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Trump picks Chris Wright as energy secy 

Wright also serves on the board of a modular nuclear reactor company. ..reports Asian Lite News

United States President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named CEO of Liberty Energy, Chris Wright as the secretary of the Department of Energy, CNN reported. 

The CEO of a Denver-based fracking company will also serve as a member of the newly formed Council of National Energy. Trump said that the council will consist of all agencies involved in the “permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation” of energy. 

“Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy. He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas. Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics,” Trump wrote in a statement Saturday, according to CNN. 

Wright also serves on the board of a modular nuclear reactor company. 

Since Biden’s administration, the US has focused on developing nuclear energy and with the appointment of Wright, Trump takes another step toward achieving the US’s energy dominance. 

The United States Department of Energy manages the country’s energy policy and production. It also focuses on the production of nuclear weapons and promotes scientific research. 

Wright has been a supporter of fossil fuels and said that they are necessary to fight against poverty. He has expressed doubts over fossil fuels’ contribution in climate change, CNN reported. 

Earlier on Friday, Trump announced the name of Karoline Leavitt as the latest addition to his cabinet to serve as the White House Press Secretary. 

Leavitt, who previously held the role of National Press Secretary for Trump’s 2024 US Presidential campaign, was also part of the Trump administration as the Assistant Press Secretary of the White House during his first tenure. 

Earlier, he selected his campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, as White House communications director as well as named Sergio Gor to lead the Presidential Personnel Office. 

Earlier on Thursday, former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins was nominated by Trump for the next US Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

Trump also announced the name of Robert F Kennedy Jr. as the next US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

Additionally this week, he announced Tesla CEO Elon Musk, along with Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Trump nominated former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Joseph McGinley as White House Counsel, former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protective Agency (EPA), and Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense. 

Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Following his victory, President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly with finalising his foreign policy and national security team ahead of his formal inauguration in January 2025. (ANI) 

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-Top News China USA

Biden, Xi agree humans should decide on N-weapon use 

Washington has been pushing Beijing for months to break a longstanding resistance to nuclear arms talks…reports Asian Lite News

Joe Biden met with Xi Jinping on Saturday afternoon, coming to the agreement that human beings and not artificial intelligence should make decisions over the use of nuclear weapons, according to the White House. 

In what is believed to be the last meeting between the two leaders before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency, the two met at a hotel on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, where they shook hands before each delivering opening remarks on the China-US relationship. 

“The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons,” the White House said in a statement. “The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.” 

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

It was not clear whether the statement would lead to further talks or action on the issue. But it nonetheless marks a first-of-its-kind step between the two countries in the discussion of two issues on which progress has been elusive: nuclear arms and artificial intelligence. 

Washington has been pushing Beijing for months to break a longstanding resistance to nuclear arms talks. 

The two countries briefly resumed official-level talks over nuclear arms in November but those negotiations have since stalled, with a top US official publicly expressing frustration regarding China’s responsiveness. 

Formal nuclear arms control negotiations have not been expected any time soon, despite US concerns about China’s rapid nuclear weapons buildup, even though semi-official exchanges have resumed. 

Biden met on Friday with Yoon Suk Yeol, the South Korean president, and Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese prime minister, and affirmed the alliance among the three countries. The three leaders agreed that “it should not be in Beijing’s interest to have this kind of destabilizing cooperation take place in the region”, a senior administration official said in a briefing on background. 

Trump’s imminent return to the White House casts a dark shadow over the conversation as it remains unclear what his second term will mean for the relationship between the US and China. 

On the campaign trail, Trump touted a hawkish approach to China, promising to increase tariffs to 60% on Chinese imports, which could be as much as $500bn worth of goods. Trump has also promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, which some fear means decreasing the flow of military aid to Ukraine or pushing the country to lose territory to Russia. A general backing away from the conflict could give room for China to step up as an intermediary, increasing its presence on the global stage. 

Among Trump’s blitz of cabinet nominee announcements was the appointments of Florida senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Republican representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser, both of whom have have voiced hawkish views on China. 

Xi congratulated Trump on his election win earlier this month, saying that their two countries must “get along with each other in the new era”, in a statement. 

ALSO READ: UK’s CHOICE BETWEEN EU AND TRUMP 

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UK’s CHOICE BETWEEN EU AND TRUMP 

Pascal Lamy, former head of the WTO, says Britain will have to take sides if new US administration slaps hefty tariffs on imports, as fears grow over possible trade war…reports Asian Lite News

The former head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said that the UK should side with the European Union over trade and economic policies rather than a Donald Trump-led US, as fears grow over a possible global trade war. 

