviser, multiple sources said.
Waltz was at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, sources said.
Waltz is a former Green Beret and China hawk who emerged as a key surrogate for Trump, criticizing the Biden-Harris foreign policy record during the campaign.
The Florida Republican sits on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
He has supported aid to Ukraine in the past but has demanded “conditions,” including increased spending from European allies, additional oversight of funds and pairing the aid with border security measures.
Waltz, who has visited Ukraine, was a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s policy towards Ukraine, criticizing the White House and allies for not providing Ukraine with more lethal aid — such as MiG fighter planes — earlier in the conflict.
Before running for elected office, Waltz served in various national security policy roles in the Bush administration, Pentagon and White House.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Benjamin Siegel, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 6:06 PM EST – Volunteer-run effort on RFK Jr.’s website crowd-sourcing ideas for Trump admin appointments
A volunteer-run effort on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s website has begun crowd-sourcing ideas for appointments in Trump’s administration.
A website titled “Nominees for the People” gives anyone the chance to submit names of people they’d like to see join the administration.
“President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. want your help nominating people of integrity and courage for over 4,000 appointments across the future Trump administration,” the website reads.
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News that the crowd-sourcing effort is “a grassroots initiative run by volunteers,” and is not actually spearheaded by Kennedy, although the page uses the “mahanow.org” URL that Kennedy’s official campaign website adopted after he exited the race.
“We’ve always offered space on our website to our grassroots movement,” Spear said.
This post has been updated to reflect that the crowd-sourcing effort is a volunteer-run effort.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
November 11, 2024, 5:55 PM EST – Trump’s ‘border czar’ says mass deportation strategy will be a main priority
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan, Trump’s newly announced “border czar,” said his main priority will be overseeing and formulating Trump’s long-vowed mass deportation strategy while consolidating decisions related to border security.
“Everybody talks about this mass deportation operation. President Trump talks about. I’ll oversee that and come up with a strategy for that,” Homan said during a lengthy interview with his hometown television station WWNY on Monday.
Homan said Trump’s mass deportations is “going to be a targeted enforcement operation, concentrating on criminals and national security threats first.”
He acknowledged that the deportations would be costly but argued the policy would “save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Homan said he does not plan to “separate women and children” but acknowledged that deporting alleged criminals would result in breaking up families.
“When we arrest parents here, guess what? We separate them. The illegal aliens should be no different,” Homan said.
Homan also said worksite enforcement — an aspect of immigration policy focused on unauthorized workers and employers who knowingly hire them — is “going to get fired back up.”
“Under President Trump, we’re going to work it and we’re going to work it hard,” he said.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
November 11, 2024, 5:46 PM EST – Melania Trump skipping meeting with Jill Biden: Sources
Melania Trump is not expected to travel to Washington with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, two sources told ABC News.
First lady Jill Biden had extended an invite to Melania Trump for a meeting, according to the sources. In 2016, Michelle Obama had hosted Melania Trump at the White House.
The Trump campaign declined to comment. The first lady’s office confirmed to ABC News that a joint invitation was extended to the Trumps to meet at the White House though declined to comment beyond that.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Molly Nagle
November 11, 2024, 4:26 PM EST – RFK Jr. advising Trump transition on health decisions: Sources
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to broadly advise Trump and the transition team on health-related appointments and has been in discussions to possibly fill a major role in the next administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
While sources caution that a role has not been finalized, RFK Jr. has been discussed as a potential candidate for the next secretary of Health and Human Services. But other roles are also on the table, including a broad “czar”-like position that would advise on policy and personnel decisions in other health arenas, the sources said.
RFK Jr. has been in active discussions with the transition team since Trump’s election victory last week. He’s been spotted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club multiple times and has been engaging in presentations which include candidates for specific Cabinet and health-related jobs, sources said.
He has spent hours with the co-heads of Trump’s transition team — billionaire Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon — in addition to others at Mar-a-Lago such as Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.; investor and donor Omeed Malik; Tucker Carlson; and Del Bigtree, RFK Jr.’s former campaign spokesperson who produced a documentary called “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Olivia Rubin and Will McDuffie
November 11, 2024, 3:30 PM EST – Lee Zeldin named to be EPA administrator
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.
