Yahoo News Trump transition live updates: Trump taps America First think tank CEO as agriculture secretary
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, said Thursday he is withdrawing his name for the role -- just a day after Gaetz spoke with Republican senators on Capitol Hill about the nomination process.
Trump has named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, as his new pick for the role.
Another controversial Cabinet pick, Pete Hegseth, is on the Hill on Thursday with Vice President-elect JD Vance to make his case for the secretary of the Department of Defense job.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration.
Latest Developments
Nov 23, 4:34 PM
Trump names longtime ally Brooke Rollins as secretary of agriculture
President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that Brooke Rollins is his pick to lead the Department of Agriculture.
The seat requires Senate approval.
Rollins served in the first Trump administration, first as the assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives and then later as the acting director of the Domestic Policy Council.
After Trump left office, she became the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative right-wing think tank which is made up of former Trump staff members that promotes his agenda.
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Nov 23, 5:12 PM
Trump encourages Randy Fine to run for Rep. Waltz's open seat
President-elect Donald Trump is already leveraging his endorsement powers to fill vacated House seats around the country as he pulls members of Congress into his cabinet.
Trump encouraged Florida state Sen. Randy Fine to launch a bid for Florida's 6th District seat. Rep. Mike Waltz currently holds the seat, but Trump has tapped him as national security adviser.
"Randy Fine has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, RANDY, RUN!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Soo Rin Kim
Nov 23, 4:08 PM
Incoming NATO secretary general met with Trump
President-elect Donald Trump met with the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Friday night at Mar-a-Lago, a NATO spokesperson said.
"They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance," they said.
"The Secretary General and his team also met with Congressman Mike Waltz and members of the President-elect’s national security team," the spokesperson added.
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Soo Rin Kim
Nov 22, 8:53 PM
Trump picks Scott Turner to lead Department of Housing and Urban Development
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Turner, a former NFL player and Texas lawmaker, served in the White House during Trump's first term as the first executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, "helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities," Trump said in a statement Friday.
In that role, Turner worked with former HUD Secretary Ben Carson on boosting economic development in "Opportunity Zones" across the country, created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which allowed people to invest in low-income areas and temporarily defer tax on eligible gains.
Nov 22, 8:54 PM
Marty Makary picked to head the FDA
Trump said he has nominated Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
If confirmed by the Senate, Makary's job would be to oversee the FDA's $7 billion budget and report to the health secretary. The agency oversees $3.6 trillion in food, tobacco and medical products, including some 20,000 prescription drugs on the market.
The president-elect said Makary "will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic."
-ABC News' Anne Flaherty and Will McDuffie
Nov 22, 8:55 PM
Former Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon tapped as CDC director
Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, will serve as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trump described Weldon as a "respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues."
The post will require Senate confirmation starting in January 2025.
Nov 22, 8:55 PM
Trump names Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general
Trump has named Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as his pick for surgeon general.
The president-elect said the doctor, a Fox News medical contributor, is "a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health."
The surgeon general is confirmed by the Senate.
Nov 22, 8:14 PM
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer picked for labor secretary
Trump said he has nominated Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary.
"Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America's workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America," Trump said in a statement.
The Cabinet position requires Senate confirmation.
The Oregon congresswoman was elected to represent the state's 5th Congressional District in 2022 and she previously served as the mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon.She lost her bid for re-election two weeks ago.
Nov 22, 7:39 PM
Trump taps Project 2025 co-author to head budget office
Trump announced he has nominated Russell Vought as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The president-elect described Vought, who served in the same role during Trump's first term for several months toward the end of the administration, as an "aggressive cost cutter and deregulator."
Vought has ties to Project 2025. He authored a chapter on "Executive Office of the President" for Project 2025's "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise," which Project 2025 describes as "a comprehensive policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president."
His Center For Renewing America is also listed as a member of Project 2025's advisory board, according to the plan's website.
The position he's been nominated for requires Senate confirmation.
Nov 22, 6:33 PM
Billionaire Scott Bessent offered treasury secretary job: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump has offered the treasury secretary position to billionaire Scott Bessent, multiple sources told ABC News Friday.
Bessent has advised Trump on economic policy and has been a frequent presence at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club this week and last week.
The position must be approved by the Senate.
The announcement for the job was supposed to come earlier but had been stalled due to intense infighting among Trump's top advisers — including transition co-chair Howard Lutnick — about who should get the job.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Jonathan Karl
