NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: As fires rage in California, the largest firefighter union in North America threw its support behind South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after notably remaining politically neutral in the 2024 election cycle. 

“We support President Trump’s nomination of Governor Kristi Noem for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As a Governor, nominee Noem understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and manmade. 

“She has earned broad support from law enforcement unions, and we join many other organizations in calling for her speedy confirmation,” International Association of Firefighters General President Edward Kelly wrote in a letter to senators Rand Paul and Gary Peters, the respective chair and ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security.

The IAFF’s letter of endorsement for Noem comes as multiple fires rip through Los Angeles County, causing at least five deaths, widespread damage and the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the IAFF’s endorsement Thursday. 

‘NO TIME TO PLAY’: SENATE MUST QUICKLY CONFIRM NOEM AS DHS CHIEF IN WAKE OF TERROR ATTACK, SAYS LOUISIANA GOV

Firefighters continue battling the Palisades Fire as flames rage across Los Angeles Jan. 9, 2025. (Official Flickr Account of Cal Fire/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images )

“There is no greater government service than public safety. The members of IAFF are proud to serve our communities, and we look forward to working with Governor Noem and the Department of Homeland Security in the years ahead,” the union chief said. 

The IAFF represents 353,000 members who protect more than 85% of the communities living in both the U.S. and Canada. The DHS oversees a number of national security and law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF: CURRENT LEADERS ‘BETRAYED US’

The IAFF’s endorsement of Noem comes after the union notably decided against endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris or Trump ahead of the general election. 

“The IAFF Executive Board determined that we are better able to advocate for our members and make progress on the issues that matter to them if we, as a union, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder. This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity,” Kelly said in an October statement declaring the union would remain neutral during the election. 

The Eaton Fire burns a vehicle Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.  (Ethan Swope/AP)

A source familiar with Noem’s nomination process highlighted the timing of the IAFF’S endorsement amid the raging California fires, saying the urgency behind its Noem support shows firefighters know “it’s important that President Trump have his whole team in place as quickly as possible to keep America safe from all threats.”

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT KRISTI NOEM, THE ‘BORDER HAWK’ NOMINATED BY TRUMP TO LEAD DHS

“The whole country can see the horrible wildfires ravaging Southern California, and so it really says something that the firefighters union felt the urgency to stand up for Gov. Noem at this moment in time,” the source said.

“These firefighters are the bravest of the brave, and they know that it’s important that President Trump have his whole team in place as quickly as possible to keep America safe from all threats, and to be in place for disaster response.

A Super Scooper plane drops water on the Palisades Fire Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.  (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“Their endorsement solidifies the public safety support around Gov. Noem, since she’s also been endorsed by police organizations and the border patrol union. The message is clear — she should be confirmed as rapidly as possible.” 

Noem’s Senate confirmation hearing with the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs is scheduled for Jan. 15, kicking off at 9 a.m. 

Noem is heading into the final leg of the confirmation process armed with support from law enforcement unions and groups. At least eight police groups or unions have sent letters to Sen. Paul calling for a speedy confirmation process, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents. 

EX-TRUMP OFFICIAL PREDICTS ‘ENTIRE MINDSET CHANGE’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER, HAILS ‘FANTASTIC’ PICK TO LEAD DHS 

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, listens as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

“On behalf of the men and women of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) who protect our nation’s borders, we are excited to provide our support for President-elect Trump’s nominee, Governor Kristi Noem, to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez wrote in a letter last month in support of Noem. 

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

Law enforcement groups that have endorsed Noem include the National Fraternal Order of Police, the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the U.S.; the National Association of Police Organizations; the International Union of Police Associations; the Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association; International Union of Police Associations Local 6020; the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Police Officers Association of Michigan; and the National Border Patrol Council. 

U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare to transport migrants for asylum claim processing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, Calif., April 5, 2024.  (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also called on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to swiftly confirm Noem after a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans New Year’s Day. 

“This is no time to play around,” Landry said earlier this week. “Which is why I am also calling on Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to allow Kristi Noem to get to work on Day 1 as our Secretary of Homeland Security. There should be no gap in leadership. In the wake of the Bourbon Street and Las Vegas attacks, our nation’s security depends on her quick confirmation.”

Military personnel walk down Bourbon Street Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans.  (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Trump announced Noem as his pick to lead DHS shortly after his decisive win over Harris at the ballot boxes, citing the Republican governor’s efforts to secure the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by illegal crossings under the Biden administration. 

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“Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times. She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries. I have known Kristi for years, and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects – She will be a great part of our mission to Make America Safe Again,” Trump wrote in his announcement Nov. 12. 

Congressional Republicans campaigned on border security last year. 

So it should be of little surprise that their initial legislative action of 2025 focused on illegal immigration and tightening up the border. 

One can argue about whether Congressional Republicans appropriated the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley for political gain. The 22-year-old Riley went for a run last February and never returned. Jose Antonio Ibarra murdered Riley. He entered the country illegally from Venezuela.

“He bashed her head in with a rock. This is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. People need to know what this animal did to her,” said Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., the main sponsor of the immigration bill.

SENATE DEMS TO JOIN REPUBLICANS TO ADVANCE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL NAMED AFTER LAKEN RILEY

Jose Ibarra was found guilty on 10 counts in the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

Republicans seized on the episode. To the right, the Laken Riley case symbolized everything which was wrong about the border and the Biden Administration. Days after Riley’s death last year, the House approved the Laken Riley Act. The bill requires federal detention for anyone in the country illegally who is arrested for shoplifting or theft. Republicans argued that Riley would be with us today had such a policy been in place to pick up Ibarra. 

It will take months for Congressional Republicans to get on the same page when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump’s demand for a combined “big, beautiful bill” on tax policy, federal spending and immigration. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says the aim is to pass that reconciliation package in early April. 

Approving a border security package by itself would be challenging enough – and that’s to say nothing of the cost. So Congressional Republicans are targeting low-hanging fruit. Hence, the GOP turned to an old standby as their primary legislative effort for the new year: The Laken Riley Act. 

Progressive Democrats pounced, accusing Republicans of race-baiting.

“It is simply an attempt to score cheap political points off of a tragic death,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., during the floor debate. “This is the Republican playbook over and over again. Scare people about immigrants.”

A USER’S MANUAL TO CERTIFYING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., accused Republicans of trying to “score cheap political points” by naming their illegal immigrant crime bill after Laken Riley. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Their bill today is an empty and opportunistic measure,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “Pick a crime. Paste into it a template immigration law covering convicted criminals and then require detention or deportation of certain persons merely accused of committing the crime or arrested for committing the crime.”

“It’s very clear that House Republicans are going to push an anti-immigrant agenda,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “I personally voted against it because this would open a path for individuals with DACA, to be deported, even if they are just around someone who committed a crime.”

Republicans clapped back.

“To my Democratic colleagues, I ask you how many more laws with names attached to them do we need to pass before you take this crisis seriously?” asked Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., during a debate on the House floor.

The majority of Democratic criticisms emanated from the left-wing of the party and progressives. 

But there’s an evolution underway in the Democratic Party. A practicality when it comes to border security, immigration and how the party mostly ignored the issue in the last election. And likely paid the price. 

