NationalWatch

While many states voted on abortion measures and immigration initiatives, several blue states passed tougher crime measures.

“You’re allowed to rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950. Has everyone ever heard of that?,” President-elect Donald Trump said at a press conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, in August. “You can rob a store, and you have these thieves going into stores with calculators, calculating how much it is.”

While convicted shoplifters have faced charges, California voters thought the penalties were not enough. Proposition 36 now makes shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CONCEDES COMPETITIVE RACE TO DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER

According to California crime data, shoplifting had been on the rise. Incidents jumped 27.5% between 2018 and 2023. Proposition 36 also tackles another issue in California – drug addiction. The measure increases penalties for some drug charges, including fentanyl. During the same time period, fentanyl overdose deaths were also up by more than 770%.

A voter casts a ballot during the Super Tuesday primary at a polling station in an American Legion Post in Hawthorne, California, on March 5, 2024. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Prop 36 is a balanced approach to reducing crime to keep our communities safe while holding repeat retail thieves and those trafficking drugs to minors more accountable,” said Elizabeth Graham, CEO of the California Fuels & Convenience Alliance.

The changes in the new measure stem from an initiative passed in 2014, which downgraded some drug offenses and thefts under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors.

“I know we’re all here to say no to Prop 36, but some of us are here to say hell no to Prop 36,” said a speaker at a rally in opposition of Proposition 36.

While the initiative passed with overwhelming support, those against the measure say it will disproportionately imprison poor people and those with substance abuse issues.

“This is not the time to return to our ridiculous failed policy of incarceration,” said another speaker against the initiative.

Longs Peak, part of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, rises in the background, framed by green trees and the Denver skyline. (Dave Parsons via iStock)

Colorado voters also voted in favor of several crime initiatives. In the aftermath of the pandemic crime rose across the country, including in Colorado. The most recent data shows violent crime is up 23.8% from 2019.

“I am going to make Colorado safe again. We’re going to make you safe. We’re going to do it fast,” President-elect Trump said at a rally in Aurora, focusing on suspected Tren de Aragua crime in the area.

Voters approved an initiative that removed the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder, when the proof is evident, or the presumption is great. Another measure requires criminals convicted of violent crimes, to serve more of their sentences, before being eligible for parole.

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SUMMONS LEGISLATURE IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP WIN: ‘READY TO FIGHT’

Voters also approved a fund for police officer recruitment, retention and training and a separate fund to help victims of crime.

“Places like Denver have given away, have diverted $9 million out of law enforcement. Why? Because we need to take care of the euphemistically named newcomers. We have a spending problem. We have a prioritization problem. Crime is going up because of your policies,” Colorado state Rep. Ken DeGraaf said during a hearing on a property tax bill in August.

Colorado voters also denied an effort to end hunting of wild cats like Mountain Lions, Bobcats and Lynx. Most states allow for Bobcat and Mountain Lion hunting, but Lynx are already federally protected. California has passed a state ban on sport hunting Mountain Lions. Florida’s panthers are classified as endangered under federal law.

A mountain lion is pictured in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Colorado voters recently rejected a proposal to ban hunting of wild cats, including mountain lions, bobcats and lynx. (Dennis Donohue via iStock)

Florida voters also approved protections for hunters and fishermen. The measure adds language to the state constitution that provides a right to hunt and fish. Proponents say the change guards against efforts to take away those rights. Opponents say the addition is legal overkill.

In Maine, voters decided against changing their state flag. The first official flag, used between 1901 and 1909, gained popularity in recent years. It shows a pine tree and star. But voters decided to keep the blue state seal as its official flag.

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There were also several unusual local laws passed. Voters in Miami-Dade county decided to expand public Wi-Fi access. Malheur County, Oregon voted against repealing a mandate that would have ended some discussions over shifting the Idaho-Oregon border. Voters in Illinois also voted on state boundaries. Seven counties voted in favor of exploring whether to secede from the state over differences with Cook County which holds Chicago.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested another illegal immigrant charged with child sex offenses in Boston, just as the Massachusetts governor has said she won’t assist in a mass deportation operation by the incoming Trump administration.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston announced this month that they had apprehended a Colombian illegal immigrant on Oct. 29. He had been arrested by the Boston Police Department on charges of enticing a child under 16, distribution of obscene matter, and lascivious posing and exhibiting a child in the nude.

ICE had lodged a detainer — a request that an illegal immigrant be detained until ICE can take them into custody — but the detainer was not honored by local authorities and he was released from custody. The man, Mateo Hincapie Cardona, had been encountered in April by Border Patrol in Arizona and released on his own recognizance.

DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS

An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

“This individual is charged with committing heinous crimes against a child, which show him to be a distinct threat to our Massachusetts community,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde. 

It’s one of a number of incidents whereby ICE’s Boston unit have had to go after illegal immigrants released from local custody in the city and surrounding areas. “Sanctuary” jurisdictions typically do not honor ICE detainers, arguing that doing so encourages illegal immigrants to come forward and work with police if they are victims or witnesses to crimes. Massachusets is not a sanctuary state as it does not have a sanctuary law on the books, but a number of its cities — including Boston — are sanctuary cities.

In September, ICE announced it had arrested an illegal Salvadoran immigrant who was charged with several sex crimes against a child. He was one of a number of “egregious” illegal immigrant sex offenders caught in an operation in Nantucket.

The same month, ICE announced the arrest of a “gotaway” migrant in Lynn, Massachusetts. He had been charged with rape, indecent assault and battery of a person over 18, but had been released on bail without notifying immigration officials.

