betfred virginia

betfred virginia Jonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Political cartoonists from across country draw up something special for the holiday In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch: thedispatch.com . Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!ATLANTA — A bipartisan panel of Georgia lawmakers on Wednesday endorsed a plan recommending the state spend up to $5 million studying the effects of ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and other mind-altering drugs on mental health treatments for military veterans. The proposal was one of 16 recommendations from the Senate Study Committee on Veterans, Mental Health and Housing. And while it sounds radical, Georgia would not be the first state to do something like this. Oregon and Colorado have already legalized psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in some mushrooms. And last year the California Legislature passed a bill that would have legalized possession of certain psychedelics — only for it to be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress and brain injuries have very few reliable options for treatment,” said state Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat from Atlanta and a member of the panel that endorsed the plan. “A growing body of research shows that psychedelics — when administered carefully in clinical settings — may be a total game changer.” Lawmakers heard testimony from veterans who have traveled outside the United States for treatment. Still, it’s been difficult to win over Georgia’s mostly conservative Legislature, where many members have spent a lifetime preaching the “just say no” doctrine of illegal drugs. The committee’s recommendation is a baby step toward funding. Any budget allocation would have to be vetted and approved by the General Assembly. That discussion is likely to be more precarious, but the endorsement from this panel shows there is growing support for the idea. Post-traumatic stress disorder is more common among military veterans, especially those who have faced life-threatening situations in combat. The symptoms — including nightmares, severe anxiety and difficulty concentrating and sleeping — are difficult to treat. Researchers, including those at Atlanta’s Emory University, have been studying how psychedelics, when combined with psychotherapy, can help patients. A crucial component of the debate is the mainstream acceptance of the idea, which has been slowly gaining steam as more influential people get on board. That includes Bob Parsons, a Vietnam veteran and the founder of the internet domain registry GoDaddy who has invested millions of his own dollars to support research. That was enough to convince state Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, who said he had been hesitant about the idea at first but is more open to supporting it now. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ top doctor has said the agency is ready to administer the therapy as soon as it’s approved by regulators. But that was derailed in August after federal regulators declined to approve MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Other recommendations from the panel included temporarily waiving or reducing property taxes for returning veterans and creating a program to help service members navigate the complexities of the health care system.

Advances in AI, Lab-on-a-Chip, and Emerging Technologies Drive the Transformation of Point-of-Care Diagnostics, Enhancing Speed, Accuracy, and Clinical Efficiency BOSTON , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest BCC Research study on " Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Technologies and Global Markets, " the POC market is expected to grow from $40.6 billion in 2024 to $65.9 billion by the end of 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% from 2024 through 2029. The point-of-care diagnostics market is rapidly evolving with the integration of new technologies and methodologies, offering significant potential for growth through 2029. This report explores the market landscape, examining components such as hardware (devices, equipment, consumables), software, and analytics. It also segments the market by test types, including alcohol and drug abuse, blood gas electrolyte and metabolite (BGEM), cardiac markers, cholesterol, glucose monitoring, hemoglobin/hemostasis, infectious diseases, pregnancy and fertility, tumor marker, and urine chemistry. The report includes an analysis of the global market by region, and covers the market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and industry strategies, such mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations. the report serves as a vital resource for companies targeting geographic expansion. The transformative impact of AI in POC diagnostics is due to its ability to deliver accurate, reliable test results without requiring skilled personnel. This innovation has the potential to revolutionize healthcare access, particularly in remote or underserved regions by improving healthcare quality in these resource-limited areas. For instance, AI-powered platforms such as Sight OLO utilize convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms to accurately identify and count blood cells, making it a valuable tool for early disease detection. Such advances in AI-driven diagnostics not only improve healthcare accessibility but also enhance testing efficiency, broadening the reach of medical services worldwide. Please click here for more details on "The global market for point-of-care diagnostics report." The factors driving the global market for POC diagnostics include: Incidence of Infectious Diseases : Infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria remain widespread globally. POC diagnostics enable rapid testing and