Donald Trump has won the 2024 US election and will be president for a second time from early next year. Lots of you had questions and we asked a BBC expert to answer them.

Fundamental Overview

Bitcoin is now up almost 30% since the election day as the bullish momentum in the cryptocurrency exploded following Trump’s victory. This shouldn’t be surprising given that Trump vowed to make the US the crypto capital of the planet.

Moreover, it looks like the US economy continues not only to do well but also re-accelerating amid the Fed’s easing and the expectations of expansionary fiscal policies like tax cuts and deregulation.

Bitcoin, alongside Dogecoin and stocks like Tesla and Coinbase, have been the top beneficiaries of Trump’s victory given their direct connection to Trump. For now, there’s no real top in sight as we would likely need a contractionary monetary policy or a notable slowdown in the economy.

The risk going forward is the Fed. If the central bank starts to mention the need of more tightening, then we could see some big corrections in all risk assets. That day though looks to be at least a couple of months away for now.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can see that Bitcoin is now trading near the 90K level. The 100K level is the natural target, something that has been talked about a lot. That doesn’t mean it cannot go any higher than that though. For now, it’s a momentum play and despite the obvious nervousness one can get seeing the euphoria in the air, there’s no negative catalyst in sight that could reverse the trend.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can see that we have an upward trendline defining the current bullish momentum. That’s now far away from the current price and it’s unlikely that we will see a pullback into it in the near term unless we get a very hot US CPI report tomorrow.

If we do get there though, the buyers will likely lean on it to position for a rally into new highs, while the sellers will look for a break lower to increase the bearish bets into the next major trendline around the 75K level.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can see that we have another minor upward trendline defining the bullish momentum on this timeframe. The buyers will likely keep on leaning on it to position for further upside, while the sellers will look for a break lower to increase the bearish bets into the next trendline.

More aggressive buyers, might pile in already on the break of the recent high around the 90K level targeting the 100K level. The red lines define the average daily range for today.

Upcoming Catalysts

This week is a bit empty on the data front with the most important releases scheduled for the latter part of the week. Tomorrow, we have the US CPI report. On Thursday, we get the latest US Jobless Claims figures. On Friday, we conclude the week with the US Retail Sales data.

What we know so far

As of 7:00 a.m. UTC, most data providers, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN, projected that Donald Trump would become the next president of the United States. However, even as Trump’s victory looks almost guaranteed at this point, it is the balance of power in the U.S. Congress that will determine how successfully and effectively the next president will be able to govern.

So far, Republicans have won an extra seat in the Senate, but neither of the parties has a clear advantage in the battle for the House of Representatives. Overall, the counting of votes is still at a relatively early stage, and it could be hours or even days before a final outcome is known. The contest will come down to seven swing states, only three of which (North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania) have been most likely won by Trump so far. Still, judging by the latest market reaction, it appears reasonable to infer that global investors are pricing in a decisive victory by Donald Trump.

What has been the impact so far

As of 7:00 a.m. UTC, the global markets were positioned for Donald Trump’s victory. U.S. Treasury yields and U.S. stock benchmark indices rallied sharply, pushing the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) higher. Given that, it is no wonder other major fiat currencies plunged, with EURUSD and GBPUSD down 1.82% and 1.32%, respectively, while bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $75,410, as per Coinbase.

'Such a dramatic shift in market sentiment is explained by Trump’s official policies, or more precisely by the possible effect these policies are likely to have,' says Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. 'Generally, it all boils down to Trump's tax, immigration, and trade policies, which differ greatly from what Harris proposed. The market perceives them as inflationary, which is why we are seeing a bullish impact in the U.S. dollar.'

The United States controls the world's primary reserve currency, the U.S. dollar, so only a few countries will not feel the effect of the latest U.S. presidential and congressional elections. Major currencies are already experiencing the initial impact. 'Major currencies are falling predominantly because the U.S. dollar is rising, but there is also a fear that Trump's policy on tariffs may hit their domestic economies,' Kar said.