WEALTHY, LIBERAL NANTUCKET, MARTHA’S VINEYARD SEES 6 ICE ARRESTS IN ONE MONTH

Mateo Hincapie Cardona, 28, is currently in custody pending removal proceedings. 

In August, ICE arrested a Brazilian illegal immigrant in Wakefield, Massachusetts, who was charged with assault to rape, indecent assault and battery, and domestic assault and battery in Massachusetts.

A law enforcement source confirmed to Fox News that despite having an active arrest warrant for domestic violence, the local bail commissioner allowed him to be released back on bond.

In March, Fox News embedded with ICE officers in Boston and saw them make five arrests, including four alleged child rapists and a member of MS-13, a group of potential dangerous criminals the officers say were allowed on the streets because of local sanctuary policies that denied the agency’s detainer requests.

While ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons praised the work of local officers to remove the potential threats to the community from the streets, he admitted the sanctuary policies in Boston are “frustrating” and make it more difficult for the agency to do its job.

But those sanctuary policies are likely to come more into focus with the looming Trump administration.

‘LIBERATION DAY’: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP ON BORDER SECURITY, IMMIGRATION

President-elect Trump has promised to carry out a mass deportation operation, and this week tapped former acting ICE Director Tom Homan as the “border czar.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has said state police would “absolutely not” assist agents in their deportation operations, and hinted at potential action to push back against the administration.

“Some realities need to be noted, and that is in 2016, we had a different situation in the courts, and I am sure there may be litigation ahead. There is a lot of other ways people are going to act and need to act for the sake of their states and residents,” Healey said. “There’s regulatory authority and executive powers and the like. There’s legislation also within our state.

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“So I think the key here is that, you know, every tool in the tool box has got to be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and protect our states and to hold the line on democracy and the rule of law as a basic principle.”

A source at ICE Boston was unimpressed by Healey’s comments.

“Governor Healey’s sanctuary policies protect the criminals and endanger law enforcement officers everyday,” they said. “Her policies do not protect the citizens of the communities to which she took an oath.”

Justice Samuel Alito has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court anytime soon, a source close to the justice told the Wall Street Journal, halting a flurry of speculation among some Republican leaders that Alito, 74, could vacate the bench to make room for a younger, more conservative jurist.

Rumors about Alito’s retirement began swirling almost immediately after Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, which also saw Republicans set to take back control of the Senate and retain control of the House in January.

‘EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES’: NY JUDGE IN TRUMP CASE PAUSES ALL COURT DEADLINES, SENTENCING

The media is shown outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

With no filibuster allowed on Supreme Court appointments, the GOP majority would allow Trump to face little if any resistance in confirming his picks for high court justices, should the court’s two oldest conservative justices, Alito and Clarence Thomas, retire.

Alito, for his part, has made clear he has no plans to do so. 

“Despite what some people may think, this is a man who has never thought about this job from a political perspective,” a person close to Alito told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news of his intention to remain on the bench. 

“The idea that he’s going to retire for political considerations is not consistent with who he is,” this person added.

SUPREME COURT TEMPORARILY HALTS LOWER COURT RULING ORDERING 1,600 VOTERS BACK ON VIRGINIA VOTER ROLLS

The current members of the U.S. Supreme Court (Alex Wong/Getty Images/File)

Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by President George W. Bush. 

At 74, Alito is the second-oldest justice on the bench behind Justice Clarence Thomas, 76, who was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by President Obama in 2009, is 70.

But pressure for Alito and Thomas to step aside to make way for younger, Trump-picked candidates could prove to be deeply polarizing at a time when public approval of the Supreme Court is in the mid 40s, according to a Gallup survey in September.

Conservatives currently hold a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. Trump named three justices to the Supreme Court during his first term, preserving its conservative majority. President Biden, for his part, most recently named Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the court in 2022 after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.

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If Alito and Thomas were to retire from the bench, Trump could become the first president since Eisenhower, also a Republican, to name a majority of the justices of the Supreme Court.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has launched a website to crowdsource names to fill 4,000 political appointee positions in President-elect Trump’s new administration. 

The online forum, referred to as “Nominees for the People” and powered by Kennedy’s initiative to “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA), prompts visitors to nominate and vote for candidates to fill positions under the categories of “America’s Health,” “Economy,” “Education,” “Energy and Infrastructure,” “Environmental and Natural Resources,” “Food and Agriculture,” “Labor,” “Peace Abroad (State, Defense, Intelligence),” and “Peace at Home (Justice, Security and Immigration).” 

“President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. want your help nominating people of integrity and courage for over 4,000 appointments across the future Trump Administration,” the site’s welcome page says. 

“Cast your vote on nominees for the Trump team,” the page says. “Make America Healthy Again isn’t just about encouraging Americans to eat clean, organic food, exercising, or educating them about how to avoid toxins in our food, water, air, and soil — it’s about the people taking back control of our government, our country, and our health.”

RFK JR. WANTS TO CLEAR OUT ‘ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS’ IN THE FDA: ‘THEY HAVE TO GO’

Top contenders under the “Peace at Home” category include Brandon Herrera, a Second Amendment activist and YouTuber who attempted to recreate the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, as well as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

“We want nominees who will secure our borders, protect children and adults from human trafficking, deport migrant criminals, and enhance our homeland’s critical infrastructure and technologies,” the category page says. 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Donald Trump shake hands Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz., after Kennedy announced he was suspending his campaign.  (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and Space X who took over the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, received more than 4,900 votes under the “Government Efficiency” category. 

