‘Who the f—k is this guy?’:  Defense world reacts to Trump's surprise Pentagon pick  —  “Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history,” one veterans' advocate said.  —  President-elect Donald Trump's Tuesday night surprise pick of a conservative commentator …

Trump Draft Executive Order Would Create Board to Purge Generals  —  The panel could upend the military review process and raise concerns about the politicization of the military  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a “warrior board” …

Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X  —  We will stop posting from our official editorial accounts on the platform, but X users can still share our articles  —  We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter).

Trump announces Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’  —  President-elect Donald Trump continued to fill his administration at breakneck speed Tuesday night, tapping SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head up a new “Department of Government Efficiency.”

Jack Smith Plans to Step Down as Special Counsel Before Trump Takes Office  —  The prosecutor who investigated and charged Donald J. Trump plans to finish his report and leave the job before he can be fired.  —  Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Donald J. Trump …

Trump's Cabinet moves hand Ron DeSantis a gift — but possibly with strings attached  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may get to appoint a Senate replacement for Marco Rubio.  But he'd need to balance the preferences of Trump and allies with his own wishes.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. …

It's 2004 all over again  —  I wish I could give you a crystal-clear sense of what Democrats felt like in 2004 after George W. Bush was elected to a second term.  But the truth is, my memories of that time are hazy.  That's partly because I was a twentysomething doing dumb twentysomething things …

Freedom Caucus backs off plan to push a challenger to Johnson  —  House conservatives are planning to force an internal vote on Mike Johnson's speakership during Wednesday's leadership election instead of throwing in an alternate candidate, two people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.

Incoming Trump admin is eyeing new immigrant detention centers near major U.S. cities  —  The plan would also include restarting the policy of detaining parents with their children, known as family detention, which immigration advocates have criticized.  —  The incoming Trump administration …

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reveals Plans to Fire 600 Federal Health Workers  —  The Trump ally and anti-vax conspiracist takes aim at the agencies he loathes.  —  At an event late last week in Arizona, anti-vaccine activist and Donald Trump transition team member Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he'd fire …

‘Your Body, My Choice’ Posts Are Spreading Post-Election.  Anyone Who Says This Should Be Fired—Immediately  —  Women at work deserve respect.  Nick Fuentes's followers are not offering that respect and should not be working in your offices.  —  Last week, Nick Fuentes, who Wikipedia describes as …

Putin Aide Issues Ominous Warning About Trump's New “Obligations” … Donald Trump may have secured a second term in the White House, but his Russia problems are far from over—at least according to suspiciously phrased comments by some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies.

Jared Kushner's $3 billion conflict of interest  —  During Donald Trump's first term, one of his most influential advisors was his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.  Now that Trump has won another term, Kushner seems poised to reprise this role.  Except this time, instead of being an employee …

Trump rewards lawmakers who backed him during impeachment  —  The House Republicans who took a leading role defending President-elect Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020 are reaping the benefits.  —  Of the eight GOP lawmakers who were part of Trump's team to push back on allegations …

Mike Huckabee, Trump's pick for ambassador to Israel, has long called himself a Zionist  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Israel, has long rejected a Palestinian state in territory previously seized by Israel and has repeatedly signaled …

Trump demands Senate recess to install Star Wars Bar  —  Republicans prepare for Mos Eisley Cantina. … 🚀  —  Just a week after his election victory, Donald Trump is already demanding that the Senate cede one of its core constitutional powers to him.

Eric Hovde sows doubt on Wisconsin Senate results  —  Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde is casting doubt on the results of his election following his loss to Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin.  “I was shocked by what unfolded on election night,” he said in a video posted to social media Tuesday.