Image source, Getty Images

There's more news of Donald Trump's nominations now, with the president-elect announcing that he's picking Todd Blanche to be the new US deputy attorney general.

Blanche represented Trump at his criminal trial in New York earlier this year, in which he was convicted of falsifying business records, making him the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime.

"Todd is an excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long," Trump says in a post on Truth Social.

Trump has also announced that Emil Bove will serve as principal associate deputy attorney general, and as acting deputy attorney general, while Blanche's appointment is awaiting approval by the Senate.

• For context: In January, Donald Trump will become the first US president to take office while several criminal cases against him are pending. If you're interested in what happens now to the four cases against him, we have an explainer looking at the finer detail.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

House Republicans have been responding to the news that former presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has been nominated as Donald Trump’s pick to serve as health secretary.

Texas Congressman Chip Roy says it's "great news". He tells me: "We need disruption across the entire federal government. He’ll be great at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that."

Roy adds that he believes Kennedy’s nomination will pass through the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedys in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he says.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman agrees with Roy that Kennedy will be confirmed in the Senate: “I think he’s a good pick on the president’s part as all of them have been. He [Kennedy] has got an interest, he’s got a passion for the medical field. He’ll do a good job with it."

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing Donald Trump has nominated Jay Clayton -chairperson of the US Securities and Exchange Commission under the president-elect's first administration - to serve as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The district covers eight New York counties, including Manhattan, making it one of the most influential federal trial courts in the US, with jurisdiction over some of the country's biggest financial institutions.

Its attorney - colloquially known as "the sheriff of Wall Street" - is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district, which has overseen several high-profile investigations, including of Trump himself.

Former post holders include ex-FBI director James Comey and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

At Mar-a-Lago, those vying for government jobs swarm around the president-electpublished at 22:39 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

22:39 GMT 14 November

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Florida

Image source, Reuters

Away from Donald Trump's cabinet nominations, the so-called ‘Winter White House’ - Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home - is set to become even more crowded this evening as right-wing activists gather for a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) investors summit.

Tickets to attend an event dinner range from $5,000 (£3,900) to $25,000 (£19,680), according to the organisation’s website.

The conference has been elevated in its importance as supporters, and people vying for jobs, continue to swarm around the president-elect's West Palm Beach resort.

And the first foreign leader to meet Trump there in person - since last week’s election result - is due to make a speech. The self-styled libertarian Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, has made it clear he’s a fan of Trump with the feeling appearing to be mutual.

These are both leaders who like to make waves.

Milei’s just summoned Argentina’s delegation home from the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan, as there’s already concern about the stability of the Paris climate agreement with Trump reportedly planning to withdraw from the agreement for the second time.

Donald Trump's pick for health secretary has repeatedly made widely debunked claims about vaccines causing harm, although he has denied on several occasions that he is anti-vaccination.

One false claim he has repeated for many years is that there is a link between autism and vaccines - a claim that's been disproved in multiple reputable studies.

He's also the head of Children's Health Defense, a leading anti-vaccine group.

Despite this, he has refuted the idea that he is an anti-vaxxer, and just last week said he wouldn't "take away anybody's vaccines" in a health role under Trump.

Image source, Getty Images

We’re yet to hear Robert F Kennedy Jr comment on his nomination, but other figures have been offering their reactions on social media.

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who is soon to head up Donald Trump's new efficiency department, simply says “congratulations” in a post on his social media platform.

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene - a staunch Trump supporter - shares a picture of her with Kennedy, and calls him the "perfect pick" for the role. She says "Bobby is firmly committed to ending the epidemic of chronic disease… and protecting our children from food that makes them sick".

The president-elect’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr meanwhile says "promises made promises kept", alluding to his father’s assurances that Kennedy would be offered a role within his administration after the election.

Image source, Getty Images

Robert F Kennedy Jr - commonly referred to as RFK Jr - hails from one of the most famous families in Democratic politics.

He is the son of former US attorney general and Senator Robert F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968, as well as the nephew of former President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

An environmental lawyer and vaccine sceptic, the 70-year-old ran for president as an independent candidate - having initially launched a Democratic primary bid.