Trump has teased a potential new cabinet role for Musk along the lines of “Secretary of Cost Cutting,” while Musk has called for the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency. There is also interest in Trump choosing Musk as an artificial intelligence adviser.

The website has received thousands of votes for MikeroweWORKS founder Mike Rowe, as well as progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to focus on labor. Biden-Harris administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received the highest number of votes so far under the “Energy and Infrastructure” category, while former presidential candidate and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was also a top contender for that role.

Former Nevada City, California, Mayor Reinette Senum was among the names submitted for consideration to serve in environmental and natural resource-related positions. 

“Exciting Announcement, MAHA Nomination: Your Voice for Clear Skies. Supporting my bid to address geoengineering at the highest level!” Senum wrote on X. 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a Trump campaign rally Nov. 1, 2024, in Warren, Mich., four days before Election Day. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

RFK JR. CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF FLUORIDE FROM DRINKING WATER, SPARKING DEBATE

The website has no promises from the Trump transition team that the online nominees will make it into the administration. 

Kennedy entered the race as a Democratic candidate, left the party to run as an independent before abandoning his bid, then endorsed Trump with the promise to have an impact on health policy in a future administration.

On Saturday, he suggested the Trump administration could replace as many as 600 employees within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks at a rally for former President Trump Oct. 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on Jan. 20, so that, on Jan. 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave,” Kennedy said at the Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

In recent weeks, Kennedy has talked about exercising control of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or gaining the power to “reorganize” federal health agencies. 

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He has said Trump, upon taking office, would push local water systems to remove fluoride from drinking water and allow him to investigate the safety of vaccines. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Biden administration will support a U.N. treaty this week that will create a new cybercrime convention that includes China and Russia — which has not sat well with some lawmakers and critics. 

Since 2001, the global governance around cybercrime has largely been coordinated by the Budapest Convention, a product of the Council of Europe that includes 76 countries. It does not include Russia or China. However, under the U.N.’s new cybercrime convention, these two adversarial nations will be welcomed into the global cybercrime governance fold.  

The move, confirmed by top officials familiar with the issue, has been met with concern from those who fear that a new global alliance on cybersecurity involving two of the nation’s most adversarial nations could spell trouble.

CYBER-ATTACKS AGAINST AMERICANS AT ALL TIME HIGH OVER PAST TWO YEARS

Delegates attend the U.N. Security Council meeting on the current North Korean military escalation in Russia and Ukraine at the United Nations Headquarters on Oct. 30, 2024 in New York City.

“We recognize that defending human rights and core principles of internet freedom is not easy,” a group of Democratic lawmakers on the Hill wrote last week to top officials in the Biden administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Jake Sullivan. “Russia, China and other regimes opposed to democratic freedoms are always working to create international legitimacy for their actions and worldview … Unfortunately, these efforts – while laudable – are insufficient to fix fundamental flaws in the convention.”

IRAN TRIED TO INFLUENCE ELECTION BY SENDING STOLEN MATERIAL FROM TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO BIDEN’S CAMP

The decision to support the new treaty came after months of deliberations between the Biden administration and others, including hundreds of nongovernmental entities involved in human rights and other relevant issues. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. “decided to remain with consensus,” arguing the U.S.’s sway on global “rights-respecting” cybersecurity policy will be greater under the new convention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 22, 2024. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS)

To help address concerns that have been raised about the convention, the Biden administration plans to develop a risk management plan and will engage with nongovernmental stakeholders to help refine it. 

A “consensus proceeding” took place Monday, and the resolution was approved without a vote. According to Politico, it is expected to be adopted by the General Assembly later this year. 

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A person tries to log into a laptop.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would be nominating New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik to be the next U.N. ambassador in his administration.

The White House declined to comment on the record for this story.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel in the incoming Trump administration, President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday. 

“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump said in a social media post.

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

DES MOINES, IA – JANUARY 28:  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) and rival candidate Mike Huckabee shake hands during the rally for veterans at Drake University on January 28, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa.  (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

President-elect Trump is quickly moving to assemble his second administration, and this time around,k he does not appear to be searching for many outsiders to his political orbit.

As he aims to turn Washington, D.C., upside down, the former and future president is turning to allies, loyalists and other supporters of his MAGA movement and America First agenda, many of whom are known commodities in the nation’s capital.

Unlike eight years ago, when the first-time politician first took control of the White House, he is not in the market for establishment types or those who served in his first administration, but in his mind, proved disloyal.

VANCE IS THE FRONT-RUNNER, BUT HERE’S WHO ELSE MAY RUN FOR THE 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night celebration at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Elise is a strong and very smart America First fighter,” Trump said of Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, whom he has chosen as his ambassador to the United Nations. “She was the first Member of Congress to endorse me and has always been a staunch advocate.”

Additionally, Trump called former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, whom he is aiming to install as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, “a true fighter for America First policies.”

TRUMP EXPECTED TO PICK NOEM TO STEER HOMELAND SECURITY

The president-elect is also expected to name South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a conservative firebrand and MAGA-world star who has long been a fierce Trump ally and supporter, as Homeland Security secretary.

Former President Donald Trump listens as North Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Noem will work with Stephen Miller, whom the president-elect has picked as his incoming deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller was the architect of much of the first Trump administration’s hard-line policy on immigration and border security.

She will also collaborate with Thomas Homan, who, as acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during the first administration, was often the face of Trump’s controversial immigration policies. The president-elect has named Homan as his incoming “border czar.”

TRUMP TO PICK FLORIDA’S RUBIO TO SERVE AS SECRETARY OF STATE

Fox News also reported that Trump is expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as secretary of state.

