NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: A powerful, fiscally conservative political advocacy group is launching what it says is an eight-figure campaign to urge Congress “to protect prosperity” by renewing the sweeping tax cuts signed into law by President-elect Trump during his first administration.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the influential and deep-pocketed grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, is announcing that it’s spending $20 million to launch a wide-ranging campaign to urge the extension of Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

The campaign, which includes an ad blitz starting this week in all 50 states, was shared first with Fox News on Monday.

“Americans must unite and tell Washington now is not the time for higher taxes. By extending and improving the Trump tax cuts, we can make America more affordable, create greater opportunity, and reignite the American dream,” the narrator in one of the AFP ads argues.

TRUMP DETAILS STRATEGY TO RENEW HIS TAX CUTS

The 2017 law revised the nation’s tax code and gave a financial break to nearly all taxpayers. Many of the provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of this year, which would likely result in a tax increase for many Americans if Congress is unable to pass legislation to extend the cuts.

AFP says Congress is “facing a countdown to crisis that threatens the family budgets of virtually every American.”

The group also said that millions of Americans will pay an extra $1,500 or more next year in taxes if the cuts are not extended. 

AFP President and CEO Emily Seidel, highlighting that her group worked alongside Trump to pass the tax cuts last decade, called them the most pro-growth tax reform in American history.

TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO HUDDLE AT CAPITOL, WEIGH STRATEGY ON BUDGET, TAXES AND BORDER

“Renewing the TCJA must be a top priority so we can ensure this historic achievement continues to fuel decades of economic prosperity – and AFP is fully committed to mobilizing millions of people to ensure it gets done,” Seidel told Fox News in a statement.

AFP Vice President of Government Affairs Akash Chougule argued that the expiration of the tax cuts would “result in crippling tax increases for millions of families,” but “by extending and improving on the TCJA, we can make America more affordable, create greater opportunity, and reignite the American dream.”   

The group, and its aligned political wing, has a wide-ranging grassroots network across the country that it touts has reached nearly 30 million voters the past two years.

Americans for Prosperity, an influential conservative advocacy group, is launching a massive campaign to urge Congress to extend the Trump tax cuts. (Americans for Prosperity)

AFP says it will once again activate its grassroots army “to ensure pro-growth tax reform is Congress’ top priority” through “calls to lawmakers, community phone banks, and 20,000 contacts at constituent doors planned in February alone.”

The group says its campaign will also include more than 1,000 meetings at congressional offices, in-district events with their activists, roundtables with job creators and “shared testimonials from real American families and businesses who would suffer if Congress fails to renew the Trump tax cuts.”

Also being utilized: op-eds at the national and state levels, TV and radio interviews, direct mail efforts and AFP’s highly visible podcast.           

During his campaign last year to win back his old job in the White House, Trump repeatedly pledged to extend his tax cuts. 

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Evan Vucci)

No Democrats voted for the original tax cuts, which passed when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, as they do once again. 

While GOP House and Senate leaders are prioritizing extending the tax cuts, the massive price tag for extending them, which would likely even further balloon the nation’s $2 trillion deficit, is sparking divisions among congressional Republicans.

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While AFP had its differences with Trump during his first administration, it was a major supporter of his tax cuts as well as his bipartisan criminal justice reform law.

But the group’s political wing, which has long backed fiscally conservative causes and candidates, endorsed and supported Trump rival Nikki Haley in late 2023 as the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race got started. Haley was the last remaining rival to Trump, but after she ended her White House bid, AFP Action, the group’s political, wing concentrated its political efforts on down-ballot races.

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.

During the phone call, the two discussed a release deal first talked about in May of last year, according to White House officials. That deal was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council.

“The President discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region,” the White House reported in a statement.

US LAWMAKERS REACT TO CEASEFIRE DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call on Sunday to discuss the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, according to the White House. (Fox News)

The Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar have been attempting to reach a compromise for the last year in efforts to secure a release for the captured hostages and end the war between Israel and Hamas.

There has been a firm divide in the negotiations and Hamas has said it won’t release the captives without a clear end to the war, while Netanyahu has said he will continue until “total victory” over the militant group.

An Israeli soldier rides in a military vehicle near Israel’s border with Lebanon in November 2024. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

HAMAS TO FACE ‘MORE PRESSURE’ AFTER HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE DEAL, EXPERT SAYS | FOX NEWS VIDEO

Biden has stressed the immediate need for the ceasefire and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid.

Netanyahu has said he is only committed to the first phase with a partial hostage release in exchange for a week-long halt in the fight. Hamas is demanding a full withdrawal and a complete end to the fighting.

Netanyahu said he will not call for an end to the war until a “complete victory” is declared over Hamas. (Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

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During the call, Netanyahu thanked Biden for his support of Israel and America’s support for Israel’s security and national defense.  

The Department of Education was established more than 40 years ago in an effort to refine the U.S. school system. But as incoming political leaders, including President-elect Trump, consider dismantling the agency, a Fox News Digital review examines the trends in test scores, graduation rates and federal funding since its inception. What follows is the results of those findings. 

When former President Jimmy Carter was in office, Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act in October 1979, which officially established the agency in 1980. 

The department was created to determine policy for, administer and coordinate federal assistance to educational institutions around the country, but has seen opposition since its founding – commonly from Republican lawmakers.

Trump said he is going to dissolve the agency when he assumes office, asking whether the department is crucial in the development of education or if schools would benefit from a more localized education system. 

The modern-day educational system appears vastly different to that of the agency’s founding. And a decades-long debate on whether individual states should have more control over local school systems, rather than the federal government, has been reignited as Trump prepares to take office.

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The Department of Education building on Aug. 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

“Federal government efforts to improve education have been dismal,” Lindsey Burke, director of the right-leaning think tank the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, wrote of the current education system amid years of low test scores. “Even if there were a constitutional basis for its involvement – which there isn’t – the federal government is simply ill-positioned to determine what education policies will best serve the diverse local communities across our vast nation.”

It has been argued that having such a department allows people with the right expertise to make decisions as it relates to funding.

Clare McCann, the managing director of policy and operations at the Postsecondary Equity & Economics Research (PEER) Center, told ABC News in November: “There’s a reason the Department of Education was created, and it was to have this kind of in-house expertise and policy background on these [education] issues. 

“The civil servants who work at the Department of Education are true experts in the field.”

Falling Test Scores

Average test scores among students have fallen significantly since the Department of Education was created more than 40 years ago. 

Both math and reading scores among 13-year-old students are at their lowest levels in decades, according to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the 2022–2023 school year.

A 1980s teacher reading a book to a group of grade school students. Average test scores for students in the past 40 years have dropped significantly. (H. Armstrong Roberts)

While the Department of Education doesn’t control how students perform on tests, it is responsible for issuing the requirement for schools to conduct standardized testing in schools – which have reached their lowest scores in decades in 2024, according to NAEP.

The average U.S. ACT composite score in the 1990s was about 20.8, data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows. But, since then, standardized test scores have dropped. 

According to 2024 ACT data, Nevada has the lowest test scores in the country, with an average score of 17.2, while Oklahoma follows with the second-lowest average score of 17.6.

“The results are sobering,” National Center for Educational Statistics Commissioner Peggy G. Carr told ABC News of today’s test scores. 

Most schools reopened after shifting to an all-online learning environment during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, but Carr said that “this decline that we’re seeing was there in 2015, so all of this cannot be blamed on COVID.”

Average test scores in the U.S. are commonly based off the standardized testing average. Europe and East Asian countries, which don’t use ACT or SAT testing as required by the U.S., usually rank as having higher test scores, comparably.

Funding

Proponents of a dedicated education agency say federal involvement aids the system, while many critics say it is a waste of taxpayer dollars. 

