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President-elect Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter shared a vlog of her experience on election night on Monday, capturing her thoughts and emotions as her grandfather clinched the presidency.

Kai Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump, Jr., posted the video on YouTube Monday afternoon. The vlog – which is short for a video blog – begins with the teenage girl getting her makeup professionally done and expressing her thoughts about the election.

“I am here in my house getting ready for the election night at Mar-a-Lago and the convention center,” Kai Trump says as she sits in a makeup chair. “I think today we’re going with straight hair. Jessica’s going to do my amazing makeup…I am still trying to pick a dress out.”

The teenager casually shares her plans in the video, including having dinner with her grandfather hours before he was elected president.

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Kai Trump shared a candid vlog of her experience on Nov. 5 on YouTube. (@kaitrump via YouTube)

“I’m going to see my grandpa, have family dinner with him, just, like, spend time with them,” Kai Trump says. “And then I think I’m going to head over to the convention center after… just see my friends and like, close family that have supported me and my grandpa over time.”

Kai Trump also discusses a recent golf competition she had and details about her life. The teenager is also seen singing along to songs with her friends in the car.

“I haven’t seen my grandpa in a while because he’s been campaigning,” she says in the video. “I’m super excited to see him again. He’s called me almost every other day.”

The vlog also depicts the 17-year-old’s emotions shifting from anxious to optimistic as the electoral votes were announced in her grandfather’s favor.

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Kai Trump discussed her makeup and outfits in the vlog. (@kaitrump via YouTube)

“I’m a little nervous,” Kai Trump says at the beginning of the night. “Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m very nervous. The past five days I have been so nervous…I feel like I’ve had butterflies in my stomach for so long, and I really hope we find out [the results] soon.”

At the end of the video, the teenager described Nov. 5 as a “special night” and gushed about her grandpa. 

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Kai Trump says. “I think he deserves it more than anyone in the whole world. And he really has worked his butt off every single day for the past really eight years or more.”

“He’s such an incredible person and such a unique person,” the granddaughter continues. “And he just fights every single day for America over and over and over again. And he’ll never give up.”

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In the video, Kai Trump said she was “extremely proud” of her grandfather. (@kaitrump via YouTube)

The teenager has been candidly sharing facets of her life on social media in recent days. On Sunday, Kai Trump posted a collection of photos and videos on Instagram of her golfing with her grandfather.

Republicans were optimistic about their chances to win big in North Carolina.

“We will flip from the Democrats to the Republicans … this congressional seat. That’s a huge plus for the Republican Party,” congressional candidate Brad Knott, R-N.C., said at a rally with vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio just days before the election.

Knott was correct in his prediction, but Republicans did not flip only his seat from blue to red, they flipped a total of three.

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“Thanks to your support, I’m going to be the next congressman from the 6th District of North Carolina,” candidate Addison McDowell, R-N.C., said at a Nov. 2 Trump campaign event in Greensboro.

Congressional candidate Addison McDowell, R-N.C., arrives ahead of a rally in Greensboro, N.C., on March 2, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Republican success had a lot to do with redrawn congressional maps that were backed by a state lawmaker turned congressman-elect.

“I’m Tim Moore, currently the speaker of the House, and in just a few days [I] will be the member for the United States Congress for right here in Gaston County,” said North Carolina speaker of the House and congressional candidate Tim Moore, R-N.C., at a Nov. 2 Trump campaign rally in Gastonia, N.C.

The changes began when North Carolina was given an additional seat on its congressional map due to population growth after the 2020 census. Rep.-elect Moore will now represent that seat

“We’ve got a Republican supermajority in the state House, in the state Senate. We know how to get things done in this state,” Moore said in July.

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North Carolina’s congressional map was redrawn at least three times before the 2022 midterm elections. Three Democrats won districts 6, 13 and 14. North Carolina’s congressional delegation was split: seven Republicans and seven Democrats. But state Republicans were not satisfied and redrew the map once again before 2024. Moore said at the time that “7-7 does not reflect the will of the voters in North Carolina.”

“At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be up to judges or bureaucrats. It should be up to the people through their elected representatives in the legislature,” Moore said after Supreme Court arguments on the maps in 2022.

After the map that was expected to benefit Republicans was finalized, the three Democrat incumbents decided against running for re-election. District 6’s Kathy Manning, D-N.C., announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in December 2023.

District 6’s Kathy Manning, D-N.C., speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 27, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

District 13’s Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., decided against running at around the same time and is instead considering a Senate run in 2026 against incumbent Republican Thom Tillis.

District 14 Rep. Jeff Jackson, D-N.C., also criticized the maps and instead ran a successful bid for North Carolina attorney general.

“We need to make sure that folks know how important every single race on the ballot is,” Jackson said while campaigning with Vice President Harris days before the election.

Moore instead won Jackson’s seat. He was first elected to the State House in 2002 and has served as speaker of the House since 2015. He has also been a longtime ally of President-elect Trump and campaigned with him during his 2016 presidential bid.

“I have no doubt he’s going to be our next president of the United States,” Moore said at a 2016 Trump rally in High Point, North Carolina.

The 30-year-old McDowell won North Carolina’s 6th District. He served as a congressional aide for Sen. Ted Budd during his time in the House. McDowell decided to run for the seat after his brother died from a fentanyl overdose.

“I don’t want any of your families to suffer like my family did. We have to stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our country through Mexico. And that’s why we have to secure our southern border,” McDowell said during a Trump campaign rally in October.

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Former federal prosecutor Knott flipped North Carolina’s 13th District. He promised to address crime and illegal immigration during his campaign.

