NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group is putting “sanctuary” jurisdictions across the U.S. on notice ahead of an expected mass deportation by the incoming Trump administration.

America First Legal says it has notified nearly 250 officials in jurisdictions which limit or forbid local law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that there could be legal consequences for interfering with the feds or for concealing illegal immigrants.

President-elect Trump has promised to launch a “historic” deportation campaign when in office, and his transition team has already been making concrete steps toward that goal. America First Legal’s president is Stephen Miller, who will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy in the Trump White House.

TRUMP BORDER CZAR BLASTS NY GOVERNOR FOR TOUTING SUBWAY SAFETY HOURS AFTER HORRIFIC MURDER

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

But a number of Democratic officials in states including in Arizona, Colorado, California and Massachusetts have said they will not cooperate with the operation. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has hinted there could be legal consequences for those who get in the way of the operation.

Proponents of sanctuary policies argue that local jurisdictions cannot be compelled to assist the government, and that barring ICE cooperation encourages otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants to work with police and report crimes, making the area safer. Opponents say that policies result in the release of otherwise-deportable criminals back onto the streets.

AFL’s notice letter to the 249 officials says that the federal government has ultimate authority over immigration, and points to clauses in federal law that prohibit state and local governments from restricting communications with DHS about immigration status, and that make concealing, harboring or shielding an illegal immigrant a federal crime.

The group argues that sanctuary policies can therefore lead to criminal liability, and that victims of illegal immigrant crime may be able to sue for damages.

“We have identified your jurisdiction as a sanctuary jurisdiction that is violating federal law. Such lawlessness subjects you and your subordinates to significant risk of criminal and civil liability. Accordingly, we are sending this letter to put you on notice of this risk and insist that you comply with our nation’s laws,” the letter says.

The group is also launching a new website that gives users a map of “sanctuary strongholds,” identifying jurisdictions with sanctuary policies and giving contact information for elected officials.

TRUMP’S INCOMING BORDER CZAR HAILS MEETING WITH MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: ‘NYC IS ABOUT TO GET A LOT SAFER’

REVERE, MA. – SEPTEMBER 25: ICE agents make arrests on September 25, 2019 in Revere, Massachusetts.   (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

The group also announced that it has also filed a petition with the DOJ’s Office of Violence Against Women to seek data on citizenship status and nationality information against those charged with a slew of crimes against women and children, including domestic violence, murder and child maltreatment. In addition, it is filing requests to officials, including mayors and governors, across the U.S. for information on organizations it believes are undermining federal immigration enforcement.

In a statement, America First Legal’s Senior Vice President Reed D. Rubenstein pointed to the recent arrest of an illegal immigrant in New York City in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire and burned to death as “another reminder that open borders and sanctuary jurisdictions are sheer insanity.”

“The left-wing politicians who create and run them, and those who support them, put our citizens at risk, undermine our Constitution, and dangerously erode the rule of law. America First Legal will continue working tirelessly to protect our immigration laws and support the brave men and women who enforce them. Today’s actions are but a first step in our fight against sanctuary lawlessness,” Rubenstein said.

The new announcements shine a spotlight on what could be a fierce fight between the Trump administration, and its allies, and Democrats and left-wing activists over the deportation push and the extent to which it can be resisted at state and local level.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Some have doubled down on their opposition, with the Boston City Council recently voting to limit ICE cooperation and to ban police from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant.

The resolution adopted by the council states that “proposals for mass deportations represent a direct attack on Boston’s immigrant families, and threaten to tear communities apart.”

Some Democratic officials, however, have indicated their willingness to work with the incoming administration. Homan met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week to discuss areas of potential cooperation, including the deportation of violent illegal immigrant criminals. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also said he wanted to see “violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime” deported, and said he would welcome a meeting with Homan.

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Fox News reported this month on new data provided to Congress that showed there are 1.4 million noncitizens who have deportation orders but are not currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.

The White House is concerned that Iran’s weakened position will prompt the regime to pursue a nuclear weapon, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan is coordinating with the Trump team on this concern. 

Iran has suffered a year of setbacks amid Israeli assaults on its proxy forces and a pull-out from Syria amid the takeover by Sunni Muslim forces, hostile to Iran’s Shiite government. 

Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Iran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN on Sunday. 

“What I found over the last four years is that when good things happen, like Iran being weaker than it was before, there are frequently bad things lurking around the corner,” Sullivan said.

The White House is concerned that Iran’s weakened position will prompt the regime to pursue a nuclear weapon, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan is coordinating with the Trump team on this concern. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Image)

IRAN EXPANDS WEAPONIZATION CAPABILITIES CRITICAL FOR EMPLOYING NUCLEAR BOMB

“If you’re Iran right now and you’re looking around at the fact that your conventional capability has been reduced, your proxies have been reduced, your main client state has been eliminated, Assad has fallen, it’s no wonder there are voices saying: ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now,'” the outgoing national security official said. 

“They’re saying it publicly, in fact. They’re saying: Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine. A doctrine that has said: We’ll have a civilian nuclear program and certain capabilities, but we’re not going for a nuke,” he added. “It’s a risk we’re trying to be vigilant about now.”

While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since the last Trump administration to 60% purity, a short step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon. 

Last week the United Kingdom, Germany and France publicly called on Iran to “reverse its nuclear escalation,” arguing there is no “credible civilian justification” to stockpile 60% uranium.

“If you’re Iran right now and you’re looking around at the fact that your conventional capability has been reduced, your proxies have been reduced, your main client state has been eliminated, Assad has fallen, it’s no wonder there are voices saying: ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now,'” Jake Sullivan said. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since the last Trump administration to 60% purity, a short step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

FALL OF ASSAD, RISE OF TRUMP: WHY 2024 WAS A VERY BAD YEAR FOR IRAN

Sullivan said there was a risk Iran would abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.

“It’s a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It’s a risk that I’m personally briefing the incoming team on,” Sullivan said, adding that he was consulting with Israel too. 

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could bring back his “maximum pressure” policy to cripple Iran’s oil financing.

Sullivan held out hope Trump could come in and use Iran’s weakened position to get them to agree to a new nuclear deal. 

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“Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the long term,” he said.

Trump’s team is currently weighing its options to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including preventive airstrikes. 

Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to a hospital Monday afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever, a spokesperson for Clinton said.

“President Clinton was admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever. He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving,” Angel Urena wrote.

Urena also confirmed to Fox News that he did not have much additional information at the moment regarding admittance or when they expected the hospital to discharge Clinton.

The former president made headlines earlier this month when he recalled the pardon of his brother, Roger Clinton, during an interview at the New York Time DealBook Summit, while talking about President Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. 

BILL CLINTON LAMENTS KAMALA HARRIS HAD ‘IMPOSSIBLE JOB,’ AS ONLY PERSON WHO COULD LEGALLY USE CAMPAIGN FUNDS

Former President Bill Clinton speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times) (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times)

“I think that the president did have reason to believe that the nature of the offenses involved were likely to produce far stronger adverse consequences for his son than they would for any normal person under the same circumstances,” Clinton said.

Clinton added that he read that it was comparable to when he pardoned his half brother, Roger Clinton, when he was president. Roger Clinton went to prison in the 1980s for cocaine charges, according to the Washington Post, and had served his sentence before Clinton pardoned him. Roger was arrested for drunk driving nearly a month after receiving a pardon.

According to the New York Times, “Mr. Clinton said that he did not believe the two situations were analogous, even as he stressed that presidential pardons are often complicated and politically fraught.”

