Trump Transition Live Updates: Hegseth Promises to Stay in the Fight for Defense Secretary
“Where Things Stand
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for defense secretary, emerged from a meeting with Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, promising to fight for the job. “I’m a different man than I was years ago,” he said. “That’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate.” Support for him has flagged amid allegations that he committed sexual assault, drank to excess, sexually pursued female subordinates and mismanaged two nonprofits. Read more ›
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy met with Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday to discuss the new Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative created by Mr. Trump to find ways to impose major cuts and reforms to the federal government. Representative Dusty Johnson of South Dakota described the meeting as largely an opportunity for lawmakers to offer suggestions for cost-cutting measures. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy each spoke for roughly a minute before turning the meeting over to lawmakers, he said.
Mr. Trump said on Wednesday evening that he would nominate Billy Long, formerly a Republican congressman representing Missouri, to lead the Internal Revenue Service. Separately, Mr. Trump said he wanted Kelly Loeffler, a top Republican donor and former Georgia senator, to head the Small Business Administration, and Frank Bisignano, the chairman of the payment processing behemoth Fiserv, to be the commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Here’s how his administration is shaping up.
transcript
‘You Are Out of Line’: Acting Secret Service Director Clashes With Congressman
A congressional hearing on Thursday erupted into a shouting match. Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting Secret Service director, accused Representative Pat Fallon, Republican of Texas, of politicizing a 9/11 memorial event.
“Do you recognize this photo?” “Yes, sir, I do.” “OK. Is that a remembrance of Sept. 11?” “It was.” “Was it in New York?” “It was at ground zero.” “Who is usually at an event like this, closest to the president of the United States, security-wise?” “The SAC of the detail.” “Special agent in charge of the detail. Were you the special agent in charge of the detail that day?” “Actually, let me address this. Could you please, staff leave — no, leave that one up with the circle around me. Thank you. So actually, Congressman, what you’re not seeing is the SAC of the detail off out of the picture’s view. And that is the day where we remember the more than 3,000 people that have died on 9/11. I actually responded to ground zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills.” “I’m not asking you that. I’m asking you —” “Congressman —” “Were you the special agent in charge —” “I was there to show respect for a Secret Service member that died on 9/11.” “You’re trying to be —” “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes.” “I’m not. I’m invoking this —” “You are, sir.” “Gentleman —” “You are out of line.” “Committee will come to order.” “I’m asking you serious questions for the American people, and they’re very simple. They’re not trick questions. Were you the special agent in charge of that day?” “No, I wasn’t. I was there representing the United States Secret Service.” “I’m just asking you yes or no?” “Mr. Fallon, your time has expired.” “It did not affect —” “You know why you were there? Because you wanted to be visible, because you are auditioning for this job that you’re not going to get.” “I was there to pay respect for a fallen member of this agency.”
The acting director of the Secret Service and a Republican congressman from Texas got into a shouting match in a congressional hearing on Thursday over the acting director’s appearance in an official photo during a remembrance ceremony in New York on Sept. 11.
Representative Pat Fallon, Republican of Texas, accused the agency’s acting director, Ronald L. Rowe Jr., of being out of place in a set photograph with President Biden and others, suggesting that it is not the role of the Secret Service director to be front-and-center at an event like that.
Congressional Memo
As far as congressional meetings go, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s huddle with Republicans was remarkably efficient.
The moguls whom President-elect Donald J. Trump has charged with producing a federal government marked by “more efficiency and less bureaucracy” — the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — arrived on Capitol Hill on Thursday for a series of sitdowns with lawmakers that culminated in an afternoon session open to all congressional Republicans.
The House just finished voting on the second resolution. As expected, Republicans blocked this one, too, voting to refer it back to the committe. The vote on the second resolution was 204-198, along party lines.
