Trump news recap: Betting odds reveal Cabinet pick least likely to be confirmed after

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Special Counsel Jack Smith filed legal papers Monday to withdraw the January 6 and classified documents cases against Donald Trump in a brutal blow for the prosecutor who spent millions on the investigations.

The case was likely to fall away since Trump’s stunning win in the November elections, and now Smith’s motions have confirmed the inevitable.

The Trump campaign celebrated the ‘end’ of his federal cases and ‘victory’ for the rule of law in the probes they have frequently described as ‘witch hunts’.

A grand jury indicted Trump August 1 last year in the case, but it stalled for months while the Supreme Court considered ‘immunity’ arguments raised by Trump’s lawyers.

The court eventually ruled in a 6-3 decision by its conservative majority that Trump did enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for official acts as president. That prompted Smith, who Trump regularly calls ‘deranged’ and has vowed to fire, to file a superseding indictment that narrowed the charges.

Trump was facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung called the move a ‘major victory for the rule of law.’ It comes days after a New York judge moved to dismiss Trump’s hush money case following his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. An existing Justice Department policy disallows prosecution of a sitting president.

Donald Trump’s second term as president is being shaped by the loyal allies who stood by him during his four years outside the White House.

As the clock ticks down to his inauguration on January 20, all eyes will be on Mar-a-Lago as Republicans jostle for a cabinet spot or a senior role in the West Wing.

And those are filling fast. A slew of potential appointees have emerged for top Cabinet or West Wing roles and a handful of contenders for other vital positions have emerged.

He has also nominated former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who infuriated critics with claims about ‘biolabs’ in Ukraine, to be Director of National Intelligence.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in West Palm Beach, Florida

President-elect Donald Trump threatened Monday to slap a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods as long as the countries allowed immigrants to flow over the U.S. border.

He also said he’d impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods over the Chinese government’s refusal to make good on a promise to use the death penalty on drug dealers.

These actions, Trump said, would take place on the first day of his administration.

Trump outlined the drastic measures in two Truth Social posts Monday night, as he worked on the presidential transition from Mar-a-Lago.

He said the Mexican and Canadian tariffs would apply to ‘ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.’

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent on Staten Island

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined Coast Guard families on Staten Island for a Friendsgiving.

The first couple served Brussel Spouts to the troops as part of the first lady’s Joining Forces Initiative.

Neither Biden was fazed when small children interrupted their remarks with shouts and cries.

‘Kids are screaming, hollering and crying. We’re Bidens. We’re used to it,’ the president said.

Biden also warned parents he’d come to their tables to talk to them and their children, noting he likes babies best.

‘As everybody knows I like kids better than people,’ he said.

The president, as he served dinner, also snuck a few bites of dinner rolls between serviing duties. And he posed for a few selfies.

English celebrity chef Robert Irvine designed and cooked the menu, which includes the president’s favorite dessert of ice cream.

SALAD OF AUTUMN GREENS: candied walnuts, shaved granny smith apples & fennel, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, citrus-white balsamic

SLOW ROASTED BRINED TURKEY

MAPLE-MUSTARD GLAZED SPIRAL CUT SMOKED HAM

BRIOCHE-CORNBREAD STUFFING with sage sausage & winter herbs

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND BUTTERNUT SQUAS

WARM APPLE CRISP with vanilla bean ice cream

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE POT’S DE CREME

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com in Washington, D.C.

For Donald Trump it was par for the course, but for a young fan with a fashionable hairdo this was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

Driving around his Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach this week, Trump stopped to say hello to fellow golfers – and made an out-of-this-world offer to one young admirer.

Wearing his trademark red MAGA cap and a matching red quarter-zip jacket with what appears to be the seal of the president of the United States emblazoned on the front, Trump is seen in the social media post driving around some golfers taking practice swings.

Then he notices a cute young girl in a sky-blue polo shirt and blue jeans – taken aback by her head of thick, dark-brown curls pulled back from her face by a band or tie.

‘Oh, I love that girl,’ Trump says.

‘I love that hair,’ he continues. ‘I want her hair!’

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

The White House confirmed Monday that the first couple will follow through with Biden’s promise from before the election.

Donald Trump didn’t attend Biden’s swearing-in in 2021, opting instead to fly Florida before the ceremonies started.

He was the first to skip his successors inauguration in 150 years.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said aboard Air Force One.

The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whomever won the election.

