Live

Trump transition live updates: Dr. Oz tapped to run Medicare, Medicaid office

Oz was picked as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator.

Last Updated: November 19, 2024, 4:05 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump's choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.

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 18, 2024, 7:43 PM EST

Top Dem on House Ethics Committee says Gaetz report should be released

The top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee -- Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild -- told reporters Monday that she believes the committee's report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz should be disclosed to the public.

"You either are going to disclose it or you're not going to disclose it. So, and there's plenty of precedents in the Ethics Committee to disclose the report even after a member has resigned," Wild said.

Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., attends an event to call attention to the "sexual and gender-based violence that Hamas perpetrated on Oct. 7th and since then against Israeli women," in Rayburn Building on Feb 14, 2024.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE

Wild, who is leaving office at the end of this session, said it'll take "one or more" Republicans to join Democrats on the committee to achieve a majority vote to release the report.

Asked if that's a possibility, Wild said she hasn't talked to all of the members and doesn't know, but she stressed that all eight members of the ethics panel now have access to the draft report.

"I believe there will be a unanimous Democratic consensus that it should be released," she added.

Wild said there is a scheduled committee meeting on Wednesday, but said it "remains to be seen" what the chairman's agenda is.

"But I believe we should vote on whether we are to disclose it [Gaetz report] or not, and we'll see what happens after that," she said.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters Monday that he has read the Gaetz report but declined to comment further due to the confidentiality of the committee.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller, John Parkinson and Isabella Murray

Nov 18, 2024, 6:30 PM EST

Trump nominates Sean Duffy as transportation secretary

Trump announced Monday he is nominating former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for transportation secretary.

The position requires Senate confirmation.

"He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports," Trump said in a statement. "He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers."

Duffy co-hosts "The Bottom Line" on Fox Business and is a Fox News contributor.

Rep. Sean Duffy questions Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during his testimony before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the "Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress", at the Rayburn House Office Building, July 18, 2018.
Mary F. Calvert/Reuters, FILE

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Nov 18, 2024, 5:49 PM EST

Trump to attend SpaceX launch on Tuesday: Sources

Trump is expected to attend Tuesday's SpaceX launch in Texas, multiple sources told ABC News.

SpaceX said it is planning to hold the sixth integrated flight test of its Starship megarocket from its Starbase in Cameron County, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has rarely left Trump's side since the election -- appearing in family photos with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and even traveling with him to New York for Saturday’s UFC fight.

President-elect Donald Trump, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. watch a fight during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Nov. 16, 2024.
Evan Vucci/AP

Trump frequently marveled at the intricacies of the SpaceX rocket launch while on the campaign trail.

"It was so exciting, so I'm watching it, and this monstrous thing is going down, right and it's coming down, it's first of all, doing all sorts of flips up in the air,” Trump said at his last campaign rally of the cycle in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Katherine Faulders

Nov 18, 2024, 2:51 PM EST

How Democrats could force the Ethics Committee to release the Gaetz report

All eyes will be on the House Ethics Committee's expected closed-door meeting this Wednesday -- but it's possible that Congress can go around the committee entirely to release the panel's findings on former Rep. Matt Gaetz.

According to House rules, any member of Congress can go to the floor and tee up a vote on a "privileged resolution" that would force the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz, within two legislative days.

The member would only have to argue that not releasing the report impacts the "dignity" or "integrity" of the House or "reputation" of its members.

Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada, Oct. 31, 2024.
Mike Blake/Reuters

The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Committee to divulge information about investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Those efforts came up short because Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is incredibly unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would only take a handful of Republicans -- along with all Democrats -- to pass the resolution.

"If you're a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?" former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who led the Ethics Committee, said to ABC News on Monday.

The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against Gaetz, who resigned last week after being named Trump's pick for attorney general.

If the Ethics Committee doesn't vote to release its findings on Wednesday, expect more Democrats to raise the possibility of forcing a floor vote -- one that would force Republicans on the record about Gaetz.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel