Trump gives his blessing to Iraq’s new pick for prime minister and invites al-Zaidi to Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump called Iraq’s new prime minister-designate Thursday and extended an invitation for him to visit Washington once he has successfully formed a government, the Iraqi prime minister’s office said in a statement. The Washington Times stories: White House

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A Trump Cabinet Pick Gets a Rare GOP Grilling

Republican senators have confirmed a onetime Bernie Sanders supporter to lead the nation’s intelligence community and a member of America’s most famous Democratic family as its health secretary. This morning, however, they saved some of their sharpest questions for a Cabinet nominee who, until last month, served alongside them as a GOP member of Congress. President Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary, former Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, knew she’d face a skeptical Republican audience during her Senate confirmation hearing. Last year, she supported a major pro-union bill known as…

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What to know about Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general

NEW YORK (AP) — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration after a federal sex trafficking investigation and ethics probe made his ability to be confirmed dubious. The 59-year-old has long been in Trump’s orbit and her name had been floated during his first term as a potential candidate for the nation’s highest law enforcement role. Trump announced his plans to nominate Bondi Thursday in a social media post.…

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Trump defense pick Hegseth flagged by fellow service member as possible ‘Insider Threat’ over tattoo

Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense, was flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member due to a tattoo he has. The Washington Times stories: White House

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Biden’s pick for Pentagon’s S&T position pledges to reduce barriers to entry for small businesses

Aprille Ericsson, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the assistant secretary of defense for science and technology, told lawmakers that streamlining processes for small businesses to engage with the Pentagon will be her top priority if confirmed. “I understand that some of the problems that the Department of Defense has with their SBIR/STTR programs are very similar to what we’ve experienced in NASA. So bringing those lessons learned to this community would be an asset,” Ericsson told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing Tuesday. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) urged Ericsson to…

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