immediate results, essential for timely treatment and disease control. Growing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases: The prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer is rising. POC diagnostics facilitate regular monitoring outside traditional settings, increasing demand due to their convenience and need for continuous care. Demand for Self-Testing: The trend toward self-testing for privacy and convenience is growing. Products such as home pregnancy tests, glucose monitors, and COVID-19 kits enable individuals to manage their health from home. Global Aging Population : As the aging population grows, so does the need for frequent medical monitoring. POC diagnostics offer a convenient solution for elderly patients. Request a sample copy of the global market for point-of-care diagnostics report . Report Synopsis Recently announced POC diagnostics diagnostics products: 1. CytoTracker Leukometer ( January 2024 ): Developed at Rutgers University . Rapidly counts white blood cells (WBCs) using a single drop of blood. Achieved 97%+ clinical accuracy. Could speed up sepsis detection in ERs. Helps cancer doctors decide on white blood count ( WBC) stimulants for chemotherapy patients. Published in PLOS One journal. 2. D3 Array–UTI ( February 2024 ): POC diagnostic technology launched by PathogenDx. Detects 26 pathogens and 12 antibiotic-resistance genes in urine samples. Provides results in 30 minutes to a few hours. Uses a microarray-based approach with triplicate testing. Offers qualitative and quantitative results with automated cloud data analysis. Aims to revolutionize UTI diagnostics. The report addresses the following questions: 1. What is the projected size and growth rate of the market? The global market for POC diagnostics was valued at $36.9 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2% to reach $65.9 billion by the end of 2029. 2. What segments are covered in the report? The market is segmented by test type, product type, end-user, and geographic region. Test types, include alcohol and drug screening, BGEM, cardiac markers, cholesterol, glucose monitoring, hemoglobin/hemostasis, infectious disease, pregnancy and fertility, tumor markers and urine chemistry. Product types include POC diagnostics technologies, and hardware and software. End-users include hospitals critical care centers, and home care settings Regions, include North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and the Rest of the World. 3. Which test t ype will dominate the market in 2029? Glucose monitoring POC devices will dominate the market at that time. 4. Which region has the largest market share? North America holds the largest share of the market. Innovative Startups Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. Ltd: Mindray introduced the TEX20 Series Point of Care ultrasound system at Euroanaesthesia 2022. This system integrates imaging and physiological data through its X-Link solution, improving patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment in critical care and emergency medicine. GE Healthcare : In January 2023 , GE HealthCare became an independent company after being spun off from GE. In February 2024 , GE HealthCare launched the LOGIQ ultrasound portfolio, including the new LOGIQ Totus, an ultrasound solution that delivers high-quality imaging and AI-powered diagnostic support. This portfolio enhances precision care with AI tools, offering better imaging, efficient workflow, and Verisound digital solutions. Market leaders include: Abbott Becton Dickinson Danaher Corp. Ge Healthcare F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Medtronic Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Siemens Healthineers Ag Quest Diagnostics Inc. Quidelortho Corp. Related reports include: Chronic Disease Management: Therapeutics, Device Technologies, and Global Markets : This report covers the market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and the competitive landscape, including market shares of leading companies. The market is segmented by product type (pharmaceuticals and biologics, medical devices, digital therapeutics), application (various disease categories), end user (hospitals, home care), and geographic region ( North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Rest of the World). Medical Devices: Technologies and Global Markets : This report covers major players, competitive intelligence, innovative technologies, and regional opportunities. It includes assessments of recent developments, product portfolios, market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and regulatory scenarios. The market is segmented by device type (e.g., drug delivery devices, IVD, cardiovascular devices), end user (hospitals, home healthcare, etc.), and geographic region ( North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , RoW), with specific country analyses. Market estimates are based on 2023 data, with projections for 2024 and forecasts for 2029. Directly purchase a copy of the report from BCC Research. For further information or to purchase a report, please contact [email protected] About BCC Research BCC Research reports provide objective, unbiased measurement, and assessment of market opportunities. Our industry analysts' goal is to help readers make informed business decisions, free of noise and hype. Contact Us Corporate HQ: 50 Milk St. Ste 16, Boston, MA 02109, USA Email: [email protected] , Phone: +1 781-489-7301 For media inquiries, email [email protected] or visit our media page for access to our market research library. Data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183242/BCC_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BCC Research LLC

Tommy Fury opponent Genadij Krajevskij dead aged 37 as tributes pour in for boxerUCL: Arsenal, Bayern win as Man City surrender 3-0 lead to draw

