Name: Trump appoints controversial top team as Republicans retain House majority | BBC News
Uploaded: 2024-11-14T08:19:06.000Z
Duration: 7 min 22 s
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Donald Trump was back in the White House today, holding talks with President Biden about the transition of power.

As the Republicans' clean sweep in government was confirmed, they are projected to have majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, meaning that they will control all the key levers of power in national government.

Well, the shape of Donald Trump's new administration has been becoming clearer throughout the day, with a flurry of new appointments, including the richest man on the planet, Elon Musk.

Here's our North America editor, Sarah Smith.

Yeah, as Donald Trump is filling up all of his Cabinet appointments, we're getting a better sense of just how radical he wants his second term to be.

He is appointing ultra-loyal, true believers in his cause who will do exactly what he wants in government.

A cordial handshake in front of a blazing fire.

It's all very grown-up, as the 81-year-old president greets his 78-year-old successor.

Well, Mr President-elect and former president, Donald, congratulations.

Joe Biden promises a smooth transition to the man who declined to invite him to the White House four years ago.

Thank you very much, and politics is tough, and it's, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.

Donald Trump last left the White House in disgrace four years ago, refusing to admit he had lost the election.

And I just want to say goodbye, but hopefully it's not a long-term goodbye.

Melania didn't come back with him today, nor is she expected to be moving into the White House full-time.

Enjoying a victory lap, he met the Congressional Republicans who are now projected to win the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate, a clean sweep that Donald Trump is taking credit for.

The full-blown bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has landed him the job of radically slashing spending and dramatically reducing the size of the government.

In charge of defence, a Fox News TV presenter who can't throw an axe.

The drummer was lucky not to be seriously injured.

The military establishment don't know what's about to hit them.

Well, first of all, you've got to fire, you know, you've got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and you've got to fire this...

I mean, obviously, you're going to bring in a new secretary of defence, but any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI woke...

For his secretary of state, Mr Trump has picked an old foe, Senator Marco Rubio.

They were trading insults eight years ago, back when Trump called him Little Marco.

The guy with the worst spray tan in America is attacking me for putting on make-up.

He should sue whoever did that to his face with that...

But now Rubio's been rewarded for his vocal support with the job of America's top diplomat.

Because together with Donald Trump, we are going to make America not just great, but greater than it has ever been before.

Well, I'm honoured to be here with my colleagues from...

As Attorney General, UltraMAGA representative Matt Gaetz can drop all federal charges against Donald Trump and lead investigations into political opponents.

He'll be in charge of a Justice Department who investigated him for child sex trafficking, but did not bring criminal charges.

Donald Trump is planning a total takeover of the White House, making sweeping changes on every front, and he's bringing with him the people he believes will make that happen.

Well, with more on those key appointments and what they might mean in the new administration, here is Ben Chiu.

The Trump White House is taking shape with more key appointments being made.

As we've just heard, there's former soldier Pete Hegseth, selected as Defence Secretary.

He's been a staunch critic of diversity and equality policies adopted by the US armed forces.

And then there's Mike Waltz, 50, who's been chosen as Trump's national security adviser.

He's a Republican member of the House of Representatives for Florida and another former soldier.

As chair of a congressional committee, he argued for the US to be better prepared for conflict in the Pacific with China.

Waltz was asked in an interview in 2022, do you trust China?

And he responded, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.

Christine Noem, 52, has been appointed to head the Homeland Security Department, which oversees border threats and the response to terrorism and national emergencies.

She's currently governor of South Dakota and was the first woman to be elected to that role.

Noem has long taken a forefront position on immigration and border control.

From what we're seeing happen at the southern border and what we're seeing happen in so many of our cities that this administration isn't shutting down, it's dangerous.

It's dangerous to America, to the people that live here.

And Marco Rubio has been confirmed tonight as Donald Trump's secretary of state, which is the equivalent of other countries' foreign ministers.

The 53-year-old Republican senator for Florida will be the first Latino to take this important role.

Rubio, like Mike Waltz, is also considered hawkish on foreign policy and has taken forthright positions on China and Iran as a senator.

Though on the crucial subjects of Ukraine and Russia, Rubio has recently argued the conflict needs to be brought to a conclusion.

What we are funding here is a stalemate war and it needs to be brought to a conclusion because that country is going to be set back 100 years.

Now, that doesn't mean that we celebrate what Vladimir Putin did or are excited about it, but I think there has to also be some common sense here.

It's often said in the US that personnel is policy.

With these personnel choices, we might be getting a firmer sense of the policy of the new Trump White House.

And it does look like the Republicans will now have control of all levers of power in national government.

Well, yeah, so that means that Donald Trump's Republicans have majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and obviously he has the White House.

So he can probably pass any legislation he wants through Congress as well as issuing orders that he can do simply with his presidential power.

But let's look at some of the unorthodox, shall we say, choices he's been making for some of these appointments.

He's given them very radical briefs, but that doesn't mean they'll necessarily be able to get the jobs done because he does still need to get some of them confirmed through Congress.

And the majority he has in the Senate is very narrow.

So it's not guaranteed that some of these more controversial picks will get confirmed.

Donald Trump has said that what he wants the Senate to do is to declare a recess so that he can sidestep all of the normal confirmation processes.

 But it's not yet clear that Donald Trump can do absolutely anything he wants and ignore all the normal rules or even the Constitution when it comes to that.