The House is now voting on the second of two resolutions calling for the Ethics Committee to release the results of its investigation into former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. Republicans blocked the first resolution, instead voting to refer the resolution back to the committee. The vote was 206-198, along party lines, with Republicans voting to block its release and Democrats voting to move ahead with making it public.
The House is also expected to take action tonight on a Democratic resolution that would force the Ethics Committee to release the report on former Representative Matt Gaetz. Republicans are planning a move to kill that measure, which would block the material from coming out.
Almost three hours after going into its meeting, the secretive House Ethics Committee released a brief statement that offered almost no information about the status of the highly anticipated ethics report on former Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida.
“The Committee met today to discuss the matter of Representative Matt Gaetz,” the committee said. “The Committee is continuing to discuss the matter. There will be no further statements other than in accordance with Committee and House Rules.”
The committee is still deliberating about whether to release the report to the public.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s embattled choice for secretary of defense, vowed on Thursday to keep fighting to earn votes for his confirmation, calling himself a “redemption story” as he defiantly rejected the notion that he would step aside in the face of allegations of past misconduct.
“We’re going to earn those votes,” Mr. Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill as he emerged from a day of private meetings with Republican senators. “As long as Donald Trump wants me here in this fight, I’m going to be standing here in this fight.”
Representative Dusty Johnson of South Dakota emerged from Republicans’ meeting with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, describing it as largely an opportunity for lawmakers to offer suggestions for cost-cutting measures. Musk and Ramaswamy each spoke for roughly a minute before turning the meeting over to lawmakers, he said.
Hegseth pledged to continue to fight for every senator’s vote so long as he remained Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon.
“As long as Donald Trump wants me here in this fight, I’m going to be standing here in this fight,” he said.
Hegseth turned combative when asked about the allegations of his sexual impropriety, public drunkenness and managerial incompetence. “I will answer all of these senators’ questions, but this will not be a process tried in the media,” he said. “I don’t answer to anyone in this group. None of you, not to that camera at all.” He added that he answers only to President Trump, the senators, Jesus Christ and his family.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for secretary of defense, emerged from a meeting with Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, promising to plow ahead. “We’re going to earn those votes,” he said, adding that he had had “a great week” speaking with senators, despite mounting allegations that he engaged in sexual impropriety, public drunkenness, and mismanagement of his veterans nonprofits — allegations that have given several senators pause about his fitness to serve in the cabinet.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Hegseth did not address specific questions about his past conduct. When asked if he had discussed his drinking with senators, he said that he was a different person than he was when the events in question occurred.
“We’ve had great conversations about who I am, what I believe, and finally the man I am today,” he added. “I’m a different man than I was years ago. That’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate.”
Ahead of Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk’s meeting at the Capitol with congressional Republicans to discuss the new Department of Government Efficiency, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters: “There won’t be a lot of detail for the press today, and that’s by design, because this is a brainstorming session. It is the first of a long series of meetings that will be held as we’re laying the groundwork for the new year and the new Congress.”
Collins also confirmed that she would meet next week with Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, although she did not know which day the meeting would take place.
Collins said she had a “whole host” of issues she wants to discuss with Hegseth, including the allegations against him as well as the role of women in the military. (Hegseth has said that he does not believe women should serve in combat roles.)
Senator Susan Collins, the moderate Republican who will chair the Senate Appropriations Committee starting in January, met for more than an hour in her office with Elon Musk on Thursday for an “informal one-on-one discussion” about improving government efficiency and saving taxpayers' money. She said he did not have a presentation prepared or discuss any specifics about where to make budget cuts.
“We did not go through any kind of list of cuts or anything like that,” Collins told reporters in the Capitol. “I had an excellent meeting with him.”
As the leader of the Appropriations Committee, Collins will have control over the spending bills that fund the government.
Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, declined on Thursday to commit to supporting Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice for defense secretary, after a high-stakes private meeting with him on Wednesday that came as Mr. Trump weighed dumping him.
