Notably, Gabbard questioned the US intelligence community’s assessments that Assad was behind a deadly chlorine gas attack the same year she met with the Syrian strongman, to which Trump said at the time: “There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons.”

The picks for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet arrived for the inaugural ceremonies, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi and Doug Burgum.

Some of Trump's more controversial picks for Cabinet positions are set to face the Senate for confirmation hearings this week.

With votes expected late evening, the Republican-led Senate is determined to install Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran, and round out President Donald Trump's top national security Cabinet officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe won confirmation within days of Trump's return to the White House.

Marco Rubio is the first member of Donald Trump's second administration whose position was confirmed by the Senate.

The Department of Justice says it will "vigorously defend" Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, after it was temporarily blocked in a federal court earlier today.

President Donald Trump notched two victories on Thursday as he pushed to get his top officials in place. He also faced new legal challenges.

President-elect Donald Trump (R) announced author, lawyer, and 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee for secretary of health and human services on November 14, 2024. This presidential appointment requires Senate confirmation.

Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday at the US Capitol. Follow for live news updates on all of the events.

A USA TODAY review of almost 100 of the administration's top hires shows nearly half of states could have a representative in the second Trump term.