BILL CLINTON RECALLS PARDONING HALF-BROTHER, SAYS IT’S NOT SIMILAR TO BIDEN’S CONTROVERSIAL ONE OF HUNTER

Former President Bill Clinton speaks in support of the Harris Walz presidential campaign during the Fort Valley GOTV Community Fish Fry at the Agricultural Technology Conference Center on October 13, 2024, in Fort Valley, Georgia. With 22 days until the election, recent polls in Georgia show that Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump leads his opponent Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris by one point.  ( Julia Beverly/Getty Images)

The ex-president contrasted, “My brother did 14 months in federal prison for something he did when he was 20, and I supported it, and he testified, told the truth about what he’d done when he had a drug problem and helped to bring down a larger enterprise. And they sentenced him, and then he served 14 months, and then he got out. The real question was, would he ever be able to vote again? Would he ever be able to have normal citizenship responsibilities?” 

Clinton continued, saying that politics can’t be taken out of the pardon decisions if presidents are involved, adding, “I wish he hadn’t said he wasn’t going to do it.”

“I think it does weaken his case,” he added.

Clinton also released a new memoir in November titled, ‘Citizen: My Life After the White House,” that is largely about Clinton’s post-presidential life in philanthropy, and claims that his encounters with his disgraced former associate, Jeffrey Epstein, focused on his charitable foundation.

BILL CLINTON WRITES ABOUT TENSE #METOO-ERA INTERVIEW IN NEW MEMOIR: ‘FOUGHT TO CONTAIN MY FRUSTRATION’

Using the Fifth Amendment, which gives Americans the right to not self-incriminate themselves, Epstein refused to answer at least three questions related to former President Bill Clinton and at least one related to the Clinton Foundation. (Getty Images)

“I wish I had never met him,” Clinton wrote in his new memoir, according to The Associated Press, which reviewed an advance copy.

Clinton took flights on Epstein’s prive jet on trips for the Clinton Foundation. He wrote that they only discussed “politics and economics” and that he never traveled to Epstein’s infamous Little St. James Island.

“Traveling on Epstein’s plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward,” he wrote, according to a review in the Telegraph, which also obtained an advance copy. “I wish I had never met him.”

Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and Urena noted when Sjoberg’s testimony was released that the former president could have opposed the unsealing of his name but did not.

Urena also denied claims in the documents that Clinton and Epstein had any kind of personal relationship.

“I had always thought Epstein was odd but had no inkling of the crimes he was committing,” Clinton writes in the book.
 

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz, Jessica Sonkin and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

A spokesperson for President-elect Trump lashed out on Monday against President Biden‘s decision to commute the death sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, calling the move a “a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones.”

In a short statement, Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, noted the different approaches to crime between Biden and Trump. 

“These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones,” he said in a statement. “President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people.”

BIDEN SETS RECORD WITH FIRST-TERM CLEMENCY GRANTS, HERE’S HOW OTHER PRESIDENTS RANK

Social media erupted on Monday after President Biden announced he would commute the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row. (AP )

The White House announced that Biden was commuting the death sentences to life without the possibility of parole on Monday. Among the victims of the 37 men are law enforcement officers, children and other inmates. 

“Biden’s decision is a slap in the face to the victims and to the families of the victims that thought justice was going to be served,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., wrote on X. 

Many other Republican lawmakers echoed the same reactions. 

Biden believes the federal death penalty should only be imposed for acts of terrorism and hate-motivated killings, the White House said. 

“When President Biden came into office, his Administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions, and his actions today will prevent the next Administration from carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice,” the White House said. 

‘SQUAD’ DEM APPLAUDS BIDEN FOR SPARING MURDERERS FROM ‘RACIST’ DEATH PENALTY IN 11TH-HOUR CLEMENCY MOVE

Three federal inmates whose death sentences were not commuted are Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 people dead; Dylann Roof, a White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to perpetrate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.

Biden said the move would prevent the incoming Trump administration from carrying out the executions. 

“In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” he said. 

The action came after Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son, Hunter.

As of Dec. 13, Biden has pardoned a total of 65 individuals and commuted sentences for 1,634 inmates during his time as president, according to the Department of Justice.

Hunter Biden flashes a big smile as he leaves an Arby’s  in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. This is the first time that the son of President Joe Biden has been photographed since he was pardoned by his father. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

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“The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms,” White House officials said in a previous statement.

Trump has taken a tough stance on the death penalty, previously suggesting that drug dealers should be eligible for the ultimate punishment. 

“We’re going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” Trump said earlier this year on the campaign trial. “Because it’s the only way.”

Allies of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are urging President-elect Trump to publicly reaffirm support for the House GOP leader to avoid a messy, protracted battle that could delay the certification of his own victory.

“If we have some kind of protracted fight where we can’t elect a speaker — the speaker’s not elected; we’re not sworn in. And if we’re not sworn in, we can’t certify the election,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.

“I would hope that President Trump would chime in and talk to those who are maybe a little hesitant, and say, ‘We’ve got to get going. We don’t have time.’”

Meanwhile, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital “it would be immensely helpful” if Trump chimed in.

TOP TRUMP AIDES JOIN GROUP PREPPING TO SHORE UP SUPPORT FOR MAGA AGENDA

Speaker Mike Johnson’s allies are looking to President-elect Trump for help to avoid a messy, protracted speakership race (Getty Images)

“Any time would be great, but right after Christmas if President Trump said, ‘You know, listen’ — it would even be really cool if somehow Mike Johnson ended up at Mar-a-Lago for Christmas… wherever the president is,” Fallon said. “I think it would be incredibly powerful.”

House lawmakers are returning to Washington, D.C., for a chamber-wide vote to elect the speaker on Friday, Jan. 3. Just days later, on Monday, Jan. 6, the House will meet to certify the results of the 2024 election.

Johnson is facing a potentially bruising battle to win the speaker’s gavel for a full Congressional term, with several House Republicans vocally critical of the Louisiana Republican and his handling of government funding.

His predecessor went through 14 public defeats in his quest to win the gavel, finally securing it after days of negotiations with holdouts on the 15th House-wide vote.

When he was ousted, Johnson won after a three-week inter-GOP battle that saw Congress paralyzed for its duration.

But some House Republicans are now warning that they can afford few delays in what Trump himself said he hopes will be a very active first 100 days of his second term.

“To ensure President Trump can take office and hit the ground running on Jan. 20, we must be able to certify the 2024 election on Jan. 6. However, without a speaker, we cannot complete this process,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. 

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, is one of Johnson’s defenders (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Tenney warned it could delay “the launch of his agenda.”

Congress narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown hours after the Dec. 20 federal funding deadline, passing a bill to extend that deadline to March 14 while also extending several other key programs and replenishing the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund.

It angered GOP hardliners who opposed the addition of unrelated policy riders to what they believed would be a more straightforward government funding extension.

Johnson also tried and failed to heed Trump’s demand to pair action on the debt limit — which was suspended until January 2025 — with his government funding bill, after 38 House Republicans and all but two Democrats voted against it.

Fallon told Fox News Digital that it did not necessarily mean they would defy Trump if he backed Johnson again ahead of Jan. 3.

“Some of the people in the 38 — that was more of a principle thing — they really want to attack the debt,” Fallon said. “They felt like just letting the debt ceiling latch for two years — they like to use that as a negotiating tool to say, ‘Let’s reduce the debt to GDP ratio.'”

SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK

But one of Johnson’s biggest critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already told reporters he is not voting for Johnson next year.

Two more, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, suggested they were no longer committed to backing Johnson over the weekend.

Meanwhile, there have been media reports that Trump is unhappy with how Johnson handled government funding and that his demand for the debt limit was not heeded. 

Trump himself has not mentioned Johnson publicly since the Friday vote. But top Trump allies, like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have come to Johnson’s defense.

It took 15 rounds of voting for ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to win the gavel (Valerie Plesch)

“He’s undoubtedly the most conservative Speaker of the House we’ve had in our lifetime,” Cruz said on his podcast “The Verdict.” “If Mike Johnson is toppled as Speaker of the House, we will end up with a speaker of the House who is much, much more liberal than Mike Johnson.”