Pascal Lamy, who was head of the WTO from 2005 to 2013, said it was clear that the UK’s interests lay in staying close to the EU on trade, rather than allying with Trump, not least because it does three times more trade with Europe than the US. 

His comments came after a key Trump supporter, Stephen Moore, said on Friday that the UK should reject the EU’s “socialist model” if it wanted to have any realistic chance of doing a free trade deal with the US under Trump and, as a result, avoid the 20% tariffs on exports that the president-elect has promised. 

In an interview with the Observer, Lamy said: “It’s an old question with a new relevance given Brexit and given Trump. In my view the UK is a European country. Its socio- economic model is much closer to the EU social model and not the very hard, brutal version of capitalism of Trump and [Elon] Musk. 

“We can expect that Trump plus Musk will go even more in this direction. If Trump departs from supporting Ukraine, I have absolutely no doubt that the UK will remain on the European side. 

“In trade matters, you have to look at the numbers. The trade relationship between the UK and Europe is three times larger than between the UK and US. 

“This is a very structural inter-dependence which will hardly change unless – which I don’t think is a realistic assumption – the UK will decide to leave the EU norms of standards, to move to the US one. I don’t believe that will happen. 

“My answer is that the option to unite politically, economically and socially with the US and not with Europe makes absolutely no sense. I believe that, for the UK’s interests and values, the European option remains the dominant one.” 

Ivan Rogers, the former British ambassador to the EU, said it was clear that after Trump’s re-election the UK would have to choose between the US and EU. “Any free trade agreement that Trump and his team could ever propose to the UK would have to contain major proposals on US access to the UK agricultural market and on veterinary standards. It would not pass Congress without them. If the UK signed on the dotted line, that’s the end of the Starmer proposed veterinary deal with the EU. You can’t have both: you have to choose.” 

Their remarks come as Keir Starmer heads to Brazil on Sunday for a meeting of the G20 where issues of global security and economic growth are set to dominate. The prime minister is expected to hold talks with President Xi of China, on whose country Trump is proposing slap huge 60% import tariffs. Trade experts expect that the US will demand that the EU and UK follow suit, which both will strongly resist for their own trade reasons. 

The UK is seeking to increase trade with Beijing while also stepping up efforts to find greater ways to access the EU single market. Last week, the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, made clear that leaving the EU had “weighed” on the domestic economy. 

A government source said that developing a trade strategy in the new world order was now the top priority. “It has gone from being very important to being number one in the one tray [following Trump’s re-election].” 

However, João Vale de Almeida, the former EU ambassador to London, said he believed there was common “territory for agreement” which would involve minimal pragmatic deals between the EU and the UK, and the US and the UK. 

“We know that Trump will try to divide European member states and divide the UK and EU. This is already what [Nigel] Farage is trying to do. But I think we can walk and chew gum at the same. 

“Given that a fully fledged trade deal with the US is not possible because agricultural issues will get in the way, and an EU deal is limited by UK red lines, any deals will have to be limited. So there may be a way through.” 

Meanwhile, a top adviser to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, has said the UK should align itself with the American “free enterprise” economic model instead of the “more socialist” European system, as speculation mounts over the terms of a potential transatlantic trade deal. 

Stephen Moore, a senior economic adviser to Trump, said if the UK moved towards the US model of “economic freedom” there would be more “willingness” by the incoming administration to agree to a trade deal between the two countries. 

His comments come as Keir Starmer faces competing demands over future trade deals with Washington and Brussels. Some have told the prime minister to pick a side in trade talks between the US and EU while others have suggested he could strike deals with both major players. 

Speaking to BBC’s Today programme, Moore said: “The UK really has to choose between the Europe economic model of more socialism and the US model, which is more based on a free enterprise system. I think the UK is kind of caught in the middle of these two forms of an economic model. I believe that Britain would be better off moving towards more of the American model of economic freedom. 

“If that were the case, I think it would spur the Trump administration’s willingness to the free trade agreement with the UK. I think it would make sense for both Britain and the United States.” 

Previous efforts to agree a UK-US trade deal have been scuppered by rows over agricultural standards, particularly fears over allowing chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef on to British supermarket shelves. 

