MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-missiles-war-nato-zelenskyy-b8039dcdd5b5f03415acd757fbead8e6">strike deeper inside Russia</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-long-range-missiles-4d2254639eb5a503d8b0a291ed0680e9">easing limitations</a>&nbsp;on the longer range weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/atacms-ukraine-longrange-missiles-5fd95f32449d14da22b82d57d6ccab22">Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs</a>, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-north-korea-war-735ab717dcf92a718adcb68bfbddc653">positions North Korean troops</a>&nbsp;along Ukraine's northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

Biden's move also follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">presidential election victory of Donald Trump</a>, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States' vital military support for Ukraine.

The official and the others knowledgeable about the matter were not authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's reaction Sunday was notably restrained.

“Strikes are not made with words," he said during his nightly video address. “Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”

Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-war-us-weapons-long-range-missiles-7f061044c7b50a1946409eea9e9c399f">Western-supplied missiles</a>, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

Zelenskyy's statement came shortly after he posted a message of condolence on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the border with Russia.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-russia-missiles-drones-ukraine-infrastructure-6af214839d9436731e9b960f0d3a7a8a">Russia also launched a massive drone</a>&nbsp;and missile attack, described by officials as the largest in recent months,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-f7f56e494df1dbbcdec1853001796c45">targeting energy infrastructure</a>&nbsp;and killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity before the winter.

“And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement,” Zelenskyy said.

The comment appeared to be a dig at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/scholz-putin-germany-russia-phone-call-f18e42dc5418fb682682d7dae69483a5">spoke Friday with Putin</a>&nbsp;in the first such call with a sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-nato-military-chiefs-d020f72aaa3abec8e5fa971f7123ffe1">disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies</a>.

Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-e192904652221b29efdc88d0af23114e">Putin has warned</a>&nbsp;that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

News of Biden's decision followed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-south-korea-japan-north-korea-russia-24e1a85916b650c130c5b167cd3c8b79">meetings over the last two days</a>&nbsp;with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. The addition of North Korean troops was central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lima-peru-protests-dina-boluarte-government-apec-biden-xi-f5b0ea4611ab7b49e2e3d35c4a778412">Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit</a>&nbsp;in Peru.

Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-amazon-peru-g20-3cc827382d1e3c32865a14616ddfe467">stop in the Amazon rainforest</a>&nbsp;in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.

Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the U.N. position is “to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”

“We want peace, we want fair peace,” Guterres said Sunday before the summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn't elaborate.

The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-korea-troops-russia-ukraine-9ee96dc1d4f07ac0813c698e6873f96b">North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion</a>&nbsp;of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the development.

The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is short, so U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough to make a difference. Some supporters of Ukraine say that even a few strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change deployments and expend more of its resources.

North Korea has provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-kursk-incursion-ca6d18d06606794580bdc779d2c98134">Kursk border region</a>&nbsp;that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-north-korea-war-735ab717dcf92a718adcb68bfbddc653">North Korean troops to the conflict</a>&nbsp;comes as Moscow has seen a favorable&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britain-uk-ukraine-starmer-putin-germany-g20-e19717f3f90c64c456423623aae772a1">shift in momentum</a>. Trump has signaled that he could push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an end to the conflict.

As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has provided Russia with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-north-korea-putin-kim-agreement-7221909867dbb999de8adb23604e3c79">significant amounts of munitions</a>&nbsp;to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Trump, who takes office in January, spoke for months as a candidate about wanting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ukraine">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;to be over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.

He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has Ukraine’s international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.

America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

Worried about Russia’s response, however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.

That includes initially refusing Zelenskyy’s pleas for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.

The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.

Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718381433841.png" alt="File photo White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-missiles-war-nato-zelenskyy-b8039dcdd5b5f03415acd757fbead8e6">strike deeper inside Russia</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-long-range-missiles-4d2254639eb5a503d8b0a291ed0680e9">easing limitations</a>&nbsp;on the longer range weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.The decision allowing Kyiv to use the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/atacms-ukraine-longrange-missiles-5fd95f32449d14da22b82d57d6ccab22">Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs</a>, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-north-korea-war-735ab717dcf92a718adcb68bfbddc653">positions North Korean troops</a>&nbsp;along Ukraine's northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.Biden's move also follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">presidential election victory of Donald Trump</a>, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States' vital military support for Ukraine.The official and the others knowledgeable about the matter were not authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's reaction Sunday was notably restrained.“Strikes are not made with words," he said during his nightly video address. “Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-war-us-weapons-long-range-missiles-7f061044c7b50a1946409eea9e9c399f">Western-supplied missiles</a>, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.Zelenskyy's statement came shortly after he posted a message of condolence on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the border with Russia.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-russia-missiles-drones-ukraine-infrastructure-6af214839d9436731e9b960f0d3a7a8a">Russia also launched a massive drone</a>&nbsp;and missile attack, described by officials as the largest in recent months,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-f7f56e494df1dbbcdec1853001796c45">targeting energy infrastructure</a>&nbsp;and killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity before the winter.“And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement,” Zelenskyy said.The comment appeared to be a dig at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/scholz-putin-germany-russia-phone-call-f18e42dc5418fb682682d7dae69483a5">spoke Friday with Putin</a>&nbsp;in the first such call with a sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-nato-military-chiefs-d020f72aaa3abec8e5fa971f7123ffe1">disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies</a>.Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-e192904652221b29efdc88d0af23114e">Putin has warned</a>&nbsp;that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.News of Biden's decision followed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-south-korea-japan-north-korea-russia-24e1a85916b650c130c5b167cd3c8b79">meetings over the last two days</a>&nbsp;with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. The addition of North Korean troops was central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lima-peru-protests-dina-boluarte-government-apec-biden-xi-f5b0ea4611ab7b49e2e3d35c4a778412">Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit</a>&nbsp;in Peru.Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-amazon-peru-g20-3cc827382d1e3c32865a14616ddfe467">stop in the Amazon rainforest</a>&nbsp;in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the U.N. position is “to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”“We want peace, we want fair peace,” Guterres said Sunday before the summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn't elaborate.The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-korea-troops-russia-ukraine-9ee96dc1d4f07ac0813c698e6873f96b">North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion</a>&nbsp;of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the development.The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is short, so U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough to make a difference. Some supporters of Ukraine say that even a few strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change deployments and expend more of its resources.North Korea has provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-kursk-incursion-ca6d18d06606794580bdc779d2c98134">Kursk border region</a>&nbsp;that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-north-korea-war-735ab717dcf92a718adcb68bfbddc653">North Korean troops to the conflict</a>&nbsp;comes as Moscow has seen a favorable&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britain-uk-ukraine-starmer-putin-germany-g20-e19717f3f90c64c456423623aae772a1">shift in momentum</a>. Trump has signaled that he could push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an end to the conflict.As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has provided Russia with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-north-korea-putin-kim-agreement-7221909867dbb999de8adb23604e3c79">significant amounts of munitions</a>&nbsp;to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.Trump, who takes office in January, spoke for months as a candidate about wanting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ukraine">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;to be over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has Ukraine’s international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.Worried about Russia’s response, however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.That includes initially refusing Zelenskyy’s pleas for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.___Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.

