Pbs Newshour - Politics

President-elect Trump continues to name nominees to his cabinet and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy was first a Democratic then independent candidate in the 2024 election before dropping out and endorsing Trump. He's also an anti-vaccine activist and has pushed several conspiracies about the COVID-19 virus. Laura Barrón-López reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

House Republicans will maintain their hold on the lower chamber next year, giving the GOP a political trifecta in Washington, controlling both chambers of Congress and the presidency come January. Lisa Desjardins reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard would oversee 18 intelligence organizations including the CIA and NSA. Her nomination could set off a fight since Gabbard has no intelligence experience and is accused of defending dictators and parroting disinformation. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Michael Leiter, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Plans for Trump's return to Washington, and the Republican Party's return to power, are well underway. But for Democrats in the minority, the path forward is not as clear. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is the House Democratic leader and the author of the new children's book, "The ABCs of Democracy." Jeffries joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President-elect Trump took a victory lap in the nation's capital, bouncing from meetings with House Republicans to President Biden in the Oval Office. It comes as critical roles are being filled, from more members of Trump's cabinet to new leaders in the Senate. Lisa Desjardins reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President Biden hosted President-elect Trump at the White House for nearly two hours on Wednesday, a familiar ritual in the peaceful handoff of power. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports on the transition meeting. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Donald Trump isn't the only one preparing for his return to the White House. Several Democratic governors are uniting, they say, to protect democracy at the state level during Trump's second term in office. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the launch of Governors Safeguarding Democracy. Pritzker joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President-elect Trump announced his picks to lead the bulk of the expansive, American security and diplomatic apparatus. A senator, a soldier-turned-television host and a former member of Congress have been chosen by Donald Trump to lead, respectively, the State Department, the Defense Department and the Directorate of National Intelligence. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For perspective on President-elect Trump's pick of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, Nick Schifrin spoke with James McPherson. He served as under secretary of the Army and as the Army's general council during the first Trump administration. He also had a 25-year career in the Navy and served as that service's top lawyer in uniform. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

While a majority of Black and Latino voters turned out for Vice President Kamala Harris this election, President-elect Donald Trump made significant inroads with both groups. Voter surveys from the Associated Press show Trump won 43 percent of the overall Latino vote, an eight-point increase from 2020. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Pastor Samuel Rodriguez. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

A second Donald Trump administration is taking shape, one new appointee at a time. Tuesday, the president-elect tapped more of his closest allies to fill some of the government's top posts. Among them is Sen. Marco Rubio, putting Trump's one-time foe on track to becoming the first Latino to serve as the nation's top diplomat. Laura Barrón-López reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Newly-elected House members won't take their seats until January but they are on Capitol Hill this week for congressional orientation. Republican Congressman-elect Rob Bresnahan is among them. He flipped his district in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania from blue to red. Bresnahan joined Geoff Bennett to discuss more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The 119th Congress will have several members whose elections made history. One of them is Representative-elect Sarah McBride, a state senator who won Delaware's at-large seat in the House. She will become the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress. McBride joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

As President-elect Trump's team is taking shape, we're learning more about who will take the lead on energy, climate and the environment. The first announcement on that front is Lee Zeldin, a former GOP congressman who will head the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump has called climate change a "scam" and says addressing it hurts business. William Brangham discussed more with Coral Davenport. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President-elect Trump is quickly picking the people he wants to advise him when he enters the White House again, including who he has chosen to lead his campaign promise of mass deportation. Trump announced Tom Homan will be his "border czar" and Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, is expected to be his deputy chief of staff for policy. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

More than a dozen congressional races have yet to be called as House Republicans are looking to maintain hold of the chamber. If they do, it would lead to Republicans holding a political trifecta over Washington. Lisa Desjardins reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Elon Musk was among Donald Trump's most visible and powerful surrogates on the campaign trail. Now with President-elect Trump, Musk remains within the inner circle, joining calls with world leaders and weighing in on staffing decisions. Amna Nawaz discussed the influence Musk could exert on the next administration and what he stands to gain with Vittoria Elliott of Wired. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join Geoff Bennett to discuss the latest political news, including analysis of Democrats' losses in last week's election and the new Trump team taking shape. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Many of Vice President Kamala Harris' rallies in the closing days of the campaign were interrupted by people angry about the mounting death toll in Gaza and Lebanon and the Biden administration's support for Israel. That anger may have been expressed at the polls on Election Day. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, joins John Yang to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

During his campaign, Trump said he wants to get rid of virtually all Biden administration regulations intended to cut carbon emissions and move away from fossil fuels. He's also called for the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden's signature climate law. John Yang speaks with Matthew Daly, who covers climate, environment and energy policy for the Associated Press, about what to expect. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders