Trump picks RFK Jr as health secretary and gives first speech since election night

Family members of some of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza met with President Biden today, and were told their loved ones came up during the president’s meeting with Donald Trump.

The families said both men are “fully aligned on the importance of releasing the hostages”.

And family representatives expect to meet with Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has been nominated as Trump’s Secretary of State – the country’s chief diplomat – later this week.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the outgoing administration is “prepared to work with the incoming team in common cause, on a bipartisan basis, to do everything in our collective American power to secure the release of the hostages, both living and deceased.”

Four Americans are among the hostages still believed to be alive. At least three American hostages have died in Gaza since the attack on 7 October 2023, according to our US partner CBS News.

For context: The war in Gaza was triggered by last year’s attack, which saw hundreds of gunmen enter southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Israel retaliated by launching a military campaign to destroy Hamas, during which more than 43,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Mike Wendling
US digital reporter

Earlier Republicans in the US Senate picked a new leader, and now we have word that in the other chamber, the House of Representatives, the current leadership looks likely to continue.

Mike Johnson, a representative from Louisiana, was re-nominated as the Republican choice for Speaker of the House. The party is projected to win a narrow majority in the House once all of the races are settled, according to our US news partner CBS.

That narrow Republican majority has given power to small factions and made for some intense Speaker battles in the recent past. Kevin McCarthy was chosen for the post after a gruelling 15-ballot process after midterm elections in 2022, only to be ousted less than a year later.

After McCarthy, Johnson himself went through a complicated intra-party contest to get the post – which in addition to the clout of leading the House, is third in line to the presidency.

The new Congress will be sworn in next month and it’s likely the process will be much more straightforward this time. Johnson is a Trump ally and Republicans in the House are keen to get on with the business of enacting the president’s agenda.

The other top Republicans in the House – Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who controls the legislative agenda and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who ensures that representatives stay in line – were also re-nominated to their posts.

Gary O’Donoghue
Senior North America correspondent

Let’s keep the focus on that meeting between Donald Trump and Joe Biden from earlier today.

For two men who clearly distinctly dislike one another, it can’t have been easy to sit down and chat for almost two hours.

So the White House description of the meeting as “cordial” and “gracious” does somewhat stretch credulity.

But given they did seem to get into substantive issues, it’s not surprising that Ukraine was right up there.

The outgoing National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, made an interesting argument in his post-game analysis of the discussion.

Not only did he say standing with Ukraine would be in America’s national interest, he posed the logic that this would be the best way to stop the US from being dragged into a war. It’s a Trump-shaped argument given the former president’s key boast is that he got involved in no wars in his first term.

According to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, there was also what she called a “back and forth”, and Donald Trump came with questions. What those questions were, she would not say.

From Biden’s point of view, a norm of presidential transition has been fulfilled; undoubtedly we’ll hear at some point what the president-elect made of it.

Earlier today President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump met in the Oval Office to discuss the transition from one administration to the other.

The White House has recently released some photographs of that meeting.

We do not yet know exactly what shape Donald Trump’s cabinet will look like, but here are some of the roles on a typical US presidential cabinet:

• The vice-president – JD Vance
• The White House chief of staff, who oversees the West Wing, and manages the president’s staff and schedule – Trump has selected his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles
• The heads of the federal government’s executive departments – agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, justice, labour, state, transportation, treasury, and veterans’ affairs
• The US ambassador to the United Nations – Trump has nominated New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik
• The director of national intelligence – Trump has nominated former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
• The head of the Environmental Protection Agency – Trump has nominated former New York congressman Lee Zeldin
• The US trade representative
• The head of the Office of Management and Budget, aka the government’s budget chief
• The head of the Council of Economic Advisers
• The head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
• The small business administrator

Gaetz is Trump’s wrecking ballpublished at 21:44 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

If Trump had simply nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general without comment it would have been a controversial pick.

The firebrand conservative congressman for Florida, who has been dogged by ethics investigations, is an unlikely choice for a position that typically goes to more senior politicians, well versed in law and with a healthy respect for the American judicial system.

In his social media post, however, the president-elect spelled out the message that he wants to send with this nomination. He is using Gaetz as a wrecking ball to demolish the Justice Department as it currently exists.

“Matt will root out the systemic corruption at the DOJ, and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution,” Trump wrote.

During the campaign, Trump promised retribution for the numerous investigations launched against him, several of which were initiated within the Biden administration’s Justice Department. Gaetz was one of Trump’s most ardent defenders during those investigations.

Now, it appears, Gaetz could be at the front lines of Trump’s efforts to bring to heel the Justice Department that so bedevilled him.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Donald Trump has been nominating people to be part of his administration all week. But it’s not as simple as saying, you’re hired.

Many of these nominations need to be confirmed in the Senate before they’re official.

US presidents have a shared power with the Senate to appoint judges, civil officers and confirm executive appointments.

Most nominations are routinely confirmed in the Senate without any pushback. But occasionally a nominee faces opposition, drawing out the process.

Nominees often have to testify before a committee at a congressional hearing. Then a vote is held to determine if the nominee moves on favourably, unfavourably or without recommendation to the Senate floor – where all senators cast a vote.

Each nominee then must receive a simple majority vote to be confirmed.

Many of the names that Trump has nominated – specifically those who will be heads of agencies – will need to go through this confirmation process.

There are some positions – such as the White House chief of staff, several roles in White House Executive Office and some assistant secretary roles – that do not require Senate confirmation despite being part of a president’s cabinet.

