Republicans baffled after Trump picks ‘reckless’ Gaetz for attorney general

Donald Trump’s decision to nominate the far-right Republican congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general has sent shockwaves through Washington, including the president-elect’s own party.

Trump on Wednesday announced Gaetz as his pick to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer in the justice department, a role that directs the government’s legal positions on critical issues, including abortion, civil rights, and first amendment cases.

Republicans were puzzled over this nomination, expressing this move was not on their “bingo card”.

“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told NBC News. She added:

We need to have a serious attorney general. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.”

A rightwing firebrand, Gaetz was a thorn in the side of his fellow Republican and former House speaker Kevin McCarthy, eventually leading the successful charge to oust McCarthy from his role.

He was investigated by the justice department in a sex-trafficking case, though the department ultimately declined to bring charges. And was under investigation by the House ethics committee amid allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and other alleged ethical breaches.

Gaetz has fiercely denied wrongdoing.

You can read more on this story here:

In other developments:

• Republicans have secured a majority in the US House of Representatives, extending their hold on the lower chamber and delivering a governing trifecta in Washington that could give Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda.

• Trump also announced his nominee for director of national intelligence would be Tulsi Gabbard, who is a critic of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and has questioned atrocities attributed to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Gabbard has previously clashed with Marco Rubio, who Trump on Wednesday confirmed would be nominated as secretary of state. The new appointments followed Trump’s announcement of Peter Hegseth for defense in a move that stunned military officials, some of whom questioned whether Hegseth had the experience to manage a government department with a budget of more than $800bn.

• Republican senators chose South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader, rejecting a challenge from Florida senator Rick Scott, who had the backing of key Maga figures Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson. Thune’s elevation comes after long-serving Mitch McConnell stood aside.

• Joe Biden met Trump at the White House, extending a courtesy to the president-elect that Biden was not offered in 2020 when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. Trump thanked Biden for welcoming him back to the Oval Office and said: “Politics is tough, and it’s [in] many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today.”

• The president-elect met with House Republicans before going to the White House, and joked about seeking a third term, which would be constitutionally prohibited after his second term.

• Wednesday’s appointments leave a handful of roles to fill in Trump’s cabinet. Reuters reported billionaire banker and co-chair of Trump’s transition team Howard Lutnick had emerged as a serious contender against investor Scott Bessent for the role of Treasury secretary, the highest profile job without a name yet attached.

• The Democratic minority leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, said his colleagues had “over-performed the national political environment”, pre-empting the news that Republicans had retained the chamber. Elizabeth Warren argued Democrats should show they stand ready to “unrig this economy” as billionaires join the Trump administration. Warren was appearing at an event alongside fellow senator Bernie Sanders.

• Two Democratic state governors have launched an initiative aimed at “pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy”. The Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, and the Colorado governor, Jared Polis, hope to form a non-partisan coalition with their new organisation, Governors Safeguarding Democracy.

• Dan Scavino, who on Tuesday suggested Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, was running out of time, has been named as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff. Scavino’s provocative post on X has continued to fuel Australian anxieties over its relationship with the incoming president, whom Rudd in 2021 described as “a village idiot” and “not a leading intellectual force”.

