Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security.

Donald Trump typically likes to be the one in the spotlight.

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis have been on a collision course from the start.

Many political watchers expected Gov. Kristi Noem to cruise to reelection this year in Republican-dominated South Dakota against a Democratic challenger without statewide experience.

Republicans hoping to emerge from crowded primaries this year have spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring operatives with ties to former President Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump remains the most popular figure with the GOP base as he considers another bid for the White House.

As former President Donald Trump has waded into contested primaries across the country, trying to exact revenge and remake the Republican Party in his image, he has endorsed a series of candidates facing serious allegations, especially concerning their treatment of women.

Texas Republican Jake Ellzey is the newest member of the U.S. House.

During the last two months of his tenure, former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller removed a number of longtime members from several defense policy, health, science and business boards and replaced many with loyalists of former President Donald Trump. And he ordered all committee members who were appointed by the defense secretary to resign no later than Feb. 16. In November, however, Trump appointed him to that same post, just days after firing then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and putting Miller in the job. Miller appointed Tata to the Defense Policy Board on Jan. 19, his last full day on the job. AdOne new congressionally mandated commission is also being purged of the four members that Miller appointed in early January.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One. As he prepares to exit the White House, President Donald Trump is rewarding some supporters and like-minded allies with the perks and prestige that come with serving on federal advisory boards and commissions. “But nobody does these things with more politicization than Trump,” Light said. The positions have what Light describes as “gorgeous resume value.”The number of advisory board positions has ballooned over the years. Among the most consequential of the wave of appointments has been with advisory boards at the Pentagon.

The Pentagon has appointed two close political allies of President Donald Trump to a defense advisory board, continuing a purge of the Defense Department in the waning weeks of the Trump administration. The acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, said in a written statement Friday that nine members of the Defense Business Board had been replaced with the appointment of 11 new members. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has appointed two close allies of President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to a defense advisory board, continuing a post-election purge in the final weeks of the administration. The Miller statement initially said the nine individuals removed from the board had been serving in ”expired positions," implying they were overdue to leave. But later the Pentagon amended the statement to say some board members had been “terminated.” It gave no reason for the firings.

The agency's officials did not answer directly when Democrats on the House Committee on Administration asked in 2018 how many lawmakers carry firearms in the Capitol. Aides can carry lawmakers’ weapons for them on the Capitol complex, he wrote. He said members and their staffs carry firearms around the Capitol “all the time,” though he mentioned no names. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, justified letting lawmakers carry weapons. Its officers routinely arrest people caught trying to carry weapons at the Capitol.

WASHINGTON – A Pentagon official installed in a top policy job last week has tested positive for COVID-19, the Pentagon said Thursday, just days after he met with the Lithuanian defense minister, who had contracted the virus. Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said Anthony Tata, who is serving as the undersecretary of defense, was tested Thursday after learning that Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis had tested positive. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive after attending an election night party at the White House. Others who were at the party also tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski. The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps later also tested positive, and all the chiefs were forced to quarantine at home for at least 10 days.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, meanwhile, said Trump is “not even at that point yet” when it comes to conceding to Biden. Trump spoke with conservative media on Friday, including Fox News' Geraldo Rivera, suggesting he would acknowledge the loss only after exhausting his legal options. “While we are not there yet, we are close to the objective” to having a vaccine ready for deployment by the end of the year, he said. “The governor will let us know when he’s ready," Trump said. Others at the party also have tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, meanwhile, said Trump is “not even at that point yet” when it comes to conceding to Biden. Trump spoke with conservative media on Friday, including Fox News' Geraldo Rivera, suggesting he would acknowledge the loss only after exhausting his legal options. “While we are not there yet, we are close to the objective” to having a vaccine ready for deployment by the end of the year, he said. “The governor will let us know when he’s ready," Trump said. Others at the party also have tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski.

The White House coronavirus task force held its first post-election meeting Monday. But Trump, who does not take part in the task force meetings, remains preoccupied with last week’s election results. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive last week after attending an election night party at the White House. Others at the party also have tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski said Thursday that he believes he contracted the virus in Philadelphia while assisting the president’s election challenge there.

NEW YORK – One of publishing's most thriving genres of the past four years, books about President Donald Trump, is not going to end when he leaves office. In 2021 and beyond, look for waves of releases about the Trump administration and about the president's loss to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. “But there are tens of millions of Americans who look to the Trump presidency as an important time and are fans of his administration. Center Street, a Hachette Book Group imprint, has published Donald Trump Jr., Newt Gingrich and Judge Jeanine Pirro among others. Any publisher signing with Trump or a top administration official might face the anger not just of Trump critics among the general public, but from within the industry.