In its early years, the department made specific requirements when allocating funding to schools, such as requiring higher education institutions to offer a campus drug and alcohol abuse prevention program under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, passed in 1989. 

A new report found at least $1 billion has been spent on DEI grants for public schools by the Biden administration. (iStock)

However, under President Biden, the Department of Education has seen funds spent on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in K-12 schools across the country – an initiative critics say diverts funding away from core educational objectives.

TRUMP WOULD NEED CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL TO DISSOLVE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, EXPERTS SAY

A recent study found that Biden’s Department of Education spent $1 billion on grants advancing DEI in hiring, Fox News Digital reported. 

Since 2021, the Biden administration spent $489,883,797 on grants for race-based hiring; $343,337,286 on general DEI programming; and $169,301,221 on DEI-based mental health training and programming, totaling $1,002,522,304.81, according to Parents Defending Education, a right-leaning nonprofit. 

Rethinking the department could be as simple as giving states the funding and then allowing its leaders to decide how it is dished out, Neal McCluskey, an education analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute public policy think tank, told ABC News in November.

Graduation Rates

In the 1970-1971 school year, high school graduation rates were at 78%. 

But those rates fell, dropping to a 72.9% average graduation rate in 1982, shortly after the Department of Education was established. 

Rates remained in the low 70th percentiles until the early 2000s, data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows. 

U.S. graduation rates have been up in recent years. (Keith Bedford/Reuters)

However, data from the 2021–2022 school year shows that the average graduation rate for public high school students was 87% – an increase of seven percentage points higher than a decade earlier.

Curriculum

Technological advances have transformed the educational environment for students, with typing often taking the place of lessons on cursive writing, digital tools enhancing math instruction, and GPS technology reducing the reliance on traditional map reading skills. 

Today’s technology-driven workforce has also reshaped the school system, as computer and artifical intelligence classes take precedence over home economics, such as sewing or baking. 

The Department of Education does not establish curriculum requirements for schools, but rather it is left to the state and local school boards to decide. 

However, curriculum changes have still been at the forefront of recent political conversations, specifically as it relates to parents seeking more involvement in their child’s classroom. Parents from all around the country have spoken out against certain topics being included in their child’s curriculum, usually related to gender and sex, and reportedly not being informed about the content before it was shared in class.

Third-graders play a math-related computer game on laptops at St. John Paul II Catholic Academy in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital recently reported on an elementary school in the New York City suburbs that was teaching a “gender curriculum” to elementary-level children in an effort to promote “inclusion” in school. 

Meanwhile, in 2016, the Washington Office (OSPI) set health education standards for all public schools, requiring children in kindergarten and first grade to learn that “there are many ways to express gender.”

In Oregon, the state board of education adopted health education standards, also in 2016, requiring kindergartners and first-graders to “recognize that there are many ways to express gender,” while third-graders in the state have been expected to be able to “define sexual orientation,” Fox reported in 2022.

Opponents of the Department of Education, such as Trump, have used such examples of controversial curriculum to argue that parents should be granted more power in their child’s learning.

Students on campus at the University of Rochester in New York. (Libby March/Getty Images)

The incoming Republican president, however, was not the first to propose the idea. Former President Ronald Reagan called for the department to be abolished to “ensure that local needs and preferences, rather than the wishes of Washington, determine the education of our children.”

“There’s only one way to shrink the size and cost of big government, and that is by eliminating agencies that are not needed and are getting in the way of a solution,” Reagan said in 1981. 

David Kanani, president of Los Angeles ORT College, a Jewish education nonprofit, suggested the department be cleaned up rather than completely eradicated. 

“The Department of Education ensures consistency and quality across schools, particularly in STEM education, which is critical for national security and global competitiveness,” Kanani told Fox News Digital in January. “Instead of elimination, we should clean up and reform the department to collaborate more effectively with state and local systems, prioritizing STEM as a national imperative.”

Andrew Clark, president of advocacy group yes. every kid., recently said Trump should establish pathways to redesign the education system rather than bulldozing the entire department.

President-elect Trump has said he is going to abolish the Department of Education when he takes office. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

“To make real change, you have to do it in ways that benefit people’s lives, and so if you just drop the hammer overnight you are going to cause pain for people [who] are dependent. So you’re going to have to come up with pathways to make changes,” Clark told Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal and host of the “Lost Debate” podcast.

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Trump would need congressional approval in order to make any changes to the Education Department. 

Republicans currently have the majority in both the House and the Senate, meaning lawmakers could pass new legislation addressing the laws establishing and sanctioning the department.

Fox News’ Kristine Parks and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

How to cut federal spending – and by how much – consumes Congressional Republicans right now.

Firestorms are scorching Southern California. But a political firestorm is about to singe Capitol Hill.

The natural disaster dynamic has morphed into a regular fiscal nightmare in Congress. And frankly, the way lawmakers address natural disasters creates a hyper obstacle to making a serious dent in the deficit and national debt.

Expect staggering costs.

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Destroyed cars remain in a river after the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene about a month ago in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 30, 2024. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

“This is going to be a very expensive event,” forecast Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif. 

FEMA is bracing for the price tag.

“We know this is going to be billions,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

President Biden is vowing help. 

“We’re going to pay for it. And we’ve got to be prepared to pay for it,” said the president. “We’re going to need the United States Congress to follow up with appropriations to help provide significant help for our fellow Americans who need this help.” 

Catastrophic natural disasters now pummel different quarters of the U.S. at an alarming rate. Devastating wildfires swept across Maui in 2023. Tornado outbreaks are the norm. Blackouts from the heat – or blizzards coupled with bone-chilling cold – dim the power grid. The dual hurricanes of Milton and Helene spun through the south last year, chewing through property just days apart in the fall. Water spilled out of rivers, creeks, steams, brooks and culverts, submerging entire communities.

Congress coughed up $100 billion just before Christmas to help victims recover from the hurricanes. Some of that money went to help people restart their businesses or cover costs to rebuild. $27 billion of it went to reload FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to prepare for future emergencies – like the one now incinerating the Golden State. Milton and Helene drained the DRF.

The aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires may become a fiscal nightmare for lawmakers as the new Congress attempts to address American’s growing national debt.

But Republicans now run Congress. President-elect Trump soon occupies the Oval Office. And when it comes to California – and what may have sparked the fires, Republicans could be reluctant to assist. That’s especially true as the mantra from Republicans is to slash $2 trillion in spending. In fact, there’s a fear among some Democrats that Congressional Republicans and President-elect Trump may try to penalize California – because it leans to the left.

Republicans now run the House and Senate. Mr. Trump takes office next week.

“When it comes to Congressional funding, the idea that we’re going to have an open checkbook, no matter how bad your policies are, is crazy,” said Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, on FOX Business.

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Democrats warned against partisan and region discord when natural disasters strike. 

“California has voted to support supplemental packages for hurricanes in the American South. And now this is our time of need,” said Whitesides.

Several Northern California Republicans told Fox that Democrats from Southern California were exceptionally helpful muscling through aid for their part of the state after wildfires.

So what happens when the bill comes due for the Los Angeles wildfires?

“We help all Americans,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee which oversees FEMA.

Congress members tour the wildfire disaster zone in Altadena on January 11, 2025.  (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Thompson was confident Congress would meet the needs of California.

“If we need to do more, we will,” said Thompson. 

Some Republicans blamed the wildfires – and the response – on liberal Democrats who run much of California. 

“It is an epic disaster of mismanagement,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on FOX Business. 

“What’s happened in California is the fault of (California Gov.) Gavin Newsom (D) and the legislature there.”

“What we can see is the failure of policy there and the failure of leadership in California,” piled on Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., on Fox. “We’re going to have to have real accountability. We need to have hearings to understand… to get to the bottom of what’s taking place. What the failures have been.”