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p{font-family:var(–text-serif);font-size:1.0625em;line-height:1.4}body h1,body h2,body h3,body p:not(aside *),body span:not(aside *){color:var(–primary-text-color)}div>[name=ShareButton]{background-color:var(–tertiary-bg-color)}@media (min-width: 71.25em){[data-gu-name=meta]{position:relative}}\n”,”url”:”https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk/embed/atom/interactive/interactives%2F2024%2F11%2Fus-election-2024%2Fhouse-bar-article”,”id”:”interactives/2024/11/us-election-2024/house-bar-article”,”elementId”:”9ad17547-969d-431c-a8bc-14935595dbb0″,”js”:”\n var el = document.createElement(‘script’);\n el.src=”https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2024/11/us-election-2024/house-bar-article/v/1731590176117/app.js”;\n document.body.appendChild(el);\n “,”title”:”US election results 2024: Latest results as Kamala Harris faces Donald Trump”,”html”:”\n\t\t\t<div class=\”gv-wrapper presidentPage\”>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>“We have to deliver for the people, and we will,” the Republican House speaker, <strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/mike-johnson\”>Mike Johnson</a></strong>, told Fox News last week. “President Trump wants to be aggressive. He wants to go big and we’re excited about that. We’re going to get to play offense.”</p>”,”elementId”:”9a4e743e-e5c8-4c69-b5f0-62cb9f5e7384″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>Trump’s selection of at least three<strong> </strong>House Republicans to join his administration further complicates the math for Johnson. Trump had already tapped the New York representative <strong>Elise Stefanik</strong> to serve as ambassador to the United Nations and <strong>Mike Waltz</strong>, the Florida representative, to fill the role of national security adviser. On Wednesday, Trump announced he <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/who-is-matt-gaetz\”>would also nominate </a><strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/who-is-matt-gaetz\”>Matt Gaetz</a></strong>, the Republican congressman of Florida, as his attorney general.</p>”,”elementId”:”328890a5-10f2-4e2e-9fbe-bd67f4d5ab5e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Republicans secure House majority in yet another blow to Democrats”,”elementId”:”db911a41-8e99-4ddb-a8ce-eb719cbf59f1″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/14/election-republicans-win-house-majority”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1731579955000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”11.25 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1731580219000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.30 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1731580114000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”11.28 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”11.28″,”title”:”Republicans secure House majority in yet another blow to Democrats”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Joan E Greve”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2023/05/25/Joan_Greve.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8fb2a7cdd798189ef4e496b912c21db0″,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2023/05/25/Joan_Greve.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d282ed49d456148cb21b98feb83c79b7″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 14 Nov 2024 14.13 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 14 Nov 2024 11.22 CET”},{“id”:”6735cbeb8f08fc3bf2f7f6ec”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p><strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump\”>Donald Trump</a></strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump\”>’s</a> decision to nominate the far-right Republican congressman <strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/who-is-matt-gaetz\”>Matt Gaetz</a></strong> as attorney general has sent shockwaves through Washington, including the president-elect’s own party.</p>”,”elementId”:”035446ef-5bbd-41c4-ae57-c4edfec8f8b7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/trump-matt-gaetz-attorney-general\”>Trump </a>on Wednesday announced Gaetz as his pick to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer in the justice department, a role that directs the government’s legal positions on critical issues, including abortion, civil rights, and first amendment cases.</p>”,”elementId”:”b9352c0e-fb47-435c-b872-4f39efb5c979″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>Republicans were puzzled over this nomination, expressing this move was not on their “bingo 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Trump has nominated congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general, the country’s chief law officer.”,”caption”:”Donald Trump has nominated congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general, the country’s chief law officer.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Republican senator <strong>Lisa Murkowski</strong> of Alaska, told <a href=\”https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-baffles-republican-senators-picking-matt-gaetz-attorney-general-rcna180048\”>NBC News</a>. She added:</p>”,”elementId”:”1b84ba21-4b2b-4536-a520-67c09122c547″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”<blockquote class=\”quoted\”>\n <p>We need to have a serious attorney general. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.”</p>\n</blockquote>”,”elementId”:”6c6ce900-343c-4d10-a387-77c2875d1df3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>A rightwing firebrand, Gaetz was a thorn in the side of his fellow Republican and former House speaker <strong>Kevin McCarthy</strong>, eventually leading the successful charge to <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/03/kevin-mccarthy-oust-republican-house-speaker-vote-result-matt-gaetz\”>oust</a> McCarthy from his role.</p>”,”elementId”:”6b447390-f7cc-42ef-ad55-560af5e56a6d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>He was investigated by the justice department in a sex-trafficking case, though the department ultimately <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/15/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-case-closed-without-charges\”>declined to bring charges</a>. And was under investigation by the House ethics committee amid allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and other alleged ethical breaches.</p>”,”elementId”:”63a6684a-99fe-4442-8257-05fdbc999e76″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>Gaetz has fiercely denied wrongdoing.