Indeed, the primary reason for such a dramatic decline in EURUSD, for example, is that investors fear that Trump's policies on immigration and taxes will spur inflation and force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to tighten its monetary policy. This may expand the interest rate differential between the two economies, favouring the greenback. In addition, Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on certain European goods like autos and chemicals. According to some analysts, Trump's proposed 10% universal tariff on all U.S. imports may erode Europe's GDP by up to 1.5% or about €260bn.

A similar kind of impact may await the United Kingdom, where Trump's blanket tariffs would hit billions of pounds of U.K. automotive, pharmaceutical, and liquor exports. It stands to logic that GBPUSD was down more than 1.3% today.

For similar reasons, CNYUSD (Chinese renminbi / U.S. dollar spot rate) hit a 3-month high. 'For the Chinese economy, the risks are even greater, as Trump promised to impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods. On top of that, under his administration, tensions are likely to grow over the CNYUSD exchange rate,' comments Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. Although the currency policy of the future Trump Administration is unclear, in his interview with Bloomberg, he had this to say: ‘We have a big currency problem because the depth of the currency now in terms of strong dollar / weak yen, weak yuan, is massive.

Interestingly, the impact on the gold market has been relatively muted so far. As of 7:00 a.m. UTC, XAUUSD was down 1.2%, but historically, it is not a significant swing, especially given how much the U.S. dollar has strengthened. 'Because Trump's victory appears to be decisive, it lowers the probability of social tensions in the U.S., which is not a minor factor considering how fractious U.S. politics has become lately. Thus, XAUUSD is selling off, but I think there are bullish risks ahead as relations between China and the U.S. turn bitter,' comments Kar Yong Ang.

Indeed, Donald Trump will likely heighten the Sino-U.S. trade tensions, which is a positive factor for gold in general. In addition, Trump's massive tax cuts will likely expand the U.S. fiscal deficit and may turn some strategic investors away from the U.S. dollar and into gold and bitcoin. In fact, BTCUSD hit a new all-time high on the news of Trump's potential victory. He is seen as more actively supportive of cryptocurrencies than Harris.

In the short term, all the bullish dollar trades may temporarily reverse as traders buy the dips in EURUSD and GBPUSD in hope of a technical rebound. In the long term, however, the bearish pressure on these pairs will likely persist.

About Octa

Octa is an international broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and a variety of services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools.

The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including the improvement of educational infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities.

Since its foundation, Octa has won more than 70 awards, including the ‘Best Forex Broker 2023’ award from AllForexRating and the ‘Best Mobile Trading Platform 2024’ award from Global Brand Magazine.

Following his win in Pennsylvania and earlier victories in other key battleground states in Georgia and North Carolina, Republican candidate Donald Trump took to the stage shortly after in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump is set to become the 47th President of the United States (US) as he took an early victory lap on stage and expressed gratitude to his family, friends and team. Interestingly, alongside Grover Cleveland – the first Democrat elected following the Civil War – Trump is the second president to serve for a second non-consecutive term for four years.

In a surprising turn, Trump’s victory speech was relatively subdued; no threats of tariffs were mentioned, and he did not refer to his opponent, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who postponed her scheduled speech at Howard University. ‘Winning the popular vote was very nice’, Trump said in his speech, adding: ‘America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate; we have taken back control of the Senate’.

Several members of Trump’s team and friends were invited to speak on stage. His running mate, JD Vance of Ohio, thanked Trump for allowing him to ‘join you on this incredible journey’. Vance added, ‘I think we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America’.

Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), also addressed the nation, stating, ‘Nobody deserves this more than him [Trump]’. He remarked that Trump ‘is the most resilient man I have ever met’.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, also received significant praise from Trump, voicing his appreciation and calling Musk a ‘super genius’, emphasising that ‘we have to protect our geniuses’. Musk has been vocal in his support for Trump and reportedly invested over US$130 million in his campaign.

Foreign leaders applauded Trump for his victory. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Trump and said he looks forward to collaborating with Trump in the years ahead. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the platform X to convey his wishes as well, emphasising his desire to strengthen the partnership between the two countries. Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Trump's win as ‘history's greatest comeback’ in his post on X.

What Does Donald Trump’s Victory Mean for the US?

Donald Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January 2025 at the US Capitol building in Washington, DC. Americans can expect tax cuts, immigration controls and tariffs.