Others have also signaled that Trump’s influence will weigh heavily on what ultimately happens.

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One House Republican granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital early last week that they considered opposing Johnson but said Trump would be the final deciding factor.

“I think, ultimately, it’s going to be decided who President Trump likes, because I believe that will weigh in heavily on the decision-making of that, because, currently, President Trump works very well with Mike Johnson. They have a great relationship,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

When asked if he would support Johnson if Trump did, despite opposing his government funding plans, Burchett said “Possibly.”

Johnson will head into the Jan. 3 speaker vote with just a slim GOP margin of three votes — and is virtually unlikely to get Democratic support.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

**Please note that while we plan on publishing tomorrow, Dec. 24, the newsletter will take a short hiatus for the Christmas holiday, returning on Monday, Dec. 30.***

Here’s what’s happening…

-TikTok divestment could be ‘deal of the century’ for Trump, House China Committee chair says

-Trump names several new White House picks to work on AI, crypto and more: ‘America First Patriots’

–Gaetz sues to block release of Ethics Committee report

$1 Trillion Worth of Grievances

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is calling out the Biden administration for spending over a trillion taxpayer dollars on “government waste” this year, including on a bearded lady cabaret show, Arabic Sesame Street, and “girl-centered climate action.”

The Kentucky senator released his annual “Festivus” report that details different ways in which the current administration spent taxpayer dollars throughout the year. 

The 2024 Festivus Waste Report found that the Biden-Harris administration spent over $1 trillion this year, including giving a $10,000 grant to “Beards on Ice” — an ice skating drag show on climate change put on by the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, a self-described “queer cabaret arts organization.”…Read more

White House

LOOKING BACK: Six household appliances that have taken heat from Biden’s crackdown on regulations…Read more

OFF THE NAUGHTY LIST?: Biden admin lifts $10M bounty on the head of leader of Islamist group now in charge in Syria…Read more

‘ACT OF COMPASSION’: ‘Squad’ Dem applauds Biden for sparing murderers from ‘racist’ death penalty in 11th-hour clemency move…Read more

SEE THE VICTIMS: Biden spares federal death row inmates: Murderers targeted sailor, young girls, law enforcement…Read more

Krystal Tobias, 9, left, and her friend Laura Hobbs, 8, who were killed by Jorge Avila-Torrez in Zion, Ill., in May 2005. Former Marine Jorge Avila-Torrez, who pleaded guilty to killing Tobias and Hobbs, reportedly was a friend of Tobias’ older brother at the time of their deaths.  (Zion Police Department/Getty Images)

BLOWING SMOKE: How Biden’s last-minute emissions target may prove short-lived when Trump takes office…Read more

‘SOFT ON CRIME’: Republicans hammer Biden for federal death row commutations ahead of leaving office…Read more

World Stage

CANAL CLASH: Panama’s president hits back at Trump idea to reclaim key canal…Read more

FALL OF ASSAD: Why 2024 was a very bad year for Iran…Read more

Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad (L) in Tehran, Iran on February 25, 2019.  (IRANIAN LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Trump Transition

BUILDING SUPPORT: Top Trump aides join group prepping to shore up support for MAGA agenda during second term…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘RAPID’ DECLINE: Retiring GOP congresswoman’s decline has been ‘very rapid,’ son says…Read more

Retiring Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, appeared for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman in Washington, D.C., in November. (The Office of Kay Granger)

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: House report accuses Matt Gaetz of paying women for sex, using illegal drugs, accepting improper gifts…Read more

Across America

SKIRTING THE RULES: Watchdog releases report highlighting the worst ethics violations it saw from public officials in 2024…Read more

FIRED: New York Gov. Hochul orders prison staffers involved in inmate’s deadly beating to be fired…Read more

LUIGI PLEADS NOT GUILTY: Ivy League suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing pleads not guilty…Read more

Luigi Mangione appears for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on December 23, 2024 in New York City. Mangione, 26, was arraigned on state murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4.  (Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)

‘SHEER INSANITY’: Conservative watchdog puts ‘sanctuary’ officials on notice ahead of Trump deportation push…Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

After the White House announced President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row, Republicans slammed him for being “soft-on-crime.”

“Joe Biden is an addled, corrupt, and demented failure. The White House has become a memory care facility as Biden is led around by his corrupt kids and his Marxist staffers. That’s why 37 depraved murderers have clemency,” wrote Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on X. 

TOP TRUMP AIDES JOIN GROUP PREPPING TO SHORE UP SUPPORT FOR MAGA AGENDA DURING SECOND TERM

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, U.S. December 10, 2024.  (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

Cotton is the incoming chairman of both the Senate GOP conference and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

House Majority whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Unfortunately, this is not surprising given that the Biden-Harris administration has let murderers and rapists come in through our southern border for the last four years. Joe Biden’s soft-on-crime record is exactly why voters fired him and reelected President Trump on November 5.”

SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK

Sen. Tom Cotton is slamming Kamala Harris over her refusal to be clear about her changing policy positions from 2020. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Violent murderers should not have their sentences commuted,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said on X. “We must end soft-on-crime policies.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., labeled the move “a slap in the face to the families who have suffered immeasurably at the hands of these animals.”

While Republicans made their displeasure known, Biden’s announcement was celebrated by some Democrats. 

BRIEF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN USHERED IN BEFORE CHRISTMAS AS SENATE WORKS TO ADVANCE HOUSE BILL

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (C), accompanied by U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (L), and U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“The President’s decision today provides accountability with a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and ensures that these individuals never again pose a threat to public safety, but without implicating the myriad issues associated with capital punishment. I have long advocated for the abolition of the federal death penalty and commend President Biden for this act of justice and mercy and for his leadership,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in a statement. 

SENATE DEMS RAIL AGAINST ‘SHADOW SPEAKER’ BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK: ‘NOT ELECTED TO ANYTHING’

Rep. Jayapal applauded the Biden administration. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In her own statement, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said, “This is a historic day in America. We thank President Biden for this extraordinary act to spare the 37 individuals facing the death penalty, a discriminatory and fundamentally inhumane punishment. This is a powerful use of executive action to save lives and deliver justice.” 

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She had previously encouraged the administration to take such action. 

Biden’s death penalty commutations came after he already rolled out commutations for roughly 1,500 people’s sentences in the largest single-day act of clemency. 

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is charging that overseas conflicts escalated under the Biden administration.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken testified before the committee in December after a report on the administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, where he was pressed to “take responsibility” for the widespread conflicts that erupted across the globe following the deadly event.

Speaking with Fox News Digital on Monday, Lawler delved into the report that claimed the Biden administration “has left the world in a worse off place than it inherited it” — beginning with the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“The report on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan is his legacy and that of the Biden administration, because in my estimation, it’s set about a series of events around the globe that have left us in the most precarious place since World War Two, starting with that disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of 13 U.S. service members,” Lawler told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

NEW REPORT WARNS OF GROWING NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO U.S. AS CHINA BUILDS AI: ‘SIGNIFICANT AND CONCERNING’

Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross)

The congressman detailed several tragic events under the Biden administration that followed the Afghanistan withdrawal, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel, threats in the Indo-Pacific from China, and the “illicit” oil trade between China and Iran that Lawler says is “funding terrorism.”

EXPERTS WARN SYRIAN REBEL VICTORY POSES ‘WILDLY COMPLEX’ NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: ‘WHO KNOWS WHAT’S NEXT?’

“This administration has left the world in a worse off place than it inherited it. And that, in my view, is the legacy of the Biden-Harris administration and that of Secretary Blinken,” the New York Republican said.

Lawler added that while national security has appeared in the most “precarious” position since WW2, foreign policy will soon look different under the incoming Trump administration.

