As he aims to turn the nation’s capital upside down, President-elect Trump is turning to allies and supporters of his MAGA movement and America First agenda as he quickly moves to assemble his second administration.

The former and future president is clearly placing plenty of emphasis on loyalty as he makes increasing provocative picks for top cabinet posts.

And unlike eight years ago, when the first-time politician first took control of the White House, he is not in the market for establishment types or those who served in his first administration, but in his mind, proved disloyal.

Case in point – This week’s announcement from the president-elect that he was nominating as attorney general Rep. Matt Gaetz, the controversial conservative lawmaker from Florida who has been one of Trump’s biggest defenders in Congress as he’s repeatedly claimed the criminal investigations into Trump were ‘witch hunts.’

In making his announcement – which sent shock waves through the nation’s capital – Trump highlighted that ‘Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization.’

Gaetz, following the nomination, stepped down from Congress, ahead of a potential damaging report by the House Ethics Committee into sexual misconduct allegations that the lawmaker has denied.

On Wednesday afternoon, the president nominated his former rival in the presidential race – turned staunch advocate – Robert Kennedy Jr., as Health and Human Services Secretary.

Kennedy endorsed Trump shortly after suspending his campaign, and has since hit the campaign trail while touting his plans to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ under a potential Trump presidency. 

In making the announcement, Trump said ‘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,’

Trump turned to another loyalist – former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate turned MAGA rock star who this year became a Republican and a top campaign trail surrogate for the former president – as his pick for Director of National Intelligence.

A day earlier, Trump named combat veteran, Army National Guard officer and Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth, another major supporter, as his choice for Defense Secretary.

In announcing that Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York was his pick to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, Trump noted that ‘Elise is a strong and very smart America First fighter… She was the first Member of Congress to endorse me and has always been a staunch advocate.’

And Trump called former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, whom he is aiming to install as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, ‘a true fighter for America First policies.’

He named South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a conservative firebrand and MAGA-world star who has long been a fierce Trump ally and supporter, as his choice for Homeland Security secretary.

Noem will work with Stephen Miller, whom the president-elect has picked as his incoming deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller was the architect of much of the first Trump administration’s hard-line policy on immigration and border security.

She will also collaborate with Thomas Homan, who, as acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during the first administration, was often the face of Trump’s controversial immigration policies. The president-elect has named Homan as his incoming ‘border czar.’

And Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his choice for Secretary of State.

Rubio was a rival to Trump during the combustible 2016 Republican presidential nomination battle, but over the years has become a strong Trump ally in the Senate.

Trump also named Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida as his national security adviser. Waltz, a former Army Green Beret, is a longtime Trump ally.

Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor and bundler who raised big bucks for Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns, noted that Trump is in a very different situation than he was eight years ago, when he first won the White House.

‘He’s got a stronger mandate because he won the popular vote, and he won all seven swing states,’ Eberhart emphasized. ‘I also think he knows what he wants, and he knows better how to get what he wants out of Washington. He’s going to have a more cohesive, more MAGA team, that’s hopefully able to accomplish more.’

A leading strategist in Trump’s political  orbit, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News that ‘one thing that is noticeable this time around is that instead of a team of rivals who are all over the place ideologically, Trump is largely bringing people on who are aligned with his America First agenda.’

Matt Mowers, a veteran Republican consultant and 2020 GOP congressional nominee in New Hampshire who worked on Trump’s 2016-2017 transition and served in the first Trump administration, told Fox News that Trump has ‘decided he needs everyone aligned.’

‘What he’s doing is he’s choosing a lot of people who aren’t just going to undo the Biden polices but really try to take a hammer to the bureaucracy… which is what he calls the ‘deep state,” Mowers added.

Those whom the president-elect feels have not shown their loyalty to him appear to be iced out.

Trump this past weekend announced in a social media post that he would not ask former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – who served as ambassador to the U.N. in his first administration – and former Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas – who served as CIA director and then Secretary of State in Trump’s first term – to join his incoming cabinet.

Haley ran against Trump in this year’s Republican presidential primaries and ended up as the final challenger to the former president in what turned into a divisive nomination battle.  Haley made clear this week that she wasn’t seeking a job in the second Trump administration.

Pompeo seriously mulled making his own 2024 White House run before ultimately deciding not to launch a campaign. 

Both politicians eventually endorsed Trump this year, following the primary season.

But a source in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News that the president-elect ‘is not looking to give a platform for those with future presidential ambitions other than JD Vance.’

– The incoming chair of the Senate Republican campaign committee says his game plan for the 2026 elections is simple: ‘increase the majority.’