California insurers nixed hundreds of thousands of policies for homeowners in areas prone to wildfires after state regulators banned higher premiums – despite the hazards. Some Republicans seized on this issue.

“California made some really bad policy decisions that caused those insurance companies to flee,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. “The people that made those policy decisions have to be held accountable, too.”

Even some Democrats questioned the local response. 

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., worked on a bill to help guarantee water for all Californians when they turn on the spigot when he served in the state legislature.

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“Why didn’t they have water? Is it negligence or is it just the fact that so many fires were breaking out all over the city in so many different areas that the system was being pushed to capacity and got overwhelmed?” asked Gomez. 

Other Democrats rebuked GOP criticism of California’s leaders.

“I think that’s all just ridiculous,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “I think the governor is on the ground doing a great job managing the response. I don’t think that we should be putting blame on anyone.” 

The cost of the fires likely means demands for another infusion of cash from Congress for FEMA – just as Republicans are starting to look to cut billions if not more than a trillion dollars. How can lawmakers pay for natural disasters – and yet slash all of this money? 

“It’s always going to be hard. I think we just got to prioritize. And, I think we need to couple any major spending with cuts on the other side,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

“So to be clear, when that bill comes due for California, some conservatives want to see some offsets?” asked yours truly of Burchett.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters, in Washington is photographed on October 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

“Absolutely,” replied Burchett.

The wildfires would have been a major issue had Congress not forked over more than $100 billion just to FEMA and various disasters in the bill before Christmas. Yet some Republicans are skeptical of the competence of FEMA to do the job. 

“I doubt the people of California will get their $700 that will be promised to them. Because as it happened in North Carolina, in Tennessee, a lot of people were turned down because all their identification was burnt up or was washed away. And there it’ll be all burnt up. It’ll just be a cluster,” predicted Burchett.

Florida’s former statewide emergency management director posed an ominous warning.

“I’ve got bad news for everybody. Disasters are coming everywhere,” observed Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., on MSNBC.

More disasters means additional demand for relief. That’s the challenge as Republicans try to cut spending. 

A few wise souls on Capitol Hill have tinkered with developing a new model to address natural disasters. The current budget model is fund appropriations under the premise that NOTHING will happen. Then it’s sometimes a challenge for lawmakers to pass a bill providing additional aid. 

So there were two monster hurricanes in the fall. Wildfires now. What’s next? An earthquake? Blizzards? Ice storms? Tornadoes? Drought? Floods? 

There has been debate about creating a “rainy day fund” – perhaps a “monsoon day fund” – that Congress can tap to dispatch major chunks of money without hassle when natural disasters hit.

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Other natural disasters are inevitable. 

But Congressional funding to cover the cost is far from it.

President-elect Donald Trump is giving Republicans his blessing to negotiate on a key tax that could prove critical to the GOP’s negotiations for a massive conservative policy overhaul next year.

Trump met with several different groups of House Republicans at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, including blue state GOP lawmakers who make up the House SALT Caucus – a group opposed to the current $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions that primarily affect urban and suburban residents in areas with high income and property taxes, such as New York, New Jersey, and California.

“I think it was productive and successful,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said of the meeting. “The president supports our efforts to increase the SALT deduction. He understands that mayors and governors in blue states are crushing taxpayers and wants to provide relief from the federal level.”

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President-elect Donald Trump told New York Republicans he would work with them on a number of priorities (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But Trump also signaled he was aware of the opposition from others in the House GOP conference, particularly rural district Republicans, who have viewed SALT deductions as tax breaks for the wealthy. Before the cap was imposed in 2017, there was no limit to how much state income and local property taxes people could deduct from their income when filing their federal returns.

“He gave us a little homework to work on, a number that could provide our middle class constituents with relief from the high taxes imposed by our governor and mayor, and at the same time, you know, something that can build consensus and get to [a 218-vote majority],” Malliotakis said.

 “I think we pretty much know that it’s not going to be a complete lifting of the SALT cap. There’s not an appetite within Congress or even among American taxpayers to lower taxes for the ultra-wealthy.

“Our efforts are really targeted to middle-class families, and that’s what we’re focused on in trying to achieve the right balance.”

The current SALT deduction cap has been opposed by New York and California lawmakers for much of its existence, since being levied in Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

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Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News Digital that Trump would work with New York Republicans on congestion pricing (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump suggested he would change course during his second administration as early as September last year, when he posted on Truth Social that he would “get SALT back, lower your taxes, and so much more.”

The discussions are part of Republicans’ wider talks about passing a massive fiscal and conservative policy overhaul via a process known as “reconciliation.”

By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to a simple majority instead of two-thirds, the process allows the party in control of both houses of Congress and the White House to pass certain legislation provided it deals with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

Some pro-SALT deduction Republicans, like Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., had signaled they could withhold support from the final bill if the cap was not increased.

“The only red line I have is that if there is a tax bill that does not lift the cap on SALT, I would not support that,” Lawler told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.

Lawler also said Trump agreed that SALT deduction caps needed to be raised.

House Republicans have virtually no room for error with a razor-thin majority from Trump’s inauguration until likely sometime in April.

Rep. Mike Lawler said SALT deduction caps were a “red line” for his support on a budget reconciliation bill (Tierney L. Cross)

Meanwhile, Trump also told New York Republicans that he would help them fight their state’s controversial congestion pricing rule that levies an added cost to drive in parts of Manhattan.

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“He understands how unfair this is and how it would impact the city’s economy and the people we represent and so we’re currently working with him on legal options to reverse the rubber stamp of the Biden administration,” Malliotakis said. “If there’s a legal option, if there’s a legal option for him to halt congestion pricing, he will.”

“You have, you know, cops, police, firefighters, nurses, the restaurant workers that have to go in at odd hours, and they drive because they don’t feel that the transit system is clean or safe.”

Congestion pricing took effect in New York City earlier this month.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on this weekend’s meeting.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan claimed in an interview Sunday that Russia, China and Iran are “weaker” and the United States is “safer” after four years under President Biden’s leadership. 

“Our alliances are stronger than where we found them four years ago,” Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to President-elect Trump’s first term. “They’re stronger than they’ve been in decades. NATO was more powerful, purposeful and bigger. Our alliances in the Asia Pacific are at all-time highs. And our adversaries and competitors are weaker across the board. Russia’s weaker, Iran’s weaker, China’s weaker, and all the while we kept America out of wars.”

“I think that the American people are safer, and the country is better off than we were four years ago, and we’re handing off that to the next team, as well as having the engines of American power humming,” Sullivan said. “Our economy, our technology, our defense industrial base, our supply chains. So the United States is in a stronger, more secure position, and our competitors and adversaries are weaker and under pressure.” 

Biden’s presidency was mired by the botched 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel, as the Pentagon monitors the rising threat of Islamic extremism worldwide. 

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Much of Trump’s promise to voters while campaigning for a second term in 2024 centered on justice for the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate and promising peace through strength on the world stage. 

Sullivan defended Biden’s handling of the withdrawal on Sunday. 

Jake Sullivan during a news conference at the White House on March 18, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“If we were still in Afghanistan today, Americans would be fighting and dying, Russia would have more leverage over us, we would be less able to respond to the major strategic challenges we face,” Sullivan said. 

“We have not seen, although the investigation continues, any connection between Afghanistan and the attacker in New Orleans,” he added, referring to the New Year’s Day truck-ramming attack on Bourbon Street. “Now the FBI will continue to look for foreign connections, maybe we’ll find one, but what we’ve seen is proof of what President Biden said, is that the terrorist threat has gotten more diffuse and more metastasized elsewhere, including homegrown extremists here in the United States – not just under President Biden, but under President Trump in his first term, and that is part of why we had to move our focus from a hot war in Afghanistan to a larger counterterrorism effort across the world.” 