A sign displaying photos and names of the 13 service members killed in a terrorist attack at Abbey Gate outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport is seen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 9, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Kent Nishimura)

“I think President Trump obviously had four years in which there was greater peace and prosperity around the globe. And the difference between Biden and Trump is that Biden is unable to stop conflicts. Trump is willing to act,” Lawler told Fox. “When you are strong, when your adversaries acknowledge and understand that you are willing to act and strike. They think twice about it.”

Lawler also said that he thinks “President Trump will be a very strong leader when it comes to foreign policy, when it comes to bringing these conflicts to an end.”

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., will serve as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee next Congress, where Lawler says there will be “a lot of the focus is going to be on reauthorizing the State Department operations,” such as how the agency programs operate and how its funds are used.

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“I think, obviously, with President Trump coming in, the foreign policy of the United States is going to change,” Lawler said of the incoming administration. “It is going to be much stronger, much more unforgiving on our adversaries. And certainly seek to bring these conflicts to an end.”

FIRST ON FOX: Two top aides to President-elect Donald Trump are joining a key outside group ahead of his second term, as the organization preps to garner public support for his MAGA agenda. 

One of Trump’s campaign managers in the 2024 election, Chris LaCivita, along with his campaign’s chief pollster Tony Fabrizio are joining 501c4 Building America’s Future (BAF) as senior advisers. 

SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK

Chris LaCivita co-led Trump’s 2024 campaign with Susie Wiles.  (Reuters)

“We are pleased to be joining BAF who in the 2024 cycle was a valuable and key ally in promoting President Trump’s agenda and his candidacy,” LaCivita and Fabrizio said in a statement. “We look forward to helping guide BAF and their efforts to promote President Trump’s America First agenda so their efforts compliment and augment the President’s team’s efforts.” 

The two will provide strategic counsel to the group as it looks to energize support for Trump’s policy proposals during his presidency. 

BRIEF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN USHERED IN BEFORE CHRISTMAS AS SENATE WORKS TO ADVANCE HOUSE BILL

Fabrizio was the Trump campaign’s chief pollster. (Reuters)

BAF led a $45 million effort during the election to support Trump and his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris. The group has already signaled its intention to continue promoting Trump and his administration past the election, debuting an ad campaign in support of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Defense. 

The group will take an active role, energizing the public in support of Trump’s policy priorities as he enters his second term. 

SENATE DEMS RAIL AGAINST ‘SHADOW SPEAKER’ BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK: ‘NOT ELECTED TO ANYTHING’

Trump’s campaign managers LaCivita and Wiles helped him successfully win in 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This comes as Republicans prepare to use the budget reconciliation process to pass key Trump items such as his economic and tax agenda as well as some elements of border security. By using this process, Republicans only need a simple majority in the Senate, rather than 60 votes to beat the legislative filibuster.

However, nearly all Republicans will need to be on board, as the party only has 53 seats in the new Senate. 

By ramping up public support for Trump’s priorities, Republicans may feel some pressure to get behind certain items. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS TRY TO FAST-TRACK EMERGENCY MILITARY PAY AS THEY BRACE FOR SHUTDOWN

Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Other legislation is still expected to face an uphill battle due to the filibuster, but BAF’s work to build public support for Trump’s agenda could also pressure Democrats to join their Republican counterparts, particularly those who are up for re-election in 2026 in red or purple states. 

Trump’s other co-campaign manager, Susie Wiles, was named as his White House chief of staff pick shortly after he was elected. 

The Biden administration has lifted a $10 million bounty on the head of Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

In exchange, al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, agreed to a U.S. demand not to allow terrorism groups in Syria to threaten the U.S. or Syria’s neighbors. 

“We had a good, thoroughgoing discussion on a range of regional issues,” Barbara Leaf, the U.S.’s top envoy to the Middle East, told reporters of her Friday meeting with al-Sharaa. 

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) drove Assad out of Damascus earlier this month. While other rebel factions remain throughout the country, HTS has amassed control over much of Syria. 

HTS was founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda but broke away from the group in 2016. It evolved from the Nusrah Front, which was designated as a terrorist group in 2012, and in 2018 the U.S. added HTS’ terrorism designation. 

FALL OF ASSAD, RISE OF TRUMP: WHY 2024 WAS A VERY BAD YEAR FOR IRAN

The Biden administration has lifted a $10 million bounty on the head Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

“It was a policy decision… aligned with the fact that we are beginning a discussion with HTS,” Leaf explained. 

“So if I’m sitting with the HTS leader and having a lengthy detailed discussion about the interests of the US, interests of Syria, maybe interests of the region, it’s suffice to say a little incoherent then to have a bounty on the guy’s head.”

The group has been trying to shake its extremist reputation and the designation, with al-Sharaa claiming he does not want Syria to become the next Afghanistan and he believes in education for women.

“We’ve had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” Sharaa told BBC, referring to Syria’s northwestern province that HTS has held since 2011. 

Bashar al-Assad was driven out of Damascus earlier this month by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. (Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

“I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%.” 

“He came across as pragmatic,” Leaf said. “It was a good first meeting. We will judge by deeds, not just by words.”

U.S. officials have visited Syria to push for a pragmatic government and to find information on the whereabouts of detained U.S. journalist Austin Tice. 

TENSIONS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND TURKEY ESCALATE OVER SYRIA: ‘IT’S TIME TO PAY ATTENTION’

The U.S. has had a mixed relationship with HTS due to its militant Islamist roots. 

Al-Sharaa has said HTS is not a terrorist group because it does not target civilians or civilian areas, and they consider themselves to be the victims of the crime of Assad’s regime. 

The U.S. has launched an aggressive campaign of airstrikes in northeastern Syria to take out ISIS militants, fearing a resurgence amid the upheaval in Syria which could lead to the release of more than 8,000 IS prisoners, “a significant security concern,” according to the Pentagon.

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The Pentagon revealed on Thursday that the U.S. doubled the number of its forces from 900 to roughly 2,000 to fight IS before Assad’s fall. 

President Biden is increasing the United States’ emissions reduction goal for the next decade, but the green energy push could be hindered by the incoming administration under President-elect Trump.

In 2021, Biden set a climate target for the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030.

However, under the Paris climate agreement, which the U.S. is currently enrolled in, each country is required to submit their contribution to reducing global emissions every five years under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

In his final contribution to the global climate change agreement under the NDC, Biden on Thursday set a new goal to reduce even more emissions within the next decade – but Trump has suggested initiating a potential withdrawal from the global climate treaty.

SIX HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES THAT HAVE TAKEN HEAT FROM BIDEN’S CRACKDOWN ON REGULATIONS

President Biden set a new climate target for the U.S.  (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Biden’s new target, which was formally submitted to the United Nations Climate Change secretariat, seeks to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035.

A POTENTIAL SECOND WITHDRAWAL FROM PARIS CLIMATE TREATY UNDER TRUMP COULD LOOK DIFFERENT THAN FIRST US EXIT

During his campaign, Trump told Politico that he would be in favor of withdrawing from the treaty when he assumes office, which could impact the new climate goal.

The Paris climate agreement was established at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2015 as a legally binding treaty among nearly 195 parties committed to international cooperation on climate change. 

President-elect Trump has indicated that he would be open to withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement when he begins his second administration. (Rick Scuteri/AP Photo)

The U.S. first entered into the agreement under former President Barack Obama in 2016, but was withdrawn under Trump in 2020.

If Trump chooses to withdraw from the agreement a second time, it could occur at a faster pace than the first.

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Trump also has the option to submit the treaty to the Senate for advice and consent, which would require a two-thirds vote for the U.S. to rejoin the climate agreement – creating a potential hurdle for future administrations seeking to reenter the accord.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., allegedly paid multiple women for sex, including a 17-year-old high school girl, and used illicit drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, according to a House Ethics Committee report.