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, after his fellow GOP lawmakers in the Senate chose him to chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee over the next two years, told reporters that his ‘passion’ is to make sure that President-elect Trump ‘does not have two years with a Republican majority in the Senate, he has four years in control.’

In his first interview following his election as NRSC chair, Scott told Fox News Digital this week that ‘what we’re going to do is defend the seats that we have and expand the map so that we can increase the majority brought to us by the Trump victory.’

Republicans won back control of the Senate in last week’s elections, ending four years of majority control by the Democrats.

And it’s expected that once a mandated state recount is completed in the Senate contest in Pennsylvania – where GOP challenger Dave McCormick leads Democratic Sen. Bob Casey by roughly 25,000 votes – the Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate come January.

While not as favorable as the 2024 Senate map, the 2026 electoral landscape does give the Republicans some opportunities to flip seats.

Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Gary Peters of Michigan are up for re-election in two years in key battleground states Trump flipped last week.

And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire will be up for re-election in a perennial swing state that Trump lost but over-performed from his 2020 showing. In Virginia, where Trump lost by just five points last week, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner will be up for re-election.

‘How do you expand the map,’ Scott said. ‘You look at Georgia, and Michigan, and New Hampshire, and Virginia. And if you’re stretching – take a look at New Mexico and Minnesota. President Trump was very competitive in those states.’

But Republicans will also have to play defense. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for re-election in a reliably blue state. And Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina is also up in 2026, in a battleground state Trump narrowly won.

Scott emphasized that ‘the good news is as long as Susan Collins is running, I think we have a shot to win. Last time she won by several points. This time she’ll win by several points. Thom Tillis staying in North Carolina is good for our party.’

In the 2022 election cycle, when the Republicans blew a chance to win back the majority, NRSC chair Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was criticized for a hands-off approach in the GOP Senate primaries. 

This past cycle, outgoing NRSC chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana got involved in Senate Republican nomination battles.

Asked if the NRSC will take sides in competitive Republican Senate primaries during his tenure the next two years, Scott told Fox News ‘I think the best thing for us to do is have a family conversation next year about what we’re looking at. How we’re going to defend that map and then make the best decisions we can as it relates to making sure that we end up with more seats than we currently have.’

‘Thank God we’re at 53. I’d like to see 55,’ Scott added. 

Asked if 55 seats was his goal, Scott joked ‘if it were up to me, we’d have 100 seats.’

Scott last year unsuccessfully ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, before ending his bid and endorsing Trump. The senator was a high-profile surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail this year.

In last week’s election, unlike in 2016 and 2020, Trump outperformed many of the GOP’s Senate candidates.

Scott said he wants Trump to participate as much as he can in the 2026 Senate contests.

‘Every day and every way, President Trump, I know you have a full-time job. I’m going to ask you to have two full-time jobs. Let’s expand this map,’ Scott emphasized.

He said ‘that means that every single day we need President Trump on the campaign trail, doing fundraisers, talking to folks, because this is President Donald J. Trump’s party, and we need to make sure we expand it, from the man to the movement. We need him to do it.’

A big part of Scott’s duties as NRSC chair will be fundraising. The senator was a top Republican fundraiser during the 2022 cycle, when he easily cruised to re-election in red-state South Carolina.

‘We have to have more resources than we’ve had in the past so we are competitive in the states where we can win. I think we can win in more states than ever. President Donald Trump has actually given us a lot of runway. It’s our responsibility to have the resources to win those seats,’ Scott said.

The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was chaired during the 2022 and 2024 cycles by Peters, who won’t be signing up for a third tour of duty as he is up for re-election in Michigan.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who easily won re-election last week in blue-state New York, is making a pitch to chair the DSCC. Senate Democrats will hold their leadership elections later this year.

David Bergstein, the DSCC communications director for the past couple of election cycles, highlighted that ‘in a challenging political environment, Democrats made history. We won multiple races in states won by Trump. We dramatically over-performed the presidential results. And for the first time in over a decade, Senate Democrats have won multiple races in states won by the opposite party’s presidential nominee.’

‘The outcome of this cycle puts Senate Democrats in the strongest possible position to reclaim the majority in 2026,’ Bergstein touted.

President-elect Trump teased a ‘big’ announcement Thursday night, sharing that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will lead the Department of the Interior.

‘He’s going to be announced [Friday]…I look forward to doing the formal announcement, although this is a pretty big announcement right now, actually,’ Trump said during his speech at the Americans For Prosperity Gala at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. ‘He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic.’