</p>”,”elementId”:”38af1c59-f42a-4299-85de-d3f0a127dd92″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>You can read more on this story here:</p>”,”elementId”:”c6b12fde-2084-4fed-8ce0-330251a757f0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Republicans baffled after Trump picks ‘reckless’ Gaetz for attorney general”,”elementId”:”45d50138-9212-4c69-a773-17afaaefb0b4″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/republicans-matt-gaetz-trump-attorney-general”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<p>In other developments:</p>”,”elementId”:”e049d038-e058-4bea-993a-0a2555b3036d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<ul>\n <li>\n <p><strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans\”>Republicans</a> have secured a majority in the <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/house-of-representatives\”>US House of Representatives</a></strong>, extending their hold on the lower chamber and delivering a governing trifecta in Washington that could give Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Trump also announced his nominee for director of national intelligence would be Tulsi Gabbard, who is a critic of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and has questioned atrocities attributed to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.</strong> Gabbard has previously clashed with Marco Rubio, who Trump on Wednesday confirmed would be nominated as secretary of state. The new appointments followed Trump’s announcement of Peter Hegseth for defense in a move that <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/pentagon-stunned-after-trump-picks-pete-hegseth-for-defence-secretary\”>stunned military officials</a>, some of whom questioned whether Hegseth had the experience to manage a government department with a budget of more than $800bn.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Republican senators chose South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader</strong>, <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/john-thune-senate-republicans-leader\”>rejecting a challenge</a> from Florida senator Rick Scott, who had the backing of key Maga figures Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson. Thune’s elevation comes after long-serving Mitch McConnell stood aside.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Joe Biden met Trump at the White House</strong>, <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/biden-trump-transition-white-house\”>extending a courtesy to the president-elect</a> that Biden was not offered in 2020 when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. Trump <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/trump-republicans-biden-transfer-of-power\”>thanked Biden for welcoming him back</a> to the Oval Office and said: “Politics is tough, and it’s [in] many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today.”</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>The president-elect met with House Republicans before going to the White House</strong>, and joked about seeking a third term, which would be constitutionally prohibited after his second term.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Wednesday’s appointments leave a handful of roles to fill in Trump’s <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/trump-america-first-foreign-policy\”>cabinet</a></strong>. Reuters reported billionaire banker and co-chair of Trump’s transition team Howard Lutnick had emerged as a serious contender against investor Scott Bessent for the role of Treasury secretary, the highest profile job without a name yet attached.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>The Democratic minority leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, said his colleagues had “over-performed the national political environment”, </strong>pre-empting the news that Republicans had retained the chamber. <strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren\”>Elizabeth Warren</a></strong> argued <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats\”>Democrats</a> should show they stand ready to “unrig this economy” as billionaires join the Trump administration. Warren was appearing at an event <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/13/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-democrats-workers\”>alongside fellow senator </a><strong><a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/13/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-democrats-workers\”>Bernie Sanders</a></strong>.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Two Democratic state governors have launched an initiative aimed at “pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy”</strong>. The Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, and the Colorado governor, Jared Polis, hope to form a non-partisan coalition with their new organisation, Governors Safeguarding Democracy.</p></li>\n <li>\n <p><strong>Dan Scavino, who on Tuesday suggested Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, was running out of time</strong>, has been named as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff. Scavino’s <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/13/kevin-rudd-australia-us-ambassador-trump-adviser-hourglass-post-dan-scavino-abbott-dutton\”>provocative post on X</a> has continued to <a href=\”https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/14/could-trump-really-fire-australian-ambassador-kevin-rudd-and-how-big-a-deal-would-that-be\”>fuel Australian anxieties</a> over its relationship with the incoming president, whom Rudd in 2021 described as “a village idiot” and “not a leading intellectual force”.</p></li>\n</ul>”,”elementId”:”661430b8-a195-4492-b05f-beff10c5b5fa”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1731579765000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”11.22 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1731579757000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.22 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1731579765000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”11.22 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”11.22″,”title”:”Republicans baffled after Trump picks ‘reckless’ Gaetz for attorney general”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 14 Nov 2024 14.13 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 14 Nov 2024 11.22 CET”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:false,”renderingTarget”:”Web”}”>

