NationalWatch

Conservatives are pushing back after Democrats have criticized President-elect Trump’s Cabinet appointments for not being “qualified” by pointing to several examples of members of the Biden-Harris administration and campaign having questionable qualifications for their roles.

In recent days, Democrats in Congress and in the media have blasted Trump Cabinet nominees over their qualifications, including combat veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. 

“Three recent Trump nominees – Gaetz, Hegseth, and Gabbard – are far less qualified than Senate confirmation rejects like Bork, Tower, and Mier,” Harvard Professor Lawrence Summers, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, posted on X. “I hope that the Senate will do its duty.”

“Pete Hegseth is not remotely qualified to be Secretary of Defense,” Dem. Rep. Jason Crow posted on X.

BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE UNDER FIRE FOR ALLEGED LACK OF LEGAL KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE

President-elect Trump, left, and President Biden shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“[Pete Hegseth] is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense. I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, omitting his decades-long military career. “I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”

Democrats have also slammed Trump for nominating Kennedy as his HHS secretary despite a resurfaced Politico report revealing that Kennedy was being considered by Obama for Environmental Protection Agency during his 2008 presidential transition.

Since taking office in 2021, Biden has faced criticism from Republicans over several members of his administration who were believed to be lacking key attributes needed to perform the duties they were assigned in addition to scandals. 

“The Democrats are melting down over Trump‘s cabinet picks so far, but they had no problem with ‘Mayor Pete’ being appointed Secretary of Transportation with no prior qualifications,” Link Lauren, an influencer and political commentator, who served as senior adviser to the Kennedy campaign, told Fox News Digital. 

“Trump won the popular vote, the electoral college, the House and the Senate. That is a mandate from the American people that they want systemic change. I understand some of Trump‘s appointees have garnered mixed reactions — even from Republicans. But let’s give Trump’s appointees a chance, then verify in time that they are doing a great job.”

Buttigieg was appointed Biden’s transportation secretary after serving as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for eight years, with some questioning at the time whether he had enough related experience for the job. Since taking office, Republicans have amplified those concerns after a series of perceived missteps from Buttigieg, including the fallout from the supply chain crises and the devastating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

WHO ARE TRUMP’S LIKELY TOP CONTENDERS TO LEAD COMMS TEAM, INTERACT WITH THE MEDIA?

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visits a shipping terminal at the Honmoku pier in Yokohama, Japan, on June 19, 2023. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Take Secretary Buttigieg — his only qualifications for the job was a failed presidential campaign and time spent as a university-town mayor,” Bradley Devlin, Politics Editor at The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital. “From East Palestine to electric chargers, it hasn’t gone well for ‘Mayor Pete,’ but Buttigieg has retained his job because he’s remained loyal to the Biden administration’s attempted radical energy and transportation policies.”

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who worked as a lawyer before serving as counsel to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., then an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rose through the ranks into high-profile positions in the Obama administration but has been maligned as unqualified by Republicans over a series of national security blunders that occurred during his tenure, including the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and falsely claiming that the “Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades” days before Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis in a vicious attack.

Republicans criticized Sullivan’s role as Biden’s national security adviser, the youngest in history, due to his previous pushing of the “Russia collusion hoax” as part of the Clinton campaign and his role in her State Department office amid the Benghazi cover-up.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan gestures during a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Aug. 29.  (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)

Several other Biden officials have faced heated criticism over their qualifications in recent years, including former senior Department of Energy official Sam Brinton, who identifies as nonbinary and was arrested multiple times for baggage theft at airports.

Eric Lipka, who served as a deputy press secretary on the Biden-Harris campaign, sparked controversy earlier this year over his drag queen alter ego “Erotica the Drag Queen.”

Tyler Cherry, who worked in both the Biden White House and the Department of Interior, was hired and promoted despite several social media posts comparing police to “slave patrols,” promoting conspiracies about Russia colluding with Trump and supporting the anti-Israel movement.

Sam Brinton attends The Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE LA 2019 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on Nov. 17, 2019. (Tasia Wells/Getty Images for The Trevor Project)

Interior Department spokesperson Tyler Cherry was appointed to the role in 2021. (Getty Images)

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., when asked on Thursday about the controversy surrounding Trump’s appointment of Gaetz, held up a photo of assistant HHS Secretary Rachel Levine and Brinton asked, “Did you ask Democratic senators about this?”

Levine, the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, has faced criticism from Republicans on various issues such as sex change surgeries for minors and was labeled by a New York Post op-ed as “America’s No.1 gender extremist.”

Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine says earliest memories were of transgenderism. (Getty | Fox News Digital)

Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups pushed for the removal of the head of Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacked the educational background required to run the agency despite securing Senate confirmation.

“Liberals and progressives bemoaning these nominees’ alleged lack of qualifications are simply looking to protect the system they created — a government of, by and for the ‘experts’ — and that benefits them politically,” Devlin told Fox News Digital.

“This can be seen well beyond Biden’s cabinet picks, too. For example, the first 10 Biden-appointed appellate judges averaged merely 14 authored opinions each from the bench. Trump’s first 12 appellate judges, meanwhile, had averaged 34 over a similar time period — twice as many as Biden’s nominees.”

In 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blasted the qualifications of Biden’s judicial appointments saying in a press release, “The American people deserve the best and brightest. The Democrats are producing… something else.”

“Xavier Becerra, HHS – not a doctor, he’s a lawyer, ex-attorney general of California Jared Bernstein, Chair of Council of Economic Advisors – not an economist, Bachelor’s degree in music, masters in sociology,” FOX Business Evening Edit anchor Liz McDonald posted on X.

President Biden, right, meets with President-elect Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secy – no energy background, Michigan Governor Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary – No trade background, Gov of Rhode Island Deb Haaland, Interior Secy – New Mexico Congressman,” she continued.

Conservative radio host and Fox News host Mark Levin pointed to Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz as evidence that Democrats have been hypocritical on the issue of cabinet qualifications. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The Democrat Party nominated and supported Tim Walz for vice president,” Levin posted on X.

“I don’t want to hear from that party or its media that any of the Trump nominees are unqualified for their posts. They have demonstrated that they have no standards at all when it comes to selecting even a vice-presidential candidate. Every Trump nominee has a solid record. Perspective is very important.”