‘We’re going to reduce regulation waste, fraud and inefficiency,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to clean out the corrupt, broken and failing bureaucracies. And we’re going to stop child sexual mutilation. We’re going to stop it because it’s time.’

Burgum, a multi-millionaire former software company CEO turned two-term governor, launched a White House bid in June 2023. 

Bergum made energy and natural resources a key part of his campaign for the GOP nomination.

After making the stage at the first two GOP presidential debates, Burgum failed to qualify for the third showdown, in autumn of last year, and he dropped out of the White House race last December. A month later, he appeared in Iowa with Trump and endorsed the former president for the GOP nomination, days ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Burgum became a high profile surrogate for the former president, appearing on the campaign trail and in media hits on Trump’s behalf.

He was in consideration as Trump’s running mate this past summer before Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was picked as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee.

Burgum, in an interview with ‘Fox and Friends’ last week, said Trump’s election victory was ‘game changing’ and that ‘we’ve got a new sheriff in town.’ 

The governor added that a Trump victory also ‘means that America is going to be dominant in energy.’

‘America is going to be dominant in energy which is key to all the diplomacy we do all over the world,’ he said.

The president of Argentina is the first foreign leader to meet in person with President-elect Trump since Trump’s win last week.

Javier Milei, known as ‘the Lion,’ has gained notoriety worldwide for his pro-market policies that have slashed Argentine inflation since he took elected office last year.

He attended the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) gala Thursday evening at Mar-a-Lago and will stay through the CPAC Investor Summit that ends Saturday.

President-elect Trump and President Milei met earlier Thursday, and the encounter ‘went well,’ according to an anonymous source via The Associated Press.

He posted to social media site X, sharing his plans with President-elect Trump for the week ahead, claiming he will be the only other president in attendance at the summit.

As Milei was ushered out the door to the AFPI gala Thursday, he told the Argentine outlet Clarion, ‘We’re going to plant the ideas of freedom high.’

During his address at the gala, Milei congratulated Trump on his resounding win through an interpreter, saying ‘this has been the greatest political comeback in history, defying the entire political establishment, even at the risk of his own life.’

He also thanked Elon Musk for his role boosting his social media site X for President-elect Trump and communication worldwide.

‘There is a silent or rather silent majority that has begun to make itself heard despite the enemies of freedom clinging to power through propaganda, distortion and censorship,’ said Milei. ‘And this is why I would especially like to thank the great Elon Musk for the wonderful job he has been doing to save humanity in communication around the world.’
 

The Argentine president then claimed that what happened in the U.S. elections last week is similar to his own election last year, with the ‘party of freedom’ taking a victory lap.

Milei is considered to be a Trump-like figure in South America, marketing black hats similar to red MAGA hats for fans labeled ‘las Fuerzas del Cielo’ or ‘the Forces from Heaven.’ He also famously wielded a chainsaw at a political rally, vowing to slash wasteful government spending.

‘I am exhilarated to be able to share with a new United States administration that same love for freedom. And I’m convinced that together we will restore it to the place it deserves,’ Milei said in his remarks.

President-elect Trump took the stage after Milei’s speech, thanking the Argentine president for his congratulations and commending his leadership.

‘And, Javier, I’d like to congratulate you on the job you’ve done for Argentina,’ said Trump. ‘Your speech was beautiful, but the job you’ve done is incredible. Make Argentina great again. You know MAGA. He’s a MAGA person. And you know he’s doing that. He’s actually. He’s actually doing that.

President-elect Trump announced Dean John Sauer as his pick for U.S. solicitor general.

‘John is a deeply accomplished, masterful appellate attorney, who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia in the United States Supreme Court, served as Solicitor General of Missouri for six years, and has extensive experience practicing before the U.S. Supreme Court and other Appellate Courts,’ Trump said in the announcement on Tuesday evening.

Sauer served as solicitor general of Missouri from 2017 to 2023, and represented Trump in his successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. United States.

‘Most recently, John was the lead counsel representing me in the Supreme Court in Trump v. United States, winning a Historic Victory on Presidential Immunity, which was key to defeating the unconstitutional campaign of Lawfare against me and the entire MAGA Movement,’ Trump said.

Sauer was a Rhodes Scholar and graduated from Duke University, Oxford University and is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School.

‘John will be a great Champion for us as we Make America Great Again!’ Trump said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

President-elect Trump announced on Thursday his intent to nominate former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs.

‘Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our country in this very important role.’

Shortly after Trump made the announcement, Collins posted to X that he was ‘honored’ to accept the nomination.

‘Our heroes deserve the best care and support,’ Collins wrote. ‘We’ll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they’ve earned. 

