Caitlin Wilson
US live editor

We have reached the end of the first full week of Donald Trump's presidential transition period, and his plans for the White House are beginning to take shape as he announces who he will nominate to join him in his next administration.

Trump has announced who he intends to have fill his cabinet positions and other White House posts, including Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Doug Collins to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, Kristi Noem for homeland security secretary, Karoline Leavitt as press secretary, Pete Hegseth to head the defence department and Doug Burgum for secretary of the interior, among others.

Some nominees have earned more criticism than others. For example, even some fellow Republicans have expressed hesitancy or concern over the nominee for attorney general, former Representative Matt Gaetz, who resigned his House seat this week.

Republican Senator Susan Collins said she was "shocked" by the announcement, while Senator Mike Rounds said he would like to see the results of an investigation into Gaetz by the the House Ethics Committee.

The former Florida congressman was being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds - all of which Gaetz denies - but the inquiry was suspended after his resignation. House Speaker Mike Johnson has urged the committee not to release its findings.

And the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has sparked opposition from public health experts over his views that have conflicted with scientific evidence, especially on vaccines.

Trump also announced that tech billionaire Elon Musk would be in charge of running a so-called Department of Government Efficiency - or DOGE, a reference to an internet meme - tasked with cutting bureaucracy and spending.

There is still a lot left to learn about what Trump's second White House term will look like. There are more nominations to be made, including for treasury secretary, and it is not yet certain all of the president-elect's picks will make it through the Senate confirmation process.

For now, we are ending our live coverage of the transition process, but we'll keep an eye on how the news is unfolding and bring you any info you need to know elsewhere on our site.

In the meantime, stay up to date with the latest developments:

• Five takeaways from Trump’s first week as president-elect
• Who has joined Trump's team so far?
• United by loyalty, Trump's new team members have competing agendas
• Trump rewards personal lawyers with justice department posts
• Trump picking Gaetz to head justice sends shockwaves - and a strong message
• Fact-checking RFK Jr's views on health policy

Thank you for joining us.

A woman who testified before the House Ethics Committee during its investigation into former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz told the panel she saw the ex-lawmaker having sex with a minor during a 2017 party in Orlando, the witness's lawyer told the BBC's news partner CBS on Friday.

The lawyer, Joel Leppard, represents two witnesses who he says testified before the committee. He demanded on Friday that lawmakers release a report from the congressional investigation into Gaetz, whom President-elect Trump nominated earlier this week to serve as US attorney general in his second administration.

Gaetz denies these allegations, which the justice department has also looked into. It closed its investigation last year without filing charges.

A report on the findings of the House ethics inquiry - which began in 2021 - was expected to be released this week, but was halted after Gaetz resigned following the announcement of Trump's nomination.

The identity of the minor referred to by Leppard's clients is not clear. The investigations began with reports three years ago that Gaetz may have had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl.

The lawyer for the then-17-year-old, who is now an adult, this week also urged for the House report to be released, according to CBS.

The Florida lawmaker wrote earlier today on X that "lies were weaponised to try to destroy me".

"These lies resulted in prosecution, conviction and prison. For the liars, not me. I focused on the truth and doing my job," the post reads.

At the end of the post, Gaetz includes a link to a post by political journalist Marc Caputo - who has previously written about the sex crimes investigation involving Gaetz for Politico.

The link doesn't work - but Caputo had reposted an article about the investigation into Gaetz before his post was published on Friday.

• You can read our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's piece on 'Gaetz-gate' from 2021 here

President-elect Donald Trump has already announced several names for his cabinet, but some positions are yet to be filled, and the role of treasury secretary is one that everyone is watching.

Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has become a major fundraiser and economic adviser to Trump, appears to be the leading candidate for the role, two sources familiar with the transition told the BBC's US partner CBS News on Thursday.

Another name also at the forefront for the role is Robert Lighthizer -a free-trade sceptic who led the tariff war with China as the US trade representative during Trump's first term.

But at least two others may also be under consideration for the role: John Paulson, another megadonor from the hedge fund world and Fox Business Network financial commentator Larry Kudlow, who ran Trump's national economic council during his first term.