Moore said: “I think we have the best agriculture centres in the world. So I wouldn’t see that as a problem from this side of the ocean, but I do understand that in Britain. I know the last time I was in London, that was a big issue with many of the British folks I talked to.” 

Trump has proposed a blanket tariff of at least 10% on all imports, as well as further retaliatory tariffs against countries that place tariffs on US imports. Moore said the blanket tariff was a “fairly popular position with many American voters” but suggested some countries might be exempt.

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Russia Limits Enriched Uranium Exports To US

Iran nuclear talks - Is West Asia being dragged to the edge of conflict? .(photo:IN)

The restriction raises supply concerns for US nuclear power plants, which relied on Russia for a quarter of their enriched uranium last year.

Russia has imposed temporary restrictions on exporting enriched uranium to the United States, the government said.

The restrictions apply to exports to the United States and those under foreign trade agreements with entities registered in US jurisdictions, with waivers allowing deliveries under one-time licenses issued by the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control, reports Xinhua news agency.

The restriction raises supply concerns for US nuclear power plants, which relied on Russia for a quarter of their enriched uranium last year.

The move follows a US law signed in May by US President Joe Biden banning Russian uranium imports until 2040, with exceptions allowed until 2028.

US purchases of Russian uranium totalled $574 million this year, down by nearly 32 per cent from a year ago, according to US statistics.

ALSO READ: IAEA Chief Visits Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

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Elon Musk meets Iran’s UN ambassador in New York 

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, in New York, USA, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

The meeting between Musk and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani held in a secret location in New York and lasted over an hour…reports Asian Lite News

Tech billionaire Elon Musk met with Iran’s UN ambassador and discussed ways to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday. 

The meeting between Musk and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani held in a secret location in New York and lasted over an hour was described by two Iranian officials as “positive” and focused on reducing tensions between the two countries, the publication noted. 

Trump who appointed Musk, the owner of Tesla and X as the co-director of a new government efficiency agency during a call last week with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, handed the phone to the tech billionaire, said New York Times. Musk has played a key role in providing communications capability to Ukraine in the war with Russia. 

During his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, calling it “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” and imposed tough economic sanctions on Iranian oil revenues and international banking transactions. He also ordered the assassination of a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani, in Iraq in 2020. 

In response, Iran’s supreme leader banned any negotiations with the Trump administration and Iranian officials vowed to avenge. Suleimani’s killing. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week that Iran had plotted to assassinate Trump before the election. 

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a meeting with the visiting Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi in Tehran on Thursday said that Iran is well-prepared to collaborate with international bodies to address any questions regarding its peaceful nuclear program. 

A report by Iranian state media Irna reported that Pezeshkian underlined that the reports from the IAEA indicate that Iran has met all its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, but the US unilaterally withdrew from it. 

The NYT report stated citing an anonymous Iranian official, that in his meeting with Musk, ambassador Iravani told the tech billionaire he should obtain sanctions exemptions from the Treasury and bring some of his businesses to Tehran. 

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said it would not publicly comment on the meeting, the publication said. (ANI) 

ALSO READ: Lavrov says ‘ball in US court’ on talks with Trump 

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-Top News Politics USA

Trump replacing prosecutor who filed ex-RAW officer’s case

If confirmed by the Senate, Clayton will replace Damian Williams, who by tradition will submit his resignation when there is a change of President on January 21, or will be fired…reports Asian Lite News

US President-elect Donald Trump is replacing the federal prosecutor who filed the case against a former Indian Intelligence officer charged in an alleged “murder-for-hire” plot against a Khalistani leader.

Trump announced on Thursday that he is nominating Jay Clayton, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as the District Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“Jay is going to be a strong Fighter for the Truth as we, Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

If confirmed by the Senate, Clayton will replace Damian Williams, who by tradition will submit his resignation when there is a change of President on January 21, or will be fired.

Last month, Williams filed the case against Vikash Yadav, a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, alleging that he orchestrated a plot to hire a hitman to kill Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Williams charged an Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, last year as a co-conspirator in the case.

He was extradited to the US in June from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested, and his case is proceeding separately at the Southern District of New York court.

Gupta has denied guilt in court and the next hearing is set for January 19.

Even if Williams quits, the lawyers in his office will continue the case until the new prosecutor and the new Attorney General decide on the next steps.

Trump has appointed a controversial former member of the House of Representatives, Matt Gaetz, as his Attorney General.

Yadav is described in the charges filed against him as a RAW “Senior Field Officer”.