A Trump presidency will also likely mean lower taxes, a move with plans for widespread changes to taxation, which should increase spending and spur sentiment, at least in the near term.

In his own words, Donald Trump’s second term is expected to be ‘nasty a little bit at times, and maybe at the beginning in particular’. Trump has promised an aggressive approach towards illegal immigration in the US, which could include plans of mass deportation of undocumented migrants, noting that he ‘will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out’.

Trade tariffs are another one of Trump’s policies that the US economy can expect, as he is expected to increase the protectionist policies he introduced in his first term. However, as noted, he failed to address this in his victory speech today.

Another important issue that Trump and the team must address is the debt ceiling (or debt limit), which is the maximum amount of money the US Treasury can borrow to pay its debt obligations. You may recall that the ‘statutory debt ceiling’ was suspended in early January and is due to be reinstated on 1 January 2025. This may involve the Treasury drawing on its existing cash to fulfil its short-term obligations until another suspension of the debt limit is imposed or the debt ceiling is further increased.

Trump Trade is Alive and Kicking

Markets responded as expected, reigniting the Trump Trade, with the US dollar (USD), US Treasury yields, US equities and digital currencies all catching a strong bid.

Despite moderately fading session highs, the US Dollar Index is up 1.5%, which could eventually see the Index aim for June peaks at around 106.13, closely followed by 106.52, the high for the year. US Treasury yields remain underpinned, with the benchmark 10-year yield holding near session highs around 4.42% (up 3.5%).

While commodities experienced a selloff, we have seen a modest recovery unfold, drawing spot gold (XAU/USD) and WTI oil off session lows. In the crypto space, versus the USD, Bitcoin clocked a fresh record high of US$75,415 (up 6.4%), and Ethereum is up nearly 9.0% and testing the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle, pencilled in from US$2,062 and US$2,790.

Elections are supposed to clarify policy uncertainties, and on the economic front, Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris has done just that. All three major US stock indices and US Treasury yields jumped after Nov 5, reflecting expectations of both strong economic growth and soaring debt and inflation.

Under President Donald Trump, the trajectory of US-Thai-Asean relations will be defined by three factors -- rising trade imbalances, intensifying US-China rivalry and Asean's long-term aspirations under its Community Vision 2045. Donald Trump's "America First" policies will impose many challenges.

US President-elect Donald Trump has named Elon Musk to a role aimed at creating a more efficient government, handing even more influence to the world’s richest man who donated millions of dollars to helping Trump get elected.

Sen. Sanders: “If Trump wins, the struggle—the global struggle—against climate change is over. Because if the largest economy in the world, the United States, pulls back, so will China, so will Europe.”

What’s at stake for climate policy? ‘Who the hell cares,’ Trump says. The presidential race features unusually sharp contrasts by the candidates on whether to address rising temperatures. By Benjamin Storrow, Scott Waldman, Adam Aton Excerpt: In Phoenix, temperatures this year spent 70 days over 110 degrees. Hurricanes lashed the Southeast, with back-to-back storms killing more […]

Climate Depot's Marc Morano: "Congratulations to President Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance. Finally, US leadership has returned to fight the international climate agenda. The U.S. will finally have a president back in the Oval Office who will be pro-science, pro-environment, and fight the demented net zero climate agenda, the Green New Deal, and the UN climate treaty process.

President Trump will also be able to face off against the ridiculous, unsustainable, and unscientific claims that emanate from our most esteemed institutions. America will once again be a beacon of scientific realism regarding climate change and energy policy. Bravo!"  

Climate hoaxers are not taking things well. Here is bitter fake Nobelist @michaelemann. pic.twitter.com/iAmVwU3FDk — Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) November 6, 2024

https://grist.org/elections/the-massive-consequences-trumps-re-election-could-have-on-climate-change/ By Tik Root With control of the White House and the Senate, Republicans are poised to upend U.S. climate policy. Donald J. Trump will once again be president of the United States. The Associated Press called the race for Trump early Wednesday morning, ending one of the costliest and most turbulent campaign cycles in […]