War in Ukraine intensifies: Biden lifts ban on long-range missile strikes 

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating an officer-involved shooting that sent one person to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a media release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control.

Just before 12:30a.m. Sunday, a trooper initiated a traffic stop for speeding on northbound Interstate 35 just south of Missouri 210 Highway in Clay County.

The driver failed to yield and accelerated north before exiting the highway and traveling back southbound on Interstate 35 into Jackson County.&nbsp;

A helicopter from the Kansas Highway Patrol was monitoring the pursuit on a regional communications channel and arrived overhead. Missouri Troopers on the ground discontinued the pursuit, remained in the area and followed updates from the KHP helicopter. The KHP helicopter was eventually requited to return to Kansas on another call.

MSHP Troopers proceeded to the last known location of the suspect vehicle and at 12:40a.m. relocated it. The suspect vehicle came to a stop at Linwood Boulevard and Van Brunt Avenue. Troopers attempted to prevent the suspect from fleeing a second time by placing vehicles in front and behind the suspect vehicle.

As troopers exited their patrol vehicles, the driver reversed, struck one of the patrol vehicles and began traveling forward in the path of a trooper standing outside of his patrol vehicle. The trooper fired his duty weapon at the suspect vehicle. The suspect continued to drive away, traveling onto westbound Interstate 70 before exiting at Prospect Avenue.&nbsp; The vehicle came to a stop at Prospect and 13th Street after becoming disabled.

The driver ran from the vehicle but was taken into custody. Troopers also detained two passengers from the vehicle. One had a gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Troopers provided medical attention until EMS arrived and transported the passenger to a local hospital for treatment. No troopers were injured.&nbsp;

The Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control and the KCMO Police Department are investigating the incident and collecting evidence. Police have not released the names of those involved or possible charges.

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating an officer-involved shooting that sent one person to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a media release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control.Just before 12:30a.m. Sunday, a trooper initiated a traffic stop for speeding on northbound Interstate 35 just south of Missouri 210 Highway in Clay County.The driver failed to yield and accelerated north before exiting the highway and traveling back southbound on Interstate 35 into Jackson County.&nbsp;A helicopter from the Kansas Highway Patrol was monitoring the pursuit on a regional communications channel and arrived overhead. Missouri Troopers on the ground discontinued the pursuit, remained in the area and followed updates from the KHP helicopter. The KHP helicopter was eventually requited to return to Kansas on another call.MSHP Troopers proceeded to the last known location of the suspect vehicle and at 12:40a.m. relocated it. The suspect vehicle came to a stop at Linwood Boulevard and Van Brunt Avenue. Troopers attempted to prevent the suspect from fleeing a second time by placing vehicles in front and behind the suspect vehicle.As troopers exited their patrol vehicles, the driver reversed, struck one of the patrol vehicles and began traveling forward in the path of a trooper standing outside of his patrol vehicle. The trooper fired his duty weapon at the suspect vehicle. The suspect continued to drive away, traveling onto westbound Interstate 70 before exiting at Prospect Avenue.&nbsp; The vehicle came to a stop at Prospect and 13th Street after becoming disabled.The driver ran from the vehicle but was taken into custody. Troopers also detained two passengers from the vehicle. One had a gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Troopers provided medical attention until EMS arrived and transported the passenger to a local hospital for treatment. No troopers were injured.&nbsp;The Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control and the KCMO Police Department are investigating the incident and collecting evidence. Police have not released the names of those involved or possible charges.

Passenger wounded after KC chase, State Trooper shooting

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>

WASHINGTON — A measure to ensure the federal student aid form opens up annually by Oct. 1 passed the U.S. House Friday with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr8932rh/pdf/BILLS-118hr8932rh.pdf" target="_blank">effort</a>&nbsp;— which passed 381-1 — came after the U.S. Department of Education faced major backlash over the botched rollout of the 2024-25&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/dont-give-fafsa-advocates-student-financial-aid-urge" target="_blank">Free Application for Federal Student Aid</a>, or FAFSA. California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren was the only lawmaker to vote against the bill.&nbsp;

Though the form got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020, users faced multiple glitches and technical errors throughout the form’s soft launch in December and past its full debut in January, prompting processing delays and gaps in submissions.

The department has worked to correct these glitches and close that gap while also fixing major issues that prevented parents without Social Security numbers from completing the form.

Adding another complication, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-gradually-roll-out-new-fafsa-form-dec-1" target="_blank">department said in August</a>&nbsp;it would use a phased rollout of the 2025-26 form in an attempt to address any errors that might arise before it opens up to everyone — making the application fully available two months later than usual.

Though the department legally has until Jan. 1 to roll out the form, it typically launches Oct. 1.

U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin, an Indiana Republican and member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in July&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8932" target="_blank">introduced the bill</a>&nbsp;to standardize that deadline.

“I’m especially frustrated considering the Department of Education has had three years to simplify the FAFSA as Congress has dictated,” Houchin said during floor debate Friday.

She also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gaps-fafsa-rollout-are-closing-watchdog-tells-us-house-panel" target="_blank">referenced recent findings</a>&nbsp;from the Government Accountability Office, including that nearly three-quarters of all calls to the call center went unanswered in the first five months of the 2024-25 rollout.

“We want this program to work — we want to make sure that children and families that want to send their kids to college have the availability to do that and that the FAFSA is available and workable,” she added.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House education panel, echoed his support during the floor debate, saying the measure will “help ensure that even more students have the information they need in a timelier manner to access Pell Grants and other vital student aid.”

Scott initially opposed the effort when the committee took it up in July out of concerns that the implementation deadline could force the department to roll out an incomplete form on Oct. 1 of this year.

“However, because we’re now considering the bill after Oct. 1, the deadline will apply next year, 2025, and that gives the department ample time to make improvements and fix any lingering issues,” the Virginia Democrat said.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4632" target="_blank">introduced a companion bill</a>&nbsp;in July.