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — FOX Business host Larry Kudlow has no plans to leave his media role amid reports detailing that President-elect Trump was eyeing him for a position in the administration. 

“Larry Kudlow recently signed a new deal to continue hosting his eponymous program on FOX Business and has no plans to leave his current role helming one of the highest rated shows on the network,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said Friday. 

Kudlow is the host of FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” and previously served as the director of the National Economic Council under Trump’s first administration. He had been floated as a top contender to join Trump’s second administration, as reports spread that the former and upcoming president was eyeing him for a top economic role in his administration, such as ​​overseeing the Treasury Department or again reclaiming his role on the National Economic Council. 

Following Trump’s massive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week — when he swept the seven battleground states and earned 312 electoral votes and the popular vote — Kudlow praised Trump’s economic policies, shutting down criticisms that the second Trump administration would further drive inflation that spiraled under the Biden administration. 

LARRY KUDLOW: PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP IS MOVING AT WARP SPEED TO FORM HIS ADMINISTRATION

FOX Business host Larry Kudlow attends Fox News Super Tuesday 2024 primary election coverage at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

“The day after the election, on Wednesday, November 6, the stock market registered its largest rally in history. Mr. Trump is an avid follower of the stock market, as I can attest during his first term — when almost any time I went into the Oval Office, no matter what the agenda, his first question to me would be the stock market,” Kudlow said earlier this week on “Kudlow.” 

TRUMP GOES FULL MAGA AS HE PICKS ALLIES AND LOYALISTS TO FILL HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION

“Stocks can change their minds, but Mr. Trump is well aware that they are a predictor of the future economy — and send thumbs up or thumbs down regarding economic policy. All these Nobel Prize winning economists keep telling people how bad Trump’s agenda is, but the stock market begs to differ. Tax cuts, deregulation, and energy dominance — three key pillars of Mr. Trump’s economic plan — are very bullish for future economic growth and profits. Hence, stocks keep rallying,” he added. 

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Kudlow joined the first Trump administration in 2018, succeeding Gary Cohn as director of the National Economic Council until 2021. He then joined FOX Business, following the conclusion of the first Trump administration. 

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 27, 2018. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

In addition to his career in the media, Kudlow served as associate director for economics and planning in the Office of Management and Budget under the Reagan administration, and also as Bear Stearns’ chief economist in the late 1980s and into the ’90s. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Kudlow currently serves as vice chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, a ​​nonprofit research institute led by former senior leaders from the Trump administration. The group works to advance “policies that put the American people first.” 

Trump has been on an announcement blitz since last week as he rolls out his picks for his second administration, including naming high-profile choices such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to lead the State Department; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he is looking forward to working with the Trump Administration and hopes that President-elect Donald Trump sticks to his promise surrounding the cap on interest rates.

“I look forward to working with the Trump Administration on fulfilling his promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10%,” Sanders wrote in a post on X on Friday.

“We cannot continue to allow big banks to make record profits by ripping off Americans by charging them 25 to 30% interest rates. That is usury,” he wrote.

Several X users praised Sanders and thanked him for backing Trump’s efforts.

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

“Thank you for trying to focus on the potential good coming from the next administration instead of fear mongering,” one person commented.

“I did not have Bernie agreeing with Trump on anything on my Election BINGO Card,” another person commented.

“This is a moment in the history of our country that nobody should never forget. Wow! Trump and Bernie working together for the people of America! Maybe unifying this country is not impossible. Thank you Bernie!” another user commented. 

The left-wing lawmaker, who is listed as a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, ripped the Democratic Party in the wake of Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory and accused the party of abandoning the working class.

“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the White working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” Sanders said in a previous statement.

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

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

“While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right,” he continued.

Sanders has characterized Harris’ campaign as “disastrous.”

“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” he asked. 

“Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing?” he added. “Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.”

While Republicans secured the Senate majority following the 2024 election, the 83-year-old Sanders, who has served in the chamber since 2007, just won another six-year-term.

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS HARRIS DROPPING FAR-LEFT POLICIES ‘IN ORDER TO WIN THE ELECTION’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks to the media as he walks to the House chamber before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

“Unbelievably, real, inflation-accounted-for weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years ago,” Sanders previously said. “Today, despite an explosion of technology and worker productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of living than their parents.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined a slew of Democrats taking offense to Sanders’ comments. 

“With all due respect, and I have a great deal of respect for [Sanders], for what he stands for, but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class families. That’s where we are,” Pelosi told The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast on Saturday.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Pelosi’s remarks came days after Sanders posted on X that Democrats’ loss should “come as no great surprise” after working class voters – first the White working class and then the Latino and Black working classes — looked elsewhere for change.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Taylor Penley contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Longtime Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., has won re-election in California’s 21st Congressional District after more than a week of counting ballots, according to the Associated Press.

He successfully kept his seat against Republican challenger Michael Maher.

The race was one of the final pending House races of the 2024 cycle, called more than a week after Election Day.

Costa has represented the district since 2005, which includes the San Joaquin Valley, but the Democrat’s political work in California stretches back decades. 

REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., speaks during the Bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act news conference in the U.S. Capitol. (Bill Clark)

Costa served in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1994, before being elected to the California State Senate from 1994 to 2002.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Democrat faced Republican opposition from California native Michael Maher, a veteran and former FBI agent.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday made his opposition to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unequivocal. 

“The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. There are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life,” Pence said in a lengthy statement on the website for his Advancing American Freedom nonprofit Friday. 

“I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades.”

Pence claimed Kennedy has “defended abortion on demand during all nine months of pregnancy” for the majority of his career and supports overturning the Dobbs decision and codifying Roe v. Wade. 

RFK JR. ASKS AMERICANS TO SUGGEST POLICIES FOR NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: ‘TRANSITION TEAM BELONGS TO YOU’

Former Vice President Mike Pence said he opposes Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history,” Pence wrote. 

President-elect Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Kennedy to head the agency as he had said he would during the campaign. 

“I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in his announcement. 

President-elect Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead HHS this week.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DR. MARC SIEGEL HIGHLIGHTS ‘DISTURBING’ ISSUES RFK JR. COULD ADDRESS AS HHS HEAD

Kennedy was frequently seen with Trump in the last couple of months of the campaign after he dropped his independent bid for the White House and endorsed the Republican nominee. 

Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president during Trump’s first term, didn’t run with him again in 2024 and declined to endorse Trump. 

Kennedy has flip-flopped on abortion. In May, he said a woman should be able to have an abortion when she’s full term, which he later walked back, saying there should be restrictions at some point in the pregnancy. And last year he said he supported a 15-week ban on abortion before his campaign said he misspoke. 

Pence served as President-elect Trump’s vice president during Trump’s first term.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On his campaign website, he said he would support legislation to overturn the Dobbs decision, according to The Hill. 

Last month, Trump said he would veto any attempt at a national abortion ban, saying it’s an issue for the states. 

Liberals are also concerned about Kennedy’s nomination due to his controversial stances on vaccines, fluoride in water and other issues. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to Kennedy for comment. 

The Associated Press projects that Democratic Rep. Jared Golden will win re-election in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a red-leaning district in an overall blue state, by defeating Republican challenger Austin Theriault.

He faced Republican Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, who’s a first-term state lawmaker who aimed to flip the seat from blue to red.

Golden, a Marine veteran who served combat tours in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraqi, is a moderate Democrat who is often at odds with his party and with President Biden’s administration. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION RESULTS 

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, speaks at a news conference in Augusta, Me. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The congressman made headlines earlier this year when he said he “didn’t know” whether he would vote for Biden’s re-election and was one of the first Democrats in Congress to question the 81-year-old president’s mental and physical abilities to handle another four years in the White House.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Golden, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has now won four straight elections in the swing district. 

Austin Theriault appears at the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series race, in Richmond, Va., in 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Maine and Nebraska are the only two states in the nation to allocate their electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district. And while Maine is reliably blue in White House races, former President Trump carried Maine’s second district in both 2016 and 2020.

The mostly rural district, which comprises roughly 80% of Maine’s total land area, is the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River.

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

First, there was House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

President-elect Trump tapped her to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.

Then there was Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. 

The incoming President asked Waltz to become his national security adviser.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO POTENTIALLY RELEASING THE ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT ON GAETZ

Then Mr. Trump selected former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for attorney general, and Gaetz promptly quit.

That’s quite a drain on one institution in just a few days.

Anybody else from the House?

“I know he’s already pulled a few really talented people out of the House. Hopefully, no more for a little while until special elections,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

It’s about the math.

President-elect Donald Trump and the U.S. Capitol. (Getty Images)

With Stefanik, Waltz and Gaetz on board, House Republicans likely score a majority of 221 seats to 214 for the Democrats. It’s a margin of seven. But it means the GOP can only lose three votes on any given roll call and still pass the issue at hand without needing assistance from the other side.

With Gaetz out and Stefanik and Waltz departing, that majority shrinks to 218-214. A margin of four votes. But Republicans can now only lose one vote. And there is almost never perfect attendance in the House. Absences are inevitable. 

But what if there are more departures?

A senior House GOP source told Fox before the departure of Gaetz the Republican majority could lose no more than two House members to the Trump administration.

“I don’t know if the administration has a number in their head,” the source said.

THUNE WINS SECRET BALLOT TO BECOME NEW SENATE GOP LEADER, SUCCEEDING MCCONNELL

And remember, you can’t appoint a House member. You can do that in the Senate. But not the House. Governors must call special elections to fill these seats. So, in the case of Stefanik, it may take Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul three to four months to call a special election. 

Naturally, that presumes the seat stays in the GOP column. These are Republican seats. But there are surprises in special elections. The usual universe of voters don’t always show up.

“I would imagine Hochul, given her cynical attempt at politics, will likely try to use the full 90 days,” groused Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.

Meantime, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., got on the horn to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in hopes of calling a special election in just a few weeks for the seat left vacant by Gaetz. The hope is that the district will send a Republican successor to Gaetz to Washington just after the new year.

This is why you can possibly quash chatter about whether Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine might appoint Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, to the Senate seat of Vice President-elect JD Vance. Under other circumstances, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., could be in play for an administration post or to even succeed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate if he’s confirmed as secretary of state. But that scenario creates yet another House vacancy.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., waves on stage at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee July 17.  (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here. And it’s just a numbers game,” said Johnson. “But every single vote will count, because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the votes on the floor. So, I think he and the administration are well attuned to that.”

Johnson added, “I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving.”

Then President-elect Trump drafted Gaetz.

House Republicans struggled at times to advance their own agenda with a similar narrow majority over the past two years. They leaned on Democrats to avoid multiple government shutdowns and to lift the debt ceiling. They failed on their first attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Republicans dithered for a grand total of 27 days on two different occasions last year trying to figure out who would be speaker of the House. 

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., couldn’t become speaker at the beginning of Congress because the GOP numbers were so thin. House Republicans then struggled for more than three weeks last fall to elect a successor to McCarthy for the same reasons. 

So, what is past is prologue.

RICK SCOTT GAINS NEW SENATE ENDORSEMENTS OUT OF CANDIDATE FORUM ON EVE OF LEADER ELECTION

A failure of simple parliamentary algebra could stymie the agenda of President-elect Trump.

“Between the speaker and (incoming Senate Majority Leader John) Thune, R-S.D., there’s a real understanding we’ve got to maintain these majorities,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y.

Ironically, had Molinaro held his seat against Rep.-elect Josh Riley, D-N.Y., the GOP would enjoy a bigger cushion.

Trump is acutely aware of the problem in the House.

“I promised Mike that I wouldn’t be taking too many more before we start counting the votes. He said, ‘Please, could you slow down a little bit?’ I just like the people in Congress. Mike, I’m sorry. But don’t worry about it, Mike. Just relax. Just relax,” the president-elect said.

Republicans are already building potential absences and vacancies into their legislative calculus for the new year.

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shakes hands with President-elect Trump onstage at a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“It’ll be like a logistics chess match. When we have to do a certain vote, if we’re really at a one-seat majority and someone’s sick, there’ll be logistics involved with that,” said Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. 

But that is easier said than done. That presumes that everyone present and accounted for is on board with the issue of the day. Republicans struggled with that phenomenon on a regular basis over the past two years.

“This is a deeply divided Republican Party – unified now by their victory. But see how long that lasts,” said former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “We know there are deep philosophical and procedural differences within the Republican Party that we saw repeatedly in the last Congress.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Republicans to not expect a lifeline from the minority party in the new year.

