Trump's Controversial Cabinet Picks Face Senate Scrutiny
Plus, trial begins for undocumented immigrant accused of killing Laken Riley
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Good morning,
If you had an indulgent weekend, you’re not alone. So did Trump’s inner circle. After the Saturday night UFC fight, the President-elect shared a McDonald’s meal with Donald Trump Jr., Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and, most surprisingly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary and an outspoken critic of processed foods.
In a recent podcast interview, RFK Jr. commented that “The stuff that [Trump] eats is really, like, bad.” He added that UFC CEO and Trump ally Dana White told him that “he’s never seen Trump drink a glass of water.”
RFK Jr. added that in Trump’s entourage “you don’t have the choice, you’re either given KFC or Big Macs. That’s, like, when you’re lucky, and then the rest of the stuff I consider kind of inedible.”
Don’t worry RFK Jr., weekend calories don’t count 😉 Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, Sari, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
📌 SEVERAL TRUMP CABINET PICKS FACE SENATE FIGHT
Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump continued to announce Cabinet picks at a record pace, but several of last week’s picks may face challenging confirmation hearings—even in a GOP-controlled Senate.
New reporting revealed his Secretary of Defense choice, Army National Guard veteran and Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, reportedly made a hush money payment to a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her.
MORE ON THE REPORTS
In 2017, Hegseth spoke at a conference held by the California Federation of Republican Women in Monterey, CA. According to a memo sent to the Trump team, Hegseth is accused of raping a female staffer in his room at the hotel where the conference was held, after drinking at the hotel bar.
The woman, whose husband and children were with her at the conference, was working with the Federation and was responsible for helping Hegseth get back to his room and leave for the airport.
The memo says that the woman, whose name is not being released to the public, received a text message saying that “Hegseth was getting pushy about his interest in taking [other women] upstairs to his room.”
Her memory of the next six to nine hours “was very hazy.” She returned home the following day and “had a moment of hazy memory of being raped the night before,” the memo said, then went to the emergency room and received a rape-kit examination that “was positive for semen.”
Local law enforcement said they did investigate an “alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth during that time, with no charges filed. Sexual assault survivors can choose not to press charges.
Hegseth called the 2017 incident a “consensual sexual encounter” and says he only paid the woman after she threatened to file a lawsuit, which he believed would have threatened his Fox News job.
The Trump administration is standing by Hegseth. On Sunday, Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung said, “Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation” by the Senate.
MORE CHALLENGES
Even after this new report, Hegseth does not appear to be Trump’s cabinet pick with the most intense pushback. As many as 30 Republican senators are privately saying Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has no prosecutorial experience, is unqualified to be Attorney General. That would far exceed the three GOP Senators needed to join Democrats to block his nomination. The question is how many of the 30 would be willing to publicly oppose Gaetz, and face backlash from Trump.
Senators from both parties are pushing to see a House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz’s possible involvement in the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said it would be inappropriate to release the report since Gaetz stepped down from the House, following the AG announcement. Johnson also said that the report is just a “rough draft” and not ready to be released. Notably, the committee has been working on the Gaetz probe since 2021, and it continued under a Republican majority—a sign of how seriously they took the allegations.
Trump’s team is not backing down: Vice President-Elect JD Vance and his aides, as well as Gaetz himself, have been making calls over the past few days to try to shore up Senate support.
MORE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Trump picked North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to head the US Department of the Interior and chair the newly-formed National Energy Council to “oversee the path to US ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments…and focusing on innovation.”
Chris Wright, the CEO of a fracking company, is Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Energy.
Wright has said there is no climate crisis, calling it a “myth.”
WHAT WE’RE STILL WAITING FOR
The Treasury Secretary choice. As the Trump administration gears up to enact sweeping economic policy changes, some of his closest allies are speaking out.
Trump’s “first buddy” Elon Musk posted on X, asking the public to weigh in on who Trump should pick. Musk said he was backing billionaire businessman and Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick. Trump is reportedly annoyed with Lutnick of late for hanging around him “too much” and pushing his own agenda.
