US election updates: Trump picks hardliner as ambassador to Israel in slew of job appointments
The Republicans are just two seats shy of a 218 majority in the House of Representatives, after David Valadao won re-election in California’s 22nd congressional district and Gabe Evans defeated the Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th congressional district.
Trump will meet congressional Republicans during his Biden White House visit on Wednesday as lawmakers prepare to “hit the ground running,” House speaker Mike Johnson said. Trump’s first years in office were marked by legislative chaos and “precious time was wasted”, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “We are not going to make those mistakes again.”
Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde has refused to concede to Democrat Tammy Baldwin in their US Senate race, saying he was “deeply concerned” about the election results but that seeking a recount was a “serious” decision and he was still reviewing his options, the Associated Press reported. Republicans have already won a majority in the Senate.
The judge in Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has postponed deciding on whether to throw out the conviction on presidential immunity grounds. Judge Juan Merchan’s office told Trump’s legal team he would delay the ruling until 19 November after defence and prosecutors submitted letters asking for a postponement.
Samuel Alito, a long-serving conservative justice on the supreme court, has no plans to step down, the Wall Street Journal reported. If he changes his mind, Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate could confirm a replacement and likely prolong the court’s conservative supermajority.
Trump will reportedly oppose a US law that could lead to popular social media app TikTok being banned, despite bipartisan support for the measure.
Trump advisers are reportedly mulling a “warrior board” to organise purge of top military officers. Donald Trump’s transition team is working on an executive order that would create a new body tasked with naming military leaders who should be demoted, the Wall Street Journal reported. The reported proposal is the latest sign that Trump may make due on his threat to retaliate against leaders at all levels of government who have broken with him, or who are perceived as disloyal.
Trump’s latest cabinet appointments were revealed as Joe Biden’s administration appeared to continue to allow military aid to Israel after threatening sanctions if it did not act to counter the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a 30-day deadline. State department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday there was “no new policy or new assessment to offer but we’ll continue to have our conversations with the Israeli government”.