The 37-page report released Monday morning concluded that Gaetz violated multiple Florida state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office.

“The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report states.

Gaetz has consistently denied any accusations of wrongdoing, and an earlier federal investigation into the allegations ended without charges against him. Earlier Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the release of the report.

MATT GAETZ REPORT BY HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO BE RELEASED

Rep. Matt Gaetz in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024, ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address.  (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The committee’s report stated that Gaetz “continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed.”

The report alleges that despite Gaetz’s denials, he made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women “likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use” from 2017 to 2020.

In one alleged sexual encounter, Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old minor at a summer 2017 party, according to the committee’s report. The report concluded that the act violated Florida’s statutory rape law even though the girl, identified in the report as “Victim A,” said she never told Gaetz her age.

“The Committee received testimony that Victim A and Representative Gaetz had sex twice during the party, including at least once in the presence of other party attendees,” the draft report alleged. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz outside the U.S. Capitol Building on Sept. 29, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The 17-year-old girl claimed to have received $400 in cash from Gaetz, “which she understood to be payment for sex,” according to the report. She said she was under the influence of ectasy at the time of the sexual encounter, while alleging that she saw Gaetz use cocaine.

JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’

The committee’s report stated that it did not receive any evidence indicating Gaetz was aware the girl was a minor when he allegedly had sex with her.

The report also alleges Gaetz refused to comply with a subpoena demanding an interview and “intentionally withheld information” about a trip to the Bahamas with women.

Gaetz resigned from Congress last month after President-elect Trump tapped him to be his attorney general. Gaetz later dropped out of consideration for the post. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, File)

The committee said it obtained text messages Gaetz allegedly sent to women, asking them to bring drugs “to their rendezvous,” referring to drugs as “party favors,” “rolls” or “vitamins.”

In interviews with the committee, witnesses said they observed Gaetz using marijuana, the report states.

The House Ethics Committee’s multi-year investigation into Gaetz, involving allegations of sex with a minor and illicit drug use, came to an abrupt halt last month after he resigned from Congress hours after President-elect Trump tapped him to be his attorney general. 

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Gaetz later dropped out of consideration for the post amid quiet but steady GOP opposition.

The House Ethics Committee lost its jurisdiction to continue its investigation into the accusations against Gaetz after his resignation from Congress. While the committee “has typically not released its findings after losing jurisdiction in a matter,” as noted in the report, a majority of committee members determined that the findings should be released as they  were in the public interest.

Gaetz had filed a lawsuit on Monday in an attempt to block the release of the committee’s report.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is suing to block the release of a House Ethics Committee report on his alleged behavior.

In a complaint filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., the Republican’s attorneys maintain Gaetz’s innocence, say that the conduct detailed in the report is untrue, and claim the committee does not have jurisdiction over him because he is no longer in office.

The House Ethics Committee’s multi-year investigation into Gaetz, involving allegations of sex with a minor and illicit drug use, came to an abrupt halt last month after he resigned from Congress hours after President-elect Trump tapped him to be his attorney general. Gaetz later withdrew his nomination.

“The anticipated statements and release of information by Defendants is expected to include reference and make conclusions that Plaintiff engaged in conduct amounting to ‘misconduct’ or was otherwise unethical,” the complaint says. “The anticipated statements and information is false, factually incorrect, and untrue because Plaintiff did not violate any criminal code or other standard of ethics within the jurisdiction of Defendants.” 

“Once released, the damage to Plaintiff’s reputation and professional standing would be immediate, severe and irreversible, particularly because: a. The Committee’s findings would carry the imprimatur of official Congressional action; b. Media coverage would be immediate and widespread; c. The allegations would permanently remain in the public record; d. No adequate remedy exists to retract or correct information once released,” it adds.

MATT GAETZ REPORT BY HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO BE RELEASED 

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz attends the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala on Dec. 15 in New York City. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)

The report could be released by the House Ethics Committee as early as Monday.

The filing says, “After Plaintiff’s resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to act on its investigation, and apparently voted to publicly release reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without proper notice or disclosure to Plaintiff.”

“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” it also states.

Last week, after the committee voted to release the report, Gaetz wrote on X, “I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED.”

GAETZ WITHDRAWS AS ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE

Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me. Then, the very ‘witnesses’ DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims absent any cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I’ve had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued,” Gaetz said.

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18,” he continued. “Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court – which is why no such claim was ever made in court.” 

“My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz concluded. “I live a different life now.”

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is suing to block the release of a House Ethics Committee report. (Getty Images)

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The House Ethics Committee did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Panama’s president has responded to President-elect Trump’s idea that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal.

After Trump said Sunday that the United States “foolishly gave it away” and is now “being ripped off” at the waterway, Panama’s conservative President José Raúl Mulino released a video declaring that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong” to his country.

Without mentioning Trump by name, Mulino addressed Trump’s complaints over rising fees for ships crossing the canal, saying they are set by experts who take into account operational costs, and supply and demand factors.

“The tariffs are not set on a whim,” Mulino said. He noted that Panama has expanded the canal over the years to increase ship traffic “on its own initiative,” and added that shipping fee increases help pay for improvements.

TRUMP FLOATS IDEA OF US RECLAIMING PANAMA CANAL: ‘FOOLISHLY GAVE IT AWAY’

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

“Panamanians may have different views on many issues,” Mulino said. “But when it comes to our canal, and our sovereignty, we will all unite under our Panamanian flag.”

Trump then took to his social media site to offer in response, “We’ll see about that!” He also posted a picture of a U.S. flag planted in the canal zone under the phrase, “Welcome to the United States Canal!”

FETTERMAN: THOSE HOPING TRUMP FAILS ARE ‘ROOTING AGAINST THE NATION’

A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

Trump had previously addressed the canal in a Saturday Truth Social post, where he complained at length about the fees levied on U.S. ships going through the Big Ditch. The Panama Canal’s tolls can range from three to six figures depending on how large a vessel is and how much cargo it carries, with the largest ships being charged as much as $500,000.

Panama Canal lock’s gates opening. (Danuta Hamlin)

The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.

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The canal depends on reservoirs to operate its locks and was heavily affected by 2023 Central American drought that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships using the canal each day, administrators also increased the fees that are charged all shippers for reserving a slot.

With the weather returning to normal in the later months of this year, transit on the canal has normalized, but price increases are still expected for next year.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar told Fox News Digital that President-elect Donald Trump is the “perfect leader” to negotiate and deliver the “deal of the century” to keep TikTok available in the U.S.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, 2025 on the law that requires a divestment of TikTok from foreign adversary control. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and connected to the Chinese Communist Party. 

TIKTOK: MCCAUL SAYS HE ‘CAN’T THINK OF A GREATER PROPAGANDA TOOL’ FOR CHINA

That legislation, which was signed into law in the spring, requires a sale of TikTok from ByteDance by Jan. 19. If ByteDance does not divest by the deadline, Google and Apple are no longer able to feature TikTok in their app stores in the U.S.

Supreme Court Justices said they will hold a special session on Jan. 10 to hear oral arguments in the case — an expedited timeline that will allow them to consider the case just nine days before the Jan. 19 ban is slated to take effect. The law allows the president to extend the deadline by up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of divesting. 

John Moolenaar, a Republican from Mississippi, is now the chairman of the House Select Committee on China.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Moolenaar, R-Mich., said he has been meeting with top investors, and that he has “full confidence” that Trump “will be able to make a great deal for America.” 

“It will be the deal of the century,” Moolenaar said, noting that the divestment “could happen in phases.” 

“First with a buyout and then a massive IPO—probably the largest IPO in history,” he said. “And I believe President Trump is the perfect leader to negotiate and deliver this win.” 

