Welcome to Trump World 2.0. The second Trump administration is taking shape. On Wednesday, Trump baffled Republican allies by announcing he will nominate now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. The Department of Justice had previously investigated Gaetz on allegations of sex trafficking without ultimately bringing charges. After Trump's announcement, Gaetz promptly resigned from Congress, just days ahead of a House Ethics Committee vote on whether to release its report on its own investigation into the allegations. The future of the committee's report is now unclear, given Gaetz's resignation. (Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.)
Throughout the week, Trump announced other choices for key positions, including Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for homeland security secretary and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Rep. Elise Stefanik is Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations. Rep. Mike Waltz is Trump's pick for national security adviser. Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is Trump's pick to lead the CIA. Trump also selected former Rep. Lee Zeldin to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for interior secretary. And on Thursday, Trump announced he has chosen former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. All require Senate confirmation.
Additionally, Trump has tapped Tom Homan to be his "border czar" and Karoline Leavitt to be his White House press secretary. He also announced his intention to form a commission called the "Department of Government Efficiency," headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden hosted Trump in the Oval Office for a transition meeting. The meeting of the outgoing and incoming presidents is a longstanding tradition — one that then-outgoing President Trump did not offer to Biden in 2020. Melania Trump declined first lady Jill Biden's invitation to meet.
In the Senate, Republicans chose Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as the new majority leader on Wednesday. And Republicans have officially held onto the House of Representatives, again by a razor-thin margin, creating a Republican trifecta.
Missed something? Don't worry. Here are our select columns and videos from the week. And don't forget to check out MSNBC.com for more.
