As President-elect Donald Trump moves to set up a more forceful presidency than in his first term, he is choosing loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to skip over Senate confirmations for even some of the most powerful positions in U.S. government.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give President-elect Donald Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices are provoking backlash from the two Illinois Democrats whose positions give them power to take part in approving, or denying, Cabinet appointments.

Trump also announced that he had tapped Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state. And he selected Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as his director of national intelligence.

“We will not bend or break,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years but we will not be stopped and we will not go back.”

Just a week after former President Donald Trump’s resounding election victory, a Manhattan judge is poised to decide whether to uphold the hush money verdict or dismiss it because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July that gave presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

According to an exit poll conducted by NBC, 46% of Latinos voted for Trump in 10 key states, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. Historically, Trump surpassed former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, which in turn resulted in the worst showing among Latinos for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years.

Illinois residents are preparing for President-elect Donald Trump to make good on his campaign promises and dramatically reshape what the demographic landscape looks like in a state that is home to more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a news conference on Thursday signaled that Democratic leaders are discussing what, if any, actions the state may take to gird itself against the future Trump administration.

The decisive defeat leaves Democrats to pick up the pieces and figure out a path forward for their party after notching across the board defeats in the expected swing states. Both Republicans and Democrats in Chicago on Wednesday analyzed the results of the election and what it might say about the future of the country. 

Former President Donald Trump ran a campaign with messages on mass deportation, higher tariffs and anti-transgender rhetoric that drew in swaths of voters from the coveted swing states needed to secure the win.

The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda. It would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.

A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 general election. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates on local, state and national races.