“If you believe that that’s an overwhelming mandate, then, of course, the American people will expect that you will do the basics in terms of governing,” said Jeffries.

The country is on yet another collision with the debt ceiling. The issue should ripen sometime in the first quarter of next year. Jeffries argued that if Republicans are in charge and have the support of voters, then they should “be able to avoid a catastrophic default on our nation’s debt.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But Jeffries added a caveat about last week’s election.

“If you believe that’s an overwhelming mandate,” he said.

That’s the challenge facing House Republicans. The people spoke. Now they expect action. But the equation in the House is hard to manage on any given day. And departures for the next administration don’t massage the mathematics at all.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Karoline Leavitt to serve as his press secretary for his upcoming administration. 

Leavitt has already acted as Trump’s spokesperson throughout his campaign.

“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement Friday evening.  

Karoline Leavitt is seen leaving Trump Tower in New York, New York, April 25. (Getty Images/MEGA/GC Images)

“Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again.”

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates. 

The cost of Pennsylvania’s Senate recount is expected to top $1 million as Republicans seek to prevent three Democratic-friendly counties from counting ballots against the apparent wishes of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Republican appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, said Thursday that automatic recounts are triggered if the unofficial margin is within 0.5%.

GOP Sen.-elect David McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. were separated by 0.43% with a maximum 80,000 provisional and mail-in ballots to be counted, Schmidt said in a video address.

In a press call, McCormick representatives analyzed raw data and calculated “zero” path for Casey — recount or not — to overtake their boss.

FETTERMAN DEFENDS CASEY-MCCORMICK RECOUNT; DINGS KARI LAKE

Schmidt said the last automatic recount, between McCormick and cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz, cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1.053 million and resulted in Oz moving on to the general election against John Fetterman.

In Casey’s case, about 7 million ballots will be subject to recount, and counties must report their data to Schmidt by Nov. 27.

The trailing candidate in three of the state’s previous eight automatic recounts waived the opportunity.

Pennsylvania’s top legislative Republican also slammed the incumbent for declining to waive the costly recount.

HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE AMID TOLL REBOOT BEFORE TRUMP CAN BLOCK IT

“Throughout his entire career, Sen. Casey has publicly called for the enforcement of the rule of law and the upholding of judicial norms,” said House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster.

“The facts and the law are clear: The election was free and fair; Dave McCormick is our new U.S. senator; a costly, statewide recount is unnecessary and duplicative; and Democrat-controlled counties are now openly defying the courts and the plain language of the election law to try and overturn a legal election result.”

Cutler said Casey should “immediately” concede and halt the recount and multiple cases of litigation across the state relating to the race.

McCormick’s campaign call foreshadowed news from Bucks, Centre and Philadelphia counties that their boards of election were prepared to count small numbers of undated or misdated ballots. 

Bob Casey and Dave McCormick (Getty Images)

Republicans said that runs counter to a recent ruling from the 5-2 Democratic majority Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 

The high bench declined to rule on the September case’s merits in tossing a lower court ruling that Philadelphia and Allegheny counties should count misdated or undated ballots from a prior election.

The RNC filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court, urging it to reaffirm its recent decision.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While the Casey campaign did not immediately return a request for comment, campaign manager Tiernan Donohue told PennLive the campaign was working to ensure all “Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard.”

“McCormick and his allies are working to disenfranchise voters in Pennsylvania and spread misinformation,” Donohue said.

Fox News Digital reached out to officials in Bellefonte, where the Centre County elections board reportedly signaled its intent to count undated ballots. 

McCormick and the Pennsylvania GOP have sued Centre County, and a hearing was scheduled for Friday in Bellefonte. The plaintiffs alleged Centre’s decision is “legally erroneous.”

The mostly rural county, home to Penn State University, had been ground zero for Republicans seeking to make inroads in Democratic-friendly areas.

Philadelphia Commissioner Al Schmidt testifies at a House Jan. 6 hearing. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Philadelphia’s city commissioners also voted 2-1 to count about 607 questioned ballots. 

In a response to Fox News Digital, the board said several counties voted to count a “relatively small number of undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots” and acknowledged GOP litigation.

“We are reviewing the filings,” Board Chairman Omar Sabir and Lisa Deeley, both Democrats, and Republican Seth Bluestein said in a joint statement. 

In Doylestown, Bucks County Board of Elections Chairman Bob J. Harvie Jr. told KYW he’d rather “be on the side of counting ballots than not counting them.”

“The courts, I believe, will take this up. So, we’re going to get sued either way,” he said.

The office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., shouldn’t be able to “resign away” an ethics investigation into misconduct allegations, citing Gaetz’s nomination to serve as U.S. attorney general under President-elect Trump. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pushed for the House Ethics Committee not to release a potentially damaging report on a three-year probe of Gaetz amid allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and illicit drug use. 

Gaetz has denied the claims against him.

Gaetz’s resignation effectively ended the investigation because he is no longer a member of Congress. Speaking with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Friday, Johnson said releasing the report would “open a dangerous Pandora’s box.”

MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., talks with reporters about the nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be attorney general outside a Senate Judiciary Committee markup Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.   (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Durbin spokesperson Josh Sorbe said the senator, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pushed for the report’s release to the public. 

“There is longstanding precedent for releasing ethics investigation materials after a member resigns, whether in the House or Senate,” said Sorbe. “The now former congressman shouldn’t be able to resign away an ethics investigation involving allegations of grave misconduct, especially when he will be nominated to be our country’s top law enforcement officer.

MATT GAETZ RESIGNS FROM CONGRESS OVER TRUMP NOD TO BE ATTORNEY GENERAL, JOHNSON SAYS

“There is bipartisan support for the Senate Judiciary Committee having access to this information,” he added. “Chair Durbin will continue pursuing it so members of the committee can fulfill their constitutional obligation of advice and consent on this deeply problematic nominee.”

After news broke Wednesday that Gaetz was chosen for the Trump Cabinet, House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters the investigation would end if Gaetz were to step down from Congress. 

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., center; Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; and Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., address the media after the House Judiciary Committee passed two articles of impeachment against President Trump Dec. 13, 2019.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

On Friday, Johnson said he won’t be reaching out or speaking with the Ethics Committee to ask it not to release the report when asked by Fox News. 