The bill was referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where Cassidy serves as ranking member. After Republicans won a Senate majority in the Nov. 5 elections,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.help.senate.gov/ranking/newsroom/press/cassidy-to-chair-help-committee-in-119th-congress" target="_blank">Cassidy is in line</a>&nbsp;to chair the panel next year.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1727807641728.png" alt=" A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption> A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>WASHINGTON — A measure to ensure the federal student aid form opens up annually by Oct. 1 passed the U.S. House Friday with overwhelming bipartisan support.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr8932rh/pdf/BILLS-118hr8932rh.pdf" target="_blank">effort</a>&nbsp;— which passed 381-1 — came after the U.S. Department of Education faced major backlash over the botched rollout of the 2024-25&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/dont-give-fafsa-advocates-student-financial-aid-urge" target="_blank">Free Application for Federal Student Aid</a>, or FAFSA. California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren was the only lawmaker to vote against the bill.&nbsp;Though the form got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020, users faced multiple glitches and technical errors throughout the form’s soft launch in December and past its full debut in January, prompting processing delays and gaps in submissions.The department has worked to correct these glitches and close that gap while also fixing major issues that prevented parents without Social Security numbers from completing the form.Adding another complication, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-gradually-roll-out-new-fafsa-form-dec-1" target="_blank">department said in August</a>&nbsp;it would use a phased rollout of the 2025-26 form in an attempt to address any errors that might arise before it opens up to everyone — making the application fully available two months later than usual.<h2>Codified deadline</h2>Though the department legally has until Jan. 1 to roll out the form, it typically launches Oct. 1.U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin, an Indiana Republican and member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in July&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8932" target="_blank">introduced the bill</a>&nbsp;to standardize that deadline.“I’m especially frustrated considering the Department of Education has had three years to simplify the FAFSA as Congress has dictated,” Houchin said during floor debate Friday.She also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gaps-fafsa-rollout-are-closing-watchdog-tells-us-house-panel" target="_blank">referenced recent findings</a>&nbsp;from the Government Accountability Office, including that nearly three-quarters of all calls to the call center went unanswered in the first five months of the 2024-25 rollout.“We want this program to work — we want to make sure that children and families that want to send their kids to college have the availability to do that and that the FAFSA is available and workable,” she added.U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House education panel, echoed his support during the floor debate, saying the measure will “help ensure that even more students have the information they need in a timelier manner to access Pell Grants and other vital student aid.”Scott initially opposed the effort when the committee took it up in July out of concerns that the implementation deadline could force the department to roll out an incomplete form on Oct. 1 of this year.“However, because we’re now considering the bill after Oct. 1, the deadline will apply next year, 2025, and that gives the department ample time to make improvements and fix any lingering issues,” the Virginia Democrat said.U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4632" target="_blank">introduced a companion bill</a>&nbsp;in July.The bill was referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where Cassidy serves as ranking member. After Republicans won a Senate majority in the Nov. 5 elections,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.help.senate.gov/ranking/newsroom/press/cassidy-to-chair-help-committee-in-119th-congress" target="_blank">Cassidy is in line</a>&nbsp;to chair the panel next year.&nbsp;

U.S. House passes bill to move up annual FAFSA release deadline

KANSAS CITY (AP) —McDonald's is investing $100 million to bring customers back to stores after an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-e-coli-outbreak-onions-05c6b6c2461a35c29b774dcd2c20d4d5">outbreak of E. coli</a>&nbsp;food poisoning tied to onions on the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.

The investments include $65 million that will go directly to the hardest-hit franchises, the company said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that slivered onions on the Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the E. coli. Taylor Farms in California recalled onions potentially linked to the outbreak.

Colorado reported at least 30 cases; Montana reported 19; Nebraska, 13; and New Mexico, 10. The illnesses were reported between Sept. 12 and Oct. 21. At least 104 people got sick and 34 were hospitalized, according to federal health officials. One person died in Colorado and four people developed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-e-coli-food-poisoning-acb6d87f6182b42295d16625480525b0">potentially life-threatening kidney disease</a>&nbsp;complication.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that “there does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants.”

But the outbreak hurt the company's sales.

Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in several states in the early days of the outbreak. McDonald’s identified an alternate supplier for the 900 restaurants that temporarily stopped serving the burgers with onions. Over the past week, McDonald's resumed selling Quarter Pounders with slivered onions nationwide.

KANSAS CITY (AP) —McDonald's is investing $100 million to bring customers back to stores after an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-e-coli-outbreak-onions-05c6b6c2461a35c29b774dcd2c20d4d5">outbreak of E. coli</a>&nbsp;food poisoning tied to onions on the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.The investments include $65 million that will go directly to the hardest-hit franchises, the company said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731536357963.png" alt="CDC image" />
 <figcaption>CDC image</figcaption>
 </figure>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that slivered onions on the Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the E. coli. Taylor Farms in California recalled onions potentially linked to the outbreak.Colorado reported at least 30 cases; Montana reported 19; Nebraska, 13; and New Mexico, 10. The illnesses were reported between Sept. 12 and Oct. 21. At least 104 people got sick and 34 were hospitalized, according to federal health officials. One person died in Colorado and four people developed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-e-coli-food-poisoning-acb6d87f6182b42295d16625480525b0">potentially life-threatening kidney disease</a>&nbsp;complication.The Food and Drug Administration has said that “there does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants.”But the outbreak hurt the company's sales.Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in several states in the early days of the outbreak. McDonald’s identified an alternate supplier for the 900 restaurants that temporarily stopped serving the burgers with onions. Over the past week, McDonald's resumed selling Quarter Pounders with slivered onions nationwide.

McDonald's investing $100 million to bring customers back after E. coli outbreak

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The results of two Kansas legislative races that were too close to call on Election Day remained unchanged after an audit.

The day after the election, the two northeast Kansas races automatically triggered a close-race audit because the candidates in each contest were separated by fewer than 1% of votes cast.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In a Senate district encompassing parts of Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, Republican Jeff Klemp triumphed over the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Jeff Pittman, by just more than 40 votes.&nbsp;

In a Johnson County House seat, Rep. Nikki McDonald, the Democratic incumbent, defeated Republican challenger Kurtis Ruf by about 125 votes, results showed.&nbsp;

A close-race audit involves a recount of votes by hand in certain precincts and comparing that count to machine-tabulated totals. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced Thursday the completion of the two audits.

“The audit results confirmed the hand count matched the machine count in those three counties,” Whitney Tempel, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, wrote in an email.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731793982709.png" alt=" Secretary of State Scott Schwab appears during a June 21, 2024, meeting of the State Objections Board. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Secretary of State Scott Schwab appears during a June 21, 2024, meeting of the State Objections Board. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The results of two Kansas legislative races that were too close to call on Election Day remained unchanged after an audit.The day after the election, the two northeast Kansas races automatically triggered a close-race audit because the candidates in each contest were separated by fewer than 1% of votes cast.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a Senate district encompassing parts of Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, Republican Jeff Klemp triumphed over the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Jeff Pittman, by just more than 40 votes.&nbsp;In a Johnson County House seat, Rep. Nikki McDonald, the Democratic incumbent, defeated Republican challenger Kurtis Ruf by about 125 votes, results showed.&nbsp;A close-race audit involves a recount of votes by hand in certain precincts and comparing that count to machine-tabulated totals. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced Thursday the completion of the two audits.“The audit results confirmed the hand count matched the machine count in those three counties,” Whitney Tempel, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, wrote in an email.

