Trump's firebrand pick for attorney general stunspublished at 10:03 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

10:03 GMT 14 November

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Donald Trump’s nomination of Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general arrived like a thunder-clap in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon.

Of all the president-elect’s picks for his administration so far, this is easily the most controversial - and sends a clear message that Trump intends to shake up the establishment when he returns to power.

The firebrand Florida politician is perhaps best known for spearheading the effort to unseat then-Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last year.

But he has a consistent history of being a flamethrower in the staid halls of Congress.

In 2018, he brought a right-wing Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and later tried to expel two fathers who lost children in a mass shooting from a hearing after they objected to a claim he made about gun control.

• Read more on Gaetz's surprise nomination

Image source, Shutterstock

Image source, Getty Images

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state (a role similar to foreign secretary in the UK).

If his appointment is approved by the Senate, Rubio would be the first Latino in the role.

Here's where he stands on key global issues:

Ukraine: He has urged a quick end to the war with Russia, and says this will involve "difficult choices". He voted against a $6bn military aid package for Kyiv this year.

China: Rubio has described Beijing as "the largest, most advanced adversary America has ever faced" and has warned against complacency.

Taiwan: He has strongly and publicly defended Taiwan's "sovereignty and freedom".

Israel-Gaza war: Rubio is against a ceasefire in Gaza, and has said he wants Israel to destroy the Palestinian group Hamas.

Iran: He has called Iran a "terrorist" regime, and urged Israel to respond with force following attacks earlier this year.

President-elect Donald Trump has spent the week since his election picking out the cabinet members and closest advisors who will help him through his second term.

Among them is Elon Musk, who has been tipped to run the new "Department of Government Efficiency", or Doge for short. But what does that mean, exactly?

For this latest episode of Americast, Sarah Smith, Marianna Spring and Anthony Zurcher give you the lowdown on who’s been nominated so far.

The Republicans have won what's known as a "governing trifecta" - with the president's party controlling both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

But why does it matter? And why is November 2026 a key date for the Democrats?

Here's the BBC's Sumi Somaskanda with a one-minute explainer:

Trump builds an administration in his own ideological imagepublished at 08:50 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

08:50 GMT 14 November

Rowan Bridge
North America correspondent, reporting from Washington DC

The Republicans now control the presidency and both chambers of Congress - the House and the Senate - which means they will hold all the elected levers of power.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to take the country in a very different direction.

Now he's poised to implement his ideas with the backing of the political leadership in Congress.

Earlier, Trump met Joe Biden at the White House, a symbol of the changing of the guard that will happen in January.

Trump is moving quickly to nominate his team, but they'll have to be confirmed by the Senate.

His pick for defence secretary is Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, who has previously said that women should not be in combat roles.

Trump's choice for attorney general, the chief legal office of the US, is no less controversial. Matt Gaetz was investigated for child sex trafficking, but never prosecuted.

But Gaetz is something that Trump holds dear. A loyal follower of the president's agenda, Gaetz voted to overturn the 2020 election result and will have the power to end the federal prosecutions of Trump.

The president-elect is choosing people in his own ideological image.

From January, America will be taking a hard turn right - and Trump's picks reflect the new direction the US will be taking.

Image source, Reuters

More now from Glen Grothman, a Republican congressman, on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Donald Trump is a different sort of president," he says.

On the projected Republican control of the House, he says it won't be as easy to pass bills as people think due to the filibuster rule (a method used to delay or postpone the passage of legislation).

"We cannot just shove through any policy changes that we want, it is going to disappoint some of our Republican followers who think that we can do whatever we want."

He also says there are a lot of traditionalists in the Senate, and they will stick with the filibuster rule.

On Trump's previous presidency, Grothman says it "must not" have been "enjoyable" to have people around that would "backstab him".

This time, he has more "loyal" appointees, he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Republican Congressman Glen Grothman says the appointment of Matt Gaetz as attorney general is proof that Donald Trump wants to "shake things up".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Grothman says Gaetz won't be "intimidated" by the "bureaucracy that's been around there forever and, quite frankly, has not treated president Trump fairly".