“I don’t know anything about the investigation. The speaker of the House is not involved with those things,” Johnson said. “I am reacting to media reports that a report is currently in some draft form and was going to be released on what is now a former member of the House.”

He added that he didn’t believe releasing the report would be “appropriate.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It doesn’t follow our rules and traditions, and there is a reason for that,” said Johnson. “That would open up Pandora’s box, and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the institution. So, that’s my position.”

Gaetz’s nomination has come under fire by some considering the allegations against him. Some GOP members of the Senate have said he faces an uphill battle to get confirmed. 

President Biden’s Department of Education is trying to push through a new federal rule during the final weeks before President-elect Trump takes over to provide additional student loan forgiveness for 8 million borrowers who face financial hardships. 

If finalized, the new rule would authorize student debt forgiveness on a one-time basis for people who the department considers to have at least an 80% chance of defaulting on loans based on a “predictive assessment using existing borrower data.”

The rule would also allow people, including potential “future borrowers,” to apply for relief that will be awarded based on “a holistic assessment of the borrower’s hardship.”

Negotiated rulemaking for higher education between 2023 and 2024 began last year, and this latest rule was discussed in committee as early as November 2023. However, the rule was not proposed until Oct. 31 and is working its way through a public notice and comment period expected to end Dec. 2.

GOP-LED STATES ASK SCOTUS TO TEMPORARILY BLOCK BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT PROGRAM

Melissa Byrne of We the 45 Million speaks at a press conference outside the appeals court hearing where GOP attorneys general seek to block the income-based student loan repayment plan, SAVE, Oct. 24, 2024, in St Paul, Minn.  (Getty Images)

“For far too long, our broken student loan system has made it too hard for borrowers experiencing heartbreaking and financially devastating hardships to access relief, and it’s not right,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The rules proposed by the Biden-Harris administration today would provide hope to millions of struggling Americans whose challenges may make them eligible for student debt relief.”

While a handful of Biden’s previous attempts to wipe out student debt have been struck down as an overreach of power by the courts, and despite federal rulemaking typically taking anywhere from a few months to a few years to be completed, the Biden administration has not been dissuaded from initiating additional attempts to eliminate Americans’ student loan debt during its final weeks.

President Biden speaks during an event in Madison, Wis., April 8, 2024.  (Getty Images)

In 2023, Biden announced his administration’s greatest effort to wipe out student debt for millions of borrowers through a new “SAVE” plan that sought to reduce borrowers’ debt obligations based on their economic circumstances. However, the effort was shot down by the Supreme Court after it was determined Biden did not have authority under a 2003 federal law to unilaterally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt.

KEVIN O’LEARY TORCHES BIDEN STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT AS UNFAIR’ AND ‘UN-AMERICAN’: ‘I REALLY REALLY HATE THIS’

In addition to the SAVE program, other efforts by the Biden administration to cancel student debt relief remain tied up in the courts.

President Biden  (Getty Images)

President-elect Trump has described Biden’s attempts to wipe out debt for student borrowers “a total catastrophe.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

“They didn’t even come close to getting student loans,” Trump said during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, referring to the courts shooting down Biden’s student debt forgiveness attempts. 

“They taunted young people and a lot of other people that had loans. They can never get this approved.”

The White House did not respond with an on-the-record comment when reached by Fox News Digital. 

First Lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary blasted Democrats who label opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as racist this week after an MSNBC guest called President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee a “White supremacist.”

“This s— has to stop,” Michael LaRosa, who served as the first lady’s press secretary from 2021 to 2022, posted on X in response to an MSNBC guest calling President-elect Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee and former Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, a “White supremacist” in response to his opposition to DEI policies.

“Opposing DEI initiatives does not make you a white supremacist. Conversations and demonization like this are a big part of the reason we got our a–es kicked,” he continued.

“The answer to extremism is not more extremism.  Voices like this on the left are turning the Democratic Party into a joke. We’ve got to knock it off and get serious guests who are going to diagnose politics, not make it worse,” LaRosa continued. “Name calling, vilifying, and defaming nominees you oppose, even if there is very good reason to oppose them,  represents everything the Democratic Party should be RUNNING away from.”

MELANIA TRUMP QUESTIONS ‘WHETHER JILL’S CONCERN WAS GENUINE’ FOLLOWING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherriln Ifill, left, and former press secretary for Jill Biden Michael LaRosa, right. (Credit; MSNBC/screenshot, Fox News/screenshot)  ((Credit; MSNBC/screenshot, Fox News/screenshot) )

LaRosa explained that Democrats should “fight back with strategy and tactics” rather than “pointless, defamatory and juvenile incentive.” 

“We need to get serious people opining about policy and politics, not one-upping each other or competing for who can make the most provocative insult about a Trump nominee you oppose.”

The MSNBC guest speaking on Chris Hayes’ show, Former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill, drew widespread condemnation from conservatives on social media.

JILL BIDEN’S APPARENT COLD SHOULDER FOR KAMALA HARRIS IGNITES SOCIAL MEDIA

Michael LaRosa, Biden Administration, attends “Politico X Showtime,” a cocktails and conversation event co-hosted by Politico Playbook and Showtime’s The Circus, at the International Spy Museum on March 22, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

“Shame on  @chrislhayes and @comcast for this pathetic attack,” former Trump acting Director of National Intelligence RIchard Grenell posted on X.

“Sue her,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “Enough of this crap.”

“Appalling smear,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. 

LaRosa told Fox News Digital on Friday that “there are too many on the left who preach at everyone, and if you disagree, then you are not only wrong, but you’re a bad human being as well.”

“The Democratic Party I’ve always known is the party that represents the values of inclusiveness and tolerance,” LaRosa continued. “But that means inclusiveness and tolerance of diverse views, too, not just diversity for diversity’s sake. Let’s have a spirited disagreement or a debate but stop tagging people you disagree with as Hitler, fascists or white supremacists. It’s not a serious contribution to the path forward in opposing Trump, his policy or his nominees.”

“If politics is about addition, conversations like that are precisely why we’re doing more subtraction lately, as Democrats.”

Host Pete Hegseth during “FOX & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on May 27, 2022, in New York City.  (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Ifill for comment but did not receive a response.

