Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

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  Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

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  Gaetz, the former Florida representative, withdrew from consideration as attorney general amid allegations including sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, drug use and misappropriating campaign funds. His rapid fall came after likely opposition from Republican senators who had squirmed at the notion of approving his nomination, all as the House ethics committee mulled releasing its investigation into his alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, CNN reported that the woman who said she had sex with Gaetz when she was a minor had had a second sexual encounter with him, involving an adult woman.

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  Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, wrote that Gaetz’s decision “was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability”. Other women’s rights and empowerment groups, including UltraViolet, acknowledged that it was right for Gaetz to withdraw, while also pointing out that Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees include several others accused of sexual abuse and misconduct.

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  A handful of Republican senators reacted to Gaetz’s withdrawal, issuing a variety of responses. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, called the decision “appropriate”, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the senator Cynthia Lummis told CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognized he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.

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  The scrutiny around Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, grew as police unveiled an investigative report into the former Fox News host that further detailed the sexual assault allegations surrounding him. According to the report, Hegseth assaulted a woman after he took her phone, blocked the door to a hotel room and prevented her from leaving.

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  Meanwhile, the woman who publicly accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of sexual assault when she worked for him as a babysitter said she was motivated to do so when he released a campaign ad based on a famous advertisement for his uncle, President John F Kennedy. “I literally was just watching the Super Bowl and saw the ad and thought: ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’” Eliza Cooney told USA Today.

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  US President Joe Biden has responded to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, calling it an “outrageous” decision. In a short statement, he said: “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

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  Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called Dave McCormick to concede a closely fought race in Pennsylvania. The race was decided by less than a quarter of a point. In a post on X, he said: “During my time in office, I have been guided by an inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg: ‘All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor’.”

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US President Joe Biden has responded to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant, calling it an “outrageous” decision.

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In a short statement, he said:

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The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.

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If it pays to have friends in high places, few among us can claim to be better placed than Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one of the only people to have cosy relationships with both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. His commercial and political connections to both may prove pivotal as the feud between the US and China plays out over the next four years, particularly as Trump promises steep tariffs.

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Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, once supported Joe Biden. But his relationship with the current US president soured over the past four years as, among other perceived insults, Musk felt that the White House gave Tesla, his car and green energy company, “the cold shoulder”. Trump, meanwhile, has described Tesla as “incredible” even while pledging to do away with subsidies for electric vehicles. This year, Musk formally endorsed Trump as the presidential candidate, campaigned for him online and off and donated more than $100m to his re-election effort.

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Musk’s loyalty has been rewarded with his appointment as the leader of a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which, despite its name, will be an advisory body, not a government agency. Perhaps more important for the global economy than his official role will be the influence he has on the dynamic between the leaders of the world’s two superpowers. With a trade war that was started by Trump and expanded by Biden, and mounting geopolitical tensions, the US-China relationship has been tumbling downhill for years, with negative global consequences, not least for consumers in the US and China, who have seen prices rise as a result.

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If confirmed, Pam Bondi would be the third woman to serve as attorney general, after Janet Reno, who served in the role from 1993-2001, and Loretta Lynch, who served in the role from 2015-2017.

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Trump has announced his choice to replace Matt Gaetz as attorney general: the former Florida attorney general and one of Trump’s defence lawyers.

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In a statement on Truth Social, he said:

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I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families. Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!

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For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!

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The Democratic senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has called Dave McCormick to concede a closely fought race in Pennsylvania. The race was decided by less than a quarter of a point.

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In a post on X, Casey said: “During my time in office, I have been guided by an inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg: ‘All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor’.”

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In case you missed this yesterday, Texas is offering a parcel of rural ranchland along the US-Mexico border to use as a staging area for potential mass deportations under the president-elect Donald Trump.

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The property, which Texas originally bought last month, is located in rural Starr county in the Rio Grande valley. Republican Dawn Buckingham, the Texas land commissioner, sent a letter 14 November to Trump extending the offer.

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“We do hear through back channels that they are taking a look at it and considering it. But we just want them to know we’re a good partner. We’re here. We want to be helpful,” Buckingham told the Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday.

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The property has no paved roads and sits in a county with one public hospital and limited local resources. But Buckingham stressed its location.

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“We feel like this is actually very well-located. The land is very flat there. It’s adjacent to major airports. It’s also adjacent to a bridge over the river,” Buckingham said. “So if it’s helpful, then I would love to partner up with the federal government. And if it’s not, then we’ll continue to look to ways to be helpful to them.”