# https://www.foxnews.com/world/climate-activists-spray-us-embassy-london-orange-paint-after-trump-reelection-victory By Stephen Sorace Fox News Just Stop Oil members, ages 25 and 72, arrested in London after stunt Climate activists in the United Kingdom wasted no time responding to President-elect Trump’s re-election win on Wednesday, spraying orange paint on a section of the U.S. embassy in London in protest. Two members of the environmental group Just Stop Oil covered the […]

Trump victory a ‘gut punch’ to US climate action By Benjamin Storrow, Corbin Hiar The president-elect vowed to promote fossil fuels, weaken pollution regulations and reverse Biden climate efforts. President-elect Donald Trump won a second term Wednesday morning after promising to unleash fossil fuel development, slash pollution regulations and dismantle President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. Climate […]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/06/trumps-election-victory-sparks-dismay-among-climate-community.html By Sam Meredith – CNBC Donald Trump’s election victory on Wednesday sparked a palpable sense of dismay among the climate community. The 78-year-old, who has called the climate crisis “one of the great scams”, has pledged to ramp-up fossil fuel production, pare back outgoing President Joe Biden’s emissions-limiting regulations and pull the country out […]

https://www.politico.eu/article/climate-world-diplomats-donald-trump-victory-clean-energy-fossil-fuels-greenhouse-emissions/ By Karl Mathiesen, Sara Schonhardt and Zia Weise Green stocks wobble as officials rush to respond and activists brace for the unknown. ‘It’s going to suck,’ one said. Their worst nightmare is now a burning reality. Climate diplomats and top-ranking activists on Wednesday struggled to project calm as it became inevitable: Donald Trump is returning to the White […]

https://www.axios.com/2024/11/06/trump-victory-sweeping-climate-consequences By Andrew Freedman Former President Donald Trump‘s reelection threatens to worsen global climate change by altering the trajectory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, eroding federal climate research and forecasting, and abdicating America’s leadership role in global climate negotiations. Why it matters: His return to the White House comes at a time when climate scientists have warned […]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/06/trump-climate-change-environment-threat Election of a ‘climate denier’ to US presidency poses ‘major threat to the planet’, environmentalists say By Oliver Milman and Ajit Niranjan Donald Trump’s new term as US president poses a grave threat to the planet if it blows up the international effort to curb dangerous global heating, stunned climate experts have warned in the wake […]

Al Gore, Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project on Trump winning: “In a moment such as this, it is important to remember that all major reform efforts, from civil rights to the climate movement, suffer dark days. And this is surely one.” Via Gore’s email list on November 6, 2024  

Climate Depot note: I will be on the ground again this year attending the UN climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan. Morano will be there for the week of November 10th through 15 in Baku, following the UN’s every effort to squelch your freedom and continue the dark path of net-zero rationing of energy, food, freedom of […]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/11/09/trump-planning-withdraw-from-paris-climate-agreement/ Donald Trump is preparing to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement when he returns to office in January… # NY Post: Trump plans to withdraw US from Paris climate pact, open some national monuments to drilling: report By Victor Nava President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has prepared executive orders and proclamations that would withdraw […]

CNN on Trump's victory: A U-turn on US climate policy could be disastrous for the planet, as it raises the risk of emulation. When America does something on the world stage, at least some countries tend to follow. “Paris is one of those agreements where you need a critical mass of economic powers and emitters, past and present, to actually be able to address this challenge,” said Oli Brown, an associate fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House. ... 

“And it will allow big emitters to not take the kind of ambitious action that’s needed, because they don’t want to be at a competitive disadvantage to the US, if the US is unburdened by any sense of collective responsibility,” he told CNN. ... 

