Washington, United States:

It is not a job that she would have had on her bucket list, but a gracious Kamala Harris put on a brave face — and even a broad grin — on Monday as she presided over the certification of her defeat to Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.

The US Constitution requires that vice presidents — in their secondary role as president of the Senate — run the show when Congress holds its joint session to formally tally electoral college votes and name the new president.

The task can be more painful and unpleasant, though, for those statesmen and women such as Harris who end up having to officiate at the confirmation of their own electoral failure.

But Harris’s magnanimity could not have been in sharper contrast to Trump’s reaction to his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020.

She beamed as she received a standing ovation on reading out her vote total, before declaring that the official count “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration” for Trump to take his oath of office on January 20.

Harris had accepted defeat in November in a timely manner, unlike Trump in 2020, when he pressured government officials and members of Congress to reverse his defeat — earning himself impeachment and federal indictment.

His claims spurred his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a violent bid to stop lawmakers from certifying his loss two months earlier to Joe Biden.

Harris, a former prosecutor, did not indulge in the baseless claims of voter fraud that Trump repeats to this day and launched no legal claims echoing the dozens of frivolous lawsuits that Trump’s allies filed in 2020.

During the ceremony itself she exchanged polite small talk with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and, afterwards, hosted a press conference to argue for the peaceful transfer of power as a fundamental principle of US democracy.

“I do believe very strongly that America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for — every single person, their willingness to fight for — and respect the importance of our democracy,” Harris told reporters.

“Otherwise, it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, America’s democracy stood.”

Harris lost all the swing states to Trump but was beaten in the popular vote by less than 1.5 percent, making it one of the closest elections in US history.

She has not revealed what she plans next, but has been pressed by allies to run again in 2028 or seek the governorship of her home state, California.

Harris is not the first vice president to have to preside over the certification of her own election defeat.

Richard Nixon in 1960 and Al Gore in 2000 faced the same difficult task after close, contentious elections and approached their duty with the same grace as Harris, generating standing ovations from members of both parties.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington DC:

Elon Musk spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Donald Trump win November’s presidential election, according to new filings, underscoring the influence one of the world’s wealthiest people had on this year’s White House race.

The billionaire owner of electric car maker Tesla and SpaceX gave $259 million to groups supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to new Federal Election Commission filings released late on Thursday.

The huge donations made Musk one of the biggest underwriters of a presidential campaign in U.S. history, helping him to become a powerful political ally of Trump and someone who now plays a key role in shaping the incoming Republican administration’s policy agenda.

Musk gave $239 million to America PAC, a super PAC he founded to help turn out voters for Trump.

In late October Musk gave an additional $20 million to RBG PAC, a group that sought to convince voters that Trump would not sign into a law a national abortion ban, according to the FEC filings. The group’s name refers to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon known for her support of abortion rights.

Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, has emerged as a close advisor in Trump’s transition team. Trump has chosen him, along with former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to head a task force aimed at slashing government spending and regulations.

Musk and Ramaswamy met on Capitol Hill on Thursday with lawmakers whose support they will need to win the sweeping spending cuts Trump has asked them to find.

The two men have called for firing thousands of federal workers, slashing regulations and eliminating programs whose authorization has expired, such as veterans’ healthcare.

Musk has also been a regular fixture and Trump confidante at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago Florida estate during the transition.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is poised to kick off his second term at the White House, a four-year stint that will likely see major shifts in domestic and foreign policy and transform the functioning of a wide range of American public institutions. The fact that he defied the odds, as predicted by pollsters and some sections of the U.S. media, to sweep the seven swing States of the country in the 2024 election, win both the popular vote and the electoral college, and end the presidential run of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the disenchantment of the electorate with the previous administration, the reasons for which are still being debated widely.

Yet, it also says something about the entity that is Donald Trump, a man who remains a saviour to some, an enigma to others, and a symbol of an abhorrent brand of politics to many, including, perhaps, the majority of the 73 million who voted for Ms. Harris. To understand what the next four years portend for the U.S. and for the world, it is instructive to peer through the haze of weaponised propaganda on all sides and disambiguate what Mr. Trump truly stands for.

Mr. Trump has worn many hats over the long arc of his 78 years, and as he dons the mantle of the oldest President to enter the Oval Office, the sheer dexterity with which he has moved across career ‘avatars’ — from inheritor of a real estate empire to a cult TV show personality and then the head of a sprawling conglomerate to ultimately being a two-term President — reflects on the deep changeability of his core, and the lack of a fixed view — his detractors would call them values — on his professional mission.

Born in Queens, New York, in 1946, as the son of a successful real estate developer, Mr. Trump studied at the New York Military Academy and the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. When he took control of the company of his father, Fred Trump, in 1971, he named it the Trump Organization, a corporate group that would go on to operate in a range of sectors, including commercial and residential buildings, resorts, hotels, golf courses, and casinos.