He added: “President Trump has the opportunity to make the deal of the century because of the leverage of the TikTok legislation passed by Congress.” 

SUPREME COURT TO TAKE UP CHALLENGE TO TIKTOK BAN

Moolenaar predicted that the sale of TikTok could be completed quickly after it exhausts its appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case. He said a “massive” IPO could occur “later, as one piece of the solution.” 

“I think TikTok and ByteDance have been dragging their feet,” Moolenaar said. “Once they realize they’re required to follow U.S. law, I believe this will move forward fairly quickly.” 

TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency application to the high court earlier this month asking justices to temporarily block the law from being enforced while it appealed a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

Lawyers for TikTok have argued that the law passed earlier this year is a First Amendment violation, noting in their Supreme Court request that “Congress’s unprecedented attempt to single out applicants and bar them from operating one of the most significant speech platforms in this nation” and “presents grave constitutional problems that this court likely will not allow to stand.”

But Moolenaar warned that without divestment, the CCP could attempt to “manipulate perceptions in the United States,” and said they have “access to Americans’ data” through TikTok. 

“It is very profitable, very popular, and it is a major inroad for the CCP to influence American culture,” said Moolenaar.

But as for CCP access to the data of U.S. citizens, TikTok created its “Project Texas” initiative, which is dedicated to addressing concerns about U.S. national security. 

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew speaks to reporters before a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform’s consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, Thursday, March 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says “Project Texas” creates a stand-alone version of the TikTok platform for the U.S. isolated on servers in Oracle’s U.S. cloud environment. It was developed by CFIUS and cost the company approximately $1.5 billion to implement.

Chew has argued that TikTok is not beholden to any one country, though executives in the past have admitted that Chinese officials had access to Americans’ data even when U.S.-based TikTok officials did not.

TikTok claims that the new initiative keeps U.S. user data safe, and told Fox News Digital that data is managed “by Americans, in America.”

But Moolenaar says that even “Project Texas” “really is not enough.” 

TECH LEADERS BEZOS, ZUCKERBERG, COOK AND PICHAI LOOK FOR FACE TIME WITH TRUMP   

“When you consider that ByteDance is affiliated with the CCP, and they call the shots for TikTok, the TikTok algorithm is very different in the U.S. than it is in China,” he explained. “There needs to be a divestment, and we need to know either an American company or a company affiliated with like-minded nations, friendly nations, not adversarial nations, is in charge of this app.” 

He added: “Only that will satisfy the law and protect our national security.” 

Moolenaar said that, until now, the Chinese Communist Party “didn’t have a reason to allow the sale of TikTok.” 

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec. 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“But that has changed, and President Trump knows from experience that the only language the CCP speaks is hardball,” Moolenaar said. “He is an incredible negotiator, and our legislation is giving him the leverage he needs to make this historic deal.” 

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Yet, Trump has signaled support for TikTok. Earlier this month, he met with Chew at Mar-a-Lago, telling reporters during a press conference ahead of the meeting that his incoming administration will “take a look at TikTok” and the looming U.S. ban.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump told reporters.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, experienced a “very rapid” decline since moving into a retirement facility, her son said, after it was discovered over the weekend that the congresswoman had been absent from her duties in the Capitol for nearly six months.

Brandon Granger told the New York Post that his mother made the decision to move into the retirement community on her own, though she has since shown signs of dementia over the past three months.

The 81-year-old congresswoman, who did not seek re-election and is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24. She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.

Granger’s absence was first reported by the Dallas Express on Friday in a piece that quoted a constituent of her district who said that Granger was residing in a memory care facility in Texas.

HOUSE PASSES FUNDING BILL WITH JUST HOURS UNTIL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Retiring Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, appeared for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman in Washington, D.C., in November. (The Office of Kay Granger)

A source in Granger’s office spoke to Fox News on Sunday, denying that the congresswoman was in the facility’s memory care unit. The source said Granger was residing in the retirement facility where memory care is provided, though not in the memory care unit itself.

Brandon Granger excoriated the reports that said his mother was in the memory care unit after she was found wandering as “a load of bulls–t.”

“They have a memory care facility there, but she’s in [an] independent living facility,” Brandon Granger told The Post. “It’s a nice condo. I helped her move in.” 

Granger speaks during a news conference with other Republican members of the House of Representatives at the Capitol on July 21, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Brandon Granger added that his mother’s decline has been “very rapid and very difficult,” though he did not say whether she had received treatment at the memory facility, the Post reported.

GOP REP-ELECT OUTLINES HOW DOGE, TRUMP AGENDA WILL GET COUNTRY ‘BACK ON TRACK’: ‘NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL’

Granger released a statement Sunday saying that she has faced “health challenges” and is “deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern” over the weekend.

“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in the statement. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years.”

Granger, center, talks with Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., during the House Appropriations Committee markup of “Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill and Interim Suballocation of Budget Allocations” in Rayburn Building on June 14, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

While Granger appears to not have cast a vote since July, she did return to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman, and a reception that followed. House Speaker Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., were both present at the event.

Granger has served in the House since 1997. She previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.

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Republican congressman-elect Craig Goldman will succeed Granger in January.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

The Biden administration has made tightening efficiency standards for household appliances a target as he’s built out his climate agenda over the past four years. 

“Making common household appliances more efficient is one of the most effective ways to slash energy costs and cut harmful carbon emissions,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who has spearheaded efforts to push households to adopt green energy alternatives, said in a statement. 

However, energy experts and manufacturers have warned that the Biden administration’s regulations would lead to more expensive household appliances that are far less effective than current models.

“What these mandates – what these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency that doesn’t make sense,” said Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “And they compromise product quality. We’ve already seen this to an extent with the cost of clothes washer standards.” 

1. Washing machines

The Department of Energy (DOE) introduced a final rule in February imposing stricter energy standards for residential clothes washers (RCWs), such as washing machines and clothes dryers. 

HOUSE SET TO CHALLENGE BIDEN GREEN ENERGY STANDARDS FOR WASHING MACHINES WITH ‘LIBERTY IN LAUNDRY’ BILL VOTE

President Biden speaks at a “Christmas Dinner for All” in the East Room of the White House on Dec. 10, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg)

Under the regulations, certain less-efficient models of washers and dryers would be barred from being sold, according to DOE. 

The department projected that the energy standards would collectively save American households $2.2 billion per year on utility bills while reducing nearly 71 million metric tons of “dangerous carbon dioxide emissions” over the next three decades. 

However, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers argued that DOE’s washing machine regulations “would have a disproportionate, negative impact on low-income households” by eliminating cheaper appliances from the market. 

“Despite misleading claims to the contrary, these proposals are intended for nothing more than promoting innovation and keeping money in the pockets of Americans everywhere without sacrificing the reliability and performance that consumers expect and rely on,” a spokesperson for the Department of Energy told Fox News Digital. “As evidenced in the Department’s testing and analysis, the proposed standards would not reduce product performance or negatively impact cleaning ability or cycle time.”

2. Refrigerators/Air conditioners

In 2023, the EPA finalized a rule to accelerate a transition to more advanced refrigeration and cooling technologies that don’t use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and proposed a second rule to manage HFCs in existing products. HFCs are chemicals common in household appliances, such as refrigeration, heating, and air conditioning units. 

The rule, set to go into effect in 2025, aims to phase out HFCs to achieve an 85% reduction by 2036.

But manufacturers reportedly privately predicted that the regulation would increase prices up to 20%, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Burner on a natural gas-burning stove. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

3. Gas stoves

In February 2023, the DOE issued a proposal to target gas-powered stovetops, which was set to take effect in 2027 and affect 50% of current gas stove models. 

Under the 2023 proposal, DOE would have banned the future sale of gas stoves that consume more than 1,204 thousand kBtu per year. 

Restaurant owners have fumed over potential gas stove ban regulations.