But the real sting is, that as the world’s biggest economy, the US has more power than any other country to fund climate change action in the developing world. Even if it stays in the Paris Agreement, an “America First” Trump administration is unlikely to be more generous with grants and loans for other countries’ green transition. That alone sets the talks up for failure — their main aim was to agree to a transfer $1 trillion a year from wealthy countries and institutions to help developing nations build clean energy systems and to adapt to worsening extreme weather, like heat waves, floods, drought, storms and wildfires.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-trade-worries-cloud-cop29-climate-summit-baku-2024-11-11/ By Valerie Volcovici and Nailia Bagirova Two-week COP29 climate summit opens in Azerbaijan Delegates fret over U.S. commitment after Trump elected China pushes for trade, tariff discussions Biden, Chinese and European presidents set to stay away BAKU, Nov 11 (Reuters) – The annual U.N. climate summit began on Monday with some prominent leaders planning to skip the […]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/11/first-edition-cop29-climate-crisis-donald-trump US election | Donald Trump has been declared the winner in Arizona, completing the Republicans’ clean sweep of the so-called swing states and rubbing salt in Democrats’ wounds as it was announced that the president-elect is scheduled to meet with Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the presidential handover. Trump reportedly spoke on the […]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-taps-former-new-york-congressman-lee-zeldin-lead-epa By Greg Wehner Fox NewsPublished November 11, 2024 3:48pm EST Through the EPA, we can pursue energy dominance, Lee Zeldin saysFormer GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., speaks to ‘The Story’ after being asked to join the incoming Trump administration as EPA administrator. Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin has been picked to join President-elect […]

Fox and Friends – Fox News Channel – Broadcast November 11, 2024 Partial Transcript: Morano: “When Donald Trump won the first time in 2016, their attitude was: ‘We’re going to hold this off — this is an anomaly. We have a net zero climate agenda.’ Fast forward eight years later to 2024, and that entire […]

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/nov/11/light-horizon-american-energy-allies-europe/ By Linnea Lueken – Monday, November 11, 2024 President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding victory may spell doom for the anti-freedom, anti-prosperity international movement that is the push for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. It is difficult to put into words the bullet we dodged regarding a Kamala Harris presidency and the energy policy that would likely have come […]

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/left-thought-voters-loved-climate-agenda-trumps-victory-suggests-its-not By Kevin Killough Kamala Harris hoped to secure the White House with a platform that vaguely appeared moderate on one hand, while cozying up to radical climate activists on the other. Donald Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” something Democrats hammered the Republican candidate on for years, and promised voters America would “drill, baby, drill” if […]

Letter-writers take opposing sides on the impact of Tuesday's presidential election.

Bond investors have sent Treasury yields significantly higher in recent weeks even as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates.

Gov. Ron DeSantis drew fire from former President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for his battle with Disney.

Economic and social issues were more important for many voters. Interviews with Osceola County voters of Puerto Rican heritage show the trend.

While strong rhetoric on the campaign trail can cause these big swings, not all of the promises turn into actual policy.

Trump tried to ban the social media platform the last time he was in the White House.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take a slew of executive actions on his first day in the White House to ramp up immigration enforcement and roll back President Joe Biden’s flagship legal entry programs, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The executive actions would give federal immigration officers more latitude to arrest people with no criminal records, surge troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall, the sources said.

Trump also is expected to end Biden’s humanitarian programs that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter legally in recent years and could encourage those with expired statuses to leave voluntarily, according to the sources who declined to be identified.

“All of these should be on the table,” said Mark Morgan, an immigration official in Trump’s first term who said he did not speak for the Trump transition team.

Trump’s early executive actions would kickstart his immigration agenda, which includes a promise to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated there were 11 million immigrants without legal status in 2022, a figure that may have increased. Some cities that received migrants including New York, Chicago and Denver struggled to house and aid them.

Trump, a Republican, defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in last week’s presidential election. He made claims that the Biden administration allowed high levels of illegal immigration a focus of his campaign.

Trump’s transition effort remains in its early stages and plans could change before his inauguration on Jan. 20. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Migrant arrests reached a record during Biden’s presidency, straining U.S. border enforcement. But illegal crossings fell dramatically this year as Biden instituted new border restrictions and Mexico stepped up enforcement.

Trump aims to drive illegal crossings even lower and use a whole-of-government approach to arrest, detain and deport large numbers of people.

Trump announced on Sunday night that former hardline U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Tom Homan would serve as a White House “border czar” overseeing security and immigration enforcement.

Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday appeared to confirm that Stephen Miller, architect of Trump’s restrictive first-term immigration agenda, would return as deputy chief of staff for policy, assuring the issue will remain central.

Trump’s aggressive agenda will likely encounter legal challenges from states governed by Democrats, the American Civil Liberties Union and pro-immigration advocates.