Tottenham lineup vs. Roma: Predicted XI for Europa League encounter - Sports MoleIt’s here. American Thanksgiving. While most of our friends south of the border look at the late-November holiday and think NFL when it comes to sports, most Canadians view it through a different lens. They examine the NHL standings – hoping that their team is above the playoff line. Why? Since realignment occurred over a decade ago, 80% of the teams that are in playoff spots at Thanksgiving qualify for the post-season. For those that are mathematically challenged, that’s 13 out of 16 teams. That was the case last season as well as Edmonton, Nashville and the New York Islanders were the only teams to make the playoffs despite being on the outside looking in on Nov. 23, 2023. Last year on that date, the Vancouver Canucks had 27 points and only the Vegas Golden Knights — with 30 — had more. The Canucks performance in those first 20 games basically clinched a playoff spot. This season the Canucks haven’t been as fortunate. Not having the services of all-star goaltender Thatcher Demko since the start of the season due to a knee injury was the first issue that the hockey club had to deal with. Dakota Joshua also missed the first 14 games recovering from off-season cancer surgery. Brock Boeser suffered what appeared to be a concussion on Nov. 7 and missed seven games but was set to return to the lineup in Boston against the Bruins on Tuesday night. Then there’s J.T. Miller, who took a leave of absence on Nov. 19 for personal reasons. Add it all up and it’s a Canuck team that has been treading water without their three All-Stars from a year ago. After Monday’s games, Vancouver was below the playoff bar with 23 points, trailing both Colorado and Edmonton by one point for the two wildcard spots. The Canucks are also two points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division. The good news with all of these scenarios is that the Canucks have played the least number of games — 19 — of any team in the National Hockey League entering Tuesday’s game versus Boston. They have three games in hand on Edmonton, Colorado and Los Angeles. However, the question remains: will the Canucks make the playoffs? Many assume once the team gets 100% healthy, they will find a way to get it done but you know what they say about people who assume. Let’s start with Demko, the 28-year-old who compiled a 2.45 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage last season to go along with 35 wins in 51 games. Since March 10, he has played a grand total of four games; that’s four games in eight months. After such a lengthy layoff, the biggest concern for Demko will be timing and getting used to the intensity level of NHL games. As we often say when it comes to football, nothing duplicates game speed. For Demko, getting used to the speed and regular chaos of NHL games will be a challenge. Then there is Boeser, who had been out of the lineup for almost three weeks after taking a headshot from Tanner Jeannot in a game against the Kings in early November. Hopefully, there won’t be any lingering symptoms from that injury and Boeser can regain the pace that saw him score 40 goals last year and which he was duplicating this season with six goals in 12 games. As for Miller, when he does return, what player will the Canucks be getting? His play had dipped to the point where he was benched for the last 14:40 of the third period in his final game versus Nashville on Nov. 17. Miller’s production had waned with only six goals and ten assists in 17 games – well off the levels from a year ago when he tallied 37 goals and 66 assists. Then there are other issues that are of concern as well. The second defensive pair of Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy has struggled this season to the point where the organization is checking in with other teams as they look to get help for their blue line corps. What has compounded the problem is that Tocchet has emphasized since training camp that he wants his defencemen to be more involved in the offense and generating more chances. That doesn’t exactly fit into the skill set of either Myers or Soucy so it’s been noted that the Canucks are talking to other teams with Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson being a player of interest. Although Pettersson is a solid defender, he’s not exactly the answer to the Canucks problems when it comes to offence from the back-end. While we are on the topic of Petterssons, the enigma known as Elias Pettersson will need to regain the form that saw him be a dynamic play-driver who scored 30-plus goals the last three seasons. Tocchet and the organization wanted to see more of an investment from Pettersson and the Swede has shown signs of improvement with four goals and six assists in his last seven games. There are other positive signs as well. Quinn Hughes continues to play at a Norris Trophy-calibre level while Kevin Lankinen has provided consistent goaltending during Demko’s absence. Conor Garland continues to play like Conor Garland and Pius Sutter and Teddy Blueger continue to provide good depth while new additions Kiefer Sherwood and Erik Brannstrom have exceeded expectations. Given what we know about the U.S Thanksgiving Day playoff trend, it’s not a slam dunk that the Canucks will make the post-season but it’s not a slam dunk they won’t either. Unlike last year when the team had enough of a cushion in the standings to play games pressure-free for the most part in the second half, it appears they won’t have that luxury this season. As Tocchet always likes to say, things are going to just keep ‘getting tougher’ and the Canucks are going to have to ‘embrace the hard’ as they deal with the grind of an NHL season. Their playoff hopes will depend on it. Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.

NoneWASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can't guarantee his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning "things do change." Here's a look at some of the issues covered: President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage before he speaks at the FOX Nation Patriot Awards, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Greenvale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Trump threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn't believe economists' predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher domestic prices for consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. an households won't be paying more as they shop. "I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow," Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market. That's a different approach from Trump's typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation. In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying that tariffs are "going to make us rich." He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production. "All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field," Trump said. He offered conflicting statements on how he would approach the justice system after winning election despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and being indicted in other cases for his handling of national security secrets and efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. "Honestly, they should go to jail," Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power. The president-elect underscored his contention that he can use the justice system against others, including special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the case on Trump's role in the siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon supporters who were convicted for their roles in the riot, saying he would take that action on his first day in office. As for the idea of revenge driving potential prosecutions, Trump said: "I have the absolute right. I'm the chief law enforcement officer, you do know that. I'm the president. But I'm not interested in that." At the same time, Trump singled out lawmakers on a special House committee who investigated the insurrection, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. "Cheney was behind it ... so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee," Trump said. Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue cases, he said, "No," and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly undertake investigations into his political enemies. At another point, Trump said he would leave the matter up to Pam Bondi, his pick as attorney general. "I want her to do what she wants to do," he said. Such threats, regardless of Trump's inconsistencies, have been taken seriously enough by many top Democrats that Biden is considering issuing blanket, preemptive pardons to protect key members of his outgoing administration. Trump did seemingly back off his campaign rhetoric calling for Biden to be investigated, saying, "I'm not looking to go back into the past." Immigration advocates hold a rally in Sacramento, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, to protest President-Elect Donald Trump's plans to conduct mass deportation of immigrants without legal status. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) Trump repeatedly mentioned his promises to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally through a mass deportation program. "I think you have to do it," he said. He suggested he would try to use executive action to end "birthright" citizenship under which people born in the U.S. are considered citizens — though such protections are spelled out in the Constitution. Asked specifically about the future for people who were brought into the country illegally as children and were shielded from deportation in recent years, Trump said, "I want to work something out," indicating he might seek a solution with Congress. But Trump also said he does not "want to be breaking up families" of mixed legal status, "so the only way you don't break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back." President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Notre Dame Cathedral as France's iconic cathedral is formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019, Saturday Dec.7, 2024 in Paris ( Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP) Long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their own defense, Trump said he "absolutely" would remain in the alliance "if they pay their bills." Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies' commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated "fairly" on trade and defense. He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin's invasion. "Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure," Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump called for an immediate cease-fire. Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged. "I haven't spoken to him recently," Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to "impede the negotiation." Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell's term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy, including interest rates. Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027. Asked about Wray, Trump said: "Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious" that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump's pick for FBI chief, then "he's going to be taking somebody's place, right? Somebody is the man that you're talking about." Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. "We're not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient," he said. He added that "we're not raising ages or any of that stuff." He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would "probably" not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, "Well, I commit. I mean, are — things do — things change. I think they change." Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had "concepts" of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called "lousy health care." He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for "better health care for less money." Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will 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, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise prices, won't rule out revenge prosecutions

None

US commits to 61% greenhouse gas emissions cut by 2035Oilers notes: Janmark providing unexpected, but much needed, offence

NoneJonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Political cartoonists from across country draw up something special for the holiday In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch: thedispatch.com . Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