Trump is looking for the "attitude", Grothman adds, and says Gaetz will go into the role and get rid of the "problem children".

Grothman says he already has things for Gaetz to do, that he thinks weren't handled properly by the current administration.

• Matt Gaetz is one of Trump's most controversial picks, our correspondent Tom Bateman writes - here's why

We're getting a better sense of the shape of Donald Trump's new administration by the day, as he continues to appoint ultra-loyalists to top jobs.

Here's a look at some of his latest picks.

Attorney general: Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a loyal supporter and polarising figure in Washington

Secretary of state: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, considered a foreign policy "hawk" - meaning someone who takes hard-line positions - towards Iran and China

Director of national intelligence: Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who campaigned for Bernie Sanders in 2016 but has since turned Republican

In addition, Trump's named top aide Dan Scavino as his deputy chief of staff, and the political director of the Republican National Committee, James Blair, as deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.

Matt Gaetz is one of Trump's most controversial pickspublished at 07:41 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

07:41 GMT 14 November

Tom Bateman
BBC State Department correspondent, reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney general is among the most controversial so far of his emergent cabinet.

Gaetz is seen as a divisive figure by many fellow Republicans - and as contemptuous of the rule of law by Democratic opponents.

He is picked to become America’s chief law enforcement officer, and would lead the same executive branch of government that spent years investigating the Congressman himself.

A sex trafficking probe closed without charge into allegations he denied; but there has been a House Ethics Committee inquiry into his conduct.

Gaetz backed Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the US Capitol, and voted with about 150 Republican colleagues to overturn the 2020 election result.

His nomination could face a battle for confirmation in the Senate, even with its Republican majority.

Trump has full control of government - but he won't always get his waypublished at 07:26 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November

07:26 GMT 14 November

Gary O'Donoghue
Senior North America correspondent

On election night, Donald Trump repeated the phrase: "Promises made, promises kept."

Now, Republicans have officially taken control of Congress and his "promises" are a whole lot easier to keep.

In Washington political parlance, it's called "a governing trifecta", when the president's party also controls both chambers of Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate.

That control is what Donald Trump's Republican Party now has.

Both Trump and Joe Biden enjoyed trifectas for their first two years in the White House, but they also saw that having such control is no guarantee a president can get their way.

• Read more on the impact of Trump governing trifecta and why the magic 60 seats in the Senate matters

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, the Republican Party is projected to win the House of Representatives.

But what is it? Here are the basics:

• It has 435 seats, with 218 seats being the minimum a party needs to win a majority
• It is the lower chamber of Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber
• Representatives come from all 50 states - their positions are held for two years
• Members make and pass federal laws, which apply to everyone in the country
• It also has exclusive powers, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the president in the case of a tie
• Republican Mike Johnson is the speaker of the House, its leader

As we mentioned in our last post, the BBC's US partner CBS projects that the Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives.

How? It's expected they will win a minimum of 218 seats, with their final number likely ending up between 220 and 222.

So far, the Democrats have 208, with nine still to be called.

This means Donald Trump now has full control of both chambers of Congress, having already bagged a majority in the Senate, the upper chamber.

When president, Trump will be able to have a smoother path to enacting policies, as there will likely be less push back from Congress.

Image source, EPA

For our audiences in the UK who are just starting their day, a quick catch-up:

• Donald Trump has nominated more allies to his incoming government - Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, and Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state
• Trump also met outgoing President Joe Biden in the White House, where they discussed a smooth transition of power. At the Oval Office, Biden told Trump "welcome back" as they shook hands
• Republicans have retained control of the House, the BBC's US partner CBS News projects, which means Trump will have the support of both chambers of Congress, as he did in 2017 and 2018 during his first term
• Senate Republicans have elected John Thune as majority leader, replacing Mitch McConnell, the party's longest-ever leader in the chamber

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump met Republican House members on Wednesday, where he made a comment about running for a third term as president.

"I suspect I won't be running again unless you say, 'He's good, we got to figure something else,'" the president-elect said, drawing laughter from some in the crowd.

The US Constitution bars presidents from running for a third term, consecutive or otherwise.

Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said "I think he's just having a little fun".

