Trump Says 'THANK YOU GOD' after Sweeping Last 2 Swing States, Reportedly Taps Rubio for Secretary of State
President-elect Donald Trump posted a message of thanks to God on social media after sweeping all seven swing states, getting late tallies in Arizona and Nevada. According to multiple media reports, Trump has tapped Marco Rubio as the next secretary of state.
Trump's total victory of 312 votes in the Electoral College is more than he won in 2016.
He posted on Truth Social, "THANK YOU GOD! WON ALL SWING STATES, & THE POPULAR VOTE BY ALMOST 7 MILLION VOTERS..."
Democrats are fighting over who's to blame for their decisive defeat. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told The New York Times that if President Biden had relinquished his candidacy sooner, more candidates might have jumped in to create an open primary.
Others, like California Rep. Ro Khanna, say the Harris team failed to address the concerns of everyday Americans.
"Anyone who's saying now this was not a winnable campaign, didn't say that back in August," he said. "The reason we didn't win ultimately, is that we didn't listen enough to people on the ground... people who were saying talk about the economy, talk about people's economic struggles. Convince people you have the better policies and better vision."
Trump Builds New Team and Preps for Transition
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a three-term Republican senator from Florida, is Trump's choice to head the State Department, sources told The New York Times and confirmed to other outlets. The reports came with a caution that Trump could change his mind at the last minute, and Rubio's office has not commented.
Meanwhile, the 45th president is working on filling key positions, announcing Sunday that Tom Homan will serve as "border czar."
Trump posted on social media that Homan will be "in charge of our Nation's Borders ('The Border Czar'), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security" and oversee a plan to deport immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
Homan served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump's first term.
On Monday, Trump also named his longtime adviser Stephen Miller, another immigration hard-liner, to be his deputy chief of policy.
In addition, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik has been chosen to serve as ambassador to the United Nations and New York Rep. Lee Zeldin will serve as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Trump also announced two people who won't be serving in his administration, posting on social media that Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo won't be asked to join his team.Both served in his first administration: Haley as ambassador to the U.N. and Pompeo as Secretary of State.
Haley strongly criticized her former boss when she ran against him in the Republican primaries.
New Senate Leadership as GOP Takes Over
Confirming President Trump's cabinet will be the first priority of the new Republican Senate.
The GOP took control of the body from the Democrats and now holds 53 seats. This week, they're moving to establish leadership.
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell is stepping down after 17 years as head of the Senate Republican conference.
Wednesday they'll vote on his replacement. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, John Thune of South Dakota, and Rick Scott of Florida are vying for the position.
Wyoming's Sen. John Barrasso is expected to take the number two slot as majority whip.
Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press', Barrasso said the Senate will move swiftly to approve Trump's nominees.
"He met huge resistance in 2016 and in 2017 getting his cabinet in place. What I'm hoping is in light of this huge landslide victory that we get a little more cooperation from the Democrats to get that cabinet in place on day one."
Sunday, Trump demanded that all candidates for Senate leader must agree to recess appointments. The temporary measure allows the president to directly appoint nominees when Congress is not in session.