Rubio was a rival to Trump during the combustible 2016 Republican presidential nomination battle but over the years has become a strong Trump ally in the Senate.

Former President Donald Trump, left, greets Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov. 4, 2024. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly / AFP)

While the senator is known on Capitol Hill as a foreign policy hawk who favors maintaining U.S. alliances overseas, including NATO, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member has taken similar positions to Trump on a number of top international conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas. 

Trump also named Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida as his national security adviser. Waltz, a former Army Green Beret, is a longtime Trump ally,

Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor and bundler who raised big bucks for Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns, noted that Trump is in a very different situation than he was eight years ago, when he first won the White House.

“He’s got a stronger mandate because he won the popular vote, and he won all seven swing states,” Eberhart emphasized. “I also think he knows what he wants, and he knows better how to get what he wants out of Washington. He’s going to have a more cohesive, more MAGA team, that’s hopefully able to accomplish more.”

Those whom the president-elect feels have not shown their loyalty to him appear to be iced out.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump this past weekend announced in a social media post that he would not ask former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – who served as ambassador to the U.N. in his first administration – and former Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas – who served as CIA director and then Secretary of State in Trump’s first term – to join his incoming cabinet.

Haley ran against Trump in this year’s Republican presidential primaries and ended up as the final challenger to the former president in what turned into a divisive nomination battle. 

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Pompeo seriously mulled making his own 2024 White House run before ultimately deciding not to launch a campaign. 

Both politicians eventually endorsed Trump this year, following the primary season.

A source in Trump’s political orbit who’s involved in the transition told Fox News that the president-elect is “not relying on people from the outside who weren’t really Trump people. The people now who are around him are all Trump people, and they will make sure that those whom they bring into the administration are believers in the president and his agenda and are going to work to advance his agenda.”

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is expected to become the next chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence after President-elect Donald Trump appoints current Vice Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to the role of secretary of state in his new administration. 

The Arkansas Republican and outspoken critic of both China and Iran is next in line after Rubio to lead the committee, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

JOHN THUNE SNAGS 2 MORE ENDORSEMENTS IN COMPETITIVE GOP LEADER RACE TO SUCCEED MCCONNELL

Sen. Tom Cotton is running for Senate GOP Conference chair. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

However, the final decision on committee leadership will be made by the Republican leader. 

Cotton’s office declined to comment to Fox News Digital. 

DEM REP RUBEN GALLEGO BEATS KARI LAKE IN BATTLE FOR ARIZONA SENATE SEAT

Sen. Marco Rubio is expected to be tapped as secretary of state. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A source familiar told Fox News Digital on Monday night that Rubio would be tapped by Trump for the coveted State Department role. However, they noted that the president-elect could still change his mind and go in a different direction. 

The current Intel chair is Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who will be expected to become vice chair in the new Congress when Republicans have the majority. 

PUBLIC PRESSURE CAMPAIGN BOOSTING RICK SCOTT COULD FALL FLAT WITH SENATE GOP COLLEAGUES, STRATEGISTS SAY

Sen. Mark Warner is chairman of the Intelligence Committee. (Reuters)

Cotton notably pulled his name from cabinet consideration last week, as Axios first reported. 

The senator, who many had seen as a frontrunner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, told the Trump transition team and fellow lawmakers that he asked for his name to be pulled from consideration, a source close to the Arkansas Republican told Fox News. 

TRUMP ALLIES BACK RICK SCOTT IN GOP SENATE LEADER RACE AS THEY LOOK TO INFLUENCE SECRET BALLOT

Sen. Tom Cotton is an ally of President-elect Donald Trump. (Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Cotton is currently running for the No. 3 Republican leadership position, which he feels “confident” in locking down. 

The source said Trump understands Cotton’s decision and knows “he is with him all the way in the Senate.”

A competitive race is brewing within the House GOP after the conference’s No. 4 leader was plucked to serve in the new Trump administration.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was elevated to serve as ambassador to the United Nations next year, sending lawmakers jockeying to fill her spot in Wednesday’s internal party leadership elections.

Now, at least three GOP lawmakers are running to fill her role, sources say, while two others have expressed interest. 

The House GOP Conference chair is responsible for crafting and overseeing House Republicans’ messaging strategy, as well as setting up their weekly conference meetings and beyond.

TRUMP NAMES STEFANIK UN AMBASSADOR

Rep. Kat Cammack, left, is running to succeed House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik in leadership, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, right, is considering a bid. (Getty Images)

It is an influential role on Capitol Hill that is little-known outside of Washington, D.C., but that could change in a federal government where Republicans control the White House, House and Senate.

Here’s everyone who is considering running so far.

Rep. Kat Cammack

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee and has at times served as a liaison during negotiations between House GOP leaders and more right-wing members of the conference.

She has the backing of several fellow Republicans like Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Cammack’s bid was also endorsed by LGBT group Log Cabin Republicans and the national Young Republicans organization.

STEFANIK SPARS WITH HEAD OF TOP SCHOOL OVER FAILING GRADE ON ANTISEMITISM, STUNNING WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM

In her letter to Republicans pitching herself for the role, Cammack suggested creating a Hispanic Outreach Task Force and a dedicated “rapid response operation” to help with communications conference-wide.

Rep. Erin Houchin

First-term Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., pointed out her experience running a communications firm in her argument to Republican lawmakers.

Like Cammack, she also shared a vision for moving House GOP messaging past traditional routes.

Rep. Erin Houchin is also running for the leadership spot. (Getty Images)

“The role of Conference chair is not about being in the spotlight; it’s about amplifying our members’ voices and providing them the tools we need,” Houchin said. “As legacy media fades, I’ll carry forward President Trump’s approach of taking our message directly to the American people.”

Rep. Lisa McClain

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., currently House GOP Conference secretary, was the first to express interest in the House GOP Conference chair role after Stefanik’s then-rumored departure.

Unlike the other three confirmed competitors, McClain comes from a critical battleground district – something she pointed out in her memo to lawmakers.

“I hail from a blue state, one of the most critical battlegrounds for the presidency and our House majority. I understand what it takes to win tough races,” she said of her home state of Michigan.

STEFANIK GRILLS HARVARD PRESIDENT OVER STUDENTS CALLING FOR ‘INTIFADA,’ RAMPANT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS

McClain has scored support from lawmakers across the House GOP, including Freedom Caucus member Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., senior House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., among others.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a first-term lawmaker who has garnered a significant media following, told Fox News Digital she was considering a run for the No. 4 House GOP leadership spot.

Rep. Lisa McClain announced her bid for Conference Chair earlier on Monday. (Tom Williams)

“I haven’t ruled out running, many people are saying I should. Whoever it is, I believe it’s important [they support] President Trump from the very beginning,” she said.

Luna has been a staunch ally of President-elect Donald Trump and is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

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Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., conceded his race to Democratic challenger George Whitesides on Tuesday as the final House races across the country start to get called.

Despite Garcia’s concession, the Associated Press has yet to call the race for Whitesides. As of Tuesday morning, Whitesides holds a 2-point lead with 83% of the vote counted. Whitesides’ lead is made up of roughly 7,000 votes.

“Since the age of 18 I have served this beautiful country,” Garcia said in a statement. “Representing the people of California’s 27th Congressional District the last 4.5 years has been an honor of a lifetime.”

Garcias went on to thank his family, staff and volunteers who worked on his campaign.

SHUTDOWN STANDOFF LOOMS IN CONGRESS’ FINAL WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP’S RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE

“I spoke with George Whitesides this evening to congratulate him, and I will ensure a smooth handoff of open constituent case work packages to him and his team,” Garcias added.

Whitesides accepted Garcia’s concession in a statement on social media after the pair spoke on the phone.

“Rep. Garcia called me earlier to concede the race, and I thanked him for his years of service to our district and to the nation,” Whitesides wrote. “In Congress, you can count on me to fight to create more good local jobs, lower everyday costs, build safe communities, protect Social Security and Medicare, and protect reproductive freedom.”

ALL EYES ON CALIFORNIA AS HOUSE MAJORITY STILL HINGES ON TIGHT RACES

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., has conceded his race for the state’s 27th Congressional District to challenger George Whitesides.

Garcia’s race was one of over a dozen House races that have yet to be decided. Republicans currently hold 214 seats, just 4 wins away from controlling the chamber.

WHAT STEFANIK’S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE

Many undeclared seats are in the western U.S. or in swing districts, including Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Maryland, New York, Maine and Alaska.

House Speaker Mike Johnson appears poised to keep his role, while Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries faces a steep path to a majority in the House. (Getty Images)

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The path to victory for a Democratic majority in the House is narrowing, with the party needing to sweep the most contested races to win power.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Sarah Rumpf Whitten contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump said his election victory “gives me a very big mandate to do things properly” in a newly released video by Indonesia’s president. 

Prabowo Subianto could be heard congratulating Trump, adding, “Wherever you are, I am willing to fly to, to congratulate you personally sir.” 

“We had a great election in the U.S…. Amazing what happened, we had tremendous success. The most successful in over 100 years they say. It’s a great honor and so it gives me a very big mandate to do things properly,” Trump told him at one point in the conversation. 

Subianto also told Trump, “We were all shocked when they tried to assassinate you, but we are very happy that the almighty protected you sir.” 

TRUMP EXPECTED TO NAME SEN. MARCO RUBIO AS SECRETARY OF STATE 

Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto released a video of his conversation with President-elect Donald Trump.

“Yes, I got very lucky. I just happened to be in the right place in the right direction otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” Trump responded. “I got quite lucky actually, somebody was protecting me I guess.” 

Subianto, a former Indonesian military general and defense minister, was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Oct. 20. 

TRUMP LIKELY TO MAKE SEVERAL BORDER SECURITY MOVES ON FIRST DAY, SAYS EXPERT 

Former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum on Sept.18 in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP/Alex Brandon)

“Whenever you are around you let me know and I’d like to also get to your country sometime, it’s incredible, the job that you are doing is incredible,” Trump told Subianto during the call. “You’re a very respected person and I give you credit for that, it’s not easy.” 

“Please send the people of Indonesia my regards,” he added. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, on Saturday, Nov. 9.  (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

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In a statement on X alongside the video, Subianto said, “I am looking forward to enhance the collaboration between our two great nations and to more productive discussions in the future.”

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the role of Homeland Security secretary, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.

Noem, who was thought to be a potential running mate on the Trump ticket earlier in the year, has served as governor of The Mount Rushmore State since 2019.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM REFLECTS ON TRUMP WIN, SAYS DEMOCRATS ‘TRY TO PUT WOMEN IN A BOX’

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the role of Homeland Security secretary, according to reports on Tuesday. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

HERE ARE THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT CANDIDATES FOR TOP POSTS IN TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATION

The Department of Homeland Security is over US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

If selected, Noem would work with Tom Homan, who was announced as Trump’s “border czar” on Sunday, and Stephen Miller, who was announced as the White House deputy of staff for policy on Monday.

