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Prominent Democratic National Committee (DNC) powerhouse Lindy Li is facing fierce backlash from members of her own party after she expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth.

She said her position touched off a level of intraparty vitriol that took her off guard, to the point where some are calling for her to leave the Democratic Party altogether.

Li, a Democrat strategist, served as both a surrogate for Vice President Harris and a member of the DNC’s national fundraising committee, a membership for which she noted requires raising “millions of dollars” on behalf of Democrat candidates. She also appeared nearly every day on the air to stump for Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.

Li said that what’s happening to her underscores the party’s broader posture of finger-pointing and internal blame even after its wide election losses.

So, it was in this context that she appeared on NewsNation’s “Morning in America” show over the weekend and offered what she described as “restrained support” for Hegseth, Li told Fox News Digital on Monday. The two share Princeton University as their alma mater and both appeared at the same time on “Fox & Friends” this fall.

Asked about his nomination on Sunday, Li told host Markie Martin, “I actually think he’s a pretty good guy.”

Lindy Li speaks on “Fox & Friends Weekend” after the 2024 elections. (Fox News)

“Maybe you’re looking for someone to oppose the nomination, but I actually have personal interactions with [Hegseth],” she said, adding that, “because I’ve been on Fox and Friends – I’ve met Pete, he’s my fellow Princetonian.”

Li repeatedly declined to answer questions about Hegseth’s path to confirmation amid allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing.

Still, the torrent of criticism continued, ranging from party leaders to public voices within the party who urged her on social media and in text messages reviewed by Fox News Digital to resign or be “fired,” to which Li scoffed because she, in her current capacity, is not on any DNC payroll. (As a Democrat strategist and fundraiser, she has raised millions of dollars for both President Biden and Harris in their respective presidential campaigns, and she appeared on TV countless times. Her family has also donated buildings, including a Philadelphia-area church.)

Still, Li said, the criticism caused her to question, to some degree, her allegiance to the very party for which she’s raised millions of dollars during the 2024 election cycle alone.

“I’m not just some random donor. I am one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Asian-American fundraiser on the Democratic side,” she said.

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Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris speaks at a rally in Houston on Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Instead, Li said she sees the fallout over the fairly innocuous comment as a “microcosm of what is wrong with the Democratic Party” by “permitting no dissent, no criticism.”

She said this bolsters the contention held by certain factions within the Democratic Party: the leadership has learned the wrong lessons after their losses in the 2024 House, Senate and presidential races. Instead of engaging in an open dialogue with the public about their missteps, they have become more resolute on intraparty blame and finger-pointing.

Li described a “vindictive” effort by some leadership to discount her support and the millions she has raised on behalf of their party.

She also took aim at some Democrat leaders’ decisions to reinforce the idea of identity politics, a strategy embraced most prominently by outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison.

Harrison, whose leadership role ends in February, has sharply dismissed critics within the party who have urged them to take a different path forward after their resounding losses in 2024.

He also used a speech last week to push back on the notion that Democrats need to abandon “identity politics,” despite criticism that embracing these issues may have prompted their losses in key swing states.

Li said she and others think that’s part of the problem.

“Harrison is asking us to double down on identity politics. And I think that’s a counterproductive strategy,” Li said in the interview.

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Vice President Harris and President Biden (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin/File)

“It’s just insane,” she said. “If you want an explanation for why they lost, this is it,” Li added, taking aim at what she described as the Democratic Party’s “purity tests” and the “purging” of Democrats regarded as out of step or failing to toe the party line.

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In the meantime, Li said she is not facing a shortage of options as she weighs what a future role in the Democratic Party could look like, or if she even wants to stay with it.

“I think I’m too big to fully exile from the party,” Li said of her contributions to the DNC. “The leadership knows that.” 

“People on Trump’s team have already reached out to me to see if I’d be willing to switch,” Li added. “So, I’m not an orphan, you know? And I know people are actively trying to recruit me.”

President-elect Donald Trump says that he wants to work with Democrats on a “plan” to help illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors and were protected from deportation under an Obama-era order — echoing a similar push he attempted in 2019.

