Pennsylvania Senate race heads to a recount
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is heading to a recount, which the narrow margin between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey triggered automatically under state law.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced today that the unofficial results showing a narrow race have led to a recount. Schmidt noted in his announcement that counties must begin the recount no later than Nov. 20 and that they must complete the process by noon Nov. 26. The results will not be published until Nov. 27.
DOJ officials express shock and outrage at Gaetz selection
Justice Department officials expressed outrage and shock at Trump's announcement that he wants Gaetz to be the attorney general.
"What the f--- is happening?" asked a Justice Department source, who added that Gaetz should not be confirmable.
"He is uniquely qualified. How many other prospective attorneys general had previous experience as the subject of a criminal investigation?" said another source, referring to Gaetz's being investigated for possible sex trafficking, though charges ultimately were not filed.
A senior Justice Department official said the announcement was "absolutely unbelievable," while another said he or she "did not see this coming."
A former Justice Department official described employees and other law enforcement officials as being stunned and in disbelief. The source feared that Gaetz could fundamentally harm the department's future.
The Justice Department officials were granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.
House GOP announces results of leadership elections
House Republicans elected Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., to be the House Republican conference chair in the 119th Congress, the conference announced on X.
She will take over for Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. McClain defeated Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., for the role.
Republicans also re-elected Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., as the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee and Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., as policy chair.
Stefanik also announced on X that Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, will be vice chairman of the House GOP conference.
Trump baffles Republican senators by picking Matt Gaetz for attorney general
Trump stunned Senate Republicans by announcing today that he will nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be U.S. attorney general.
Gaetz, a Trump loyalist known for being a rabble-rouser in Congress, will need a majority of the Senate to be confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. Republicans will have a majority of 52 or 53 seats beginning Jan. 3, depending on the outcome of the Pennsylvania Senate race. That means Gaetz won’t have a large margin for error, assuming every Democrat opposes him.
Some Senate Republicans said the process won’t be smooth sailing for Gaetz.
Members of Congress react with surprise to Trump's pick of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general
Republicans win control of the House, giving Trump a clear pathway to implement his policy agenda. NBC News correspondents Julie Tsirkin, Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube and Garrett Haake and The New York Times’ chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker, join Meet the Press NOW moments after Trump picks Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to lead the Justice Department.
FBI confirms new details about Chinese hack of U.S. telecoms
The FBI is confirming that the hack of telecom infrastructure by Chinese government actors enabled “the theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.”
"We have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders," the FBI said in a statement, using the initialism for the People's Republic of China.
The last item is particularly significant, given previous reports that the hacking targeted U.S. intelligence collection pursuant to top-secret orders under the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act. NBC News has reported that the hack allowed the Chinese to target phones connected to the Trump and Harris campaigns.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has called it “one of the most serious breaches” he has ever seen.
Gaetz on House ethics investigation into him: 'None of their business'
Gaetz is also being investigated by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which is looking into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Gaetz told the committee in September that he is finished cooperating with the panel, which he said asked him for a list of adult sexual partners over the last seven years.
In a letter to the committee and later to reporters, Gaetz blasted the investigation as “not the business of Congress.”
“They’re just nosy is what they are, and it’s none of their business,” Gaetz told NBC News in September.
Gaetz has history of criminal and ethics investigations
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom Trump today said he will nominate to be his attorney general, has been under federal criminal investigation in the past involving allegations of sex-trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. The investigation did not lead to charges.
Gaetz was notified on Feb. 15, 2023, that he would not be charged. His attorneys told NBC News at the time, “We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him.”
In 2021, federal investigators also looked into Gaetz’s travel to the Bahamas with women and specifically whether those women were paid to travel for sex, which could violate federal law, a law enforcement official and another person familiar with the matter said.
Investigators were also looking into whether Gaetz and one of his associates used the internet to search for women they could pay for sex, the sources said.
At the time of the reporting, a Gaetz spokesperson said: “Rep. Gaetz has never paid for sex, nor has he had sex with an underage girl. What began with blaring headlines about ‘sex trafficking’ has now turned into a general fishing exercise about vacations and consensual relationships with adults."
Gaetz was also investigated over allegations he showed fellow members nude photos of women on his phone while on the House floor.
Gaetz is a lawyer, as Trump noted in his announcement, and he is in good standing with the Florida Bar — not that he ever practiced law for very long before he was elected to the Florida House in 2010. The bar briefly labeled him as “delinquent” in 2021 for failing to pay a $265 fee, but it reinstated him, and he remains licensed to practice law in Florida.
A former Trump attorney from his first term also testified during the House Jan. 6 hearings that Gaetz wanted a blanket pardon from the then-president.
Gaetz “wanted a pardon, as I recall, from the beginning of time up until that day, for anything,” Eric Herschmann, an attorney in the Trump White House, told the committee.
Former contender for attorney general congratulates Gaetz
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was a contender to be Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general, reacted to Gaetz's being chosen.
"There are few people I trust more to take on the deep state and end the weaponization of the justice department. Matt Gaetz has been a stalwart defender of liberty, and Texas has his back," he wrote on X.
In September, NBC News reported that Paxton was being considered along with Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
Matt Whitaker, who was also a possible pick, wrote "Congratulations" to Gaetz on X.
Mike Johnson to be the Republican nominee for speaker
House Republicans just now voted to nominate Mike Johnson for re-election as speaker in January, the House Republican Conference said on X.
Republicans chose Johnson by a unanimous voice vote, according to a source in the room. That means no secret ballot was needed.
House Republicans also re-elected Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota to their current positions.
Johnson will still need 218 votes on the House floor in January to secure the speakership. As of now, he is just the Republican nominee.