LAKEN RILEY ACT PASSES HOUSE WITH 48 DEMS, ALL REPUBLICANS

Thirty-seven House Democrats voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act when the House approved the initial version of the bill last year. That figure ballooned to 48 Democratic yeas this week when the House approved the 2025 Laken Riley Act in its first legislative vote of 2025.

An examination of the vote matrix demonstrates how dozens of moderate Democrats or those representing swing districts voted yes. Six Democrats who voted nay last year flipped their vote to yea this time.

That includes Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., Val Hoyle, D-Ore., Lucy McBath, D-Ga., Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Terri Sewell, D-Ala.

“I’m concerned about what happened to Miss Riley.” said Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee. “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to other people.”

Other yeas came from longtime conservative Democrats like Rep. Henry Cueller, D-Tex. He represents a border district. When asked why he voted aye, Cueller responded, “That’s an easy one. We won’t welcome people that break the law.”

Other moderates representing swing districts who voted yes included Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., Don Davis, D-N.C., Jared Golden, D-Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. 

HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED PUSH TO CRACK DOWN ON NONCITIZEN VOTING

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference on rising suicide rates at the U.S. Border Patrol on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

So were Democrats getting religion after the election?

“There was criticism that Democrats didn’t take immigration seriously,” yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “Was there regret and that’s why some of these votes changed?”

Jeffries attributed it to new members joining the Democratic Caucus. 

“It’s my understanding that there were approximately eight to ten additional Democratic votes this year as compared to last year. There are 30 new members of the House Democratic Caucus,” said Jeffries.

But even though the bill passed the House, there’s always the Senate. And the Senate never considered the Laken Riley Act last year.

“The Senate,” lamented Collins. “[The bill] got bogged down and never showed up anywhere. It fell into the black hole of the Senate. Like much of our legislation that we sent over there.”

LEARNING CURVE: THE NEW PLAYERS IN CONGRESS

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said it is not “xenophobic” to want a secure border. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

But Republicans now control the Senate. Not the Democrats. New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made sure his body also made the Laken Riley Act its primary focus for early 2025.

“Senate Democrats uniformly opposed (the Laken Riley Act) last year, despite the bill receiving bipartisan support in the House of Representatives,” said Thune. “We’ll see what they do when the new Senate majority brings it up for a vote.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who often bucks his party, quickly signed on to the Laken Riley Act.

“It’s not xenophobic to want a secure border,” said Fetterman. “It’s not xenophobic if you don’t want people with criminal records and that are actively breaking the law to remain here in the nation.”

Fetterman brushed off liberal concerns about violating the civil rights of undocumented persons who may be detained.

“If they’re here,” said Fetterman, “Technically, they’re already breaking the law.”

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A slate of other Democrats quickly signed on to support the measure as well. 

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a freshman who represents a battleground border state, was among them. He argues that Democrats fouled up the border security issue in the election. 

“There was inaction all together. It certainly cost the Democratic Party. And I’d say potentially, the White House,” said Gallego. “I think we have to take the lessons from that.”

The Senate votes today to break a filibuster to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act. It will be set for passage next week if it clears that procedural hurdle today.

Republicans will offer other border security/immigration bills in the next few months. Watch to see if Democrats join them. The lesson culled from the Laken Riley Act is that Democrats who represent competitive turf believe the party messed up when it came to border security. They’re seeking to inoculate themselves on that issue. And even if it’s not all Democrats, this marks a different approach from the party on the border compared to last year. 

FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is holding its first hearing of the new Congress next week focused on prolonged pandemic-era telework for federal employees, with Chairman James Comer telling Fox News Digital that his priority is to bring federal workers back into office. 

The hearing, titled the “Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Administration Legacy,” is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. 

SENATE DOGE LEADER ERNST TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK ABUSE AT FIRST MEETING WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY

Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration; Rachel Greszler of the Economic Policy Innovation Center; and president of the board of the Federal City Council Tom Davis are set to testify. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, argues a point at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

O’Malley, before the end of his tenure, locked in telework agreements for 42,000 Social Security employees until 2029. 

“President Donald Trump and his incoming Administration is set to be greeted by largely vacant federal government office buildings because the federal workforce is still taking advantage of the Biden Administration’s outdated and detrimental pandemic-era telework policies,” Comer told Fox News Digital. “Not only do these telework policies jeopardize the ability of agencies to deliver vital services to the American people, but reports indicate the Biden Administration is now working with federal employee unions to cement long-term guarantees of telework.” 

Comer told Fox News Digital that President-elect Donald Trump’s “agenda and critical services provided by the federal government should not be hindered or prevented because of unchecked federal workforce unions that are striking deals with the Biden Administration to stay at home.” 

Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress begins. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

NATION’S LARGEST LABOR UNION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES REBUKES GOP’S EFFORTS TO END TELEWORK

“It’s past time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people,” he said. “The House Oversight Committee remains committed to ensuring federal employees show up for the American people they serve.” 

According to a Senate report authored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the federal government currently owns more than 7,000 vacant buildings and nearly 2,500 buildings that are partially empty. 

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The report states that government buildings currently average an occupancy rate of 12%. 

During the hearing, the committee plans to examine how the Biden-Harris administration “failed to return federal workers to the office,” and said that failure could “hinder” the incoming Trump administration’s ability to bring them back, due to long-term guarantees of telework in deals signed with federal employee unions. 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing major backlash for being in Ghana while her city battled devastating wildfires. Now, a 2021 tweet in which she criticized Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for going to Cancun, Mexico, with his family as his state dealt with a severe winter storm.

Social media users were quick to accuse the mayor of being hypocritical. While Bass left for Ghana before the wildfires started, she still faced condemnations over the trip and fierce criticism of her leadership.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, KILLING 5 AND THREATENING THOUSANDS OF HOMES

Several social media users said the mayor’s tweet did not “age well,” and urged her to delete the nearly 4-year-old post.

President-elect Trump took to Truth Social to condemn the mayor, blaming the wildfires’ spread on “gross incompetence” by Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on Jan. 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

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

Multiple wildfires are raging across California, claiming five lives, and putting thousands under evacuation orders. As of Thursday morning, more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures were either damaged or destroyed by the devastating fires.

A woman reacts as she evacuates following powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Jan. 8, 2025. (David Swanson/Reuters)

Upon her return from Ghana, Bass was confronted by a reporter about her trip, but she remained silent. Bass also refused to say whether she had any “regret” about slashing the city’s Fire Department’s budget last year. However, during a news conference on Wednesday, Bass said she took the “fastest route back, which included being on a military plane.” She also said that she was “able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight.”

A firefighter works as the Palisades Fire burns a house on the hill next to the Getty Villa on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.  (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Cruz flew to Mexico as Texans faced a deadly winter storm that left millions without power.

“With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends,” Cruz said at the time. “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe.”

Cruz later admitted that the trip was a “mistake.”

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Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Tyler Olson and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

As wildfires ravage California, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is facing pushback for promoting climate alarmism.

Sanders asserted that “Climate change is real” and that President-elect Donald Trump must tackle the “existential crisis.”