He and the first lady are going to honor that promise and attend the inauguration. He views that as an important demonstration of commitment to our democratic values, and to honoring the will of the people, as we continue to provide an orderly and effective transition.

Bates also confirmed that Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles has met the current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients multiple times since the election.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Washington:

Democrats plan to hold their new leadership elections at the beginning fo February as they look to the future and taking on Donald Trump after their devastating 2024 election losses.

Current Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison announced today the party will elect its next chair, vice chairs, treasurer, secretary, and national finance chair on February 1, 2025 at the DNC meeting in National Harbor, MD.

The full winter meeting will run January 30 through February 1.

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet December 12 to develop a process for selecting the Democratic Party officers. The DNC will then host a series of four candidate forums in January before the winter meting.

Several candidates have already thrown their name in the ring to become the next chair of the DNC.

Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley who ran a distant third to be president in the Democratic primary in 2016 was the first contender to announce his bid.

Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democarts, has already launched a bid to be the next leader of the DNC.

As Vice President Kamala Harris considers her next move after her brutal presidential election defeat, she could face a well-known opponent should she run for governor.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited, so the governor seat will be open in 2026.

But celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, a well-known Trump supporter, is also hinting at a bid for governor.

‘If I ran, and it was ultimately against Harris, I would destroy her,’ the transgender former Olympian wrote on X.

Donald Trump tore into Special Counsel Jack Smith as he celebrated the news that the two federal cases against him were one step closer to being over.

The president-elect said the January 6 and classified documents should have ‘never been brought’ and condemned the millions in ‘wasted’ taxpayer dollars.

He wrote on Truth Social:

These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.

Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before.

They have also used State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!), Letitia James, who inappropriately, unethically, and probably illegally, campaigned on “GETTING TRUMP” in order to win Political Office, and Alvin Bragg, who himself never wanted to bring this case against me, but was forced to do so by the Justice Department and the Democrat Party

It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The lame duck President Joe Biden gave Thanksgiving pardons to turkeys Blossom and Peach on Monday to save them from an American family feast.

The 82-year-old participated in his last sparing of the gobbling poultry, giving the two lucky birds a long life on a farm instead of being someone’s holiday dinner.

The commander-in-chief filled his speech with cringeworthy one-liners about ‘fowl’ play that was at one point interrupted by Peach’s gurgle.

‘Yeah I hear you. Peach wants to speak a little bit,’ Biden responded.

‘They tell me 2500 people are here… looking for a pardon!’ Biden joked as he addressed the crowd on the South Lawn.

‘Keep calm and gobble on’ he added before turning to a more serious note to reflect on the ‘honor of a lifetime’ serving as president.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com in Washington, D.C.

CNN host Fareed Zakaria surprisingly lauded entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as ‘brilliant’ and admitted he was excited about their plan to slash government spending.

The complimentary remark stands in stark contrast to other pundits who have been on the network voicing skepticism about Donald Trump’s recently announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The agency will be co-led by the Tesla CEO and the former Republican presidential candidate (Ramaswamy).

The agency will be tasked with rooting out wasteful government spending, and Musk has said that he aims to erase $2 trillion in spending during DOGE’s first years.

‘Of Donald Trump’s recent announcements, the one that intrigues even excites me the most is the establishment of DOGE,’ Zakaria said during his weekend show.

‘Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be in charge of DOGE, are both brilliant and the Federal Government has clearly become too expansive and its writ too cumbersome,’ he continued.

Former Fox News personality turned President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny for his past words and actions including writing that NATO should be scrapped.

Hegseth is gearing up for what could be a brutal Senate confirmation fight after he was named Trump’s nominee for defense secretary where he could face tough questions on his world views.

In his 2020 book American Crusade, Hegseth leveled a series of criticisms against the NATO alliance, calling for it to be remade.

‘NATO is a relic and should be scrapped and remade in order for freedom to be truly defended,’ Hegseth wrote.

He also argued the ‘defense of Europe is not our problem; been there, done that, twice.’

With Matt Gaetz out of the picture as attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump’s critics are setting their sights on his other Cabinet nominees with several receiving heightened scrutiny.

Trump is looking to assemble a Cabinet straight out of central casting full of TV personalities, MAGA loyalists and firebrands, but some controversial picks are gearing up for what is expected to be a brutal confirmation process.

His choice for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has emerged as one nominee whose past actions are now being put under the microscope and will face intense questioning.

Republicans will hold a slim majority in the Senate come January, but some lawmakers have signaled they may be willing to cross the GOP president-elect and even block several of his Cabinet nominees before the vetting is up.