During the final weeks of his presidency, Biden has been rushing billions of dollars more in U.S. aid for Ukraine before Trump takes office.

Israeli demonstrators participate in weekly anti-government protests calling for a cease-fire and a hostage deal on Jan. 11, 2025, in Tel Aviv. (Ori Aviram/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the Republican president-elect has claimed the war in Ukraine would never have started under his leadership and vowed to broker a deal to stop the fighting between Moscow and Kyiv. 

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At a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, last week, Trump warned Hamas terrorists that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East if the remaining hostages aren’t released before he takes office on Jan. 20. 

On the status of the negotiations, Sullivan said, “We are very, very close, and yet being very close still means we’re far because until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there.” 

President-elect Trump speaks during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club on Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Sullivan stressed how President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGuirk, had been in Doja for a week “hammering out with the mediators the final details of a text to be presented to both sides.” 

“And we are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done,” Sullivan said. 

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Steve Witcoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters last week that he’s seen progress in the hostage negotiations, but a deal must be struck by Inauguration Day. “If those hostages aren’t back – I don’t want to hurt your negotiation – if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Trump said from Florida. “And it will not be good for Hamas. And it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his handling of the raging fires in the Los Angeles area with a new website intended to combat “misinformation” that also links to Democratic Party fundraising giant ActBlue, Fox News Digital found. 

Fires have been raging in the Los Angeles area since Tuesday, destroying thousands of acres and homes and leaving more than a dozen people dead in its wake. Newsom, amid criticisms of his handling of the fires, unveiled a new website this weekend to combat “misinformation” on California fire prevention and emergency efforts, linking to a website that raises donations through ActBlue. 

“A lot of misinformation out there. Just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data around the Southern CA wildfires,” Newsom posted to X on Saturday. 

“The TRUTH:- CA did NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.

“- CA has INCREASED forest management ten-fold since we took office.

“- California will NOT allow for looting. Get the facts: http://californiafirefacts.com,” the post concluded. 

CALIFORNIANS ‘ANGRY’ AMID DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, ASKING WHERE HIGH TAX DOLLARS WENT: LOCAL RESEARCHER

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at podium in California. (Getty Images)

Californiafirefacts.com lists a handful of “lies” promoted on social media and by the media and Newsom’s “facts” responding to the claims, before touting a donation button at the bottom of the website, Fox News Digital found early Sunday morning. 

“Contribute to the California Fire Foundation,” the website says, identifying the fundraising effort as part of ActBlue, which will deliver donations to firefighters and devastated communities. 

“Please make a contribution to the California Fire Foundation. It is a tax-deductible donation and the money will go directly to supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to impacted residents,” the fundraising section of the website adds. 

POWER GRID FAULTS SURGED RIGHT BEFORE LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES BEGAN: EXPERT

A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

When the donation button is clicked, the user is brought to an ActBlue URL where people can make donations from $25 to $1,000 – or a self-determined number. The donation page also boasts Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy political action committee, saying it will sign donors up for text updates from the PAC.

Newsom’s PAC was launched in 2023 and promoted as an effort to boost Democrats in “extremist” GOP-led states. ActBlue is a massive Democratic PAC focused on small dollar donations that has bolstered Democratic elections and efforts to the tune of more than $16 billion since its founding in 2004, according to its website. 

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

The ActBlue URL promoting donations for the fires details again that any donations made will be delivered “directly” to “supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to impacted residents.”

Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that none of the donations made will be directed to the Democratic governor or his PAC. 

“Not a cent of these donations go to Gavin Newsom or his PAC. Gov. Newsom is proud to have raised $450,000 for the Fire Foundation in small dollar contributions during these fires and is grateful for the people across the nation who have come together to help Californians in their time of need,” Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click told Fox News Digital on Sunday. 

 Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters following the debate between President Biden and former President Trump on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))

The ActBlue website states that donations made via the platform include a 3.95% processing fee, which is passed on “to the groups using our platform.” The New York Post reported that ActBlue waived the fees for fire donations, though the fundraising behemoth did not immediately respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment on the reported waived fees. 

Contributions made through ActBlue to charities are processed by AB Charities, and include a 3.95% fee that goes toward the cost of processing contributions, according to ActBlue. Processing fees from AB Charities do not go to political candidates, according to the group. 

Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren also called on the public to make donations to those affected by the fires through an ActBlue link. 

“To help support the communities around L.A. being devastated by wildfires, can you split a donation between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles? 100% of your donation will go directly to these organizations,” Warren posted to X on Saturday. 

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES DEATH TOLL RISES TO 16 AS GAVIN NEWSOM FACES NEW FIREFIGHTING FUNDING SCRUTINY

X community notes ripped the senator, saying, “This is not a link to charity. It is a link to a Democrat fundraising platform. They take 3.95% of all transactions. secure.actblue.com/pricing.”

Fox Digital reached out to Warren’s office on Sunday morning for comment, but did not receive a response. 

Conservatives and critics of the governor sounded off on social media about the donation link through ActBlue, calling the move “disgraceful.”

The wildfires have destroyed at least 12,300 homes around the Los Angeles area over five days, and left at least 16 people dead, while thousands of others were forced to evacuate. Residents, including Hollywood stars, have railed against Newsom for his handling of the devastation, including the fire hydrants that ran out of water amid the blaze.

NEWSOM RESPONDS TO THOSE ANGRY OVER WILDFIRE RESPONSE BY POINTING FINGER AT LOCAL LEADERS, TRUMP

“Why was there no water in the hydrants?” one resident who confronted Newsom last week asked, according to Fox 11. “What are you going to do and is it going to be different next time, and I will fill up the hydrants myself.”

President-elect Trump called on Newsom to step down over the fires. (AP Images)

President-elect Trump, who has a years-long history of criticizing Newsom for the state’s repeated devastating fires, called on the governor to step down over the fires. 

“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” the president-elect declared in a Truth Social post this week.

CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM ORDERS INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION AFTER HYDRANTS RUN DRY: ‘WE NEED ANSWERS’

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Earlier in the week, Trump pinned blame for the LA County fires on Newsom and his environmental policies. 

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday. 

FLASHBACK: TRUMP HAS LONG HISTORY OF WARNING NEWSOM OVER ‘TERRIBLE’ WILDFIRE PREVENTION

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

A plane makes a drop as smoke billows from the Palisades Fire at the Mandeville Canyon, in Los Angeles, Jan. 11, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

Newsom sent a letter to Trump, who will be inaugurated the nation’s 47th president on Jan. 20, over the weekend inviting him to the scene of the fires. 

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“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and fearful for the future – deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure a fast recovery and rebuild,” Newsom wrote.

“With respect and an open hand,” he wrote.

Dozens of American college students visited Israel and the United Arab Emirates over the winter break, where they witnessed firsthand the successes of the historic Abraham Accords amid ongoing campus tensions at home as the war in Israel continues. 

Forty-three undergraduate students from across the country participated in a 10-day trip to Israel and the UAE over the winter semester break through the Israel on Campus Coalition’s Geller International Fellowship, Fox News Digital learned. The students met with business leaders, academics and political leaders to discuss and experience Middle East culture, as well as see firsthand the importance of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered under President-elect Trump’s first administration in 2020. 

“Witnessing the successes of the Abraham Accords firsthand with a group of college students who are passionate about peace and coexistence, in an era where dialogue on American college campuses like my own is sparse, has been a poignant and critical reminder of what the future of the Middle East can hold,” Eden Yadegar, a Columbia University senior studying the Middle East, said in comment to Fox News Digital. 

“Peace, security, and coexistence are not distant ideals, but a reality on the ground thanks to the United States, Israel and the UAE. The future of the Middle East is here and it’s bright, and I am incredibly grateful to the Israel on Campus Coalition for providing me with the opportunity to engage in these critical conversations and experiences.”