Day one takes shape

One of Trump’s Day One executive actions is expected to be an order on so-called interior enforcement, arresting and detaining immigrants in the U.S. illegally, the sources said.

Trump intends to scrap Biden administration guidance that prioritized people with serious criminal records for deportation and limited enforcement against non-criminals, they said.

The Trump order would call for deportations to prioritize people charged with felonies and people who have exhausted their legal avenues to remain, but would not restrict officers from picking up other potentially deportable immigrants.

More than 1 million immigrants in the U.S. have exhausted their legal options and been ordered deported, according to the pro-immigration American Immigration Council.

Homan told Fox News on Monday these people would be a priority. “A federal judge said, ‘You must go home,’ and they didn’t,” Homan said.

Certain groups – such as international students who support Palestinian militant group Hamas and have violated the terms of their student visas—could also be listed as a priority, two of the sources said.

ICE could use military planes in deportations and seek help from other government agencies to transport deportees, one source said. “All options are on the table,” the source said.

Another order would deal with border security, the two sources said. Trump intends to send National Guard troops to the border and declare illegal immigration a national emergency to unlock funds for border wall construction, the sources said.

Wall construction in Arizona—where Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has opposed Republican enforcement efforts—could be a priority, two sources said.

Ending Biden programs

Trump plans to end Biden’s temporary humanitarian “parole” programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter legally and access work permits, the sources said.

The programs include an initiative for certain migrants with U.S. sponsors and another that allows migrants in Mexico to use an app to schedule border appointments.

People in the U.S. with expired parole status who leave voluntarily could be allowed to apply for legal admission without penalties, the sources said.

Trump is also expected to talk with Mexico about reinstating his “Remain in Mexico” program which required non-Mexican asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their U.S. cases were decided.

—Ted Hesson, Reuters

Donald Trump has yet to take office as president for a second time, but vulnerable groups of Americans are already responding to his election victory.

As mental health appointments have surged in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, so have cries for help from LGBTQ+ youth. The day after the election, the Trevor Project, a nonprofit suicide prevention program for LGBTQ+ youth, saw a 700% increase in requests for its crisis services, according to data shared with Fast Company. (The Trevor Project also created a guide for LGBTQ+ youth to find and build community after the election.)

“The increases in volume that we have experienced across our lines indicate that this election is taking a toll on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people in a major way,” said Becca Nordeen, the group’s SVP of crisis intervention. “It’s clear that this is a challenging moment for many LGBTQ+ young people. But, we want to remind everyone that no matter what they are feeling right now, we can – and we will – get through this together.”

As Fast Company reported last week, the election also sparked a surge in appointments for mental healthcare services, according to data from Zocdoc.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to “pursue energy dominance” to “make the United States the artificial intelligence capital of the world,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

Looking forward to getting straight to work as part of President Trump's Cabinet to unleash US energy dominance, make America the AI capital of the world, bring American auto jobs back home, and so much more. pic.twitter.com/zGGLIRMrd6

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) November 12, 2024

Trump announced Monday that he would nominate former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to helm the nation’s top environmental agency, which regulates emissions, when he takes office in January. During Trump’s third presidential campaign, he spoke often of deregulating industries and ensuring environmental protections aren’t hampering businesses.

“[Zeldin] will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, when announcing the appointment.

Trump’s last go-round in office had wide impacts on the environment. He picked a coal lobbyist to lead the EPA, rolled back more than 100 environmental protections, and exited the Paris climate accord.

It now appears that making sure AI and its energy-sucking data centers won’t be held back are top of mind for the incoming leader. Artificial intelligence is notorious for requiring massive compute to train systems. That, in turn, increases carbon emissions. Goldman Sachs Research estimated in May that data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030 as the AI revolution gathers steam and efficiency gains wane.

The Biden administration has also embraced artificial intelligence. The Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security conducted AI pilots to address vulnerabilities in government networks, the Department of Justice and Department of Education worked to combat AI-generated image-based sexual abuse, and the administration issued a first-ever National Security Memorandum on AI “to ensure the United States leads the world’s development of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.”