Trump was asked in an interview with NBC News on Sunday about “dreamers,” an activist-preferred term for illegal immigrants who arrived as children, and whether they would be included in his plan for mass deportations. 

“Dreamers are going to come later, and we have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age, and many of these are middle-aged people now, they don’t even speak the language of their country, and yes, we’re going to do something about them,” Trump said.

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President-elect Donald Trump sits down with Kristen Welker on Sunday for an interview on “Meet the Press.” (Screenshot/NBC)

“I will work with the Democrats on a plan, and if we can come up with a plan, but the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the Dreamers. The Dreamers, we’re talking many years ago. They were brought into this country many years ago, some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases, they become successful,” Trump continued. “They have great jobs. In some cases, they have small businesses. In some cases, they might have large businesses, and we’re going to have to do something with them.”

When asked if he wanted them to be able to stay, he said, “I do. I want to be able to work something out.”

“I think we can work with the Democrats and work something out,” he said.

Then-President Barack Obama signed the executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), in 2012, which shielded more than 800,000 illegal immigrants from being deported and gave them the ability to work in the U.S.

The Trump administration pushed unsuccessfully to end DACA, being blocked by the Supreme Court. It remains before the courts with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the policy under review in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior on June 2, 2022. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

However, as the Trump administration pushed to end DACA, Trump proposed an additional three years of protection for DACA recipients and others in exchange for money to build a wall along the southern border. Democrats rejected that deal as “hostage taking.”

Immigration activists have pushed for the passage of the DREAM Act, which has been introduced multiple times. That legislation would go much further than DACA and grant a pathway to citizenship for what advocates estimate to be 2 million illegal immigrants.

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Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation campaign when he enters office in January, where he will also have a Republican House and Senate. Ahead of that, some Democrats have been calling on President Biden to extend existing protections for some illegal immigrants — including DACA recipients.

Immigration activists were unimpressed by Trump’s comments. Bruna Sollod, senior political director of United We Dream, said in response to Trump’s comments, “Actions speak louder than words, and Donald Trump’s track record in attacking DACA, fueling depraved disinformation and violence, and scapegoating immigrants extend back to his very first day in office to today.”

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Sollod said that Trump should “immediately call on his allies in Texas to drop the lawsuit against DACA and stop his mass detention and deportation agenda now.” 

The pardon debate – individual, group, partisan, preemptive – is spinning out of control.

In his “Meet the Press” interview, Donald Trump mocked Joe Biden’s repeated assurances about Hunter: “‘I’m not going to give my son a pardon. I will not under any circumstances give him a pardon.’ I watch this and I always knew he was going to give him a pardon.”

In a portion of that interview that did not air but was posted online, the president-elect complained to Kristen Welker:

“The press was obviously unfair to me. The press, no president has ever gotten treated by the press like I was.”

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Why did he appear on “Meet the Press”? “You’re very hostile,” Trump said. Her response: “Well, hopefully, you thought it was a fair interview. We covered a lot of policy grounds.”

“It’s fair only in that you allowed me to say what I say. But you know, the answers to questions are, you know, pretty nasty. But look, because I’ve seen you interview other people like Biden.”

“I’ve never interviewed President Biden,” Welker responded. Trump said he was speaking “metaphorically.”

The pardon debate has been re-invigorated by President Biden’s decision to issue one to his son, Hunter, despite repeated assurances of the contrary. (Reuters/Getty/AP Images)

“I’ve seen George Stephanopoulos interview. And he’s a tough interviewer. It’s the softest interview I’ve seen. CNN interview. They give these soft, you know, what’s your favorite ice cream? It’s a whole different deal. I don’t understand why.”

The strength of Welker’s approach is that she asked as many as half a dozen follow-ups on major topics, making more news. When she asked, for instance, whether he would actually deport 11 million illegal immigrants, as he’d said constantly on the campaign trail, he answered yes – which for some reason lots of news outlets led with. But a subsequent question got Trump to say he didn’t think the Dreamers should be expelled and would work it out with the Democrats.

As for Trump, he reminded me of the candidate I interviewed twice this year. He was sharp and serious, connecting on each pitch, fouling a few off. This was not the candidate talking about sharks at rallies. 