“The majority of New York City restaurants use gas. It’s the most common stove in a high-volume kitchen,” Peter Petti, executive chef at Upper East Side restaurant, Sojourn, told the New York Post. “Gas lets us do our job efficiently.”

After facing pushback from Republicans and consumer advocacy groups, the DOE issued its final regulations, which will impact 3% of gas stove models, rather than the initial 50%.

4. Light bulbs

The Biden administration doubled efficiency standards for light bulbs, requiring manufacturers to raise the levels for common light bulbs from 45 lumens per watt to more than 120 lumens per watt, a nearly 170% increase. Only LED bulbs will be able to comply with the standards, not compact fluorescent bulbs.

The DOE suggested that the regulations will slash greenhouse gas pollution by cutting 70 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next three decades.

A shelf stocked with incandescent light bulbs at the City Lights Light Bulb Store in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

When it takes effect in 2028, the rule will knock most currently available LEDs off the market and increase the average price of the remaining ones from $2.98 to an estimated $5.68, an increase of $2.70 per bulb, according to Lieberman.

Results from a Residential Energy Consumption Survey indicate that fewer than half of households reported using LEDs as their primary or exclusive lighting source.

5. Furnaces

The DOE implemented efficiency regulations to prohibit new non-condensing gas furnaces by 2028, by requiring that non-weatherized gas furnaces achieve an annual fuel utilization efficiency of 95%.

The American Gas Association, American Public Gas Association, National Propane Gas Association and manufacturer Thermo Products filed a lawsuit against DOE, claiming that costs could increase for 30% of senior-only households, 26% of low-income households and 27% of small business consumers if the regulation were to go into effect.

A new Carrier natural gas furnace at a residential home in Spanish Fork, Utah, on Oct. 19, 2021. (George Frey/Getty Images)

“Yesterday, the Biden administration finalized a rule that would effectively ban natural gas furnaces and other gas furnaces that are found in more than half of U.S. households,” AGA Vice President of Energy Markets, Analysis, and Standards Richard Meyer told The National Desk in a statement. “In five years, around Christmas 2028, if you have to replace your gas furnace, you may be saddled with hundreds if not thousands of dollars of additional costs to upgrade that equipment to comply with this rule.”

6. Ceiling fans

The Biden administration amended its energy conservation standards, putting into effect stricter energy standards for ceiling fans.

According to an analysis from the DOE, the new rules would save households about $39 over the lifespan of the new energy-efficient fan, FOX Business previously reported.

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The regulation faced backlash from the House Small Business Committee, which claimed in a letter to the DOE secretary that it could put between 10% and 30% of small business ceiling fan manufacturers out of business.

Biden’s appliance regulations could soon be in jeopardy, as President-elect Donald Trump is expected to overturn much of the current administration’s climate agenda when he assumes the presidency in 2025.

Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row, a move that comes not even two weeks after he went through with the “largest single-day grant of clemency” in American history, the White House announced Monday.

Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole.

The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 people dead; Dylann Roof, a White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.

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President Biden is commuting the sentences for 37 of the 40 convicted murderers on federal death row, reclassifying them to life in prison without parole ahead of the Trump administration taking over. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

The men being resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole are convicted of various murderous acts against one person or multiple. Among the victims of the 37 men are law enforcement officers, children and other inmates.

A handful of the men on death row were also set to be executed with their co-defendants.

Biden, who only supports the death penalty at the federal level for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said this move will prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice,” according to the White House statement.

The president declared a moratorium on federal executions after taking office in 2021.

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The convicted murderers who will now escape execution include: Marcivicci Barnette, who killed a man in a carjacking and his ex-girlfriend; co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who kidnapped and killed a woman after escaping prison; Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard; Jason Brown, who stabbed a postal worker to death; Thomas Hager, who committed a drug-related killing; David Runyon, who participated in the murder-for-hire plot of a Naval officer; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; Rejon Taylor, who carjacked, kidnapped and killed a restaurant owner; and Alejandro Umana, who killed two brothers inside a restaurant.

The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, houses most of the convicted murderers on America’s federal death row. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Two men were on death row for the murders of witnesses: police officer Len Davis, who ordered the murder of a witness who was part of an investigation into a misconduct complaint against him, and Ronald Mikos, who killed a federal grand jury witness in a Medicare fraud investigation.

Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez was set to be executed for killing another servicemember.

The list also includes men who committed deadly bank robberies, such as co-defendants Billie Allen and Norris Holder, who killed a bank guard during their crime; Brandon Council, who killed two bank employees; and Daryl Lawrence, who killed a special-duty police officer during an attempted bank robbery.

This Sept. 12, 2017 booking photo from the Florence County Detention Center shows Brandon Council, who was sentenced to death for killing two bank employees during a bank robbery. (Florence County Detention Center via AP)

BIDEN COMMUTES 1,500 JAIL SENTENCES, GRANTS PARDONS FOR 39 OTHERS: ‘LARGEST SINGLE-DAY GRANT OF CLEMENCY’

Co-defendants James Roane, Jr., and Richard Tipton committed a series of drug-related murders as gang members with Corey Johnson, who was executed in 2021. 

Julius Robinson killed two people over drugs, and so did co-defendants Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., and Daniel Troya, who killed a family, including two children.

Drug lord Kaboni Savage murdered or directed someone else to murder 12 people during a 16-year period – including an arson that killed six members of a federal informant’s family.

Philadelphia drug lord Kaboni Savage was convicted of committing or directing 12 murders, including one that involved firebombing the home of a federal witness. Four children and two adults were killed in the act. (FBI)

Edward Fields was on death row for murdering two campers on federal land, while Marvin Gabrion and Richard Jackson were both there for killing a woman on federal land in separate cases.

Co-defendants Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel were convicted of kidnapping and killing five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.

Lastly, the following men were sentenced to death in various cases for killing a prisoner in federal prison: Shannon Agofsky, Carlos Caro, co-defendants Wesley Coonce and Charles Hall, co-defendants Christopher Cramer and Ricky Fackrell, Joseph Ebron and co-defendants Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr.

Monday’s commutations join Biden’s list of similar moves during his presidency, which have sparked mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and have outpaced any president in modern history when compared to length of service.

Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son, Hunter.

Hunter Biden flashes a big smile as he leaves an Arby’s in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. This was the first time that President Biden’s son was photographed after he was pardoned by his father. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

As of Dec. 13, Biden has pardoned a total of 65 individuals and commuted sentences for 1,634 inmates during his time as president, according to the Department of Justice.

“The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms,” White House officials said in a previous statement.

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Various groups and people, including former corrections officials, praised Biden’s decision ahead of the public announcement, calling him “courageous” and thanking him for sending a “strong message.”

Biden was urged by 28 former corrections officials in a letter to commute sentences on federal death row for the safety of federal correctional professionals who participate in executions.

“President Biden has made a courageous decision that will benefit many within the federal Bureau of Prisons. Resources can be allocated more rationally, and staff will not face the harm of participating in executions any time soon. I hope state leaders follow suit, for the benefit of their own correctional staff,” said Justin Jones, the former Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, was also among those who issued a statement, saying, in part, that this decision “marks an important turning point” and sends a “strong message to Americans that the death penalty is not the answer to our country’s concerns about public safety.”

Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative founder and executive director, is one of many to commend President Biden for commuting federal death row sentences. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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Biden said he does condemn the murderers and their “despicable acts,” and he grieves for the victims and families who have suffered “unimaginable and irreparable loss,” but he “cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” according to the White House statement.

It also said Biden will use the last few weeks of his presidency to “provide meaningful second chances” and “review additional pardons and commutations.”

The fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was the crescendo of a remarkably bad year for the Iranian regime. 