Zeldin, who also ran for New York governor against Andrew Cuomo in 2022, confirmed he had been offered the job via a post on X.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” he wrote. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
-ABC News’ John Santucci, Rachel Scott and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST -RFK Jr. suggests he’ll gut NIH, replace 600 employees
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated over the weekend that he would fire 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health, replacing them with a new cohort of workers as he seeks to dramatically reshape America’s health agencies.
Speaking at the Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kennedy described his role vetting people for Donald Trump’s new administration.
“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on Jan. 20, so that on Jan. 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave,” Kennedy said, according to a video of his remarks posted on YouTube.
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST- Trump expected to announce Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner and one of his senior advisers, will become his deputy chief of staff for policy, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
It’s not clear when Trump plans to formally announce the job, the sources said.
Miller worked in the first Trump administration and played a key role in crafting immigration policies — including those that resulted in thousands of families being separated at the border.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:00 PM EST – Trump picks Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador
President-elect Donald Trump selected Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, multiple Trump officials told ABC News.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.
Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York’s 21st District, was elected last week to her sixth term in the House. She will inherit a role Nikki Haley held for two years in the first Trump administration.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead. Via Flickr
(WASHINGTON) — After a sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5, President-elect Donald Trump is now set to become just the second ever to serve nonconsecutive terms in office.
Trump has wasted no time in moving to assemble his team for a second term in the White House — naming Susie Wiles as his chief of staff and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, among other positions.
Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
November 12, 2024, 2:01 PM EST – Trump nominates Mike Huckabee to be Israeli ambassador
Trump announced he has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
The role, which will need to be confirmed by the Senate, will be a key appointment as tensions remain high in the Middle East.
November 12, 2024, 1:37 PM EST – Trump officially announces Waltz as national security adviser pick
Trump has officially announced his appointment of Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser.
The president-elect highlighted Waltz’s military background in a statement on the appointment, noting that he is the first Green Beret to have been elected to Congress and served in the Army Special Forces for 27 years.
“Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda, and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Trump said in a statement.
The national security adviser is appointed by the president without confirmation by the Senate.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh and Lalee Ibssa
November 12, 2024, 11:50 AM EST – Will Trump’s administration picks impact House control?
While control of the House has not yet been projected by ABC News, Republicans are inching toward maintaining their slim majority.
But already, Trump has picked several lawmakers to serve in his administration: Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador and Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser.
Speaker Mike Johnson, asked about the issue on Tuesday, said he’s spoken to Trump about it several times.
“We have a really talented Republican Congress … Many of them can serve in important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands, appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson said. “You know, we believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time.”
The speaker added: “I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving, but I’ll leave that up to him.”
November 12, 2024, 11:39 AM EST – Billionaire John Paulson says he’s not a candidate for Treasury role
Billionaire John Paulson said Tuesday he does not plan to formally join the administration as the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, though he said he intends to remain actively involved with Trump’s economic team.
“Although various media outlets have mentioned me as a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, my complex financial obligations would prevent me from holding an official position in President Trump’s administration at this time,” Paulson said in a statement.
“However, I intend to remain actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals,” he added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – Johnson teases Trump visit to the Capitol
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that Trump is expected to visit the U.S. Capitol to celebrate a potential Republicans “trifecta” on Wednesday morning before he sits down in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden later in the day.
“Well, I’ll say I didn’t intend to break this as news this morning,” Johnson quipped as he held a press conference with House Republican leadership.
“He wanted to come and visit with House Republicans, so we’re working out the details of him gathering with us potentially tomorrow morning, before he goes to the White House,” Johnson said. “And that would be a great meeting and a moment for all of us, there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of energy here. We’re really grateful for President Trump leaving it all on the field to get reelected.”
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Isabella Murray and Lauren Peller
November 12, 2024, 11 AM EST – House Republican leadership say they’re ready for Day 1 under Trump
Returning to Washington on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson and other top House Republicans took a victory lap on last week’s election results.
While ABC News has not yet projected House control, Republicans are three seats away from clinching the 218 needed for a majority.
Johnson said they are monitoring outstanding races closely but are confident they will have a “unified” government come January.
“This leadership will hit the ground running to deliver President Trump’s agenda in the 119th Congress, and we will work closely with him and his administration to turn this country around and unleash, as he says, a new golden age in America,” Johnson said at a press conference on the Capitol steps.