Among his several books was The Art of the Deal, published in 1987, which offers early hints about his belief that dealmaking is the true measure of success and the sole means to achieve it — a paradigm that runs contrary to the long-standing belief in, say, the U.S. State Department, that successful diplomacy entails “patiently building and deepening alliances and partnerships… playing a constructive role in regional institutions and investing time, at the highest levels, in regional summits”.

In a move that once again reflected what appeared to be Mr. Trump’s devotion to gimmickry and theatrics, at whose altar the loyalty of all his employees would be tested and judged, in 2004, he launched the hit reality television show The Apprentice. With his now famous dismissal line of “You’re Fired” going viral as a pop culture meme, the show solidified Mr. Trump’s credentials in the world of entertainment television, even if it prompted questions about his business ethics as they applied broadly across the Trump Organization. Especially by the time of his first presidential campaign in 2015, it became clear that no major U.S. company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection more than Mr. Trump’s Atlantic City casino empire in the last 30 years — four distinct filings. In each of those cases, the implied corporate restructuring allowed Mr. Trump’s companies to stay afloat while shedding the unsustainable debt that it owed to banks, employees and suppliers.

Surprise win in 2016

With his record steeped in Wall Street shenanigans and proximity to power-broking at the highest echelons of the system, it came as a shock to many that Mr. Trump rose to meteoric heights in his campaign for the 2016 presidential election, all the while marketing himself as a man of the people, the saviour of blue-collar jobs in the Rust Belt, and as a political maverick far removed from Washington’s elite policymaking circles. Even his campaign slogan, ‘Make America Great Again’, was widely marketed to the benefit of the Trump campaign — reports suggest that, in a single year during 2024 alone, more than a million hats were sold at $40 per piece. However, on the eve of the 2016 election, major newspapers projected 90% odds that his rival, Democrat and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would win the presidency — a failure by the U.S. mainstream media to recognise that Mr. Trump was in fact at the helm of a global nativist-populist movement that was poised to upturn the liberal economic consensus in the West and deglobalise its trade, investment and strategic cooperation paradigm by gradually eroding the rules-based international order.

Also read: Trump hush money trial highlights

While he lost the popular vote to Ms. Clinton, the electoral college saved Mr. Trump and put him in the White House for his first term, four years that witnessed a slew of policies that flew in the face of received wisdom for public policy on immigration, healthcare, defence and foreign relations. While his eyebrow-raising record as the 45th 46th Commander in Chief is well known, his most controversial policy outcomes included bungling mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic response that led to “tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths”; his broad-brush hostility towards minority demographics exemplified in the ‘Muslim ban’ and family separations carried out against undocumented migrants; his triggering of a trade war due to protectionist trade policies, including tariffs on in foreign aluminium, steel, and other products; his attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into seeking evidence of corruption against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter; and, most egregiously, his role in encouraging a violent mob that attacked and ransacked the U.S. Capitol buildings in early 2021 disputing his certified loss to Mr. Biden in the presidential election a few months earlier.

Yet, two impeachments, four criminal indictments, one fraud case conviction and an $83.3 million sexual assault judgement later, Mr. Trump has not just apparently won redemption in the eyes of the American voters, but has romped home to the White House on the back of a “red shift” in voting patterns that impacted almost every State — red and blue — in his favour. This time, post-election analyses suggest, independent and undecided voters in swing States were not even debating major questions of economic policy, such as the actual performance record of the Biden White House. Instead, it was “media appearances” such as the three-hour podcast conversation between Mr. Trump and Joe Rogan, a popular conservative commentator, that appeared to shift the mood in favour of Mr. Trump, as much as the optics of Mr. Trump warning Americans from the campaign podium about the dangers of unchecked immigration.

A Cabinet of loyalists

Now that Mr. Trump has the backing of the federal government trifecta — the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate controlled by the Republican Party — and a Supreme Court stacked with a 6-3 majority favouring conservative justices, he has a relatively free hand to reshape U.S. policy and institutions. The Cabinet that he has picked appears to have prioritised personal loyalty through the campaign season above all else — his former associates-turned-detractors, including Nikki Haley, have been sidelined, and instead a new cohort of conservatives has been picked despite their glaring lack of prior experience in the White House.

Notable among them are Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, Tom Homan as “border czar”, Pete Hegseth as Defence Secretary, Lee Zeldin as EPA Administrator, Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as heads of Department of Government Efficiency.

While Ms. Wiles has experience as a political operative in Florida, Mr. Rubio, who hails from the same State, is known to be a hawk on China. Mr. Gaetz was once under investigation for sex trafficking of underage girls and is known as a MAGA lawmaker in the House who fiercely defended Mr. Trump and his policies on the floor on several occasions. Mr. Kennedy has been described as “a hardcore anti-vaccine and misinformation peddler [and the] last time he meddled in a state’s medical affairs (Samoa), 83 children died of measles.” Ms. Gabbard does not have any experience in intelligence and she is staunchly opposed to U.S. support to Ukraine in the latter’s fight against the Russian invasion. Reports also suggest that her “views on Russia and her 2017 meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad have drawn controversy.”