‘Together, we’ll make the VA work for those who fought for us,’ he added. ‘Time to deliver for our veterans and give them the world-class care they deserve.’

President-elect Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

‘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,’ Trump said in his announcement Thursday. 

‘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!’ Trump added.

The announcement comes just over a week after Trump won back the presidency.

Kennedy thanked Trump on X shortly after, vowing to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ and ‘end to the chronic disease epidemic.’

‘Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families,’ he wrote. 

RFK Jr. joined the 2024 campaign cycle as a candidate for the Oval Office. Kennedy, who is the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, dropped out of the presidential election in August after initially running as a Democrat, before he switched to an independent run. 

He endorsed Trump shortly after suspending his campaign, hitting the campaign trail for the Trump-Vance ticket while touting his plans to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ under a potential Trump presidency. 

He also spoke during Trump’s historic Madison Square Garden rally last month, where he unleashed on the current state of the Democratic Party. 

‘The Democratic Party is the party of war. It’s the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris giving a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neocons. It was belligerent, pugnacious. It talked about domination of the world by the United States through our weapons of war. It’s the party today that wants to divide Americans. It’s a party that is dismantling women’s sports by letting men play women’s sports,’ he said. 

‘It’s the party of Wall Street. It’s the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It’s the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud that it received the endorsement of 50 former CIA agents and officers and of John Bolton and of Dick Cheney.’ 

Kennedy was asked about his potential role in the next White House and whether he would begin ‘clearing out the top level federal service workers that are currently at the FDA and the CDC.’

He continued, ‘In some categories, their entire departments, like the nutrition department in the FDA, they have to go. They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?’ 

This isn’t the first time Kennedy was considered for a Cabinet position for a presidential administration. Back in 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama reportedly strongly considered naming Kennedy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Politico reported at the time.  

Transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt joined Fox News earlier Thursday, where she noted more Cabinet picks would likely be announced later that afternoon, and also noted that Kennedy is a ‘once in a generation thought leader’ who would likely be offered a position in the administration. 

‘Certainly President Trump wants to find a place for RFK JR. He has made that very clear throughout the campaign. RFK JR. is a once in a generation thought leader. He’s an independent mind, a critical thinker. We definitely need more of that in Washington, D.C. As for his specific position, I’ll let President Trump announce that. But RFK Jr will focus in the Trump administration on making America healthy again. That’s another promise that President Trump made on the campaign trail and with an appointment of RFK JR. to whatever position President Trump decides. That promise will be delivered upon,’ Leavitt said. 

Earlier this week, Kennedy called on ordinary Americans to make suggestions about what policies and people should be put in place under Trump’s second administration, with Kennedy allies launching a website called ‘Policies for the People’ to facilitate the suggestions from voters. 

The website says that the suggestions will help fill the over 4,000 appointments across the entire executive branch.

‘President Trump has asked Bobby [Kennedy] to help ‘drain the swamp’ by giving him an influential leadership role on his transition team,’ a post on the website says. ‘But Bobby cannot do this alone, so he is now turning to the wisdom and expertise of his supporters – and the larger community.’

The website is similar to what tech billionaire Elon Musk has said about ‘maximum transparency’ related to his upcoming role co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Known as ‘DOGE,’ the task force will ‘dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies,’ Trump said earlier this week. 

‘All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know! We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,’ Musk posted to X of how DOGE will operate. 

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

A woman reportedly told the House Ethics Committee that she had sexual relations with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., when she was 17 years old.

ABC News reported on Thursday that the woman testified to the committee in its investigation into Gaetz, which has now ceased after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced that Gaetz resigned from Congress on Wednesday.

Gaetz told Fox News Digital in response to the new report, ‘These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress. This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.’

The resignation announcement came hours after President-elect Donald Trump tapped Gaetz to be his attorney general.

The chief counsel for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment when asked by Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Gaetz’s congressional office for comment.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously spoken to the woman, now in her twenties, according to ABC, as part of its years-long investigation into Gaetz related to accusations of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.

The DOJ ultimately did not press charges, and Gaetz has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

The woman was subpoenaed by the House Ethics Committee over the summer, the report said.

The panel was expected to meet soon and potentially release a report on its investigation into Gaetz, but now that he resigned, the committee has lost jurisdiction over the matter.

The report could still be released, though it would break committee precedent.

But it could come out if Gaetz goes through the Senate confirmation process to lead the department that once investigated him.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, suggested he’d want to see the report.

‘I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including, whatever the House ethics committee has generated,’ he told reporters.