“80,000 people told to evacuate. Blazes 0% contained. Eight months since the area has seen rain. The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not ‘a hoax.’ Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is,” Sanders declared in the tweet on Wednesday morning.

Mike Solana, editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, mocked the senator’s comments, writing in a post on X, “‘[G]lobal warming ate my homework’ doesn’t work anymore. literally every single politician in california responsible for the catastrophic failure to prepare for this, from water management and controlled burns to the fire department’s budget, is a democrat.”

ELON MUSK ANNOUNCES SPACEX WILL PROVIDE FREE STARLINK TERMINALS IN LA AMID RAGING FIRES

Sanders delivers opening remarks during the confirmation hearing for Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to be the next secretary of the Labor Department in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Conservative commentator and author Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the Heartland Institute, noted, “Wildfires, including ones much larger than this, have been happening in California forever.” 

Nicole Shanahan — who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential running mate last year before the pair dropped out and supported GOP candidate Donald Trump — was also among those who responded to Sanders’ comments. 

“State mismanagement is real, Bernie,” she noted.

Sanders has long issued such dire warnings.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, KILLING 5 AND THREATENING THOUSANDS OF HOMES

A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on Jan. 8, 2025 (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Climate change is an existential disaster facing the entire world,” he asserted in a tweet nearly six years ago in February 2019. “We must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. A Green New Deal can save the planet and create millions of new jobs.”

Business tycoon Elon Musk has asserted that regulations prevent steps from being taken to avoid California wildfires.

“Climate change risk is real, just much slower than alarmists claim. The immense loss of homes in LA is primarily due to: 1. Nonsensical overregulation that prevented creating fire breaks and doing brush clearing. 2. Bad governance at the state and local level that resulted in a shortage of water,” Musk opined in a post on X.  

Sanders was not the only left-wing lawmaker deploying the climate narrative amid the disaster.

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

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on Jan. 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

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“I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country & the world & elected ‘leaders’ are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing, which is to acknowledge that climate change is real & start to solve it,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, lamented in a tweet. “California, stay safe. First responders, we thank you for your selflessness. I join the chorus of prayers for all, but as an elected, I want to actually work!”

Freshman Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first transgender-identifying member of Congress, described the fire as a climate catastrophe.

“I’m praying for the victims of the raging fires around Los Angeles. The loss of life, homes, businesses and entire neighborhoods is devastating. I stand ready to work with my colleagues representing these communities to guarantee they have the resources they need to contain these fires, recover, rebuild, and prevent these climate catastrophes in the future,” McBride declared in a post on X.

Trump has declared that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should resign.

“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!!!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post late Wednesday night.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Newsom noted in a post on X, “People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives. And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it. We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and putting out these unprecedented fires.”

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) currently reports partial containment of the Lidia and Hurst fires, while others are listed at 0% containment on fire.ca.gov. 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: A group of more than 60 former Democratic and Republican attorneys general sent a new letter to Senate leaders Thursday urging the confirmation of Pam Bondi to head up the Department of Justice, praising what they described as Bondi’s wealth of prosecutorial experience— including during her eight years as Florida’s top prosecutor—that they said makes her especially qualified for the role. 

The letter was previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital and includes the signatures of more than 20 Democratic attorneys general or attorneys general appointed by Democratic governors. 

The group praised Bondi’s work across the party and state lines during her time as Florida’s attorney general and as a state prosecutor in Hillsborough County, where she worked for 18 years. 

“Many of us have worked directly with Attorney General Bondi and have firsthand knowledge of her fitness for the office,” the former attorneys general said in the letter. “We believe that her wealth of prosecutorial experience and commitment to public service make General Bondi a highly qualified nominee for Attorney General of the United States.” 

MORE THAN 100 FORMER JUSTICE DEPT OFFICIALS URGE SENATE TO CONFIRM PAM BONDI AS AG

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference while on a break from Donald Trump’s hush trial outside Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The letter praised what signatories described as Bondi’s “unwavering” commitment to public safety and the rule of law in her time in the Sunshine State, where she sought to crack down on violent crime, protect consumers and combat the opioid crisis— which was at its height when she was elected as attorney general in 2010.

Bondi “was and remains a valued and respected member of the State Attorney General community,” they wrote. “Thus, we are confident that she will serve with distinction as United States Attorney General.”

The letter comes just hours after the Senate Judiciary Committee announced the official dates for Bondi’s confirmation hearing later this month.

TRUMP’S AG PICK HAS ‘HISTORY OF CONSENSUS BUILDING’

The Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images)

Bondi is expected to be confirmed in the Republican-majority chamber. Earlier this week, a group of more than 100 former Justice Department officials sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging her confirmation.

Still, the new letter of support from the state attorneys general comes just hours after the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., issued a statement Wednesday evening expressing fresh reservations about Bondi following their meeting — citing in particular Bondi’s work defending President-elect Donald Trump in his impeachment proceedings and following the 2020 election.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seen as a leading opponent in the Senate to Pam Bondi’s confirmation. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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“The role of the Attorney General is to oversee an independent Justice Department that upholds the rule of law and is free of undue political influence,” Durbin said in a statement. 

“Given Ms. Bondi’s responses to my questions, I remain concerned about her ability to serve as an Attorney General who will put her oath to the Constitution ahead of her fealty to Donald Trump.” 

After meeting with President Biden at the White House on Monday, Edmundo Gonzalez, the man who won Venezuela’s presidential election in July, traveled to Argentina and then Panama with the ballots to prove that he, not Nicolás Maduro, is Venezuela’s democratically elected leader.

“We elected by a landslide, a good man and Edmundo Gonzalez. We have the proof of that victory, and the whole world knows it,” María Corina Machado, a top leader in the Venezuelan opposition, told Fox News. “We won.”

Maduro’s inauguration is slated for Friday. The Venezuelan opposition has called for massive street protests to peacefully demand that Maduro, whose mafia-style autocratic leadership has nearly bankrupted the oil-rich nation, not be inaugurated.

2 AMERICANS ARRESTED IN VENEZUELA ON EVE OF MADURO INAUGURATION OVER ‘TERRORISM’ CLAIMS

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks during a press conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Maduro said Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez should face prison sentences of at least 30 years for promoting post-election violence and seeking to destabilize his government. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“What we need is for all American institutions understand that Venezuela is the most important conflict in the Western Hemisphere for national security of the U.S.,” Machado said via Zoom from her safe house in Venezuela.

“We can be the best ally the United States will have in the Americas, first of all, because we also are desperate to solve the migration problem in our region. We want those Venezuelans to come back in billions and voluntarily. And that will happen when they’ll see there’s a future in their country.”

Machado had the following message for President-elect Donald Trump: “Venezuela has a huge energy potential that will never be taken advantage of… We’re going to turn Venezuela from the criminal hub of the Americas into the energy hub of the Americas and have a strong partnership with the United States.”

Gonzalez, who Venezuela elected president in July, also met with incoming National Security Advisor Cong Michael Waltz of Florida while in Washington. Maduro has warned Gonzalez will be arrested if he returns to Venezuela. 