Mr. Homan was the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the first Trump administration and Mr. Trump has said he “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin”. While Mr. Hegseth has experience as an Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, he has since been a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekends”, a show on the conservative news channel. Mr. Zeldin is a former New York Republican Congressman who Mr. Trump said would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards”. Mr. Huckabee is also a TV personality – he has hosted a show on Fox News as well, and a radio programme, though he has a State-level public sector experience as Governor of Arkansas, from 1996 to 2007. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy — ironic though it might seem to have two heads of a department designed to reduce government waste and excess — are from the private sector but have been noteworthy for speaking out strongly for Mr. Trump throughout his 2024 campaign. Between all of these potential nominees — assuming they are confirmed by the Senate, still a tall order in the case of several of Mr. Trump’s nominees — the presumed agenda would be to implement the Trump MAGA vision to the fullest extent possible over the four years.

Unfinished agenda

At the top of the list of Mr. Trump’s campaign slogan, “Promises Made, Promises Kept”, will likely be an attempt to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented workers, who number 11 million at last count, a figure that has been more or less constant since 2005. However, across several States, major urban hubs have emerged as “sanctuary cities” – those that have passed laws that restrict local law enforcement cooperation with the ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it politically challenging to carry out any sort of detention and deportation activities on a scale that could matter. Then there are logistical and economic challenges — the non-partisan American Immigration Council estimates that such an immigration proposal could potentially cost taxpayers more than $300 billion. However, Mr. Trump will likely take certain actions that will win him some political capital from the immigration hawks that will circle his administration. After all, under the previous Trump administration, around 1.5 million people were deported, and the Biden administration came close to that figure — both of which were dwarfed by their predecessor, Barack Obama’s record of deporting nearly 3 million people over two terms.

Secondly, a corporate tax cut is likely, at least the renewal of the lapsing cuts that Mr. Trump had introduced in 2017, through the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The problem is that while the policy reduced taxes for most people, it was criticised for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy: the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policies Priorities noted that under this law, households with incomes in the top 1% would receive an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025, compared to an average tax cut of less than $500 for households in the bottom 60%. Additionally, the Trump tax cut “Was expensive and eroded the U.S. revenue base… and failed to deliver promised economic benefits,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) noted.

Third, in the foreign policy space, a retaliation-based trade war of uncertain proportions is almost a certainty on the global economic stage, as Mr. Trump has promised a 10-20% cross-cutting tariff on all $3 trillion worth of U.S. goods imports and a special, punitive 60% tariff on Chinese goods. Beyond that destabilising action, and based on the first Trump administration’s plan for the U.S. to exit the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, UNESCO, UNHRC, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and more, it is quite likely that America’s inward withdrawal from global, multilateral, and regional engagements will continue apace. This may well have a strong impact on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and broader conflicts in West Asia and the South China Sea, besides innumerable bilateral and regional arrangements that may fall into disarray, perhaps to the detriment and chagrin of U.S. allies and partners across the world.

Trumpism unleashed

After four more years of Mr. Trump, the U.S., and indeed the world, may be a very different place. His second term is coterminous with the zenith of the MAGA movement. What began in 2016 as a poignant political assertion of the basic principles of Trumpism — a complex blend of concerns over genuine economic despair and social disempowerment of White America with an unapologetic articulation of baser sentiments rooted in racism, misogyny and bigotry — will now find free flow and seep into every public institution of the U.S. and transform the very core of the socioeconomic landscape of the country. Mr. Trump’s time at the helm of this movement will end one day, but the forces that he has unleashed may live well beyond that time.

New York, United States:

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire closely allied with US President-elect Donald Trump, met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in a bid to defuse tensions between Tehran and Washington, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The newspaper quoted anonymous Iranian sources as describing the meeting between the world’s richest person and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani as “positive.”

The two met for more than an hour at a secret location on Monday, the newspaper said.

Neither the Trump transition team nor Iran’s mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the encounter, with the Iranian mission saying it had no comment.

The meeting, if confirmed, could offer an early indication that Trump is serious about diplomacy with Iran and not choosing the more hawkish approach favored by many conservatives in his Republican Party as well as Israel.

It would also show again the extraordinary influence of Musk, the owner of Tesla and X who has been a near constant presence at Trump’s side, reportedly joining him on telephone calls with world leaders.

Trump in his last term in office tore up a deal on Iran’s nuclear program negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, instead pursuing a policy of “maximum pressure” that included working to force other nations not to buy Iran’s oil.

But Trump has cast himself as a great dealmaker and during his latest campaign has voiced an openness to diplomacy, despite his avowed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered military strikes on Iran in tandem with Israel’s war on Hamas.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, considered a moderate within the clerical state, on Thursday told the visiting head of the UN nuclear watchdog that Tehran wanted to clear up doubts about the country’s “peaceful” nuclear program.

Iran’s ambassador also urged Musk in their meeting to seek US sanctions exemptions and conduct business in Tehran, the Times said, citing an Iranian Foreign Ministry official.

Along with foreign policy, Trump has put Musk and another wealthy entrepreneur, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, in charge of a new “Department of Government Efficiency” tasked with overhauling the federal bureaucracy.