TRUMP’S HISTORIC ABRAHAM ACCORDS WOULD BE BOLSTERED WITH MILITARY ‘EXCHANGE PROGRAM’ UNDER BIPARTISAN BILL

Fellows who visited the UAE and Israel as part of the Geller International Fellowship. (ICC )

The Abraham Accords are a historic peace agreement brokered by the U.S. in 2020 between Israel and the UAE. As part of the agreements, the UAE and Bahrain recognized Israel’s sovereignty and established full diplomatic relations. It marked the first time Israel had established peace with an Arab country since 1994 with the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. 

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE, said in a joint statement at the time. “All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today’s historic achievement.”

BIDEN HAS ‘REPEATEDLY HELD ISRAEL BACK,’ SAYS ABRAHAM ACCORDS NEGOTIATOR

Abraham Accords signing ceremony at the White House on Sept. 13, 2020. (Getty)

Students who participated in the fellowship met with experts such as Israeli politician and diplomat Ruth Wasserman Lande and Middle East expert and lecturer Dan Feferman to discuss entrepreneurship and coexistence in the Middle East following the peace deal, as well as experts such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ senior fellow Jonathan Conricus and Saudi YouTuber Loay Alsharef to discuss diplomacy and peacebuilding under the accords. 

WHAT I SAW IN ISRAEL REVEALS ABRAHAM ACCORDS IN ACTION

American college students who participated in the fellowship met with experts in both Israel and the UAE to witness the successes of the Abraham Accords. (ICC )

“The Geller International Fellowship highlights the promise of the next generation of pro-Israel leaders and their potential to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and advance the principles of the Abraham Accords,” Israel on Campus Coalition CEO Jacob Baime told Fox News Digital. “Thanks to the generosity of Martin and Lauren Geller, this program provides students with a deeper understanding of Israel’s complexities and a foundation for informed advocacy. These fellows return to campus with a renewed sense of purpose and a commitment to sharing their experiences. This fellowship reflects ICC’s ongoing work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and develop new leaders.”

The Israel on Campus Coalition is a U.S.-based organization that works to inspire American college students and pro-Israel college groups to “see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus.” 

The Israel on Campus Coalition works to inspire American college students and pro-Israel college groups to “see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus.” (ICC)

Aidan Bloomstine, a University of Southern California senior studying public policy, ​told Fox Digital that the trip was “the opportunity of a lifetime” that reignited his optimism “that one day this region will live in peace and prosperity.”

BIDEN ADMIN SHOULD LOOK AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS-TYPE INITIATIVE WHEN HAMAS TERROR REGIME IS DEFEATED

“Those foundational principles were perfectly displayed on this trip. Hearing the successes of the diplomatic and economic cooperation firsthand from Emiratis and Israelis shows us a well-paved path for peace in other areas of the region,” the ICC fellow continued. 

More than 40 American students traveled to Israel and the UAE as part of the Geller International Fellowship. (ICC )

University of Michigan Ross School of Business senior Sam Heller echoed Bloomstine that the fellowship and trip abroad was “one of the most transformative experiences,” especially after war broke out in Israel in 2023, which soon led to antisemitism on U.S. college campuses and repeated anti-Israel protests. 

“Being surrounded by like-minded campus leaders, all deeply committed to ensuring that truth prevails in these challenging times since the 10/7 Hamas massacre, has been both inspiring and reassuring. It has given me confidence that the next generation of leaders in our country will continue to champion Western values and steadfastly support America’s closest ally, Israel. I am incredibly grateful to ICC for the opportunity to engage experts on the Israel-Palestine conflict and professionals dedicated to advancing peace in the Middle East. I eagerly anticipate watching this remarkable cohort of young leaders evolve into the policy,” Heller said. 

KT MCFARLAND: TRUMP’S ABRAHAM ACCORDS ARE SO SIGNIFICANT, EVEN ‘A BIDEN ADMIN CAN’T SCREW IT UP’

Agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide last school year to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they did not feel safe on some campuses. 

American students visited the UAE and Israel over winter break to hear from experts on the Abraham Accords. (ICC)

Protesters on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel. 

‘WOKE’ POLITICAL, COLLEGE LEADERS SET STAGE FOR PRO-HAMAS DC PROTEST: LAWMAKER

The terrorist organization Hamas launched a war in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests heightened to the point that Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia, were warned to leave campus for their own safety. 

On Penn’s campus, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in May that anti-Israel radicals were passing around multiple guides directing agitators on how to break into buildings, “escalate” protests, create weapons and even administer first aid.

The sponsors of the fellowship, Martin and Lauren Geller, highlighted in comments to Fox Digital that the program bolsters the next generation to strengthen the principles outlined in the Abraham Accords. 

Martin and Lauren Geller sponsored American students for the international fellowship. (ICC)

“The Geller International Fellowship is more than a program – it is an educational investment in the next generation of leaders committed to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and the principles of the Abraham Accords. We are honored to partner with Israel on Campus Coalition, whose exceptional leadership ensures that students gain a transformative understanding of Israel’s heritage, innovation, and resilience and to prepare these talented individuals to be leaders in the pro-Israel movement on campus as well as in their communities. Supporting this fellowship is a privilege, and we are inspired by the impact these students will have as advocates for Israel on campuses and beyond,” the couple said. Martin Geller is the founder and chairman of wealth management firm Geller & Company. 

ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS TERRORIZE AMERICANS: SEE 2024’S MOST EXTREME MOMENTS

Ahead of Trump’s election win over Vice President Kamala Harris last year, the former and upcoming president said on the campaign trail that he planned to expand the Abraham Accords if re-elected. Trump is set to be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president on Jan. 20. 

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 “If I win, that will be an absolute priority: just getting everybody in. It’s peace in the Middle East. We need it, and it’s very important. It will happen,” Trump said of the Abraham Accords during an interview with Saudi outlet Al Arabiya in October.

CONCORD, N.H. – After eight years steering swing state New Hampshire, Republican Chris Sununu left office a few days ago with some of the highest approval ratings among America’s 50 governors.

Sununu, who won election and re-election four times [New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont are the only states in the nation where governors serve two-year terms], gave credit to his team.

“If you want to be good as an executive, you’ve got to surround yourself with great people,” Sununu said in a national digital exclusive interview with Fox News on his last full day in office on Wednesday.

Asked about his tenure in office, Sununu said, “Like anything in life, you want to just make sure you leave it better than you found it. And I couldn’t be more proud of where we’ve come in the last eight years.”

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS SHOW ‘OVERWHELMING SUPPORT’ FOR DOGE

Former Gov. Chris Sununu is recognized by Republican Kelly Ayotte during her inauguration at the State House, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

“The key there is always finding a way to make it work for the citizens. That’s it. That’s the job. You have to be results-driven, regardless of the hand you’re dealt, the politics you’re given, the surrounding atmosphere,” Sununu said.

“So I think in New Hampshire, we’ve done it pretty darn well,” he touted.

AMERICA’S NEWEST GOVERNOR TAKES PAGE FROM TRUMP BY SETTING UP DOGE-LIKE COMMISSION

His successor as governor, fellow Republican and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, agreed.

Ayotte, who campaigned on continuing the Sununu agenda, praised her predecessor.

“New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that after four terms at the helm than Governor Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor,” Ayotte said.

Republican Kelly Ayotte is sworn in during her inauguration at the State House, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckely, a vocal Sununu critic, disagreed as he pointed to “years of failed Republican policies” under the retiring governor.

Sununu, who announced last year that he wouldn’t seek an unprecedented fifth two-year term as governor, reiterated what he’s said for months, that he’s “very much looking forward to getting back in the private sector, maybe private equity or boards.”