TOPEKA — The director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation proposed construction of a $114.4 million headquarters to replace administrative buildings that subjected employees to fire-safety dangers and security threats from homeless people and drug addicts. Tony Mattivi, director of the state law enforcement agency, told the Kansas Legislature’s joint budget committee Monday the headquarters located in a former Topeka junior high school was declared functionally obsolete in 1996. That main structure was built in 1929, a decade before the KBI was created. Consultants concluded the two adjoining buildings making up the headquarters complex couldn’t continue to accommodate a functioning workplace, Mattivi said. “Our headquarters isn’t safe,” the KBI director said. “I am failing miserably in my obligation to give our employees a safe place to work.” Mattivi said the stone structure serving as the central administrative building wasn’t equipped with life-safety systems such as smoke-containment and fire-sprinkler systems. The largely wood-framed building lacked internal barriers to prevent spread of flames. It isn’t compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. There are numerous code issues due to antiquated infrastructure, he said. Portions of the sewer pipe system, for example, were about 100 years old. Mattivi said the headquarters didn’t have a command post to coordinate law enforcement emergencies. Nor did it have dedicated classroom space, an indoor firing range, an evidence processing room, kennel facilities for K-9s, an incinerator or agent equipment lockers, he said. The headquarters didn’t meet external security standards because it lacked fencing and didn’t have enough property for a stand-off perimeter, Mattivi said. An alley runs between the two KBI buildings. Some of the agency’s 250 employees must walk through that alley from building to building. “I don’t mean to be unkind to anyone, but we’re in a horrible neighborhood,” Mattivi said. “Employees walk between two buildings through an alley and are often confronted by homeless people and drug addicts, because that’s what surrounds the KBI building.” Mattivi said consultants and state officials considered renovation of the existing buildings, relocating to vacant office space and building a new headquarters. The best option is to build a headquarters with 134,000 square feet on seven to nine acres in Topeka, the KBI director said. State Rep. Will Carpenter, an El Dorado Republican on the legislative budget committee, said the KBI should forward to the 2025 Legislature estimates of what it would cost to renovate the existing administrative facility. “I think if we’re going to look at that we need to look at the whole picture,” Carpenter said. The Legislature should explore alternatives such as acquiring empty office space for use by the KBI, said Republican Rep. Kyle Hoffman of Coldwater. Mattivi said the $114.4 million estimate for construction of a new headquarters reflected an updated plan for square footage and construction costs. An earlier proposal placed the preliminary cost at less than $95 million. Neither estimate included the cost of land acquisition. The KBI started the process of assessing land in the Topeka area for a new headquarters in anticipation of competitive bidding for land and construction, Mattivi said. Mattivi also urged the Legislature to approve $1.6 million for cybersecurity upgrades at the KBI. “The information we have is so sensitive that a data breach would be disastrous,” the director said. The KBI proposed the state allocate $1.2 million for specialized equipment at the KBI’s main laboratory in Topeka. In addition, the agency recommended an appropriation of $500,000 to address shortcomings in a computer system used to track offenders and $239,000 to improve recruitment and retention of KBI staff, especially information technology professionals. Meanwhile, the KBI has proceeded with development of planning for a $55 million agency laboratory on the campus of Pittsburg State University. The land was donated by PSU and the Legislature approved $40 million for the project. The remaining funding would come from the federal government. Ground is expected to be broken on that Southeast Kansas laboratory in June 2025 or about six months later than previously anticipated. The laboratory could be occupied by December 2026, Mattivi said.WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won't apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith's move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump's political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump's presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it's possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith's team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump's presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump's 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump's argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could got a chance to do so. The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July it on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith's team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump's two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump's second term, while Trump's lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. ____ Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed. Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated PressFrontline staff invited to serve stints in Whitehall to make state like a 'start up'

11. SMU Mustangs 11-2 (8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season) What's next: at No. 6 Penn State, State College, Pa., Dec. 21, Noon ET Head coach: Rhett Lashlee (three seasons, 29-11 overall) About Lashlee: The 41-year-old is enjoying success in his first college head coaching gig and has guided the Mustangs to back-to-back 11-win seasons. He was offensive coordinator at SMU from 2018-19 before heading to Miami for two years and returning to take the head job. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year this season. Resume SMU notched ranked wins over then-No. 22 Louisville and then-No. 18 Pitt but really served notice while racking up 66 points in a win over TCU. The Mustangs lost two games by a total of six points: 34-31 to Clemson in the ACC title game and 18-15 to BYU. Postseason history This is SMU's first trip to the playoffs during the CFP era. The Mustangs have lost their past four bowl games, including two under Lashlee. The program had a memorable run in the early 1980s behind stars like Eric Dickerson and Craig James but numerous NCAA violations sank the Mustangs and they eventually served a two-year death penalty. The road to Atlanta SMU hits the road for the first-round matchup at No. 6 Penn State. The winner advances to play No. 3 Boise State (12-1) in the quarterfinals in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Names to Know QB Kevin Jennings He threw for 304 yards and three TDs in the ACC title game, his fourth game over 300 yards passing this season. Jennings had a strong regular season with 2,746 yards and 19 TDs in the air and four scores on the ground. He can hurt teams with his feet, proven by a 113-yard outing against Louisville. "What is new now is the amount of criticism I receive from everyone. I get a lot of comments and messages from people on social media always criticizing everything after each game," Jennings said. RB Brashard Smith Stellar runner averaging 5.9 yards per carry to go with 1,270 yards and 14 TDs on the ground. LB Kobe Wilson Stands out against both the run and the pass, leading the team in tackles (110) and adding three sacks and two interceptions. S Isaiah Nwokobia He has enjoyed an outstanding season with 91 regular-season tackles and three interceptions while patrolling the back end. He has nine career interceptions. DT Jared Harrison-Hunte A force with 6.0 sacks, one interception and 38 tackles. He's in his first season with SMU after four at Miami. He has 15 career sacks. --Field Level Media

