policy

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he’ll nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as his attorney general, naming a loyalist to the role of the nation's top prosecutor.

In choosing the congressman, Trump unnoticed among the more established lawyers whose names had been mentioned as candidates for the post.

“Matt will end the gun government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations, and restore Americans' deeply shaken faith and trust in the Justice Department,” Trump said in an announcement.

This is a recent update. AP's earlier story follows below.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate, as director of national intelligence, continuing to fill his Cabinet with loyal figures who complement his own, quite than long-term professionals in hers respective areas of experience.

“As a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, she enjoys broad support in both parties – now she is a proud Republican!” Trump said in an announcement. “I know that Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community by standing up for our constitutional rights and ensuring peace through strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!”

Gabbard, who served within the Army National Guard for greater than 20 years and was stationed in Iraq and Kuwait, would tackle the role as something of an outsider in comparison with her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 after holding various top national security and intelligence positions for several years.

Gabbard has not worked directly within the intelligence community outside of House committees, including two years on the Homeland Security Committee. Like others Trump has chosen to guide his agency, she was amongst his hottest political surrogates, often drawing thunderous reactions from the gang when she campaigned on his behalf in the ultimate months of the campaign.

This is a recent update. AP's earlier story follows below.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state, fielding a former critic who has emerged as certainly one of the president-elect's fiercest defenders best diplomat within the nation.

The conservative lawmaker is a widely known hawk on China, Cuba and Iran and was among the many finalists for Trump's candidacy this summer.

On Capitol Hill, Rubio is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is pushing for a tougher stance against China and has targeted the social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers argue that Beijing can demand access to users' data at any time.

“He will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never give in to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in an announcement.

Trump made the announcement as he flew back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.

The selection is the culmination of a protracted, complicated history between the 2 men. During their intense competition for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was particularly outspoken in his criticism of Trump, calling him a “fraud” and “the most vulgar person to ever seek the presidency.”

He tried to counter Trump's often crude attacks by joking concerning the size of Trump's hands in a nod to his masculinity. Trump responded by branding Rubio “Little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.

But like many Republicans searching for to keep up their relevance within the Trump era, Rubio modified his rhetoric. As speculation grew that Trump might select him as his running mate, Rubio sought to downplay tensions from 2016, suggesting that the heated tone merely reflected the intensity of a campaign.

“That's like asking a boxer why he punched someone in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “That’s because they boxed.”

Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as a part of the Republican Tea Party wave that swept Washington. He quickly gained a status as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a bunch that worked on a 2013 immigration law that provided a path to citizenship for thousands and thousands of individuals living within the country illegally.

But that laws stalled within the House, where more conservative Republicans were in charge, signaling the sharp rightward shift the party — and Rubio — would soon take. Now Rubio says he supports Trump's plan to make use of the US military to deport those within the country illegally.

“We have to do something, unfortunately we have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in an interview with NBC in May.

He also repeats a lot of Trump's attacks on his opponents, in addition to his false or unproven theories about voter fraud. After Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in what New York prosecutors said was a plan to illegally influence the 2016 election, Rubio wrote in a column for Newsweek that Trump was “on trial for a political sham trial like this.” Communists are getting used against their political opponents in Cuba and the Soviet Union.”

Meanwhile, Trump has backed off his insistence as president on banning TikTok within the United States and recently opened his own account on the platform.

A bill that might require Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban within the United States was supported by Rubio, although Trump opposed the proposal.

Rubio's Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised the alternative.

“I have worked with Marco Rubio on the Intelligence Committee for more than a decade, particularly closely in recent years in his role as vice chairman, and while we may not always agree, he is and will be smart and talented.” strong voice for American interests across the globe,” Warner said in an announcement.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that his longtime adviser Dan Scavino would function deputy, without specifying a selected portfolio, campaign director James Blair as deputy for legislative, policy and public affairs and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and human resources. All can have the rank of assistant to the president.

Trump also formally announced that Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, will turn into deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. Vice President-elect JD Vance had already confirmed this on Monday.

Blair was the political director of Trump's campaign and, after Trump became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, the political director of the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump's 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Scavino was a senior adviser to Trump's campaign and worked as social media director during his first term within the White House.

He began working for Trump as a caddy at certainly one of Trump's golf courses and was among the many small group of staff who accompanied the president across the country throughout the campaign. He steadily posts memes and videos of Trump's campaign trips online and catalogs the campaign from the within on social media.

Before joining the campaign, Budowich worked for the pro-Trump super PAC Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump's political motion committee, Save America.

“Dan, Stephen, James and Taylor were best-in-class advisers in my victorious campaign, and I know they will serve the American people honorably in the White House,” Trump said in an announcement. “They will continue to work hard in their respective new roles to Make America Great Again.”

Miller is certainly one of Trump's most senior advisers, having worked for the White House in his first campaign. He was a senior adviser in Trump's first term and played a central role in a lot of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump's move in 2018 to separate 1000’s of immigrant families as a deterrence program.

