Trump transition updates: Trump taps longtime ally as agriculture secretary

Brooke Rollins previously served in Trump's first administration.

Last Updated: November 24, 2024, 6:02 PM EST

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, said Thursday he is withdrawing his name for the role -- just a day after Gaetz spoke with Republican senators on Capitol Hill about the nomination process.

Trump has named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, as his new pick for the role.

Another controversial Cabinet pick, Pete Hegseth, is on the Hill on Thursday with Vice President-elect JD Vance to make his case for the secretary of the Department of Defense job.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration.

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.

Nov 21, 2024, 10:48 AM EST

New details of Hegseth sexual assault claim documented in police report

The woman who accused Pete Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017 told police at the time that he took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room on the night of the incident, according to a 22-page police report obtained by ABC News.

The report, compiled in Oct. 2017 by the Monterey Police Department, provides graphic new details of an alleged altercation that now threatens to derail Hegseth's bid to become President-elect Donald Trump's Defense Secretary.

Pete Hegseth, President-Elect Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, speaks with journalists in the Russel Senate Office Building in Washington, Nov. 21, 2024.
Aaron Schwartz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The report documents a police investigation that did not result in charges against the former Fox News star. It includes interviews with the woman, who is identified only as Jane Doe, and Hegseth, who told police that the encounter was consensual.

Read more here.

Nov 21, 2024, 10:33 AM EST

Pete Hegseth kicks off Hill meetings with Senate Republicans

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense, is on Capitol Hill Thursday meeting with Republican senators and making his case for the job.

Hegseth is joined by Vice President-elect JD Vance, and the two huddled in Vance's office Thursday morning.

Sen. John Barrasso issued a statement this morning following his meeting with Hegseth calling him a "strong nominee."

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth departs following a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 21, 2024.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

"Pete pledged that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power -- not the current administration's woke political agenda," Barrasso said.

Hegseth's nomination and eventual hearing will be managed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The top Republican on the committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, was spotted entering Vance's office and is meeting with Hegseth now.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Allison Pecorin

Nov 21, 2024, 10:07 AM EST

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for top intel role, draws scrutiny over Russia comments

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for the director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has little experience working with the nation's spy agencies and a long track record of echoing the Russian disinformation they work to expose and to counter -- a combination her critics claim should be disqualifying.

Gabbard, who represented Hawaii as a Democrat from 2013-2021 and ran for the party's presidential nomination in 2020 before becoming a Republican earlier this year, has been accused of harboring sympathies for the Kremlin and parroting propaganda generated by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine.

Tulsi Gabbard speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York City.
Alex Brandon/AP

At the outset of the conflict, Gabbard blamed the Biden administration and NATO, claiming they had provoked Russia's aggression by ignoring what she called its "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine potentially becoming a member of the defensive alliance.

Read more here.

Nov 21, 2024, 10:04 AM EST

Comer to create 'DOGE' House Oversight subcommittee: Source

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is set to create a new "Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE)" subcommittee to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the next Congress, a source familiar with the plans tells ABC News.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will chair the new subcommittee, which will "support the Oversight and Accountability Committee's mission to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government," the source said.

Lawmakers involved in the future subcommittee have already met with members of the White House "DOGE" team, including Ramaswamy, who support the House Oversight Committee's endeavor and are already working together, the source said.

"The subcommittees will be officially established early next year when the Oversight and Accountability Committee meets to ratify its rules for the 119th Congress," the source said.

-ABC News' Will Steakin

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