He is in India and is reportedly in custody facing kidnapping and extortion charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a “Wanted” poster for him.

He and Gupta are alleged to have tried to hire a person they thought was a professional criminal — but was a government agent — to kill Pannun.

The Southern District of New York covers Manhattan — and within it Wall Street — making the venue for most high-profile cases involving investments, and stock market trading manipulation and fraud.

As the former SEC head, Clayton brings special expertise to Wall Street and financial irregularities cases.

“He did an incredible job,” at the SEC, Trump said.

ALSO READ: Lavrov says ‘ball in US court’ on talks with Trump 

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Lavrov says ‘ball in US court’ on talks with Trump 

Russia open to talks with the Trump administration, but the next move is up to the U.S., says Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov…reports Asian Lite News

Days after the Kremlin denied media reports that US President-elect Donald Trump held a call with Vladimir Putin, in which he is said to have warned the Russian president against escalating the war in Ukraine, Russia’s foreign minister on Thursday said that his country has no expectations from the new US administration, but will assess its concrete steps. 

Russia is open to contact with the US under the Donald Trump administration, but the ball is in the US court, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with journalist Marina Kim as reported in by its state media TASS. 

“President Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club that he is always ready to communicate. It was not us who interrupted the communication: the ball is in the US court,” Lavrov said in response to a question, the media outlet reported. 

“There will be no expectations and no assumptions. We will judge by concrete cases,” Russia’s top diplomat noted. 

The Washington Post on Sunday reported that a call between the two leaders had taken place last week, following the declaration of the results of the US presidential elections. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the reports were “pure fiction.” 

Further, Lavrov on Thursday said that containing China will be a priority task for the United States under Donald Trump, while Washington views Russia as a “present-day threat.” 

“The task of containing China was set by the administration of Joe Biden. I assume it will remain a priority for the administration of Donald Trump, too. And we are the ‘threat’ of today. Washington cannot allow Russia to prove that it is a powerful player or undermine the West’s reputation,” Lavrov said. 

“Any US administration”, he said, “wants a weaker Russia and seeks to suppress it as a rival.” He pointed out that the Americans had long declared the idea that “there should be no country in the world more influential than the United States.” 

The Russian minister said that the US cares more for its reputation and does not care about the real fates of people, in particular of the Ukrainians. 

“They don’t care about Ukraine. They care about their reputation: they once said that Ukraine would have this government, but suddenly someone dared to object. Russia? A large country, indeed, but it needs to be put in its place. This is what it’s all about, it’s not about the fate of the Ukrainian people at all. They don’t care about the people,” the minister was cited as saying by the state media. 

Asked about a truce between Russia and Ukraine, Lavrov reiterated, “Russian President Putin has repeatedly said that we have never refused to negotiate.” 

According to him, “none of those in the Republican camp who reportedly offer breakthrough ideas on how to end the Ukraine conflict has mentioned the need to restore the right of the Ukrainian population to speak Russian, learn, teach and receive information in Russian.” 

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump plans to appoint a special envoy to hold talks on a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine according to US TV channel Fox News which cited multiple sources. 

“You’re going to see a very senior special envoy, someone with a lot of credibility, who will be given a task to find a resolution, to get to a peace settlement,” one of the sources said in the report on Wednesday. “You’re going to see that in short order,” it said. 

According to Fox News, the job is not expected to be a salaried role; Kurt Volker served as a special representative to Ukrainian negotiations on a volunteer basis in 2017-19. 

Previously, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, ahead of the US presidential election, said that it makes no difference for Russia what the election outcome will be, given the two-party consensus that emerged in the United States regarding the confrontation toward the country. 

“If anything changes in the US policy and any proposals to us appear, we will be ready to examine them in terms of matching Russia’s interests. In any case Russia will resolutely defend its interests, particularly where national security is concerned,” she had said. (ANI) 

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Trump Taps Vaccine Skeptic for Health Chief

Naming Kennedy Jr. the next Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Trump made it sound like a war on the pharmaceutical and food industries….reports Asian Lite News

US President-elect Donald Trump is handing over the Health Department to the eccentric scion of the Kennedy clan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who advocates unconventional ideas including opposition to vaccines.

Naming Kennedy Jr. the next Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Trump made it sound like a war on the pharmaceutical and food industries.

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said.

He wrote on Truth Social that Kennedy Jr. “will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again”!

Kennedy Jr. posted on X that he would work with HHS employees “to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth”.