Earlier in the year, Noem was thought to be one of Trump’s top contenders for vice president. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

It was also announced Monday night that Trump is expected to choose Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as his secretary of state.

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An official announcement from Trump or Noem has not been made as of Tuesday morning.

Voters chose to send President-elect Trump back to the White House in large part over concerns about immigration and border security, something the former president will look to quickly address when he starts a new term in office.

“He could probably shut down the border, declare that there’s an emergency… stop the entry of people until further notice,” Alfonso Aguilar, a former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship and the Director of Hispanic Engagement at the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital. “That I think in some shape or form, will be one of his first actions.”

The comments come as Trump will now shift his focus from the campaign to his return to the White House, where immigration and border security promise to be top concerns for the incoming administration.

TRUMP’S ‘BORDER CZAR’ WARNS DEM GOVS REJECTING TRUMP DEPORTATION PLAN: ‘GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY’

Then-Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Trump spent much of the campaign promising to secure the border and deport those in the country illegally, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and the Biden administration, which saw record-setting numbers of border crossings over its first three years in the White House.

Voters rewarded Trump for the messaging, with 75% of voters indicating that border security was an important factor to them in the most recent election, 61% of whom supported Trump, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.

Trump will look to make good on that trust on Day 1 of his new administration, Aguilar said, when shutting down the border could just be one of several announced changes.

Another way Trump could act on Day 1 is to announce expedited procedures for removing immigrants who are in the country illegally, most notably immigrants who have committed crimes.

U.S. Republican Presidential Candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024 south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. Trump will hold a rally in Glendale, Arizona tomorrow. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS

“If you identify people who have criminal records, who have committed a crime, you have somehow find a way to expedite their removal,” Aguilar said. “I would imagine that they have in place an expedited procedure to remove those individuals involved in crime.”

Other policies that could see swift changing include an end to the CHNV parole program, which has allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for Advance Travel Authorizations into the U.S. and then be paroled into the country with a court date, with many being eligible to apply for work authorization once in the country.

“They can end that on Day 1,” Aguilar said.

Catch-and-release tactics are also likely to end quickly under Trump, Aguilar noted.

A group claiming to be from India sit in the shade of the border wall as they wait to be picked up by Border Patrol after crossing through the border fence in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, Aug. 29, 2023, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Aguilar also said there could be a return of “workforce raids,” an enforcement tactic not seen in recent years that might be back in the “first few days, few weeks.”

Other policies, however, are likely to take time, including a return to the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico,” which will require coordination with the Mexican government.

Some improvements may also require legislation, including obtaining more funding to finish the border wall and hire more immigration judges and other border security personnel.

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“There’s certain things that he will be able to do administratively, but he may need some legislation for some of the other stuff,” Aguilar said. “If you want to hire more immigration judges, you’re going to need more money, so I would imagine that they will also have some sort of immigration package ready to go to get money from Congress.”

I have now read 587 pieces on why Kamala Harris got clobbered, so I consider myself an expert.

I have also watched endless cable segments in which left-leaning pundits either grappled with the fallout from the Democratic wipeout, or urged their colleagues to become part of the Resistance, with Rachel Maddow telling the “free press” to “stand and fight.”

As Donald Trump moves quickly to fill top administration posts – and newspaper pieces warn of the horrors to come – the denigration of Harris, and Joe Biden, has reached fever pitch.

And yet, many of the media liberals who praised the Kamala operation as “flawless” and “incredible” now basically say it was a no-good, horrible, very bad campaign. That makes clear they knew this all along, but wouldn’t say so, because they were protecting the vice president as a way of trying to keep Trump out of the White House. This is yet another blow to the media’s plummeting credibility.

BIDEN, HARRIS TEAMS IN LEAK WAR AFTER KAMALA HARRIS’ 2024 ELECTION LOSS

President Biden, from left, Vice President Kamala Harris, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Maj. Gen. Trevor Bredenkamp, commanding general of the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Military District of Washington, stand during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Here are some of the media post-mortems:

Andrew Sullivan: “How could an entire left-liberal worldview be more comprehensibly dismantled by reality? And yet, the primary response among my own liberal friends was rage at the electorate. They texted me to insist that Harris lost because of white people — white women, in particular.” 

Maureen Dowd: “Some Democrats are finally waking up and realizing that woke is broke…

“Kamala, a Democratic lawmaker told me, made the ‘colossal mistake’ of running a billion-dollar campaign with celebrities like Beyoncé when many of the struggling working-class voters she wanted couldn’t even afford a ticket to a Beyoncé concert, much less a down payment on a home.”

Nellie Bowles, the Free Press, said Harris “made me furious, because she’s a good and fine person who ran a truly terrible campaign. It was a campaign that exemplified all of the delusions of the modern Democrats: that you never need to say what you stand for (because people should just assume you know what’s best for them), that you should never answer hard questions or appear with questionable figures, and that the only issue any American woman should care about is abortion…

“The real villain of this story is Zombie Biden and his corrupt family, who the media treated like heroes the whole way through.”

David Brooks: “There will be some on the left who will say Trump won because of the inherent racism, sexism and authoritarianism of the American people. Apparently, those people love losing and want to do it again and again and again…

“Can the party of the universities, the affluent suburbs and the hipster urban cores do this [disrupt the Republicans]? Well, Donald Trump hijacked a corporate party, which hardly seemed like a vehicle for proletarian revolt, and did exactly that. Those of us who condescend to Trump should feel humbled — he did something none of us could do.”