WHAT THE NEW CHAIR STEERING REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS TOLD FOX NEWS

The 50-year-old Sununu, who when he was first elected in 2016 was the nation’s youngest governor, has also, for months, repeatedly ruled out running for the Senate in New Hampshire in 2026. 

“I’m not planning on running for anything right now. I’m really not, at least for the next two, four, six years,” he emphasized.

Gov. Chris Sununu is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 11, 2024, in Newfields, New Hampshire. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

But Sununu, who in 2023 seriously mulled a Republican presidential nomination run in 2024 before deciding against it, didn’t totally close the door to another run for office in the future.

“Who knows what happens down the road, but it would be way down the road and nothing, nothing I’m planning on, nothing my family would tolerate either short term,” he said.

Sununu, who has been a regular on the cable news networks and Sunday talk shows in recent years, is considering a formalized media role.

“I’m definitely talking to a few different networks that have come and asked me to do certain things, and I’ll continue doing stuff and helping them. Is there a long-term plan there to be a little more fixed with a network or a show or something like that? Definitely talking about it. I’m interested in it,” he shared.

Sununu, who hails from a prominent political family (his father John H. Sununu served three terms as governor and later as President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff, and older brother John E. Sununu was a congressman and senator), emphasized, “I’m definitely going to want to keep scratching that political itch in some way, not necessarily running for office, but staying involved, having a voice, helping the party.”

But whether the party, once again firmly under President-elect Trump’s control, wants Sununu’s help is questionable.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is joined by Gov. Chris Sununu as they visit a polling location at Winnacunnet High School to greet voters on primary day, Jan. 23, 2024, in Hampton, New Hampshire. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sununu, a very vocal critic of Trump following the then-president’s unsuccessful efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden, ended up endorsing Trump rival Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race. Sununu became a top surrogate for Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who served as U.N. ambassador in Trump’s first administration.

But after Trump cruised to the Republican presidential nomination, Sununu said he would vote for him.

“Donald Trump is the head of the party, and he’s the voice of the Republican Party, and I got to say, I think he’s doing a pretty darn good job in the first couple months,” Sununu told Fox News. “The folks he’s been nominating to these positions. They’re moving quickly. They’re not slowing down. The efforts with DOGE (Trump’s planned government efficiency department), I think, have been phenomenal.”

President-elect Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, on Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)

And he praised the politician he had long criticized.

“Give the president credit. He earned it. He won the primaries. He got the votes,” Sununu said. “He did the groundwork to be successful, not just in the primary, but really galvanized a whole new working class of voters for the Republican Party as the general election went on. So he did a phenomenal job there.”

But he said the GOP is bigger than any one politician, even Trump.

“It’s not just a Donald Trump Republican or a Chris Sununu Republican. The Republican Party is big. Man. It is really, really, big, whether you have fiscal conservatives like myself, social moderates, whatever it might be, even some of the more extremist side of things, everyone has a place here and a voice.”

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And Sununu’s very optimistic about the GOP’s future.

“It’s a really big party, and it’s growing. I mean, it really is growing, and Nov. 5 was a huge example of that. So I’m very optimistic on where the Republican Party is going with Donald Trump, with other leaders. JD Vance, everybody, kind of coming to the table, putting their two cents in and making sure that it’s all about America.”

President-elect Trump blasted special counsel Jack Smith as a “disgrace” to himself and the country following Smith’s resignation from the Justice Department.

Smith’s resignation was announced in a court filing Saturday.

“The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” a footnote in the filing said.

Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday to criticize Smith for his investigations into the incoming president.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH RESIGNS AFTER 2-YEAR STINT AT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a news conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Deranged Jack Smith was fired today by the DOJ. He is a disgrace to himself, his family, and his Country. After spending over $100,000,000 on the Witch Hunt against TRUMP, he left town empty handed!” Trump wrote.

Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and his mishandling of classified documents.

Smith previously served as acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee in 2017 during Trump’s first administration.

The resignation comes ahead of the release of Smith’s report on the case related to Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol. A recent court filing revealed that Garland plans to release the report soon, possibly before Trump takes office next week.

Jack Smith, US special counsel, speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“As I have made clear regarding every Special Counsel who has served since I took office, I am committed to making as much of the Special Counsel’s report public as possible, consistent with legal requirements and Department policy,” Garland wrote in a recent letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

A judge from a federal appeals court ruled on Friday against blocking the release of Smith’s report.

After Trump’s presidential election victory in November, Smith filed motions to bring his cases against the president-elect to a close.

Smith asked a judge in late November to drop the charges against Trump in the case related to the Capitol riot. Prior to that request, Smith filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in that case, which was anticipated after Trump’s electoral win.

TRUMP PRESSES GOP TO SWIFTLY SEND ‘ONE POWERFUL BILL’ FOR HIS SIGNATURE ASAP

Special Counsel Jack Smith announces an indictment of former President Donald Trump during a press conference on August 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

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Trump said after the cases were dropped that they “should never have been brought.”

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

Top Foreign Affairs Republican Sen. Jim Risch predicted the U.S. would not abandon NATO under the Trump administration – and promised to work with the new president to strengthen it instead. 

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who leads the powerful Foreign Relations Committee under the new Republican majority, said his number one priority is “getting Trump’s team in place.” He said he is “cautiously optimistic” that they can get Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, confirmed by Inauguration Day.

Speaking with Fox News Digital one day after meeting with Trump, the chairman said he believes that Trump’s national security apparatus is going to be less frenzied this time around. 

“Anybody you talk to will tell you it’s really different this time,” he said. “It’s gonna be a lot better.” 

He said Trump discussed foreign policy priorities while meeting with senators on Wednesday, but declined to share details. 

Risch seems to pay little heed to Trump’s threats to pull the U.S. out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I think everyone’s recognized now with what Russia’s done, that the original founders of NATO were very right that we have to stand up and come together,” he said. “I don’t think anybody would have the idea that we should leave NATO.”

“We had a vote here in the Congress on whether or not we should leave NATO,” he went on. “Overwhelmingly, that vote passed.” 

RUSSIA MONITORING TRUMP’S ‘DRAMATIC’ COMMENTS ON GREENLAND ACQUISITION

In December 2023, Congress passed legislation as part of the NDAA that barred any president from removing the U.S. from NATO without approval from two-thirds of the Senate or an act of Congress. That provision was spearheaded by Rubio. 

Risch said that after Trump’s first term and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nations “very slowly” began to boost their military budgets. Canada is not on track to hit the 2% target until 2032. 

But now, 23 out of 32 NATO states meet the 2% target, which Republicans now say is not enough. 

Risch said he’s long had plans to work to get allies to boost their spending. 

“We’re going to have to do more. So there’s a lot of discussion about what that looks like, and President Trump and I think European countries are going to fall in line. They really need to.”

Trump said in December that he would “absolutely” leave NATO if his terms weren’t being met. He’s long advocated for other members of the 32-member alliance to increase defense spending. 

“If they’re paying their bills, and if I think they’re treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I’d stay with NATO,” he said.

HOUSE PASSES BILL THAT WOULD SANCTION INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR TRYING TO ARREST NETANYAHU

But to some, the comments were seen as leverage – a way to force nations lagging in defense spending to step it up. While NATO has long had a goal for its member states to spend 2% on defense, and many are still negligent, Trump recently moved the goalpost to 5% – more than any nation currently spends.

“They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent, not two percent,” Trump said during an appearance at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.

He complained that Europe had far more to lose than the U.S., given its geographical closeness to adversaries. 

President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Oct. 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The ruins of the city of Toretsk are in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on December 19, 2024.  (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we’re in [for],” Trump said during an appearance at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida late Tuesday. “We have a thing called the ocean in between us, right? Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe?”

Last year, the U.S. spent 3.4% of its GDP on defense. Poland spent the most, at 4.12%. 

