Kamala Harris has formed an organization called Pioneer49, likely to help fuel her future political moves. It follows the naming convention used by former President Obama and indicates that Harris is keeping her options open for running for governor of California, for president again in 2028, or for leading the party from the sidelines. She is expected to make a decision after consulting with advisors and family.
Kamala Harris has established an organization called Pioneer49, which will likely fuel her future political moves. She has not yet decided on her next move, but is considering running for governor of California, running for president again, or becoming a leader of the party from the sidelines. She will consult with her advisors and family before making a decision.
Kamala Harris has established an LLC, called Pioneer49, to assist her in her future political endeavors. This signals that she is keeping her options open and may run for governor of California in 2026, run for president again in 2028, or take on a leadership role in the party. She is expected to make a decision in the coming months after consulting with close aides and family.
Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders and actions to fulfill his campaign promises, including cracking down on illegal immigration, increasing domestic energy production, and transforming the federal government. Many of these orders are facing legal challenges, and Trump will need congressional approval for some of his plans. He has also made changes to the federal workforce, health policies, and trade practices.
Trump signed a range of executive orders and actions, including those aimed at immigration, energy, the federal workforce, health, and trade. These orders aim to fulfill his campaign promises and reshape the federal government, but many are facing legal challenges and will require congressional approval. He also granted pardons to those involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and announced plans to reinstate policies from his first term.
Trump is using executive orders to fulfill his promises for a “golden age of America” in his second term. These actions include cracking down on illegal immigration, increasing domestic energy production, and transforming the federal government. Some of his controversial orders are already facing legal challenges. He also plans to end diversity training in the federal workforce, reinstate military members who were penalized for not getting vaccinated against Covid-19, and impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada. He also plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and return Mount Denali in Alaska to its original name.
Elon Musk showed his support for Donald Trump by saluting the crowd at his inauguration.
Donald Trump is leaning on many of the people who served in top positions in his first administration to help prepare an aggressive set of policies he plans to pursue right out of the gate. The result is an administration that will be better prepared than in 2016 to implement Trump’s priorities soon after the inauguration — especially on core agenda items like trade and tariffs.
The Trump transition is formally being led by former Trump Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon, who is handling the policy side, and billionaire financier Howard Lutnick, who is overseeing the personnel vetting. Lutnick, one of the few members of the team who did not work for Trump’s White House, has been the public face of the operation thus far, while drawing scrutiny for his potential conflicts of interest and combative appearances on cable news .
The policy preparations have been far lower-profile — by design, given the backlash the conservative Heritage Foundation attracted for its Project 2025 blueprint for a second Trump administration. But behind the scenes, the Trump transition is leaning on a diffuse roster of former Trump administration officials, according to conversations with 16 people familiar with Trump transition planning, who were granted anonymity to discuss confidential operations.
A small sample includes:
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is crafting trade and economic plans, along with Jamieson Greer, Lighthizer’s former chief of staff
Special envoy for Iran Brian Hook, who is involved with preparing a Trump State Department
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, who is involved with national security personnel and policy planning
Office of Management and Budget general counsel Mark Paoletta, who is helping craft the policy playbook for the Justice Department
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt
A former Trump administration official with knowledge of the discussions said transition officials are mindful of the lessons from the 2016 transition, and are keen to avoid the same turmoil. “They’re being more confidential about it. … They don’t want distractions and personnel stories popping up.”
The Trump transition did not respond to requests for comment.
Another person familiar with transition policy planning confirmed Lighthizer is crafting economic policy for the Treasury Department, the National Economic Council, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, as is former Trump speechwriter Vince Haley, who is also working for the Trump campaign. Those figures are preparing an aggressive trade agenda for the first 100 days, which will likely include some executive action on tariffs, though the details are still being debated.
Lighthizer is also expected to assume a top economic role in the Trump administration.
“There’s one policy area that’s going to be defining for the second Trump administration, and that’s tariffs,” said the person with direct knowledge of policy planning. “And there’s a very small group of people working on that and it’s the most important part of the policy planning for the second administration.”
President Joe Biden praised Vice President Kamala Harris for running “an inspiring campaign” and called on the country to unite behind a fair election during his first public remarks since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
“The will of the people always prevails,” Biden told a group of his staffers, Cabinet members and some family members in the Rose Garden Thursday. He added, “I’ve said many times: You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
Biden, who spoke to Trump Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory and invite him to a White House meeting, commended Harris as having “a backbone like a ramrod” amid her decisive loss.
The president is already facing heat from fellow Democrats who blame him for not stepping aside from his reelection campaign soon enough, squandering Harris’ chances at winning.
But Biden praised his legacy as leaving behind “the strongest economy in the world” and called on members of his administration to “make every day count” before passing the torch in a peaceful transfer of power.
He also repeated his call for Americans to “bring down the temperature” amid deep political divisions.
“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable,” Biden stressed, adding, “We’re going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged.”