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday negotiators are ‘close’ to a deal that would bring about a cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But he steered clear of specifics, sharing concern about revealing anything that might ‘torpedo our chances,’ even as Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire.

‘We believe we’re close. The conversations that [diplomat Amos Hochstein’] had were very positive … We believe the trajectory is going in the right direction here to potentially getting this ceasefire done, but it’s not done.

His comments follow reports that the Israeli cabinet will vote on a potential ceasefire deal dealing with Lebanon Tuesday.

Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a US-led ceasefire deal with Hezbollah ‘in principle’ after months of bitter fighting in Lebanon.

The Israeli prime minister is expected to green-light the proposal despite reservations from his National Security Minister, Israeli media reported today.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that Netanyahu had approved the deal ‘in principle’ during a security consultation with Israeli officials last night.

The agreement is understood to be based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Hezbollah in Israel in 2006.

Israeli and American sources report that the agreement ‘in principle’ does not constitute final approval, and some issues still require clarification.

Israel is expected to relay its lingering concerns about the agreement to the Lebanese government today as negotiations continue with Hezbollah.

American envoy Amos Hochstein relayed that his conversations with the Lebanese government, mediating talks with Hezbollah, indicate ‘constructive’ conversations.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com in Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan says it’s guaranteed that the future president will pull federal funds from states that don’t comply with his mass deportation plans.

Homan, who served in the highest echelons of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Presidents Barack Obama and Trump, was recently tapped by the president-elect to serve as ‘border czar,’ a role tailor-made to carry out Trump’s deportation mandate.

The president-elect repeatedly claimed while campaigning that on day one he would pull off the ‘largest deportation program in American history.’

Homan will be tasked with helping Trump make good on that promise.

Speaking on Fox News with host Mark Levin on Saturday, the host suggested that the border czar has an important tool at his disposal to force states to comply with the mass deportations.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com in Washington, D.C.

Jimmy Patronis, the former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, has gotten Trump’s ‘complete and total endorsement.’

The president-elect posted his endorsement on his Truth Social platform Monday.

Patronis, however, has not announced his candidacy for the role.

‘Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer for the Great State of Florida, has done a tremendous job as CFO, where he also serves as the State’s Fire Marshall, and as an important member of the Florida Cabinet. I hear that Jimmy is now considering launching a Campaign for Congress in Florida’s 1st Congressional District!’

‘A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA. As your next Congressman, Jimmy would work tirelessly alongside of me to Grow our Economy, Secure our Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Incredible Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.’

‘Should he decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JIMMY, RUN!’

A top senator is laying out 22 ways Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy can use their new agency DOGE to trim down the federal government.

Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to ‘dismantle’ the $6.5 trillion bloated U.S. bureaucracy by heading the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

They plan to cut wasteful regulations and spending by specifically targeting the number of federal government employees.

And plans are in place to force federal workers to return to the office in order to end the wasteful and lazy work-from-home culture.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has already prepared a sprawling report including a 22-point plan to enact change and ‘make the porkers squeal.’

A source told DailyMail.com that Ernst and Vivek met last week to discuss her ideas to slash $1 trillion immediately.

She was also at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday meeting with Trump, Musk and Treasury pick Howard Lutnick, DailyMail.com reported first.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in West Palm Beach, Florida

When Donald Trump needed a new nominee for U.S. attorney general he moved swiftly from Florida man to Florida woman.

And in selecting the former Florida A.G. Pam Bondi to replace Matt Gaetz he illustrated how one state is providing the backbone of his new administration.

His White House chief of staff, secretary of state and national security adviser all hail from the Sunshine State.

Insiders joke that they have embarked on ‘making America Florida Again,’ referencing T-shirts that were on sale at campaign events celebrating the state’s new status as a Republican stronghold.

Trump is picking people who share his reform agenda, said one insider, but it did not hurt their chances if they lived close to his political headquarters at Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump finished rounding out his Cabinet and top White House positions at the weekend, but his team has yet to sign the ethics and transparency agreements that the federal government needs for a traditional transition.

A Trump spokesman said they continue to ‘constructively engage’ with the Biden-Harris administration, but watchdogs warn that delays could cause problems next year when the new team takes charge.

It means the basics of the transition cannot yet begin, such as deploying ‘landing teams’ of appointees to department or even requesting FBI background checks for nominees.

Three senators raised the alarm with Politico , saying that it could prevent key nominees getting confirmed.