VENEZUELA’S MADURO TO START THIRD TERM IN OFFICE AMID RIGGED ELECTION: ‘BLATANT VIOLATION’

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

“I want you to know how important it is also for the safety of the American people,” Machado explained. “Solving this conflict in Venezuela, I believe that what happens in the next days in Venezuela depends not only the democracy, the future of our democracy, but the future of democracy in the region.”

Machado said the fall of the Assad regime in Syria is a cautionary tale for those in the military and judiciary who still support Maduro. The regime has sent secret police units to encircle her family members’ homes, sent a drone over her mother’s house and kidnapped President-elect Gonzalez’s brother-in-law on Tuesday.

“Maduro has lost everything but fear and repression. Maduro lost all popular support, all legitimacy, and even he’s weakened or isolated internationally. What has he left? Russia, Iran, Hezbollah,” Machado, a former member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, asked.

Venezuela’s top court has banned opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from running in the nation’s presidential election. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The Maduro regime also arrested two Americans one day after Gonzalez met with President Biden at the White House, accusing them of being mercenaries sent by the U.S. government. 

The State Department issued the following statement: “We are concerned about the reports of U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela. We are working to gather more information.  Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment on these cases. Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”

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The State Department spokesman went on to warn U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela, because “Maduro and his associates have shown in the past, they may detain and jail, without justification or due process, U.S. citizens who enter Venezuela.”

The Biden administration on Thursday announced an additional $500 million of military aid to Ukraine in a security package rushed out the door before President-elect Trump takes office.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the final time at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he made the announcement. Both officials used the occasion to urge the incoming Trump administration to continue to support Kyiv’s fight against Russia.

“If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow,” Austin warned at the 25th meeting of about 50 member nations who have joined forces to support Ukraine with an estimated $122 billion in weapons and support.

“If autocrats conclude that democracies will lose their nerve, surrender their interests, and forget their principles, we will only see more land grabs. If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos, and war.”

INSIDE PUTIN’S MINDSET: WHAT TEAM TRUMP CAN EXPECT FROM MOSCOW WHEN NEGOTIATING OPTIONS ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

From left: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

The latest U.S. security assistance to Ukraine includes missiles for fighter jets, support equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems, small arms and ammunition and other spare parts and communications equipment.

The weapons package is funded by the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), meaning the weapons will come from U.S. stockpiles, expediting their delivery to Ukraine. 

ZELENSKYY SAYS TRUMP COULD BE ‘DECISIVE’ IN BRINGING AN END TO THE WAR

Austin announced a new $500 million security package for Ukraine.      (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Officials noted this is the Biden administration’s seventy-fourth tranche of equipment to be provided from Defense Department inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. 

This latest package leaves about $3.85 billion in funding to provide future arms shipments to Ukraine; if the Biden administration makes no further announcements, that balance will be available to Trump to send if he chooses.

Zelensky pleaded for the next administration to continue U.S. support for his country’s defensive war against Russian invaders. 

UKRAINE RECEIVES US NATURAL GAS SHIPMENT FOR THE 1ST TIME AMID FRESH SUPPLY FEARS

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)

“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created,” Zelenskyy said. “No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map.”

Member nations of the coalition supporting Kyiv, including the U.S., have ramped up weapons production since the Ukraine war exposed that stockpiles were inadequate for a major conventional land war.

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The U.S. has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80% and 90% — already to Ukraine.

“Retreat will only provide incentives for more imperial aggression,” Austin said Thursday. “And if we flinch, you can count on Putin to push further and punch harder. Ukraine’s survival is on the line. But so is the security of Europe, the United States, and the world.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump is envisioning a future without new wind energy projects under his administration, arguing that this power source is economically impractical and is causing harm to marine life.

Trump has long criticized using wind farms as a main form of energy production, but his latest remarks suggest that his incoming administration could place major restrictions on the future production of new wind-powered energy projects.

“It’s the most expensive energy there is. It’s many, many times more expensive than clean natural gas,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. “So we’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built.”

The federal government currently offers several different ways to obtain subsidies for windmill production, which Trump pointed to as one of the main issues with the energy source.

TRUMP HITS BIDEN ON LAST-MINUTE ENERGY CRACKDOWN, PROMISES DAY 1 REVERSAL

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach. (Evan Vucci)

“The only people that want them are the people getting rich off windmills, getting massive subsidies from the U.S. government,” he added. “You don’t want energy that needs subsidy.” 

The incoming president has also claimed potential interference with sea mammals is an issue, specifically in Massachusetts.

ENERGY INDUSTRY INSISTS US IS THE BEST PLACE FOR OIL DRILLING DESPITE BIDEN’S BAN

“You see what’s happening up in the Massachusetts area, where they had two whales wash ashore in I think a 17-year period,” Trump said during the news conference. “Now they had 14 this season. The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously.”

Trump finds consensus with some environmental groups on the issue.

“That’s the only thing out there that’s changed, and it’s changed dramatically,” said Constance Gee of Green Oceans, a group that strives to protect ocean life, according to WCVB 5. “There is so much ship traffic out there. It’s so loud. There’s piledriving. There’s sub-bottom profiling with sonar.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service, however, says that there is no evidence currently connecting wind turbines and whale deaths.

Wind turbines, of the Block Island Wind Farm, tower above the water on Oct. 14, 2016 off the shores of Block Island, Rhode Island. The first offshore wind project in the U.S. has created more than 300 construction jobs and will deliver the electricity demands for the entire island. (Don Emmert)

Trump’s latest comments were criticized by a Democratic ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, who said the incoming president “is completely out of touch.” 

“Trump is against wind energy because he doesn’t understand our country’s energy needs and dislikes the sight of turbines near his private country clubs,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement.

Wind energy is currently the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). However, such energy production has received growing opposition from members of the GOP in recent years, who have expressed concerns over its potential adverse effects.

Wind turbines spin to produce electricity on Aug. 20, 2010. (2010 Getty Images)

“Like the canary in the coal mine, the recent spate of tragic whale deaths shed new light and increased scrutiny to the fast-tracking of thousands of wind turbines off our coast,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said in March 2023.

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Over the past four years, President Biden has made major investments in the offshore wind industry as part of his green energy push, approving the nation’s first 11 commercial scale offshore wind projects.

Supporters and friends of the late President Carter will attend his funeral Thursday at Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral. 

The service, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., comes as President Biden declared Thursday a National Day of Mourning for the 38th president, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. 

The so-called presidents’ club — the five living men who once occupied the White House — will all gather for the event. President Biden and former presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and President-elect Trump will come together for the first time since the 2018 funeral of former President George H.W. Bush. 

Biden will deliver the eulogy. 

Supporters and friends of President Carter will attend his funeral Thursday at Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral (Fox News)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are also expected to attend, along with their Democratic counterparts, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Tributes began Jan. 4, when a motorcade carried Carter’s body through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, before heading to Atlanta and the Carter Presidential Center, where family and loved ones paid tribute.

Carter then lay in repose at the Carter Center and then the Capitol, where the public could pay respects from Tuesday evening through early Thursday.

JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100

After the D.C. service, the Carter family will head back to Plains for a private ceremony at Maranatha Baptist Church and another procession through Plains, where supporters are encouraged to line the streets for the motorcade before he’s buried on his property next to his late wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023. 

