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Donald Trump is seen here at a Jets football game next to his campaign manager Susie Wiles, on Oct. 20, 2024. The president-elect has just named Wiles his White House chief of staff.
Who will Trump’s team be?
At last count — yep, they’re still counting ballots from last week’s US election — Republicans looked set for a clean sweep: taking not only the White House and Senate but possibly the House too. With 18 House races yet to be called, the GOP is leading in seven and needs to win just four for a majority.
Attention now turns to the president-elect’s naming of names for the first cabinet of “Trump 2.0.”
Here’s what we know:
Trump has made just one appointment so far: He has named Susie Wiles as the first-ever female White House chief of staff. The 67-year-old veteran Florida political operative ran Trump’s presidential campaign, helping to secure his stunning comeback.
We also know for sure that two people won’t be in Trump’s cabinet: Nikki Haley, who served Trump as UN ambassador but also ran against him in the 2024 primary, and Mike Pompeo, who was Trump’s secretary of state during his first administration.
No other appointees have been made official, so lots of Republicans are jostling for 15 Cabinet positions and various advisory roles.
Names being floated for secretary of state, the US top foreign policy role, include Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and acting DNI director; former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former Iran envoy Brian Hook, GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
The US Treasury secretary position, which is the top financial position in the US government, is likely to go to one of five men: Robert Lighthizer, the arch-protectionist who helmed the US tariff war with China as Trump 1.0’s US trade representative; billionaire hedge fund managers Scott Bessent and John Paulson; former SEC chair Jay Clayton; and Larry Kudlow, Trump’s former National Economic Council director.
For interior secretary, which oversees management of federal lands, including their use as energy sources, the top names include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, as well as North Dakota’s billionaire Gov. Doug Burgum — both were once considered veep candidates for Trump. Burgum, meanwhile, is also on the shortlist for energy secretary, along with Dan Brouillette, who held the post last time around.
We’ll be keeping an eye on official appointments for these and the other Cabinet positions, as well as for indications of what portfolios go to key supporters like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who may be named a White House health and wellness adviser or even become secretary of health and human services – and Elon Musk, who has himself suggested being named to helm a new department focused on government efficiency.
US-China relations all-time low; federal troops in Portland; Biden's pick
Jon Lieber, managing director for the United States at Eurasia Group, provides his perspective on US Politics In 60 Seconds - this week from in front of the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., which is currently behind barricades because some protesters want to tear it down.
First question, with the tit for tat escalation of closing consulates between the US and China, are US-China relations at an all-time low?
Well, they're certainly not very good. And probably the most important marker was a really tough speech given by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Nixon Center in California. Perhaps important for its symbolism, that this is an end of an era of engagement that began with President Nixon in 1969. You've got a lot of escalating factors. You've got these closing embassies, accusations of espionage by the Chinese, the potential banning of TikTok. And WeChat in the US. You've got the potential banning of Huawei. And, of course, you've got the ongoing trade war and sanctions. Now, the trade war may become less important as a factor, along with the other worsening parts of this relationship. The Chinese have retaliated so far proportionately. They don't want to be seen as the ones escalating this advance of a presidential election.
Next question, with the presence of federal troops in Portland, does this blur federal state authorities and what's the line here?
Well, the president is well within his rights and means to enforce federal law inside the United States. And that's what he claims he's doing by sending troops in to protect the courthouses in Portland. However, his tactics have been controversial. For one, there's the use of unnamed-unidentified police officers, unmarked police vehicles. There is also accusations that the executive order under which he's doing this target's constitutionally protected speech. And, of course, there's the fact that the Portland mayor doesn't want the federal support. However, this isn't the case everywhere. The president has announced he's sending federal support to Chicago and Albuquerque and probably later in the summer, you're going to see federal support show up in Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee, the three large cities in swing states. And this is an obviously important electoral issue as the president continues to try to make his pitch to suburban voters.
Last question, who will Joe Biden pick as his running mate?
Well, I think this really depends on if Biden thinks he needs to pick an African-American woman or not. If he does decide to pick an African-American woman, he's so far ahead in the polls right now that he probably just goes to someone safe. The safest bet is a well-known Senator, Kamala Harris, who already ran for president. He also is looking at Representative Karen Bass, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Susan Rice, President Obama's former national security adviser. That's less likely, though, because since 1972, there have been no running mates in the US that lack electoral experience, which she does not have. If he decides he doesn't need an African-American, then I think probably he goes with one of the governors that's available to him, Rhode Island and Michigan and perhaps New Mexico. These people have credible governing experience, could potentially run for president in four years, could step in if needed. But I think he's not going to do is pick a mayor or a progressive. Mayor because anything that happens in that major city becomes an issue on the campaign. He does not need that. And a progressive because that person is going to have a competing policy base inside the White House. And he knows as a former vice president, you've got to be on the same page.
Can Pompeo build a European coalition against Iran?
Will Pompeo manage to build a European coalition against Iran?
Well, that depends. Certainly not on the issue of the nuclear deal. The Europeans are solidly behind it. To go back on the efforts that have been undertaken over decades to take back Iran from the nuclear brink would be exceedingly foolish. And then there is a lot of worries here in town that the escalatory rhetoric from the US, and from Tehran, will increase the likelihood of the region, which is really rather combustible at the moment, stumbling into a war that no one should really want.
Who will win the Eurovision contest in Tel Aviv?
I haven't the faintest idea. But I guess that the Icelanders would get all the publicity.
World in 60 Seconds: Big Brexit Vote
There's a big vote in the UK today, how likely will Brexit be delayed?
It's your World in 60 Seconds!
And go deeper on topics like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence at Microsoft Today in Technology.