“I had the high honor of working under President Trump when we actually prosecuted criminals,” Knott said at a Nov. 3 rally in Selma, North Carolina.

Redistricting also appeared to benefit Democrats this election cycle. In New York, they flipped two competitive seats, even one that was thought to benefit the Republican incumbent.

“What we are seeing with our democracy is terrifying,” congressional candidate Josh Riley, D-N.Y., said during his 2022 campaign.

He first ran for the District 19 congressional seat during the midterm elections. He lost to republican Marcus Molinaro by less than 5,000 votes. That year, Molinaro flipped the seat from blue to red. Two years later, the new congressional maps in New York were thought to help Molinaro’s chances for re-election, but Riley managed to flip the seat back in the Democrats’ favor.

“Tomorrow let’s get to work, tonight let’s celebrate what we accomplished together,” Riley said during his election night remarks.

Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 6, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Just north in New York’s 22nd District, changes to the congressional map were expected to affect Republican Rep. Brandon Williams’ chances of holding onto his House seat.

“This is always the risk in a presidential year,” Williams said after losing in the 2024 race. “What an incredible, distinct honor it has been to serve in the United States Congress.”

The district was shifted to include left-leaning cities like Auburn and Cortland. State Sen. John Mannion, D-N.Y., managed to flip the seat. He ran a moderate campaign and promised to protect reproductive rights while vowing to work across the aisle on immigration legislation.

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“We need individuals from both parties to stand up against their own leadership,” Mannion said on election night.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., has been offered the role of national security adviser in the next Trump administration, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Waltz has been one of President-elect Trump’s most visible surrogates during the 2024 campaign, spearheading military outreach and helping with the Veterans For Trump coalition.

The Florida congressman is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and had previous administration experience as a policy adviser to former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Waltz being offered the role. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

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Rep. Mike Waltz was offered the role of national security adviser, a source said

Elevating a House lawmaker to the administration could complicate Republicans’ ability to govern the chamber, however.

Waltz is in a safe red seat on the eastern Florida coast, so it’s highly unlikely to fall into Democratic hands. But replacing a House member is a process that could take several weeks.

Republicans are on track to win the House majority by just a slim margin, so whittling down their numbers in Congress could fuel delays to Trump’s own first 100-day agenda.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speculated on Fox & Friends last week that Republicans would win by about four to six seats.

Waltz is the second House lawmaker tapped for an administration role after House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., accepted Trump’s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations earlier on Monday.

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Rep. Elise Stefanik was offered the role of UN ambassador (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Both Stefanik and Waltz are members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. 

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate,” Stefanik said in her statement accepting the nomination.

“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries. I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations.”

Like Waltz, Stefanik’s upstate New York district is a safe Republican stronghold.

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Former President Donald Trump is already making Cabinet decisions (Seth Wenig-Pool Photo via USA TODAY)

The NSA role does not require Senate confirmation, but the role of UN ambassador does.

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Sources previously told Fox News Digital that Waltz was in contention for the role of Secretary of Defense. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on Waltz being offered the NSA role.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., has been offered the role of National Security Advisor (NSA) in the next Trump administration, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Waltz has been one of Trump’s most visible surrogates during the 2024 campaign, helping spearhead military outreach leading the Veterans For Trump coalition.

The Florida congressman is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and had previous administration experience as a policy adviser to former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Waltz being offered the role.

Rep. Mike Waltz was offered the role of National Security Advisor, a source said

This story is breaking and will be updated…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is headed to Washington this week to meet with President Biden after calling for a special session of state lawmakers to “Trump-Proof” the state’s progressive policies. 

A spokesperson for Newsom’s office said the Democratic governor is traveling to Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings with the Biden-Harris administration and the California congressional delegation. 

“Building on the progress made since President Biden took office, the Governor will advocate for key priorities that advance the health and well-being of all Californians — including disaster funding, the approval of state healthcare initiatives aimed at improving access to health and mental healthcare for Californians, and crucial climate and clean air efforts,” Newsom’s spokesperson said, without giving a specific timeframe for the meetings.

Newsom, who has been at odds with the former president, wrote after Trump’s election night victory that California was “ready to fight.”

Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference where he signs legislation related to oversight of oil and gas wells, and community protections on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said. 

Those comments came a day after Newsom said he “will seek to work with the incoming president.”

President Trump, right, speaks to California Gov. Gavin Newsom at Sacramento McClellan Airport in McClellan Park, California on Sept. 14, 2020.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

During Trump’s first term, the Newsom administration filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration. The governor is now asking state lawmakers to earmark more funds for the California Department of Justice and other state agencies with additional resources to mount legal challenges.

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Newsom’s office said the special session of state lawmakers, slated for Monday, Dec. 2, will focus on safeguarding “civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families.” 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, speaks as state Senator Anthony Portantino, D-Burbank, left, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, center, look on during a press conference on Feb. 1, 2023 in Sacramento, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Trump has balked at Newsom’s call for a special session, writing on his Truth Social platform Friday that Newsom was supposedly “trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California.” 

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“He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election,” Trump said. 

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Actor Kevin Costner on Monday defended Liz Cheney, saying the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming should be applauded for her public service. 

 “I expect people in government to do the right thing. Public service is about public service. It’s not about your career. It’s not about your ego. Your four years is your four years,” the former “Yellowstone” star said during a live, town-hall edition of “The Michael Smerconish Program” on SiriusXM.

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Kevin Costner defended former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney on a podcast.  (Getty Images)

Cheney came under fire from President-elect Trump in the days before his Election Day victory. She denounced his remarks in which he called her a “war hawk” from the comfort of Washington, D.C. 

“Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK,” Trump said. “Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”

Cheney has been one of Trump’s biggest critics and campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris. She criticized Trump after many of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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President-elect Trump and former Rep. Liz Cheney (Getty Images)

Costner endorsed Cheney ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. That year, Cheney shared a photo of the actor wearing a T-shirt saying, “I’m for Liz Cheney.”

“I’m very proud of Liz Cheney,” Costner said. “I found a person completely at odds with one side willing to stand up. We should applaud her. We should protect her.”

Kevin Costner poses for a portrait at the 27th SCAD Savannah Film Festival on November 01, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia.  (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD)

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“This woman should never be threatened,” he added. 

Cheney lost her re-election bid to Rep. Harriett Hageman, who was backed by Trump, in the GOP primary. 

Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin has been picked to join President-elect Trump’s administration as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.

Trump confirmed the news in a statement Monday afternoon, writing in part:

“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”

Trump said Zeldin has “brilliantly” handled some “extremely difficult and complex situations.” He said he is sure Zeldin will “quickly prove to be a great contributor!”

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Former Congressman Lee Zeldin has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the EPA in his second administration.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The New York Post was first to report on Trump picking Zeldin to lead the EPA.

“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” Zeldin wrote on X. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will reportedly meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog when he visits the nation’s capital on Tuesday after President-elect Donald Trump named the House Republican Conference chair to be his next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. 

Herzog is expected to meet with multiple high-profile lawmakers in D.C. Tuesday, including President Biden, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Stefanik, his office told The Times of Israel. The meeting with Stefanik comes shortly after Trump said she would be his next ambassador to the United Nations.

President of Israel Isaac Herzog meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (not in picture) before their meeting at Palazzo Chigi, on July 25, 2024, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)

On Monday, Trump confirmed reports that he would be nominating the GOP conference chairwoman to be his next UN ambassador, noting how she “is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

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Stefanik, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, is also a firm supporter of Israel and has been a leading voice challenging the rising tide of antisemitism on college campuses following the tragic Hamas massacre of innocent Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Stefanik, for example, made headlines last year after pressing the presidents of three of the nation’s most prestigious colleges to share whether they thought “calling for the genocide of Jews” was against their codes of conduct. Eventually, pressure from Stefanik and other GOP leaders resulted in the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania to resign.

Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, speaks to members of the media ahead of a campaign event with former US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024.  (Getty Images)

“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak US leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries,” Stefanik said in a statement to the New York Post after news broke she had been tapped for the UN ambassadorship.

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Stefanik will be the first major policymaker to meet with Herzog on Tuesday, with their meeting scheduled at 9:00 a.m. EST, The Times of Israel reported.

Herzog will then reportedly meet with Graham and Biden afterward.

A spokesperson for Graham told Fox News Digital that their meeting was “not yet confirmed” but that they were working out scheduling.

People pass by a congratulatory billboard showing elected U.S. President Donald Trump on November 7, 2024, in Tel Aviv, Israel.  (Getty Images)

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Herzog’s visit to the U.S. comes amid the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly, held Sunday through Tuesday in the nation’s capital, during which Herzog will be a keynote speaker.    

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Stefanik and Herzog but did not hear back prior to publication time.

Morale among Border Patrol agents is “through the roof” after the victory of President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, and some agents planning on retiring have already reversed their decisions, the union’s president tells Fox News Digital.

“The morale is through the roof,” National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez said in an interview. “We’ve received hundreds of calls, texts, emails, just saying how happy the agents are.”

“There are a lot of agents that had originally said that they would retire if President Trump did not win. And now those same agents are saying they’re going to hold back on their retirement because they want to serve under this administration again, because they know exactly how it was during this first administration, and they know this one’s going to be even better,” he said.

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Former President Donald Trump speaks about immigration and border security near Coronado National Memorial in Montezuma Pass, Arizona, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump won the backing of the union for his presidential bid, with many agents intensely supportive of his efforts to secure the border. Agents had frequently opposed the Biden administration’s change in policies, and tension between agents and officials often spilled over.

Agents were furious when the administration fueled false claims that agents on horseback whipped migrants in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. 

Now, with Trump heading back to the White House, Perez says he believes that his election will help with recruiting.

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“We’ve always had a recruiting problem. And so right now, with President Trump coming into office, a lot of people are going to want to do this job. A lot of people have shown interest previously, but they were hesitant to apply and work for the previous administration,” he said. “So under Trump, we’re going to have a good amount of recruits to choose from.”

As seen from an aerial view, Texas National Guard troops watch over more than 1,000 immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande overnight from Mexico on Dec. 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

He said that under the Trump administration, agents receive greater job satisfaction because they know that the people they catch will be removed “instead of allowing them to abuse our asylum system.”

Perez said agents were enthused by a number of policies, including the potential return of Remain in Mexico, which kept migrants in Mexico as they waited for their asylum claims to be adjudicated.

“Remain in Mexico, the end of catch release, obviously, that’s a big one as well. But Remain in Mexico will probably turn the magnet off. It will allow us to secure the border even better,” he said.

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Perez also said that, while the union backed a bipartisan border security bill backed by the Biden administration last year, now they are hoping for something more muscular — similar to the House GOP border bill, known as HR 2.

“I’m not looking at the past. I’m not looking at the bipartisan border security bill. At the time, that was probably what our guys were looking for at the time, hoping that it would be brought to the floor, amended and made and strengthened. But what I’m looking for, what I personally want to see, is H.R. 2, a strong security bill like H.R.2.”

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Ultimately, however, Perez said he believes that Trump’s return will send a message to the cartels and also give a voice to those victims of illegal immigrant crime. 

“He’s going to give them a voice, and he is going to take care of their families from the horrific crimes that were committed against them by people that should have never been in the country to begin with. So we’re looking very much forward to President Trump taking over and making this country safe again,” he said.

Neither President-elect Donald Trump nor Sen.-elect David McCormick came close to winning Philadelphia County in Tuesday’s election, but the GOP still notched a historic win in the blue bastion, mirroring Republicans’ overperformance nationwide.

In northeast Philadelphia, the most moderate area of the liberal city, Joe Picozzi defeated Democratic state Sen. Jimmy Dillon 50.5% to 49.5% in the 5th district. The win signaled the Republicans’ first at the state Senate level citywide in nearly 30 years.

Of the seven state Senate districts in Philadelphia, the 5th was also the most recent to go red, with former state Sen. Frank Salvatore’s last re-election in 1996. Salvatore was defeated in 2000 by future Lt. Gov. Mike Stack. 

The longest dearth is in Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes’ seat in northwest Philadelphia, which has not hosted a Republican since state Sen. Augustus F. Daix Jr. in 1932. 

Picozzi, of Tacony, is the son of a Philadelphia firefighter and was previously a member of the Philadelphia Youth Commission. He was considered a political newcomer and was backed by state Republicans but reportedly not the PhillyGOP.

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A skyline photo of Philadelphia. (Ed Jones/Getty)

The Penn Capital-Star and other outlets reported as much, while the state Senate’s GOP campaign arm and state Senate leader Kim Ward offered their full support. 

In a Facebook post after Picozzi’s win, the PhillyGOP “applauded [him] for his relentless work to defeat an incumbent and well entrenched State Senator.” 

“Joe Picozzi soundly defeated his opponent to give Philadelphia a [R]epublican voice in the Pennsylvania Senate,” the post added, followed by replies from users who criticized the non-endorsement.

Ward told the Capital-Star that Picozzi “went 24/7” and “all-out” in the uphill battle to flip the seat.

“I don’t know that you win that seat with just a candidate who isn’t going to work like that,” she said.

Dillon conceded to Picozzi on Sunday, saying he wished him “every success in delivering for our neighbors” and “making Northeast Philly stronger and safer for all who call it home,” according to WCAU.

An “elected Democrat” in the area told the Inquirer that Dillon’s loss was the “most embarrassing” piece of the election and that Picozzi was not taken as seriously as he should have been. Democrats spent $254,000 on the race, but most of those funds went out in the closing weeks, according to the paper.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, right, looks on as President Biden delivers remarks. (Julia Nikhinson / AFP)

Picozzi made crime a top issue in his campaign. Philadelphia has been wracked by looting, flash mobs and wild, unsanctioned “car meets” in the middle of the night in Center City. During 2020 protests following a police-involved shooting of a Black man, a Walmart not far from Picozzi’s district on Aramingo Avenue was ransacked.

The district includes residential areas like Mayfair, Rhawnhurst, Somerton and Torresdale. It is notably just inside the city line from the Trevose McDonald’s where Trump cooked french fries and served drive-thru customers during a campaign stop.

“Over the last year, I talked to thousands of people who have touched my heart profoundly and eternally. I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me to serve you as your next State Senator,” Picozzi said in a statement on social media.

“I want to thank Senator Dillon for his service to our home. It’s time for all of us to come together as one community to find common sense solutions to restore and secure Northeast Philadelphia.”

Outgoing Pennsylvania State Sen. Jimmy Dillon, D-Philadelphia. (Comm. of PA)

While considered a political newcomer campaign wise, he worked briefly as a staffer for then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., while attending Georgetown University.

A Democratic community leader from Fox Chase, along the city line with Montgomery County, was asked about the race by the Philadelphia Inquirer prior to Election Day.

He compared northeast Philadelphia to Bucks County – the “swing” bellwether that was subject to nationwide media attention in the closing days of the 2024 election.

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Voters in that part of the city tend to cast their ballot based on issues rather than candidates, no matter the partisan registration bent, Brian Eddis told the paper.

After recent redistricting, which saw metro areas like Allentown and Harrisburg host districts more favorable to Democrats, Republicans needed a key win to preserve their 6-seat majority there. Democrats currently control the 203-seat state House by one vote and Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Democrat.

Ward pointed out in the Harrisburg example that Democrat Patty Kim won the longtime Republican open-seat of retiring state Sen. John DiSanto, in that Picozzi’s win preserves their statewide margins.

Trump lost Philadelphia 79%-20% and Sen.-elect David McCormick by a similar 78%-19%.

Fox News Digital reached out to the PhillyGOP and Republican Party of Pennsylvania for comment.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has requested that President-elect Trump’s transition team withdraw his name from consideration for attorney general, he announced Monday.

Schmitt won election to the U.S. Senate in 2022, and he says he wishes to remain there to represent the interests of Missouri voters. His announcement comes as Trump’s transition team is tasked with preparing to fill thousands of roles in the federal government.

“I ran for the U.S. Senate to represent the people of the Show Me State and I’m just getting started. The American people have given President Trump a mandate. A mandate to secure our border, make America energy dominant and fight for the forgotten men and women of this country,” Schmitt wrote on X. 

“We need America First fighters who don’t just say they support the agenda but who are willing to stand in the breach and actually fight for it and for the hopes and dreams of the American people. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and be a champion for President Trump in the Senate,” he added.