In recent days, Democrats and pundits in the media have been searching for answers and explanations for VP Kamala Harris’ presidential election loss, with many concluding that the campaign alienated voters with identity politics.

“This kind of obsession made Democrats view people too much through their ethnic or racial or gender identity and made them miss, for example, that working-class Latinos were moving toward Trump, perhaps, because they were socially conservative or liked his macho rhetoric or even agreed with his hard-line stance on immigration,” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said after the election. 

“The problem is deeper than one about nouns and pronouns. The entire focus on identity has morphed into something deeply illiberal. Judging people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character.”

President-elect Trump announced two more additions to his White House staff on Friday, promoting his campaign spokesman to lead the communications shop.

Trump announced that Steven Cheung would return to the White House as assistant to the president and director of communications. Cheung previously served as communications director for the Trump-Vance campaign and was the White House director of strategic response in Trump’s first term.

Additionally, Trump confirmed that Sergio Gor will join the White House as director of the presidential personnel office. Gor, an ally and business partner of Donald Trump Jr.’s, was in charge of the pro-Trump political action committee Right For America and previously worked in Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s office. 

“Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted Advisors since my first Presidential Campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion America First principles throughout my First Term, all the way to our HIstoric Victory in 2024,” Trump said in a statement. “I am thrilled to have them join my White House, as we Make America Great Again!” 

DONALD TRUMP JR ALLY SERGIO GOR OFFERED TOP WHITE HOUSE PERSONNEL JOB: REPORT

Steven Cheung, spokesman for former US President Donald Trump, during a news conference with former US President Donald Trump, not pictured, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gor’s impending appointment was first reported by Semafor on Thursday and was welcomed by Trump Jr. 

“Awesome news. Sergio will be great!” the first son posted on X. 

Both Cheung and Gor are loyal to the president-elect.

TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

Sergio Gor is President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the Presidential Personnel Office in the new administration.  (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Trump has previously said that the biggest mistake of his first presidency was picking disloyal people to join his administration.

“The biggest mistake I made was I picked some people – I picked some great people, you know, but you don’t think about that. I picked some people that I shouldn’t have picked,” Trump said last month on the “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

“I picked a few people that I shouldn’t have picked,” he said.

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

President-elect Donald Trump attends the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump has been announcing a number of nominees to fill out his upcoming administration. ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The president-elect has also picked, among others, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., for national security adviser and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state. 

Tesla CEO and billionaire endorser Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are expected to lead Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Controversially, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. has been tapped to be Trump’s attorney general and campaign surrogate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., suggested he has gotten more support than publicly known from fellow House Democrats after speaking out about how the party handles dissent within its ranks.

Moulton sparked a progressive firestorm after he made comments to The New York Times expressing concern about transgender student athletes playing alongside biological females. He said most Democrats were afraid to come forward with similar views for fear of retribution.

Progressives at the local, state and federal level condemned the remarks — including House Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who called them “offensive” on CNN.

“Look, I understand people have different opinions and different perspectives, and that’s my whole point. The comments were not meant to be offensive, but we…ought to be willing to have a debate. And that’s exactly what I’m willing to do,” Moulton told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., is getting progressive backlash for his comments on trans student athletes. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

“While a few, a handful, maybe just a couple members of Congress have spoken out against the comments, I’ve got an awful lot more who will go up to me privately and say thank you.”

His initial comments, which he has since doubled-down on multiple times, prompted the Democratic Party in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, to threaten to recruit a challenger against him in 2026.

“It’s a democracy. If you want to run against me, go for it,” Moulton told Fox News Digital of the threat, though he added it was “not going to be very helpful for winning elections.”

“What we need to do is defeat Republicans, not fellow Democrats,” he said.

REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Democrats are soul-searching after Vice President Kamala Harris and others on the left lost big to Republicans on Election Day. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The party has been busy soul-searching in the days since the Democrats’ devastating performances in the presidential, Senate and House elections.

Moderates like Moulton and Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., have accused the Democratic Party of overly catering to its furthest-left base at the expense of trying to relate to a broader swath of everyday Americans and their issues.

Moulton argued Democratic policies were better for those Americans than Republican policies but suggested the left had a messaging problem because of “too much preaching and not enough listening.”

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT

Rep. Ritchie Torres is another moderate speaking out about the far-left. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“People think that this is exactly the kind of debate that we need to have. And it’s not just on trans issues, it’s on the economy. Why are we out of touch with Americans on the economy when Trump’s plan is going to dramatically raise grocery prices…How is it that we’re so out of touch on immigration when we’re the ones who proposed a bipartisan immigration deal?” Moulton said.

“It seems like Democrats do have a lot of good solutions for working Americans, and yet we’re really out of touch. So we’ve got to ask ourselves that question. Why have we lost touch with so many people across America?” 

President-elect Donald Trump sent shock waves through the national security establishment when he nominated Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary.

The plain-speaking former Army National Guard officer would set himself apart from other Defense secretaries with his prolific record of criticism of the institution he has been tapped to run. A culture warrior, on-air commentator and author, the paper trail of his publicly shared views will be on full display in his confirmation hearing.  

“I’ve been a recovering neocon for six years now,” Hegseth, a former Fox News host, told the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast. 

He said he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War “at the time,” but “in retrospect, absolutely not.”

“The hubris of the Pentagon is they want to now tell other countries how to do counterinsurgency based on what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trust that our political leaders and our generals would have our best interests in mind is totally broken,” he explained. “At the same time. I’m fearful of what happens when the institution gets abandoned.”

TRUMP NOMINATES PETE HEGSETH TO SERVE AS DEFENSE SECRETARY

Host Pete Hegseth speaks during “Fox & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on May 27, 2022 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

In a past life, Hegseth ran Vets for Freedom, a pro-Iraq War advocacy group. He then pivoted and became CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a restraint-minded advocacy group that was heavily focused on reforming the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. 

He has not served any senior-level leadership roles at the Defense Department – leaving some hawks skeptical that he has the experience to lead the U.S.’s largest government agency and a fighting force of more than 1.3 million active duty troops. 

“He is the least well-prepared secretary to be nominated,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. 

“He has superb military credentials as a junior officer, excellent academic credentials in Harvard, but he has no eye-level national security experience. He has no experience running a large organization, no experience working with Congress, and I mean, a good but very short relationship with the president.”