Risch, who last led the Foreign Relations Committee from 2019 to 2021, said he plans to work with Trump on returning to a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, tightening sanctions to squeeze the regime’s economic system. 

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“They are going to go back to the maximum pressure,” he said. “I’m encouraging it.” 

“The Biden administration shoveled a bunch of cash at them, begged them to come to the table for an agreement.”

“Iran is going to have to make some really tough decisions, because I just don’t see, with exterior pressure they’re getting, with the interior pressure they’re getting, that they can sustain what they’ve been doing.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom invited President-elect Trump to visit the Golden State to witness the destruction wildfires have wrought, meet with victims and thank first responders.

The governor’s message to Trump Friday came as fires continued ravaging parts of California.

Newsom urged against politicizing “human tragedy” and disseminating “disinformation.”

NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER PRESIDENT-ELECT POINTS FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY

President Trump, center, looks on with California Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom as they view damage from wildfires in Paradise, Calif., Nov. 17, 2018.  (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Americans — displaced from their homes and fearful for the future — deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure a fast recovery and rebuild,” Newsom wrote.

“With respect and an open hand.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office to request comment Saturday, but no comment was provided. Trump’s camp did not respond to a comment request.

NEWSOM RESPONDS TO THOSE ANGRY OVER WILDFIRE RESPONSE BY POINTING FINGER AT LOCAL LEADERS, TRUMP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump has been excoriating Newsom, even asserting that he should step down as governor.

“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” the president-elect declared in a Truth Social post this week.

TRUMP ACCUSES NEWSOM OF PRIORITIZING ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES OVER PROTECTING RESIDENTS FROM WILDFIRES

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, holds a campaign rally at the PPG Paints Arena Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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In another post, Trump accused “Gavin Newscum” and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of “Gross incompetence.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed his brief exchange with President-elect Trump, which was caught on camera at former President Carter’s state funeral.

The pair have not been seen publicly together since leaving the White House in disagreement over the 2020 election results. At the service at the National Cathedral, Pence stood up to shake Trump’s hand, and they appeared to exchange pleasantries. 

Former second lady Karen Pence, who was seated next to her husband, did not stand up or acknowledge Trump.

JIMMY CARTER MEMORIAL: SUSPECT ACCUSED IN CAPITOL HILL SECURITY BREACH DURING TRUMP VISIT IDENTIFIED

In an interview with Christianity Today, Pence said he “welcomed” the opportunity to speak with Trump.

“He greeted me when he came down the aisle. I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’” Pence said.

Former Vice President Al Gore, left, watches as former Vice President Mike Pence, center, shakes hands with President-elect Trump before a state funeral service for former President Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2025.  (Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Pence also recalled one of his final conversations with Trump in 2021, when he told Trump he would continue to pray for him. Trump responded, “Don’t bother,” the outlet reported. 

“I said, ‘You know, there’s probably two things that we’re never going to agree on. … We’re probably never going to agree on what my duty was under the Constitution on Jan. 6.’ And then I said, ‘And I’m never going to stop praying for you,'” Pence told Christianity Today. “And he said, ‘That’s right, Mike, don’t ever change.'”

He said he kept his word.

RFK JR. SAYS HE PLANS TO ALSO MEET WITH DEMS IN BID TO GET CONFIRMED AS TRUMP HHS HEAD

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, at a campaign event, Nov. 1, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

While the two appeared to remain cordial at the service for Carter, Pence told the outlet he doesn’t think Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is the right fit to manage Health and Human Services and was concerned about former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard serving as national intelligence director.

Fox News Digital reached out to Trump and Advancing American Freedom, a public policy advocacy organization founded by Pence, for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this article.

As fires wreak havoc in California, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., claimed in a post on X the catastrophe is “what a climate emergency looks like.” He took aim at President-elect Trump, asserting the incoming president has been bought off by the oil industry.

“Trump has been bought for $1 billion by Big Oil. Just a payoff to kill the IRA and the Green New Deal. We know what will happen. More fires, more climate disasters, more death. The LA fires are preview of coming atrocities,” Markey declared in a post on X.

Markey, who claims there is a “climate crisis,” has also warned about the potential effects of artificial intelligence (AI).

DEM CLAIMS TRUMP WIELDING NUCLEAR STRIKE AUTHORITY ‘SHOULD TERRIFY YOU’ — THEN PEOPLE POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS

Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard during a powerful windstorm Wednesday in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

He suggested rising use of AI could result in “doubling data center electricity demand by 2026,” “increased carbon emissions,” “water supply shortages” and “electronic waste.” 

“We are already facing a climate crisis. We can’t let AI make it worse,” Markey warned.

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., attends the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump is slated to take office Jan. 20.

“In his first term, President Trump advanced conservation and environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth for families across the country,” incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

TRUMP REPORTEDLY PLANS TO UNLEASH AROUND 100 EXECUTIVE ORDERS AFTER TAKING OFFICE

President-elect Trump speaks to members of the media during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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“America’s energy agenda under President Trump produced affordable, reliable energy for consumers along with stable, high-paying jobs for small businesses — all while dropping U.S. carbon emissions to their lowest level in 25 years. In his second term, President Trump will once again deliver clean air and water for American families while Making America Wealthy Again.”

President-elect Trump announced incoming deputies for several key Cabinet positions in a series of social media posts Saturday as his inauguration date gets closer.

Trump, who takes office in less than 10 days, made the announcement on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. He began by naming Katharine MacGregor as the next deputy secretary of the interior, a position she held in Trump’s first administration.

“Katharine is currently Vice President of Environmental Services at NextEra Energy, Inc., and previously worked at the Department of the Interior during my first four years as President,” Trump wrote. “She helped us in our quest to make our Nation Energy DOMINANT, and was also an integral part of the team that produced our Historic ‘Salute to America’ at the National Mall.”

Next, Trump named David Fotouhi to serve as the next deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

TRUMP PLANS TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ REVERSE BIDEN’S ‘RIDICULOUS’ BAN ON NEW OIL AND GAS DRILLING ALONG US COAST

President-elect Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“David worked at the EPA for the entirety of my First Term, concluding his service as EPA’s Acting General Counsel,” the announcement said. “He is currently a Partner at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP. In our Second Term, David will work with our incredible EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, to advance pro Growth policies, unleash America’s Energy Dominance, and prioritize Clean Air, Clean Water, and Clean Soil for ALL Americans.”

The president-elect then named James P. Danly as the next U.S. deputy secretary of energy, calling his nominee “a retired U.S. Army Officer, who served for two tours in Iraq, where he earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.”

“He served in my First Term as General Counsel, Commissioner, and Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he won countless cases before the Federal Courts, and drove regulatory reform to ensure abundant and affordable energy for the American People,” Trump wrote. “James earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University, and his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School.”

In his final deputy announcement, Trump named Paul R. Lawrence as his next deputy secretary of veteran affairs.

TRUMP PRESSES GOP TO SWIFTLY SEND ‘ONE POWERFUL BILL’ FOR HIS SIGNATURE ASAP

President-elect Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago Thursday in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Paul was a great VA Under Secretary of Benefits in my First Term, implementing Legislation I signed to improve the GI Bill and Appeals Modernization,” Trump wrote. “Paul also helped us drive the claims backlog to its LOWEST LEVEL in VA History. Paul was previously a Partner at Ernst & Young, and the Public Sector Vice President of Kaiser Associates.

“He will work with our next VA Secretary, Doug Collins, to ensure our Hero Vets are taken care of, and treated with the respect they deserve, with thanks for the incredible sacrifices they have made for our Country.”

After announcing the incoming deputies, Trump also announced that University of Chicago professor Casey B. Mulligan would serve as the chief counsel for advocacy at the United States Small Business Administration.