The Islamic Republic suffered major blows in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, diminishing the power of its so-called Axis of Resistance. Its currency officially became the lowest valued in the world and when Israel decimated its proxy forces, the U.S. elected a president whom Iran so despises that it spent years trying to assassinate him. 

Here’s a look back at blows suffered by Ayatollah Ali Khameini and his regime over the past year: 

The fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was the crescendo of a remarkably bad year for the Iranian regime. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)

April: counter-attack on Israel fails to inflict damage 

In April, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria, prompting Iran to strike back with more than 300 drones and missiles aimed into Israel. But Israel worked with the U.S., Jordan and Saudi Arabia to shoot down nearly every missile and drone. 

May: president dies in helicopter crash 

The late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash while visiting a remote area. Iran has blamed the crash on dense fog. Raisi was a protégé and potential successor of Iran’s supreme leader, Khameini. 

July: top Hamas commander taken out

While Iran inaugurated a new president this summer, Israel infiltrated to take out Hamas commander Ismail Haniyeh while he was visiting Tehran for the inauguration. While Haniyeh was staying in a VIP government guest house, Israel detonated a remote-controlled bomb. 

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October: Hamas head and architect of October 7 attack killed 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took out Hamas head Yahya Sinwar after encountering him on a routine patrol in the Gaza city of Rafah. Sinwar was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and was one of the most wanted men of the war. 

Hamas has lost thousands of fighters and much of its leadership ranks to Israel’s attacks and is nowhere near the threatening force on Israel’s borders Iran hoped it would be. 

IDF took out Hamas head Yahya Sinwar after encountering him on a routine patrol in the Gaza city of Rafah. (AP)

November: Trump elected 

Iran’s currency tanked to an all-time low upon news of the Trump election, and the expectation that he might bring back a “maximum pressure” policy. 

The Iranian rial is down 46% this year, making it officially the least-valuable currency in the world.

Iran has long vowed revenge for Trump approving the 2019 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani – and U.S. intelligence revealed Tehran plots to kill the president-elect. 

After the Trump administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, it imposed harsh sanctions on the regime to stop its funding of proxies abroad, banning U.S. citizens from trading with Iran or handling Iranian money. 

It also punished entities in other countries that did business with Iran, by cutting them off from the dollar. 

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President Joe Biden often waived enforcement of such sanctions, keen to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons and fearful of driving up global oil prices. 

Iran’s currency tanked to an all-time low upon news of the Trump election, and the expectation that he might bring back a “maximum pressure” policy. (AP Images)

Iran gained access to more than $10 billion through a State Department sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to continue buying energy from Iran, which the Biden administration argues is necessary to keep lights on in Baghdad.  

November: Hezbollah signs ceasefire with Israel 

In the fall, Israel reoriented much of its efforts toward pummeling Hezbollah after a series of cross-border attacks from the Lebanese militant group. Israel targeted Hezbollah’s leadership and detonated hundreds of pagers the group had been using to communicate. At the end of November, Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire where it and Israel must both end their armed presences in southern Lebanon. 

Both sides have claimed the other has broken the fragile truce, but it has ostensibly held for weeks.  

December: Assad falls 

Syrian rebels sent Iran’s Quds forces, an extension of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, running as they captured Damascus and pushed out President Bashar al-Assad. Iran’s forces had been in Syria propping up Assad since civil war broke out in 2011, but had been diminished since the outbreak of war elsewhere in the Middle East. 

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Syria’s new government is set to be run by Sunni Muslims, hostile to Iran’s Shiite government. And Iran lost a key supply line through Syria it had used to arm Hezbollah in its fight against Israel. 

President-elect Donald Trump unleashed a slew of nominations on Sunday night, naming several new people to serve in his forthcoming administration.

In several Truth Social posts on Sunday, Trump introduced various experts to work in the White House on issues ranging from defense to technology to budgeting. The Republican leader began by naming Stephen Alexander Vaden as his nominee for deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

“In my First Term, Stephen was the General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture, and a Member of the Board of the Commodity Credit Corporation, where he won two cases before the United States Supreme Court, relocated and reorganized the Agencies that comprise the Department to better serve Rural America, and engaged in substantial regulatory reform,” Trump wrote in a post. 

“Stephen joined the USDA on Day One of my First Term, and left in December 2020 after I nominated him, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him, to continue to serve the American People as an Article III Judge on the Court of International Trade,” he added. “Judge Stephen Vaden resides in Union City, Tennessee, where he helps manage his family farm. Congratulations Stephen!”

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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on December 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump followed up his first post by naming a “slate of America First Patriots” to work with Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of defense and a former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host. Trump nominated Stephen Feinberg as the next deputy secretary of defense, and said Feinberg would “Help Make the Pentagon Great Again.”

“An extremely successful businessman, Stephen is a Princeton graduate, who founded his company, Cerberus, in 1992,” Trump wrote. “In addition to his leadership at Cerberus, from 2018 to January 2021, Stephen served as Chairman of my Intelligence Advisory Board.”

The president-elect went on to name Elbridge “Bridge” Colby as his pick for under secretary of defense for policy.

“A highly respected advocate for our America First foreign and defense policy, Bridge will work closely with my outstanding Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to restore our Military power, and achieve my policy of PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump said, noting that Colby graduated from Harvard University and Yale Law School. 

“Bridge served with distinction in the Pentagon in my First Term, leading the effort on my landmark 2018 Defense strategy…and will make an excellent addition to my team, who will, Make America Great Again!”

Trump then named Michael Duffey and Emil Michael as his picks for under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, respectively.

“Mike will drive change at the Pentagon and, as a staunch proponent of an America First approach to our National Defense, will work to revitalize our Defense Industrial Base, and rebuild our Military,” Trump said of Duffey.

Trump added that Emil Michael would “ensure that our Military has the most technologically sophisticated weapons in the World, while saving A LOT of money for our Taxpayers.”

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President-elect Donald Trump revealed several picks for his second administration on Sunday. (Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

“Emil is a graduate of Harvard University, and has a Law degree from Stanford,” Trump wrote. “He is a one of the most respected leaders in the Tech business, and will be a champion for the Troops, and our Great Country.”

For his next defense-related picks, Trump announced Keith Bass as his nominee for assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, and that Joe Kasper would serve as chief of staff for the secretary of defense. Kasper worked in the first Trump administration in support roles, in addition to Capitol Hill. 

Bass, a retired Navy commander, would be “leading the charge to ensure our Troops are healthy, and receiving the best Medical Care possible,” Trump said. 

Next, Trump announced Scott Kupor as his pick for the director of the Office of Personnel Management. Trump noted that Kupor was the first employee at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm where he is now a managing partner.

“Scott will bring much needed reform to our federal workforce. Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy,” Trump wrote. “He also holds a Law degree, with distinction, from Stanford University. Congratulations Scott!”

In his final bundle of nominations, the Republican president-elect announced his picks for tech-related roles. Trump began by naming Michael J.K. Kratsios as his new director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Kratsios, who will also serve as an assistant to the president for science and technology, holds a degree from Princeton University. Trump noted that he previously served as an under secretary of defense for research & engineering at the Pentagon, among other roles.

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Former President Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday, Aug. 9. (AP/Rick Bowmer)

Trump added that Dr. Lynne Parker will serve as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and counselor to the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

“Dr. Parker previously served as Deputy U.S. CTO, and Founding Director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office,” Trump said. “She received her PhD in Computer Science from MIT.”

Trump’s last two picks were Bo Hines and Sriram Krishnan. Hines will be the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, which Trump described as a “a new advisory group composed of luminaries from the Crypto industry.”

“In his new role, Bo will work with David to foster innovation and growth in the digital assets space, while ensuring industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed,” Trump wrote, adding that Krishnan will serve as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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President-elect Donald Trump listens during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in A.I., and help shape and coordinate A.I. policy across Government, including working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,” Trump wrote. “Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure.”