President-elect Donald Trump unleashed a slew of nominations on Sunday night, naming several new people to serve in his forthcoming administration.In several Truth Social posts on Sunday, Trump introduced various experts to work in the White House on issues ranging from defense to technology to budgeting. The Republican leader began by naming Stephen Alexander Vaden as his nominee for deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

China has warned the U.S. that it is making “dangerous moves” by providing Taiwan with an additional $571 million in defense materials, which was authorized by President Biden on Saturday.In addition to the $571 million approved by Biden, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved for the self-ruled island of Taiwan.The sales and assistance from the U.S.

President-elect Trump on Sunday named Callista Gingrich, wife to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, as one of his latest U.S. ambassador nominees.Writing on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he picked Gingrich to serve as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, citing her previous ambassadorial experience in his first administration. Gingrich, and the other ambassador nominees, will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

President-elect Trump estimated the exact time his administration will be “fully operational” on Jan. 20 in his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. “You just have a few days to wait. We’re going to be fully operational, I would say, by about 2:00 on the 20th,” Trump said from the AmericaFest stage.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, has been living in a retirement facility, a source told Fox News on Sunday. The source also denied a local news report that said she was in a memory care facility.Granger, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24. She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.

Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate. “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” she wrote on X Saturday. The president-elect has nominated Rubio to be secretary of state.

“Rockin’ around the Christmas treeAt the Christmas party hop” – Brenda LeeIt’s a yuletide tradition on Capitol Hill. An annual custom of rockin’ around a congressional Christmas tree, festooned with hundreds of legislative ornaments, Advent appropriations and mistletoe modifications.A political Polar Express chugs through the halls of Congress nearly every December.

President-elect Trump announced Saturday he has tapped the creator of “The Apprentice” to serve a diplomatic role in the United Kingdom.In a Truth Social post, Trump named Mark Burnett, a British-American TV producer who was born in London, as the next U.S. special envoy to the United Kingdom.”It is my great honor to appoint Mark Burnett as the Special Envoy to the United Kingdom,” the president-elect said.

As the dust settles on Congress frantically passing a stopgap bill at the eleventh hour to avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers are having their say on a chaotic week on Capitol Hill.President Biden signed the 118-page bill into law on Saturday, extending government funding into March, the White House announced. The bill provides over $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the U.S. Southeast earlier this year.

President-elect Trump dropped his latest round of nominations Saturday afternoon, including two picks to help lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) and one to work within the Department of Transportation (DOT).In a Truth Social post, the president-elect announced he was nominating Aaron Reitz to lead the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy.