A dangerous winter storm has prompted President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony to be moved indoors.
Brutal cold and ferocious winds are forecast for the D.C. region on Monday, with temperatures expected to hover just over 20 degrees, the Washington Post reported.
The Inaugural Committee has yet to comment on the move.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg is co-hosting a black tie reception Jan. 20 after President-elect Trumpâs inauguration.
The tech giant teamed up with Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertita, who is set to become the new U.S. ambassador to Italy, former Republican National Committee finance chair Todd Ricketts and his wife Sylvie LÊgère, and Republican mega-donor Miriam Adelson to host the event, according to the invitation obtained by NewsNation.
The soiree is set to last for three-and-a-half hours, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., prior to the evening inaugural balls in Washington, D.C.
Zuckerburgâs has recently attended a series of meetings with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, made a $1 million donation to the inaugural fund and brought a swift end to Metaâs fact-checking program.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also planning to attend the 60th inauguration following his $1 million contribution to the ceremony.Â
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will announce on Friday Lt. Governor Jon Husted as his pick to fill the Senate vacancy left by Vice President-elect JD Vance ahead of his inauguration on Monday, according to Fox News.
The announcement will be made at approximately 1 p.m.
Vance gave the Senate notice of his forthcoming resignation on Jan. 9, which became official on the following day. He officially resigned 10 days prior to his and President-elect Trump’s swearing in.
“To the people of Ohio, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of representing you in the United States Senate. When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and Iâve made sure to live by that promise every single day,” Vance said in a statement.
After Vance’s resignation, new Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said in his own statement, “Ohio couldnât be prouder of JD Vance! He has served our country with great honor, first in the Marines, then in the US Senate, and now as our 50th Vice President! Iâm extremely thankful to JD for his early and unwavering support. A truly amazing journey for an outstanding guy!”
Once the new senator is sworn in, Republicans will officially have a 53-vote majority.
President-elect Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post that the incoming administration had already hired more than 1,000 people to work for the U.S. government.
He also indicated that individuals who have worked with or been backed by “people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” are not desirable job candidates.
Trump named former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and others, noting that those who have worked with or been endorsed by those individuals should not be floated as job candidates.
“As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people for The United States Government. They are outstanding in every way, and you will see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly!” the incoming commander-in-chief said in the post.
“In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), “Dumb as a Rock” John Bolton, âBirdbrainâ Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
Haley and Pence each mounted bids for the GOP presidential nomination during the recent election cycle, but both ultimately dropped out. While Haley endorsed Trump, Pence did not.
During President Jimmy Carter’s funeral Pence briefly spoke with Trump as they took their seats.
CNN chief executive Mark Thompson reportedly suggested moving anchor Jim Acostaâs morning show to midnight as part of a planned shakeup within the network
Former CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy reported in his Status newsletter on Thursday that Acosta âreceived a peculiar telephone call from CNN chief Mark Thompsonâ the night before.
âThompson, Iâm told, delivered the veteran journalist a sudden and strange proposal: Move your show to midnight and anchor it until 2am ET,â reported Darcy, who claimed Acosta was caught âoff guardâ by the proposal as âhe had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block.â
Acosta was reportedly told that the lineup change âhad nothing to do with his ratings or the editorial style of his show,â but would be necessary logistically to accommodate a new morning schedule.
According to Darcy, Thompson âeven pitched the graveyard shift as if it were something of a promotion for Acosta.â
Darcy questioned the purpose of the change, noting that Acosta had some of the stronger ratings at CNN, and that a 12 a.m. time slot âoccupied by virtually zero other hosts in the cable news businessâ would âeffectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news.â
One unnamed source told Darcy that the move may be part of an effort to appeal to President-elect Donald Trump.
âThey want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,â the source claimed. âMidnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.â
Throughout Trump’s first term in the White House, Acosta was consistently combative with Trump officials quickly earning the Commander-In-Cheif’s ire.
CNN has been experiencing a significant decline in viewership, particularly in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic prized by advertisers. In 2024, the network averaged 92,000 total day viewers in this age group, marking a 1% drop from the previous year’s low. Primetime viewership in the same demographic saw a more substantial decline, with a 52% decrease to an average of 77,000 viewers. Overall primetime viewership also shrank by 45%, averaging 405,000 viewers.
President-elect Trump announced three special envoys on Thursday with the purpose of promoting business in Hollywood.
Those special ambassadors will be Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, Trump said. All three actors are conservative and have appeared publicly with Trump or praised him publicly in the past. Stallone, for example, praised Trump as âthe second George Washingtonâ while introducing him at the America First Policy Gala in Palm Beach in November.