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With one significant misstep, he made the case that he was not seeking retribution – even backing off a campaign pledge that he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden.

That misstep, when Trump couldn’t hold back, was in saying of the House Jan. 6 Committee members, including Liz Cheney: “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

He did add the caveat that he would let his attorney general and FBI chief make that decision, but it allowed media outlets to lead with Trump wanting his political opponents behind bars. For what it’s worth, there’s no crime in lawmakers holding hearings, and this business about them withholding information seems like a real stretch.

Now back to the pardons. This mushrooming debate was obviously triggered by the president breaking his repeated promise with a sweeping, decade-long pardon of his son, a 54-year-old convicted criminal.

But then, as first reported by Politico, we learned that the Biden White House is debating whether to issue a whole bunch of preemptive pardons to people perceived to be potential targets of Trumpian retaliation.

But the inconvenient truth is that anyone accepting such a pardon would essentially admit to the appearance of being guilty. That’s why Sen.-elect Adam Schiff says he doesn’t want a pardon and won’t accept one.

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But many of those potential recipients don’t even know they’re under consideration for sweeping pardons covering anything they may or may not have done.

It is a truly awful idea, and with Biden and Trump both agreeing that DOJ engages in unfair and selective prosecutions – which in the Republican’s case made his numbers go up – the stage is set for endless rounds of payback against each previous administration.

I remember first thinking about the unchecked power of presidential pardons when Bill Clinton delivered a last-minute one to ally and super-wealthy Marc Rich.

Former President Bill Clinton used his pardoning power to let off Marc Rich, an uber-wealthy ally of his. (Photo by Julia Beverly/Getty Images)

So it’s time to hear from Alexander Hamilton, who pushed it into the Constitution. Keep in mind that in that horse-and-buggy era, there were very few federal offenses because most law enforcement was done by the states.

In Federalist 74, published in 1788, Hamilton said a single person was better equipped than an unwieldy group, and such decisions should be broadly applied to help those in need.   

“In seasons of insurrection or rebellion,” the future Treasury secretary wrote, “there are often critical moments, when a welltimed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquillity of the commonwealth.”

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Otherwise, it might be too late.

But another founding father, George Mason, opposed him, saying a president “may frequently pardon crimes which were advised by himself. It may happen, at some future day, that he will establish a monarchy, and destroy the republic. If he has the power of granting pardons before indictment, or conviction, may he not stop inquiry and prevent detection?”

An excellent argument, but Hamilton won out.

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As Hamilton envisioned, George Washington, in 1794, granted clemency to leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion to calm a fraught situation.

Something tells me that Biden, Trump and their allies aren’t poring over the Federalist papers. But it’s still an awful lot of sweeping power to place in the hands of one chief executive, for which the only remedy is impeachment.

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined there was no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.

Patel served as senior counsel and a national security adviser on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for then-Chair Rep. Devin Nunes.

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“Kash was instrumental in unraveling the Russia collusion hoax and finding evidence of government malfeasance despite constant attempts by the FBI and DOJ to stonewall our investigation,” Nunes, who now chiefs Trump’s Truth Social site, told Fox News Digital. 

Kash Patel (Getty Images/File)

In July 2016, during the 2016 election cycle, the FBI launched an investigation into whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. That investigation, inside the bureau, was known as “Crossfire Hurricane.” 

By January 2017, then-FBI Director James Comey had notified Trump of a dossier, known as the Steele dossier, that contained salacious and unverified allegations about Trump’s purported coordination with the Russian government, a key document prompting the opening of the probe. 

The dossier was authored by Christopher Steele, an ex-British intelligence officer, and commissioned by Fusion GPS. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign hired Fusion GPS during the 2016 election cycle.

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It eventually was determined that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier through the law firm Perkins Coie.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over the “Crossfire Hurricane” probe and investigate whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election cycle.

James Comey (Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File)

While Mueller investigated, the HPSCI opened its own investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion. 

Patel, as chief investigator for Nunes, by February 2018 had discovered widespread government surveillance abuse, including improper surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. 