Newly-elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised today that he will work to move through Trump’s appointments quickly.

We’ve had a flurry of breaking news in the past hour, so let’s recap what happened:

• Donald Trump nominated Congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general
• He nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state
• And he nominated Tulsi Gabbard to be his director of national intelligence
• These roles require Senate approval, the upper chamber of Congress where Trump’s Republican Party hold a majority
• South Dakota Senator John Thune has been elected as the next Senate majority leader, replacing Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell
• Elsewhere, the Republicans also won control of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress
• Earlier, Trump met President Biden at the Oval Office, marking the start of the president-elect’s transition to the White House
• Trump told Biden that the transfer of power will be “so smooth”

We’ve had three big nominations from Donald Trump in the past half hour. One of them was Tulsi Gabbard, who he nominated for the role of director of national intelligence.

The former Democratic Party representative-turned-Republican has just taken to social media to say she’s looking forward to working with Trump.

“Thank you, @realDonaldTrump, for the opportunity to serve as a member of your cabinet to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people,” she says. “I look forward to getting to work.”

And a reminder that these nominations require Senate approval before they can take on the roles. The Republican party has a majority in the Senate.

With the news that Donald Trump will nominate Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general, let’s take a look at some of his bio.

Gaetz is a House Republican lawmaker who has represented Florida’s first congressional district since 2017.

The 42-year-old is an outspoken conservative who has made a name for himself as one of Donald Trump’s most loyal defenders on Capitol Hill.

A graduate of the William and Mary Law School, Gaetz has frequently sparked outrage with controversial remarks at committee hearings and in other public settings.

In the past few years, Gaetz has been accused of sex trafficking minors. The US Department of Justice did not bring charges against the congressman, but he remains under a House Ethics Committee probe.

Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing.

Gaetz was also the ringleader of the historic push to oust California Congressman Kevin McCarthy as the sitting Speaker of the House in October 2023. McCarthy has alleged a link between his removal and the ethics inquiry into Gaetz.

In the last few minutes, Donald Trump nominated Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general.

Gaetz has now reacted to the announcement, writing on X: “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!”

The breaking news keeps on coming. Donald Trump has just announced that he will nominate Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida to be the attorney general.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump says on his Truth Social platform.

Stick with us, we’ll bring you more updates very soon.

We’ve had two major picks announced by Donald Trump in the past few minutes, so we’re going to take a closer look at who they are.

Let’s start with Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

Rubio serves as the vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee.

He is considered a foreign policy “hawk” – meaning someone who takes hard-line positions – towards Iran as well as China.

While supportive of Ukraine, he previously said the country’s war with Russia needed to “be brought to a conclusion”.

Rubio and Trump were opponents in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and the two developed a bitter rivalry.

They clashed on a variety of issues – particularly immigration – and the conflict led to various insults. Trump referred to the senator as “little Marco” and Rubio mocked Trump’s “small hands”.

But Rubio went on to endorse his rival and campaigned for him ahead of the 2024 election. He was also in the frame to be Trump’s running mate – a role that ultimately went to JD Vance.

Rubio, the son of working-class Cuban immigrants, was first elected to the Senate in 2010.

On the back of that breaking news that Marco Rubio has been nominated for secretary of state, we have some more breaking news for you.

Donald Trump has nominated Tulsi Gabbard to be his Director of National Intelligence.

Stick with us, there’s plenty of big stories emerging in the world of US politics today.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has just put a statement out on X, after Donald Trump officially nominated him for the role of secretary of state.

“Leading the US Department of State is a tremendous responsibility and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me,” he says.

“I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the US Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20.”

Donald Trump has just nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be secretary of state.

We had previously reported that Senator Rubio was expected to be picked for this role.

In an emailed statement from Trump, he says:

“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom. He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”

Republicans have now won control of Congress – BBC’s US partner CBS News has projected majorities for the party in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

With a Republican administration coming to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump will have full support from two branches of the US government.

The President-elect will face a smoother path when it comes to accomplishing his policy priorities.

It also means there will likely be swift confirmation of presidential appointments – including cabinet nominees and judges – and Trump-backed legislation will be more likely to clear the legislative process with little opposition.

This isn’t the first time Trump has served in the White House with the Republican support from both the House and the Senate.

The Republican party controlled both chambers of Congress in 2017 and 2018 when Trump first entered office.

Trump bags a friendly Congress to enact his agendapublished at 19:26 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

It took a bit longer for all the votes to be counted, but the last piece of the Republican governing majority has fallen into place.

The election can now be called an unqualified success for the party, and Democrats – who were most optimistic about their chances of winning the House – are firmly in the political wilderness for at least the next two years.

By maintaining their hold on the House of Representatives, Donald Trump will have a friendly Congress ready to enact key pieces of his legislative agenda.

The majorities in both chambers are slim – which could cause some vote-counting headaches for party leaders – but at least in the early months of Trump’s second four-year term, the rank and file of the party will be eager to fall in line behind their newly restored chief executive.

Trump will also enjoy at least two years of limited congressional oversight.

A legislative chamber controlled by the opposition can be an unwanted thorn in a president’s side, as both Joe Biden and Trump in the second half of his first presidential term discovered.

We have some breaking news, the Republican Party has won the majority in the House of Representatives, BBC’s US partner CBS News projects.

The Republican Party is projected to win a minimum of 218 seats, with their final number likely ending up between 220-222 — a narrow majority.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.