Stockhead Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. The silver spot price has gained some 28% this year on the back of investment and industrial demand Chinese producers are now shifting to technologies with increased silver consumption, particularly in solar panels Here are some ASX silver stocks with re-rating events heading into the new year Another year is about to wrap up and as a little gift, Stockhead has stuffed into a stocking a collection of ASX silver companies with discovery potential and re-rating events heading into the new year. Silver has stepped out of gold’s shadow and is one of the best performing commodities in 2024, gaining some 28% since the beginning of the year. The biggest driver of demand in the silver market is photovoltaic solar panels with Chinese producers now shifting to technologies with increased silver consumption, though its also trades as a safe haven investment, offering a cheaper entry point than its more fancied cousin gold. For those who love copper, Triple Eight Capital ’s Roscoe Widdup recently told Stockhead he encourages them to look at silver as it has many of the same characteristics such as a very dry project development pipeline. READ: Silver Surfer: Energy boffin Roscoe Widdup says silver is the metal that makes the grade Here’s a collection of eight ASX silver stocks with plenty of room to move in 2025. Sun Silver (ASX:SS1) Shares in Sun Silver are up 50% year-to-date, touching a high of $1.12 in October. It’s been one of the most successful mining IPOs of 2024, with a current market cap of $61.70m. The pickings for quality silver exposure on the ASX are fairly slim, but SS1 brought some shine when it closed its IPO early in May after raising the maximum $13m in mere days before surging +170% in its first month on the bourse. Sun’s advanced Maverick Springs asset in Nevada has a resource of 423Moz at 67.25g/t silver equivalent or 253Moz at 40.25g/t silver, making it the largest pre-production primary silver project on the ASX. The deposit itself remains open along strike and at depth, with multiple mineralised intercepts located outside of the current resource constrained model. With inaugural drilling complete, the company is awaiting the results for remaining drill holes which are expected over the next 4-6 weeks. Mithril Silver and Gold (ASX:MTH) Mithril remains the only ASX-lister focused on silver in Mexico, an oft-forgotten jurisdiction which continues to rank as the world’s gold standard of silver production. The company has kicked off the second stage of drilling at its Copalquin project as it works towards a resource upgrade in the new year. Mithril’s mission is to double its current 529,000oz gold equivalent resource , and managing director and CEO John Skeet said drilling was progressing well at the first of several targets at the high-grade, district scale project. With ~1500 metres completed since the recent restart, the company has now completed 6300 metres of the expanded 9000m Target 1 resource update drill program. Preparations are on track for major exploration expansion, including the beginning of drilling two more resource targets areas and development and testing of a district model for this large epithermal system. Argent Minerals (ASX:ARD) Argent’s Kempfield asset is the second largest undeveloped silver deposit in Australia, containing 65.8Moz silver, 125,192oz gold, 207,402t lead and 420,373t zinc. Recent reverse circulation drilling intersected 56m of thick, near surface volcanogenic massive sulphide style mineralisation at the Sugarloaf Hill prospect, confirming a new VMS lode proximal to Lode 200 Mineralised Block, which contains almost half of the project's silver metal. Drilling has also confirmed further mineralisation over extensive intervals at the Golden Wattle prospect for the very first time. These newly identified mineralised zones are located 2.6km east of Kempfield, signifying confidence in the scale and overall potential of this newly discovered mineralised zone. Maronan Metals (ASX:MMA) Several pivotal moments await Maronan Metals during the first six months of 2025 with the company about to wrap up its 2024 drilling program. That program has comprised about 10,000m of drilling with the aim to increase the indicated component of its Starter Zone resource, which currently stands at 2.1Mt at 5.3% lead and 155g/t silver. A major near-term catalyst includes the resource update in March, which will place Maronan in a good position to promote the economics of the project. The updated Maronan resource will pave the way for a scoping study due in the June 2025 quarter, focusing on the 500m long by 600m deep ‘Starter Zone’, which sits less than 90m from surface. Andean Silver (ASX:ASL) Shares in Andean Silver gained a chunky 285% year-to-date following several key milestones including the increase of resources at the company’s Chilean Cerro Bayo silver-gold project by more than 80%. Since taking ownership of the asset in early 2024, Andean has nearly quadrupled the size of the deposit by adding a further 66Moz at an average grade 460g/t silver equivalent. The company is nowhere near the finish yet with a further resource update planned for early Q1 2025 which will include results from recent drilling at the Pegaso 7 area, which sits entirely outside the current resource. Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL) Polymetals acquired the Endeavour mine in 2023 after resetting a prohibitive 100% silver streaming royalty to a 4% NSR over silver, lead and zinc. Restructuring this royalty breathes new life to the mine, with Polymetals now executing on its initial 10-year mine plan. The transfer of 100% ownership from CBH Resources Limited to Polymetals paves the way for production at the mine to resume in the first half of 2025. It also paves the way for surface and underground refurbishment works at the operation in preparation for first concentrate production and sales revenue during H1 2025. Unico Silver (ASX:USL) Unico Silver, a stock pick of both Eric Sprott and John Forwood, owns the 92Moz Cerro Leon project in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province, up the road from AngloGold Ashanti’s Cerro Vanguardia mine. The project is host to the second largest vein field in the province (the Pinguino vein field) with mapped veins totalling 115km of cumulative strike. A $22.5m placement was carried out in November to accelerate exploration and resource growth through an extensive 50,000m drilling campaign at Cerro Leon and