The new initiative has raised questions about conflicts of interest given the extensive interactions between Musk’s businesses and the government.

An account for the program has been created on X, formerly Twitter, where it asked applicants to apply through a direct message.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting,” said a post on X, adding that “Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington DC:

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed immigration hardliner and close aide, Stephen Miller, as his White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Confirming Millar’s appointment, Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday, congratulated the incoming deputy chief of staff for policy on X, calling him “another fantastic pick by the president.”

Mr Miller was part of the president-elect’s first administration and served as his senior adviser and director of speech-writing at the White House. He was also a central figure behind several of Mr Trump’s policies on immigration, including the Muslim travel ban and the 2018 family separation policy.

Miller’s Stance On H-1B Visas

Known for his extremist rhetoric, Mr Miller was a frequent presence during the president-elect’s 2024 campaign, often seen speaking at Mr Trump’s rallies. Addressing Mr Trump’s infamous Madison Square Garden rally in New York which saw an attendance of nearly 19,500 Americans, Mr Miller told the crowd that “America is for Americans and Americans only” and promised to “restore America to the true Americans”.

Last year during an interview with the New York Times, Mr Miller asserted that if Mt Trump was re-elected, his administration would bring policies to restrict legal and illegal immigration. He also talked about plans to detain undocumented immigrants in camps while they await expulsion.

During Trump’s first administration, Miller helped in drafting the Cruz-Sessions bill that prohibited international students with a master’s or bachelor’s degree from working in H-1B status in the US for at least 10 years. 

Now in his new role in Trump 2.0, Mr Miller is expected to continue his advocacy for restrictive immigration policies, including limits on H-1B visas. He argues that the H-1B program can lead to American worker displacement and wage suppression.

Trump Administration And Immigration 

Trump administration’s stance on immigration has often been at odds with economic consensus, which shows that skilled immigrants and international students benefit the US economy. As president, Mr Trump did not enact any measures to increase access to H-1B visas, and his second term will likely be similar. Policies introduced during his presidency also saw a rise in visa denial rates and a narrowing of the definition of “speciality occupation,” reducing the positions eligible for H-1B workers.

In 2020, before Mr Trump left office, his administration published a restrictive H-1B rule, which was blocked by a court for violating the Administrative Procedure Act. As per a report by Forbes, the rule included numerous provisions to prevent companies from employing foreign-born scientists and engineers, such as changing who and what positions could qualify for an H-1B speciality occupation.

Taking his previous administration’s agenda forward, Mr Trump has also appointed former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Tom Homan as his administration’s “Border Czar.” In a post on his Truth Social platform, the President-elect said that Homan would oversee the border security of the US along with maritime and aviation security. He also stated that Mr Homan would oversee deportation policies.

Together, Miller and Homan are anticipated to work closely in implementing the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration measures.

The Forbes report said that if President Joe Biden’s administration does not finalize the H-1B “modernizing” rule before he leaves the Oval Office, a new Trump administration could issue the H-1B rule with its priorities rather than those of the Biden team. 

As per the report, the new rule would likely be far more restrictive than the current H-1B regulation or what US Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed in October 2023. 
 

Washington DC:

Donald Trump, who has recently been elected for a second term as President of the United States, has told House Republicans that he might consider a constitution-breaking third term in office. President-elect Trump, who has a penchant for making controversial statements, said “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you (supporters) say otherwise”.

During his speech to fellow Republicans elected to the House of Representatives, Mr Trump said, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else’.” His statement at a hotel in Washington DC ahead of his meeting with President Joe Biden was cheered by his supporters.

It is common knowledge that there are provisions in place in the US Constitution which restricts a US President from standing for re-election for a third term, but how safe are those safeguards? Here’s a look at whether Donald Trump can run again for presidency in 2028.

The 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution stops any President from running for a third term, so if Donald Trump wants to seek a third term, he will first have to scrap that amendment. Doing so is a daunting task as it requires the President to garner an overwhelming amount of support from Congress as well as state legislatures. This is something that Trump is unlikely to be able to achieve.
 

Washington DC:

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory.

Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defense, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking. Some are in contention for a range of posts.

SUSIE WILES, Chief Of Staff

Trump announced last week that Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff.

While the specifics of her political views are somewhat unclear, Wiles, 67, is credited with running a successful and efficient campaign. Supporters hope she will instill a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump’s first four-year term, when he cycled through a number of chiefs of staff.

TOM HOMAN, ‘Border Czar’

Trump announced on Sunday night that Homan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first administration, will be in charge of the country’s borders.

Trump made cracking down on people in the country illegally a central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations.

Homan, 62, said on Monday he would prioritize deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said Homan will be “in charge of our nation’s borders (‘The Border Czar’), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” including the deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

ELISE STEFANIK, UN Ambassador

Trump announced on Monday that Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, would be his ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik, 40, a U.S. representative from New York state and House Republican conference chair, took a leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace then-Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticizing Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik will arrive at the U.N. after bold promises by Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war in Gaza.