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Schmitt had previously served as the attorney general of Missouri.

Trump has made few staffing announcements since securing his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week. He announced that Susie Wiles will serve as the White House chief of staff. Tom Homan will also serve as Trump’s border czar.

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Trump has also selected Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and he has announced Stephen Miller as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

Tom Homan, will serve as Trump’s border czar after inauguration. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Stefanik, the fourth-highest ranking House Republican, is a frequent figure on television where she advocates for the GOP side on a number of issues, including Israel and what she refers to as the “Biden Crime Family.” 

Stefanik, who was elected to her sixth term in the House last week, made national headlines for grilling the presidents of Ivy League universities about the rising antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.

Rep. Eloise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks during a campaign rally for then-candidate and former president Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, 2024.  (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries,” Stefanik added in her statement to the Post. “I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations. “

President-elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to install an “energy czar” to scale back energy and climate regulations implemented under the Biden administration.

Six sources familiar with Trump’s transition team told the New York Times that a series of executive orders and presidential proclamations have been drafted related to climate and energy, aimed at rolling back Biden-era clean energy regulations that some critics argue have hurt the economy. 

Other plans Trump and his transition team are reportedly discussing include installing an “energy czar” to help cut regulations on domestic energy production and potentially moving the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) headquarters outside of Washington, D.C.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked to confirm the details about Trump’s reported plans. “He will deliver.”

President-elect Donald Trump, left, reportedly plans to install an “energy czar” to scale back energy and climate regulations implemented under the Biden administration. (Getty Images)

News of the policy plans from Trump and his transition team comes amid speculation over who will staff his various agencies, including those governing environmental policies. The Times suggested that former Republican presidential candidate and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was being floated as a potential candidate to be Trump’s “energy czar.” The outlet also pointed to Dan Brouillette, who served as Trump’s energy secretary during his first tenure as president. 

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, right, speaks during a campaign event with then-former President Donald Trump in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“President-elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second administration soon,” Leavitt told the Times when it reached out to confirm details about the new post. “Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”

Besides plans to install an “energy czar” and potentially move the EPA’s headquarters out of Washington, the potential executive actions reportedly drafted by Trump’s transition team would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, expand drilling and mining on federal lands, and would loosen regulations around fossil fuel pollution.

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The twin smokestacks at the Stanton Energy Center, a coal-fired power plant, are seen in Orlando, Florida. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Prior to the Times’ report on Trump’s potential energy policy plans, the president-elect said while running his campaign that he would peel back Biden administration regulations intended to cut carbon emissions, and has also said he would stymie green energy initiatives within Biden’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act.

“The green agenda is an elitist agenda,” Trump transition team co-chairman Howard Lutnick told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “Who is the strongest? Where? The Ivy League on the East Coast. Right? They’re the ones that are [pushing] climate change.” 

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Lutnick added that “real” Americans are “not talking climate change” but are focused on kitchen-table issues impacting their pocketbooks.

The Democratic Party is soul-searching in the wake of last week’s stunning setbacks both in the presidential election and down-ballot races.

A wave of incriminations and finger pointing is well underway, and more earnest autopsies of what went wrong and how to make corrections will soon commence.

Concurrent with those efforts are talks about who will steer the Democratic Party going forward, and looking down the road, which potential contenders may eventually make a bid to lead the party in the next presidential election.

While 2028 may seem like a long way away, recent history shows that the early moves in the next White House race start – well – very early.

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 ice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden attend the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2024 in New York City. U.S. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The unofficial starting gun for the 2024 race was fired by former President Trump less than two months after leaving the White House, with a CPAC speech that teased his eventual 2024 presidential campaign.

And a few weeks later, the first visits to the key early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire by potential GOP presidential contenders were also underway.

Fast-forward four years – and expect similar actions by Democratic politicians who may harbor national ambitions. And with the soon-to-be 82-year-old President Biden exiting the national stage, and Vice President Harris, in the wake of her sound defeat last week by Trump, retrenching, the road to the 2028 nomination appears wide open.

“The jockeying for 2028 took a brief pause when Harris became the nominee and looked to be in a strong position, which would have meant shutting out potential candidates for the next 4 to 8 years. Now, though, it’s wide open, and it won’t be long before we see clear maneuvering from a litany of candidates,” seasoned Democratic political strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News.

SOME RACES AREN’T OVER: CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION RESULTS

Moyer, a veteran of a handful of presidential campaigns, noted that “this will include travel to states like New Hampshire and South Carolina and Nevada, presumably under the auspices of helping candidates in the midterms. Democratic voters in the early states will soon want to find someone they can get excited about and a future to look forward to in the midst of the misery of another four years of Trump in the White House. These potential candidates will be more than happy to oblige.”

The results of the 2026 midterm elections will make a major impact on the shape of the next White House race.

But for now, here’s an initial look at Democratic Party politicians considered to be potential 2028 presidential contenders.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California 

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a top surrogate for President Biden, speaks with voters during a stop at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Newsom was a top surrogate for President Biden during the president’s re-election bid. And with the blessing of the White House, the two-term California governor debated then-Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year on Fox News. 

Newsom’s travels on behalf of Biden brought him to New Hampshire and South Carolina, two crucial early voting states in the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar.

After the vice president, his friend and fellow Californian, replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, the governor continued – after a pause – his efforts to keep Trump from returning to the White House.

And with Trump’s election victory last week, Newsom became one of the Democratic Party leaders getting ready to lead the opposition. The governor announced that California state lawmakers would meet to quickly take legislative action to counter Trump’s likely incoming agenda.