November 11, 2024, 11:22 PM EST – Trump’s new ‘border czar’ issues warning to sanctuary states and cities
President-elect Donald Trump’s newly picked “border czar” Tom Homan addressed his forthcoming deportation plan and state leaders who have objected to sweeping immigration policies.
During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Homan issued a warning to so-called “sanctuary” states and cities to “get the hell out of the way” of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
“I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job,” he warned, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he formerly served as director.
“I’ll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. We’re going to do our job despite the politics. We’re doing it. So get used to it, because we’re coming,” Homan said.
When asked if he plans to deport American citizens, Homan said, “President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first, and that’s how the focus would be.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
November 11, 2024, 8:48 PM EST – Trump expected to tap Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce his intention to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Rubio, 53, has served in the Senate since 2011. He is currently the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Intelligence, and he also sits on the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee.
Several long-serving State Department officials tell ABC News they respect Rubio’s extensive foreign policy experience and view him as unlikely to overly politicize the secretary of state role.
The secretary of state is appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Shannon Kingston
November 11, 2024, 7:00 PM EST – Trump asks Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser: Sources
Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to be his national security adviser, multiple sources said.
Waltz was at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, sources said.
Waltz is a former Green Beret and China hawk who emerged as a key surrogate for Trump, criticizing the Biden-Harris foreign policy record during the campaign.
The Florida Republican sits on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
He has supported aid to Ukraine in the past but has demanded “conditions,” including increased spending from European allies, additional oversight of funds and pairing the aid with border security measures.
Waltz, who has visited Ukraine, was a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s policy towards Ukraine, criticizing the White House and allies for not providing Ukraine with more lethal aid — such as MiG fighter planes — earlier in the conflict.
Before running for elected office, Waltz served in various national security policy roles in the Bush administration, Pentagon and White House.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Benjamin Siegel, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 6:06 PM EST – Volunteer-run effort on RFK Jr.’s website crowd-sourcing ideas for Trump admin appointments
A volunteer-run effort on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s website has begun crowd-sourcing ideas for appointments in Trump’s administration.
A website titled “Nominees for the People” gives anyone the chance to submit names of people they’d like to see join the administration.
“President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. want your help nominating people of integrity and courage for over 4,000 appointments across the future Trump administration,” the website reads.
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News that the crowd-sourcing effort is “a grassroots initiative run by volunteers,” and is not actually spearheaded by Kennedy, although the page uses the “mahanow.org” URL that Kennedy’s official campaign website adopted after he exited the race.
“We’ve always offered space on our website to our grassroots movement,” Spear said.
This post has been updated to reflect that the crowd-sourcing effort is a volunteer-run effort.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
November 11, 2024, 5:55 PM EST – Trump’s ‘border czar’ says mass deportation strategy will be a main priority
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan, Trump’s newly announced “border czar,” said his main priority will be overseeing and formulating Trump’s long-vowed mass deportation strategy while consolidating decisions related to border security.
“Everybody talks about this mass deportation operation. President Trump talks about. I’ll oversee that and come up with a strategy for that,” Homan said during a lengthy interview with his hometown television station WWNY on Monday.
Homan said Trump’s mass deportations is “going to be a targeted enforcement operation, concentrating on criminals and national security threats first.”
He acknowledged that the deportations would be costly but argued the policy would “save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Homan said he does not plan to “separate women and children” but acknowledged that deporting alleged criminals would result in breaking up families.
“When we arrest parents here, guess what? We separate them. The illegal aliens should be no different,” Homan said.
Homan also said worksite enforcement — an aspect of immigration policy focused on unauthorized workers and employers who knowingly hire them — is “going to get fired back up.”
“Under President Trump, we’re going to work it and we’re going to work it hard,” he said.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
November 11, 2024, 5:46 PM EST – Melania Trump skipping meeting with Jill Biden: Sources
Melania Trump is not expected to travel to Washington with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, two sources told ABC News.
First lady Jill Biden had extended an invite to Melania Trump for a meeting, according to the sources. In 2016, Michelle Obama had hosted Melania Trump at the White House.
The Trump campaign declined to comment. The first lady’s office confirmed to ABC News that a joint invitation was extended to the Trumps to meet at the White House though declined to comment beyond that.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Molly Nagle
November 11, 2024, 4:26 PM EST – RFK Jr. advising Trump transition on health decisions: Sources
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to broadly advise Trump and the transition team on health-related appointments and has been in discussions to possibly fill a major role in the next administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
While sources caution that a role has not been finalized, RFK Jr. has been discussed as a potential candidate for the next secretary of Health and Human Services. But other roles are also on the table, including a broad “czar”-like position that would advise on policy and personnel decisions in other health arenas, the sources said.
