Special counsel Jack Smith plans to resign and wrap up his federal prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump before Trump takes office and can fire him, according to a person familiar with Smith’s plans. The Washington Post reported last week that Trump’s election victory had prompted the special counsel to start winding down the prosecutions instead of continuing court proceedings until Inauguration Day. Ending the two federal cases could allow Smith to deliver a final report detailing his...

Federal agents seized the phone and electronic devices of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan in an early morning raid on his Manhattan apartment, just a week after the crypto betting platform correctly predicted Donald Trump’s stunning 2024 presidential election win. The New York Post reports that the FBI conducted an early morning raid on the Soho apartment of 26-year-old Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of the prediction market platform Polymarket. According to a source...

While Vice President Kamala Harris drew support from progressive celebrities during her campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had the support of conservative figures, including Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social media platform X. Musk’s support of Trump has frequently drawn the fire of author Stephen King, a longtime critic of Trump. Recently, social media posts falsely claimed Musk banned King from X after the author...

Donald Trump has demonstrated his lack of fitness for the presidency in countless ways, but one of the clearest is in the company he keeps, surrounding himself with fringe figures, conspiracy theorists and sycophants who put fealty to him above all else. This week, a series of cabinet nominations by Mr. Trump showed the potential dangers posed by his reliance on his inner circle in the starkest way possible. For three of the nation’s highest-ranking and most vital positions, Mr. Trump...

Republicans will narrowly hold onto their slim House majority, completing a governing trifecta after Donald Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris and Republicans reclaimed several key Senate seats. Trump will now have both chambers of Congress at his disposal to follow through on his campaign promises and undo the Biden administration’s legacy on a range of issues. Unlike in Trump’s first term, Senate and House lawmakers are almost entirely behind him, likely...

The Republican Party has achieved full control of the US government, after media projected wins for the party in a handful of close races in the House of Representatives. Republicans won the majority in the Senate earlier this week, while Donald Trump won the race for the presidency. The trifecta, last achieved at the start of Trump's first term in 2017, will give the President-elect significant authority to enact his agenda on the economy, immigration and other key issues.

President-elect Donald Trump has styled himself a master dealmaker who can leverage his warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, cool tensions between the world’s biggest nuclear powers and realign global politics. But that can-do image is at odds with the two leaders’ records and the new geopolitical reality. Trump and Putin failed to cut deals on everything from arms control to Ukraine during his first term, and the gulf between...

There’s been a goodly amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth in my corner of the world about some of President-elect Donald Trump’s recently announced appointments. Particular dismay has attended those of Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) to the position of national security advisor and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to the State Department. Both men have voiced hawkish—sometimes very hawkish—sentiments in the past, and the collective feeling among those who feel the United States is overexposed...

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks keep getting more outlandish, which may be part of the point. Attorney general? Rep. Matt Gaetz, the right-wing provocateur who is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct. Secretary of defense? Pete Hegseth, a weekend Fox News host who served in the Army National Guard. Director of national intelligence? Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who has expressed...

Staunchly libertarian Argentinian President Javier Milei’s economic plans are proving enormously successful, as the country’s inflation plunged to 2.7% in October, the lowest level in three years. Milei was elected roughly one year ago, but the measures he has taken have revivified the once-crippled Argentinian economy, where inflation dropped in October to 2.7% after registering at 3.5% in October. Milei had promised to lower inflation to less than 3% before the end of 2024. “...