While Donald Trump has announced a few people who will be part of his new administration, when it comes to Cabinet appointees, things appear to be ramping up fast. Trump has named people to several roles, including chief of staff and border czar, and media reports in the past 24 hours have leaked a number of potential Cabinet appointments–with more to come.

On Monday night, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was expected to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State—the first of the 15 Cabinet posts to be filled. And on Tuesday South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was tapped to head Homeland Security. Trump also confirmed that former Rep. Lee Zeldin would be his EPA administrator and that John Ratcliffe, the one-time director of National Intelligence during the final year of Trump’s first term and a former congressman who is unflinchingly loyal to Trump, is his pick to lead the CIA. Trump also surprised many with his pick of Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary.

The job of Cabinet secretaries is to advise the president on issues that are related to their office—and whoever fills those must first be confirmed by the Senate . . . at least, for now. Trump is already calling on the Republican-controlled Senate to change those rules and let him appoint nominees without a Senate vote.

Nominees for Cabinet positions are normally trusted advisors, experts in their field, and sometimes major donors. Tesla CEO and Trump backer Elon Musk also may or may not be involved: He recently put out a call on X saying it “would be interesting to hear recommendations for roles in the new administration for consideration by the President.”

Whether those recommendations will carry any weight is, of course, unknown, but given how close Musk and Trump are now—and Trump’s fondness for social media feedback—it can’t be discounted entirely.

That said, here are some of the leading and potential candidates for select Cabinet posts:

Attorney General

Senator Mike Lee: Considered by some as the leading candidate, the Utah Senator aided efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He has also spread conspiracy theories about the January 6 attack on the Capitol. That’s a big turnaround from 2016, when he did not vote for Trump.

Jeffrey Clark: Known best as the assistant Attorney General who pressured officials in the Justice Department to overturn Trump’s loss in 2020, Clark is currently under indictment in Georgia for his role in that election. Three months ago, a disciplinary committee in Washington, D.C., said Clark should be disbarred for two years for efforts to interfere with election results.

Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent: The former Soros Fund Management executive (and founder and CEO of Key Square Group) is reportedly Trump’s “go-to economic advisor” and has become the frontrunner in the race for Treasury Secretary after John Paulson removed himself from consideration Tuesday.  He has known the Trump family for decades and is friends with JD Vance. Bessent has expressed concerns about the country’s debt levels and believes the way to correct that is by increasing growth. Asked about a possible Treasury secretary role by CNBC, he said, “I’m going to do whatever Donald Trump asks.”

Howard Lutnick: While Lutnick, who is CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, might be under consideration, he’s busy right now leading the Trump transition team with Linda McMahon (who was administrator of the Small Business Administration, 2017-2019, during Trump’s first term). Lutnick and Trump have been friends for more than 20 years and he raised or donated more than $75 million for Trump’s reelection bid.

Larry Kudlow: Best known as a Fox Business financial commentator, Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council during the Trump Administration, 2018-2021. Throughout this election cycle, Kudlow has been a vocal supporter of Trump and his economic policies on Fox.

Wild cards

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: While Kennedy has said Trump “promised” him “control of the public health agencies,” the exact role he will play in the administration (if any) is still very much up in the air. Asked by CNN in August if he would appoint the independent politician to his cabinet, Trump said “he probably would,” but public criticism of Kennedy’s stance on vaccines and water fluoridation has grown considerably since then.

Elon Musk: Musk has stuck close to Trump since the election, even sitting in on a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Musk has, however, taken himself out of the running for any Cabinet positions, according to Trump. “He doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet, he just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting. We’ll have a new position, secretary of cost-cutting—Elon wants to do that.” On Tuesday, Trump announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would indeed head a new agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut government spending, although a new agency cannot be created without Congress.

Update, November 12, 2024: This article has been updated with Trump’s picks for CIA and Defense Secretary, and announcement about Musk and Ramaswamy.

After a tumultuous year filled with anxiety and a legal battle about its future in the U.S., TikTok may have just been thrown a lifeline by the man who was once its biggest foe: Donald Trump.

The president-elect, who tried to ban the social media platform the last time he was in the White House, has repeatedly pledged during his most recent campaign to oppose a ban on the short-form video app, which could happen as soon as mid-January if the company loses a court case that’s currently underway in Washington.