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“While most members of Congress were ready to ignore the unprecedented civil rights abuses against the Trump campaign and myself, Kash Patel’s training as a top public defender made him the perfect advocate for exposing one of the greatest election interference scandals of all time,” Page told Fox News Digital.

Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ’s and FBI’s surveillance of Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R- Calif. (AP/File)

Nunes and Patel revealed that the infamous anti-Trump dossier funded by Democrats “formed an essential part” of the application to spy on Page.

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The memo referred to closed-door testimony from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who said that “no surveillance warrant would have been sought” from the FISA court “without the Steele dossier information.”

But when applying for the FISA warrant, the FBI omitted the origins of the dossier, specifically its funding from Clinton, who was Trump’s 2016 presidential opponent.

The memo also said Steele, who worked as an FBI informant, was eventually cut off from the bureau for what the FBI described as the most serious of violations, “an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI.”

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The memo noted that the FBI and DOJ obtained “one initial FISA warrant” targeting Page and three FISA renewals from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The statute required that every 90 days a FISA order on an American citizen “must be reviewed.”

Carter Page (Reuters/File)

The memo revealed that Comey signed three FISA applications for Page, while McCabe, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente signed at least one.

The memo was widely criticized by Democrats but was ultimately correct.

The Justice Department inspector general, Michael Horowitz, reviewed the memo and confirmed the dossier served as the basis for the controversial FISA warrants obtained against Page.

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“The feds spied on Kash during the probe and ran information warfare against him, but Kash helped expose them anyway,” Nunes told Fox News Digital.

Nunes was referring to the Justice Department in November 2017 using grand jury subpoenas to secretly obtain the personal email and phone data for Patel and another Nunes staffer on the HPSCI as they were investigating FBI abuse and the Russia probe.

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House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to now-FBI Director Christopher Wray last year to investigate the improper surveillance of Patel. 

Meanwhile, Mueller completed his investigation in April 2019, which yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Robert Mueller (AP Newsroom/File)

Weeks later, then-Attorney General Bill Barr tapped then-U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham to serve as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe.

Durham in his report said the Justice Department and FBI “failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law” when it launched its original Trump-Russia probe.

John Durham (REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson/File)

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He also said in his report that the FBI “failed to act” on a “clear warning sign” that the bureau was the “target” of a Clinton-led effort to “manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes” ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 

Durham was referring to intelligence on a plan stirred up by Clinton’s presidential campaign in July 2016 to tie Trump to Russia in an effort to distract from the investigation into her use of a private email server and mishandling of classified information.

Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney said President-elect Trump floating jail time for her and other members of the Jan. 6 Committee “is a ​​continuation of his assault on the rule of law.” 

“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,” Cheney said in a response statement to Trump, which was provided to Fox Digital. “He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave.”

Cheney’s response follows Trump joining NBC’s “Meet the Press” for a pre-recorded interview that aired Sunday, where the president-elect railed that Cheney, committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and others “deleted and destroyed” evidence related to the Jan. 6 investigation and “should go to jail.”

“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in the interview. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.”

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Rep. Liz Cheney participates in the last public meeting of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Dec. 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

Cheney shot back in her statement that Jan. 6, 2021, “was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”

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The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House. 

The committee concluded its 18-month investigation last year, when Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to supporters breaching the Capitol. 

Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney during a meeting of the committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Getty Images)

The committee was composed of seven Democrats and two Republican lawmakers, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are no longer in office. 

Earlier this year, House Republicans released a report ​​alleging the select committee “deleted” records and hired “Hollywood producers” to promote a political narrative while investigating Jan. 6. 

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“For nearly two years, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6th Select Committee promoted hearsay and cherry-picked information to promote its political goal – to legislatively prosecute former President Donald Trump,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, said in a statement regarding the report in March. 

Former President Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Among its key findings, the report claimed that the select committee was designed “to promote a political narrative” and also asserted that it “deleted records and hid evidence” ahead of Republicans taking the House majority during the 2022 election cycle. 

“THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE – Reps. Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump‘s actions on January 6,” the report found. 

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Trump had repeatedly claimed that Cheney and others on the committee “deleted” evidence. Cheney slammed Loudermilk’s report at the time as a “cover up” for Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. 