Carter, the former governor of Georgia, won the presidency in 1976. He was guided by his devout Christian faith and determined to restore faith in government after Watergate and Vietnam. But after four years in office and impaired by stubborn, double-digit inflation and high unemployment, he was roundly defeated for re-election by Ronald Reagan. 

Jimmy Carter, Democratic presidential candidate, and his wife, Rosalynn, share a moment aboard his campaign plane. (Getty Images)

A military team carries the casket of former President Carter into the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum to lie in repose in Atlanta Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool)

AN ‘EXTRAORDINARY MAN’: FORMER PRESIDENT CARTER LIES IN STATE AT CAPITOL AHEAD OF STATE FUNERAL

While in the White House, Carter established full diplomatic relations with China and led the negotiation of a nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he led several conservation efforts, showing the same love of nature as president as he did as a young farmer in Plains.

Carter lived out the rest of his years in the unassuming ranch house he’d built with his wife in 1961, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and making forays back into foreign policy when he felt it was needed, a tendency that made his relationship with the presidents’ club, at times, tense.

He earned a living in large part by writing books — 32 in all — but didn’t cash in on seven-figure checks for giving speeches or take any cushy board jobs as other presidents have. 

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In his spare time, Carter, a deeply religious man who served as a deacon for the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, enjoyed fishing, running and woodworking. 

Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is gunning to codify Remain In Mexico, a cornerstone of President-elect Donald Trump’s border policy during his first term.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a first-term lawmaker, is leading the effort that was first shared with Fox News Digital on Thursday.

His bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly known as Remain In Mexico.

ICE NABS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH SEX CRIMES IN BLUE CITY, AFTER RELEASE FROM JAIL

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

“The American people gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate to secure the border, and Congress must pass the Remain In Mexico Act as a first step to secure our border and fix the problems Democrats created in our country,” Gill told Fox News Digital.

The policy, which Trump implemented in January 2019, required migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. southwestern border to await their immigration proceedings in Mexico.

A federal judge had halted the Biden administration from stopping the program, but officials ceased its use for new cases in mid-2022. 

President Biden had campaigned on ending the policy, which human rights groups and left-wing organizations had criticized as cruel and inhumane, given the accusations of rape and other crimes that migrants had endured while waiting in Mexico.

The American Civil Liberties Union previously said about the policy, “The Remain in Mexico Policy, misleadingly dubbed the “Migrant Protection Protocols” created a humanitarian disaster at the border and has been the subject of ACLU lawsuits since it was first implemented in 2019.”

Freshman GOP Rep. Brandon Gill is introducing a bill to codify President-elect Donald Trump’s Remain In Mexico policy. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Proponents of Remain In Mexico, however, have argued that it is one of the only viable solutions to help cities and towns on the U.S. side of the border, many of which have seen their infrastructures strained by the volume of people crossing illegally or seeking asylum.

Gill is introducing his bill roughly two weeks before Trump takes office for his second term.

Codifying the policy in federal law would make it significantly harder for critics to then repeal it under a different administration.

Congressional Republicans have been rushing to prepare for Trump’s return with a flurry of conservative legislative proposals made since the 119th Congress kicked off last Friday. 

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

Authorities escort two suspects after the death of a National Migration Institute agent, in Samalayuca, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 30, 2024. (REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

A significant number of those bills are related to immigration and the border, an issue that proved critical for the GOP in the November elections.

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The House passed its first bill of the term on Tuesday, aimed at enabling federal officials to detain migrants accused or convicted of theft-related crimes. More than 40 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, alongside all present Republicans.

Trump has signaled he is hoping for an active first 100 days in office, particularly with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate.

The White House did not return a request for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, N.H. — Kelly Ayotte becomes the nation’s newest governor on Thursday when she’s inaugurated at the New Hampshire State House.

The former U.S. senator, who previously served as a state attorney general, takes office in the key New England swing state a week and a half before President-elect Trump is inaugurated.

And Ayotte, who succeeds fellow Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in steering the Granite State, says she looks forward to working with the Trump administration.

“I’ll work with the administration on behalf of New Hampshire and advocate for the Granite State on important priorities here: keeping the state safe, making sure that when it comes to federal resources that we’re advocating for New Hampshire, so I look forward to working with the administration,” Ayotte said in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration.

THE COMEBACK KID: ONE-TIME GOP RISING STAR RISES ONCE AGAIN WITH MAJOR GUBERNATORIAL VICTORY

Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in New Hampshire, celebrates her election victory for governor on Nov. 5, 2024. (Kelly Ayotte campaign)

During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, which culminated with Ayotte defeating Democrat gubernatorial nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in November’s election, the issue of illegal immigration and border security was often in the spotlight in a state that shares a border with Canada and has long dealt with an acute fentanyl crisis.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR WHO DECIDED AGAINST SEEKING RE-ELECTION

Ayotte, who pledged on the campaign trail to prevent New Hampshire from becoming a sanctuary state for illegal migrants, will have what Sununu didn’t enjoy the past four years: a Republican in the White House.

“President Trump is going to enforce the laws, and that’s important to me. And we have a northern border.”

Republican Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, is interviewed by Fox News Digital on Jan. 7, 2024, at the State House in Concord, N.H. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Noting her tenure as a state attorney general, Ayotte said, “I believe it’s important that criminals are held accountable. And as we look at New Hampshire, we’re not going to allow New Hampshire to become a sanctuary state. And so it’s important that we enforce our laws. We welcome legal immigration, but those who come here illegally and especially those who commit crimes need to be held accountable.”

Ayotte was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and was a rising star in the GOP and regarded as a leader on national security and foreign policy.

But Ayotte lost re-election in 2016 by a razor-thin margin of just over 1,000 votes at the hands of then-Democrat Gov. Maggie Hassan.

Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte, left, and Gov. Chris Sununu meet in the New Hampshire governor’s office at the State House in Concord, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. (Office of New Hampshire governor)

Now, as she takes over running the Granite State, she said that “my No. 1 priority is being a governor for everyone in New Hampshire, for all the people, and being accessible to the people of New Hampshire.”

“Making sure that we continue to grow our economy, our prosperity, our freedom here in New Hampshire, having a responsible budget where we live within our means but serve the people of New Hampshire effectively, those will be my priorities on day one,” she added.

Ayotte, who made history nearly two decades ago as the state’s first female attorney general, made history again in November as the first Republican woman to win election as New Hampshire governor.

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“We have so many strong women that have served in this state, a great history,” Ayotte said. “There are so many examples of women who have led and great men who have led, too.”

She said her “hope is that every young girl out there understands that whatever position she strives to attain, it’s available to her, and that we aren’t even having these discussions about whether a woman’s elected or a man’s elected because it’s just equal for everyone to understand that those opportunities are there, and I think that’s what’s happening in New Hampshire.”

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed to Fox News Wednesday that he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump the day before Trump’s high court appearance but said they did not discuss an emergency application the former president’s legal team planned to file to delay the sentencing. 

