Trump adviser stays silent on whether incoming president will pardon himself; Biden ducks Hunter questions during Angola trip: Live updates – UK Times

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire, has attacked the choice of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Donald Trump’s pick to be his health secretary in the upcoming administration.

Delivering opening remarks at the Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington, DC, he said that putting Kennedy in such a position would be “beyond dangerous,” and tantamount to “medical malpractice on a mass scale”, according to The New York Times.

Bloomberg called on Senate Republicans to persuade the president-elect to pick someone else — and if that doesn’t work, to vote against confirming him to the role.

He also slammed Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism, specifically noting the time he discouraged measles vaccination in Samoa, where an outbreak killed 83 people.

In light of the potential for a bird flu outbreak, Bloomberg warned: “With the nation facing a possible bird flu outbreak, are they really prepared to roll the dice on the lives of their constituents, by placing someone in charge of public health who has made it clear that he will prevent the approval of lifesaving vaccines?”

A Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur who paid more than $6 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall has purchased $30 million in crypto tokens from a Donald Trump-backed venture.

TRON founder Justin Sun, who ate his $6 million conceptual-art banana after buying it at auction, said his company was committed to “making America great again” after buying into World Liberty Financial for $30 million.

Senate Democrats have unanimously elected their leadership this morning, including reelecting Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Dick Durbin as Senate Democratic Leader and Chair of the Conference and Democratic Whip, respectively — the top two positions.

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker take the third and fourth slots as Chair of Steering and Policy Committee and Chair of Strategic Communications Committee.

Said Schumer: “I am honored and humbled to be chosen by my colleagues to continue leading Senate Democrats during this crucial period for our country.

“Our caucus has led the way in passing historic legislation that has improved the lives of millions of Americans and we remain laser focused on addressing the most pressing challenges facing our country.

“As I have long said, our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families.

“However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values.

“We have a lot of work ahead—in the Senate and as a country—and in this upcoming Congress, our caucus will continue to fight for what’s best for America’s working class.

“Senate Democrats are ready to get to work for you, the American people.”

Florida Rep Jared Moskowitz has become the first Democratic congressman to join the bipartisan Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus. Specifically, he wants to take a look at streamlining the Department of Homeland Security by removing FEMA and the Secret Service from its remit.

Moskowitz released the following statement:

Today. I will join the Congressional DOGE Caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue. I’ve been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people. Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security, while very necessary, has gotten too big. The Caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House. It’s not practical to have 22 agencies under this one department. I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues to remove FEMA and Secret Service from DHS.

The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun case has officially terminated it following the pardon by his father, President Joe Biden.

ORAL ORDER: Having reviewed the parties’ submissions … and in the absence of binding precedent, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that pursuant to the Executive Grant of Clemency signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on December 1, 2024, Defendant Robert Hunter Biden has been pardoned for, inter alia, the offenses for which a jury rendered a verdict in this case … As such, all proceedings in this case are hereby terminated. ORDERED by Judge Maryellen Noreika on 12/3/2024.

Donald Trump completed his slate of cabinet secretaries last week in rolling announcements — and hidden in his big reveals could be a message of who he appreciates most.

The president-elect relied on six compliments when broadcasting picks for his next administration. Sometimes he was “proud,” other times he was “thrilled,” and, most of the time, he was “pleased.” Perhaps these different phrases provide some insight into Trump’s thinking.

Penta Group partnered with Axios to track how many times Trump used certain terms to introduce his Cabinet and staff picks.

“There is one final decider and as his statements come out, you can see slight nuances in the language,” Penta CEO Matt McDonald told Axios. “It kind of reminds meof the old Kremlinology of the Cold War, where people were parsing whatever public indicators there were to tell who was up or who was out.”

Here is a breakdown of his compliments:

The prime minister has been posed a Brexit conundrum amid fears that Mr Trump’s plans to introduce tariffs and instigate a trade war will force Britain to choose between striking a trade deal with the incoming US president and continuing to pursue closer ties with the EU in a planned reset of Britain’s relationship with the bloc.

David Maddox reports from London.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday ducked questions on his decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola.

Dismissing shouted questions with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, Biden said to the Angolan delegation “welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday, and he has largely avoided any interaction with reporters since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last month.

Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly told the public he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family members. And Biden claimed that his own Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son.

The reversal drew criticism from many Democrats, who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks, as they fear the pardon — and Biden’s claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it threatened to cloud Biden’s legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20.

Jason Miller, one of Donald Trump’s top advisers, was asked on CNN this morning if the president-elect would pardon himself of federal charges he faced, once he takes office on January 20, 2025.

Trump was indicted twice for federal cases last year for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election, and for taking classified documents with him when he left office and refusing to give them back.

Special counsel Jack Smith has dropped the charges in both cases but kept the possibility that they could be reinstated in the future open.

Theoretically, once he returns to office, Trump could pardon himself — though that would require an admission of wrongdoing.

Said Miller to CNN’s Kasie Hunt: “That would never be something that I would weigh in on. That would be something for the legal team to discuss. And again, President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Later in their discussion, Miller said that Trump would be sticking by his nominee for defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been mired in scandal almost since his nomination was announced.

He called the most recent damaging allegations about Hegseth regarding intoxication and financial mismanagement of a non-profit as “innuendo and gossip”.

Jacob Stolworthy reports.