Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy to lead the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department.
- Trump announced in a written statement on social media:
- I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health. The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country. Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!
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Important Takeaways:
- Tensions between Iran and Israel remain heightened as Tehran’s military heads on Thursday once again pledged a crushing response to Jerusalem’s strikes last month, and the U.N.’s atomic watchdog is scrambling to prevent a nuclear escalation.
- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi traveled to Iran this week to hold high level meetings with Iranian officials in a move to hold Tehran accountable for prior nuclear safeguarding pledges and to get clarity on where Iran’s nuclear program stands.
- However, even as Tehran continues to develop its nuclear program despite international attempts to stall it, Grossi also issued a warning message to Israel, stating clearly that Iran’s “nuclear installations should not be attacked.”
- Grossi’s comments came during a news conference Thursday and just three days after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said that Iran was “more exposed than ever [for] strikes on its nuclear facilities.”
- “We have the opportunity to achieve our most important goal – to thwart and eliminate the existential threat to the State of Israel,” he added.
- The White House has repeatedly warned Israel to not go after Iran’s nuclear sites, though as the Biden administration prepares to leave come January, when President-elect Donald Trump retakes the Oval Office, the U.S. official stance on Israeli strike options could change.
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Important Takeaways:
- Some staff members at the Food and Drug Administration are considering a quick exit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated as a potential health official in the incoming Trump administration, according to three former and one current government official who were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive issues. The former officials are still in touch with colleagues who work at the FDA.
- Staff turnover is typical when a new administration comes in, and a significant number of FDA employees similarly considered leaving before President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office, said one former and one current official. At the time, there were also concerns about what the FDA would look like under the first Trump administration.
- This time, however, there’s an added layer of anxiety outside Trump: Kennedy.
- Trump has said he’ll let the former independent presidential candidate and vaccine skeptic “go wild on health.” Meanwhile, Kennedy is promising a shakeup at the federal health agencies, including the FDA, telling NBC News the day after the election that “in some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that are, that have to go.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukraine has the resources and expertise to indigenously produce a large quantity of nuclear weapons at short notice if it was forced to do so, a briefing document meant for top government figures allegedly says, a report states.
- A briefing produced for the Ukrainian defense ministry allegedly explaining to policy makers that the country could rapidly develop rudimentary nuclear bombs from spent fuel rods and long-range ballistic missiles to carry them states this could be achieved in just months.
- Claimed as an exclusive by The Times of London, the document is presented by the newspaper as illustrating a potential backstop for the country to defend itself from the Russian Federation if the United States under a Trump Presidency withdrew military support. President Trump has made clear he wishes to bring peace to Europe quickly, but has not yet revealed how. Many of the options open to him do not align with the official Kyiv policy as the only acceptable end to the war being total victory over Russia.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hegseth served in the US Army and did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan
- Pete Hegseth has been selected by President-elect Trump to serve as his secretary of defense.
- “I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense. Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement.
- “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy… They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.”
- President-elect Donald Trump announced he has picked Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk and entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to “lead the Department of Government Efficiency.”
- In a press release from the Trump-Vance transition team, Trump praised Musk and Ramaswamy as being “wonderful Americans” who would “pave the way” for his administration to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy” and “slash excess regulations.”
- “I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’). Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies — Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” Trump said in his statement.
- The press release continued:
- It will become, potentially, “The Manhattan Project” of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of “DOGE” for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.
- I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.” Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A small Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!
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Important Takeaways:
- John Ratcliffe, who served as President-elect Trump’s principal intelligence advisor during his first presidential term, has been picked to serve as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency during Trump’s second term.
- Ratcliffe is one of several appointees announced in the past week who will fill key positions during Trump’s second term.
- “From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the FBI’s abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump said in a statement. “When 51 intelligence officials were lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American People.”
- Trump honored Ratcliffe in 2020 with the National Security Medal, the highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security.
- “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” said Trump. “He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
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Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald J. Trump is appointing Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic presidential candidate, as Director of National Intelligence. The Iraq War veteran, noted for her opposition to neoconservative “forever wars,” campaigned for Trump during the 2024 presidential election, arguing a vote for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was tantamount to “a vote for Dick Cheney.”
- “I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence,” Trump confirmed in a statement on the appointment, adding: “For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans.”
- “As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!” he added.
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Important Takeaways:
- Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has resigned from his congressional seat after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to serve as Attorney General in his administration.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced and confirmed that Gaetz’s resignation was “effective immediately” and that a special election will be held in his congressional district.
- Mike Johnson revealed that Gaetz stepped down from his post due to a state law that gives an “8-week period to select and fill a vacant seat.”
- “If you start the clock now, if you do the math, we may be able to fill that seat as early as Jan. 3 when we take the new oath of office for the new Congress,” Johnson explained of Gaetz’s reasoning.
- “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” he said.
- “On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization,” he added.
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Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald Trump has named Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik as his pick for UN ambassador.
- “I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement, confirming CNN’s reporting Sunday that Stefanik was offered the role.
- The New York congresswoman, the fourth-ranking House Republican, has been a strong ally of the president-elect and a major fundraiser for the GOP.
- The choice of Stefanik signals a more combative US posture toward the UN. Stefanik has frequently criticized the international organization, particularly over its criticism of Israel, and last month said the Biden administration should consider a “complete reassessment” of US funding for the UN if the Palestinian Authority continues to pursue a push to revoke Israel’s UN membership.
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