“If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol, you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s,” she posted to X at the time. 

Cheney added in her statement this week that Trump’s claims of the committee destroying evidence are “ridiculous and false.” 

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Trump supporters occupy the West Front of the Capitol and the inauguration stands on Jan. 6, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson,” she continued. Cheney cited a July 2023 letter from Thompson to Loudermilk, refuting claims that evidence was destroyed, detailing that the committee had called on the federal government regarding the “proper archiving of such sensitive material to protect witnesses’ safety, national security, and to safeguard law enforcement operations.” 

 “There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct,” Cheney continued. 

Cheney added that materials from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump and the 2020 election should be preserved and made public. 

“The Justice Department should ensure that all that material is preserved and cannot be destroyed. As much of that information as possible should be disclosed in the special counsel’s upcoming report.”

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns with former Rep. Liz Cheney in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on Oct. 21, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

As Trump surged in popularity ahead of the 2024 election, Cheney joined forces with Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail to rally support for the Democratic ticket. 

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“I ask you to stand in truth. To reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump,” Cheney told the Harris supporters in Wisconsin ahead of the election. 

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As Biden’s term in office comes to an end, speculation has mounted that the 46th president could hand “preemptive pardons” to those viewed as Trump’s political foes, including Cheney, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and California Sen.-elect Adam Schiff. Cheney did not say whether she would accept such a pardon if offered one. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters he had a good meeting with President-elect Trump’s FBI pick, Kash Patel, on Monday and said he was “certainly inclined to support him, barring some unforeseen circumstances.”

“We still don’t know what Director Wray’s plans are, but, eventually, I assume that Mr. Patel will be confirmed as the next FBI director,” he said following the morning meeting. 

According to Cornyn, he and Patel spoke about “the importance of restoring the reputation of the FBI as a nonpartisan, law enforcement investigative agency.”

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Sen. John Cornyn and Kash Patel met on Monday in the Hart office building. (Reuters)

He noted that confidence in the FBI was eroded after former Director James Comey’s handling of the investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 

“That was fundamentally a wrong thing for the FBI director to do that, to [announce] prosecutorial decisions that should have been made by the attorney general,” Cornyn said of Comey, who claimed “that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case” against Clinton over her misuse of her email system. 

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Kash Patel and President-elect Trump (Getty Images)

“But of course, that continued when James Comey was fired and then went on to [a] retribution tour to get a special counsel appointed against President Trump.”

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Former FBI Director James Comey (Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The senator said, “No one should have to go through what President Trump was [put] through by a partisan Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI.”

“And my goal would be to restore the nonpartisan functioning of the chief law enforcement agency in the country, the FBI and the Department of Justice. To me, that is the goal. Mr. Patel said he shares that goal,” Cornyn claimed. 

Cornyn said he is inclined to support Patel. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Patel has been at the Capitol to meet with various senators and shore up support before Trump is inaugurated and officially makes his nominations. Other high-profile choices by Trump for additional roles have similarly been meeting with lawmakers with the same intentions. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, celebrated that he had a “great meeting” with Sen. Joni Ernst after the Iowa Republican slow-walked an endorsement of the Cabinet nominee. 

“It was a great meeting. People don’t really know this. I’ve known Sen. Ernst for over 10 years. I knew her when she was a state senator running to be the first female combat veteran,” Hegseth told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview Monday evening. “And we supported her in that effort, and have continued to.”

“You get into these meetings and you to listen to senators –  it’s an amazing advise and consent process — and you hear how thoughtful, serious, substantive they are on these key issues that pertain to our Defense Department,” he continued. “And Joni Ernst is front and center on that. So to able to have phone calls and meetings time and time again to talk over the issues is really, really important. The fact that she’s willing to support me through this process means a lot.”

AFTER SECOND MEETING WITH HEGSETH, ERNST HINTS AT WHETHER SHE WILL OR WON’T SUPPORT CONFIRMATION

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Defense Secretary, gives a thumbs-up as he walks with his wife Jennifer Hegseth, left, to meet with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Hegseth has been spending his days on Capitol Hill meeting with Republican senators to rally support as he battles allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and mismanaging a veterans nonprofit organization. Hegseth has denied the allegations and vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed to Trump’s cabinet.