• You can read more about who has been picked so far, and which positions are still vacant in our detailed explainer

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) top vaccines official says he hopes Robert F Kennedy Jr - who has expressed scepticism over vaccines repeatedly stated widely debunked claims about vaccine harm - will "keep an open mind".

His comments come as Donald Trump's nomination of Kennedy as health secretary - which would oversee the FDA - divides political circles and draws criticism from health experts.

"What I would ask of [Kennedy] is that he keep an open mind," Peter Marks, head of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which assesses the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, said at an event earlier this week.

Kennedy has previously accused the health department of hiding vaccine safety data, but Marks said this was not the case.

"We're happy to try to show as much of the data as we can," he said, highlighting that "the data are essentially overwhelming in certain areas" and that there are "no secret files".

"Perhaps engaging in that dialogue, especially if it's in a public venue, it may help," Marks said.

"It may help bring some of the rest of the country along because sometimes as somebody is convinced, perhaps, maybe some of the rest of the country will be."

Read more:

• What RFK Jr could do on US vaccines, fluoride and drugs, external
• Fact-checking RFK Jr's views on health policy

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Republican Senator Mike Rounds has said he wants to see the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz, after House Speaker Mike Johnson advised against it being released earlier today.

Gaetz was being investigated over sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds - but his resignation from the House earlier this week meant the investigation was halted, as only members can be investigated.

Speaking to CNN, Rounds said: "We should be able to get a hold of it, have access to it, one way or another, based on the way that we do all of these nominations."

Republican Senator John Cornyn also said he “absolutely” wanted to see the committee’s findings on Gaetz, CNN reported on Thursday.

Image source, Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt's connections to the White House begin with an internship while she was in college - and could now continue as Donald Trump has chosen her as press secretary for his second term.

After graduating from university, the now 27-year-old was hired as an assistant press secretary under former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during the first Trump administration.

Leavitt later went on to serve as the communications director for New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican who President-elect Trump earlier this week nominated to serve as United Nations ambassador.

Leavitt even made her own bid to serve in the US Congress two years ago, running to represent New Hampshire's first congressional district during the 2022 midterm elections. She won the Republican primary race, but lost to Democrat Chris Pappas in the general election.

Now, she's been chosen to take up the iconic spot behind the podium in the White House briefing room - a space that saw plenty of tense exchanges during Trump's first administration.

There were multiple press secretaries during his first four years in the White House, including Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany.

Trump's first-term press secretaries broke records for the longest amount of time without holding formal press briefings.

Image source, Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped his campaign's national press secretary Karoline Leavitt to serve in the same role at the White House, we've just learned.

Leavitt previously served under Trump's first administration as assistant press secretary.

"Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement.

At 27, it appears she would become the youngest-ever White House press secretary.

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Florida

Activists are being bussed in and out of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, where an "investors summit" for the Conservative Political Action Conference is being held here in Florida.

Some I talk to have seen Trump around - others are hoping for a glance or even a job in the new administration. Most people are, perhaps unsurprisingly, very on-message: echoing the president-elect's policy plans and defending his choices for cabinet.

Having said that, there does appear to be some hesitancy when I ask about Matt Gaetz's nomination for attorney general. Gaetz has a reputation with some for being combative and has made political enemies - including within his own party. He was also facing a House Ethics Committee inquiry into alleged sexual and financial misconduct - he's denied wrongdoing.

People I'm speaking too aren't outright criticizing the former Florida congressman - some are even supportive - but there's also a distinct raising of the eyebrow and a "wait and see" attitude in comparison to discussion of other picks.

Maine Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, spoke earlier today at a graduation ceremony for the Maine State Police, where she talked with reporters about President-elect Donald Trump's decision to nominate former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Collins, who is often considered more moderate than some Senate Republicans and therefore wields an influential vote, said she was "shocked" by the decision.

"There are many serious allegations pending against him," she said.

When it comes to the House Ethics Committee's investigative report into Gaetz, Collins added that she is "confident" the information from the report will be revealed eventually, even if the panel does not formally release it through their usual means.

She said the information could come out through the Senate confirmation process, which all of Trump's nominees must go through before taking positions in his second administration.

Collins also commented on another addition to the new White House team, saying she is looking forward to tech billionaire Elon Musk's recommendations following his appointment to lead the newly formed "Department of Government Efficiency".