Alito told Fox News’ Shannon Bream he was asked if he would accept a call from Trump regarding a position that his former clerk, William Levi, is being considered for, and praised Levi’s “outstanding resume.” 

“William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon,” said Alito. 

JUDGE DENIES TRUMP MOTION TO STOP NY CRIMINAL CASE SENTENCING

Associate Justice Samuel Alito joins other members of the Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait in October 2022. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alito said he did not speak with Trump about the emergency application, nor was he “even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed.” 

“We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect,” Alito said. 

Alito told Fox News that he is often asked to give recommendations to potential employers for former clerks and that it was common practice. 

Levi once served in the Justice Department during the President-elect’s first term and also clerked for Alito from 2011 to 2012.

TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES

President-elect Trump meets with lawmakers.  (Getty Images)

Alito, speaking to Trump the day before Trump’s appearance in high court regarding his New York hush-money case, is causing some to call him out, saying the conversation was an “unmistakable breach of protocol.”

“No person, no matter who they are, should engage in out-of-court communication with a judge or justice who’s considering that person’s case,” Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, said in a statement.

Alito said he was unaware there was an emergency request being readied by the Trump legal team with respect to the New York State case, and there was no discussion of it.   

Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He confirmed to Fox News that the call was solely about Levi, and that there was no discussion of any matter involving a Trump legal issue – past, present or future. 

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He also said there was no discussion of any issue before the Court or potentially coming before the Court.

ABC News was the first to report the Trump-Alito call. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is firing back at President-elect Donald Trump for comments he made Wednesday about the response to deadly wildfires currently devastating Southern California.

Trump spoke with reporters after attending meetings Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not “[doing] a good job,” but noted they “worked well together” and would again when he takes office later this month.

“It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish,” Trump said. “For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.”

Newsom’s press office released a statement on social media following Trump’s remarks saying there was a reason for not using the pumps. 

PALISADES FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD  

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President-elect Trump have clashed on various issues, including the California wildfires.  (Getty/AP)

“LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps,” Newsom’s press office wrote on X. 

His office added that the city used water tenders to supply water, which is a common tactic in wildland firefighting. 

Newsom’s office also dismissed claims there is a water shortage.

MALIBU, CA – January 08: Firefighters continue to battle wind and fire as homes go up in flames in Malibu along Pacific Coast Highway near Carbon Canyon Road in the Palisades Fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

“Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot,” Newsom’s office said.

The office posted a number of quotes from California officials saying water reliability and water supply are stable.

One of the comments said there was enough water to supply 40 million people for a year.

PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY 

Earlier in the afternoon, Trump accused Newsom of refusing to sign a water restoration declaration and criticized him for the low fire containment.

“Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo. January 20th cannot come fast enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) fired back at President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday after accusations that he was mishandling the California wildfires. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Newsom’s office said there was no such thing as a water restoration declaration.

They also noted that the supply and transport of water are unrelated.

“Trump is conflating two entirely unrelated things: the conveyance of water to Southern California and supply from local storage,” according to the post. “And again, there is no such document as the water restoration declaration – this is pure fiction.”

Still, Trump was not done with his criticism of Newsom. 

In a scathing late-night post on Truth Social, Trump said the wildfires were “all his fault!!!”

Trump also called on Newsom to resign.

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“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground,” Trump wrote. “It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!”

In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier on Wednesday, Newsom was asked in general about Trump blaming him for the wildfire disaster.

“One can’t even respond to it. I mean… you know, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn apart. Churches burned down,” Newsom told Cooper. “This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t.”

Newsom went on to praise President Biden, saying he “didn‘t play politics.” 

Biden visited a fire station Wednesday in Los Angeles alongside Newsom for a briefing from authorities on the raging wildfires.

The California wildfires, which ignited Tuesday afternoon, have already forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. The Los Angeles area fires are threatening at least 28,000 structures. At least five people were killed.

Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday after the Palisades fire grew to an unmanageable level.

Police in the Mexican state of Chihuahua believe that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua may be behind the murder of a Mexican immigration official just south of the U.S. border.

The Mexican immigration agent, Luis Alberto Olivas, was pushed down a hill and stoned to death by two Venezuelan migrants identified as David J.V. and Carlos Arichuna S.M. on Dec. 30. The murder took place by a military checkpoint close to Ciudad Juárez, just south of El Paso, Texas.

According to Border Report, Mexican authorities believe that at least one of the Venezuelans is suspected of being a member of Tren de Aragua (TdA), which is a transnational criminal organization that facilitates much of the drug and human trafficking in the area.

TREN DE ARAGUA ARE IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISTS DISGUISED AS A STREET GANG WARNS FORMER MILITARY OFFICER

This compilation shows a suspected Tren de Aragua members and the southern border, (Fox News/Border Patrol)

Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya told Border Report that one of the alleged killers “has the tattoos that we have identified as probably linked to Tren de Aragua” and that police have shared this information with other agencies and are “waiting for the next binational meeting to have it checked in [American] databases.”

The tattoo in question depicts an owl, a symbol that according to Mexican investigative journalist Luis Chaparro is “often found on Tren de Aragua members” and often indicates a human smuggler “guide.”

According to local news source “El Diario MX,” the two possible Tren de Aragua members threw stones at Olivas’ chest, pushed him, causing him to fall six meters down a hill, and then smashed his head with a large stone, killing him.

TRUMP DIGS INTO BIDEN ADMIN FOR SELLING OFF BORDER WALL AT ‘FIVE CENTS ON THE DOLLAR’

Migrants attempting to cross the North American side of the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in Texas, United States on March 3, 2024. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

TdA has been active on the U.S. southern border in recent weeks. On Dec. 31, the Texas Department of Public Safety caught four confirmed TdA members trying to sneak into the U.S illegally.

The individuals were identified as Segundo Ocando-Mejia, 39; Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, 27; Antonio Joe Urruttia-Rojas, 18; and Levi Jesus Urrutia-Blanco, 18. Ocando-Mejia had tattoos on his shoulders indicating he may hold rank or leadership within the gang.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has led many efforts to secure the border and clamp down on TdA, responded to the arrests by saying: “Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., sparked online backlash with a post in which he questioned President-elect Trump’s ability to bring down grocery prices. Social media users were quick to point out that food prices spiked under President Biden’s leadership.

“I don’t care if Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. I just want to know what he’s going to do to lower the cost of groceries,” Rep. Swalwell wrote on X.

MAGAFEST DESTINY? TRUMP FLEXES HIS MUSCLES WITH REPEATED TALK OF AMERICAN EXPANSIONISM

But social media users noted that the congressman’s party had control of the House, Senate and White House while Americans struggled to afford food. While they later lost control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections, the Democrats held on to the Senate.

Rep. Eric Swalwell. D-Calif. (John Lamparski)

3 WAYS TRUMP CAN DELIVER AN ECONOMIC ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR AMERICA

Swalwell later appeared to double down on his assertion that Trump will not lower grocery prices.

“Guys, it’s so obvious. Trump has no idea how to lower your cost of groceries. So he’s going to distract you by sending your kids to die fighting Canada,” Swalwell tweeted.

President-elect Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

However, this only brought more fury the congressman’s way, with social media users questioning why the congressman is not more worried about the fires raging in his state that has so far left two dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.