Ms. Ernst told Fox News that she remained unconvinced after a “frank and thorough conversation” with Mr. Hegseth that came as he made the rounds on Capitol Hill laboring to persuade senators that he was fit for the job.
Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, said he still believed that Pete Hegseth could be confirmed as defense secretary.
“I believe he has a path forward, and I think he has the right vision for the department,” Rounds told reporters, adding that Hegseth would nonetheless have to be prepared to publicly respond to the allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.
Senator-elect Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, on Thursday offered a full endorsement of Pete Hegseth as the next defense secretary, saying he’s “going to make America strong again and our enemies fear us again.”
“Pete is focused on what I’m focused on, which is getting wokeness out of the military and making our Department of Defense lethal again,” Banks added.
Hegseth has already met with two Republican senators this morning — Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Rounds of South Dakota. His next appointment is with Senator-elect Jim Banks of Indiana. Later this afternoon he will meet with Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Before Donald J. Trump picked him to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth spoke often about a medieval military campaign that he saw as a model for today: the Crusades, in which Christian warriors from Western Europe embarked on ruthless missions to wrest control of Jerusalem and other areas under Muslim rule.
As he embraced a combative brand of Christianity in recent years, he wrote that people who enjoy the benefits of Western civilization should “thank a Crusader.” On his arm, he has a tattoo with the words “Deus Vult,” which he has described as a “battle cry” of the Crusades.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, is back on Capitol Hill today for another day of meetings with Republican senators. Senator Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican who met with Hegseth on Wednesday for a “frank and thorough conversation,” indicated on Fox News this morning that the meeting did not move her to a firm “yes” on Hegseth’s nomination.
“It doesn’t sound like you have come to a ‘yes.’ If I’m wrong about that, correct me,” said Bill Hemmer, the Fox News host. Ernst did not correct him. “And if that is the case, it sounds to me as if the hearing will be critical for his nomination. Am I right about that?”
“I think you are right,” Ernst said. “I think for a number of our senators, they want to make sure that any allegations are cleared, and that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting process.”
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are making the rounds with Republicans on Capitol Hill today to discuss the new Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative created by President-elect Trump to find ways to impose major cuts and reforms to the federal government. The day’s planned stops include a bicameral meeting of lawmakers at 3 p.m.
President-elect Trump announced on Wednesday night that he had chosen Frank Bisignano, the chairman of the payment processing behemoth Fiserv, to be the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, a sizable federal agency with more than 1,200 field offices and almost 60,000 employees.
“Frank is a business leader, with a tremendous track record of transforming large corporations,” the president-elect said in a post on social media. “He will be responsible to deliver on the Agency’s commitment to the American People.”
Almost from the moment he first went on air at Fox News as a contributor, Pete Hegseth’s star on the nation’s most powerful conservative media outlet was on the rise. A decorated combat veteran, Mr. Hegseth became the weekend anchor of the popular “Fox & Friends” show and a familiar presence to viewers across the country, including President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Trump was so impressed that he named Mr. Hegseth, 44, as his choice to head the Department of Defense. But less familiar to Fox News viewers — and presumably to Mr. Trump — was what had been happening behind the scenes at the network.
President-elect Donald J. Trump chose Kelly Loeffler, a top donor to Mr. Trump’s 2024 campaign and a former Georgia senator, to head the Small Business Administration.
“Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. “She will focus on ensuring that SBA is accountable to Taxpayers by cracking down on waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach.”
President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he would nominate Billy Long, a former Missouri congressman, to lead the Internal Revenue Service, effectively pledging to fire the tax collector’s current leader, a Biden appointee.
Mr. Long, after losing a Senate primary in 2022, has hawked a pandemic-era tax credit that has been riddled by fraud and cost the government billions more than expected. Lawmakers have tried to shut down the tax credit, and the I.R.S. temporarily stopped processing claims, among other measures, to root out false applications for the tax break.“
No comments:
Post a Comment