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Breaking news as election winner makes moves; Home control
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Breaking news as election winner makes moves; Home control

President-elect Donald Trump has begun selecting key aides who will make up his second administration.

In a major move on Monday, Trump named Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving immigration advisers, as deputy chief of staff for policy at the incoming White House. Miller’s appointment comes after Trump campaigned for president in 2024 on his call for illegal mass deportations of immigrants from the country.

Trump also tapped former Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will become a “border czar” overseeing deportation policy.

And he named the president-elect representative Elise StefanikRN.Y., to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, and Rep. Mike WaltzR-Fla., to serve as national security adviser

Trump’s election comes as Republicans prepare keep control of the House. Remember, a party needs 218 seats to control the lower House, and Republicans have so far locked up 213, compared to Democrats’ 205.

Stay tuned for live coverage from the USA TODAY Network.

Donald Trump expected to nominate Marco Rubio as secretary of state: reports

Donald Trump is expected to call the senator. Marco Rubio of Florida to serve as his secretary of state, according to news reports.

Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is Trump’s pick to become the nation’s top diplomat, according to CNN and The New York Times. Rubio, a Cuban-American, would be the first Latino to serve as secretary of state.

Rubio has deep experience in foreign policy and has gone from a Trump opponent to a close ally who was a finalist to serve as Trump’s vice president. Rubio has expressed support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, but voted against additional aid to the country last year.

– Riley Beggin and Michael Collins

Donald Trump picks Kristi Noem to head Homeland Security: Reports

Donald Trump is expected to pick South Dakota governor. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, according to multiple news reports.

CNN first reported that Noem was Trump’s choice to become Homeland Security secretary. Noem, a longtime Trump loyalist who joined Trump on the 2024 campaign, served as a Republican congresswoman from South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. She was elected the state’s first female governor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022.

A farmer, rancher and small business owner, Noem, 52, was briefly considered as Trump’s running mate for the vice presidency this year. But her bid quickly collapsed amid a public backlash after Noem admitted in a memoir earlier this year that she shot and killed her dog Cricket because it was “untrainable”.

– Joey Garrison

Donald Trump picks Mike Waltz as national security adviser

Donald Trump asked the congressman from Florida Mike Waltz to serve as national security adviser, according to two sources familiar with his selection.

Waltz, 50, is set to join the new administration as it navigates several tense geopolitical battles, including the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars. The role Trump has asked Waltz to play does not require Senate confirmation.

The three-term lawmaker was a member of the House Armed Services Committee, served in civilian roles at the Pentagon and is a decorated Green Beret combat veteran. He is also an outspoken critic of the Defense Department’s diversity programs.

– Tom Vanden Brook and David Jackson

Donald Trump picks former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the EPA

Donald Trump has nominated former Rep. Lee Zeldin to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

As head of the EPA, Zeldin is expected to be tasked with rolling back many of the Biden administration’s environmental regulations as Trump pushes for an expansion of fossil fuel energy.

“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure fair and speedy deregulatory decisions are made in a way that unleashes the power of American business while maintaining the highest environmental standards.”

– Joey Garrison

Stephen Miller named Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy

Donald Trump tapped Stephen Millerone of his longest-serving immigration advisers as deputy chief of staff for policy at the future White House.

Vice President-elect JD Vance congratulated Miller on his new role in a post on X after CNN first reported the move. “This is another fantastic choice of president,” Vance said.

Miller’s appointment comes after Trump campaigned for president in 2024 calling for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Miller, 39, was Trump’s senior adviser and speechwriting director during the Republican’s first term in the White House and is credited with shaping Trump’s immigration policies, which have included separating migrant children from their families and banning travel from predominantly Muslim countries. Miller played a central role in Trump’s 2024 campaign.

– Joey Garrison

Who is Elise Stefanik? Donald Trump picks a key House ally to be the next UN ambassador

Donald Trump appointed representative Elise StefanikRN.Y., to be the next Ambassador to the United Nations, according multiple reports. The New York lawmaker accepted the offer.

Trump’s appointment of Stefanik, a longtime ally in Congress, is his first cabinet pick after being re-elected to a second, nonconsecutive term in the White House on Tuesday.

One of Stefanik’s the most prominent moments came last year during a congressional hearing with college presidents from Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. During the hearing, she asked them whether calling for the genocide of the Jews warranted disciplinary action.

All three presidents ducked and dodged the question, instead offering legalistic answers without directly condemning the call for the genocide of the Jews. Two of the chairs, Liz Magill of Penn and Claudine Gay of Harvard, have since left their posts.

– Savannah Kuchar

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump transition live updates: Trump taps Miller, Stefanik, Homan