The 57-year-old Newsom’s second term in Sacramento will finish at the end of next year, right around the time the 2028 presidential election will start to heat up.

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois is interviews by Fox News Digital at the Democratic National Convention, on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Pritzker, similar to Newsom, is already taking steps to Trump-proof his state.

“You come for my people, you come through me,” Pritzker told reporters of his efforts to protect Illinois.

And Pritzker was also a high profile surrogate on behalf of Biden and then Harris during the 2024 cycle. Those efforts brought Pritzker to Nevada, a general election battleground state as well as an early voting Democratic presidential primary state, and New Hampshire.

But before he makes any decision about 2028, the 59-year-old governor must decide if he’ll run in 2026 for a third term steering Illinois.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigns on behalf of then-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, at a house party in Durham, New Hampshire on July 25, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The two-term Michigan governor grabbed plenty of attention and became a Democratic Party rising star in 2020 when she feuded with then-President Trump over COVID pandemic federal assistance and survived a foiled kidnapping attempt.

Trump, at the time, called her “that woman from Michigan.”

Along with Newsom and Pritzker, Whitmer’s name was floated as a possible replacement for Biden following his disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June, before the president endorsed Harris and the party instantly coalesced around the vice president.

Whitmer was a leading surrogate for Biden and then for Harris and made a big impression on Democratic activists during a stop this summer in New Hampshire on behalf of Harris.

The governor is term-limited and will leave office after the end of next year.

Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during a campaign event in Philadelphia, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

The 51-year-old first-term governor of Pennsylvania was on Harris’ short-list for vice presidential nominee.

Even though the vice president named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Shapiro remained a top surrogate on behalf of his party’s 2024 national ticket. 

But his two-day swing in New Hampshire – during the final full week ahead of Election Day – did raise some eyebrows and 2028 speculation.

And after Harris lost battleground Pennsylvania to Trump, there was plenty of talk within the party that Harris had made the wrong choice for her running mate.

Shapiro, who has a track record of taking on the first Trump administration as Pennsylvania attorney general, is expected to play a similar role with the former president returning to the White House.

The governor will be up for re-election in 2026.

Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland

Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland speaks at the New Hampshire delegation at the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Illinois on Aug. 22, 2024 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland is considered by many to be another Democratic Party rising star.

The 46-year-old Army veteran, Rhodes Scholar, and CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic, was elected two years ago.

Moore will be up for re-election in 2026.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 21, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Buttigieg, who surpassed expectations during his 2020 Democratic presidential nomination run, was a very active surrogate on behalf of Biden and later Harris, during the 2024 cycle.

And he helped raised a lot of money for the Democratic Party ticket, including heading a top-dollar fundraiser in New Hampshire.

The 42-year-old former South Bend, Indiana mayor and former naval officer who served in the war in Afghanistan, is considered one of the party’s biggest and brightest stars. And he was known as a top communicator for the administration, including making frequent appearances on Fox News.

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Monday, August 19, 2024.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The 46-year-old Beshear, who was elected governor in 2019 and then re-elected in 2023 in red-state Kentucky, was also on Harris’ larger list for running mate.

Beshear served as Kentucky’s attorney general before running for governor.

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., speaks with Fox News Digital following a campaign rally in Tifton, Georgia on November 29, 2022. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)

The 55-year-old Warnock will likely be a major player in Washington as the Democratic minority in the Senate fights back against the second Trump administration.

Warnock, who won Senate elections in 2020 and 2022 in battleground Georgia, served as senior pastor at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

He’s up for re-election in the Senate in 2028.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey speaks at a Biden campaign/DNC news conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin near the Republican National Convention, on July 16, 2024. Standing behind Booker is Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The 55-year-old Booker, who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is considered one of the party’s most talented orators.

Thanks to his 2020 run, Booker made plenty of friends and allies in such early states as New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The senator is up for re-election in 2026.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California speaks with voters after taking part in a debate with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, on Nov. 1, 2023 in Manchester, N.H.   (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser )

The 48-year-old Khanna was a tireless surrogate on behalf of Biden and then Harris. 

And he’s been a regular visitor to New Hampshire the past couple of years, including a high-profile debate last year against then-GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks in support of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at the Hendrick Center For Automotive Excellence on August 16, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Baldwin/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The 67-year-old Cooper, who’s finishing up his eighth and final year as North Carolina governor, took his name out of the Harris running mate speculation early in the process this summer.

Cooper served 16 years as North Carolina attorney general before winning election as governor.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks on Aug. 9, 2023, in Belen, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The 65-year-old governor is halfway through her second term steering New Mexico.

The governor, a former member of Congress, was a high-profile and busy surrogate on behalf of Harrs during the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.

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Vice President Kamala Harris

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

No list would be complete without including the vice president.

The 60-year-old Harris finishes up her term as vice president in just over two months, with no concrete plans for what’s next.

But while the party wants to move on from the Biden/Harris era following Trump’s sweeping victory, and there’s little history of Democrats yearning for past defeated presidential nominees, potential buyers’ remorse of a second Trump administration could boost Harris in the years to come.

Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally at Tucson High Magnet School on November 2, 2024 in Tucson, Arizona. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

The 60-year-old Minnesota governor has two years remaining in his second term in office.

While his energy and enthusiasm on the campaign trail the past three months impressed plenty of Democratic strategists, the final results of the election will make any potential future national run for Walz difficult.

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

FIRST ON FOX: Data shows that the State Department discriminates against men when it comes to offering promotions in the foreign service, according to a new report from the Heritage Foundation.