For months, TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance have been embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. over a federal law that forces them to cut ties for national security reasons or stop operating in one of their biggest markets in the world. The measure, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance nine months to divest its stakes, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress. If that happens, the deadline could be extended into the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency.

The companies have claimed that divestiture is not possible, and the law, if upheld, would force them to shut down by January 19, just a day before Trump’s second inauguration. Attorneys for both sides have asked a federal appeals court reviewing the case to issue a ruling by December 6. The losing side is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority and could decide to take up the case, potentially dragging out the process even longer.

When reached for comment, the Trump transition team did not offer details on how Trump plans to carry out his pledge to “save TikTok,” as he said on a Truth Social post in September while encouraging people who care about the platform to vote for him. But Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the transition team, indicated in a statement that he plans to see it through.

“The American people reelected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said. “He will deliver.”

During a March interview with CNBC, Trump said he still believed TikTok posed a national security risk but opposed banning it because doing so would help its rival, Facebook, which he has continued to lambast over his 2020 election loss. He also denied changing his mind on the issue because of Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, a ByteDance investor who Trump, at the time, said he had only met “very briefly.” He said Yass “never mentioned TikTok” during their meeting.

Still, ByteDance—and groups connected to Yass—have been attempting to exert their influence. Lobbying disclosure reports show that this year, ByteDance paid veteran lobbyist and former Trump campaign aide David Urban $150,000 to lobby lawmakers in Washington in favor of TikTok. The company has also spent more than $8 million on in-house lobbyists and another $1.4 million on other lobbying firms, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets.

Meanwhile, in March, Politico reported that Kellyanne Conway, a former senior Trump aide, was being paid by the Yass-funded conservative group Club for Growth to advocate for TikTok in Congress. A spokesperson for the organization said Conway was hired as a consultant to conduct polling. Conway and Urban did not respond to requests for comment. TikTok, which has long denied it’s a national security risk, declined to comment.

If the courts uphold the law, it would fall on Trump’s Justice Department to enforce it and punish any potential violations with fines. The fines would apply to app stores that would be prohibited from offering TikTok, and internet hosting services who would be barred from supporting it. Leah Plunkett, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, said from her reading of the statute, the attorney general has to investigate violations but can decide whether or not to drag such companies to court and force them to comply.

Trump could do other things to prevent TikTok from disappearing.

He could issue an executive order to nullify the ban—which Plunkett believes would not be lawful—or urge Congress to repeal the law. That would require support from Congressional Republicans who have aligned themselves with Trump but have also supported the prospects of getting TikTok out of the hands of a Chinese company.

In a statement sent to the AP after the election, Republican Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said Trump’s “long-standing concerns” about TikTok align with the law’s requirement for divestment.

“The Trump Administration will have a unique opportunity to broker an American takeover of the platform,” he said.

ByteDance, though, has previously said it has no intention of selling the platform despite interest from some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Analysts say the company is even less likely to sell the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app. That means even if TikTok is sold to a qualified buyer, it is likely to be a shell of its current self and would need to be rebuilt with new technology.

Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, said it’s also possible that Trump could take the issue back to the drawing board and direct his administration to negotiate a new deal with TikTok.

TikTok said in 2022 that it presented the Biden administration with a draft agreement that would bolster protections for users and provide it more oversight over the company’s U.S. operations. But the administration has argued in court documents in recent months that it would be challenging to enforce the agreement due to the size and the technical complexity of the platform.

Trump hasn’t been privy to new intelligence material on the matter for a few years and it’s possible he could change his mind—and abandon his campaign promise—once he does, Kreps said.

Plunkett, the Harvard Law lecturer and author of Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online, said if she were counseling TikTok, she would advise it to come up with a divesture plan that is compliant with the law and as favorable to the company as possible, noting, “There is too much uncertainty about what a Trump administration is likely to do.”

—By Haleluya Hadero, Associated Press

Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Apple CEO Tim Cook congratulated Donald Trump on his victory over Kamala Harris. Trump’s win marks his second term in office, giving Apple another chance to work closely with the administration. Cook took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his optimism, stating, “Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We […]

President-elect Donald Trump announced Elon Musk will head a new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency ("DOGE").

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