Politico: “How can Harris’s defenders grumble about being dragged down by Biden when she could not find one substantive policy issue on which to break from the unpopular incumbent? She waited three months, blurted out on ‘The View’ that she couldn’t think of any difference with Biden.” 

National Review: “She was a lousy candidate with an even lousier message, if you can call it that. The only thing she had to do was sell herself, and she couldn’t manage even this fundamental task.”

COLUMNIST CALLS OUT KAMALA HARRIS FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO ANSWER CRITICAL QUESTION ON ‘THE VIEW’

Well, you get the idea.

In a 107-day campaign, Harris couldn’t convince enough Americans that she was authentic, that she could be commander-in-chief, or that she had abandoned the far-left policies (such as legalizing border crossings and backing inmate trans surgeries) of her last campaign. She foolishly hid from the press for a month, fostering the impression that she couldn’t go off script.

Now just about everyone – except those blaming her loss on racism and sexism – is saying what I’ve been saying for three months. Harris never should have picked Tim Walz, who did nothing for the ticket. The trans issue hurt her and she never picked an issue, that or something else, to separate from the left wing of her party. She worried too much about hurting Joe’s feelings.

The VP tried to focus on kitchen-table economics, such as with her price-gouging plan. But despite low inflation and unemployment right now, many Americans still felt they were paying higher grocery prices and liked Trump’s economic record better than Biden’s.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is comforted by second gentleman Doug Emhoff, as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks, conceding 2024 U.S. presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump, at Howard University in Washington on November 6, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

It may well be there’s nothing Harris could have done to stop the Trump juggernaut, given his hijacking of working class and minority voters.

Now the president-elect is moving quickly to tap his top appointees, having immediately named campaign manager Susie Wiles as his chief of staff – the first woman ever to hold the job.

Tom Homan, who was ICE director in Trump’s first term, will be the border czar, not a big surprise. Homan will be in charge of the mass deportation program, and when asked if there was a way to avoid separating families, as happened last time, he said sure – deport them all together.

Stephen Miller, who ran the hard-line immigration policy in the first term, is expected to be named deputy chief of staff – a promotion, first reported yesterday by CNN, that probably doesn’t convey the clout he’ll have as a trusted member of Trump’s inner circle.

TRUMP WILL LEAVE THE WH WITH ONE OF THE HIGHEST APPROVAL RATINGS OF ANY MODERN PRESIDENT, LARA TRUMP PREDICTS

I had been told days ago that Elise Stefanik, a GOP congresswoman from upstate New York, would go into the administration. And yesterday, Trump tapped her to be U.N. ambassador. She has experience in the George W. Bush White House.

Then there are insiders who are the subject of speculation. Howard  Lutnick, a Wall Street CEO, is being touted by some as a possible Treasury secretary, but has his hands full as a co-chair of the transition.

Late yesterday, Trump chose former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to run the EPA. He’s a mainstream conservative who has crusaded against excessive environmental regulations and gotten a lifetime score of 14% from the League of Conservation Voters. The choice of Zeldin was first reported by the New York Post, and he told Fox News that the administration will “roll back regulations” that are causing businesses to “struggle” and are “forcing” them to move overseas.

After that, he tapped Florida GOP congressman Mike Waltz as White House national security adviser, which doesn’t require Senate confirmation. As the Wall Street Journal first reported, he’s a China hawk and Ukraine skeptic. “Stopping Russia before it draws NATO and therefore the U.S. into war is the right thing to do,” Waltz wrote. “But the burden cannot continue to be solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially while Western Europe gets a pass.” (Trump has now reduced by two the House Republicans’ expected small margin.)

Oh, and Politico says some Dems are already jockeying for 2028 (Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom) or being talked about (Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear). Already? Can’t we get a break? 

So my takeaway is that for all the media chatter about a lack of guardrails, Trump is so far picking serious people with serious experience. (Wiles hasn’t worked in Washington since the Reagan years, but her role is different.) They are, of course, also loyalists who will do his bidding. 

Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

RFK Jr. will get a big title, but it’s not clear whether Trump will follow his far-out advice on vaccines and fluoride.

And Elon Musk will be in charge of just about everything, and the world’s richest man has deluged X with hundreds of pro-Trump posts (and some high-profile liberals are bailing).

But the most striking moment was Trump’s post saying Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo would not be joining the administration – not that anyone was expecting they would be.

In his posting, the president-elect said he enjoyed working with both of them and thanked them for their service.

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My reaction was: Did somebody steal Trump’s phone? The words idiot and moron did not appear.

Maybe this is a new tone from an incoming president who finally feels vindicated. We’ll see how long it lasts. 

A portion of donations to a fundraising committee associated with the Harris-Walz campaign will be directed toward a recount effort.

Those who want to donate on ActBlue, a nonprofit fundraising platform, will see a fine print that warns them that the campaign could launch a recount effort.

The push to beef up the “recount account” comes as the Harris campaign is reportedly $20 million in debt. The donations are made to the Harris Victory Fund, which is part of a joint fundraising committee authorized by the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties.

“The first $41,300/$15,000 from a person/multicandidate committee (“PAC”) will be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300/$5,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Harris for President’s Recount Account,” the fundraising page states. 

DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO POINT FINGERS AFTER ‘HUMILIATING’ ELECTION DEFEAT SHOULD START WITH MEDIA: WSJ COLUMNIST

Vice President Harris conceded her election loss last week. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

There was no indication that Harris was seeking a recount for herself after having lost to President-elect Trump in a decisive victory in which he swept all the battleground states as well as the popular vote. 