‘If there is a lack of proper investigation into a nominee, I don’t think [the Senate Armed Services Committee] would allow the nomination to move forward,’ Sen. Tim Kaine, a senior Democratic member of the panel, told the website.

Joe Biden broke down in tears as Jill hailed her ‘husband and hero’ during the president’s final farewell dinner at the White House, but there were no signs of Kamala Harris.

The outgoing US President was overcome with emotion as the First Lady paid tribute to his decades of service during a party on the South Lawn thanking Democrat supporters and donors.

On Friday evening, Jill praised her husband’s 40 years of service, including his last four years as the President of the United States.

‘What I’ve watched you do for more than 40 years is extraordinary… Joe what you’ve done the last four years is breathtaking,’ the First Lady said, as Biden wiped a tear from his cheek.

After Biden reached for a tissue from his pocket, his wife raised a glass, toasting to: ‘My husband and hero, Joe Biden,’ before the pair shared a kiss on the podium.

The president then took to center stage for his speech, cracking a joke while urging guests and supporters: ‘If you have a seat, please take it. Don’t jump in the pool!’

‘Jill and I are hosting this dinner tonight for a very simple reason to say thank you. Thank you to so many dear friends,’ he continued.

‘We began this journey to redeem the soul of the nation and define the light in the darkness. And I never could have gotten to where the White House has become without you and we never could have gotten as much done as we did without you. And that’s not hyperbole. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.’

Vice President Kamala Harris is now in Hawaii enjoying a long vacation after her dramatic defeat by President-elect Donald Trump.

But political insiders who know her say she will already be thinking about a potential return to the campaign trail.

‘Of course she’s going to try and run again,’ one well-connected Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com, citing Harris’ ambition as a factor.

It means her devastating loss to Trump may not be the end of her political career.

Indeed, polls show Harris is the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

She leads with 41 percent of Democrats in a Puck News/Echelon Insights survey, while other possible candidates remain in single digits.

However, the poll also showed that 59 percent of Democrats would like to look beyond Harris when searching for a champion to lead them out of the political wilderness.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff are scheduled to return to the continental U.S. from Hawaii today.

The couple has spent the past week vacationing on the big island.

They will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in San Francisco.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Harris’ down time last week in her briefing.

‘The vice president has taken time off to go spend time with her family. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think she deserves some time to be with her family and to have some down time,’ Jean-Pierre said.

‘She has worked very hard over the last four years, and her taking a couple of days to be with her family — good for her,’ she added and then ended her briefing.

President Joe Biden and his family will spend their Thanksgiving on Nantucket.

Barron Trump, the youngest son of Donald and Melania, has returned home to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday and was seen dining alongside his parents at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night.

The Florida compound has been Trump’s primary residence since leaving the White House in January 2021 but has recently been the backdrop to several high-profile gatherings following Trump’s presidential win earlier this month.

In the footage shot on Saturday night, Barron could be seen eating out on the patio alongside other club regulars as he was sat next to his father who was wearing a navy blue suit and blue tie, while his mother was dressed in an all-white ensemble.

Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, Barron’s grandfather, was also seen dining alongside the Trumps.

The private members club looked bustling as the tables appeared to be full of diners with the venue becoming the hottest venue in town since Trump’s historic win.

Despite temperatures in Palm Beach being in the low 70s, the gas heaters had been fired up to keep everyone warm under the yellow and white awning.

Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai has taken to TikTok to perform his iconic YMCA dance on board his private jet.

In a brief 14 second TikTok video, Kai alongside her friend Emma Markin performed her grandpa’s signature dance moves, moving her arms from side to side and displaying a thumbs up.

‘Learned these moves from the best’, Kai wrote.

The dance took place in the luxurious surroundings of Trumps Boeing 757 private jet complete with varnished walnut interiors, and golden tasseled cushions sitting on a comfy-looking couch.

Kai, Trump’s eldest grandchild, has been garnering a lot of attention on social media and has quickly racked up 1.2 million followers ever since she appeared on stage at the GOP convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in July of this year – and helping him connect with younger voters.

‘To me, he’s just a normal grandpa,’ Kai said during her speech. ‘He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking. He always wants to know how we’re doing in school.’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is under fire after being accused of holding therapy ‘cry sessions’ for department staffers upset over Donald Trump’s election victory.

Blinken, who is expected to be replaced by Marco Rubio in January, has frequently clashed with the Republican-controlled Congress, being held in contempt in September for skipping a hearing on the disastrous exit from Afghanistan.

