Friday Briefing

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Pam Bondi to be attorney general after Matt Gaetz, his first choice, withdrew from consideration. Credit…Julia Nikhinson/Associated Press

Trump announced a new pick for attorney general

Hours after Matt Gaetz abruptly withdrew from consideration as attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, for the role.

Bondi served on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment, and she oversaw the filing of voting-related lawsuits in battleground states during his recent campaign. She currently leads the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank that has kept close ties to Trump’s transition team.

Trump has been eager to install a loyal ally to head the Justice Department, which he has suggested he wants to run more as a legal extension of his White House. The president-elect has said he intends to nominate three members of his criminal defense team to top roles in the Justice Department.

More on Trump

• Concerns over Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defense secretary, grew when a newly released police report provided graphic details about a 2017 sexual assault accusation.

• Before managing Trump’s campaign, Susie Wiles represented a tobacco company and a mining project, among other clients. Here’s a look at her career.

• Trump promised to get rid of Biden-era emissions rules meant to get U.S. automakers to produce more E.V.s. Now, manufacturers are begging him to keep them.

• Here’s the latest on the next U.S. administration and a list of Trump’s cabinet picks so far.

Putin said Russia hit Ukraine with a new missile

President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia had launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s recent strike inside Russia using American and British weapons.