Prior to his current role, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was head of U.S. Central Command, vice chief of staff of the Army and commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq. After retiring from the armed services, he joined the board of Raytheon. 

Hegseth, a 44-year-old infantry officer in the Minnesota National Guard, served as the platoon leader at Guantanamo Bay. He also led a platoon in Baghdad and later served as a civil-military operations officer in Samarra. 

TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

“Something that a lot of people will point to as a weakness is he’s young,” said Steve Bucci, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense during the George W. Bush administration. “He did serve very effectively as a junior officer and a combat leader, but you know, he hasn’t been part of the institutionalized process going up to be general officer and all the staff positions in between.” 

Pete Hegseth said he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War “at the time,” but “in retrospect, absolutely not.”

“That will free him to think outside the box,” Bucci mused. “Austin, a four-star, frankly, was not known for new ideas.” 

“It’ll drive a lot of people crazy.” 

Hegseth has made it clear he will work to fight “woke” programs in the Pentagon that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. He has also spoken out against women in combat roles. 

“I’m straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said on the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast. “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”

Additionally, in 2019, he successfully lobbied Trump to pardon three service members convicted or accused of war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Trump may have looked ahead to sparing himself the headache this role caused him during his first administration – only Jim Mattis and Mark Esper lasted more than a year, three others served in an acting capacity. 

Hegseth has also called for the firing of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown. Brown has become a target of conservatives who claim he advances a “woke” agenda, and Hegseth has suggested Brown, who is Black, is a DEI hire. 

“That would be a huge problem,” Cancian predicted. “He’s got a very strong military record and, you know, it would put [Hegseth] at war with the military.”

Democrats are expected to hammer him for lack of experience and his background as a co-host of “Fox and Friends.”

Prior to his current role, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was head of U.S. Central Command, vice chief of staff of the Army and commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq. (Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)

“Hegseth is not remotely qualified to be Secretary of Defense,” Rep. Jason Crow, a national-security-minded Colorado Democrat wrote on X. “The SecDef makes life-and-death decisions daily that impact our 2 million troops around the globe. This is not an entry-level job for a TV commentator.”

They also may bring up resurfaced sexual assault allegations he faced in 2017. Monterey, California, officials released a public statement Thursday about a 2017 police investigation into whether Hegseth acted inappropriately. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Trump’s lawyers brought the accusation up during the vetting process, according to Vanity Fair.

Hegseth would likely be the first-ever Defense secretary nominee previously barred from a presidential inauguration. Hegseth told Ryan he volunteered in his National Guard capacity to work at President Biden’s inauguration in 2020. However, he said he was one of a number of National Guard members told to “stand down.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo by my National Guard unit in Washington D.C. and my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration.”

“My commander called me a day before, tepidly, and was like, Major, you can just stand down. We don’t need you, we’re good. I’m like, what do you mean? Everybody’s there. He said like, no, no ,no…he couldn’t tell me.”

Hegseth said the tattoo is a Jerusalem cross rather than an extremist symbol. It was a popular symbol used during the Crusades. 

“Twenty years in the military I loved, I fought for, I revered … spit me out,” Hegseth wrote in his book of the incident. 

Students for Life of Action, the legislative arm of one of the largest pro-life groups in the country, released a “Make America Pro-Life Again Roadmap” this week signaling their plans to combat abortion during the new Trump administration. 

In a press call on Tuesday, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins said that despite abortion ballots being passed in seven states, the election showed that there are significant opportunities for pro-life victories in the next few years. 

“America had the option of choosing the most radical pro-abortion ticket in world history and soundly rejected it,” she said. “We’ve been working on this for months leading up until the election. Now that the election is over, now that we have a Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., [and] Republican majority control of legislatures, it’s going to be time to get to work.” 

SENATE DEMS RACE TO CONFIRM BIDEN JUDGES AHEAD OF TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY

Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins, left, and her co-host Isabel Brown ahead of their planned speech. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America)

Hawkins explained that the plan also prioritizes increasing protections for unborn babies in states, including such as Michigan, Ohio and Arizona, that have recently enshrined abortion rights in their state constitutions. 

“And for those who believe that states are locked down by ballot initiatives, guess again,” she said. 

The group is working in conjunction with state lawmakers and has already confirmed a slate of pro-life bills in 13 different state legislatures. 

HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER MASSIVE TOLL REBOOT, AS DEMS WORRY TRUMP WILL BLOCK IT

Mifepristone and Misoprostol pills are pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 in Skokie, Illinois. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

A major focus of the bills is chemical abortion, which now accounts for most U.S. abortions. While some of these bills would move to ban or restrict chemical abortions, some seek to simply reduce or raise awareness about their harmful effects. 

West Virginia state Sen. Patricia Rucker told Fox News Digital that with the help of Students for Life she will be reintroducing a “Clean Water for All” bill, which she believes will not only lessen the environmental impact of abortion pills on the state’s water supply and rivers, but also raise awareness of the dangers of chemical abortion. 

“It’s completely unknown. When I bring it up, most folks, I mean, you see their eyes just getting really big. They’re like, ‘I had no idea, never even thought about that,’” she said. 

After West Virginia Republicans further strengthened their majority in the state legislature, Rucker said she is feeling optimistic about the bill’s future.

Despite recent setbacks under the Biden administration and a slew of losses at the state level, Students for Life is confident that the momentum is about to change.  

A mother holding her newborn baby on her warm chest at the hospital. (iStock)

Kristi Hamrick, Students for Life’s vice president of media and policy, told Fox News Digital that “as we know from Roe, a legal roadblock does not mean nothing can be done.” 

She pointed to the 2007 Supreme Court case Gonzalez vs. Carhart that set a precedent allowing states to protect unborn babies from partial-birth abortions despite Roe v. Wade being in place at the time.

She said that “the win in Carhart lays a legal foundation for how to proceed at the state and federal level.” 

In Arizona, where a sweeping abortion amendment was passed by voters on election day, state Rep. Rachel Jones is already working on drafting a bill which she hopes will push back.

Women cheer as former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4, 2024. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

She envisions the bill as a way to help women and young girls truly understand the dangers of chemical abortion and to be aware of “all the options facing them.” 