the newly acquired Joaquin projects. The company acquired Joaquin in October, strategically located 60km west of USL’s 91Moz silver equivalent Cerro Leon resource and portfolio, enhancing future development options with added scale and economics. Boab Metals (ASX:BML) Boab Metals has been a strong performer this year as it progresses its Sorby Hills lead-silver project in WA towards production. Situated 50km northeast of Kununurra, the project currently has a resource of 47.3Mt grading 4.3% lead equivalent (or 123g/t silver equivalent) including 53Moz of contained silver. Sorby Hills has an initial production target of 18.3Mt underpinned by 83% reserves and is envisioned as a conventional open pit that will produce a high-grade lead-silver concentrate through a regular flotation process plant. Front-end engineering and design studies have outlined strong economics with estimated net present value of $411m and internal rate of return of 37%. BML has already secured concentrate offtake and a binding US$30m pre-payment term sheet from global commodities trader Trafigura. Engagement with additional debt financiers is ongoing with the company targeting a final investment decision in H2 2025. At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Sun Silver, Mithril, Argent Minerals and Maronan Metals are Stockhead advertisers they did not sponsor this article. Originally published as Stocking Stuffers: These ASX silver stocks could look good under your Xmas tree More related stories Stockhead Iron ore decline in Canberra crystal ball Federal government forecasters are continuing to go bearish on iron ore prices, as Australia plans for lower bulk commodity prices. Read more Stockhead ASX drops more as Bitcoin falls below US$97k The ASX has taken another hit on Friday as the Fed’s cautious outlook lingers. Bitcoin has slid below US$97k and gold miners are in retreat. Read moreIn the wake of his November victory, President-elect Donald Trump has already had a fairly messy rollout of his Cabinet nominees. His first choice for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration, and some of his other picks have their own personal scandals or controversies to overcome in the Senate confirmation process. Yet despite some less than optimal headlines, the Republican-controlled Senate will likely confirm nearly all of Trump's Cabinet nominees and picks for other key positions. Republicans hold a 53-to-47 majority in the next Senate, so if the GOP remains relatively unified, most of Trump's nominees will get across the finish line. And with senators from the two parties now farther apart ideologically than they've ever been in modern times, almost all GOP senators will back Trump's choices — and most Democrats will probably oppose them. None of this precludes further developments that could lead another nominee to withdraw due to controversy or scandal, or that one nominee could go down to defeat on the Senate floor — something that hasn't happened since 1989. But considering Trump's especially dominant sway within his party as well as those broader trends, it's easy to see how the Senate could confirm even some of his most controversial picks. Nominees face more opposition, but senators stick with their parties Cabinet confirmation votes used to be a formality; throughout most of the 20th century, presidents' Cabinet nominees were typically confirmed unanimously or near-unanimously. But over the past 30 years, the amount of opposition to presidents' nominees to Cabinet posts and certain positions that have been or are currently considered Cabinet-level* has distinctly increased. President Joe Biden's nominees had the second-highest number of total votes against them across all confirmation votes in the Senate during his nearly four years in office. This puts him second only to Trump during the president-elect's first term, when many of his nominees encountered substantial opposition. Of course, Trump's turnover-prone first administration had a record number of nominees for Cabinet and Cabinet-level posts, so he also had more opportunities for the Senate to cast votes against his choices. Still, we can see an upward trend beyond Trump, too. The 25 Senate roll call votes for Biden's nominees was similar to the 23 that former President Barack Obama had during his second term and the 22 that former President George H.W. Bush had during his four years in office. But Biden's Cabinet-level selections produced 634 "no" votes, whereas Obama's generated 420, and Bush's sparked fewer than 100. Fact is, confirmation votes have grown more partisan and more contentious over time. We can see this if we break down the average number of "no" votes cast against each president's nominees by whether they came from their own party's senators or from the opposing party. Perhaps unsurprisingly, votes against nominees are up thanks almost entirely due to growing opposition from the party not in the White House. Inversely, senators from the president's party hardly ever vote against Cabinet-level nominees. With 53 senators in the next Congress, Republicans can afford up to three defections and still win votes via Vice President-elect JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. But in recent times, Cabinet-level nominees have faced an average of less than one vote in opposition from senators of the president's party. Biden's nominees averaged about 25 "no" votes during his one term, but practically all of those came from Republicans. Similarly, Trump's first term saw an average of about 29 "no" votes per nominee, yet almost all came from Democrats. It is true that more controversial nominees who might inspire more intraparty opposition don't necessarily make it to the floor, as the withdrawal of nominees has become more common. Still, we have to go back to the 1970s to find any presidential term in which senators from the president's party averaged more than one vote against a nominee. In light of this trend, it's unsurprising that Democrats moved to eliminate the filibuster for Cabinet selections in 2013, at the start of Obama's second term, to make it easier for him to get his nominees. Back then, Democrats held a majority in the Senate but had far fewer than the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by invoking cloture , which then allows the Senate to move to an up-or-down vote on a nominee. Tellingly, about one-in-six of Obama's picks who faced a roll call vote during his second term received fewer than 60 votes on the Senate floor, while the same was true for about one-fourth of Biden's nominees. The removal of the filibuster limitation certainly aided Trump during his first term, too, and likely will again this time around. Back then, nearly half of Trump's nominees fell short of 60 votes while still winning confirmation. An increasingly partisan Senate and nomination process Before the 1970s, presidents rarely got pushback from the Senate on their Cabinet picks. Senators mostly deferred to the president's prerogative, with the view that presidents should have the advisers and administration officials they wanted unless those choices were especially scandalous or