Trump poised to appoint Rubio; judge decides whether to overturn criminal conviction

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US President-elect Donald Trump announced several new members of his incoming administration on Monday, and is reportedly expected to name Marco Rubio – a one time challenger in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries – as secretary of state.

It comes as justice Juan Merchan, a New York judge, is set to decide later today whether Trump’s criminal conviction on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star should be overturned in light of the US Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity.

Meanwhile, officials at the US justice department are assessing how to wind down the two federal criminal cases brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith due to its longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

A separate case in Georgia involving state criminal charges concerning Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss remains in limbo.

We will give you more on the developments in the legal cases Trump faces when news breaks throughout the day.

Donald Trump campaigns in Raleigh, north Carolina, with Marco Rubio. Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters

Here are the main political appointments Trump has already made or is expected to announce shortly:

The New York Times reports that Trump is expected to name Florida senator Marco Rubio his secretary of state. The paper cites three unnamed sources “familiar with [Trump’s] thinking”. Rubio has said that Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Moscow rather than focus on regaining all territory that Russia has taken in the last decade. He was also one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, passed in April. Rubio serves as the vice-chairman of the Senate intelligence committee and sits on the foreign relations committee.
The US president-elect has reportedly asked US Representative Michael Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser. Waltz, regarded by many in Washington as hawkish on China and Iran, has also been a member of the intelligence and foreign affairs committees.
Trump picked South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing two sources. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for a range of issues, including border protection, immigration, disaster response and the US secret service. Noem, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, made headlines after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the pandemic.
Trump announced that the former New York congressman Lee Zeldin will be selected to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump, who oversaw the rollback of more than 100 environmental rules when he last was US president, said Zeldin was a “true fighter for America First policies” and that “he will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions”.
Stephen Miller, the author of Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” immigration policy during his first term, is set to be his deputy chief of staff with a broad portfolio.
Trump said on Sunday that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), will be in charge of the country’s borders in his new administration. Homan told Fox News: “If sanctuary cities don’t want to help us, then get the hell out of the way, because we’re coming.”
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, 40, has been made ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik, a Trump-skeptic turned Trump-ally, is the House Republican Conference chair, making her the fourth-ranking House Republican.
On Thursday, Trump made his first appointment, naming Susie Wiles, who has worked on Republican campaigns since the days of Ronald Reagan, White House chief of staff. She was previously the campaign manager for his victorious bid for re-election.

Key events

Vietnam’s Communist Party head To Lam has congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory in a phone call and the two discussed ways their countries could boost economic ties, according to the communist party.

The US is Vietnam’s largest export market, and the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership last September, the highest level in Vietnam’s ranking.

“Vietnam is ready to promote stable and long-term development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the people of the two countries,” Lam said during the call, which took place on Monday, according to a statement posted on the communist party’s website.

Lam stated that Vietnam is ready to promote the stable and long-term development of the bilateral ties for the sake of the two peoples, as well as for regional and global peace, cooperation, and sustainable development…

Trump expressed his satisfaction with the positive development in the bilateral relations, and affirmed the importance he attaches to the relationship with Vietnam, particularly economic cooperation. He highlighted specific areas of economic and trade collaboration that the US seeks to advance.

Last week, officials and supply chain experts told Reuters Vietnam could face trade volatility with a new Trump presidency, as it could become “collateral damage” of protectionist measures.

Then US President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February 2019 in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Both leaders invited the other to visit their country, according to the party statement.
Trump travelled to Vietnam twice in his first term as president, first to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and then for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

My colleague Rachel Leingang has done a profile on Tom Homan, the former law enforcement official who has been selected to be in charge of the country’s borders following Trump’s inauguration in January. Here is an extract from her piece:

Homan has been describing mass deportation in stark terms for the past year, angling for a role in helping Trump with his signature campaign promise. Asked about the high price tag of a mass deportation, he turned the question back on 60 Minutes: “What price do you put on our national security? Is it worth it?” When the outlet followed up to ask if there was a way for mass deportations not to separate families with mixed immigration statuses, Homan responded: “Families can be deported together.”

It is a likely next step for a man who served as acting director of Ice for 16 months under Trump in what was seen as a period of intense controversy for the agency. The Atlantic documented how Homan was the “father” of the Trump administration’s family separation policy, tracing its roots to a 2014 meeting where Homan pushed the idea. He defended the policy to the outlet by saying: “The goal wasn’t to traumatize. The goal was to stop the madness, stop the death, stop the rape, stop the children dying, stop the cartels doing what they’re doing.”

“I hear a lot of people say, ‘The talk of a mass deportation is racist. It’s threatening to the immigrant community,'” says Tom Homan, Trump’s former acting director of immigration enforcement. He argues it should only “be threatening to the illegal immigrant community.” pic.twitter.com/IsU7yrcxIb

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 27, 2024

This year, his speech to the Republican national convention started with a folksy “how you doin’” and a shoutout to New York, his home state. He then launched into an impassioned speech defending Trump and lambasting the Biden administration on immigration, saying Joe Biden’s policies were essentially “national suicide”.

“As a guy who spent 34 years deporting illegal aliens, I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden’s released in our country in violation of federal law: you better start packing now – you’re damn right – because you’re going home,” he said, to raucous applause.

To the cartels in Mexico trafficking fentanyl, he said: “When President Trump gets back in office, he’s going to designate you a terrorist organization. He’s going to wipe you off the face of the earth. You’re done.”

The Republicans already have a majority in the Senate and need to win just a few seats to take control of the 435-member House (a party needs 218 seats to win a House majority). According to our latest tally, Republicans have 214 seats, while the Democrats have 205.

Keeping hold of the House would give Republicans sweeping powers to potentially enact a broad agenda of tax and spending cuts, energy deregulation and border security controls. As well as giving the party the power to initiate spending legislation, control of the House would allow Republicans to launch impeachment proceedings against officials.

Steve Bannon due in court over border-wall fraud trial

Steve Bannon is due in court today ahead of his trial on criminal fraud charges over a push to fund Trump’s border wall, weeks after he was released from prison on a separate conviction. Bannon, the 70-year-old former Trump adviser, is scheduled to stand trial starting on 9 December in New York state court in Manhattan.

Prosecutors allege that he deceived donors who contributed more than $15 million in 2019 to a private fundraising drive to build a barrier along the US-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty. He is set to appear for a final pretrial conference before acting justice April Newbauer at 2:15 pm EST (1915 GMT).

Steve Bannon holds a press conference at Loews Regency Hotel in New York on 29 October 2024. Photograph: Steven Ferdman/REX/Shutterstock

Last month, Bannon was released from prison, following a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena in an investigation of the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack.

Trump demands Senate allow him to circumvent hearings to appoint cabinet

Robert Tait

Robert Tait is a journalist based in Washington DC

Donald Trump has demanded that the three frontrunners to lead the Senate allow him to appoint officials to his new administration without confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, as a future Republican government began to take shape the week after his election victory.

In a demonstration of his political muscle, the US president-elect urged support for “recess appointments”, which allow the president to make appointments while the Senate is temporarily paused, and can be used to circumvent the confirmation process, which can result in appointments being delayed or blocked.

The demand amounted to a full-frontal intervention in this week’s GOP’s election for a new Senate leader to replace Mitch McConnell, the party’s longtime leader who is retiring. The three men tipped to lead the Senate – Rick Scott, John Thune and John Cornyn – all quickly agreed to Trump’s request.

It also signalled Trump’s determination to press ahead with his agenda without being encumbered by congressional oversight, which is mandated by the US constitution.

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