If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us," Trump claimed. Trump delivered his statement before reporters in the White House briefing room and left without taking questions. The Associated Press has not declared a winner, and it could take several more days for the vote count to conclude and a clear winner to emerge. "Donald Trump is alive and well,” Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a call with reporters Thursday morning. Many White House and senior Republican officials were in the dark about what Trump planned to say in his evening speech.

The Trump campaign will host a press conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Eric Trump, Trump 2020 Senior Advisor Lara Trump, Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and campaign Senior Advisor Corey Lewandowski.

WHY AP HASN’T CALLED PENNSYLVANIA:A close margin and a large number of outstanding votes are what’s making the Pennsylvania contest between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden too early to call. State law dictates that a recount must be held if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5%. The Pennsylvania secretary of state’s website said Friday that there were about 89,000 more mail ballots to count. It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s close,’” Trump said during an appearance at the White House. One reason the race tightened: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day.

In this image from video, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. South Dakota Gov. At the governor's request, the South Dakota Department of Tourism aired a Fox News ad narrated by Noem that premiered alongside her Wednesday speech at the RNC. Meanwhile, the number of Google searches for such terms as South Dakota tourism and visit South Dakota remained stagnant.

Noem will be rewarded for her optimism Wednesday with a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention. Noem supported the event as health experts warned it could become a super-spreader event. They like that.Noem, 48, has angled for increased attention from Trump since shortly after taking office as South Dakota's first female governor in 2019. Early on in the pandemic, Noem discouraged large gatherings, closed schools and issued an order in April directing vulnerable people in two hard-hit counties to stay home. She has yet to appear at a news conference with a mask to the exasperation of health experts and moderate Republicans in her state.

NEW YORK As anyone who has ever heard him speak knows, President Donald Trump loves to relive 2016. Our latest staff additions are making Team Trump even stronger and solidify Brads leadership.In the last week, the Trump campaign hired Jason Miller, communications director in 2016, to focus on strategy and coordinate between the campaign and the White House. And some of Trumps 2016 team never left: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the presidents daughter and son-in-law, are senior advisers. Kellyanne Conway, the presidents final 2016 campaign manager, remains a senior White House counselor. That includes Bannon, who remains supportive of Trump after a messy exit from the White House, and Keith Schiller, Trumps longtime security man.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Top White House officials appear to be souring on talk of bringing in former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to lead a rapid response war room for an impeachment fight. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is now opposed to the idea, a White House official told CNN. "You're getting that from people who want to create an impeachment war room, to either try and get back in or get in the front door in the first place. But several of his advisers have expressed concern that Trump's team appears without a strategy as a long-anticipated impeachment proceeding becomes a reality. The White House legal team has expressed confidence in facing such a probe, but the rest of ranks of the White House are widely seen as depleted.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham denied that an impeachment response team is in the works. Lewandowski, who was fired midway through Trump's campaign, remains close to the President and is a regularly guest aboard Air Force One and at the White House. The response team would be to help spearhead strategy and messaging as the House of Representatives' impeachment probe heats up. The role could also exist outside the White House, and many of the details of the arrangement are still unclear. The White House legal team has expressed confidence in facing such a probe, but the rest of ranks of the White House are widely seen as depleted.

(CNN) - The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to take initial steps to potentially hold former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in contempt over his refusal to answer questions at this week's hearing before the panel, multiple sources tell CNN. Some Democrats have been irked by the failure to hold Lewandowski in contempt immediately during the hearing, according to Democratic sources. That flies in the face of current House rules that would have made the process quite cumbersome to immediately hold him in contempt at the hearing. At a private meeting Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the committee should have immediately held Lewandowski in contempt, but doing so would have been an arduous undertaking under House rules. During Tuesday's hearing, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler accused the White House of orchestrating "an absolute cover-up" by blocking some witnesses from appearing at the public session and trying to restrict Lewandowski's testimony based on "crony privilege."

" said Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a freshman Democrat from New York whose seat the GOP is targeting in 2020, when asked about the hearing. The Judiciary Committee is doing what it's constitutionally supposed to do." Privately for weeks, Democrats recognized that the Lewandowski hearing could indeed turn into a sideshow. "Look, these are going to be contentious hearings," said Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, a Judiciary Committee Democrat who favors impeachment proceedings. "It's all strategic," said one House Democrat who is frustrated with Pelosi over the issue.

