By PARKER KAUFMANN, HUMERA LODHI and CHRISTOPHER KELLER

President Donald Trump prioritized loyalty as he built out a team for his second term, surrounding himself with people who served faithfully in his first administration or who worked on one or more of his three campaigns.

Those are not the only ties that connect the people in the highest ranks of his administration. Several are billionaires or campaign donors, or both. There also are media personalities, former lawmakers and people who worked on Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for slashing government that Trump insisted he had no affiliation with as he campaigned for the White House.

Some people in key roles have personal relationships with Trump that go back years, from a onetime caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses to his son’s former fiancée. Others came around after opposing Trump in the past; examples include his vice president and a handful of Republicans and Democrats who once ran against him.

These are some of the people Trump picked for top roles in his second administration — and a look at what they have in common, according to a review by The Associated Press.

Who’s who:

Tom Barrack, ambassador to Turkey

Scott Bessent, treasury secretary

Pam Bondi, attorney general

Doug Burgum, interior secretary

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, labor secretary

Doug Collins, veterans affairs secretary

Sean Duffy, transportation secretary

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence

Jamieson Greer, trade representative

Kimberly Guilfoyle, ambassador to Greece

Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council director

Pete Hegseth, defense secretary

Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to Canada

Tom Homan, border czar

Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel

Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator

Ronald Johnson, ambassador to Mexico

Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., health and human services secretary

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration

Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary

Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration commissioner

Linda McMahon, education secretary

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff

Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency

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Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor on trade and manufacturing

Janette Nesheiwat, surgeon general

Kristi Noem, homeland security secretary

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Kash Patel, FBI director

David Perdue, ambassador to China

John Ratcliffe, CIA director

Brooke Rollins, agriculture secretary

Marco Rubio, secretary of state

Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff

Rodney Scott, Customs and Border Protection commissioner

Scott Turner, housing secretary

JD Vance, vice president

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget

Mike Waltz, national security adviser

Matthew Whitaker, ambassador to NATO

Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff

Steven Witkoff, special envoy

Chris Wright, energy secretary

Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator

What they have in common:

Worked in the Trump administration during his first term: Rollins, Scavino, Greer, Ratcliffe, Leavitt, Patel, Kellogg, Hassett, McMahon, Whitaker, Hoekstra, Navarro, Scott, Johnson, Vought, Turner, Miller, Homan.

Is from Florida, Trump’s home when he’s not in the White House and site of his estate, Mar-a-Lago: Guilfoyle, Rubio, Waltz, Bondi, Johnson, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.

Gave money to Trump’s campaign or a pro-Trump PAC, according to campaign finance data: Wright, Musk, Lutnick, Loeffler, Zeldin, McMahon, Hoekstra, Bessent, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.

Employed by Trump’s 2016, 2020 or 2024 campaign (or for more than one): Scavino, Leavitt, Guilfoyle, Miller, Wiles.

Previously served in state or federal public office: Perdue, Burgum, Collins, Vance, Ratcliffe, Loeffler, Noem, Zeldin, Chavez-DeRemer, Rubio, Huckabee, Waltz, Bondi, Hoekstra, Turner, Duffy, Gabbard.

Formerly opposed Trump, by being openly critical of him or running against him for president: Burgum, Musk, Vance, Rubio, Kennedy, Gabbard.

Hosted a TV show, was employed by a TV network as a paid contributor or owns a social media company: Nesheiwat, Oz, Musk, Guilfoyle, Huckabee, Hegseth, Duffy.

Has a personal wealth of $1 billion or more, according to AP reporting: Musk, Lutnick, Isaacman, Loeffler, McMahon, Bessent, Witkoff, Barrack.

Was an author or contributor to the conservative policy playbook known as Project 2025: Ratcliffe, Hoekstra, Navarro, Vought, Homan.

Has a personal relationship with Trump, such as a longtime friend, business colleague or person with other close ties to Trump family members: Scavino, Guilfoyle, McMahon, Witkoff, Barrack.

Reporting and research from Sara Burnett, Lolita C. Baldor, Bill Barrow, Thomas Beaumont, Collin Binkley, Matt Brown, Cathy Bussewitz, Jill Colvin, Bernard Condon, Tara Copp, Matthew Daly, Jack Dura, Alanna Durkin Richer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Fatima Hussein, David Klepper, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Scott McFetridge, Matthew Perrone, Michelle L. Price, Amanda Seitz, Brian Slodysko, Mike Stobbe, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker.

When Niko Medved became the Gophers men’s basketball coach last month, one of the first questions was which of his former players might follow him from Colorado State via the transfer portal.

So far, the answer is one: to-be junior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. But the clear-cut top option went elsewhere Wednesday night, when rising junior guard Kyan Evans committed to North Carolina.

The sharp-shooting Evans was coveted after he posted a career-high 23 points in the 12th-seeded Rams’ 78-70 upset of fifth-seed Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He entered the portal the week after Colorado State fell short of a Sweet 16 spot in a defeat to fourth-seeded Maryland.