“A lot of these women are making a decision based on fear,” Jones told Fox News Digital. “They’re being led to believe that’s their only option. And then some of them end up regretting that decision later. And it really affects their mental health a lot.” 

Jones said that even some of her Democratic colleagues have signaled openness to a bill increasing education on chemical abortion, something she said makes her optimistic that her bill can receive bipartisan support. 

“I think that a lot of these women were so misled because they weren’t really told all the facts,” she went on. “We’re really protecting women, and I think that’s really important right now.” 

Sage Steele, the veteran sportscaster best known for her decade-plus career at ESPN, has shot down swirling rumors she wants to be press secretary in the new Trump administration, labeling the murmurings as “fake news.”

President-elect Donald Trump has been quickly filling his incoming Cabinet since he stormed to election victory last week, but he has yet to name someone to be his top public spokesperson at the White House.

Axios reported Wednesday that Steele along with CNN contributor and Bush White House official Scott Jennings, as well as Republican National Committee spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko are all “vying” for the much-coveted role. Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt and former Trump administration official Monica Crowley are also “in the mix,” according to Axios.

SAGE STEELE IS OFF THE SIDELINES AND SPEAKING HER MIND

President-elect Donald Trump greets Sage Steele at a campaign town hall meeting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

Trump attorney Alina Habba said Thursday that she is not considering the role of press secretary.

Steele, 51, has been a public supporter of the president-elect and stumped for him on the campaign trail, appearing at an event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, last month. 

However, she took to X on Thursday to deny she was interested in the press secretary role. 

“Not sure how these rumors began about me ‘vying’ to be Press Secretary, but it’s definitely fake news! I haven’t had a single conversation with anyone about that job, and have no desire to do so!” Steele wrote.

SAGE STEELE UNLEASHES ON ‘TERRIBLE’ BIDEN, SAYS HE ‘TRAILED OFF’ DURING CHAT BEFORE TAPING ESPN INTERVIEW

Sage Steele attends “Shaq’s Fun House” at XS nightclub at Encore Las Vegas on Feb. 9, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

“Honestly, it was the honor of a lifetime to be a small part of @TeamTrump during the campaign – something I NEVER imagined – but I wholeheartedly believe in @realDonaldTrump @JDVance & am excited to find ways to continue to serve. It took me years to not be afraid to speak up. That fear is gone forever, and I hope others are beginning to feel the same. LFG!”

In 2023, Steele left ESPN after 15 years at the network where she hosted its flagship program “SportsCenter as well as “NBA Countdown,” among other roles. 

In April 2022, Steele filed a lawsuit against ESPN alleging the network violated her free speech rights after she was punished in 2021 for speaking out against parent company Disney’s COVID vaccine mandate and knocked former President Barack Obama for identifying as Black instead of biracial. 

They settled the lawsuit, and she left the network last August.

“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele wrote last August. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”

In March, Steele was named the first podcast host on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios podcast network.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Karoline Leavitt, center, is the leading name for press secretary after she worked as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary throughout the high-stakes election cycle. Trump adviser and ally Jason Miller, left, is also understood to be in contention. (Photo by Doug Mills / POOL / AFP)

Karoline Leavitt appears to be the leading name for press secretary after she worked as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary throughout the high-stakes election cycle. 

Alina Habba, Trump’s legal spokesperson and adviser, was also viewed as a frontrunner for the position but said Thursday she would “be better served in other capacities.”

Other names being floated include Trump adviser and ally Jason Miller, campaign spokesperson and adviser Steven Cheung and former Trump administration official Monica Crowley.

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

In what could potentially be President Biden’s last foreign diplomacy trip, he will soon head to South America to meet with global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Biden will first travel to Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where he is slated to meet with Xi, possibly their final encounter as heads of state, according to a senior administration official.

Biden’s attendance at the summit is expected to be followed by a stop in Brazil early next week, where the Group of 20 summit, a gathering of the nation’s foremost economic powers, is being held. While in Brazil, Biden will also become the first sitting U.S. president to make a visit to spots in the Amazon rainforest.

Luong Cuong, Vietnam’s president, speaks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 14, 2024. (Getty Images)

Biden’s foreign diplomacy curtain call in South America comes as the U.S.’s influence in the region has been getting overshadowed by China’s, experts have argued.

GOP REP SOUNDS ALARM ON GROWING CHINESE INFLUENCE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

The U.S.’s contemporary policy toward the region has shifted over the last century, from focusing on issues related to the political stability of the region to now on issues of illegal immigration and narcotics and how they impact the country domestically. Meanwhile, China has been taking advantage of the holes left open by the U.S. due to this shift in priorities.

For example, South American countries have turned to China when the U.S. has failed to establish trade agreements with them, the Wall Street Journal reported. Near the start of the Biden administration, Uruguay and Ecuador’s attempts to develop free-trade agreements with the U.S. were stymied, so they turned to China. While Ecuador’s priority is to establish a trade agreement with the U.S., its ambassador said the country is “prioritizing alternatives” while the U.S. transitions to the Trump administration. 

The national flags of Peru and China flutter at Tian’anmen Square on June 28, 2024, in Beijing. (Getty Images)

The U.S. still holds more trade agreements in South America than China, but the communist nation has expanded its influence in other ways. Beijing has invested in parts of South America with projects like ports in places such as Peru that trade in Chinese currency, and satellites in Las Lajas, Argentina. China has also established mineral and foodstuff purchases in the region, seen potentially as an effort to fortify resources ahead of any conflict in the South China Sea in light of the increased global tensions surrounding Taiwan.

TAIWAN EYES $15B MILITARY PACKAGE IN SIGNAL TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IT IS ‘SERIOUS’ ON DEFENSE: REPORT

Meanwhile, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., a federal agency that directs investments in developing countries, invested $30 million in funding for a critical mineral mine in Brazil. However, under the investment’s current mandate, all Latin American countries, except Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, are considered to be too wealthy to benefit from the investment.

Under President-elect Donald Trump, relations with South America could continue to worsen as his threats of tariffs have create concern among global trade leaders.

President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File)

Biden and Xi’s meeting while in Peru will be the pair’s third in-person meeting since Biden took office. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

According to a senior administration official, the two are expected to discuss a range of issues covering military-to-military communications, human rights, fentanyl, artifical intelligence, climate change, cybersecurity, Taiwan and the incoming Trump administration.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.