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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem – Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security and best known for bragging about shooting dead her dog Cricket in her memoir – is currently taking part in her Senate confirmation hearing after it was abruptly postponed earlier this week.
The president-elect has meanwhile named actors Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight as his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood on Thursday, calling the Los Angeles entertainment industry heartland a “great but very troubled place.”
“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
President Joe Biden expressed concern over the state of American democracy in his final TV interview as commander-in-chief on Thursday night.
Biden told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell he is “concerned about how fragile democracy is.”
“That sounds corny,” he admitted. “But I really am concerned… because I really think we’re in an inflection point in history here.”
Biden also lamented the fact he “spent too much time on the policy, not enough time on the politics”.
Noem pledges to keep Americans ‘safe and secure’
Back to the South Dakota Governor, who had this to say in her opening remarks a short while ago:
“Securing our homeland is a serious, sacred trust that must be relentlessly pursued and can never be taken for granted
“Being safe within our borders is an American right, yet Americans feel less safe than they have in decades.
“For the first time in 30 years, more than 40 percent of Americans are afraid to walk alone at night within a mile of their home.
“President-Elect Trump is going to change that.”
She also touted her own record in the governor’s mansion:
“I have led South Dakota for the last six years with a focus every day on making our state safer, stronger, and freer.
“I have focused every day on making the best decisions not just for right now, but for generations to come.
“I have overseen a state budget of over $7bn and a state employee workforce of more than 13,000, including more than 7,000 reporting to the governor.
“I have addressed important issues like cybersecurity, human trafficking, drug interdiction, and natural disasters – the same challenges facing so many of you here and the people you represent back at home.”
Trump reveals he spoke to Xi Jinping this morning
Here’s the latest from the president-elect on Truth Social, who says he spoke to his Chinese counterpart on Friday morning to discuss “trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects”:
In pictures: Noem arrives for Senate confirmation hearing
The South Dakota Governor has heard a series of flattering testimonies to her character from various silver-haired Republican senators and is now delivering her opening statement, expressing her belief in the importance of collaboration between agencies in the interests of keeping America safe.
Here she is a short while ago arriving for the hearing.
Louisiana Governor urges Senate to approve Noem to allay security concerns over Super Bowl and Mardi Gras
Jeff Landry has warned the Senate not to delay in appointing South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security – her confirmation hearing is happening right now – because doing otherwise could have an adverse impact on security arrangements for two major events taking place in the coming weeks in New Orleans, which is still recovering from the terror attack of New Year’s Day.
Live: Trump’s Homeland Security pick Kristi Noem faces confirmation hearing
Ron DeSantis says Trump told him that inflation wasn’t top voting issue
The Florida Governor has claimed that during a round of golf with Trump, the president-elect told him that inflation wasn’t really the issue that got him elected.
“He told me, he said, ‘Listen, I know inflation is a big deal but…’, the number one reason why he got elected, he said, was because of the immigration and the border issue,” DeSantis said on The Dana Show hosted by Dana Loesch.
Trump nevertheless campaigned on bringing inflation down and anger at the rising cost of everyday goods was a major reason why many Americans voted for him in the 2024 election, at least according to the polling.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Rudy Giuliani settles with defamed election workers after blowing off property seizure trial
“America’s mayor” was nowhere to be seen when his trial in a federal courtroom in Manhattan was scheduled to begin on Thursday morning.
Four hours later, with a post on social media, Giuliani celebrated a settlement in a long-running legal battle for control of his properties and assets.
Alex Woodward reports from the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Democrat brands Trump ‘alter ego for speaker’ after Intelligence Committee chair ousted
California Senator Adam Schiff, absolutely loathed by Trump, has mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson for taking orders from the president-elect after Republican tearaway Mike Turner was dropped from the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, allegedly on the orange one’s say-so.
His House colleague Jaime Raskin had a similar assessment to offer:
Here’s more on the removal of Turner.
Analysis: Will Trump save TikTok from Joe Biden? He’s going to try
The president-elect sees halting the bipartisan ban on the social video app as an easy way to show he’s delivering results.
He’s probably right, says John Bowden.
Inside DC’s insane Trump inauguration parties, featuring everyone from Snoop Dogg to Joe Rogan
America’s elite will descend on Washington, DC, this weekend to ring in the second Trump era by attending a series of lavish and exclusive inaugural parties.
Some of the biggest names in tech and finance will be at the celebrations happening across the city this weekend and next week when the president-elect will be sworn in.
Rhian Lubin has the lowdown.
This post was originally published on here