President-elect Trump speaks as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin listens during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump called Mulligan “a highly respected expert on the regulations that are crushing our Small Businesses.”

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“During my First Term, Casey was the Chief Economist of my Council of Economic Advisers where he helped craft the Economic policies that gave us the best Economy in American History,” Trump wrote. “Casey will work with Kelly Loeffler, our Great Nominee for SBA Administrator, to make sure that we slash regulations, and empower Small Businesses to thrive like never before.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith resigned from his position at the Department of Justice on Friday, Fox News has learned.

The resignation, which had already been expected since President-elect Trump was elected in November, was quietly announced in the footnote of a court filing on Saturday. 

“The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” the note read.

Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate the 2020 election interference case against Trump concerning Jan. 6, as well as the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. In 2017, Smith served as acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, during the first Trump administration.

TRUMP PLANS TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ REVERSE BIDEN’S ‘RIDICULOUS’ BAN ON NEW OIL AND GAS DRILLING ALONG US COAST

In November, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith requested to dismiss charges he brought against Trump in a case alleging his interference in the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The news came as the country waits for Smith’s report on the election interference case to be released. A recent court filing showed that Garland plans to release the investigative report soon, possibly before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. 

On Friday, a judge from a federal appeals court ruled not to block the release of Smith’s report.

“As I have made clear regarding every Special Counsel who has served since I took office, I am committed to making as much of the Special Counsel’s report public as possible, consistent with legal requirements and Department policy,” Garland wrote in a recent letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

TRUMP PRESSES GOP TO SWIFTLY SEND ‘ONE POWERFUL BILL’ FOR HIS SIGNATURE ASAP

Jack Smith speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., in 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Once Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Smith motioned to wind down his cases against the president-elect. At the end of November, Smith asked a judge to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump in the D.C. case against him. 

Before asking to drop the case, Smith filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against Trump in Washington, D.C. – a decision that was widely expected following Trump’s win. After the cases were dropped, Trump responded to the move by arguing that the investigations “should never have been brought.”

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The special counsel’s resignation comes as his report is slated to be released possibly before President-elect Trump takes office on Jan. 20.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought,” Trump in a Truth Social post. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump indicated that he plans to push 100 — or around 100 — executive orders after assuming office, senators and reports have indicated, with the number varying slightly.

Trump, who will take office later this month on Jan. 20, met with Senate Republicans on Wednesday.

During a Thursday morning appearance on “Fox & Friends” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said that Trump indicated that there are almost 100 executive orders to address issues like border security and U.S. energy.

“He threw that out — 100 — there could be like 100 EOs, yeah. I believe him.” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., noted to The Hill.

TRUMP PLANS TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ REVERSE BIDEN’S ‘RIDICULOUS’ BAN ON NEW OIL AND GAS DRILLING ALONG US COAST

President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. (Oliver Contreras/SIPA USA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Senators were provided previews regarding some of what they were informed would be 100 executive orders, two sources noted to Axios. Stephen Miller, who Trump has tapped to serve in his new administration, discussed plans for using executive authority to tackle border and immigration beginning day one, the outlet reported.

The Associated Press claimed that Trump is readying more than 100 executive orders beginning day one, and had informed GOP senators during the meeting. “There will be a substantial number,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., noted according to the outlet.

Fox News Digital emailed a Trump spokesperson with a request for comment on Saturday, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

TRUMP PRESSES GOP TO SWIFTLY SEND ‘ONE POWERFUL BILL’ FOR HIS SIGNATURE ASAP

Signing scads of executive orders would enable Trump to unilaterally push his agenda after returning to the Oval Office, but GOP lawmakers also plan to work with him to enact his legislative priorities as well.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have both declared their intent to push the president-elect’s agenda.

TRUMP CAN DO A LOT THROUGH EXECUTIVE ORDERS, SAYS GOP REP

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“Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult as as possible, from Lawfare such as has never been seen before, to costly and ridiculous Executive Orders on the Green New Scam and other money wasting Hoaxes. Fear not, these “Orders” will all be terminated shortly, and we will become a Nation of Common Sense and Strength. MAGA!!!” Trump declared in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.

School districts, universities and state-level education leaders around the country are preparing their schools for the incoming Trump administration, including efforts to protect illegal immigrant children. 

Many school districts are focusing on efforts to bolster protections for migrant students and families. These include mandatory teacher training on what to do if immigration officials arrive at their schools and new rules that bar them from showing up in the first place. Other districts are readying measures to guarantee funding in case President-elect Trump cuts it.

“We will not allow any law enforcement entity to take any type of immigration action against our students or their families within our care,” Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Monday at a press conference. 

Carvalho has committed to using all legal options available to protect illegal immigrants attending school in the district, according to local reports. 

BIDEN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SPENT OVER $1 BILLION ON DEI GRANTS: REPORT

Shortly after Trump’s election victory in November, the district’s governing board passed a resolution prohibiting district employees from voluntarily complying with immigration authorities, including sharing information about a student’s immigration status. Part of the resolution includes teacher training instructing educators on the proper ways to respond to law enforcement. 

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho with LAUSD Board members.  (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“Get ready to deal with misinformation. Get ready to deal with any action from Washington, and be prepared,” LAUSD board member Monica Garcia said.

Several districts are offering training for immigrant students and families as well. In Washington, the Edmonds School District planned a “Know Your Rights Session” led by officials from the local Mexican consulate for immigrant members of its community. 

The event was later canceled due to backlash, but an official flyer for the event said the Mexican consulate would be on hand to share with community members “how to prepare for immigration raids and your individual rights when approached, detained or incarcerated by police or immigration agents.”

Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools, passed a resolution earlier this month reaffirming its commitment to designate itself a sanctuary school for undocumented students. Under the updated resolution, employees are still not permitted to share a student’s immigration status without parental consent. And the district said it would not allow immigration officials into school buildings beyond the front office.

FIVE WAYS TRUMP AND MCMAHON CAN MAKE EDUCATION GREAT

Nicole Neily, the president and founder of the nonprofit Parents Defending Education (PDE), said “without a doubt” the increase in illegal immigration has put a negative strain on schools, not helped them. She said the incoming administration will not put up with schools ignoring its policies. 

“Given the poor state of civics education in America, it’s little wonder that administrators are laboring under the misimpression that they are above the law. But after Jan 20, they should be aware that the incoming administration will not look favorably on these transgressions,” Neily said. 

Parents Defending Education co-founder Nicole Neily speaking at a parents rally on Capitol Hill Nov. 16, 2021 (Fox News)

In addition to measures aimed at flouting federal immigration authorities, some schools are preparing for possible funding cuts. Trump has signaled he is open to potentially dissolving the Department of Education and has said in the past he would strip federal funds from schools that do not follow the law.

Richmond Public Schools in Virginia is planning to fund student lunches locally over fears the Trump administration could get rid of the Community Eligibility Provision, a  program that helps pay for meals for students.

NEW JERSEY ENDS BASIC READING AND WRITING SKILLS TEST REQUIREMENT FOR TEACHERS

“We delivered millions of meals during the pandemic,” Superintendent Jason Kamras said. “So, we’ll have to figure this one out, too, if necessary.”

In California, state Superintendent Tony Thurmond said his school system is “prepared to introduce legislation that would guarantee funding for California schools and California education” in case Trump gets rid of it. 

Tony Thurmond, candidate for superintendent of public instruction, speaks at the San Francisco Chronicle March 22, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif.  (Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Colleges and universities are also taking steps to shield their international students from potential deportations under Trump, several of which have encouraged their students from overseas to return to campus ahead of Trump’s inauguration later this month. They have also offered resources for students who are not natural-born citizens.

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“A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” Cornell University’s Office of Global Learning said in a message to students after Trump won.