Key events

Joe Biden hosts Donald Trump at the White House

David Smith

Nancy Pelosi once said Donald Trump would be “fumigated out” of the Oval Office if he lost the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden relished describing him as “the former guy” and “loser”. They thought the American nightmare was over.

Then, like in the movies, Democrats woke up in a cold sweat only to realise it wasn’t a dream after all. Instead they are doomed to be supporting players in a sequel. Trump: The Revenge. This time, it’s personal.

On Wednesday, Trump made a triumphant who’s-got-the-last-laugh-now return to Washington, probably the least Trumpy place in the nation: Kamala Harris got 92.5% of the vote here compared to his 6.7%. One of his most recent visits was to appear in court as a criminal defendant accused of an attempted coup.

But hey, who cares about that now? Sporting his red tie, Trump was back in the sacred space where Pelosi, Liz Cheney and others swore he must never foot again: the Oval Office. The 45th and soon-to-be 47th president was hosted by Biden, the 46th, to discuss the presidential transition, a courtesy he never extended to the man who beat him in 2020.

The pair sat on cream armchairs before a roaring log fire – the flames licking high and lustily as if to evoke Christopher Marlowe’s line, “Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.” Behind Biden was the bust of Robert Kennedy, a former Democratic senator whose son, Robert Kennedy Jr, helped deliver the White House to the Republican Trump.

“Well, Mr president-elect and former president … ,” Biden began, shaking the right hand of Trump, whose left hand didn’t quite know what to do as he breathed: “Thank you very much, Joe.”

Biden settled on, “Donald, congratulations” – the first time he had used his rival’s first name since the attempted assassination of Trump in July.

“Thank you very much,” Trump repeated.

Who is Matt Gaetz, the Trump loyalist picked for attorney general?

Joan E Greve

Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate Matt Gaetz, a hard-right congressman from Florida known for inflaming tensions within the House Republican conference, as attorney general.

Gaetz, a longtime Trump loyalist, gained attention last year after leading the successful charge to oust his fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. Gaetz and seven other House Republicans joined Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy last October, kicking off a weeks-long scramble to find a new speaker.

McCarthy held Gaetz personally responsible for his removal and even funded an unsuccessful primary challenge against his former colleague. McCarthy suggested Gaetz pushed for his ouster because of an ethics committee investigation into allegations that Gaetz paid for and engaged in sexual relations with an underage girl.

That investigation in effect ended on Wednesday night, however, when Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump’s nomination.

In February 2023, the justice department declined to bring charges of sex trafficking against Gaetz, who has denied wrongdoing since the allegations first came to light.

Even before McCarthy’s removal, Gaetz had cultivated a reputation as a rightwing firebrand who did not shy away from conflict with Democrats and fellow Republicans alike.

“Florida Man. Built for the Battle,” reads Gaetz’s bio on X, formerly Twitter.

Gaetz followed his father into politics more than two decades ago. After serving in the Florida statehouse, Gaetz was elected in 2016 to represent a ruby-red chunk of the Florida Panhandle.

Like Trump, to whom he is fiercely loyal, Gaetz is more interested in sparring with political foes than in the dry business of governance, according to his critics. On Capitol Hill, he has repeatedly disrupted House proceedings, including once barging into a secure facility where Democrats were holding a deposition hearing.

You can read more of the profile on Gaetz here:

Bluesky adds 1m new members as users flee X after the US election

Luca Ittimani

Social media platform Bluesky has picked up more than 1 million new users since the US election, as users seek to escape misinformation and offensive posts on X.

The influx, largely from North America and the UK, has helped Bluesky reach nearly 15 million users worldwide, up from 9 million in September, the company said.