"I'm sure he'll have a lot of good ideas for us to consider," she said.

As we reported earlier, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has been nominated as the interior minister and chair of a new energy panel under President-elect Donald Trump.

"I'm deeply grateful to President @RealDonaldTrump for this amazing opportunity to serve the American people and achieve ENERGY DOMINANCE," Burgum writes on X following the announcement.

Trump first hinted at Burgum's appointment last night during a speech he gave at Mar-a-Lago, where Burgum was also in attendance.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been appointed alongside Elon Musk to run the department of government efficiency (Doge), says weekly "Dogecasts" will start being livestreamed on X soon.

Ramaswamy and X owner Musk have been appointed to head the new cost-cutting department - but their roles will be advisory and the department will not be an official government one.

"Our goal is to shave the size of government & to be as transparent as possible with the public," Ramaswamy writes in a post on X.

Read more on what Doge is

Image source, Getty Images

Since Donald Trump's election victory, millions of people have joined a new social media platform called Bluesky.

Essentially, it's an alternative platform to Elon Musk's X - formerly Twitter - and bills itself as "social media as it should be".

Visually, it's a copycat version of what Twitter used to look like, with a similar colour scheme and a white butterfly logo on a light blue background. (Twitter's logo had a bird)

Former head of Twitter Jack Dorsey created Bluesky but he left the company in May this year and it's now owned by Jay Graber.

The platform has been around since 2019 but sign-up was invitation-only until this February. On 15 November, 10 days after Trump's election win, the platform announced one million users had joined in the last 24 hours.

Some users have said they are leaving X in protest over Musk's support for Trump while others such as the Guardian newspaper - which is not longer posting on X - labelled it a "toxic media platform".

• Find out what the main difference is between Bluesky and X and how it will make money

Mike Wendling
US digital reporter

Image source, Getty Images

For most of his career Robert F Kennedy Jr was a respected, if not hugely famous, environmental lawyer.

That changed during the Covid pandemic, when the anti-vaccine views of his Children’s Health Defense organisation received far more attention.

RFK Jr initially ran for president as a Democrat - the traditional party of Kennedy family politicians. And given the dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden, he instantly picked up a swathe of support on name recognition alone.

When I went to one of his campaign events in Michigan last autumn, there were just as many people attracted by the prospect of another “President Kennedy” as by his opposition to Covid vaccines.

Kennedy spoke frankly that day about his concern about health, including some of his own health challenges.

But realising he would not be able to topple Biden, Kennedy soon ditched the Democrats and ran as an independent.

His base began to shift. At a spring fundraiser I found a much more Republican-leaning crowd. And six weeks ago I heard Kennedy speak in Washington with a line-up that included people like Russell Brand and Canadian academic Jordan Peterson.

Nobody in the crowd had a good word to say about today’s Democratic Party - and Kennedy’s own conversion to the Maga world was complete.

Image source, Reuters

We've been bringing you a lot of news about the transition to Donald Trump's presidency, but Joe Biden is still the US president for two more months, so let's check in with him.

Biden has been in Latin America for the last few days where a number of summits (such as Apec and the G20) have been taking place.

The visit focuses on talks on climate issues, global infrastructure, combatting drug trafficking and one-on-one meetings with various global leaders.

As he met leaders of Japan and South Korea, Biden spoke of the world having "reached a moment of significant political change" ahead of the transition of administrations.

Asked after the meeting whether there had been talk about the incoming administration, a senior official told reporters that the president-elect's name did not come up in the trilateral discussions.

Where Biden has represented the US in talks about global cooperation on climate change and other issues, we can expect from Trump's own rhetoric that he will prioritise domestic issues over global partnerships.

Dominic Hughes
Health correspondent

The health of the US population poses a paradox for medical experts and politicians.

On the one hand, people are living longer. But at the same time, the lives of a growing number of Americans - most often from Black, Hispanic, Indigenous or low-income backgrounds - are blighted by ill health.

And if there is one problem that looms larger than any other, it is the growing levels of obesity. A recent study in The Lancet, external found that nearly three-quarters of US adults are overweight or obese.

