President Obama Friday morning announced Ashton Carter as his nominee to succeed Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. Carter is the former deputy defense secretary, with Obama calling him one of the “foremost foreign policy scholars.” Carter will have to be confirmed by the Senate before he assumes his new role as head of the Pentagon.
The November jobs report was released Friday and it was revealed the U.S. has added more jobs in 2014 than any year since 1999. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 321,000 jobs were added in November, far surpassing expectations of 230,000 jobs.
Seventeen states this week filed a joint lawsuit in federal court to try to block Obama’s executive order on immigration. Texas Attorney General and Governor-Elect Greg Abbott said the president is “abdicating his responsibility to faithfully enforce the laws that were duly enacted by Congress.” The White House responded by saying it is “confident that the president’s executive actions are well within his legal authorities.”