His campaign was plagued by headline-grabbing stories, such as recounting how he dumped a dead bear cub that had been hit by a car in New York's Central Park in 2014, as well as scrutiny over a historic claim that he once cut the head off a dead beached whale with a chainsaw to take it home on the roof of his vehicle.

He eventually suspended his own campaign and endorsed Trump for president in August, blaming his lack of success on censorship in the media and his former party's efforts to thwart his run. He has since vowed to "Make America healthy again, external" under Trump's presidency.

If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate (there's more on that process in our earlier post), Robert F Kennedy Jr will be the head of America's Department of Health and Human Services - an agency which is responsible for protecting the health of Americans and providing essential services, particularly for vulnerable people.

The secretary of state for health and human services serves as the top adviser to the president on health, welfare and income security programmes.

Alongside health, biomedical and social science research, the department is also responsible for disease prevention and assuring food and drug safety.

It oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration - which dictates food labelling and what new drugs can be brought to the public - as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here's Donald Trump's statement in full - in which he announces RFK Jr as his pick for US health secretary:

"I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health.

"The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.

"Mr Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!"

Donald Trump has nominated RFK Jr to lead the Department of Heath and Human Services in his second White House administration, he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The vaccine-sceptic had run as an independent in the 2024 presidential campaign before backing Trump.

Image source, Getty Images

Various US media outlets, including the BBC's American news partner CBS, are now reporting that Robert F Kennedy Jr is expected to be nominated to run the Department of Health and Human Services, citing three sources familiar with the selection.

So far, neither Trump nor Kennedy have said anything publicly - there's been lots of speculation about this nomination.

Kennedy - the nephew of President John F Kennedy and the son of Robert F Kennedy - had run in the 2024 campaign as an independent candidate before later backing Trump.

During his campaign, Kennedy based many of his proposals on his vaccine-sceptical views.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I've just caught up with Democratic Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin.

In response to President-elect Trump nominating Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general, Raskin - a former member of the January 6 Committee to investigate the Capitol riots - calls the Florida lawmaker "a ferocious champion for Donald Trump's views"."He would pursue that as attorney general," Raskin tells me.

"But I think that the country is looking for somebody who would be faithful primarily to the constitutional rule of law."

Image source, Reuters

While Donald Trump's picks for his new administration may seem to be coming thick and fast, a number of top roles remain vacant.

He is still yet to name his secretaries of the treasury, education, commerce and health and human services and eight other cabinet positions.

In the running for the treasury job is Scott Bessent, a hedge fund executive who worked as an economic adviser for Trump's election campaign, as well as billionaire banker and a long-time friend of the president-elect Howard Lutnick.

Image source, Reuters

Oklahoma's schools chief Ryan Walters - who introduced a mandate requiring Bible instruction in the state's classrooms - is reported to be among those being considered to lead on education.

Linda McMahon, Trump's former administrator to the Small Business Administration and ex-CEO of professional wrestling franchise WWE, has been tipped to lead the Department of Commerce.

Potential picks for the health chief include vaccine-sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr and Bobby Jindal, a former Louisiana state health secretary who was a principal adviser to the US Secretary of Health and Human Services under George W Bush.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I’m up on Capitol Hill as House members are about to vote for the first and only time today - on an unrelated energy bill - after news broke that Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has resigned from the lower chamber.

President-elect Trump nominated him yesterday to serve as attorney general under the second Trump administration. His nomination will need to be confirmed by the Senate.

The House Ethics Committee has been investigating the Florida lawmaker for alleged sexual misconduct and financial impropriety.

We’re expecting to get reaction from lawmakers as they enter and exit the House chamber and see whether Gaetz’s colleagues believe the committee should release a report that details its findings from the investigation.

Matt Gaetz's departure from the House of Representatives is now official after his letter of resignation was read out on the House floor.

In the message, read by clerk Susan Cole a little earlier, Gaetz confirms he doesn't plan to "take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress".

The former congressman, who has been tapped to become attorney general in Donald Trump's incoming administration, served in Florida's 1st District. He was re-elected last week with 67.9% of the vote.