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Among Hegseth’s meetings on Monday, he again met with Ernst, who sits on the ​​Senate Armed Services Committee, after meeting with her last week. 

Last week, Ernst withheld committing to voting in favor of Hegseth, but hinted Monday that she is beginning to support the Trump nominee. 

Ernst wrote in a statement Monday that “as I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

She added in her statement that “following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women – based on quality and standards, not quotas – and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth joins Fox News Sean Hannity.  (Fox News)

​​Trump nominated Hegseth, a former National Guard officer, as secretary of defense last month, saying “with Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.” Hegseth was a host on “Fox & Friends Weekend” before Trump’s nomination. 

Fox News Digital reported Sunday, following Ernst’s initial hesitation to support Hegseth, that Trump’s allies were expected to ramp up criticisms against her as she stalls on offering support to Trump’s secretary of defense pick.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP COMPILES LIST OF ‘WOKE’ SENIOR OFFICERS THEY WANT PETE HEGSETH TO FIRE

“It’s really this simple: If you oppose President Trump’s nominees, you oppose the Trump agenda and there will be a political price to pay for that. We are well aware that there are certain establishment Senators trying to tank the President’s nominees to make him look weak and damage him politically, and we’re just not going to allow that to happen,” a top Trump ally told Fox News Digital. 

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the U.S. Capitol on February 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Hegseth continued in his interview with Hannity that he will also meet with Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who Hannity identified as a pair of more liberal Republican senators compared to their colleagues. 

“We will be meeting with Sen. Collins on Wednesday and Sen. Murkowski on Tuesday. And let me tell you, Sean, the founders got this right. This is not a trivial process. This is a real thing: advise and consent of a nominee who the president has chosen. And I’m so grateful that President Trump would have the faith in me to lead the Defense Department, to choose me to do that. But this advise and consent process, meeting with all the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and they all have great questions, and my answers are for them,” Hegseth said. 

The SecDef nominee also pushed back on claims of impropriety during the interview, arguing “the left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media –  show trial –  and we’re not going to let that happen.”

“I’m going to walk into the door of every one of these senators with just, as an open book, willing to answer their questions, because they deserve answers. … I’ve heard great things about all of these senators and the questions they want to ask, and we look forward to earning these votes. That’s what it’s about, ultimately earning the votes through the committee and through the entire U.S. Senate,” he said. 

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife Jennifer Hegseth, as they walk through the basement of the Capitol, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

DOZENS OF PROMINENT VETERANS SIGN ONTO LETTER SUPPORTING ‘OUTSTANDING’ HEGSETH NOMINATION AMID CONTROVERSIES

Reports surfaced last week alleging Trump had lost faith in his nominee as Democrats slammed the choice and some Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, remarked the allegations against Hegseth were “disturbing.” Trump bucked the claims when he doubled down on his support of Hegseth in a Truth Social post on Friday, while Vice President-elect JD Vance also said the Trump team is “​​not abandoning this nomination.”

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. The rally, held in partnership with Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action, comes come two weeks after Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Harris held a rally at the same location.  (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

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​​”Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “He will be a fantastic, high ​​energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, praised women in the military as some of the “greatest warriors” after critics took issue with comments he made about women not being fit to serve in combat roles. 

“I also want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued, that I somehow don’t support women in the military, some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. 

Female service members “love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe. I’m not presuming anything,” he added. 

“But after President Trump asked me to be his Secretary of Defense, should I get the opportunity to do that, I look forward to being a secretary for all our warriors, men and women, for the amazing contributions they make in our military.”

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth joins Fox News’ Sean Hannity.  (Fox News)

Hegseth will spend this week meeting with senators on Capitol Hill to court the 50 votes he needs to secure the Cabinet level position. 

AFTER SECOND MEETING WITH HEGSETH, ERNST HINTS AT WHETHER SHE WILL OR WON’T SUPPORT CONFIRMATION

In a November 7 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast, which aired mere days before Hegseth, a former Fox News employee, was tapped to serve as Defense Secretary, the nominee said: “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”

Hegseth asserted that women serving in combat roles “hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal” and “has made fighting more complicated.”