Social media researcher Axel Bruns said the platform offered an alternative to X, formerly Twitter, including a more effective system for blocking or suspending problematic accounts and policing harmful behaviour.

“It’s become a refuge for people who want to have the kind of social media experience that Twitter used to provide, but without all the far-right activism, the misinformation, the hate speech, the bots and everything else,” he said.

“The more liberal kind of Twitter community has really now escaped from there and seems to have moved en masse to Bluesky.”

Bluesky began as a project inside Twitter but became an independent company in 2022, and is now primarily owned by chief executive Jay Graber.

The platform has previously benefited from dissatisfaction with X and its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, who is closely tied to US president-elect Donald Trump’s successful election campaign. Twitter shed millions of users after rebranding to X and usage in the US slumped by more than a fifth in the subsequent seven months.

Bluesky reported picking up 3 million new users in the week after X was suspended in Brazil in September and a further 1.2 million in the two days after X announced it would allow users to view posts from people who had blocked them.

“We’re excited to welcome all of these new people, ranging from Swifties to wrestlers to city planners,” Bluesky spokesperson Emily Liu said.

Julian Borger

The Pentagon has been stunned by Donald Trump’s pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, a national guard veteran and Fox News presenter who has called for a purge of generals for pursuing “woke” diversity policies.

Hegseth has questioned whether the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Charles Brown, was given the top job because he is black and accused him of “pursuing the radical positions of leftwing politicians”.

Hegseth was a major in the Minnesota national guard who served as a prison guard at Guantánamo Bay detention camp and served in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming an outspoken rightwing critic of the military.

He has argued for faster provision of more US weapons to Ukraine for its defence against Russia, but also called US Nato membership into question. His nomination is also a boost for the far right in Israel, as he has shown support for territorial expansion and suggested that Jews could build a new temple on the sacred compound around al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Hegseth told an audience in Jerusalem in 2018: “There’s no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible.”

The Israeli settler movement is also celebrating Trump’s nomination of Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, as the US ambassador to Israel.

In a visit to the region in 2017, Huckabee, an evangelical Baptist minister, said: “There is no such thing as a West Bank – it’s Judea and Samaria.”

He said: “There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities. They’re neighbourhoods. They’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation” – a position dramatically at odds with current US policy and international law on occupied Palestinian territory.

Trump’s nomination of Hegseth, 44, a chatshow commentator with minimal managerial experience, to run the US military establishment with 1.3 million active-duty service members and the nearly 1 million civilian staff has taken Congress and the Pentagon by surprise.

Republicans secure House majority in yet another blow to Democrats

Joan E Greve

Republicans have secured a majority in the US House of Representatives, extending their hold on the lower chamber and delivering a governing trifecta in Washington that could give Donald Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda.

The Associated Press determined on Wednesday evening that Republicans had won at least 218 seats in the 435-member House after a victory in Arizona, a call that came more than a week after polls closed across the US and as Trump made cabinet announcements that sent shockwaves through Washington.

The call ensures Republicans will continue to have a large say in key matters such as government funding, debt ceiling negotiations and foreign aid, and it spells an end to Democrats’ hopes that the lower chamber could serve as a blockade against Trump’s agenda.

Republicans had already won the White House and regained a majority in the Senate, so their victory in the House provides them with the last component of their governing trifecta. Although they will have a slim majority, Republicans have indicated they will use their trifecta to maximum effect when the new Congress is seated in January.

“We have to deliver for the people, and we will,” the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, told Fox News last week. “President Trump wants to be aggressive. He wants to go big and we’re excited about that. We’re going to get to play offense.”

Trump’s selection of at least three House Republicans to join his administration further complicates the math for Johnson. Trump had already tapped the New York representative Elise Stefanik to serve as ambassador to the United Nations and Mike Waltz, the Florida representative, to fill the role of national security adviser. On Wednesday, Trump announced he would also nominate Matt Gaetz, the Republican congressman of Florida, as his attorney general.