California Congressman and Trump ally Darrell Issa wrote an open letter to Blinken smashing the State Department for the rumored counseling sessions over Trump’s win, calling them ‘disturbing.’

Reports of the meetings first came out November 11, when a memo to department employees titled ‘managing stress during change’ was sent out less than a week after Trump’s victory.

Sources told the Washington Free Beacon the meetings amounted to a ‘cry session’ for bereft liberal staffers.

Issa wrote to Blinken this week: ‘I am concerned that the Department is catering to federal employees who are personally devastated by the normal functioning of American democracy through the provision of government-funded mental health counseling because Kamala Harris was not elected President of the United States.’

Democratic allies of Joe Biden plotted a secret harassment campaign to keep a third-party challenger out of the 2024 election in order to ensure his victory, even as polls showed voters wanted another option and there were concerns about the president’s health.

Their plan included ‘bird dogging’ members of Congress who would support such an option by sending activists to confront them at their offices.

It also details a target harassment campaign against No Labels founder Nancy Jacobson and her husband, Mark Penn, a longtime Democratic operative. The plan was to send clowns to block their Georgetown home and drive their neighbors crazy with early morning noise.

No Labels – which Penn is not a part of – was running a $70 million effort to field an alternative presidential candidate and get a third-party line on state ballots. But the centrist group dropped its efforts after Biden’s allies damaged their ability to recruit a contender.

No Labels is now fighting back in federal court and public documents show an incredible proposal from Democrat strategists to clear the way for Biden to win a second term, using techniques straight out of a spy novel.

‘Everyone loves a good wake up action- especially the neighbors,’ the email read. ‘For this, we’d show up at 6am with a truck carrying musical performers and activists marching and chanting. It usually lasts for an hour. We can hire getty to get the event on the wire,’ a Democratic strategist wrote in emails exchanged between various people involved with efforts to oppose No Labels.

Marjorie Taylor Greene laid out her plans for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which include taking on so-called Sanctuary States and Cities.

The Georgia Congresswoman and fierce Trump ally will soon have a new powerful job assisting the Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy-led department.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer plans to create a Congressional subcommittee chaired by Greene.

She outlined what some of her work may involve in an interview on Sunday and said first on her list will be to make the mayors and governors of areas harboring illegal migrants sing for their supper.

‘I’d like to talk to the governors of sanctuary states and the mayors of sanctuary cities and have them come before our committee and explain why they deserve federal dollars if they’re going to harbor illegal criminal aliens in their states and their cities,’ she told Fox News.

Trump has promised to declare a national emergency and use the military to deport millions of illegal immigrants from America.

Mayors of cities like Boston and Denver have promised to defy the order which will likely get them a front row seat with Greene.

A Fox News contributor making a personal admission that swayed her opinion about Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense by Donald Trump, .

Leslie Marshall, a Democrat strategist and radio talk host, opened up about her experience as a rape victim while coming out in opposition to Hegseth’s nomination.

Hegseth, an ex-Fox News anchor, was accused of sexual assault in 2017. He has denied the accusation, though his attorney has admitted to paying off the accuser to keep her from going public.

Marshall appeared on the network Sunday and said that she had to oppose Hegseth despite liking him ‘as a person.’

‘I dreaded talking about this today. I met Pete a long time ago. We spent, middle of the night, waiting to go on during 2016, before the election, and I like him as a person,’ she said.

Marshall added: ‘I am a rape victim, and I can tell you there’s a reason one in 10 rapes go unreported, and it’s very difficult for a woman to go in and have a rape kit done. It’s physically, mentally, and emotionally very difficult to go through that process, as I have.’

President elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to issue an executive order on his ‘first day in office’ to ban transgender members of the military.

The controversial order would cause as many as 15,000 active service members to be ‘medically discharged’ – deeming them unfit to serve, according to The Times.

Trump seeks to issue the executive action on January 20, 2025 or Day 1 of his term, the Times said, preventing any transgender people from enlisting in the military as all branches continue to struggle with recruitment.

The 78-year-old former president has nominated former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense and has pledged to purge all government agencies of ‘woke’ policies.

In a podcast interview recently, Hegseth called the inclusion of transgender people in the service ‘pushing boundaries.’

He suggested that you can’t integrate trans people in as easily as people of different races were integrated ‘because being transgendered in the military causes complications and differences.”

Hegseth also said that transgender people were ‘not deployable’ because they are ‘reliant on chemicals.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to spokepersons for Trump for comment.