Besides opposition to vaccines, some of Kennedy’s ideas are against the pasteurisation of milk, and laws making psychedelic drugs illegal, and therapies like using for people ivermectin, a drug used for horses, and wider use of stem cells.

Ironically one of Trump’s biggest achievements in his last term was the development of vaccines against Covid-19 in record time, which he now downplays because many in the right wing of the party are against vaccines.

Kennedy Jr. has said that despite his opposition, he will not ban vaccines.

In agreement with Trump’s suggestion to use hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid, in a tweet he accused the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) of aggressively suppressing it.

Kennedy Jr. could throw the entire US health system in disarray if he has his way.

If confirmed he will have authority over 13 agencies that come under the HHS and these include the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control which also has an international role, the National Institutes of Health that do cutting edge research, and Medicare, the government health insurance for seniors.

Kennedy Jr. is a former Democrat who embraced Trump after failed attempts to seek the presidency and endorsed him.

Kennedy Jr. ran for the Democratic Party nomination against President Joe Biden and later against Vice President Kamala Harris, before ending it and declaring himself an Independent.

He dropped that and endorsed Trump, who said in return, he would let him “go wild on health”.

Despite Trump’s campaign promise, his appointment as the HHS Secretary was a surprise because of his eccentric advocacies and he may have a rough ride in Senate confirmation hearings.

His nomination — like that of Matt Gaetz, who was under a Congressional ethics probe for alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, as the Attorney General — is Trump’s show of defiance against the mainstream and a demand for acquiescence from his party Senators.

Kennedy Jr. is the nephew of President John F Kennedy and the son of his brother, Robert, a Senator and former Attorney General.

Both leaders were assassinated, Robert Kennedy while pursuing the Democratic nomination for President.

Kennedy Jr. has had his sights for long on the health portfolio and lobbied for the post with former President Barack Obama, who reportedly rejected him for alleged past involvement with drugs.

He was an environment activist and lawyer, with a colourful past of escapades like dumping a dead bear in New York’s Central Park.

During his presidential campaign, he revealed that a tapeworm had been found eating a part of his brain.

ALSO READ: Trump names Marco Rubio as top US diplomat

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Trump names Marco Rubio as top US diplomat

Rubio expressed his gratitude and commitment to the role…reports Asian Lite News

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Marco Rubio, Republican US Senator from Florida, will be the Secretary of State during his second presidential term.

“It is my Great Honour to announce that Senator Marco Rubio, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The United States Secretary of State,” Trump said on Wednesday in a statement, adding that the 53-year-old Cuban American “is a Highly Respected Leader and a very powerful Voice for Freedom”.

“Marco will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down from our adversaries. I look forward to working with Marco to Make America, and the World, Safe and Great Again!,” Trump added.

In response, Rubio expressed his gratitude and commitment to the role.

“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else,” Rubio said.

Rubio, whose nomination has been reported by US media outlets for days, reacted quickly to Trump’s formal announcement, saying on X that he was “honoured by the trust President Trump has placed in me” to bear the “tremendous responsibility” of leading the Department of State, Xinhua news agency reported.

“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda,” he added.

The Secretary of State, as is the case for other cabinet members of the presidential administration, will have to be approved by the Senate before assuming office.

“I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the US Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20,” said Rubio, who was elected into the Senate in 2010. He was re-elected in 2022 to serve another six-year term.

Rubio ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in the 2016 election, which saw Trump win his first presidential term.

Gabbard tapped to head US intelligence community

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Hindu American Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat member of Congress, to his cabinet as the Director of National Intelligence.

“Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength,” Trump said on Truth Social on Wednesday announcing his pick for the post.

“For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans,” Trump said referring to her rank as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve serving in the Iraq War.

She quit the Democratic Party and formally joined the Republican Party this year and campaigned for Trump, urging Indian Americans to vote for him.

It was an ideological 180-degree turn because she had been associated with the Democratic Party’s Left and had supported the Leftist Senator, Bernie Sanders, for the presidential nomination in 2016.

She will become the second Hindu on the US cabinet, after Arati Prabhakar, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, now serving with Biden.

After a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, Gabbard said, “India is the world’s largest democracy and one of the United States’ most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region.”

“We spoke about the need to continue to work together to address the pressing issues that impact us and the world,” she said.

“We discussed the situation in Kashmir, civil rights, empowering women, and addressing poverty, as well as the concern about escalating tensions with Iran,” she added.

The Director of National Intelligence coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies, and her office includes the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, and the Foreign Malign Influence Centre.

