Trump Taps Huckabee as Israel Envoy, Plans to Visit Capitol Hill

President-elect Donald Trump is nominating former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be the US ambassador to Israel.

“He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

Huckabee is a prominent religious conservative and his selection is likely to be cheered by that bloc, which has been critical to propelling Trump to the White House in both 2016 and in last week’s election. If confirmed by the Senate, Huckabee will take the post amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and heightened hostilities between Israel and Iran. Trump has said he hopes to bring an end to the conflicts.

Huckabee is also the father of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House press secretary and the current Arkansas governor. 

The announcement comes as Trump is slated to meet with House Republicans on Wednesday as the party awaits the prospect of scoring a trifecta in Washington with control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the meeting during a press conference, adding that the details were still being worked out but that the gathering could take place Wednesday morning before Trump also visits the White House. Trump was already slated to be in Washington for a meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office.

“I think he said it first, before I did, that he wanted to come and visit with House Republicans,” Johnson said. “That would be a great meeting and a moment for all of us.”

Johnson said discussions have already taken place with Trump about the chamber’s agenda. The speaker said he plans to head to Trump’s south Florida home of Mar-a-Lago after their meeting in Washington, with plans to remain there “all weekend” to discuss their legislative plans.

The meeting comes with Republicans on the brink of clinching control of the US House, needing to win just four of the chamber’s 16 remaining uncalled races a week after Election Day. Parties need 218 seats to control the 435-member chamber and Republicans are leading in decided races by 214-205, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier: Republicans Close to House Majority and Washington Trifecta

Still, any GOP majority in the House promises to be razor-thin — a challenge complicated by Trump, who is tapping at least two Republican representatives for positions in his administration. 

The president-elect has selected Florida Representative Mike Waltz to serve as his national security adviser and has said he will nominate New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be the US ambassador to the United Nations. Each will have give up their House seats when they take the posts, leaving the seats temporarily vacant until filled by a special election.

Johnson on Tuesday told reporters he did not expect Trump to tap any additional House members as of now.

Across Capitol Hill, Republicans have already secured Senate control in last week’s election, with members of the upper chamber preparing to select a new majority leader. Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a staunch supporter of Trump, is launching an underdog bid against rivals John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas. 

Thune and Cornyn are both longtime deputies of outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and are favored over Scott in the contest, but the Florida senator has the backing of billionaire Elon Musk. Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the Senate leadership contest.

Here’s the latest on Trump’s transition:

Clearing the Deck

Mark Paoletta, a Republican lawyer who is helping head up the transition efforts at the US Department of Justice, reiterated warnings for career officials to leave if they were not prepared to implement the incoming president’s policies, including cracking down on illegal immigration as well as undoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for the federal workforce.

“Deporting millions of illegal aliens out of this country, securing the border, banning DEI, all that destructive stuff that the Biden administration let run wild, getting boys out of girls sports — those are all the things that the Department of Justice is going to work on,” Paoletta said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends. 

“Those are the things that the Department of Justice employees — career employees — are going to support, and if they don’t want to support it, they should leave,” he added.

Paoletta previously served as general counsel in the Office and Management and Budget during Trump’s first term.

Trump Confirms Waltz Pick

Trump in a statement on Tuesday confirmed that he is picking Waltz to be his national security advisor, praising him as “a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda” and “a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!”

Waltz is a former Army Green Beret who served multiple tours in Afghanistan. As national security advisor he will hold a critical post responsible for coordinating foreign policy within the West Wing and briefing the president on global crises.

It offers to be a potentially perilous role, with Trump cycling through four national security advisors in his first term.

Campaign Committee Changes

Trump has converted his campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc., into a new leadership PAC called Never Surrender Inc., according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission, signaling that even though he is constitutionally barred from running again for the White House, he is not done raising money.

Never Surrender will operate under different rules than the campaign committee. It can accept donations of up to $5,000 per individual and use its funds to support other candidates and causes — as well as pay Trump’s political expenses unrelated to running for office, including legal fees.

Trump also has another leadership PAC, Save America, which he has used to help pay some of his legal expenses. 

Trump set up Save America after losing his 2020 bid for the White House. It took in $141 million, a record for a leadership PAC, before he even launched his third campaign for the White House. FEC filings show he used more than $83 million of that amount to pay legal fees, as of October.

Immigration Team Takes Shape

Trump is tapping South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security, CNN reported, tapping a Republican once seen as a potential vice presidential pick for a job that will be critical to implementing the president-elect’s policies on immigration.

As head of DHS, Noem would have a frontline role in helping carry out what Trump has vowed will be the largest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in the nation’s history.

Noem would be working alongside Tom Homan, whom Trump has tapped as the White House “border czar” and with Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, whom he plans to tap as White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

With assistance from Bill Allison.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.