AMERICANS FORCED TO LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND TO ESCAPE DEADLY WILDFIRES NOW FACING NEW THREAT

On Tuesday, President Biden released a statement on the deadly wildfires and announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved a grant to help fight the inferno.

Donald Trump Jr., second from right, is shown after arriving in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday. (Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

“I am being frequently briefed on the wildfires in west Los Angeles. My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden said in a statement.

The Trump team has not responded to a request for comment.

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The Biden administration was sued by the state of Alaska over claims they violated a Trump-era law by narrowing the scope of a mandated oil and gas lease.

During President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in 2017, he signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which required the government to allow for at least two oil and gas drilling lease sales in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) by December 2024. 

With the deadline quickly approaching, the Biden administration announced in December plans to move forward with an oil and gas lease sale of 400,000 acres within the northwest portion of the program area. But the lease, which was the smallest amount required under the Trump-era law, contained some restrictions.

In a lawsuit filed on Monday, the state of Alaska sued the Biden administration on claims that they are violating the statutory mandate of Congress by limiting drilling in the region. 

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

The Biden administration opened leasing in 400,000 acres within the northwest portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Susan Walsh)

“Interior’s continued and irrational opposition under the Biden administration to responsible energy development in the Arctic continues America on a path of energy dependence instead of utilizing the vast resources we have available,” Alaska’s Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter set aside an area of ANWR, known as “Area 1002,” for the potential future exploration and development of natural resources. 

The state of Alaska claims that by limiting drilling in the region, the Biden administration “negates Congress’ express call for oil and gas leasing and development on the Coastal Plain.” 

BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION

“Congress did not authorize a new direction for ANWR. President Biden’s Administration ignored the law and took this unlawful detour without even presenting their final decision to the public for comment,” Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor said in a statement.

An aerial view of oil development facilities in Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska on the edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ( Simon Bruty/Anychance)

The Biden administration issued restrictions on the lease, such as surface use and occupancy, which the complaint claims could “make any development economically and practically impossible.” 

The lawsuit was filed just days before the lease sale is expected to take place on Jan. 9.

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The Department of Interior told Fox News Digital it would not be commenting on the lawsuit.

President-elect Trump pointed to a strategic benefit of the one-bill approach to budget reconciliation that he’s said he prefers during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday evening at the Capitol. 

By combining legislation relating to both the southern border crisis and taxes into one reconciliation bill, Trump suggested that one issue could potentially force some lawmakers to make a difficult decision. For example, if a Republican doesn’t support a piece of the tax component, they would also have to vote against the border provisions because they are in one measure. 

SENATE DEMS TO JOIN REPUBLICANS TO ADVANCE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL NAMED AFTER LAKEN RILEY

Trump explained a strategic component to his one-bill reconciliation approach. (Getty Images)

With portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring this year, the party is looking to act quickly. But the tax debate in 2025 is expected to be more divided among Republicans than that regarding the border. In particular, there is some disagreement in the party on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which can benefit some states more than others and have been hit by some Republicans as inefficient. 

“If somebody, for example, in the House is balking because there’s not SALT in the tax agreement or some other provision they want, if that also means they’d be holding out and voting against the border, it might make it harder for them to do so,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. “That’s a very valid point.”

While SALT was not posed as an example of this by Trump himself, it was mentioned by a GOP senator in a side conversation among other attendees as they went over the advantages of a one-bill approach, Hoeven said. 

BORDER STATE DEMOCRAT RUBEN GALLEGO BACKS GOP’S LAKEN RILEY ACT AHEAD OF SENATE VOTE

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., speaks May 4, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hoeven faces a defector from his own party and a lightly funded Democrat on Tuesday, Nov. 8, in his race for a third U.S. Senate term from North Dakota.  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

A source familiar told Fox News that Republicans are preparing to go with Trump’s one-bill preference, but they are also keeping the potential for two bills, one on the border and another to address taxes, in their back pocket in the case of any significant obstacles. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Trump that if one bill is what he wanted, that is what they are going to try first, the source said. 

A number of senators have their own preferences for two separate reconciliation bills instead, and some made their cases to Trump during the meeting. However, the conference is set to move forward with Trump’s one-bill approach. 

RFK JR. TO MEET WITH SLEW OF DEMS INCLUDING ELIZABETH WARREN, BERNIE SANDERS

Thune was “adamant” about supporting Trump’s agenda as leader, one senator said. (Reuters)

Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal came up during the discussion following Trump’s remarks about each. Trump has recently said he wants U.S. to take back control of critical trade medium the Panama Canal, while also expressing interest in making Greenland and Canada part of the U.S.

Sources familiar told Fox News that Trump brought these up himself during the meeting, telling senators at one point that these countries “were screwing with” the U.S.

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

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with media outside Rideau Cottage on Monday, Jan. 6, in Ottawa. (AP/Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

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Several GOP senators took the opportunity to tell Trump that his comments on Canada were “transformative,” the sources said. 

The senators believe his approach to Canada is already managing to change the country’s “behavior” and could have even contributed to the recent resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the sources added. 

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

Here’s what’s happening…

-Garland intends to release Jack Smith report on Trump election case

-Gaetz mulls bid for Florida Governor

-Senator Fetterman open to potential Greenland acquisition

Hot Job Market

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse California for costs associated with hiring more firefighters and controlling the raging wildfires that have ripped through Southern California. 

News of the Fire Management Assistance Grants trickled in Tuesday, and by the evening the White House put out a statement from President Biden confirming the move. FEMA confirmed the measures on Wednesday, in an announcement laying out some details about the grants. 

The funding will provide federal reimbursements for up to 75% of “eligible firefighting costs” incurred by the state, as California seeks to shore up its firefighting force and put out the wildfires that have killed at least two people and driven thousands from their homes. Eligible costs include expenses for field camps, equipment, materials, supplies and mobilization or demobilization efforts attributed to fighting the fires …Read more

Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

White House

DOUBTFUL LEGACY: Majority of Americans say President Biden will be remembered as a below-average president: Gallup …Read more

‘FURTHER THE PUBLIC INTEREST’: AG Merrick Garland intends to release Jack Smith report on Trump election case …Read more

STILL THINKING: Biden says pre-emptive pardons for Trump targets still under consideration …Read more

Trump Transition

ROAD BLOCK: Dems accused of ‘stonewalling’ Tulsi Gabbard confirmation after GOP calls for quick hearing …Read more

MAGAFEST DESTINY: Trump flexes his muscles with repeated talk of American expansionism …Read more

‘DRIVING THE WHALES CRAZY’: Trump signals he could oppose new wind energy production during second term …Read more

TRUMP TRIAL: President-elect files emergency petition to SCOTUS to prevent sentencing in New York …Read more

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) attends the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

FIRST ON FOX: Bipartisan lawmakers introduce bill in warning to Putin-allied government …Read more

SENATE STEP FORWARD: Dems expected to help advance Laken Riley Act …Read more

‘NEED TO GO’: Fetterman open to potential Greenland acquisition, declares support for Laken Riley Act …Read more

BRING BACK DEATH PENALTY: Top Republicans roll out bill that would undo 9/11 plea deals …Read more