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The land offer is the latest illustration of a sharp divide between states and local governments on whether to support or resist Trump’s plans for mass deportations of immigrants living in the US illegally. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles city council voted to become a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities to carry out deportations.

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Texas leaders have long backed aggressive measures on the border to curb crossings, including installing razor-wire barriers and passing a law last year that would allow law enforcement to arrest people who cross the border illegally.

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Matt Gaetz, the former Florida representative, withdrew from consideration as attorney general amid allegations including sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, drug use and misappropriating campaign funds. His rapid fall came following likely opposition from Republican senators who had squirmed at the notion of approving his nomination, all as the House ethics committee mulled releasing its investigation into his alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, CNN reported that the woman who said she had sex with Gaetz when she was a minor had had a second sexual encounter with him, involving an adult woman.

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  Rainn,the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, wrote that Gaetz’s decision “was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability”.Other women’s rights and empowerment groups, including UltraViolet, acknowledged that it was right for Gaetz to withdraw, while also pointing out that Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees include several others accused of sexual abuse and misconduct.

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  A handful of Republican senators reacted to Gaetz’s withdrawal, issuing a variety of responses.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, called the decision “appropriate” according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the senator Cynthia Lummistold CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognized he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.

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  The scrutiny around Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, grew as police unveiled an investigative report into the former Fox News host that further detailed the sexual assault allegations surrounding him. According to the report, Hegseth assaulted a woman after he took her phone, blocked the door to a hotel room and prevented her from leaving.

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  Meanwhile, the woman who publicly accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of sexual assault when she worked for him as a babysitter said she was motivated to do so when he released a campaign ad based on a famous advertisement for his uncle, President John F Kennedy. “I literally was just watching the Super Bowl and saw the ad and thought: ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’” Eliza Cooneytold USA Today.

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The doctors have been dismissed by judges across the US as “conspiratorial”, “deeply biased”, “far off” and deserving “very little weight”.

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But their testimonies were nonetheless submitted by the state of Tennessee in defense of an anti-trans law the US supreme court will consider in December, in one of the most important cases of the court’s session and among the most consequential LGBTQ+ rights cases in its history.

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In US v Skrmetti, the court will weigh whether transgender youth have a constitutional right to access healthcare treatments endorsed by every major medical association in the country, who say the care improves patients’ mental health and reduces the suicide risks of vulnerable teens. The case originated with three trans youth and their parents who sued Tennessee last year over its ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors, arguingthe care was medically necessary and “life-saving”. The outcome could have profound implications for trans rights, bodily autonomy and the government’s authority over people’s private healthcare decisions.

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If the court’s conservative supermajority upholds Tennessee’s ban, it would, in effect, be siding with doctors who, LGBTQ+ advocates and trans healthcare experts say, have repeatedly peddled misinformation and, in some cases, espoused religious doctrine in the name of science. Six doctors who filed expert declarations for Tennessee have a history of advocating against trans healthcare, and five of them have previously been rebuked or discounted by judges due to their backgrounds.

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Fourofthosedoctors cited by the Tennessee attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti, to defend the ban have been linked to arightwing Christian legal group and have profited from their continued testimony on gender-affirming care, and three of them havenever provided trans youth healthcare, according to research from Accountable.US, a progressive watchdog organization, which shared its findings with the Guardian.

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Could Matt Gaetz return to his seat in Congress after resigning?

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In short, no.

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At length … Gaetz’s inclusion in the 119th Congress could come down to Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and its secretary of state Cord Byrd.

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Politico reports:

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A congressional aide indicated that Gaetz’s membership status for the 119th Congress is effectively up to his home state, telling Politico: “The official roll for the 119th Congress will be prepared with the Certificates of Election received from the States.”

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The names provided by Florida of candidates who were “regularly elected” to the House under the state and federal laws will be eligible to take their seats in January, the aide continued.

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Gaetz has not yet said publicly what he wants to do. And he did not respond to questions from Politico about what his future might hold.

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But if he wants to come back to the Hill, he may argue his assertion that he won’t serve in the new Congress may be conditional: He specified that he wouldn’t take the oath “to pursue the position of Attorney General in the Trump Administration,” which is now off the table.

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Here’s a look at where things stand:

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  Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. In a full statement on Thursday, Gaetz, who has been swept in a series of sexual allegation controversies, said:“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”

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  Donald Trump has released a statement on Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying on Truth Social. “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect,” he said.

