First Thing: Trump picks Elon Musk to lead government efficiency department

Musk will work with Vivek Ramaswamy to advise the White House on cutting spending. Plus, Mormons react to new thriller Heretic

Good morning.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Donald Trump has announced, along with the former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

The new body will not be a government agency but an outside organization offering the White House “advice and guidance”. Trump said it would shock government systems, as Doge (the acronym is the name of Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, which itself references a meme about a dog with an amusing expression), partners with the Office of Management and Budget to “create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”. Musk has admitted that slashing spending “necessarily involves some temporary hardship” for American taxpayers.

Musk, who owns X, promised to publish the department’s actions online for “maximum transparency”, saying he would keep “a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars”. Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur who, like Musk, has no government experience, also responded to his appointment on X, saying: “We will not go gently, @elonmusk”.

How much will they be cutting? Musk last month gave a goal of slashing government spending by $2tn, roughly a third of total spending, which experts say could result in deregulation that would directly affect Musk’s companies.

Biden administration will not limit arms transfers to Israel

The Biden administration has said that it will not curb its supply of arms to Israel as it had threatened to a month ago if conditions in Gaza did not improve, despite humanitarian groups saying Israel has met almost none of the US demands.

The US said on Tuesday that Israel had made some good, but limited, progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. But aid groups said conditions were worse than at any point in the 13-month-old war, despite the 30-day US ultimatum on 13 October that threatening sanctions.

The state department spokesperson Vedant Patel said progress must continue but that “we, at this time, have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law”. He denied “giving Israel a pass” and said Israel must take further steps.

How many of the ultimatum demands did Israel meet? A report by aid groups listed 19 measures of compliance with the US demands, finding Israel failed to meet 15 and only partially complied with four.

Trump names Huckabee as Israel envoy and Fox News host as defense secretary

Trump has picked the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel, and a Fox News host with no government experience for defense secretary.

Huckabee has a history of hardline pro-Israel rhetoric and previously stated Israel has a rightful claim to the West Bank, which is dotted with Israeli settlements that are not recognised under international law. He denies that the West Bank, seized by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 six-day war, is under military occupation.

Trump also announced he was appointing a Fox News host and army veteran Pete Hegseth, who has no experience in government, as defense secretary, stunning the Pentagon and the broader defense world. Hegseth is strongly opposed to army programs that promote equity and inclusion, has questioned the role of women in combat, and called for service members charged with war crimes to be pardoned.

What does Huckabee’s appointment signal? It looks like a return to the explicitly pro-Israel attitude of Trump’s first administration, when Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In other news …

The jazz drummer Roy Haynes, whose career spanned nine decades, has died aged 99.

Florida’s department of education has published a list of more than 700 books pulled from schools by a law that allows parents to challenge the content of library books.

China is in mourning after a man drove his car into a sports centre in Zhuhai on Monday, killing 35 people and severely injuring 43 others.

Stat of the day: Number of business lobbyists attending the UN biodiversity summit doubled this year

Lobbyists for industries including meat, oil, and pesticides turned out in droves for the UN’s latest biodiversity talks. A record 1,261 delegates registered for Cop16 in Cali, Colombia, which ended without significant wins on issues including nature funding, compared with 613 in 2022. Some have questioned whether the presence of lobbyists influenced the outcomes of this year’s negotiations.

Don’t miss this: Mormons react to Hugh Grant horror Heretic

Heretic, a thriller about a psychopath toying with young Mormon missionaries, has prompted conversations in Latter Day-Saints’ communities, with viewing parties hosted by former Mormons as well as those still in the church. The movie was condemned by the Mormon church, but for others it struck a chord, with one saying: “You’re sending 18-year-olds out into the world who have grown up in a bubble.”

Climate check: ‘No sign’ of promised fossil fuel transition as emissions hit new high

For the world to stand a chance at meeting the 1.5C temperature target, emissions must fall by 43% by 2030. But despite the pledges countries made at last year’s Cop summit to transition away from fossil fuels, there is “no sign” that is happening, with new data showing emissions from coal, oil and gas will rise by 0.8% in 2024.

Last Thing: ‘Fart blaster’ tops Christmas toy wishlist

In news that is perhaps unlikely to persuade child-free people to consider parenting, one of the most coveted children’s toys this Christmas is expected to be a “fart blaster”, a Despicable Me 4 spin-off with a repertoire of 15 sounds that blasts “fog fart rings”.

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