—

With the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the playoffs, first baseman Rowdy Tellez was playing for a probability to earn a $200,000 bonus based on his plate appearances. As of Tuesday, he had made 421 plate appearances, 4 away from earning that extra bonus.

For Tellez, the chance was lost. With five games left within the regular season, the Pirates assigned Tellez to the sport ahead of their game on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. With MLB in the ultimate week of its regular season, Tellez will likely finish his 2024 season with 421 batting appearances, 4 wanting the 425 he must earn an extra $200,000.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters that the potential for a $200,000 bonus had no influence on his decision to remove Tellez from the roster.

“We feel like we've given Rowdy a lot of chances here this year,” Cherington said Tuesday.

The Pirates signed Tellez to a one-year, $3.2 million contract within the offseason. In 383 at-bats in 2024, Tellez posted a batting average of .243/.299/.392 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs. While his overall numbers represent an improvement from last yr (.215/.291/.376 with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs in 2023), it's a decline from 2022, when he set profession highs in home runs (35), RBIs (89) and hits (116).

Tellez struggled initially of the 2024 season, hitting only one home run through May, but he got higher because the season went on, culminating on July 5, when he hit a house run and a grand slam en path to a 14-2 victory over the New York Mets that ran out of fireworks for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates were buyers on the trade deadline and started August within the hunt for a playoff spot. But a 10-game losing streak to begin the month effectively ended the Pirates' playoff hopes. The Pirates were eliminated from the playoff race on September 16. Eight days later, Tellez was DFA'd by the team.

According to the CBA, MLB players are entitled to bonuses through the inducement clause of their contracts. The MLB's basic contract prohibits incentives based on statistical performance. This signifies that players can earn more money by meeting predetermined, non-statistical benchmarks. For hitters, batting appearances are essentially the most common incentive. Even those that remain on the lively roster for a certain variety of days can receive a bonus, depending on their contract.

The Pirates lost 7-2 to the Brewers on Tuesday and fell to 73-84 in 2024. In addition to Tellez, the Pirates have also designated for project outfielder Michael A. Taylor.

politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden can be officially nominated because the Democratic presidential candidate through a virtual roll call ahead of the party's official convention in Chicago in August – a maneuver that may allow Biden to seem on the November ballot in Ohio.

The Democratic Party convention, where the president would otherwise be officially nominated, will happen after the polls close in Ohio on August 7. The convention is scheduled for August 19-22.

Ohio lawmakers have moved up the deadline for candidates from each parties previously, but haven’t done so for Biden this yr. Governor Mike DeWine called them right into a rare special session to debate the difficulty.

The virtual event will allow Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to hunt formal party approval. It can be very just like the method utilized in 2020, when the convention was held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. In Chicago, Democrats will still hold a state-by-state roll call, a staple of nominating conventions, in response to a Democratic National Committee official. However, it might be largely ceremonial in nature and it’s unclear how that in-person roll call would begin.

The DNC didn’t say Tuesday when the virtual roll call will happen, but changes to the roll call process are expected to be proposed within the weeks following the committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee vote, which is scheduled for June 4.

“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree. But when it came time to take action, they failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane alone,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a press release. “By holding a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans cannot undermine our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks, and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.”

Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers met for a special session on Tuesday.

Negotiations between the House and Senate over an answer to Biden's voting problem began Friday. State Rep. Bill Seitz told reporters during a conference call that he and state Sen. Rob McColley, each Republicans, are leading the talks, with no solution announced as of Tuesday.

Since Ohio prolonged its certification deadline from 60 to 90 days before the overall election, state lawmakers have had to regulate the requirement twice, in 2012 and 2020, to accommodate candidates from each major parties. Each change has been temporary.

And the flexibility of voters to talk directly on issues similar to abortion through popular initiatives has made it harder to seek out an answer in each chambers, where Republicans have overwhelming majorities.

The Senate sent its version of election rigging to the House of Representatives after making a ban on foreign nationals donating to campaigns in Ohio, thereby halting the event.

DeWine urged lawmakers to pass the combined measure through the special session, but Democrats pushed back, saying the proposal goes beyond banning foreigners from entering the state and adds requirements designed to make future campaigns within the state harder.

This comes after Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved three bills last yr, including a Republican-opposed constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion and a bill legalizing marijuana for adult use.

It can also be possible to contemplate a “clean” House bill that might simply adjust the voting deadline in Ohio.

Due to differing interpretations of the proclamation DeWine issued Thursday, the Ohio Senate has scheduled only a single day of session for Tuesday, while the Ohio House of Representatives plans to first hold two days of committee hearings before holding its vote on Thursday.

A Senate spokesman said it was possible that the upper house would meet on Tuesday after which take a break to await the outcomes of the House of Representatives.