Hegseth noted that he was not necessarily advocating for making the change right now, commenting; “Imagine the demagoguery in Washington, D.C., if you were actually making the case for, you know, ‘We should scale back women in combat.’”

Hegseth is attending meetings on Capitol Hill with senators whose vote he needs to be confirmed (Anna Moneymaker)

“As the disclaimer for everybody out there,” he added, “we’ve all served with women and they’re great, it’s just our institutions don’t have to incentivize that in places where … over human history, men are more capable.”

TRUMP RALLIES BEHIND HEGSETH BUT INVITES DESANTIS TO ARMY-NAVY GAME

He said, “I love women service members who contribute amazingly,” but asserted that “everything about women serving together makes the situation more complicated and complication in combat means casualties are worse.”

He also criticized the upper echelons of military leadership for changing standards and prioritizing filling diversity quotas above combat effectiveness. He pointed to a 2015 study by the Marine Corps that found that integrated male-female units did “drastically worse” in terms of combat effectiveness than all-male units.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, left, joined by his wife Jennifer Hegseth, attends a meeting with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP )

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“Between bone density and lung capacity and muscle strength, men and women are just different,” he said. “So, I’m ok with if you maintain the standards just where they are for everybody, and if there’s some, you know, hard-charging female that meets that standard, great, cool, join the infantry battalion. But that is not what’s happened. What has happened is the standards have lowered.”

Pro-life leaders are sounding off about the “serious and growing threat” of chemical abortion pills after President-elect Trump said he would not restrict access to the pills as president.

Abortion pills, also known as chemical abortion, are now the most common abortion method, accounting for over 60% of all U.S. abortions.

During an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” this past weekend, Trump was asked whether he would restrict abortion pill access via executive action.

Trump responded definitively that “the answer is no.”

TOP PRO-LIFE GROUPS REVEAL AGENDA FOR SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AMID ‘ABORTION FEARMONGERING’

Donald Trump said he planned to pardon the Jan. 6 protesters on day one. (Screenshot/NBC)

He added: “I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years,” that abortion is a state, not a federal issue.

Pressed whether he would commit to not restricting abortion pills, the president-elect said: “Well I commit” but noted circumstances may change.

“Do things change? I think they change,” he went on, pointing to how President Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden after repeatedly categorically committing otherwise. 

“I don’t like putting myself in a position like that,” he said. “So, things do change, but I don’t think it’s going to change at all.”

BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’

President Biden and his son Hunter Biden (Fox News)

Chemical abortion access was significantly expanded under the Biden administration, which permanently removed a requirement for the pills to be administered through in-person appointments and allowed the drugs to be delivered via mail or obtained at retail pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens.

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said “unregulated, mail-order abortion drugs are a serious and growing threat to women’s health and safety, as well as the lives of countless unborn children, all across this country.”

While she criticized the “reckless actions” of the Biden-Harris administration to expand abortion pill access, Dannenfelser said “no one who cares about the health and well-being of women can afford to ignore this issue.” 

Referring to the recent high-profile deaths of Amber Thurman, Candi Miller and Alyona Dixon due to abortion pill complications, Dannenfelser said “even the pro-abortion media can’t hide that these drugs are killing women and fueling dangerous new forms of domestic violence.”

SUPREME COURT PRESERVES FULL ACCESS TO MEDICAL ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE

Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, on March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, indicated she was optimistic about Trump seeing the danger of unrestricted chemical abortion access, telling Fox News Digital: “Many leaders are just now learning about how the pills harm women and the environment.”  

“We have a lot to talk about with the Trump-Vance administration,” Hawkins said, adding, “President Trump has shown himself to be a reasonable leader who makes decisions based on the best information available.”

“We hope to be agents of change, providing new information about how the changes made by the Biden-Harris administration on chemical abortion pill policy expose women to injury, infertility, and death, empowers abusers and allows for drinking water pollution through the flushing of medical waste,” she said. “So, we look forward to a frank discussion about what three Democratic Party presidents did to help their friends in Big Abortion Pharma. We can’t wait to give President Trump the new information he needs to act.” 

