Trump’s White House… reloaded

President-elect Donald Trump is slowly revealing who will — and who will not — be a part of his second administration come 2025. 

As a reminder, last week Trump announced campaign co-manager Susie Wiles as his chief-of-staff.

Over the weekend, Trump rebuffed Nikki Haley, who previously served as Trump’s UN ambassador, and Mike Pompeo, who was Trump’s secretary of state. “I will not be inviting former ambassador Nikki Haley, or former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country.” Haley and Pompeo both endorsed Trump after the GOP primary, but have likely been branded too hawkish for the second administration. Trump instead chose Representative Elise Stefanik for UN ambassador; the New York congresswoman made a name for herself with her aggressive questioning of major university presidents about campus antisemitism, which lead to several resignations. Trump’s shortlist for secretary of state reportedly includes former ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Bill Hagerty.

Trump also announced that former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan will be his “border czar,” overseeing virtually all aspects of immigration policy. Homan was one of the toughest Trump administration officials when it came to border security and was reportedly behind plans for a “zero-tolerance” policy on illegal crossings. The zero-tolerance policy was dubbed the “family separation policy” by the media and Democrats because of the Flores settlement requiring detained migrant adults to be held separately from children. Homan will be tasked with executing the president-elect’s planned mass deportations.

Another clue that immigration will be a key component of Trump’s second term? Stephen Miller, former senior policy advisor to Trump who was one of the most notable immigration hawks in the White House, has been tapped to serve as the deputy chief for policy. After Trump left office, Miller launched his own project, America First Legal, a law non-profit that says it is dedicated to defending civil rights and America’s first principles. They notched several big victories in cases regarding discrimination against white Americans, so don’t be surprised if Trump swiftly dismantles DEI initiatives in the federal government. 

This afternoon, Trump sent out an email blast announcing that former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who many credited with helping Republicans hold the House in the 2022 midterms, will lead the Environmental Protection Agency. 

-Amber Duke

On our radar 

HAPPY VETERANS DAY TO ALL WHO SERVED President Biden led a ceremony to honor veterans at Arlington Cemetery today, the first time he has appeared alongside Vice President Kamala Harris since her election defeat. “This is the last time I will stand here at Arlington as commander-in-chief for the greatest honor of my life.”

SCHUMER SNUB Pennsylvania senator-elect Dave McCormick was denied an invitation to attend the US Senate orientation for newly elected officials, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer does not consider his race against Democrat Bob Casey to be over. Casey has not conceded the race, but according to the New York Times, trails McCormick by nearly 40,000 votes. 

SANCTUARY STATES Governors of California, Massachusetts and Illinois have pledged not to allow state law enforcement officials to cooperate with federal plans to carry out mass deportations. Massachusetts governor Maura Healey said, “I think that the key here is that every tool in the toolbox has gotta be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and protect our states.” 

DEMS EAT THEIR OWN Prominent Democrats called on Representative Seth Moulton to resign after he cast doubt on the party’s approval of male participation in women’s and girls’ sports. Moulton doubled down after the backlash, arguing that “sham[ing] voters” for bringing up “difficult topics” is part of the reason they lost the 2024 election. 

Congress fights over control 

Election junkies rejoice: while the biggest of 2024’s elections are in the rearview mirror, the House and Senate are deep in the throes of electing their leaders for the next conference.

Despite an abysmal election for the Democratic Party, which will find itself locked out of all federal power come January, there has been minimal on-the-record clamoring for leadership changes. Both New Yorkers, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, look poised to remain in control of the Democrats in their respective chambers — and all of their lieutenants look safe, too.

Things are far less certain across the aisle, however.

In the Senate, Senators John Thune, John Cornyn and Rick Scott are mounting bids to succeed Senator Mitch McConnell as the leader of the incoming Senate GOP majority. Each comes to the table with different strengths — and President-elect Donald Trump has been mostly content to watch the fray from the sidelines.

Thune is the logical successor to McConnell, as the current number two Republican in the chamber. He also already boasts a powerful endorsement from NRSC chair Steve Daines, who has immense goodwill with the only voters who matter in this election: the fifty-three returning and newly elected Senate Republicans. Thune also worked closely on one of the GOP’s top legislative priorities, the original Trump tax cuts, which both chambers are likely to work quickly to extend.

Cornyn, the other John vying for the roll, boasts a lifetime total of almost half a billion dollars raised for Senate Republicans, a crucial calling card given the Democratic Party’s legions of mega donors. He also quickly broke out of the establishment typecast mold by rolling out an endorsement from the freshly reelected Senator Josh Hawley.

Scott’s case is interesting: many of his backers are coming from outside the Senate, none more prominent than Elon Musk. Scott’s popularity has relied on a group of highly online followers who have been channeling their anger with GOP inaction, right or wrongly placed, at McConnell. The election itself is currently a secret ballot, which may spell trouble for Scott, who isn’t well-liked within the chamber and was accused of poor leadership as head of the NRSC during the 2022 midterms.

The role for the number two slot is uncontested: Trump endorsed Senator John Barrasso, who presumably has it locked up. For the number three role, two veterans are duking it out: Senator Tom Cotton, who quickly ruled out joining a Trump administration, and Senator Joni Ernst. The quest to succeed Daines at the NRSC looks tranquil: Senator Tim Scott is poised to claim the mantle.

On the House side, there are currently no rumors of challenges to any of the top Republicans. However, GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik will be leaving Congress shortly to become America’s ambassador to the United Nations, and several Republicans are mounting bids to succeed her, including Representatives Lisa McClain, Erin Houchin and Blake Moore.

Finally, North Carolina congressman Richard Hudson signed up for another two years helming the NRCC, which will be massively important during the final midterm cycle of Trump’s presidency.

Once the dust has settled from these match-ups, the fun will still continue: there are several high-profile fights to come over top committee chairmanships. 

–Matthew Foldi

The world comes to terms with Trump 2.0

One of the first world leaders to celebrate Donald Trump’s win was Benjamin Netanyahu. Offering congratulations for the president-elect’s “historic” victory, the Israeli prime minister said the election “offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on X: “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs.”

America’s adversaries appeared less celebratory. Russian president Vladimir Putin did not publicly congratulate Trump until Friday. The day before, Trump and Putin reportedly had their first phone call. During the call, Trump reportedly told Putin not to escalate in Ukraine, reminding him of the US’s incredible military presence in Europe.

As for China, CNN reports that Chinese president Xi Jinping congratulated Trump Wednesday via phone call. Publicly, however, Xi is quiet.

China’s foreign ministry on Thursday cited Xi as saying that he wishes both powers will  “uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.” The statement is evidence of Chinese worry following a Trump 1.0 administration marked by its strategic use of tariffs, which Trump has continued to embrace.

In Washington, talks of renowned “Indo-Pacific First” strategist Elbridge Colby securing a prominent role in the second Trump administration are recurring. Atlanticists fear that a second Trump administration, pushing for Europeans to do more in their own region, would entail appeasing Putin.

–Juan P. Villasmil