âIt is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,â Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post. âThey will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACKâBIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!â
âThese three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest,â Trump added. âIt will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!â
The actorsâ support for Trump is particularly significant given the strong anti-Trump sentiment voiced by many Hollywood progressives, such as George Clooney, who embrace politicians like former President Barack Obama.
âWhen George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world,â Stallone said of Trump in November. ââCause without him, you can imagine what the world would look like. Guess what, we got the second George Washington.â
Former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has reportedly reached a settlement agreement with two Georgia election workers.
The Hill reports that the notice, which included few details about the settlement, indicated that the agreement would âfully resolveâ disputes involving Giulianiâs Florida condo and other possessions Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss have sought to collect. Â
The tentative settlement would also result in âthe conclusion of all litigationâ pending between Giuliani and the women. The attorneys indicated that execution of the settlement agreement is dependent on âcertain conditionsâ being met, but did not expand on the matter.Â
The settlement agreement comes as Giuliani failed to appear for a trial scheduled to begin Thursday morning over his Palm Beach condo and three New York Yankees World Series rings.
Following the no-show, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman rescheduled the trial to Tuesday. The parties are now asking the judge to adjourn both the trial and the continuation of a contempt hearing against Giuliani to after Feb. 25, so that the agreement may be executed.
In a statement on the social media platform X, Giuliani confirmed he reached an agreement with the women but said the resolution does not involve âan admission of liability or wrongdoing by any of the Parties.â He also said the agreement would allow him to retain his New York apartment, Florida condominium and âall of my personal belongings.â
âNo one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation,â Giuliani said. âThis litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate. I and the Plaintiffs have agreed not to ever talk about each other in any defamatory manner, and I urge others to do the same.âÂ
President-elect Trump is planning a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the near future according to incoming national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.)
In an interview on ABC Newsâs âThis Week,â Waltz said âthe preparations are underwayâ for a meeting between Trump and Putin.
âI do expect a call ⌠at least in the coming days and weeks,â Waltz said. âSo, that would be a step, and weâll take it from there.â
Trump said Thursday heâs working to set up a meeting with Putin, telling reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., that Putin âwants to meet. And weâre setting that up.â
Trump noted at the time heâs had âa lot of communicationâ with Chinese President Xi Jinping and has spoken with numerous other world leaders. But he has yet to speak with Putin.
âBut President Putin wants to meet. Heâs said that even publicly, and we have to get that war over with. Thatâs a bloody mess,â Trump said of the war in Ukraine.
Waltz said it was not yet clear whether the first call between the world leaders would include Zelensky.
âWell, we havenât set the exact framework for it yet. Weâre working on that,â Waltz said, when asked about Zelensky.
âFrom President Trumpâs perspective, you canât enter a deal if you donât have some type of relationship and dialog with the other side. And we will absolutely establish that in the coming months,â Waltz said.
Waltz also said he would âlike to see a ceasefire any minute, any dayâ in the Russian-Ukraine war, which he said would be an âincredibly positive first step ⌠that would then allow us to enter into the framework of some type of negotiated solution here.â
âEverybody knows that this has to end somehow diplomatically,â Waltz said. âI just donât think itâs realistic to say weâre going to expel every Russian from every inch of Ukrainian soil, even Crimea. President Trump has acknowledged that reality, and I think itâs been a huge step forward that the entire world is acknowledging that reality.â
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will not be attending President-elect Trumpâs inauguration on Monday, her spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.
Pelosiâs spokesperson did not share a reason for the former Democrat leader skipping the Monday event. The former Speaker attended Trumpâs first inauguration in 2017.
Senior leaders of both parties typically attend presidential inaugurations, though Trump skipped President Bidenâs inaugural event in 2021.
Former first lady Michelle Obama also wonât be attending Trumpâs second inauguration, though former President Obama will attend
News of Pelosi not attending was first reported by ABC News.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced his pick to replace Sen. Marco Rubio once he is confirmed as Secretary of State.
While speaking to the press, DeSantis announced Ashley Moody to fill Rubio’s empty Senate seat.
Moody emerged as a frontrunner for the position in recent weeks. A number of other names were floated for the position including Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez (R) and the governorâs chief of staff, James Uthmeier. DeSantis also said he had spoken with Reps. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) about the post but raised doubts about plucking a lawmaker from the House amid razor-thin GOP margins in the chamber.Â
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