unqualified. Consequently, the Senate OK'd most of the president's picks without even taking a recorded vote, simply confirming them by voice vote on the Senate floor — a sign that the selections faced no or extremely limited opposition. During the presidencies of Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, just four of 74 total nominees faced a roll call vote. Outside of denying former Atomic Energy Commission Chair Lewis Strauss the post of commerce secretary in 1959 — which you might be familiar with if you saw the film "Oppenheimer" — the Senate nearly always acquiesced to the president's choices. Fast forward to today, however, and virtually all Cabinet-level nominees now must contend with a recorded vote in the Senate. A combination of growing executive power and rising political polarization helped bring about this shift. Over the course of the 20th century, the power of the president and the executive branch grew at the expense of Congress , as what became known as the "imperial presidency" rose to hold greater agenda-setting and policy-making prerogatives. In the early 1970s, Congress attempted to rein in the presidency by passing legislation to limit the president's latitude for unilateral military action and compel the president to provide greater transparency regarding executive budgetary practices. At the same time, the Senate also began to more aggressively scrutinize and demonstrate opposition to Cabinet-level appointments. To wit, across former President Richard Nixon's roughly one and a half terms in office, one-third of his nominees (15 of 45) faced a roll call vote, a major change from his immediate predecessors. Around the same time, the two major political parties began to become more ideologically coherent and started to move apart from each other , a process that has continued to this day . Conservatives moved more clearly into the Republican camp, while liberals shifted into the Democrats' corner, changes that brought with them more distinct policy differences and greater disdain for the opposition . This produced a growing divide between the ideological stances of Democratic and Republican senators, as shown by Voteview.com's DW-NOMINATE measure , which uses senators' voting records to place them on a continuum from -1 (most liberal) to 1 (most conservative). The gap between the average senator from each party has increased as Democrats have shifted to the left and, especially, Republicans have swung to the right . In this environment, nominations for Cabinet-level posts take longer and face more opposition than they once did. Consider how much longer it takes the Senate to finish confirming most of the high-profile secretariats for the 15 executive departments in a newly elected president's Cabinet. Through former President Ronald Reagan's first term, most newly elected presidents had their department heads confirmed within just a couple of weeks of taking office — i.e., by early February. But since then, each incoming president other than George W. Bush has taken until March at the earliest to fill out these top posts; Obama and Trump even took until late April. And this happened even though every elected president from Reagan to Biden (except the elder Bush) entered the White House with his party at least narrowly controlling the Senate. Trump's special flavor of party loyalty Now, this historical data doesn't mean that the next Senate absolutely will behave the same way. The controversial nature of some of Trump's choices, such as nominating vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, could brook enough opposition even within the GOP to stall out some picks. However, this is where there could be an especially impactful interaction between the increasingly polarized nomination process and Trump's particularly strong hold on the Republican Party. Pricing in increased pushback from the opposition party, members of the president's party now face greater pressure than ever to confirm nominees. Take the ongoing debate over former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice for secretary of defense. Hegseth faces allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse . These sorts of personal scandals have precipitated the failure or withdrawal of many past nominees. In fact, the last time the Senate outright rejected a Cabinet pick involved both similar issues and the same secretariat: In March 1989, former Sen. John Tower's nomination to become George H.W. Bush's defense secretary failed in the Democratic-controlled Senate, driven in part by allegations of alcoholism and womanizing. Yet enough Republican senators may back Hegseth for him to join the Cabinet. The delicate position of GOP Sen. Joni Ernst exemplifies how . Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee that will handle Hegseth's nomination, is the first female combat veteran in the Senate, and she also disclosed in 2019 that she'd been sexually assaulted in the past. Earlier this month, she expressed skepticism toward Hegseth's nomination, telling Fox News that she hadn't yet decided to back him. But Ernst is also up for reelection in red-leaning Iowa in 2026. Following a whirlwind of criticism from Trump and his allies , along with threats of a possible primary challenge, Ernst expressed a more favorable view of Hegseth's nomination. Trump's Cabinet-level nominees will face substantial opposition in the Senate, especially compared with past presidencies. However, there's ample reason to think that, when push comes to shove, most Republicans will vote for his picks for most offices — if not just about all of them. With 53 seats in the next Senate, the GOP is well positioned to do Trump's bidding. Otherwise, incumbent senators may have to risk their political careers to oppose some of Trump's selections. Footnotes *This analysis includes all floor votes for the leadership posts of the 15 current Cabinet departments (attorney general and the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, labor, state, transportation, treasury and veterans affairs), nine other positions that are currently considered "Cabinet-level" (CIA director, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, director of national intelligence, director of the Office of Management and Budget, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, administrator of the Small Business Administration, ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. trade representative) and six positions that had Cabinet status at one time (administrator of the General Services Administration, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, director of the Office of Personnel Management, postmaster general and secretary of health, education and welfare).

Jonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Political cartoonists from across country draw up something special for the holiday In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch: thedispatch.com . Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!How Trump's bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

AP Business SummaryBrief at 4:49 p.m. EST

Equinix Inc. stock rises Tuesday, still underperforms market