LEE ZELDIN, EPA Administrator

Trump announced on Monday he had appointed former congressman Lee Zeldin of New York state as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Zeldin said he had accepted the role.

Zeldin, 44, a staunch Trump ally, served in Congress from 2015 to 2023. In 2022, he lost the New York governor’s race to Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul.

Trump has promised to overhaul U.S. energy policy, with the aim of maximizing the country’s already record-high oil and gas production by rolling back regulations and speeding up permitting.

As head of the EPA, Zeldin will play a key role in implementing those policies.

MARCO RUBIO, Secretary Of State

Trump is expected to tap U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, sources said on Monday, putting the Florida-born politician on track to be the first Latino to serve as the United States’ top diplomat.

Rubio, 53, was arguably the most hawkish option on Trump’s shortlist for secretary of state. The senator has in past years advocated for a muscular foreign policy with respect to U.S. geopolitical foes, including China, Iran and Cuba.

Over the last several years he has softened some of his stances to align more closely with Trump’s views. The president-elect accuses past U.S. presidents of leading the U.S. into costly and futile wars and has pushed for a more restrained foreign policy.

MIKE WALTZ, National Security Adviser

Trump on Tuesday said he had picked for national security adviser Republican U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army Green Beret who has been a leading critic of China.

Waltz, a 50-year-old Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, has criticized Chinese activity in the Asia-Pacific and has voiced the need for the U.S. to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.

The national security adviser is a powerful role, which does not require Senate confirmation. Waltz will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.

While slamming the Biden administration for a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz has publicly praised Trump’s foreign policy views.

KRISTI NOEM, Homeland Security Secretary

Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to serve as the next homeland security secretary, two sources familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.

Noem, 52, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, is currently serving her second four-year term as South Dakota’s governor. She rose to national prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the U.S. Secret Service.

Trump’s campaign and Noem’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

SCOTT BESSENT, Potential Treasury Secretary

Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a top candidate for treasury secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, Bessent has a warm relationship with the president-elect.

While Bessent has long favored the laissez-faire policies that were popular in the pre-Trump Republican Party, he has also spoken highly of Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. He has praised the president-elect’s economic philosophy, which rests on a skepticism of both regulations and international trade.

ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, Potential Treasury Secretary

A loyalist who served as Trump’s U.S. trade representative for essentially the then-president’s entire term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back. Though Bessent likely has a better shot at becoming treasury secretary, Lighthizer has an outside chance, and he might be able to reprise his old role if he’s interested.

Like Trump, Lighthizer, 77,  is a trade skeptic and a firm believer in tariffs. He was one of the leading figures in Trump’s trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Mexico and Canada during Trump’s first term.

HOWARD LUTNICK, Potential Treasury Secretary

The co-chair of Trump’s transition effort and the longtime chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is in the running for treasury secretary.

A bombastic New Yorker like Trump, Lutnick, 63, has uniformly praised the president-elect’s economic policies, including his use of tariffs.

He has at times given elaborate, unvarnished opinions about what policies will be enacted in Trump’s second term. Some Trump allies had privately complained that he too often presented himself as speaking on behalf of the campaign.

LINDA McMAHON, Potential Commerce Secretary

Professional wrestling magnate and former Small Business Administration director Linda McMahon is seen as the frontrunner to lead Trump’s Department of Commerce, three sources briefed on the plans said.

McMahon, 76, is a major donor and was an early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House almost a decade ago. This time, Trump tapped her to co-lead a transition team formed to help vet personnel and draft policy ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

McMahon is the co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE. She later served as director of the Small Business Administration, resigning in 2019, and went on to lead a pro-Trump political action committee that supported his 2020 reelection bid.

JOHN RATCLIFFE, Potential CIA Director

A former congressman and prosecutor who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s last year in office, Ratcliffe, 59, is seen as a leading contender to be director of the CIA, according to two people familiar with the transition process. Ratcliffe is also a potential attorney general pick.

The president-elect’s allies view Ratcliffe as a hardcore Trump loyalist who could likely win Senate confirmation. Still, during his time as director of national intelligence, Ratcliffe often contradicted the assessments of career civil servants, drawing criticism from Democrats who said he politicized the role.

MIKE LEE, Potential Attorney General

A U.S. senator from Utah, Lee is widely seen as another top candidate for attorney general. Though the former prosecutor declined to vote for Trump during the 2016 election, he later became an unwavering ally, and he has become something of an intellectual hero among some factions of Trumpworld.

Lee, 53, was a key figure in attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, and has spread unfounded conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

KASH PATEL, Potential Candidate For National Security Posts

A former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defense and intelligence communities during Trump’s first term, Patel frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.

Some Trump allies would like to see Patel, considered the ultimate Trump loyalist, appointed CIA director. Any position requiring Senate confirmation may be a challenge, however.

Patel, 44, has leaned into controversy throughout his career. In an interview with Trump ally Steve Bannon last year, he promised to “come after” politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump.

During Trump’s first term, Patel drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials, who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory.

Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking. Some are in contention for a range of posts.

SUSIE WILES, chief of staff

Trump on Thursday announced that Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff.

While the specifics of her political views are somewhat unclear, Wiles, 67, is credited with running a successful and efficient campaign. Supporters hope she will instil a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump’s first four-year term when he cycled through a number of chiefs of staff.

TOM HOMAN, ‘border czar’

Trump announced on Sunday night that Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from his first administration, will be in charge of the country’s borders.

Trump made cracking down on people in the country illegally a central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations.

Homan said on Monday he would prioritize deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said Homan will be “in charge of our nation’s borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” including the deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

ELISE STEFANIK, U.N. ambassador

Trump announced on Monday that Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, would be his ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik, 40, a U.S. representative from New York state and House Republican conference chair, took a leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace then-Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticizing Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik will arrive at the U.N. after bold promises by Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war in Gaza.

SCOTT BESSENT, potential treasury secretary

Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a top candidate for treasury secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, Bessent has a warm relationship with the president-elect.

While Bessent has long favored the laissez-faire policies that were popular in the pre-Trump Republican Party, he has also spoken highly of Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. He has praised the president-elect’s economic philosophy, which rests on a skepticism of both regulations and international trade.

JOHN PAULSON, potential treasury secretary

Paulson, a billionaire hedge fund manager and major Trump donor, is another top contender for treasury secretary. The longtime financier has told associates he would be interested in the job.

A longtime proponent of tax cuts and deregulation, Paulson’s profile is broadly similar to that of other potential members of Trump’s economic team. He has publicly supported targeted tariffs as a tool to ensure U.S. national security and combat unfair trade practices abroad.

One high-profile fundraiser hosted by Paulson in April raked in over $50 million for the former president.

LARRY KUDLOW, potential treasury secretary

Fox Business Network personality Larry Kudlow, who served as director of the National Economic Council for much of Trump’s first term, has an outside shot at becoming his treasury secretary and would likely have an opportunity to take a separate economics-focused position if he is interested.

While he is privately skeptical of broad tariffs, there is publicly little daylight between the policies Kudlow advocates and those of the president-elect.

ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, potential treasury secretary

A loyalist who served as Trump’s U.S. trade representative for essentially the then-president’s entire term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back. Though Bessent and Paulson likely have a better shot at becoming treasury secretary, Lighthizer has an outside chance, and he might be able to reprise his old role if he’s interested.

Like Trump, Lighthizer is a trade skeptic and a firm believer in tariffs. He was one of the leading figures in Trump’s trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Mexico and Canada during Trump’s first term.

HOWARD LUTNICK, potential treasury secretary

The co-chair of Trump’s transition effort and the longtime chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is in the running for treasury secretary.

A bombastic New Yorker like Trump, Lutnick has uniformly praised the president-elect’s economic policies, including his use of tariffs.

He has at times given elaborate, unvarnished opinions about what policies will be enacted in Trump’s second term. Some Trump allies had privately complained that he too often presented himself as speaking on behalf of the campaign.

LINDA McMAHON, potential commerce secretary

Professional wrestling magnate and former Small Business Administration director Linda McMahon is seen as the frontrunner to lead Trump’s Department of Commerce, three sources briefed on the plans said.

McMahon is a major donor and was an early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House almost a decade ago. This time, Trump tapped her to co-lead a transition team formed to help vet personnel and draft policy ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

McMahon is the co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE. She later served as director of the Small Business Administration, resigning in 2019, and went on to lead a pro-Trump political action committee that supported his 2020 reelection bid.

RICHARD GRENELL, potential secretary of state 

Grenell is among Trump’s closest foreign policy advisers. During the president-elect’s first four-year term, he served as acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador to Germany. When Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in September, Grenell sat in on the private meeting.

Grenell’s private dealings with foreign leaders and often-caustic personality have made him the center of multiple controversies, though significant Republican gains in the Senate mean he could likely be confirmed. He is also considered a top contender for national security adviser, which does not require Senate confirmation.

Among the policies he has advocated for is setting up an autonomous zone in eastern Ukraine to end the war there, a position Kyiv considers unacceptable.

ROBERT O’BRIEN, potential secretary of state

O’Brien, Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser during his first term, maintains a close relationship with Trump, and the two often speak on national security matters.

He is likely in the running for secretary of state or other top foreign policy and national security posts. He has maintained close contacts with foreign leaders since Trump left office, having met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel in May.

His views are somewhat more hawkish than some of Trump’s advisers. He has, for instance, been more supportive of military aid for Ukraine than many of his Republican contemporaries, and he is a proponent of banning TikTok in the United States.

BILL HAGERTY, potential secretary of state

A U.S. senator from Tennessee who worked on Trump’s 2016 transition effort, Hagerty is considered a top contender for secretary of state. He has maintained solid relations with essentially all factions of the Republican Party, and could likely be confirmed with ease in the Senate.

He served as U.S. ambassador to Japan in the first Trump administration at a time when the president touted his warm relationship with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Hagerty’s policies are broadly in line with Trump’s. Earlier in the year, he voted against a major military aid package for Ukraine.

