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Trump names campaign spokespeople to top White House communications roles

By Kit Maher, Michael Williams and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday elevated two of his campaign’s spokespeople to top communications roles in his incoming administration. Trump named his campaign’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, as his White House communications director. His campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt,

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Jared Kushner expected to be pivotal to Trump admin’s Middle East efforts without taking a formal job

By Kylie Atwood and Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration’s Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it, regional diplomats and Trump allies told CNN. Trump’s Middle East team has been taking shape

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Trump’s team skips FBI background checks for some Cabinet picks

By Evan Perez, Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say. Trump and his allies

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Trump Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth was involved in investigation into 2017 sexual assault allegation

By Casey Tolan, Scott Glover and Kyung Lah, CNN Monterey, California (CNN) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, was involved in a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2017, local officials in California confirmed Thursday night. In a statement, a spokesperson for the city government of Monterey, California, said

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Wilbur Ross Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of former Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. Personal Birth date: November 28, 1937 Birth place: Weehawken, New Jersey Birth name: Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. Father: Wilbur Louis Ross Sr., a lawyer Mother: Agnes (O’Neill) Ross, a teacher Marriages: Hilary (Geary) Ross (October 9,

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Tulsi Gabbard Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here is a look at the life of the Tulsi Gabbard, US director of national intelligence. Personal Birth date: April 12, 1981 Birth place: Leloaloa, American Samoa Birth name: Tulsi Gabbard Father: Mike Gabbard, Hawaii state senator Mother: Carol (Porter) Gabbard, former Hawaii Board of Education member Marriages: Abraham Williams

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Nearly 90 congressional Democrats call on Biden to sanction far-right Israeli ministers

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN Washington (CNN) — Nearly 90 congressional Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli government officials for their roles in inciting settler violence in the West Bank. “Violent settlers, fueled by the inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence by members of the Israeli cabinet, including

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Protecting Trump in a second administration presents unprecedented security challenges

By Sean Lyngaas and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — As Donald Trump conducts a free-wheeling transition from his Mar-a-Lago estate, drawing flocks of business moguls, contractors, foreign dignitaries and anyone looking for jobs in the new administration, the federal agencies charged with protecting the president-elect and his communications face a daunting task. Security at Mar-a-Lago

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Trump considering his lawyer Todd Blanche for deputy attorney general, sources say

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is seriously considering naming his lead attorney Todd Blanche to serve as the next deputy attorney general, the second-highest position in the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his thinking. Blanche has represented Trump for the last 18 months and defended him during his

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Wisconsin Republican acknowledges defeat in Senate race, but questions result and mulls recount

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Eric Hovde, the Wisconsin Republican who nearly unseated Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, acknowledged this week that he lost the election but also raised questions about the legitimacy of the result as he mulls requesting a recount. Even as they celebrate President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, right-wing figures such as tech

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Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick for UN ambassador, declines to stand by previous support for Ukraine joining NATO

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, is now refusing to stand by her previous push for Ukraine’s NATO membership — a stance she once framed as critical to regional stability. Her office also declined to say whether she still

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Republicans will retain House majority, CNN projects, completing GOP’s dominance of Washington

By Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Republicans have secured their monopoly on power in Donald Trump’s new Washington, retaining their majority in the House of Representatives, CNN projected Wednesday, ushering in a dramatic new era of right-wing populist rule. The GOP’s control of both chambers of Congress – won after Republicans were projected to hold

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FBI arrests alleged leaker of US intelligence documents related to Israel’s attack plans against Iran

By Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department has charged a man for allegedly leaking highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to court documents and a person familiar with the case. Asif W. Rahman was indicted last Thursday for willfully retaining and transmitting national defense

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Special counsel Jack Smith looking at stepping down before Trump takes office and is discussing how to end prosecutions

By Paula Reid, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith intends to step down before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and is discussing the mechanics of winding down the federal prosecutions against him with Justice Department leadership, a DOJ official familiar with the discussions said. Trump has threatened

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‘Welcome back’: Biden offers Trump the smooth transition he never got as president-elect returns to the White House

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — The last time Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, he scrawled out a two-page letter to Joe Biden in his distinctive jagged penmanship, slipped it into the drawer of the Resolute Desk and — notwithstanding the note’s surprisingly gracious tone — walked away from the building defeated

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ in Trump administration

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Tami Luhby, Aaron Pellish and Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess

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Supreme Court rejects Mark Meadows’ request to move Georgia election subversion case to federal court

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to let Mark Meadows move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court, effectively barring the former chief of staff during Donald Trump’s first term from claiming immunity from those charges. Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman who served as White House chief of

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Democrat Ruben Gallego will defeat Kari Lake for Arizona Senate seat, CNN projects

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego will win a closely watched US Senate seat in Arizona, CNN projects, defeating Republican Kari Lake to become the state’s first Latino senator. Gallego will succeed retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat, as he joins the soon-to-be-GOP-controlled chamber in January. His win is

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Despite presidential headwinds, these Senate Democratic candidates won states Harris lost

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Republicans flipped the Senate, but Democratic candidates often outran the top of the ticket, winning at least four battleground states that Vice President Kamala Harris lost. Harris lost all seven swing states to President-elect Donald Trump, while her party’s Senate candidates narrowly held Wisconsin, Nevada and open seats in

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Tim Pawlenty Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of Tim Pawlenty, former Republican governor of Minnesota. Personal Birth date: November 27, 1960 Birth place: St. Paul, Minnesota Birth name: Timothy James Pawlenty Father: Gene Pawlenty, a truck driver Mother: Virginia “Ginny” Pawlenty Marriage: Mary (Anderson) Pawlenty (1987-present) Children: Mara, 1996; Anna, 1993

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Howard Dean Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here is a look at the life of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Personal Birth date: November 17, 1948 Birth place: New York, New York Birth name: Howard Brush Dean III Father: Howard Brush Dean Jr, stockbroker Mother: Andrea (Maitland) Dean Marriage: Dr. Judith Steinberg (1981-present) Children: Anne and Paul

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White House races to dole out funding from key legislation before Trump takes office

By Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — The White House is racing to dole out remaining funds appropriated from key legislation President Joe Biden signed before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 10 weeks. That includes finalizing agreements between the Commerce Department and manufacturing companies for federal semiconductor subsidies; allocating grants for climate initiatives; and surging

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Inside Mar-a-Lago, the chaotic Trump epicenter: patio pitches, transition meetings and rogue guests

By Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Mar-a-Lago is the epicenter of Donald Trump’s presidential transition, and foreign leaders, contractors and those seeking a job in the administration have descended on Palm Beach, Florida, filling hotels and seeking rental properties for the next three months to get as much face time as possible with the president-elect

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Trump announces Tom Homan, his former acting ICE director, will be administration’s ‘border czar’

By Kaitlan Collins and Colin McCullough, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday night that Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his last administration, will be in charge of the nation’s borders. “I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border

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Trump calls on GOP senators vying to be majority leader to agree to recess appointments

By Kate Sullivan, Manu Raju and Sam Fossum, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is demanding Republican senators vying to be majority leader support recess appointments for his nominees — a way for presidents to essentially bypass Congress that has recently been blocked by the minority party. All three senators running in this week’s secret-ballot

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