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  According to CNN, the woman who says she had sex when she was 17 years old with then-Representative Matt Gaetz told the House ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017. The CNN report cites unnamed sources, who claim that the second sexual encounter, not previously been reported, included another adult woman.

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  Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, has issued a response to Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying, “This decision was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability.” “We could not reconcile the justice department – the department responsible for providing survivors with avenues for justice – being led by an alleged abuser of women,” it said.

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  Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune says that he respects Gaetz’s decision to withdraw. “I think everybody has to make a decision that’s good for them and for their family,” Thune said, according to CNN.

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  A handful of Republican senators reacted to Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal, issuing a variety of responses. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called the decision “appropriate” according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, senator Cynthia Lummis told CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognised he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.

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Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, has issued a response to Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying, “This decision was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability.”

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“We could not reconcile the justice department – the department responsible for providing survivors with avenues for justice –— being led by an alleged abuser of women. RAINN heard you, Matt Gaetz heard you, and survivors will not be silenced.

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“For the other nominees facing allegations of sexual assault: We ask the relevant Senate committees to gather and consider all the facts before voting on any such nomination …

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Sexual assault happens to someone in the US every 68 seconds. It occurs in our places of business, our schools, our doctors’ offices; urban or rural, in private and in public. Every single political appointee will have to confront their role in sexual assault response, prevention and recovery. And it starts now.”

n

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Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune says that he respects Gaetz’s decision to withdraw.

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“I think everybody has to make a decision that’s good for them and for their family,” Thune said, according to CNN. “And, you know, for whatever reason, he decided not to pursue it, so we respect the decision.”

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More Republican Senators are reportedly reacting to the news of former representative Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from the nomination for attorney general.

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Here’s a quick roundup of some responses:

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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called the decision “appropriate” according to the Washington Post.

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Senator Cynthia Lummistold CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognised he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.

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“He must have gotten some signals yesterday during conversations that he was having with senators that this was going to be a distraction,” Lummis reportedly said.

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Senator Susan Collinsexpressed that she was “surprised” but “pleased” with Gaetz’s decision, adding that he “has put country first, and I’m pleased with his decision”.

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Senator Roger Wickerreferred to the withdrawal as a “positive development”.

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According to CNN, the woman who says she had sex when she was 17 years old with then-Representative Matt Gaetz told the House ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017.

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The CNN report cites unnamed sources, who claim that the second sexual encounter, not previously been reported, included another adult woman.

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The network also states that after being asked for comment regarding the new allegations, the former representative announced that he was withdrawing from the attorney general nomination.

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Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.

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The other woman in the alleged second sexual encounter, who was an adult at the time, has also denied taking part in the encounter, according to multiple sources familiar with her ethics testimony, CNN reported.

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Donald Trump has released a statement on Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying on Truth Social:

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n

I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general.

n

He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!

n

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Gaetz reportedly informed Trump late Thursday morning that he will be withdrawing his nomination, ABC reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

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Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, saying his “confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition”.

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In a full statement on Thursday, Gaetz, who has been swept in a series of sexual allegation controversies and whose nomination has received widespread backlash from Democrats and former White House officials, said:

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n

“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.

n

There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

n

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Pete Hegseth, who arrived on Capitol Hill moments ago ahead of his visit with JD Vance and Republican senators, has repeated his denial of the 2017 sexual assault allegations against him.

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Addressing reporters on Thursday morning, Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary said:

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n

“As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple. The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.”

n

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Speaking to ABC, Illinois Democratic senator and retired army national guard lieutenant colonel Tammy Duckworth criticized Pete Hegseth’s belief that women should not play in a combat role.

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Duckworth, who is a combat veteran of the Iraq war where she served as a army helicopter pilot before losing both legs during an attack in 2004, said:

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n

“Obviously I have my personal opinions but as a US senator, my job will be to determine whether or not he is qualified to be secretary of defense, and frankly, it shows me that he’s not because he doesn’t understand the realities of modern warfare.

n

We’re not talking about the Revolutionary War, where there’s a line behind which … this is combat and that’s not combat. If you were in the green zone … Baghdad, you were in a combat zone, whether you were a helicopter pilot like myself or a truck driver, which, by the way, is a job that women have been doing since world war one. So it just showed me that he really doesn’t understand modern warfare and is therefore not qualified to be secretary of defense.”

n

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}],”data”:{“alt”:”Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., arrives for a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March, 12, 2020.”,”caption”:”Senator Tammy Duckworth arrives for a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1732204034000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.47 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1732206024000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.20 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1732204549000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.55 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.55″,”title”:”Illinois senator and army veteran Tammy Duckworth: Hegseth ‘not qualified’ to be defense secretary”,”contributors”:[] ,”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 21 Nov 2024 20.58 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 21 Nov 2024 09.11 EST”},{“id”:”673f49288f08bad5f6053cc4″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A spokesperson for Donald Trump’s transition said that the police report “corroborates what Mr[Pete] Hegseth’s attorney’s have said all along”, the Associated Press reports.