MARCO RUBIO, potential secretary of state

Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is also a top secretary of state contender whose policies hew closely to those of Trump. Like Hagerty, he was a contender to be Trump’s 2024 running mate.

Rubio has long been involved in foreign affairs in the Senate, particularly as it relates to Latin America, and he has solid relationships throughout the party.

MIKE WALTZ, potential defense secretary

A former Army Green Beret who is currently a U.S. congressman from Florida, Waltz has established himself as one of the foremost China hawks in the House.

Among the various China-related bills he has co-sponsored are measures designed to lessen U.S. reliance on critical minerals mined in China.

Waltz is on speaking terms with Trump and is widely considered to be a serious contender for secretary of defense.

KEITH KELLOGG, potential candidate for national security adviser

A retired lieutenant general who served as chief of staff to the National Security Council under Trump, Kellogg has Trump’s ear and is a contender for national security adviser, among other national security posts.

During the campaign, he presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Ukraine, which involved forcing both parties to the negotiating table and ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine for the foreseeable future, among other measures.

MARK GREEN, potential homeland security secretary

A former Army flight surgeon and the current chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, Green is considered by some Trump allies in Washington as a contender for the top job at the Department of Homeland Security . His supporters describe him as a Trump loyalist and immigration hardliner who also has significant legislative experience.

Green was nominated by Trump during his first term to serve as secretary of the Army, but he withdrew his name as past statements, which were widely seen as transphobic and Islamophobic, drew more scrutiny. 

JOHN RATCLIFFE, potential attorney general

A former congressman and prosecutor who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s last year in office, Ratcliffe is seen as a potential attorney general, though he could also take a separate national security or intelligence position, such as CIA director.

The president-elect’s allies view Ratcliffe as a hardcore Trump loyalist who could likely win Senate confirmation. Still, during his time as director of national intelligence, Ratcliffe often contradicted the assessments of career civil servants, drawing criticism from Democrats who said he politicized the role.

MIKE LEE, potential attorney general

A U.S. senator from Utah, Lee is widely seen as another top candidate for attorney general. Though the former prosecutor declined to vote for Trump during the 2016 election, he later became an unwavering ally, and he has become something of an intellectual hero among some factions of Trumpworld.

Lee was a key figure in attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and has spread unfounded conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

KASH PATEL, potential candidate for national security posts

A former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defence and intelligence communities during Trump’s first term, Patel frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.

Some Trump allies would like to see Patel, considered the ultimate Trump loyalist, appointed CIA director. Any position requiring Senate confirmation may be a challenge, however. 

Patel has leaned into controversy throughout his career. In an interview with Trump ally Steve Bannon last year, he promised to “come after” politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump.

During Trump’s first term, Patel drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials, who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Right up to Election Day, Donald Trump and his backers were issuing warnings of voter fraud. But once his decisive victory took shape, the flood of misinformation slowed to a trickle.

Experts said the shift points to what opponents have long argued was Trump’s preemptive deployment of fraud claims in case he lost, setting the stage for him to challenge the results as he did in the 2020 election.

A sharp example came toward the end of voting on Tuesday when officials in the largest city of must-win Pennsylvania had to quickly deny Trump’s unfounded claim that police were responding to “massive cheating” in Philadelphia.

Those were the latest doubts the ex-TV star raised about election fraud. But the false accusations go back to his rejection of the 2020 results that ultimately led to his supporters trying to violently undo President Joe Biden’s poll win.

“As soon as the vote came in swinging their way, Republicans stopped making claims of election fraud late Tuesday, proving yet again it was all a gift,” Philip Mai, co-director of the Toronto-based Social Media Lab, told AFP.

The drop was particularly noticeable among members of the “Election Integrity Community,” a group on X started by Elon Musk’s America PAC, which encouraged its some 65,000 members to report irregularities.

When the polls opened on November 5, the group shared over 1,000 posts an hour, according to data collected by the nonprofit National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC).

The pace had fallen dramatically by the time the race was called for Trump in some crucial swing states early on November 6, blocking viable paths to victory for Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the days since the election, the group has posted fewer than 100 posts per hour, NCoC said.

The fraud mentions on some platforms popular on the right began to drop the day before the election — after rising considerably in the run-up, said Welton Chang, co-founder of Pyrra Technologies, a company that monitors fringe social networks.

“For one thing, Trump himself stopped talking about it,” Chang told AFP. “Part of this is a follow-the-leader effect.”

The drop-off in fraud narratives, researchers said, was particularly evident on alternative tech platforms catering to conservatives — including Trump’s own Truth Social.

– Trump ‘the conductor’ –

Not only did Trump go quiet on fraud claims after his Philadelphia allegations, but other Republicans have as well. 

Asked on CNN whether he believed the election was free and fair, lawmaker and hard-line Trump ally Jim Jordan said “I do.”

He declined to engage with the suggestion that Republicans only call foul when they lose.
Trump won all seven battleground states and he is on pace to capture the popular vote, which he did not do in his shock election victory in 2016.