Results hold in too-close-to-call Kansas legislative races after audit

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for allegedly stealing the same vehicle twice.

On November 9, a minivan was missing from the 4700 block of SW Topeka Blvd., according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The minivan was found and returned to the owner the following Monday, but without the key.

The minivan was stolen once again on November 14 from Topeka area home. It was located later in the day near SW 29th and Gage, where a brief pursuit was started. That was called off for safety reasons, but the minivan was found once again shortly after near SW 15th and Mulvane.

Brandon Norris, 27, was arrested after a K-9 officer tracked him from the vehicle. Norris was booked into the Shawnee County jail on requested charges of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, fleeing law enforcement, reckless driving, driving without a license, and drug possession.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613410475366.png" alt="Norris photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Norris photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for allegedly stealing the same vehicle twice.On November 9, a minivan was missing from the 4700 block of SW Topeka Blvd., according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The minivan was found and returned to the owner the following Monday, but without the key.The minivan was stolen once again on November 14 from Topeka area home. It was located later in the day near SW 29th and Gage, where a brief pursuit was started. That was called off for safety reasons, but the minivan was found once again shortly after near SW 15th and Mulvane.Brandon Norris, 27, was arrested after a K-9 officer tracked him from the vehicle. Norris was booked into the Shawnee County jail on requested charges of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, fleeing law enforcement, reckless driving, driving without a license, and drug possession.

Sheriff: Kansas man stole minivan twice in less than a week 

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a> State's Newsroom

WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Nov. 5 election took over the White House, the U.S. Senate and as of late Wednesday, the House, after calls were made in enough races to project a majority.

They are expressing high hopes for unified control of government. But before they’ll be able to celebrate enacting sweeping changes to the country’s tax code or overhauling the health insurance marketplace, they’ll need to broker agreement between centrist lawmakers and far-right members in Congress.

More often than not, those two factions of the GOP hold significantly different ideas about how to draft legislation and strong opinions about whether to amend it on the floor.

Keeping everyone on the same page will be crucial for Republican leaders once the new Congress begins Jan. 3, especially since they have just three votes to spare in the Senate and a razor-thin majority in the House.

States Newsroom looked at what’s ahead for Republicans as they begin sorting through where to make changes to U.S. law in seven key policy areas:

Nearly every Republican politician campaigned on addressing the country’s tax structure, making it one of the first issues the party is expected to take up when the next session of Congress begins.

The GOP will likely use the complicated budget reconciliation process to address the tax code, the same way lawmakers did in 2017 when they passed their signature tax law during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office.

That reconciliation process would allow Republicans to avoid the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster that would otherwise require them to get Democratic support. But the process has strict rules and requires a marathon amendment voting session in the Senate that’s often called a vote-a-rama.

Some provisions in Republicans’ original tax law have already expired or will do so in the coming months, giving the GOP incentives to jump through the many hoops that come with the reconciliation process.

Extending the expiring provisions will bring along a hefty price tag, however.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget wrote in an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crfb.org/press-releases/tax-cuts-need-offsets-not-baseline-games" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;released in late September that extending the individual and estate tax elements in the law would increase the deficit by $3.9 trillion through 2035. Republicans opting to extend or bring back tax code changes for business would likely increase the deficit to $4.8 trillion.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, expressed concerns at the time about lawmakers ignoring or diminishing the deficit impact.&nbsp;

“There will undoubtedly be efforts to pretend that extending the tax cuts is free – obviously this is not the case,” she said. “Extending policies that are scheduled to expire — and were scored as expiring — would clearly add to the national debt.”

MacGuineas added that lawmakers “should consider carefully which parts of the TCJA are working, which parts aren’t, and if they want to extend some parts, how to responsibly extend them without increasing the debt beyond current law.”

Republicans are expected to hold votes on legislation addressing border security and immigration after much of their campaign for Congress focused on those two areas.

Whether they’ll be able to do that through the reconciliation process with only GOP support or through the traditional legislative process, which requires bipartisanship in the Senate, will depend on how exactly they write the bill and what budget impacts the various provisions will have.

Immigration and border security legislation would fail to comply with a reconciliation rule in the Senate, also known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30862" target="_blank">Byrd Rule</a>, if it produces a change in federal revenues or spending that is deemed “merely incidental” by the Senate parliamentarian.

While the requirement is vague, it could apply to several items that don’t have big price tags when considered as part of the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget.

For example, Democrats’ efforts to raise the federal minimum wage as part of the reconciliation process in 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/2021/02/25/senate-parliamentarian-nixes-minimum-wage-boost-in-aid-package/" target="_blank">were deemed “merely incidental”</a>&nbsp;by the Senate parliamentarian and removed from the bill.

Trump has already laid out his wish list for an immigration-related bill he wants Congress to send to his desk.

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TrumpDailyPosts/status/1855365133121253420" target="_blank">reposted campaign videos</a>&nbsp;on social media in early September requesting Congress pass legislation to prevent future presidents from using executive authority to grant humanitarian parole — something the Biden administration has used to allow more than 1 million people to obtain work permits and live in the United States temporarily.&nbsp;

Trump has called the use of parole authority “abuse,” but it’s been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/use-parole-under-immigration-law" target="_blank">used by presidents since 1956</a>, during the Eisenhower administration.

Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations of immigrants without proper legal status, is also expected to ask Congress to foot the bill for his promise to deport more than 13 million people.

Getting any immigration-related policy to the president-elect’s desk will be daunting since it’s been almost four decades since Congress overhauled U.S. immigration law.

“The last big immigration bill was passed in 1986 when Ronald Reagan was president and both houses of Congress were held by Democrats,” according to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/can-immigration-reform-happen-a-look-back/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;from the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. “A smaller bill was passed in 1990 when George H.W. Bush was president and both houses of Congress were still controlled by Democrats.”

Earlier this year, a bipartisan border security and immigration bill was brokered by Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

The trio of senators spent months negotiating the particulars of the deal only to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-kills-immigration-overhaul-hits-stalemate-israel-ukraine-aid" target="_blank">have it scuttled</a>&nbsp;after Trump told GOP members he didn’t want the legislation to pass.

That legislation could be used as a starting point if Republicans are unable to move an immigration bill through the reconciliation process and want to get a bill past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.

Tariffs could become one point of contention between Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration.