Image source, CSPAN

Image source, Reuters

Four days after Donald Trump took to social media to announce that he would not ask Nikki Haley back to the White House, she now says she was in fact approached for a role.

Haley - who was US ambassador to the United Nations during Trump's first presidency - says she declined the offer to be handed a role in the new administration after being approached by the president-elect's close friend Steve Witkoff.

"He was like, ‘What do you want? Tell me what you want. Is there anything you want?’ I said, ‘There’s nothing I want," she says on her SiriusXM show. "I had no interest in being in his cabinet. He knew that."

Haley says her husband and son were "upset" after Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he wouldn't be asking her to serve again.

"And the truth is, I know the game he was playing. I don’t need to play that game. But more importantly, we have to look at the bigger picture. It is time to move on."

• For context: Haley was the last of Trump's major rivals to drop out of the party's primary contest, in early March, having run her own presidential campaign. During it, she accused her former boss of being "unhinged". She eventually endorsed Trump, saying he had "not been perfect" but that President Joe Biden had "been a catastrophe".

Gabbard's past could see her come under scrutiny at confirmation hearingspublished at 19:01 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

19:01 GMT 14 November

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent

Tulsi Gabbard has been a critic of what she calls the "Military Industrial Complex and National Security State", and yet could now end up in charge of America’s vast intelligence community.

The Director of National Intelligence oversees 18 agencies and crucially also manages the flow of information to the president, including his daily brief.

The access to highly classified material and the ability to shape how the president sees the world makes it a sensitive job, and has led to close examination of Gabbard’s often-controversial past.

That includes a 2017 visit to Syria, where she met with President Bashar al-Assad, and a frequent willingness to criticise policies which take a hard line on Russia.

All of that means she's likely to face intense questioning when it comes to her confirmation hearings and may raise concerns that Donald Trump intends to take on what he has called "the deep state".

• For context: Trump's picks for his administration are just that, picks, until they're confirmed by the Senate. This process requires nominees to submit financial disclosure forms, fill out a questionnaire - which differs based on the role - and testify before a Senate committee. For more, read our earlier post about how Trump's picks go on to be confirmed.

Mike Wendling
US reporter

Image source, Reuters

We went over some of Tulsi Gabbard's controversies in our last post - now let's look at her background.

Gabbard - the former Democrat who Donald Trump has picked as his choice to oversee US intelligence agencies - grew up in a controversial spiritual movement called the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF).

It was founded in Hawaii in the 1970s by a man named Chris Butler, now known as Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa, who broke with the Hare Krishna movement - an offshoot of Hinduism.

Some former members have called it an abusive "cult", although the SIF and Butler deny such allegations.

The organisation’s leaders once taught members that homosexuality is evil, according to reports, but the current SIF website, external mostly contains material about yoga and meditation.

Gabbard’s parents were adherents and she's been involved with the group since childhood.

In past interviews, Gabbard has described herself as a Hindu and has called Butler her spiritual guru.

Let's turn now to another of Donald Trump's picks. Tulsi Gabbard, who the president-elect's nominated to be his director of national intelligence, has proven to be controversial over her past statements on US, foreign and military policy.

Critics have accused the veteran and former Democrat congresswoman of repeating Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine, as well as downplaying allegations of attacks on civilians in Syria by its Moscow-backed President Bashar al-Assad.

Gabbard has denied these allegations, often accusing her detractors in turn of being "warmongers".

Here's a quick look at what else she's said in recent years:

• Writing on social media on the day after Russia attacked in February 2022, she said the war could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia's "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine's bid to join Nato
• The following month, she said it was an "undeniable fact" that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens" as she called for a ceasefire - no evidence for biological weapons being produced in Ukraine has ever emerged and in response, Republican Senator Mitt Romney accused Gabbard of embracing "actual Russian propaganda"
• In 2017, during Trump's first term as president, she travelled to Syria and met President Bashar al-Assad - later telling CNN that she was "sceptical" his regime was behind a chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of people

For a deeper dive, we've written this explainer on Gabbard's career and controversies