The Democratic leadership has not questioned the 2024 election’s outcome, with both Biden and Harris conceding the loss and deeming the result a free and fair one.

However, there were 30,300 mentions of the hashtag #DoNotConcedeKamala with one of the words rigged, fraud, or stolen on Musk’s social media platform X the morning after the election, data showed.  

Danielle Lee Tomson, research manager at the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public, said an isolated number of people on the left have cast doubt on the integrity of the vote.

“No major candidate or political organizer has amplified it,” she told AFP. “It is diffuse and significantly smaller because there is no leadership spreading it, whereas on the right that was the case in 2020 and 2022.”

She noted that on the right there was evidence from even the early voting period this year that Republicans and MAGA-affiliated influencers — shorthand for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — were discussing potential election fraud.

“Think of it like Trump is the conductor, (and) there’s a symphony of media and legal infrastructure to really make sure that he won,” Tomson said. “That’s what they built.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election – and his threat to impose tariffs on all imports to the United States – highlights an important problem for the global economy.

The US is a technological powerhouse, spending more than any other country on research and development and winning more Nobel prizes in the last five years than every other country combined. Its inventions and economic successes are the envy of the globe. But the rest of the world needs to do everything in its power to avoid being too dependent on it.

And this situation would not have been much different had Harris won.

The “America first” approach of Donald Trump has actually been a bipartisan policy. At least since previous president Barack Obama’s policy of energy independence, the US has been on a mostly inward-looking quest of maintaining technological supremacy while ending the offshoring of industrial jobs.

One of the major choices Trump made in his first term was to accept higher prices for US consumers in order to protect national producers by slapping high tariffs on almost every trading partner.

For instance, Trump’s 2018 tariffs on washing machines from all over the world mean US consumers have been paying 12% more for these products.

President Joe Biden – in certainly a more polite way – then increased some of the Trump tariffs: up to 100% on electric vehicles, 50% on solar cells and 25% on batteries from China.

At a time of climate emergency, this was a clear choice to slow down the energy transition in order to protect US manufacturing.

While Biden signed a truce with Europe on tariffs, it started a perhaps even more damaging battle by launching a subsidy race.

The US Inflation Reduction Act for instance contains US$369 billion (£286 billion) of subsidies in areas such as electric vehicles or renewable energy. And the Chips Act committed US$52 billion to subsidise the production of semiconductors and computer chips.

China, Europe and the rest of the world

This US industrial policy might have been inward-looking, but it has clear consequences for the rest of the world. China, after decades of mostly export-based growth, must now deal with massive problems of industrial overcapacity.

The country is now trying to encourage more domestic consumption and to diversify its trading partners.

Europe, despite a very tight budget constraint, spends a lot of money in the subsidy race. Germany, a country facing sluggish growth and big doubts on its industrial model, is committed to matching US subsidies, offering for instance €900 million (£750 million) to Swedish battery makers Northvolt to continue producing in the country.

All those subsidies are hurting the world economy and could have easily financed urgent needs such as the electrification of the entire African continent with solar panels and batteries. Meanwhile, China has replaced the US and Europe as the largest investor in Africa, following its own interest for natural resources.

The incoming Trump mandate might be a chance to fix ideas.

One might, for instance, argue that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the thousands of deaths and the energy crisis that followed, could have been avoided had the Biden administration been clearer to Russian president Vladimir Putin about the consequences of an invasion, and provided modern weapons to Kyiv before the war.

But the blame is mostly on Europe. Credit where it’s due, the strategic problem of becoming too dependent on Russian gas is something Trump had clearly warned Germany about during his first mandate.

There is a clear path forward: Europe could help China fix its overcapacity problems by negotiating an end to its own tariff war on Chinese technology such as solar panels and electric cars.

In exchange, Europe would regain some sovereignty by producing more of its own clean energy instead of importing record amounts of liquid gas from the US. It could also learn a few things from producing with Chinese companies, and China could use its immense leverage on Russia to end the invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union could also work harder on what it does best: signing trade deals, and using them as a way to reduce carbon emissions around the world.

This is not only about Europe and China. After decades of continuous improvement on all major dimensions of human life, the world is moving backwards.

The number of people facing hunger is increasing, taking us back to the levels of 2008-9. War is raging in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, and now Lebanon. The world had not seen as many civilian casualties since 2010.

For better or worse, it is unlikely that a Trump administration will reverse the path of lower US interventionism. It is also unlikely to lead any major initiative on peace, climate change or on the liberalisation of trade.

The world is alone, and America will not come to save it.

We do not know what will happen to the US. Maybe the return of Trump will mostly be a continuation of the last ten years. Maybe prohibitive tariffs or destroying the institutions that made the US such an economic powerhouse will make the US economy less relevant. But this is something Americans have chosen, and something the rest of the world simply has to live with.

In the meantime, the only thing the world can do is learn how to better work together, without becoming too dependent on each other.

(Author: Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University)

(Disclosure Statement: Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)