RFK Jr. has been in active discussions with the transition team since Trump’s election victory last week. He’s been spotted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club multiple times and has been engaging in presentations which include candidates for specific Cabinet and health-related jobs, sources said.
He has spent hours with the co-heads of Trump’s transition team — billionaire Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon — in addition to others at Mar-a-Lago such as Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.; investor and donor Omeed Malik; Tucker Carlson; and Del Bigtree, RFK Jr.’s former campaign spokesperson who produced a documentary called “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Olivia Rubin and Will McDuffie
November 11, 2024, 3:30 PM EST – Lee Zeldin named to be EPA administrator
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.
Zeldin, who also ran for New York governor against Andrew Cuomo in 2022, confirmed he had been offered the job via a post on X.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” he wrote. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
-ABC News’ John Santucci, Rachel Scott and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST -RFK Jr. suggests he’ll gut NIH, replace 600 employees
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated over the weekend that he would fire 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health, replacing them with a new cohort of workers as he seeks to dramatically reshape America’s health agencies.
Speaking at the Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kennedy described his role vetting people for Donald Trump’s new administration.
“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on Jan. 20, so that on Jan. 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave,” Kennedy said, according to a video of his remarks posted on YouTube.
November 11, 2024, 3:06 PM EST- Trump expected to announce Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner and one of his senior advisers, will become his deputy chief of staff for policy, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
It’s not clear when Trump plans to formally announce the job, the sources said.
Miller worked in the first Trump administration and played a key role in crafting immigration policies — including those that resulted in thousands of families being separated at the border.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
November 11, 2024, 3:00 PM EST – Trump picks Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador
President-elect Donald Trump selected Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, multiple Trump officials told ABC News.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.
Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York’s 21st District, was elected last week to her sixth term in the House. She will inherit a role Nikki Haley held for two years in the first Trump administration.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson and top House Republicans took a victory lap as they returned to Washington on Tuesday on the heels of last week’s election, saying they are ready on Day 1 to work on President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
“It is a beautiful morning and it is a new day in America,” Johnson said from the Capitol steps surrounded by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Rep. Richard Hudson.
Lawmakers are back for a lame-duck session that will require them to pass another government funding measure before a shutdown deadline of Dec. 20 and passing the annual defense bill, among other legislative priorities.
All eyes are also on Trump’s transition and what lies ahead with a potential Republican “trifecta” in the nation’s capital. Republicans won the White House and the Senate and are three seats away from clinching the House, according to ABC News projections, though House control has not yet been called.
Johnson said they were continuing to watch outstanding races, but expressed confidence that the chamber would remain in GOP control.
Republican leadership said their top priorities come January will be to lower costs, secure the border and project strength on the world stage in coordination with Trump.
“Last week, the American people delivered a mandate down to Washington that they want to fix the problems that have been plaguing families all across this country for the last three and a half years,” Scalise said.
Johnson argued they are better equipped to act now than they were in 2016, when Republicans similarly controlled the White House and Congress after Trump’s victory.
“We are prepared this time as we wind down the 118th Congress,” Johnson said. “We’ll be ready to take the ball and run in the 119th Congress.”
Johnson said he doesn’t anticipate more members leaving to join Trump’s team and that “every vote will count” in the new Congress.
“President Trump and I have talked about this, multiple times a day for the last several days,” Johnson said. “We have an embarrassment of riches. We have a really talented Republican Congress … Many of them can serve in a important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands, appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game.”
Johnson also confirmed reports that he is planning to spend the weekend at Mar-a-Lago with Trump to discuss Trump’s cabinet and the upcoming House agenda.
The speaker also said Trump expressed interest in coming to speak to Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday when he is in Washington to meet with President Joe Biden.
“That would be a great meeting and moment for us all,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of energy here. We’re really grateful for President Trump leaving it all on the field to get reelected.”
The speaker declined to back anyone in the Senate leadership race, saying all the candidates are his “favorite.” Senate Republicans are set to vote Wednesday, with three major contenders vying for the position: Sen. John Thune, Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Rick Scott.