The Gophers wanted Evans, but the Kansas City, Mo., native picked the Tar Heels. UNC’s offer to Evans was more than $2 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation, a source told the Pioneer Press on Thursday. That sum is more than double what Minnesota had in NIL for its entire roster during ex-coach Ben Johnson’s final season.

It’s unclear what Minnesota might have offered Evans, but it’s not believed to be in the same ballpark as one of college’s basketball’s traditional powerhouse.

Medved, in his introductory news conference, said he believed Minnesota can and will improve its funding of player payments.

“There’s plenty of people here who want to get behind and support this,” Medved said March 25. “I will say this, probably one thing that’s really unique is fans and people have an opportunity to directly impact our success in a way that they’ve never been able to before.

“So. I think part of it is our job … getting people to believe in what we’re doing. And really (say), ‘Hey, this is a program, a place, and people that really want to get behind.’ … I believe that the people here are committed to understanding what that looks like, as far as raising money.”

Minnesota’s new head coach Niko Medved speaks during an NCAA college basketball news conference, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

On Thursday, Dinkytown Athletes announced a fundraising drive to contribute up to $400,000 to the men’s basketball’s NIL fund.

Nationwide, payments to players have skyrocketed in recent weeks with the pending House settlement set to change how compensation is handled. NIL payments to players are expected to be subject to a cap once California Judge Claudia Wilken makes a final decision in the settlement. That fund for each school in 2025-26 is forecast to be $20.5 million.

In the meantime, players are cashing in.

Texas Tech forward JT Toppin has reportedly received $4 million to return to the Red Raiders. He is expected to be one of the top earners in college basketball next season.

One agent told Yahoo Sports that a client just transferred for an annual salary of $2 million — and that player averaged less than 10 points per game.

Evans averaged 10.6 points last season (on 46% from 3-point range), a huge jump from 1.7 points in his true freshman year. The Tar Heels are betting he can improve even more.

This jump in payments to players are expected to be front-loaded before the expected July 1 start of revenue sharing via the House settlement. A clearinghouse is expected to curtail NIL deals after that, within a “compensation range,” according to Yahoo.

Since Medved’s hiring on March 24, Minnesota has added four players via the portal in April: San Jose State center/foward Robert Vaihola, Davidson wing Bobby Durkin, California forward BJ Omot and Crocker-Johnson.

The U has six scholarship spots remaining for next year and shooting guard — Evans’ position — has climbed to the top of the list of needs.

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By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests.

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The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza.

Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs.

He said that while Khalil’s activities were “otherwise lawful,” letting him remain in the country would undermine “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”

“Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” Rubio wrote in the undated memo.

The submission was filed Wednesday after Judge Jamee Comans ordered the government to produce its evidence against Khalil ahead of a hearing Friday on whether it can continue detaining him during immigration proceedings.

Attorneys for Khalil said the memo proved the Trump administration was “targeting Mahmoud’s free speech rights about Palestine.”

“After a month of hiding the ball since Mahmoud’s late-night unjust arrest in New York and taking him away to a remote detention center in Louisiana, immigration authorities have finally admitted that they have no case whatsoever against him,” the attorneys, Marc Van Der Hout and Johnny Sinodis, said in a joint statement.

“There is not a single shred of proof that Mahmoud’s presence in America poses any threat,” they added.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, did not respond to questions about whether it had additional evidence against Khalil, writing in an emailed statement, “DHS did file evidence, but immigration court dockets are not available to the public.”

Khalil, 30, was arrested March 8 in New York and taken to a detention center in Louisiana. He is a Palestinian by ethnicity who was born in Syria. Khalil recently finished his coursework for a master’s degree at Columbia’s school of international affairs. He is married to an American citizen who is due to give birth this month.

Khalil has adamantly rejected allegations of antisemitism, accusing the Trump administration in a letter sent from jail last month of “targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent.”

“Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances,” he added, “I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child.”

Though Rubio’s memo references additional documents, including a “subject profile of Mahmoud Khalil” and letter from the Department Homeland Security, the government did not submit those documents to the immigration court, according to Khalil’s lawyers.

The memo also calls for the deportation of a second lawful permanent resident, whose name is redacted in the filing.

The Trump administration has pulled billions of dollars in government funding from universities and their affiliated hospital systems in recent weeks as part of what it says is a campaign against antisemitism on college campuses, but which critics say is a crackdown on free speech. To get the money back, the administration has been telling universities to punish protesters and make other changes.

The U.S. government has also been revoking the visas of international students who criticized Israel or accused it of mistreating Palestinians.

At the time of Khalil’s arrest, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, accused the activist of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” referring to the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

But the government has not produced any evidence linking Khalil to Hamas, and made no reference to the group in their most recent filing.

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans.

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The requirement has been a top election-related priority for President Donald Trump and House Republicans, who argue it’s needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already rare and, as numerous state cases have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It’s already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.

The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act, now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain because Republicans don’t have a large enough majority to avoid a filibuster.

Here’s a look at key issues in the debate over a proof of citizenship requirement for voting:

Who would be affected if the bill becomes law?

