Trump pledges sweeping changes in first post-election interview

US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to make immediate and sweeping changes after he takes office on Jan 20, such as pardons for those convicted in the attack on the US Capitol.

In an interview with Kristen Welker, moderator of NBC News’ "Meet the Press," Trump blamed US President Joe Biden for dividing the country but struck a conciliatory note, saying he will not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden. "I’m not looking to go back into the past," he said. "Retribution will be through success."

However, Trump had some tough words for former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and other lawmakers who served on the bipartisan House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol, saying she "should go to jail".

"Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with [Bennie] Thompson and the people on the … committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps.

"They deleted and destroyed all evidence," Trump said, adding that those responsible were Cheney and Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

Trump revealed that his children won’t join him as White House aides, a departure from his last term, when daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner both served as senior advisers with West Wing offices. "I’ll miss them," he said.

Meanwhile, Cheney described the threat by Trump to imprison her alongside others as an "assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic." "Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power," Cheney said in a statement, where she also called for the Justice Department special counsel, Jack Smith, to release evidence he gathered into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team and the incoming White House press secretary, said the next administration wants to "shatter the Deep State," a term for entrenched civil servants who have frustrated Trump and his allies.

"President Trump was re-elected by a resounding mandate from the American people to change the status quo in Washington," she said in a statement. "That’s why he has chosen brilliant and highly-respected outsiders to serve in his Administration, and he will continue to stand behind them as they fight against all those who seek to derail the MAGA Agenda."

Trump is taking on Washington with the Department of Government Efficiency, an independent advisory organisation that will be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Musk, the world’s richest man, plans to provide ideas on dramatically reducing federal spending and cutting the government workforce. He also said Trump should sidestep Congress whenever possible, setting up a potential constitutional clash.