The president-elect has vowed to stack tariffs of at least 10% on nearly all goods entering the country, raising alarm bells with economists and free-trade Republicans about the impact that would have on consumer prices.

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">said in mid-October at the Economic Club of Chicago</a>&nbsp;that he hoped to implement tariffs on foreign-made products as high as 100% or 200%.

“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States, and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump said, rejecting the premise that high tariffs could harm Americans.

Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told States Newsroom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/foreign-policy-where-do-harris-and-trump-stand" target="_blank">in an October interview</a>&nbsp;that imposing tariffs could risk “starting a trade war with the entire world.”

Lovely’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/2024/trumps-bigger-tariff-proposals-would-cost-typical-american-household-over" target="_blank">research</a>&nbsp;with economist Kimberly Clausing, also of PIIE, found that Trump’s threats to slap tariffs as high as 20% on all foreign products, combined with his threats of 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods, could cost the typical American household over $2,600 annually.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said repeatedly during the final weeks of the campaign that he wants to overhaul the 2010 health care law that most people refer to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

He hasn’t shared details about what aspects of that law he wants to end or change, but said during a late October interview on Fox Business that he wants to address health outcomes.

“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” Johnson said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”

Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to try to repeal and replace the ACA in 2017, but were unsuccessful,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-bills-0bd309f182de44d9bc320f334be94875" target="_blank">largely due to the late Arizona Sen. John McCain</a>&nbsp;rejecting the bill.

Even with the budget reconciliation process to get Republicans around the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster, it will be extremely difficult for leaders to get the party unified on any health care bill of that magnitude.

Republicans using the budget reconciliation process for tax policy and health care would take up two of the three opportunities they’ll have to adopt budget resolutions with reconciliation instructions during the 119th Congress.

GOP leaders could try for a round three, though once all is said and done with the first two reconciliation bills, Republicans might need to shift their attention toward the 2026 midterm campaigns.

Republican lawmakers have argued legislation is needed to bar noncitizens from voting in federal elections, even though it is already illegal and rarely happens. The party is expected to try again next Congress, once it holds a majority in both chambers of Congress.&nbsp;

The GOP House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-bill-requiring-proof-citizenship-vote-federal-races" target="_blank">passed a bill this summer</a>&nbsp;that would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote, but the Democratic-controlled Senate never acted on it.

Trump wrote on social media that he would demand that voter ID laws and proof of citizenship be required for voting, something that Congress would have to pass, although it’s unclear if such legislation could overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

The issue is important to Trump, as Johnson traveled to the president-elect’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-supports-us-house-speaker-johnson-elections-agenda-joint-appearance" target="_blank">to unveil the House’s intention</a>&nbsp;to pursue the issue.

Republicans campaigned this year on cutting government spending, but have rarely done so when they held the majority in both chambers of Congress.

The challenge lies in how government spending is approved and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59727" target="_blank">how much the various departments and agencies</a>&nbsp;require to function.

During fiscal 2023, the federal government spent $6.1 trillion, with $3.4 trillion going to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59728" target="_blank">mandatory programs</a>, like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs run on autopilot, so lawmakers don’t need to negotiate the particulars every year the way they do other programs.

An additional $1.7 trillion was spent on so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59729" target="_blank">discretionary programs</a>, which are funded through Congress’ annual appropriations process. That funding went to programs categorized as either nondefense, which received $917 billion, or defense, which got $805 billion.

The nondefense funding goes to several departments, including Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, State and Transportation. Smaller agencies, like NASA and the National Science Foundation, are also funded through nondefense accounts.

Republicans have proposed cuts in the past, but members of the party who understand the federal ledger often explain that if members really want to address the government spending more than it takes in, they’ll have to address Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Republicans could make tweaks when they write their reconciliation bills, though they’ll need those to comply with the Byrd Rule and not have a “merely incidental” impact on the federal ledger.&nbsp;

Having secured unified GOP control of government,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-won-presidency-what-does-mean-education" target="_blank">Trump’s sweeping vision</a>&nbsp;to “save American education” could set the stage for significant changes in U.S. education policy.

The president-elect has vowed to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to move education “back to the states.” States and local governments bear much of the responsibility for funding K-12 schools, but the Department of Education handles Pell Grants for college students who demonstrate financial need and enforces civil rights cases, among other things.

Congress going along with plans to eliminate the department could have profound impacts on the billions of dollars in funding the agency provides for low-income K-12 schools, special education and federal student aid.

Trump also vowed to roll back updated Title IX regulations on his first day back in office.

President Joe Biden unveiled the final rule for Title IX in April, which strengthens federal protections for LGBTQ+ students and&nbsp;“protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing" target="_blank">Education Department</a>.

GOP members on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have criticized the new Title IX rules and are likely to fall in step with Trump’s wishes to roll back the regulations.

Trump has also criticized the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts, dubbing them “not even legal.” He could discontinue the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan known as Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE. The plan is currently on pause due to legal challenges from Republican-led states.

Last year, Senate Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/attempt-kill-biden-student-debt-relief-plan-tied-income-fails-us-senate" target="_blank">tried to strike down the rule.</a>

Like Trump, Republicans have focused on “parental rights” in education. House Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-bill-establishing-federal-parental-bill-rights-passed-us-house" target="_blank">passed their own bill</a>&nbsp;on the issue last year.

Republicans are likely to continue scrutinizing higher education institutions from diversity initiatives to college students protesting the war in Gaza.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-anti-woke-bill-aimed-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-higher-ed%C2%A0" target="_blank">GOP measure</a>&nbsp;that would bar accrediting organizations from requiring colleges and universities to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies as a condition of accreditation passed the House in September.