In all five foreign service officer career tracks, which include consular affairs, economic affairs, political affairs, public diplomacy and management, open sourced State Department data shows women were promoted at a higher rate than men in 2023, up to 13% in some cases, even though men outnumber women in the foreign service officer corps. 

The challenge for men in foreign service is nothing new, however. Heritage also found that men were being promoted at a significantly smaller rate across the board in all five foreign service officer career tracks between 2020 and 2022. 

Furthermore, a 2020 Government Accountability report found that between 2003 and 2018 “women in the Foreign Service generally spent fewer years in each rank relative to men.”

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Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and the author of the organization’s report highlighting the discriminatory concerns facing men in the State Department, told Fox News Digital that the agency’s current path “opens the department to legal action by employees,” noting that such discrimination lawsuits have been filed in the past. 

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“This report exposes the administration’s pattern — under the guise of ‘equity’ — of promoting women at higher rates than men, with no logical explanation other than preference based on sex alone,” Hankinson said. “Today’s findings urge corrective action to restore merit-based promotion.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at an International Women’s Day event at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on March 8.

Upon taking office in 2021, President Biden mandated each federal agency to submit a detailed report on how they have and will continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in order to deliver “equitable outcomes.” Several months later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed the agency’s first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Under the Biden administration, the State Department also pledged to hire 30% more women for its Diplomatic Security Service by 2030, recommended “periodic assessments of the practice of [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility] in [public diplomacy],” and engaged in other efforts to promote “diversity” aimed at females and people of color at the agency. 

Furthermore, these efforts by the Biden administration were matched by efforts in Congress as well. In 2021, a cohort of House Democrats introduced a bill to increase diversity in the foreign service’s promotion practices to “improve retention and fairness” for women and minorities. 

“It’s imperative in my judgment that we continue to build a department that fully reflects our diversity – it is our strength around the world – and we’ve been working to do that,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress earlier this year.    

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed the department’s first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer in 2021. (Getty Images)

Spokespeople for President-elect Donald Trump indicated during his campaign that when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion under the Biden administration “all staff, offices, and initiatives … will be immediately terminated” once he takes office. During Trump’s first tenure in the Oval Office, he passed an executive order meant to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating” in employment practices. 

Amid the speculation about Trump’s incoming administration, diversity, equity and inclusion proponents have been sounding the alarm.

“We as DEI leaders across sectors will need to step up now more than ever into advocacy and educator roles to provide the tangible corporate benefit—from business development to bottom-line profits—and ensure that these roles and initiatives are not washed away,” Nicole Ridley, head of operations at the Financial Alliance for Racial Equity, told Fortune.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment but did not receive a response by press time. 

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to appoint Thomas Homan as the next ‘border czar.’

Trump made the announcement on his social media platform Truth Social.

“​​I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”

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Tom Homan, a FOX News contributor and former Trump Administration Head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) delivers the keynote speech at the Columbiana County Lincoln Day Dinner in Salem, Ohio on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Trump added that the “border czar” position isn’t just for monitoring the U.S. southern border with Mexico, but also “the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security. I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders.”

This comes less than a week after Trump secured his second presidency, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who was dubbed the “border czar” in the Biden administration.

Border security was a strong point of Trump’s first presidency, and it was a stalwart during both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.

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Former acting ICE director Tom Homan joined “America Reports” on Thursday to discuss the border as well as AOC’s criticism of President Biden. (Fox News)

Illegal border crossings surged under the Biden administration, with nearly 3 million in fiscal year 2024, according to Homeland Security’s website. There have been more than 10.8 million illegal encounters since FY 2021.

Trump vowed during his campaign he would once again take a hard-line approach to securing the border.

“It’s going to be a well-targeted, planned operation conducted by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this daily. They’re good at it,” Homan said during a Fox News interview on Sunday, adding that deportations would be a “humane operation.”

Tom Homan is the pick for Trump’s “border czar” when he takes over the presidency. (Getty Images)

Trump during his campaign referenced illegal migrants as people fleeing countries that didn’t want them. He often said at his rallies that illegal immigrants flooded the U.S. with drugs and gangs, and that they became a hub for smuggling and human trafficking, saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

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“They’re rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums,” Trump said. “You know, insane asylums, that’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ stuff.”

This is only the beginning of thousands of positions that need to be filled by his presidency. Trump has already announced that Susie Wiles, his co-campaign manager, will be the White House chief of staff.

EXCLUSIVE: As President-elect Donald Trump privately storyboards his cabinet choices, one top state official who is rumored to be on the shortlist for Secretary of Education is releasing his game plan for shifting the department’s duties to states and parents, Fox News Digital has learned.

In a memo to Oklahoma parents and school administrators, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters will state that the federal agency has “hijacked our education system using taxpayer dollars to impose harmful policies and control what’s taught in our schools.”

Some issues Walters said he is bringing to the fore both in the memo and what he is calling a Trump Education Advisory Team to be announced Monday.

The Department of Education is a relatively new stand-alone cabinet agency created under former President Jimmy Carter, which his successor, Ronald Reagan, called to shutter during his 1982 State of the Union.

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Tenets include ending “social indoctrination” in the classroom and promoting patriotism through curriculum.

In a Friday interview, Walters said the team will organize priorities for schools to be in line with Trump administration education policies, based on what the president-elect has signaled that he will do in that regard.

With the prospect of a shuttered Department of Education, Walters said that he will plan out how to fill any holes left by federal programs and develop legislative recommendations.

At an October rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Trump said he is “going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states.”