"This is the last run, unless there was a constitutional change that takes three-quarters of the states and two-thirds of Congress to move it through."

"So not likely to happen. But I'm old enough to remember Ronald Reagan teasing a little bit about that, so it's not unusual, particularly now right after a big win."

Democrat Daniel Goldman of New York criticised Trump's comments, saying any attempt to seek a third term would be "blatantly unconstitutional".

Image source, Getty Images

Election betting exploded into view during the homestretch of the campaign after platforms like crypto-fuelled Polymarket placed the odds heavily in favour of Donald Trump, contrary to what pollsters were saying about a close race.

Now Polymarket is under investigation by US authorities for allegedly accepting bets from US-based users, when its business was supposed to be limited to overseas users.

On Wednesday, federal authorities raided the New York home of its CEO, Shayne Coplan and seized the 26-year-old's phone, according to Reuters.

In a statement on X, Coplan said called it a "last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents" and received support from Elon Musk.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were gambled on this election but new online gambling firms which employ so-called predictive market betting have come under scrutiny over alleged malpractice.

France's gambling regulator is also investigating whether Polymarket complied with its laws after a mystery French trader bet big on a Trump win and stood to make $80 million.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump has nominated three Republican members of the House for senior positions so far: Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador, Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Mike Waltz as national security advisor.

Gaetz has already resigned his seat and the other two will have to follow at some point if they are confirmed by the Senate, leaving vacancies pending elections to select their replacements.

All three serve in solidly Republican districts, so there’s little chance of those special elections changing the balance of power in the House.

However, with the Republicans projected to have a very narrow majority in the House, losing those three votes could make things tricky in the meantime for passing legislation, even if it is only for a few months.

Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had "begged and pleaded" with Trump not to poach any more of his members.

Image source, Reuters

Tulsi Gabbard has been on a political journey, to put it mildly.

The military veteran had been a long-standing Democrat, who was elected to represent a Hawaii district in the House in 2013.

She campaigned for left-winger Bernie Sanders ahead of the 2016 election and ran to be the Democratic presidential candidate herself in 2020, before endorsing Joe Biden.

Gabbard was the first Hindu member of Congress and championed liberal issues like government-run healthcare, free college tuition and gun control during her presidential run.

Since leaving the House in 2021, she has moved to the right on some issues and has become an outspoken advocate for Donald Trump, helping him prepare for his debate against Kamala Harris.

Gabbard has taken on more conservative positions on issues including abortion and frequently attacks "woke" culture, before confirming a few weeks ago she has formally joined the Republican Party.

Now Trump has nominated her to be his director of intelligence, a wide-ranging role overseeing US intelligence agencies like the CIA and NSA.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's wife Melania is "unlikely" to return to the White House full-time as first lady, CNN reports, external.

It quotes sources close to her as saying she plans to split her time between New York and Florida.

Melania did not attend the White House on Wednesday when Trump met Joe Biden, having been invited to meet Jill Biden. She confirmed she had declined the invitation in a post on X.

Melania made occasional public appearances alongside her husband during his first term but has was almost entirely absent from his campaign this year.

Image source, Reuters

You may remember that much of the drama last year in Washington centred on the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy - which was brought about by Trump's choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz was able to push McCarthy out because of a rule that allowed a single member of Congress to call for a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker.

Earlier today, House Republicans announced they reached an agreement to raise the threshold to oust a speaker and avoid a similar situation in the future.

Speaker Mike Johnson said: "Because of this agreement, we are in a better position to move forward the Republican agenda."

Image source, Reuters

More now on that ongoing House investigation into allegations faced by Matt Gaetz.

As we've been reporting, his immediate departure from Congress throws doubt about whether a report into claims of sexual and financial misconduct - which he strongly denies - will ever see the light of day.

House precedent indicates a report into someone who is no longer a serving member would not be released.

We're now hearing via our US partner CBS news that the ethics committee had been poised to make a decision on whether to release the report.

A vote is said to have been scheduled for Friday on whether to release the findings, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee's work. Other US outlets have also reported these plans.

Gaetz's resignation, which came soon after being nominated as Donald Trump's new attorney general, now means it's possible the report is never released.