Shauneen Miranda and Ashley Murray contributed to this report.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731670443807.png" alt="-South Dakota Sen. John Thune speaks to reporters after being elected Republican leader during a closed-door, secret ballot election held Nov. 13, 2024, inside the old Senate chamber in the U.S. Capitol building.&nbsp;At right is Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican elected as the Republican Policy Committee chair. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom" />
 <figcaption>-South Dakota Sen. John Thune speaks to reporters after being elected Republican leader during a closed-door, secret ballot election held Nov. 13, 2024, inside the old Senate chamber in the U.S. Capitol building.&nbsp;At right is Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican elected as the Republican Policy Committee chair. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a> State's Newsroom WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Nov. 5 election took over the White House, the U.S. Senate and as of late Wednesday, the House, after calls were made in enough races to project a majority.They are expressing high hopes for unified control of government. But before they’ll be able to celebrate enacting sweeping changes to the country’s tax code or overhauling the health insurance marketplace, they’ll need to broker agreement between centrist lawmakers and far-right members in Congress.More often than not, those two factions of the GOP hold significantly different ideas about how to draft legislation and strong opinions about whether to amend it on the floor.Keeping everyone on the same page will be crucial for Republican leaders once the new Congress begins Jan. 3, especially since they have just three votes to spare in the Senate and a razor-thin majority in the House.States Newsroom looked at what’s ahead for Republicans as they begin sorting through where to make changes to U.S. law in seven key policy areas:<h2>TAXES</h2>Nearly every Republican politician campaigned on addressing the country’s tax structure, making it one of the first issues the party is expected to take up when the next session of Congress begins.The GOP will likely use the complicated budget reconciliation process to address the tax code, the same way lawmakers did in 2017 when they passed their signature tax law during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office.That reconciliation process would allow Republicans to avoid the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster that would otherwise require them to get Democratic support. But the process has strict rules and requires a marathon amendment voting session in the Senate that’s often called a vote-a-rama.Some provisions in Republicans’ original tax law have already expired or will do so in the coming months, giving the GOP incentives to jump through the many hoops that come with the reconciliation process.Extending the expiring provisions will bring along a hefty price tag, however.The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget wrote in an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crfb.org/press-releases/tax-cuts-need-offsets-not-baseline-games" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;released in late September that extending the individual and estate tax elements in the law would increase the deficit by $3.9 trillion through 2035. Republicans opting to extend or bring back tax code changes for business would likely increase the deficit to $4.8 trillion.Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, expressed concerns at the time about lawmakers ignoring or diminishing the deficit impact.&nbsp;“There will undoubtedly be efforts to pretend that extending the tax cuts is free – obviously this is not the case,” she said. “Extending policies that are scheduled to expire — and were scored as expiring — would clearly add to the national debt.”MacGuineas added that lawmakers “should consider carefully which parts of the TCJA are working, which parts aren’t, and if they want to extend some parts, how to responsibly extend them without increasing the debt beyond current law.”<h2>IMMIGRATION</h2>Republicans are expected to hold votes on legislation addressing border security and immigration after much of their campaign for Congress focused on those two areas.Whether they’ll be able to do that through the reconciliation process with only GOP support or through the traditional legislative process, which requires bipartisanship in the Senate, will depend on how exactly they write the bill and what budget impacts the various provisions will have.Immigration and border security legislation would fail to comply with a reconciliation rule in the Senate, also known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30862" target="_blank">Byrd Rule</a>, if it produces a change in federal revenues or spending that is deemed “merely incidental” by the Senate parliamentarian.While the requirement is vague, it could apply to several items that don’t have big price tags when considered as part of the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget.For example, Democrats’ efforts to raise the federal minimum wage as part of the reconciliation process in 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/2021/02/25/senate-parliamentarian-nixes-minimum-wage-boost-in-aid-package/" target="_blank">were deemed “merely incidental”</a>&nbsp;by the Senate parliamentarian and removed from the bill.Trump has already laid out his wish list for an immigration-related bill he wants Congress to send to his desk.Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TrumpDailyPosts/status/1855365133121253420" target="_blank">reposted campaign videos</a>&nbsp;on social media in early September requesting Congress pass legislation to prevent future presidents from using executive authority to grant humanitarian parole — something the Biden administration has used to allow more than 1 million people to obtain work permits and live in the United States temporarily.&nbsp;Trump has called the use of parole authority “abuse,” but it’s been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/use-parole-under-immigration-law" target="_blank">used by presidents since 1956</a>, during the Eisenhower administration.Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations of immigrants without proper legal status, is also expected to ask Congress to foot the bill for his promise to deport more than 13 million people.Getting any immigration-related policy to the president-elect’s desk will be daunting since it’s been almost four decades since Congress overhauled U.S. immigration law.“The last big immigration bill was passed in 1986 when Ronald Reagan was president and both houses of Congress were held by Democrats,” according to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/can-immigration-reform-happen-a-look-back/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;from the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. “A smaller bill was passed in 1990 when George H.W. Bush was president and both houses of Congress were still controlled by Democrats.”Earlier this year, a bipartisan border security and immigration bill was brokered by Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.The trio of senators spent months negotiating the particulars of the deal only to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-kills-immigration-overhaul-hits-stalemate-israel-ukraine-aid" target="_blank">have it scuttled</a>&nbsp;after Trump told GOP members he didn’t want the legislation to pass.That legislation could be used as a starting point if Republicans are unable to move an immigration bill through the reconciliation process and want to get a bill past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.<h2>TARIFFS</h2>Tariffs could become one point of contention between Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration.The president-elect has vowed to stack tariffs of at least 10% on nearly all goods entering the country, raising alarm bells with economists and free-trade Republicans about the impact that would have on consumer prices.Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">said in mid-October at the Economic Club of Chicago</a>&nbsp;that he hoped to implement tariffs on foreign-made products as high as 100% or 200%.“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States, and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump said, rejecting the premise that high tariffs could harm Americans.Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told States Newsroom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/foreign-policy-where-do-harris-and-trump-stand" target="_blank">in an October interview</a>&nbsp;that imposing tariffs could risk “starting a trade war with the entire world.”Lovely’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/2024/trumps-bigger-tariff-proposals-would-cost-typical-american-household-over" target="_blank">research</a>&nbsp;with economist Kimberly Clausing, also of PIIE, found that Trump’s threats to slap tariffs as high as 20% on all foreign products, combined with his threats of 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods, could cost the typical American household over $2,600 annually.<h2>HEALTH CARE</h2>House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said repeatedly during the final weeks of the campaign that he wants to overhaul the 2010 health care law that most people refer to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.He hasn’t shared details about what aspects of that law he wants to end or change, but said during a late October interview on Fox Business that he wants to address health outcomes.“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” Johnson said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to try to repeal and replace the ACA in 2017, but were unsuccessful,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-bills-0bd309f182de44d9bc320f334be94875" target="_blank">largely due to the late Arizona Sen. John McCain</a>&nbsp;rejecting the bill.Even with the budget reconciliation process to get Republicans around the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster, it will be extremely difficult for leaders to get the party unified on any health care bill of that magnitude.Republicans using the budget reconciliation process for tax policy and health care would take up two of the three opportunities they’ll have to adopt budget resolutions with reconciliation instructions during the 119th Congress.GOP leaders could try for a round three, though once all is said and done with the first two reconciliation bills, Republicans might need to shift their attention toward the 2026 midterm campaigns.<h2>VOTING</h2>Republican lawmakers have argued legislation is needed to bar noncitizens from voting in federal elections, even though it is already illegal and rarely happens. The party is expected to try again next Congress, once it holds a majority in both chambers of Congress.&nbsp;The GOP House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-bill-requiring-proof-citizenship-vote-federal-races" target="_blank">passed a bill this summer</a>&nbsp;that would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote, but the Democratic-controlled Senate never acted on it.Trump wrote on social media that he would demand that voter ID laws and proof of citizenship be required for voting, something that Congress would have to pass, although it’s unclear if such legislation could overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.The issue is important to Trump, as Johnson traveled to the president-elect’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-supports-us-house-speaker-johnson-elections-agenda-joint-appearance" target="_blank">to unveil the House’s intention</a>&nbsp;to pursue the issue.<h2>SPENDING</h2>Republicans campaigned this year on cutting government spending, but have rarely done so when they held the majority in both chambers of Congress.The challenge lies in how government spending is approved and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59727" target="_blank">how much the various departments and agencies</a>&nbsp;require to function.During fiscal 2023, the federal government spent $6.1 trillion, with $3.4 trillion going to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59728" target="_blank">mandatory programs</a>, like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs run on autopilot, so lawmakers don’t need to negotiate the particulars every year the way they do other programs.An additional $1.7 trillion was spent on so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59729" target="_blank">discretionary programs</a>, which are funded through Congress’ annual appropriations process. That funding went to programs categorized as either nondefense, which received $917 billion, or defense, which got $805 billion.The nondefense funding goes to several departments, including Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, State and Transportation. Smaller agencies, like NASA and the National Science Foundation, are also funded through nondefense accounts.Republicans have proposed cuts in the past, but members of the party who understand the federal ledger often explain that if members really want to address the government spending more than it takes in, they’ll have to address Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.The math, otherwise, won’t work.Republicans could make tweaks when they write their reconciliation bills, though they’ll need those to comply with the Byrd Rule and not have a “merely incidental” impact on the federal ledger.&nbsp;<h2>EDUCATION</h2>Having secured unified GOP control of government,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-won-presidency-what-does-mean-education" target="_blank">Trump’s sweeping vision</a>&nbsp;to “save American education” could set the stage for significant changes in U.S. education policy.The president-elect has vowed to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to move education “back to the states.” States and local governments bear much of the responsibility for funding K-12 schools, but the Department of Education handles Pell Grants for college students who demonstrate financial need and enforces civil rights cases, among other things.Congress going along with plans to eliminate the department could have profound impacts on the billions of dollars in funding the agency provides for low-income K-12 schools, special education and federal student aid.Trump also vowed to roll back updated Title IX regulations on his first day back in office.President Joe Biden unveiled the final rule for Title IX in April, which strengthens federal protections for LGBTQ+ students and&nbsp;“protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing" target="_blank">Education Department</a>.GOP members on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have criticized the new Title IX rules and are likely to fall in step with Trump’s wishes to roll back the regulations.Trump has also criticized the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts, dubbing them “not even legal.” He could discontinue the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan known as Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE. The plan is currently on pause due to legal challenges from Republican-led states.Last year, Senate Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/attempt-kill-biden-student-debt-relief-plan-tied-income-fails-us-senate" target="_blank">tried to strike down the rule.</a>Like Trump, Republicans have focused on “parental rights” in education. House Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-bill-establishing-federal-parental-bill-rights-passed-us-house" target="_blank">passed their own bill</a>&nbsp;on the issue last year.Republicans are likely to continue scrutinizing higher education institutions from diversity initiatives to college students protesting the war in Gaza.A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-anti-woke-bill-aimed-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-higher-ed%C2%A0" target="_blank">GOP measure</a>&nbsp;that would bar accrediting organizations from requiring colleges and universities to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies as a condition of accreditation passed the House in September.Shauneen Miranda and Ashley Murray contributed to this report.&nbsp;&nbsp;

