December 13, 2024 - Presidential transition news

What we covered here

• Inauguration invites: Donald Trump, eager to turn his inauguration into a global event, is personally extending invitations to some foreign leaders, including heads of state that have clashed with the US in the recent past. Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend, and a delegation of senior Chinese officials is expected to be there in his place, according to sources familiar with the matter.

• Lobbying for Senate support: Several of the president-elect’s Cabinet picks met with key senators this week as they prepare for their confirmation hearings. Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth held a meeting with Sen. John Fetterman yesterday — his first with a Democrat. Fetterman wouldn’t say if he’ll support the former Fox News host but noted he’d “follow the process.”

• January 6 pardons: Trump advisers are still solidifying their approach to January 6, 2021, pardons, several people in touch with the transition told CNN. And defense attorneys are scrambling to get clarity and convince the incoming administration that their clients are deserving. In a Time Magazine interview, the president-elect said he would look at rioters’ cases individually