In the 1990s, it was about 50% of adults. And they are putting on weight at a younger age. More than one in three children are now overweight or obese. The study predicts that without aggressive action, the number of people carrying too much weight in the US could reach 260 million by 2050.

This matters because it has implications for the wider health system. Obesity can lead to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, heart attack and stroke, as well as being linked to infertility, cancer and mental health problems.

Tackling what many health professionals regard as an obesity epidemic is a huge challenge that faces almost every developed nation. The new weight loss drugs like Wegovy could offer hope. But the long term effects of these treatments are still unclear - and no-one yet has come up with a set of political policies that have slowed the alarming and rapid rise in obesity levels.

New health secretary Robert F Kennedy’s scepticism around mainstream medicine, vaccines and the value of public health agencies only adds to the uncertainty of how the US will tackle its obesity crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's election win and his announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy has spiked interest in Dogecoin.

Dogecoin is a form of cryptocurrency, which is an internet-based, unregulated asset that people can trade money for. A better-known example is Bitcoin, which has also experienced a spike.

The name is a reference to a meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog, which the internet branded "Doge".

Dogecoin, which was started in 2013 as a parody of the cryptocurrency craze, was once obscure, but following Musk's vocal support has skyrocketed in value.

On the campaign trail Trump pledged to make the US "the crypto capital of the planet".

Rebecca Hartmann
BBC News, Washington

“I won’t tell you his name, it might be something like Burgum”, the president-elect teased the crowd on Thursday evening at Mar-a-Lago. “Actually, he’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic.”

That's how Donald Trump unofficially announced that the North Dakota governor, Doug Burgum would head the Department of Interior - ahead of today's official nomination.

Burgum will lead a department with a sprawling remit. Its agencies are responsible for national parks and monuments, government relations with Native American tribes, the protection of endangered species and around 414 million acres of public land, as well as the minerals that are found there.

The department decides on permits for oil and gas exploration as well as renewable energy development both on and offshore.

“We’re going to do things with energy and with land interior that is going to be incredible” the president-elect said on Thursday.

Throughout the campaign trail Trump repeated the phrase “Drill, Baby, Drill” pledging that his administration would increase domestic oil and gas production.

As the secretary for the Department of Interior, Burgum will have a key role in carrying out that agenda. North Dakota is the third largest oil producing state and as governor there Burgum promoted carbon capture policies to reduce carbon emissions rather than reducing fossil fuel production.

Image source, Reuters

We've now received the official announcement from Trump's team confirming Doug Burgum will be nominated for the role of interior minister as well as chairman of "the newly formed, and very important National Energy Council," the statement reads.

The council is described as consisting of all department and agencies concerned with domestic energy.

Burgum ran for president in 2024, but ultimately dropped out and backed the president-elect, becoming an adviser to his campaign, particularly on energy issues.

He is currently serving his second term as North Dakota's governor and his first term saw local protests over the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which critics say impacts Native American land.

Florida authorities have arrested a man they say had driven a stolen car to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and asked to speak to the president-elect.

The man, a 52-year-old from Sarasota, is facing charges of vehicle theft and driving a car without a valid license. He is being held in jail as of Friday morning ahead of his first court appearance.

Police say he drove a Hyundai Kona - a small SUV - into the parking lot near Mar-a-Lago at about 21:00 local time on Thursday evening.

After asking to speak with Trump, a Secret Service agent pulled him aside and called the police.

He is at least the third person to be arrested at Mar-a-Lago since the summer.

If you're just joining us, or are in need of a refresh, here's what's happened over the last few hours:

• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson advised against releasing a report into allegations of misconduct against Matt Gaetz - Donald Trump's pick for attorney general
• Gaetz was being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds - but his resignation from the House earlier this week meant the investigation was halted, as only members can be investigated

• Steven Cheungwill become President-elect Donald Trump's new communications director
• Sergio Gor will take the role of assistant to the president and director of the presidential personnel office
• Officials in California confirmed that Donald Trump’s pick for US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, was investigated over a sexual assault allegation in 2017
• Robert F Kennedy Jr's nomination for health secretary sparked a wave of criticism earlier from health experts questioning his suitability over his stance on vaccination

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest developments.