How will Republicans handle 7 key issues with their trifecta control of Washington?

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Two Missouri police officers were indicted separately this week and accused of similar crimes — pulling over women and searching their phones to find nude photos.

The indictments of former Missouri State Highway Patrol officer David McKnight on Tuesday and former Florissant, Missouri, officer Julian Alcala on Wednesday were unrelated, but the indictments spelled out similar allegations. Both men face federal charges accusing them of depriving the rights of several women, and destroying evidence.

McKnight, 39, victimized nine women between September 2023 and Aug. 19, his indictment said. Typically, according to the indictment, he would pull over a woman for a traffic violation and tell her he needed to look at her phone to either verify identity or confirm insurance coverage.

McKnight searched the phones and used his own phone to photograph nude pictures he found, the indictment said.

McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned five days later, patrol Capt. Scott White said in an email.

White declined to discuss McKnight's case but said that patrol employees “are held to high standards and if it is determined that those standards were not met, they are held accountable.”

McKnight pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Thursday. Messages were left Friday with his lawyer.

Alcala, 29, was accused of crimes involving 20 women between Feb. 6 and May 18. Five of the alleged crimes happened on the same day.

Alcala confiscated phones from women under the auspices of confirming insurance coverage and vehicle registration, the indictment said. Like McKnight, he was accused of searching the phones for nude photos, then using his own phone to take pictures.

The indictment said Alcala also found a video on one victim's phone and texted the video to his own phone.

Alcala doesn't yet have a listed attorney. No phone listing for him could be found. He also is named in four lawsuits filed against him and the city of Florissant, a St. Louis suburb.

Alcala had been with the Florissant department since January 2023. He resigned in June amid an FBI investigation.

“We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers," Florissant police said in a statement. “We recognize the gravity of this breach of trust and its impact on our community.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731693869313.png" alt="McKnight New Madrid County" />
 <figcaption>McKnight New Madrid County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Two Missouri police officers were indicted separately this week and accused of similar crimes — pulling over women and searching their phones to find nude photos.The indictments of former Missouri State Highway Patrol officer David McKnight on Tuesday and former Florissant, Missouri, officer Julian Alcala on Wednesday were unrelated, but the indictments spelled out similar allegations. Both men face federal charges accusing them of depriving the rights of several women, and destroying evidence.McKnight, 39, victimized nine women between September 2023 and Aug. 19, his indictment said. Typically, according to the indictment, he would pull over a woman for a traffic violation and tell her he needed to look at her phone to either verify identity or confirm insurance coverage.McKnight searched the phones and used his own phone to photograph nude pictures he found, the indictment said.McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned five days later, patrol Capt. Scott White said in an email.White declined to discuss McKnight's case but said that patrol employees “are held to high standards and if it is determined that those standards were not met, they are held accountable.”McKnight pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Thursday. Messages were left Friday with his lawyer.Alcala, 29, was accused of crimes involving 20 women between Feb. 6 and May 18. Five of the alleged crimes happened on the same day.Alcala confiscated phones from women under the auspices of confirming insurance coverage and vehicle registration, the indictment said. Like McKnight, he was accused of searching the phones for nude photos, then using his own phone to take pictures.The indictment said Alcala also found a video on one victim's phone and texted the video to his own phone.Alcala doesn't yet have a listed attorney. No phone listing for him could be found. He also is named in four lawsuits filed against him and the city of Florissant, a St. Louis suburb.Alcala had been with the Florissant department since January 2023. He resigned in June amid an FBI investigation.“We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers," Florissant police said in a statement. “We recognize the gravity of this breach of trust and its impact on our community.”