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“The incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false,” the spokesperson said.

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The report, however, does not state that Monterey police found the allegations to be false. The offence code in the report was listed as “rape: victim unconscious of the nature of the act”.

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The report ended with the reporting police officer writing, “I recommend this case report be forwarded to the Monterey county district attorney’s office for review.”

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Good morning,

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The scrutiny around Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’snominee for defense secretary, grows as police unveiled an investigative report into the former Fox News host that further detailed the sexual assault allegations surrounding him.

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The 22-page report released by police dates back to 12 October 2017. It includes allegations from a woman who told police that she was sexually assaulted by Hegseth after drinking at a hotel bar in Monterey, California following a Republican women’s event where Hegseth spoke. According to the report, Hegseth assaulted the woman after he took her phone, blocked the door to a hotel room and prevented her from leaving.

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The police report’s release follows recent news of “a detailed memo” on the alleged assault which a friend of the accuser sent to the Trump transition team. Hegseth has insisted the encounter was consensual but paid the woman an unknown sum after she signed a nondisclosure agreement.

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Emerging details of the alleged assault come as Hegseth is set to visit Capitol Hill today. The former Fox host is expected to meet with JD Vance and Republican senators ahead of his confirmation process.

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Here are other developments in US politics:

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n
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  The Senate has rejected Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel which the Vermont senator introduced out of concerns over the mass killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.

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  Joe Biden is set to sign the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act today which will reauthorize the national research, surveillance and awareness program on heart disease.

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  Trump is likely to choose Johns Hopkins surgeon Martin Makary – who raised concerns about various public health issues including opposing vaccine mandates – as head of the Food and Drug Administration.

n

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Key events

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This blog is closing now, thanks for following along. Here is the full story on Trump choosing Pam Bondi to replace Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general:

Summary

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

• Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

• Gaetz, the former Florida representative, withdrew from consideration as attorney general amid allegations including sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, drug use and misappropriating campaign funds. His rapid fall came after likely opposition from Republican senators who had squirmed at the notion of approving his nomination, all as the House ethics committee mulled releasing its investigation into his alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, CNN reported that the woman who said she had sex with Gaetz when she was a minor had had a second sexual encounter with him, involving an adult woman.

• Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, wrote that Gaetz’s decision “was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability”. Other women’s rights and empowerment groups, including UltraViolet, acknowledged that it was right for Gaetz to withdraw, while also pointing out that Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees include several others accused of sexual abuse and misconduct.

• A handful of Republican senators reacted to Gaetz’s withdrawal, issuing a variety of responses. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, called the decision “appropriate”, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the senator Cynthia Lummis told CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognized he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.

• The scrutiny around Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, grew as police unveiled an investigative report into the former Fox News host that further detailed the sexual assault allegations surrounding him. According to the report, Hegseth assaulted a woman after he took her phone, blocked the door to a hotel room and prevented her from leaving.

• Meanwhile, the woman who publicly accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of sexual assault when she worked for him as a babysitter said she was motivated to do so when he released a campaign ad based on a famous advertisement for his uncle, President John F Kennedy. “I literally was just watching the Super Bowl and saw the ad and thought: ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’” Eliza Cooney told USA Today.

• US President Joe Biden has responded to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, calling it an “outrageous” decision. In a short statement, he said: “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

• Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called Dave McCormick to concede a closely fought race in Pennsylvania. The race was decided by less than a quarter of a point. In a post on X, he said: “During my time in office, I have been guided by an inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg: ‘All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor’.”

‘Outrageous’: Biden responds to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

US President Joe Biden has responded to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant, calling it an “outrageous” decision.

In a short statement, he said:

The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.

Hugo Lowell

Pam Bondi’s elevation to lead the justice department would also come as a result of extraordinary serendipity, after Trump picked Gaetz almost on a whim after he decided against more conventional lawyers.

The selection process for major positions has involved Trump pulling up each candidate on a bank of screens at his Mar-a-Lago club and looking for various qualities, including their perceived loyalty and how they might play on television.