Trump has not endorsed a candidate, but made demands that whoever is chosen support recess appointments for federal vacancies.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from Mark Meadows, the one-time chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, to move his Georgia election interference case into federal court.
Meadows was charged alongside Trump and 18 others last year in the Fulton County racketeering case over their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. Meadows and the others pleaded not guilty to all charges, and four defendants subsequently took plea deals.
Meadows for months has sought to move his case into federal court based on a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official acting “under color” of their office.
Meadows had argued to the Supreme Court that a lower court erred when it rejected Meadows’ request to move the case out of state court and into federal court, in part by pointing to the court’s recent landmark ruling granting Trump some immunity for official acts.
“Just as immunity protection for former officers is critical to ensuring that current and future officers are not deterred from enthusiastic service, so too is the promise of a federal forum in which to litigate that defense,” the 47-page filing states.
Both a lower court and appeals court have rejected that claim, with one judge writing that Meadows’ actions charged in the indictment “were taken on behalf of the Trump campaign” and were not his official duties.
The Fulton County election interference case is largely on pause pending an appeal of ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case after Judge Scott McAfee declined to disqualify her due to a “significant appearance of impropriety” stemming from a romantic relationship between her and a prosecutor on her staff.
A spokesperson for the DA’s office recently declined to comment when asked by ABC News for their views on the future of the case, given Trump’s reelection last week.
(GREEN LAKE, Wis.) — A husband and father of three who vanished at a Wisconsin lake this summer may have faked his own death and fled to Eastern Europe, authorities said, and the sheriff is now urging the missing man to come forward.
“Our most important thing, for us, is to know that you’re safe,” Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in his message to Ryan Borgwardt. “We can talk through all this and we can work things out.”
The case began on the morning of Aug. 12, when authorities learned Borgwardt, 45, hadn’t returned home and was last known to be on Green Lake, according to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Borgwardt last texted his wife on the night of Aug. 11, saying he was turning his kayak around and heading to shore soon, Podoll said.
Officials discovered Borgwardt’s overturned kayak and life jacket in the lake, authorities said, and they later found his fishing rod and tackle box.
Responders believed the missing dad drowned and they scoured the lake using divers, drones, sonar and cadaver K-9s, officials said.
“The search continued for about 54 days, with no sign of Ryan,” the sheriff said during a news conference on Friday. “Near daily drone searches were completed. And Bruce’s Legacy [a volunteer search organization] methodically searched approximately 1,500 acres. … Keith Cormican, [who leads] Bruce’s Legacy, sifted through hours and hours of sonar data and images.”
“Keith’s expertise and equipment led us to believe either something very odd occurred and Ryan was outside the area that had been searched, or something else had occurred,” the sheriff said.
The case took a turn in October when investigators discovered Borgwardt’s name had been checked by law enforcement in Canada on Aug. 13, the sheriff said.
Authorities also learned Borgwardt had been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan, the sheriff said.
Other behavior included clearing his browsers the day he disappeared, inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks, getting a new life insurance policy, obtaining a new passport and replacing his laptop hard drive, the sheriff said.
“I was totally shocked,” Podoll told ABC News on Monday. “It was just unbelievable that we would have a case like this where some party actually staged his death.”
Authorities have stopped searching the lake.
“As far as we know, he’s someplace in Eastern Europe,” the sheriff told ABC News.
Investigators are “looking into what charges could be filed,” Podoll said, adding, “that’s a work in progress.”
Authorities hope to pursue restitution for the expenses of the search, the sheriff’s office said.
“He wasted a lot of my time and it cost me a lot of money,” Cormican of Bruce’s Legacy said.
Podoll said it’s not clear if Borgwardt was given help, and he urged anyone with information to come forward.
Podoll praised Borgwardt’s wife, whom he said was not involved, calling her “a very, very strong lady.”
“I was there when the sheriff broke the news to the whole family. And it was pretty, pretty heart-wrenching to see,” Cormican told ABC News. “I feel horrible for the family. They’re the ones that are going to really struggle.”
ABC News’ Karolina Rivas contributed to this report.
The election of former President Donald Trump to a second term has put a spotlight on what his return to the White House may look like, particularly when it comes to women’s health.
Online searches for topics related to women’s health have spiked since the Nov. 5 election, particularly when it comes to birth control, Google data shows.