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is considered another likely choice. In his X post, Musk said “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice,” but added: “Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also backed Lutnick, saying he would be a stronger advocate for Bitcoin.
After the debate played out in public over the weekend, reports came in that Donald Trump was having second thoughts about his two leading choices. He is now eyeing other candidates, including former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan – and is expected to invite both to meet with him in Mar-a-Lago this week.
📌 INSIDE THE TRIAL OF VENEZUELAN MAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING LAKEN RILEY
Nearly nine months after 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley was killed, the trial against her suspected killer, Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, began Friday. Prosecutors say he “went hunting for females” on the University of Georgia’s campus when he came across Riley on her morning run.
The murder became a flashpoint in the 2024 election debate around immigration and crime, with Republican lawmakers using the case to argue that US-Mexico border policies under Biden have made Americans unsafe.
INSIDE THE TRIAL
Prosecutors accuse Ibarra of killing Riley after she “refused to be his rape victim.” Blunt force trauma to Riley’s head was the official cause of death. The highly emotional first day featured a 911 call from Riley, data from a running smartwatch, and testimony from her roommate who tried to locate Riley with the “Find My Friends” app after she went missing.
Evidence: Ibarra's DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails and his thumbprint on her phone screen. Surveillance video appears to show him throwing away a jacket – with blood that police matched to Riley – close to his apartment complex. In nearby bushes, black disposable kitchen gloves were also found with a hole in the thumb.
The prosecutor said in an opening statement that “[Ibarra] put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus” on February 22.
The defense said that there is sufficient proof that Riley was murdered, but not enough evidence to find Ibarra guilty of the crime.
26-year-old Ibarra entered the US illegally two years ago. He was detained twice during that time, but allowed to stay in the country. He faces 10 charges including malice murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and tampering with evidence, among others.
Up next: The presiding judge will decide Ibarra’s fate as he waived his right to a jury trial. Prosecutors have chosen not to seek the death penalty, but intend to seek a life sentence without parole.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Biden marks his climate legacy during Amazon visit, asserting 'nobody' can reverse it (NPR)
📌 Trump’s team skips FBI background checks for some Cabinet picks (CNN)
📌 Top pollster Ann Selzer to retire after her Iowa poll ended in huge miss by 16 points (CNN)
📌 Masked group marches through Ohio neighborhood with swastika flags (ABC)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Biden authorized Ukraine to strike Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles (NBC)
📌 Hezbollah media chief killed in Israeli strike in Beirut (BBC)
📌 Pope Francis calls for probe to determine if Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute ‘genocide’ (TIMES OF ISAEL)
📌 Eight killed and 17 wounded in second mass attack in China in a week (NBC)
📌 Philippines evacuates half a million people as Super Typhoon Man-yi makes landfall (CNN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users? (AP)
📌 First US case of deadlier mpox virus strain reported in California — risk remains low (ABC)
📌 E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots leaves 1 dead and dozens sickened across the US (CNN)
📌 A $12,000 surgery to change eye color is surging in popularity (WSJ)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024 (CNN)
📌 ‘The Voice’ winner Sundance Head recovers at home after being accidentally shot on his Texas ranch (AP)
📌 Charli XCX calls Martha Stewart’s feud with The Post journalist ‘extremely brat’ in ‘SNL’ monologue (NY POST)
📌 A gold pocket watch given to the captain who rescued Titanic survivors sells for record price (AP)
📌 Staten Islanders line up in droves to support NYC bakery criticized by Whoopi Goldberg (POLITICS NY)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: NOVEMBER 18
1928: Walt Disney released “Steamboat Willie,” the first cartoon with synchronized sound and the first release of the character Mickey Mouse.
1963: The first electronic push-button (Touch-Tone) telephones debuted in the US, eventually replacing most rotary-dial models.
1978: Known the Jonestown massacre, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple, a religious cult that he formed in the 1950s, to a mass murder–suicide. More than 900 of his followers died in Jonestown, Guyana.
2003: Massachusetts became the first state to rule same-sex couples had the constitutional right to marry under the state’s constitution.