Wednesday morning news: November 13, 2024

Trump appointments and nominations » President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time whatsoever filling top jobs in his administration. He has just filled several more positions, including Secretary of Defense, nominating Pete Hegseth, known to many as a host on the Fox News network. Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He’s heard here on Fox discussing his military service:

HEGSETH:  I'm a product of being in that moment where your country's at war, uh, and you can either go use the skill sets you have and be there with your brothers or not.

Trump has also reportedly picked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, though the president-elect has not confirmed that.

But he has confirmed that he is nominating South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for Homeland Security Secretary.

He has also tapped former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to head the CIA, as well as Congressman Mike Waltz for National Security Advisor.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is Trump’s choice to be Ambassador to Israel. And Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon welcomed that news.

DANON: I think he will be a great ambassador to Israel. He is very familiar with the facts on the ground.

Real estate executive Steven Witkoff will serve as special envoy to the Middle East.

William Joseph McGinley will serve as White House Counsel

And Trump says Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will work with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy … to lead what the president-elect calls the new Department of Government Efficiency.

Despite the title, that will not be a government department, but will instead provide “advice and guidance from outside government” on eliminating government waste.

Speaker Johnson remarks, election update » House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans are “ready to deliver” on President-elect Donald Trump’s mandate.

JOHNSON:  We believe we could be the most consequential Congress of the modern era and he, the most consequential president because we quite literally have to fix almost every metric of public policy. Everything is a mess. Everything.

Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with the House GOP leadership, Johnson said Republicans won't make the mistakes of the first term and will be more prepared for a second-term Trump White House.

Trump is set to meet today with House Republicans on Capitol Hill right before meeting with President Biden in the Oval Office - at the president’s invitation.

And it appears quite likely that Republicans will keep their slim House majority and maybe even add a seat or two.

JOHNSON: We expect that the majority will be larger than last time. We still have a number of races outstanding, but we're very optimistic about those.

With ballots still being counted, the GOP needs to win at least four more seats to retain a majority. There are 15 races still undecided.

NYC Trump case ruling delay » A judge has delayed a decision on whether President-elect Donald Trump's convictions in his New York business fraud trial should be thrown out.

Judge Juan Merchan was originally scheduled to rule on the case this week, but he's agreed to delay that decision until next Monday.

Trump’s attorneys have argued in part that the convictions should be dismissed because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that presidents enjoy immunity for actions taken as part of their official duties.

George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin says if even if the judge rules that the sentencing should go forward

SOMIN: It's very unlikely that there will be a prison sentence for Trump, and if there is a sentence of some other kind—like probation, fine—it probably won't impede him very much.

A jury in May convicted the president-elect on nearly three-dozen felony counts of falsifying business records. It was a highly unusual case in that the alleged crimes normally would have been misdemeanors.

Trump maintains his innocence and that the case was politically motivated.

Pentagon leaker sentenced » A federal judge has sentenced a man convicted of leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine to 15 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy:

LEVY: Today, Mr. Teixeira has paid a very heavy price for the laws he broke and for the incredible damage that he caused.

22-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act.

10 Commandments ruling » A federal judge has blocked a Louisiana law that requires The Ten Commandments to be displayed in school classrooms. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued a preliminary injunction … saying the law is “unconstitutional on its face.”

He said the law had an “overtly religious” purpose … and said opponents of the law are likely to win a lawsuit aimed at striking it down.

State officials argue that the law is constitutional … because the commandments hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law.

Louisiana’s attorney general has vowed to appeal the decision.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Archbishop of Canterbury » Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned Tuesday, after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about an abuse scandal at summer camps.

The archbishop was the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion.

An investigation found that Welby learned about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at summer camps, but did not report it to authorities. The abuse occurred both in England and in Africa.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: presidents are known for their policies, and the people they surround themselves with. President elect Trump has been busy this week announcing cabinet positions, Washington Wednesday is next.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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