Searches for IUDs, birth control pills, and Plan B are trending higher than they have since June 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, giving states the power to decide abortion access.
Since then, at least 14 states have ceased nearly all abortion services, and 21 states have put into effect restrictions on abortion.
The current abortion landscape combined with Trump’s comments about birth control on the campaign trail and his first administration’s efforts to roll back insurance coverage of contraceptives have led to uncertainty about what will happen in his second term.
Here are five questions answered.
1. What does the term ‘birth control’ include?
Birth control, also known as contraception, is the broad term for the act of preventing pregnancy.
The term includes everything from medicines and methods to devices and surgery used to prevent pregnancy, according to the National Library of Medicine.
One of the most widely-known and used types of contraception is the birth control pill, an oral, hormonal medication that commonly requires a prescription.
Around 14% of women in the United States between the ages of 15 to 49 currently use the pill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. What did Trump say about birth control on the campaign trail?
During an interview with a Pittsburgh TV station in May, Trump was asked if he supports any restrictions on a person’s right to contraceptives.
“Well, we’re looking at that and we’re going to have a policy on that very shortly,” Trump responded with. “And I think it’s something you’ll find interesting and it’s another issue that’s very interesting.”
When asked to clarify if he was suggesting he was open to supporting some restrictions on contraceptives, “like the morning-after pill,” Trump responded, “Things really do have a lot to do with the states — and some states are going to have different policy than others.”
The former president quickly took to social media to clarify his position, claiming that he was not advocating for restrictions on contraceptives.
“I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” he wrote in a May 21 post on his social media platform.
The Trump campaign further attempted to clarify, claiming the policy Trump was referring to during the interview was mifepristone, often used in pregnancy termination. However, Trump was not asked about the abortion medication.
After winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump and the transition team have been advised on health-related appointments by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has also been in discussions to possibly fill a major role in the next administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
ABC News has not found public comment from RFK Jr. on the issue of birth control.
3. What happened on birth control during Trump’s first administration?
During Trump’s first term, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new rules allowing more employers to opt-out of the Affordable Care Act mandate guaranteeing no-cost contraceptive services for women.
The Supreme Court upheld the HHS decision in a 7-2 ruling in 2020, giving an employer or university with a religious or moral objection to opt out of covering contraceptives for employees.
4. As president, what power does Trump have over birth control?
As president, Trump would have the authority to order rollbacks of measures implemented by President Joe Biden’s administration to protect birth control.
As recently as October, the Biden administration announced a plan to require insurers to fully cover over-the-counter contraceptives.
In January, the administration announced several other measures to protect contraception access, including federal agencies issuing new guidance to “clarify standards” and make sure Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive medications are available for free under the Affordable Care Act.
Once Trump is in office, he will also have the chance to appoint Supreme Court justices if vacancies arise. During his first term, Trump appointed three justices.
Trump could also work with Congress to enact legislation on women’s reproductive rights, including birth control. Following the Nov. 5 election, control of the House of Representatives is still up in the air, while ABC News has projected that Republicans will win the Senate.
5. What has the Supreme Court said on birth control?
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a solo concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas included a line on birth control.
In his opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court “should reconsider” Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a Connecticut law that made it illegal to use birth control devices or to advise about their use.
“We have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents,” Thomas wrote, citing the Griswold ruling among others.
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Will McDuffie, Kelsey Walsh and Soo Rin Kim contributed to this report.
US Representative (R-FL) Mike Waltz. Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump has asked Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser, multiple sources told ABC News.
Waltz is a China hawk and is the first Green Beret elected to Congress. He emerged as a key surrogate for Trump, criticizing the Biden-Harris foreign policy record during the presidential campaign.
Waltz, who was elected to the House in 2018, sits on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. He also serves on the House China Task Force with 13 other Republicans.
He has supported aid to Ukraine in the past, but has demanded “conditions,” including increased spending from European allies, additional oversight of funds, and pairing the aid with border security measures.
Waltz, a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s policy towards Ukraine who has visited the country, criticized the White House and allies for not providing Ukraine with more lethal aid — such as MiG fighter planes from Poland — earlier in the conflict.
Before running for elected office, Waltz served in various national security policy roles in the George W. Bush administration in the Pentagon and White House. He retired as a colonel after serving 27 years in the Army and the National Guard.
