Trump picks Rubio as secretary of state and Noem as DHS chief as new Cabinet takes shape: Live

New York Judge Juan Merchan is scheduled to decide today whether to overturn the president-elect’s conviction in his hush money trial based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

Judge Merchan, who presided over Trump’s historic trial this spring, must now decide whether to overturn the jury’s verdict and order a new trial – or even drop the charges entirely.

The judge’s decision could also determine whether the former and future commander-in-chief will be sentenced on November 26 as planned.

The Republican retook the White House a week ago, but the legal issue concerns his status as a former president, not the incoming one.

A jury convicted Trump in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in October 2016.

She used the payout to buy her silence on allegations that she had sex with Trump.

He says that’s not the case, denies any wrongdoing and claims the prosecution was a political tactic intended to harm his recent election campaign.

Just over a month after the verdict was handed down, the Supreme Court ruled that ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions they committed while leading the country and that prosecutors cannot even cite those actions to support a case. which is purely about personal behavior.

Trump’s lawyers cited the verdict as saying the hush money jury was given evidence it shouldn’t have, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form and statements from some White House aides.

Prosecutors disagreed, saying the evidence in question was only “a fraction” of their case.

Trump’s criminal conviction was a first for any former president.

The 78-year-old faced a penalty ranging from a fine or probation to a prison sentence of up to four years.

MAGA Republican Kari Lake has lost her Arizona Senate race to Democrat Ruben Gallego, who will become the Grand Canyon State’s first Latino senator.

Gallego’s victory prevents the GOP from further expanding its majority in the upper chamber of Congress and continues his party’s successful run in Arizona over the last decade, where voters have repeatedly rejected candidates endorsed by Donald Trump.

However, Trump himself beat Kamala Harris there in last week’s presidential election, thereby securing a clear victory in the swing states.

“Gracias, Arizona!” Gallego, 44, wrote on

Gallego is a five-term representative in the House of Representatives and a Marine Corps Reserve veteran of the Iraq War. He will replace Kyrsten Sinema, whose victory as a Democrat in 2018 created a formula that the party has successfully repeated since.

One last cabinet election and then we move on.

The president-elect is believed to be targeting former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, a man who “voted against environmental laws 85 percent of the time,” to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Another man likely to join Trump in Washington DC is Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who will follow in the footsteps of HR McMaster, John Bolton and Robert O’Brien if he is actually selected.

In another major appointment, the president-elect has named the Florida Republican lawmaker, a regular with him on the 2024 campaign, as the country’s top diplomat, sources said The New York Times on Monday evening.

The 53-year-old Cuban will be the first Latino to hold the position when Trump takes office in January.

He will face a geopolitical situation with several U.S. allies at war abroad, including Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion and Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

He is also expected to keep key campaign promises that are closer to his heart, such as dramatically reducing illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010 and was reportedly considered by Trump as a candidate for the 2024 run.

He is considered a hawk on both China and Iran and a staunch supporter of Israel.

Here’s more of it Graeme Massie And Josh Marcus.

The president-elect has chosen South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security in his upcoming term as his White House team continues to take shape.

Millions of people around the world may know Noem best after she revealed in her memoir earlier this year that she shot her disobedient dog, Cricket, an anecdote that was apparently intended to convey her leadership skills but may have cost her the chance Running as Trump’s vice presidential running mate, an honor that went instead to Ohio Senator JD Vance.

Here is James Liddell to his last appointment.

Donald Trump – who baselessly accuses President Joe Biden’s administration of “weaping” law enforcement and the court against him – will take office on January 20, 2025 and will have a range of executive powers.

He may soon be preparing to take revenge on those he believes have wronged him.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, essentially an arbiter of the Senate, is responsible for ensuring that lawmakers follow the rules that determine how legislation moves forward. And it is their role that could prove to be the final obstacle before Trump can implement comprehensive immigration reforms.

“The fear is that career leaders and career employees everywhere are either leaving or being displaced.”

The two celebrated Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetary on Monday, where the two laid a wreath as part of the annual ceremony. Biden then spoke at the ceremony and barely spoke about the election.

The event in Arlington is nonpartisan and the two appeared together in a celebratory procession. The vice president appeared stoic and without a hint of a smile during the ceremony, while Biden appeared slightly stiff and was fighting a cough. His eyes appeared to be closed during parts of the event.