The director’s high-profile role is preparing the daily intelligence briefing for the President, an overview of the global situation, and an early warning system for emerging dangers.

In the national security sector, Trump has nominated Mike Waltz, who is the co-chair of the India Caucus in Congress, as his new National Security Adviser.

Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio is also a supporter of India.

Gabbard is from Hawaii and of Samoan heritage on her father’s side and European on her mother’s. Her parents embraced the Hindu religion.

She became the first Hindu elected to Congress in 2004 and took the oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita.

Once a rising star of the Democratic Party, she was the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, but she resigned in 2016 accusing the party’s leadership of undemocratically promoting Hillary Clinton as the party’s presidential nominee.

She ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and during a candidate’s debate in 2019 she took a memorable swipe from the left at Vice President Kamala Harris accusing her of hypocrisy because of her record of targeting African-Americans and people of colour during her prosecutorial career in California.

Gabbard reportedly was one of the advisers for Trump when he prepared for his debate with Harris.

“As a former presidential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, she has broad support in both parties,” Trump said.

While her nomination will sail through the Senate with Republican support, most Democrats will consider her a turncoat.

Her Hindu religion has drawn attacks from some activists and American media like the Intercept and Indian media like the Caravan which have accused her of being associated with Hindu nationalists.

ALSO READ: Trump’s return heightens risks for Chinese Yuan 

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Republicans secure election trifecta

After eight days of vote counting, Republicans have secured control of the House of Representatives. This victory grants the party the prized trifecta—control of the presidency, House, and Senate—for at least the next two years…reports Asian Lite News

The Republican Party crossed the 118-mark in the House of Representatives as late results trickled in, scoring an electoral trifecta controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House.

While the counting of votes in the November 5 election continues and the official announcement of results for all the seats is weeks away, three TV channels declared on the basis of their analysis that the party had crossed the halfway mark in the 435-member House.

Six results are pending and CBS said the party could gain at least three more of them, keeping the current tally of 221.

Earlier, the Republicans were declared by media to have wrested the Senate away from the Democrats winning 52 seats, with one pending result from Pennsylvania where the party candidate is leading.

And, Donald Trump won the presidential election with 312 of the 538 Electoral College votes, as well as a majority of the popular votes.

Having control of both Congress chambers will give Trump an edge in moving through legislation and the budget, although the slender lead in the House could sometimes stall them.

In the current House where the Republicans had a majority with 213 seats, the leaders found it difficult to get all of them to vote with them.

In fact, Speaker Mike Johnson won the position and retained it with the help of Democrats when radicals in his party tried to stage a coup against him in May. But on Wednesday in a sign of discipline following Trump’s election, Republican House members voted to keep him on as Speaker and he is assured of it when the new House meets next year.

Johnson retains speakership, Thune new majority leader

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday won Republican nomination to remain in the position, after US President-elect Donald Trump appeared to have backed him during a meeting with House Republicans.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, was elected House Speaker in a full chamber vote of 220-209, with unanimous Republican support, in October 2023, which brought weeks of chaos to a momentary halt as Republicans struggled to find a replacement after the historical ouster of Kevin McCarthy, Xinhua news agency reported.

Multiple US media outlets projected on Wednesday that Republicans will win enough seats to retain control of the US House of Representatives, with the party securing at least 218 seats — the threshold to maintain a majority in the 435-member chamber.

NBC News and CNN made the call on Wednesday noon, with nine House races yet to be projected.

So far, Republicans have flipped seven seats from Democrats, while Democrats have flipped six seats from Republicans, resulting in a tally of 218 to 208.

Despite the victory, the Republican majority in the House will remain slim.

In order to win the gavel, Johnson will need near-unanimous support from House Republicans to officially become Speaker in January, when a full-chamber vote is scheduled to take place.

With Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell retiring, the party’s re-elected and newly-elected senators elected John Thune as his successor.

Trump said on Truth Social, “He moves quickly, and will do an outstanding job. I look forward to working with him” and other party leaders in the Senate.

The Senate must approve major appointments, including most of the cabinet positions.

Trump is trying to get around this by suggesting he should be allowed to make appointments when the Senate is in recess and can’t hold hearings or confirmation votes.

He said the new Senate leader should agree to it. Thune, however, held his ground that “the Senate has an advice and consent rule in the Constitution”, but also added that confirmations should be done expeditiously and “how that happens remains to be seen”.

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