Donald Trump will once again take the White House. Despite his checkered legal history, millions of Americans voted to elect Trump to a second term. Trump quickly secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win. Last night, the NBC News Decision Desk projected a Trump victory in Arizona, meaning the president-elect secured every key battleground state. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are also projected to win the popular vote, which Republicans have not won since 2004.
Vice President Kamala Harris conceded on Wednesday afternoon, telling a crowd at Howard University in D.C. that the administration is committed to a peaceful transition of power and assuring supporters that the fight isn't over. President Joe Biden took a similar tone during an address from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, saying "a defeat does not mean we are defeated."
On Capitol Hill, Republicans have won control of the Senate, flipping three seats representing West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, so far. NBC News has yet to call the Senate race in Arizona between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego or the Pennsylvania race between Republican Dave McCormick and incumbent Sen. Bob Casey. Control of the House of Representatives also still hangs in the balance, with 19 races remaining to be called. Elsewhere around the country, voters in seven states elected to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions.
Fresh off his victory, a second Trump administration has begun to take shape. President-elect Trump named longtime Republican political operative Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold that position. And after running a campaign with a large focus on immigration, Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker that there was "no price tag" for his plan to address the border and carry out mass deportations.
And Trump's many legal cases are now in flux. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted special counsel Jack Smith's request this week to pause Trump's federal election interference case, given the Justice Department's long-standing policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Trump's state criminal cases, including the New York case where he was convicted on 34 felony counts, could be frozen until after he leaves office.
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