The Harris-Walz campaign reportedly spent $1 billion during its failed run. 

“With a handful of key Senate and House races still too close to call, we are keeping our organizers and volunteers on the ground in those states to see the election across the finish line,” the Harris campaign’s website says.

“If you are able, please donate to the Harris Fight Fund today to ensure we have the resources to elect Democrats down the ticket ready to hold the Trump administration accountable,” it said. 

TRUMP VICTORY PROVES IMPORTANCE OF CANDID, LONGFORM PODCASTS AS PLATFORM SHOWED ‘HUMAN SIDE’ OF ONE CANDIDATE

The results are in with President-elect Donald Trump defeating Vice President Harris. (Fox News)

Over the weekend, Trump called for people to chip in and donate to help Harris pay off her campaign debts. 

“I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 (sic) Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn’t have lots of $’s left over,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

“Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others. Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do,” he added. “We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media,’ and that doesn’t cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Vice President Harris gestures as she delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris campaign and ActBlue.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has won the race for Arizona’s open Senate seat, beating out Republican Kari Lake, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, according to The Associated Press Monday night.

Gallego has served in the House of Representatives since 2015, representing the 7th and 3rd congressional districts in Arizona. 

ARIZONA DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICE SHARED WITH HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN SHOT AT FOR THIRD TIME IN LESS THAN A MONTH

Kari Lake and Rep. Ruben Gallego competed for the open Senate seat in Arizona. (Reuters)

Lake ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor in 2022 and was defeated by Gov. Katie Hobbs, D-Ariz. Prior to her gubernatorial run, she was a news anchor for a local Arizona television station and worked in the media for 27 years. 

After the 2022 loss, she challenged the results, citing fraud concerns in the state. Lake still contends that there were significant irregularities in 2020 and 2022, echoing claims that Trump and many of his supporters have made. The concerns have led to the Republican National Committee devoting significant resources to election integrity efforts. 

SWING STATE GOP CHAIR SLAMS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN FOR BEING OUT OF TOUCH ON KEY ISSUE: ‘ABANDONED THIS COUNTRY’

Primaries were held on Tuesday night to fill the seat being vacated at the end of this year by Rep. Ruben Gallego. (Getty Images)

Lake faced off against Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Republican Senate primary, while Gallego had an advantage, running in the Democratic primary unopposed. 

The Fox News Power Rankings in September rated the Arizona Senate race as “Leans Democrat.” Similarly, the Cook Political Report, a top political handicapper, also considered the race “Lean Democrat.” 

TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE CANDIDATE RIPS BIDEN’S ‘JOKE’ BORDER POLICY FOR INVITING GANG VIOLENCE TO SWING STATE

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema speaks at a committee on Oct. 19, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images)

The Senate seat is currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who was elected as a Democrat. She still caucuses with Democrats in the Senate but officially registered as an independent years ago after opposing her fellow Senate Democrats on the legislative filibuster. Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., are credited with going against the Democrats to uphold the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold. 

Both senators decided not to run for re-election. 

NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION HAS TO ‘GET SERIOUS’ ABOUT IMMIGRATION, SAY VOTERS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Rep. Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake are battling in the Arizona Senate race. (Getty Images)

Before she announced that she was not going to seek another term, Sinema’s potential run as a third-party candidate threatened to upend the Senate race, with strategists unsure how her supporters would break. 

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In polling leading up to the Senate election, Gallego frequently led Lake by single digits. He had even managed to lead his opponent in surveys that saw Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. Experts speculated that his connection with Latino voters could have fueled split-ticket voting in the state, despite the practice becoming relatively rare. 

While Lake often played up her relationship with Trump, who had polled higher than her in the state, Gallego did not often do the same with Harris during his campaign. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

President-elect Trump is expected to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as Secretary of State, a source familiar tells Fox News.

The source noted that while Trump could still change his mind at the last minute, as of now he’s planning on offering the job to Rubio, the three-term senator whom the former president considered as his running mate this summer before naming Sen. JD Vance as the GOP vice presidential nominee.

Spokespeople for the Trump transition didn’t immediately comment.

The news was first reported by the New York Times earlier this evening. 

HERE’S WHO TRUMP NAMED TO STEER THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump greets GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 4, 2024.  (Getty Images)

Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave. He is known on Capitol Hill as a foreign policy hawk who favors maintaining U.S. alliances overseas, including NATO. 

But Rubio, who sits on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, has taken similar positions to Trump on international conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas. 

HERE’S WHAT TRUMP’S INCOMING BORDER CZAR TOLD FOX NEWS

In April, the 53-year-old senator voted against the $95 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine and has urged the eastern European nation to negotiate an end to its war with Russia.

Rubio was a rival to Trump during the combustible 2016 Republican presidential nomination battle [with Trump deriding him as ‘Little Marco’] but over the years has become a strong Trump ally in the Senate.. 

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump appears stage with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) (R) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on November 04, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina.  (Chip Somodevilla)

Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, would become the first Latino Secretary of State in the nation’s history.

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a major backer of Trump this year, applauded the news. 

RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement that “we know that with Senator Rubio leading the State Department, America will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and confront our enemies.”

“In these extraordinarily dangerous times, Senator Rubio is an outspoken defender of Israel who has always had the Jewish state’s back,” they added.

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Less than a week after winning a second term in the White House, Trump has already begun to shape his cabinet.

In the past 24 hours, Trump has selected Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, Tom Homan as the new “border czar,” Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida to be his national security advisor, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York to steer the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.