(CNN) - President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said Wednesday that he doesn't think he will be held in contempt of Congress a day after the House Judiciary Committee's chairman threatened to do so following a contentious hearing. "I don't have any reason to be held in contempt and I've told the members of Congress I'm happy to come back and answer more questions if they need me to, after the five- or six-hour charade I went through yesterday," Lewandowski told CNN's Alisyn Camerota during a contentious interview on "New Day." On Tuesday, Lewandowski sat for a roughly six-hour House Judiciary Committee hearing in which he largely ignored questions from the panel's Democrats on whether Trump obstructed justice. At one point in Wednesday's CNN interview, Lewandowski questioned what he would be held in contempt for, arguing that he answered a considerable amount of the questions posed to him by the panel's members. He confirmed that Trump told him to order then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to curtail the Mueller investigation so that it would only look for future election meddling -- and stop probing his 2016 campaign.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski makes a combative House Judiciary Committee appearance. Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said he has "no obligation" to tell the truth to the media while acknowledging that he had not told the truth when asked earlier this year about his interactions with President Donald Trump. WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said he has "no obligation" to tell the truth to the media while acknowledging that he had not told the truth when asked earlier this year about his interactions with President Donald Trump. Mueller's report stated that Lewandowski said that in June 2017, Trump instructed him to tell Sessions to curtail the Mueller investigation, and that Lewandowski did not follow through. "I have no obligation to be honest with the media," he told the panel. This includes former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.

(CNN) - President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, appearing Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee in the panel's first official "impeachment hearing," refused to answer key questions about potential obstruction by Trump and repeatedly argued with Democrats. The report says Trump repeatedly directed Lewandowski in 2017 to deliver this message to Sessions, but Lewandowski ignored Trump and didn't follow through. One senior Democrat on the panel later called out Lewandowski for seemingly using the televised hearing for campaign purposes. But the White House is claiming the right to assert executive privilege over his conversations with the President in instructing him not to answer those questions. Nadler disputed that the White House can make this claim without invoking privilege.

Today--despite the roadblocks the White House has thrown up--we will focus on one of the most concerning of those five episodes. "Mr. Lewandowski was called alone, one-on-one, into the Oval Office on June 19, 2017 and again on July 19, 2017. He dictated a speech to Mr. Lewandowski A speech not for Mr. Lewandowski but for Attorney General Sessions to deliver. Mr. Lewandowski gave Mr. Dearborn the script that had been dictated by the President. "Well, Mr. Lewandowski you are here under subpoena, and that means you are required to answer our questions.

(CNN) - The White House is asserting that two former senior White House aides have immunity from testifying and is directing former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski not to answer questions about events that occurred after President Donald Trump was elected. The White House asserted immunity for the former White House aides not to testify and instructed Lewandowski not to answer questions about his conversations with the President where the White House could invoke executive privilege, beyond what's already in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report. The White House has asserted immunity over the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn, and the committee has sued in order to compel his appearance, which is still being litigated. Other witnesses have appeared before congressional committees but declined to answer questions about the Trump White House or the presidential transition. The White House is not asserting executive privilege but claiming the right to do so in the future.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Judiciary Committee will vote Thursday on a resolution defining the rules of the panel's investigation into President Donald Trump as House Democrats struggle to define the committee's probe that could ultimately lead to impeachment. Thursday's vote constitutes the first time the Judiciary Committee has voted on an action tied to its impeachment probe. But the broader question -- is the committee conducting an impeachment inquiry? "I don't want to get caught in semantics," Jeffries, who is a Judiciary Committee member, said when asked if the probe was an impeachment inquiry. Hoyer said "no" when asked whether the House was in an impeachment inquiry, but he later issued a statement clarifying his comments.

The vote, which is expected to occur on Wednesday, will lay out the ground rules for conducting hearings now that the committee has publicly announced it is considering recommending articles of impeachment against Trump. It is expected to follow the precedent set in 1974 over the committee's procedures during then-President Richard Nixon's impeachment proceedings. LIST: The 134 House Democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry into TrumpThe resolution, sources say, is expected to make clear that future House Judiciary hearings can be conducted in ways different from most congressional hearings since the panel is considering impeachment. For instance, the resolution is expected to authorize committee staff counsels to question witnesses, something that is typically not done at congressional hearings. The committee Democrats discussed the matter on a Friday conference call, which Politico first reported.