Debate Impressions: Big Bird And Body Language

Here are the key appointments, nominations, and staffing decisions announced by the Trump administration, that will continue to be updated during the transition.

Behind the scenes, President Joe Biden’s team has been preparing for his big final weeks in office, regardless of who won the 2024 election. “The schedule will be robust and he plans to leave it all on the field,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt told NBC News in September. During his speech to the nation last Wednesday, Biden addressed some of his administration’s final priorities, including a focus on infrastructure spending, which was a major legislative accomplishment of his presidency. "We're going to see over a trillion dollars' worth of infrastructure work done, changing people's lives in rural communities and communities that are in real difficulty," the president said.

Four women who were denied abortions in Idaho -- which has a nearly total abortion ban-- tearfully testified on Tuesday in a case that seeks to clarify medical exceptions. They testified about their nonviable pregnancies as part of a lawsuit filed by women who were unable to receive abortions due to Idaho's total ban.

Colorado legislators questioned Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday about what he has described as his “belt-tightening” budget proposal, previewing the difficult months to come as state leaders seek to fill a looming $635 million shortfall. “There are some things in this proposal that won’t be acceptable by our colleagues, and we will have to find another way,” Sen.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. To outsiders, it looks a whole lot like Donald Trump has unrivaled control over the current Republican Party. He rode a remarkable and ahistoric wave back to re-election last week, one in which his allies expanded their majority in the House, and the Senate will return in January with Republicans holding the gavels.

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense in his second term has already stirred controversy. Hegseth, a military veteran, staunch defender of Trump’s “America First” agenda, and an outspoken critic of what he calls the military’s “woke” culture, has built a career around challenging the military establishment.