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Trump transition live updates: Not yet known if Gaetz will be confirmed, Thune says

The new Senate majority leader said he wants the process to play out.

ByMeredith Deliso and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: November 14, 2024, 1:31 PM EST

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, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser and Tom Homan as his "border czar," among other positions.

Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Nov 12, 3:45 pm

Tracking those Trump has named to serve in his Cabinet, administration

Ahead of his return to power in January, Trump is announcing who he wants to fill Cabinet positions and other key roles inside his administration.

They include some of his staunchest allies on Capitol Hill and key advisers to his 2024 campaign.

Here is a running list of the people Trump has selected, or is expected to select, to serve in his administration.

6:54 AM EST

DeSantis says he's instructed Florida's secretary of state to make a schedule for upcoming special elections

With both Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz being tapped for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on X on Thursday morning that he's instructed Florida's secretary of state to make a schedule for the special elections to replace them.

"Congratulations to the Floridians being appointed to key positions in the Trump Administration: Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Matt Gaetz, and Congressman Mike Waltz," DeSantis wrote on X. "I've instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately."

However, DeSantis' post did not mention anything about when these elections could happen.

Nov 13, 2024, 9:25 PM EST

Trump considering his lawyer for deputy attorney general: Sources

President-elect Donald Trump is considering his top defense attorney for the second highest position in the Department of Justice, sources tell ABC News.

Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in the hush money case and in both of Jack Smith's federal probes, is being considered as the deputy attorney general, multiple sources said.

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump's Hush-Money Criminal Trial
Todd Blanche, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, from left, former US President Donald Trump, and Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign. Photographer: Steven Hirsch/New York Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images

Blanche had been widely speculated to join Trump in the federal government in some form.

The position would need Senate confirmation.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders

Nov 13, 2024, 7:20 PM EST

Gaetz already resigned from Congress, Speaker Johnson says

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick for attorney general, offered his resignation from Congress earlier Wednesday -- effective immediately, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced.

Johnson said the resignation took him by "surprise" but that the Florida congressman did so to "start the clock" on the process for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to call a special election to fill his vacancy.

"We're grateful for that so we move forward," Johnson said.

Rep. Matt Gaetz departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024.
Alex Brandon/AP

The move slims the new House GOP majority.

Johnson did not weigh in on the House Ethics Committee probe into Gaetz that will now cease with no report released, as Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Isabella Murray

Nov 13, 2024, 3:31 PM EST

Trump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general

Trump has nominated Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general, he posted on his social media.

Gaetz was seen traveling with Trump in the motorcade Wednesday during the president-elect's visit to Washington, D.C.

The role is a Senate-confirmed appointment.

Rep. Matt Gaetz departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024.
Alex Brandon/AP

Trump called Gaetz a "deeply gifted and tenacious attorney" who will "end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department."

Gaetz is an explosive selection by Trump to be the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government, leading the very same executive branch of government that spent years investigating allegations regarding the Florida congressman. Gaetz was informed that the DOJ would not seek charges just last year. He has long denied any wrongdoing.

Gaetz faces an ongoing probe by the House Ethics Committee for the same allegations, related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.

Gaetz has been down in Mar-a-Lago almost daily since Election Day, helping make suggestions and input on other administration selections, sources told ABC News.

-ABC News' Will Steakin