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President-elect has often chosen his family members and close friends to serve in official administration positions
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President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Fox News host, and his son’s fiance, Kimberly Guilfoyle to serve as ambassador to Greece on Tuesday – making her the latest Trump family member to hold an official position.
Guilfoyle is a close ally of the Trump family and has dedicated her time to helping Trump get elected both in 2020 and 2024.
“I look forward to delivering on the Trump agenda, supporting our Greek allies, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity,” Guilfoyle said in an X post.
It was one of several announcements the president-elect made throughout the day, including a declaration promising to help individuals or businesses get “expedited” approvals and permits for those who invest $1 billion in the U.S.
That includes, but is not limited to, permits related to environmental approvals.
Also on Tuesday, the Manhattan DA and the New York attorney general asked a judge not to dismiss the criminal and civil cases in the state against Trump, saying he does not have immunity as president-elect.
Ronald (Ron) D. Johnson, the former ambassador to El Salvador under Trump’s administration, was tapped to serve as ambassador to Mexico on Tuesday evening.
Johnson, a veteran of the U.S. Army, previously served in the CIA.
“Ron will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through strong America First Foreign Policies,” Trump wrote in his announcement.
“During my First Term, Ron served as the Ambassador to El Salvador, where he worked tirelessly with Salvadoran authorities and our team to reduce violent crime and illegal migration to the lowest levels in History,” he added.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he is bequeathing President-elect Donald Trump what he described as “the strongest economy in modern history” and “the envy of the world” while warning that efforts by the next administration to roll back his economic policies would result in great harm to Americans’ pocketbooks.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution think tank at what was billed as a major address on the economic legacy he is leaving behind after just a single four-year term, Biden recounted how he’d come into office with a “fundamentally different theory” from the “trickle-down” beliefs that have dominated economic policy since the rise of Ronald Reagan and modern conservatism in the 1980s.
Donald Trump announced a slew of new appointments to his administration on Tuesday night.
Mark R. Meador, a former fellow at The Heritage Foundation, has been nominated Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission.
Ed Martin, author of the 2016 book The Conservative Case for Trump, has been nominated for Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget.
Dan Bishop, a representative from North Carolina, has been nominated for Deputy Director for Budget at the Office of Management and Budget.
Tom Barrack, an investor and major Trump donor, was nominated to serve as Ambassador to Turkey.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and engaged to Donald Trump Jr., was nominated to serve as Ambassador to Greece.
Jacob Helberg, an author, was tapped as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.
Andrew N. Ferguson, the commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, was tapped to serve as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host and devoted Trump ally, has been chosen to serve as the next ambassador to Greece, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening.
“Kimberly is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation,” Trump said in his statement.
Guilfoyle, 55, is a lawyer who briefly served as a prosecutor in California before turning to a career in television. She spent 12 years at Fox News before transitioning to assisting Republican politics.
She has been engaged to Donald Trump Jr. since 2020 – though there have been unconfirmed reports that the two have split.
President-elect Donald Trump said any person or company who invests at least $1 billion into the United States will receive “fully expedited” approvals and permits – including those related to environmental approvals.
“Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals. GET READY TO ROCK!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Trump largely campaigned on bringing back American manufacturing – something he believes will be elevated by imposing tariffs on foreign imports. His latest pitch is an incentivization for companies to build more in the U.S.
However, it is unclear how “expedited” Trump can actually make approvals given many go through federal agencies that monitor their respective sector.
Manhattan prosecutors are urging the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial to preserve the jury’s 34-count guilty verdict, even if it means postponing any sentencing until after his presidency comes to an end in 2029.
But Trump can’t be shielded from criminal prosecution as “president-elect,” because “president-elect immunity does not exist,” they wrote in a lengthy filing made public on Tuesday.
Alex Woodward reports.
Trump’s ‘dangerous pattern of harassment and intimidation’ should not be rewarded with a thrown-out verdict, prosecutors tell Judge Juan Merchan
Representative Mike Turner, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, called the Trump administration’s Department of Justice “outrageous” for viewing phone records and emails of Congressional members without permission.
“The Department of Justice was accessing emails and phone records of Members of Congress and their staff merely because they had access to classified information,” Turner told CNN. “This is a grave constitutional violation.”
A New York City councilwoman is calling for the incoming Trump administration to launch a civil rights probe against the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its handling of the Daniel Penny subway choking case, accusing District Attorney Alvin Bragg of being racist.
“It’s really simple. The Manhattan D.A. has made this racial. We have seen what A.G. Bragg has been capable of and has tried to pursue, and I think between Trump and now, this is the icing on the cake, with Penny,” Vickie Paladino told Fox & Friends First on Tuesday.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump has frequently used racist trops to attack Bragg, whose office prosecuted landmark hush money case against Republican
Self-described MAGA “firebrand” Matt Gaetz, who dropped out last month as Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general amid ongoing sexual misconduct allegations, has finally secured another full-time job now that he’s no longer in Congress.
After news leaked Monday night that he had agreed to host a primetime show for the little-watched right-wing conspiracy channel One America News, the network made it official on Tuesday with a press release and promotional video.
Gaetz taking the plunge and becoming a conservative television host is hardly a surprise.
Justin Baragona reports.
It appears that Gaetz chose One America News over its much-larger rival Newsmax
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