Officers accused of pulling over women, searching phones for nude pictures

TOPEKA — A federal judge granted a request to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/11/11/topeka-man-who-participated-in-jan-6-attack-requests-trial-delay-after-trump-victory/">delay the trial</a>&nbsp;of a Topeka man who blocked officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building.&nbsp;

William Pope, who is representing himself in the case charging him with federal crimes in connection with his actions on Jan. 6, requested a trial delay on Nov. 8, citing President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and concerns over a fair jury.&nbsp;

Trump promised throughout his third presidential campaign to pardon those criminally charged Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol if he were to be reelected. Pope was one of many defendants pursuing case changes following Trump’s win.&nbsp;

Judge&nbsp;Rudolph Contreras for the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was sympathetic to Pope’s arguments during a Thursday hearing, which culminated in Contreras granting Pope’s motion to delay the trial.&nbsp;

Contreras said he’d been considering motions like Pope’s on a case-by-case basis,&nbsp;according to an official transcript of the Thursday hearing.

In his original motion, Pope argued his jury “was the entire American public, and they voted for a mandate to set me free.” He also expressed concerns that his case wouldn’t be heard by a fair jury because the vast majority of D.C. residents voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Contreras said he was focused on the conservation of resources for the case’s parties, the court and any potential jurors or witnesses, according to the transcript.

“I don’t want them to bring in 70 people or so just to have it go for naught, which there’s a real possibility of,” Contreras said. “Of course, it’s speculative, but there is a real possibility of that happening.”

Federal prosecutors opposed any delay. Benet Kearney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said during Thursday’s hearing that the case could be efficiently tried if it proceeded as scheduled. Instead, it was Pope’s “insistence of going down, kind of, a side rabbit hole that has the potential to drag this out,” Benet said.

“And so this is a manufactured situation by the defendant, you know?” she said.&nbsp;

Pope’s case has dragged on since he was indicted in February 2021, jailed in Shawnee County that same month and released on his own recognizance in early March 2021. His July 2024 trial date was delayed to weigh the possible impacts of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that threw out charges against a former Pennsylvania police officer who also participated in the Jan. 6 attack.

The parties are scheduled to meet again in December to set a future trial date.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613161028525.png" alt="&nbsp;Will Pope, in red, holds a flag inside the Senate Carriage Entrance on the east side of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Pope ran for the Topeka City Council in 2018. (Screen capture from Jayden X video on YouTube)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Will Pope, in red, holds a flag inside the Senate Carriage Entrance on the east side of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Pope ran for the Topeka City Council in 2018. (Screen capture from Jayden X video on YouTube)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A federal judge granted a request to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/11/11/topeka-man-who-participated-in-jan-6-attack-requests-trial-delay-after-trump-victory/">delay the trial</a>&nbsp;of a Topeka man who blocked officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building.&nbsp;William Pope, who is representing himself in the case charging him with federal crimes in connection with his actions on Jan. 6, requested a trial delay on Nov. 8, citing President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and concerns over a fair jury.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613160278542.png" alt="Pope photo Shawnee Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Pope photo Shawnee Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>Trump promised throughout his third presidential campaign to pardon those criminally charged Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol if he were to be reelected. Pope was one of many defendants pursuing case changes following Trump’s win.&nbsp;Judge&nbsp;Rudolph Contreras for the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was sympathetic to Pope’s arguments during a Thursday hearing, which culminated in Contreras granting Pope’s motion to delay the trial.&nbsp;A new trial date was not set.Contreras said he’d been considering motions like Pope’s on a case-by-case basis,&nbsp;according to an official transcript of the Thursday hearing.In his original motion, Pope argued his jury “was the entire American public, and they voted for a mandate to set me free.” He also expressed concerns that his case wouldn’t be heard by a fair jury because the vast majority of D.C. residents voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.Contreras said he was focused on the conservation of resources for the case’s parties, the court and any potential jurors or witnesses, according to the transcript.“I don’t want them to bring in 70 people or so just to have it go for naught, which there’s a real possibility of,” Contreras said. “Of course, it’s speculative, but there is a real possibility of that happening.”Federal prosecutors opposed any delay. Benet Kearney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said during Thursday’s hearing that the case could be efficiently tried if it proceeded as scheduled. Instead, it was Pope’s “insistence of going down, kind of, a side rabbit hole that has the potential to drag this out,” Benet said.“And so this is a manufactured situation by the defendant, you know?” she said.&nbsp;Pope’s case has dragged on since he was indicted in February 2021, jailed in Shawnee County that same month and released on his own recognizance in early March 2021. His July 2024 trial date was delayed to weigh the possible impacts of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that threw out charges against a former Pennsylvania police officer who also participated in the Jan. 6 attack.The parties are scheduled to meet again in December to set a future trial date.

Judge delays trial for Kansas man who participated in Jan. 6 attack

President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is filling key posts in his second administration, and it's shaping up much differently than his first. He's prioritizing loyalists for top jobs.

Trump was bruised and hampered by internal squabbles during his initial term in office. Now he appears focused on remaking the federal government in his own image. Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation battles even with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate.

Here's a look at whom he has selected so far.

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-marco-rubio-secretary-of-state-25664371f80dcf3332838352165e4d48">named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;to be secretary of state, making the critic-turned-ally his choice for top diplomat.

Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.

The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator once called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations.

Trump said Wednesday he will nominate Florida Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/matt-gaetz">Matt Gaetz</a>&nbsp;to serve as his attorney general, naming a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor.

In selecting Gaetz, 42, Trump passed over some of the more established lawyers whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and Restore Americans' badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump said in a statement.

Gaetz resigned from Congress Wednesday night. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old, though that probe effectively ended when he resigned. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Tulsi Gabbard

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gabbard-director-national-intelligence-466dfdfe2f949ea20bc2f4ef13e21438">has been tapped by Trump</a>&nbsp;to be director of national intelligence, another example of Trump prizing loyalty over experience.

Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall, and she's been accused of echoing Russian propaganda.

“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement.

Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.

Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox &amp; Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014. He developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011. He has two Bronze Stars. However,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-defense-secretary-pentagon-2d8030921ecef933778cf92afd40ec72">Hegseth lacks</a>&nbsp;senior military and national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.

Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year.

Noem is a well-known conservative who used her two terms leading South Dakota to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.