Trail Dust

‘I SAW IT FIRSTHAND’: Ex-Dem rep calls presidential race ‘unwinnable,’ had concerns about Biden …Read more

‘REVIEWING THE OPPORTUNITY’: Gaetz mulls bid for Florida governor …Read more

PARTISAN FLASH POINT: NC Supreme Court blocks election results for one of its own seats amid legal challenge …Read more

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on Jan. 8, 2025. Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via REUTERS (REUTERS)

Across America

DRUG DEALERS BEWARE: VA seeks murder charges for fentanyl deaths …Read more

TARIFF THREAT: Mexico disperses migrant caravans heading to U.S. ahead of Trump inauguration …Read more

‘TERRIBLE JOB’: Flashback: Trump repeatedly called out Newsom on wildfires in first term …Read more

NAME GAMES: Mexico president turns tables on Trump with map idea of her own …Read more

‘TRUE DISASTER’: Trump pins blame for ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires on Newsom …Read more

‘I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED’: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ actress says JD Vance’s family was ‘generous’ on set …Read more

‘RAPE GANG SCANDAL’: UK lawmakers reject inquiry despite Musk appeals …Read more

DIRECT HIT: U.S. hits underground Houthi weapons depots …Read more

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

FIRST ON FOX: Two former Navy SEALs are planning to bring hundreds of veterans to Washington, D.C., next week to march in support of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation for defense secretary.

Hegseth, a former Army National Guardsman, will take the hot seat before the Armed Services Committee for a hearing on Tuesday ahead of a confirmation vote.

The group, organized by Bill Brown and Rob Sweetman, is planning to pack “as many veterans into the hearing room” as possible. They plan to have veterans line up outside the building where the Senate hearing will take place, hours before the building even opens and the hearing kicks off at 9:30 a.m. 

The pair got to know Hegseth through his participation in the yearly New York City SEAL Swim in the Hudson River, organized by Brown. 

A group of veterans will also meet at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at 9 a.m. to march in support of Hegseth. Brown is inviting all veterans to bring American flags and join their group. 

PETE HEGSETH SAYS HE HASN’T HEARD FROM WEST POINT SINCE EMPLOYEE ‘ERROR’ DENYING HIS ACCEPTANCE

“There’s something really powerful about having a physical presence of support, other than just social media,” said Sweetman. His organization, 62Romeo, helps veterans transitioning out of the military get their sleep back on track and is helping to sponsor the event. 

Sweetman expects at least 100 SEALs to join and hundreds of other veterans. 

Two former Navy SEALs are planning to bring hundreds of veterans to Washington, D.C. next week to march in support of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation for defense secretary. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Brown said he and others began organizing the march over the “total dismay that a lot of us in the military, a lot of us who served our country and war and overseas, have with the current leadership in the Pentagon.”

Jurandir “J” Araujo, Hegseth’s first commander when he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay prison in 2004, who’s planning to help rally support, told Fox News Digital that back then he used to tell his colleagues that Hegseth would be president one day. 

“I immediately noticed his dedication and commitment to the mission, and not only to the mission but to his men.”

“As a young second lieutenant and platoon leader, Pete cared about not only training and instructing his men, but being a part of their daily lives,” said Araujo. “He was always very caring about his troops, and their satisfaction with what they were doing there. 

“I always saw something in him that was special,” Araujo went on. “I gave him the call sign as a lieutenant of double-A, which means all-American.”

“I made a point to tell the first sergeant, I said, you know, I said, “Lt. Hegseth, prepare yourself because this guy is gonna be president one day.”

Hegseth’s nomination has been rocked by allegations that the former Army National Guardsman and Fox News host drank too much and behaved inappropriately with women.

A recently unearthed police report from 2017 revealed a sexual assault allegation against him that Hegseth thoroughly denies. Others have taken issue with his past comments arguing that women should not serve in combat roles.

Some still have said they don’t believe he has the experience for the job, having retired as a major. 

President-elect Trump’s nominee to be secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and his wife Jennifer Hegseth walk through the Hart Senate Office building on Dec. 3, 2024 in Washington, D.C. as he meets with Senate Republicans. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The veterans coming to support him in D.C. are not deterred by the allegations. 

“The Lt. Hegseth that I knew, and the Pete Hegseth that I know today is a man of integrity,” said Araujo. “That’s what I gauge my measurement on, as far as leadership and the ability to lead men and this country.

“His view on women in combat is the same as mine,” said Brown. “The focus should be what’s going to make us the most lethal and combat-efficient force we can be.” 

“We’re not little guys, we’re big muscly dudes. Most women are going to have a hard time, with my plates, with my gear, dragging me out of harm’s way. It’s just the truth… Pete was speaking out of love.”

Both Brown and Sweetman said they were infuriated over the Afghanistan withdrawal and spurred to action when the Pentagon failed its seventh audit in a row. They hope Hegseth will hold those responsible for the withdrawal accountable and cut out waste at the Pentagon. 

“There’s gross corruption, fraud, wasting, abuse in the Pentagon,” said Brown. “No one’s been held accountable for the travesty in Afghanistan.”

“We are hemorrhaging money with some of the defense contractor initiatives,” said Sweetman. “There are no checks and balances on some of these large contracts, with some of the larger companies that are embedded with the government, and so we’re looking at a huge budget that a lot of it is unaccounted for, specifically when we talk about the audits. How come you don’t know where the money is going?”

Angelo Martinez served with Hegseth in Cuba, when he was a young soldier and Hegseth was his platoon commander. Martinez is now a staff sergeant, and has been in the Army for 21 years.

“I had the pleasure, or maybe not, of meeting many personalities or officers,” he said. 

‘GREATEST WARRIORS’: HEGSETH RAILS AGAINST ‘MISCONSTRUED’ NARRATIVE THAT HE’S AGAINST WOMEN IN MILITARY

“The difference between him and other officers, and there’s very few of them that treat other people, meaning the enlisted soldiers, as, not saying equal, but they will look at you as an equal person.”

“A lot of officers kind of look above us as U.S. enlisted soldiers, and he’s one of the few people that took the time to get to know the soldier, understand you, listen to you, listen to your viewpoints and stuff like that. He was one of the few that cared.” 

“I’m actually on my way out of the military, and I joke that I hope one of the last few things I do here is I can take down the other secretary of defense and hang [Hegseth] up on my wall,” Martinez said.

The NCO said he believed the fact that Hegseth didn’t retire as a colonel or a general was a plus, recalling times in Cuba when he and his platoon were on duty while the officers were off scuba diving on break. “He didn’t join them, he felt like he needed to be there with us.”

“He’s not that officer that would sit back and say, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna sit back and supervise and not have to deal with the grunt work.’ Him not having the colonel rank or the star, it keeps him like among us still, rather than a distance, like someone above us looking down.”

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Martinez went on: “I have had people talk to me, asking about who he was, and how people had mixed feelings about him, what he did. And you know, a lot of people sometimes get a misunderstanding of who he is, but once you get to know him, you realize that he is the person for the job. Once you get to know him, you’ll probably be more comfortable with him being in that job.”