“And we’re going to do it fast. We’ll get somebody great [as secretary].” He namedropped former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. who had accompanied him, as well as Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Walters also remains “on Republicans’ radar” in that regard, according to Education Week.

He said on Friday that Democrats failed to challenge Trump on education policy likely because his positions already resonated with the American public, alluding to the recent scholastic controversies in Virginia and elsewhere.

“We’re going to be the tip of the spear in instituting President Trump’s agenda. This is to ensure that we are in complete alignment with the most aggressive, comprehensive and conservative education agenda the country has ever seen,” he said.

Walters said he is confident that Trump will follow through and shutter the agency, and that it will result in increased aptitude among students less burdened by red tape, redundancies to state agencies, and social policy edicts.

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Desks in a classroom. (iStock)

“I mean, President Biden came out in the middle of the summer and told us we had to put boys in girl’s bathrooms,” he said.

Whether Trump ultimately chooses him, Walters said he will remain focused on bringing Oklahoma in-line with Trumpian policies, and creating a roadmap for other states.

Improving education, he added, goes far beyond curriculum and will have lasting impacts on the economy, jobs and more.

“Parents wanted to hear that . . . our schools are not here to tell our kids this is an evil, racist country and building this indoctrination,” he said. “We want to support families and school choice.”

The transition plan he crafted also depicts how the education system can continue to run without the influence of teachers’ unions that comes with the present top-down system.

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The Department of Education building in Washington, D.C.  (Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He said that American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten put his picture on a screen after Trump’s during a recent union convention, and that his response was Tuesday’s “definitive win” by pro-school-choice candidates.

“It’s just it’s so exciting to see this agenda come to fruition,” he said. 

In the current Congress, Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., also authored a bill abolishing the Department of Education. It was referred to and remains in committee. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for information on the cabinet shortlist, as well as to the Department of Education for a response to Walters’ plans. A representative for the latter referred Fox News Digital to the Trump campaign.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent who won a fourth six-year term last week, doubled down on his claim that the Democratic Party’ lacks appeal to the working class, and responded to pushback from Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. 

In appearances on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders was pressed about his statement, released after President-elect Trump decisively defeated Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election. 

The left-wing lawmaker, who is listed as a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, said Wednesday, “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.” 

Pelosi shot back against the criticism of her party on Saturday, telling The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast that while she has “a great deal of respect” for Sanders, “I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class families.” 

“Under President Biden, you see the rescue package, money in the pockets of people, the shots in the arm, children in school safely, working people back to work,” Pelosi said. “What did Trump do when he was president? One bill that gave a tax cut to the richest people in America.”

NBC’s Kristen Welker played the podcast clip on NBC and asked Sanders to respond. 

“Nancy is a friend of mine,” Sanders said. “But here is the reality. In the Senate in the last two years, we have not even brought forth legislation to raise the minimum wage to a living wage despite the fact that some 20 million people in this country are working for less than $15 an hour.” 

The progressive senator listed his grievances with the Democratically controlled Senate, saying that in the past two years the chamber failed to pass legislation to make it easier for workers to join unions. He also claimed that the Senate has not been talking about benefit pension plans “so that our elderly can retire with security,” and that Democrats are “not talking about lifting the cap on Social Security so that we can extend the solvency of Social Security and raise benefits.”

“Bottom line, if you’re a working person out there, do you really think that the Democratic Party is going to the max, taking on powerful special interests and fighting for you? I think the overwhelming answer is no,” Sanders said.

BERNIE SANDERS EXCORIATES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, CALLS CAMPAIGN ‘DISASTROUS’ AFTER TRUMP VICTORY

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., delivers remarks on stage at NHTI Concord Community College before President Biden on Oct. 22, 2024 in Concord, New Hampshire.  (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

“Look, the working people of this country are extremely angry,” Sanders told Welker earlier. “They have a right to be angry in the richest country in the history of the world. Today, the people on top are doing phenomenally well, while 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Millions of families worry that their kids have actually got to have a lower standard of living than they do.” 

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during Nancy Pelosi in conversation with Katie Couric at 92NY on Oct. 24, 2024 in New York City.  (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

“You got the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom 90%. We’re the only major country not to guarantee health care to all of our people. Twenty-five percent of our seniors are trying to live on $50,000 a year or less. We have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth. And the gap between the people at the top and everybody else is getting wider and wider. And then, of course, that on top of all of that, we’ve got a corrupt campaign finance system which allows billionaires to buy elections. So if you’re an average worker out there, you’re saying, ‘Hey, I’m working longer and longer hours, go nowhere in a hurry, worried about my kids.’ And yet the people on top, ‘I’ve never had it so good.'” 

Arguing that Biden had followed through on his promise to be the most progressive president in terms of domestic policy, Sanders lodged a dig at Trump regarding the Republican’s success in reaching working-class voters. 

NANCY PELOSI FIRES BACK AT BERNIE SANDERS FOR COMMENTS ON DEMS’ SWEEPING ELECTION LOSS: NO ‘RESPECT’

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

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“What Donald Trump did is provided an explanation. He went around, he said, ‘I know you’re angry. And the reason is that zillions of illegal immigrants are coming over, and they’re eating your cats and dogs and everything else.’ That’s the reason. Well, obviously, that is not the reason,” Sanders said. “The reason is, in my view, that we have an unprecedented level of corporate greed today, more income and wealth inequality. And people on top want it all. And we need an agenda that says to the working class, ‘We’re going to take on these powerful special interests and create an economy and a government that works for you.’ And by the way, that can’t happen unless you get big money out of politics. We’ve got to get rid of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision so billionaires do not continue to buy elections.”