If it eventually becomes the law, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately and apply to all voter registration applications.

“This has no impact on individuals that are currently registered to vote,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been advocating for the bill.

Voting rights groups say there is more to the story. The law would affect voters who already are registered if they move, change their name or otherwise need to update their registration. That was acknowledged to some extent by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, during a recent hearing on the legislation.

“The idea here is that for individuals to be able to continue to vote if they are registered,” Roy said. “If they have an intervening event or if the states want to clean the rolls, people would come forward to register to demonstrate their citizenship so we could convert our system over some reasonable time to a citizenship-based registration system.”

What documents would be required to register?

The SAVE Act compels states to reject any voter registration application in which the applicant has not presented “documentary proof of United States citizenship.”

Among the acceptable documents for demonstrating proof of citizenship are:

— A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license that “indicates the applicant is a citizen.”

— A valid U.S. passport.

— A military ID card with a military record of service that lists the applicant’s birthplace as in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID that shows the applicant’s birthplace was in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID presented with a document such as a certified birth certificate that shows the birthplace was in the U.S.

What if my driver’s license doesn’t list my birthplace or indicate I’m a US citizen?

In general, driver’s licenses do not list a birthplace or indicate that the card holder is a citizen – even many that are REAL ID-compliant.

REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005 to set minimum standards for IDs such as driver’s licenses and requires applicants to provide a Social Security number and demonstrate lawful status either as a citizen or legal resident.

After years of delays, any driver’s license used for identification to pass through airport security will have to be REAL ID-compliant beginning May 7. U.S. passports will still be acceptable.

Although states designate REAL ID compliance on driver’s licenses with a marking such as a gold or black star, that alone would not indicate U.S. citizenship. People who are legal residents but not citizens also can obtain a REAL ID.

States are currently not required to label IDs with a “citizen” mark, although a handful of states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington) offer a citizen-only REAL ID alternative that might meet SAVE Act requirements. Republicans say they hope more states will move in the direction of IDs that indicate citizenship.

“The structure is put in place now to — I think there’s at least five states that do have the citizenship status as part of the REAL ID — encourage more states to do so,” Roy said. “That would be part of the goal here.”

Adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by the Department of Homeland Security.

What about people who can’t access birth or marriage certificates?

Voting rights group say the list of documents doesn’t consider the realities facing millions of Americans who do not have easy access to their birth certificates and the roughly half who do not have a U.S. passport.

They also worry about additional hurdles for women whose birth certificates don’t match their current IDs because they changed their name after getting married. There were examples of this during local elections last month in New Hampshire, which recently implemented a proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

Republicans say there is a provision in the SAVE Act that directs states to develop a process for accepting supplemental documents such as a marriage certificate, which could establish the connection between a birth certificate and a government-issued ID.

They argue the process is similar to obtaining a U.S. passport or REAL ID-compliant driver’s license.

“We have mechanisms giving the state fairly significant deference to make determinations as to how to structure the situation where an individual does have a name change,” Roy said. “The process is specifically contemplated in this legislation.”

Democrats counter that the bill should have specified how this was to be done, rather than creating the potential to have 50 different rules.

How do people submit their documents?

The legislation says applicants who submit the federal voter registration form by mail must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person to their local election office under a deadline set by their state.

Voting rights groups have noted this would be a huge barrier for people who live in more rural parts of the country, where the nearest election office might be hours away by car.

The SAVE Act directs states, in consultation with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are made to allow individuals with disabilities who submit the form to provide proof of citizenship to their election official.

The legislation also considers that some states permit same-day voter registration and says, in those cases, voters must present proof of citizenship at their polling location “not later than the date of the election.”

That would mean that people who do not have such proof with them would have to return with their documents before polls close to be registered and have their ballot counted.

It’s less clear what this means for those states that have online voter registration systems or automatic voter registration set up through their state’s motor vehicle agency. Democratic state election officials have raised concerns that the legislation means these processes would no longer be operational under the proposal.

The legislation says anyone registering through a state motor vehicle agency also is required to provide proof of citizenship. It directs the Election Assistance Commission to issue guidance to state election officials about implementing the law’s requirements.

Why did Republicans bring this up?

Republicans say any instance of voting by noncitizens, no matter how rare, is unacceptable and undermines confidence in U.S. elections.

Democrats respond by saying that voting by noncitizens is already illegal in federal elections —those for president and Congress — and penalties can result in fines and deportation. They say Congress should be more focused on helping states improve their ability to identify and remove any noncitizens who might end up on voter lists instead of forcing everyone to prove citizenship beforehand.

A recent review in Michigan identified 15 people who appear to be noncitizens who voted in the 2024 general election, out of more than 5.7 million ballots cast in the state. Of those, 13 were referred to the attorney general for potential criminal charges. One involved a voter who has since died, and the final case remains under investigation.

“Our careful review confirms what we already knew – that this illegal activity is very rare,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement. “While we take all violations of election law very seriously, this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections.”