Trump did not like the initial list of names that included Mark Paoletta, the former counsel at the White House office of management and budget; Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey; and Robert Giuffra, co-chair of the New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and decided he preferred a pugilist like Gaetz.

But the Gaetz nomination sank after a series of meetings on Wednesday with Republican senators. Later that evening, they broadly expressed to the Trump team their continued opposition to the Gaetz nomination, the people said.

On Thursday morning, Trump called Gaetz and told him that it was clear he did not have the votes in a rare moment of realpolitik for Trump. Gaetz agreed and took himself out of the running, one of the people said.

Gaetz told associates after he announced he was withdrawing his nomination that he faced the reality that at least three senators – Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – and senator-elect John Curtis would vote against him and block his confirmation, the people said.

From his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said in a statement: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to convene a corrective action review board in the coming weeks to consider safety concerns about engines on Boeing 737 Max airplanes after two bird-strike incidents on Southwest Airlines planes in 2023.

The FAA said it is addressing an issue with the CFM Leap-1B engine and is collaborating with Boeing, CFM and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

The Seattle Times, which reported the plan earlier, said the FAA could issue instructions to pilots for changes during procedures during takeoff until Boeing develops a permanent fix that could extend delays to certification of the Max 7 and Max 10 models.

After meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill, Matt Gaetz determined that his nomination was “becoming a distraction to the critical work of the new Trump administration”, he explained on X.

“There’s a sense of relief about it, of course. I think he did a pretty noble thing, frankly, an honorable thing by getting out himself,” said Kevin Cramer, the Republican senator from North Dakota.

A lawyer who represents two women who say they were paid by Gaetz for sex also said his clients are “relieved to have this chapter behind them”.

Here is our video report:

Reuters: McKinsey is in the final stages of negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a US criminal investigation into the consulting firm’s work helping opioid manufacturers boost sales that allegedly contributed to a deadly addiction epidemic, people familiar with the matter said.

McKinsey is in talks to pay more than $600m to resolve the longstanding US Department of Justice investigation, which also encompasses findings of civil violations, the people said.

The settlement, expected to be unveiled before the end of the year, would result in prosecutors seeking to dismiss criminal charges against McKinsey after a period of time as long as the company abides by the agreement’s terms.

Analysis: Tesla’s path in China clears as Musk courts both Trump and Xi

Amy Hawkins

If it pays to have friends in high places, few among us can claim to be better placed than Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one of the only people to have cosy relationships with both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. His commercial and political connections to both may prove pivotal as the feud between the US and China plays out over the next four years, particularly as Trump promises steep tariffs.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, once supported Joe Biden. But his relationship with the current US president soured over the past four years as, among other perceived insults, Musk felt that the White House gave Tesla, his car and green energy company, “the cold shoulder”. Trump, meanwhile, has described Tesla as “incredible” even while pledging to do away with subsidies for electric vehicles. This year, Musk formally endorsed Trump as the presidential candidate, campaigned for him online and off and donated more than $100m to his re-election effort.

Musk’s loyalty has been rewarded with his appointment as the leader of a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which, despite its name, will be an advisory body, not a government agency. Perhaps more important for the global economy than his official role will be the influence he has on the dynamic between the leaders of the world’s two superpowers. With a trade war that was started by Trump and expanded by Biden, and mounting geopolitical tensions, the US-China relationship has been tumbling downhill for years, with negative global consequences, not least for consumers in the US and China, who have seen prices rise as a result.

Hugo Lowell

Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual-misconduct allegations.

The move to name Bondi reflected Trump’s determination to install a loyalist as the nation’s top law enforcement official and marked another instance of Trump putting his personal lawyers in the justice department.

Trump settled on Bondi soon after Gaetz, his first pick, withdrew from the running earlier on Thursday. Trump was told by advisers that she was a good alternative because she has allies across the Republican party as well as inside Trump’s world, according to people familiar with the matter.

“I am proud to announce former attorney general of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next attorney general of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years – She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as attorney general!”

Bondi has been inside Trump’s orbit for some time, and is widely seen to have demonstrated her loyalty to Trump during his first term, when she helped with his impeachment defense, and more recently when she repeatedly attended Trump’s criminal trial in New York.

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone has congratulated Bondi, saying he is “confident she will clean out the nest of corruption at our currently politicised DOJ”.

Bondi would be third female US attorney general if confirmed

If confirmed, Pam Bondi would be the third woman to serve as attorney general, after Janet Reno, who served in the role from 1993-2001, and Loretta Lynch, who served in the role from 2015-2017.