ABORTIONS SLIGHTLY DECLINED THE YEAR ROE V. WADE WAS OVERTURNED, CDC SAYS

SBA Pro-Life America says its voter contact program knocked on 4 million doors in swing states during the 2024 election. (SBA Pro-Life America)

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Meanwhile, Brian Burch, president of the conservative activism group “CatholicVote,” told Fox News Digital that Trump’s admission that “things do change,” signals “he would be open to addressing the overwhelming body of evidence that shows how harmful these drugs are to women.”

“Big Pharma has exploited far too many women for too long, and the abortion industry should not get a pass when it comes to drug protocols and evidence-based regulations,” he said. “Given President Trump’s pro-life record, together with the personnel he has nominated to key positions, we remain hopeful the new administration will take a serious look at these drugs and act accordingly.”

President-elect Trump on Sunday nominated Harmeet K. Dhillon as the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department.

Trump said Dhillon has consistently protected civil liberties throughout her career, including taking on Big Tech for censoring free speech, representing Christians who were not allowed to pray together during the COVID-19 pandemic, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their employees.

“Harmeet is one of the top election lawyers in the country, fighting to ensure that all, and ONLY, legal votes are counted,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia Law School and clerked in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“Harmeet is a respected member of the Sikh religious community,” he added. “In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws FAIRLY and FIRMLY.”

GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR?

Harmeet Dhillon (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Trump also wrote in a separate post that Mark Paoletta will return as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget.

In the role, Trump said, Paoletta will work closely with the Department of Government Efficiency to cut the size of “our bloated government bureaucracy and root out wasteful and anti-American spending.”

Trump called Paoletta a brilliant and tenacious lawyer, crediting him with working to advance his agenda in the first term, while leading the charge to find funding to build a wall at the southern border.

TRUMP NAMES ALINA HABBA AS COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT; REVEALS SEVERAL STATE DEPARTMENT PICKS

Mark Paoletta (Mark Paoletta)

Mark is a partner at the law firm Shaerr Jaffe LLP and a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America.

“Mark has served as a Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations in Congress for a decade and was a key lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office to confirm Justice Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991,” Trump wrote. “Mark is a conservative warrior who knows the ‘ins and outs’ of Government – He will help us, Make America Great Again!”

And finally, Trump announced that KC Crosbie is running to become the next co-chair of the Republican National Committee to replace Lara Trump.

TRUMP NOMINATES FORMER WISCONSIN REP. SEAN DUFFY FOR SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

Lara Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

“Lara, together with Chairman Michael Whatley, transformed the RNC into a lean, focused, and powerful machine that is empowering the MAGA Movement for many years to come,” the president-elect said. “Thank you for your hard work, Lara, in MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The incoming president also said Crosbie has helped “real” Republicans get elected across the U.S. and would make a tremendous co-chair.

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“KC will work on continuing to ensure a highly functioning, fiscally responsible, and effective RNC that makes Election Integrity a highest priority,” Trump said. “KC Crosbie has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Co-Chair of the RNC!”

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening…

-Biden breaks Obama record for filling Federal Registers…

-Elon Musk and Ron Paul agree on cutting foreign aid…

-Laura Trump resigns from RNC as rumors of a Senate run swirl…

‘MOVE ON’

Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley doubled down that he believes Christopher Wray has failed his “fundamental duties” as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing he has “no confidence” in Wray’s continued leadership over the agency. 

“For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I’ve spent my career fighting for transparency, and I’ve always called out those in government who have fought against it,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, referring also to the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate. “For the public record, I must do so once again now.”

Grassley went on to say he “must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures,” Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued…Read more

White House

‘GOVT KNOWS BEST’: Biden breaks Obama record for filling Federal Register with most regulations …Read more

‘LEADING BY EXAMPLE’: White House responds to intraparty criticism about Biden’s final days …Read more

THWARTING THE ENEMY: Pentagon announces new counter-drone strategy as unmanned attacks on US interests skyrocket …Read more

CEDING THE FLOOR: Progressive Dems rage at Biden for giving Trump the spotlight during final weeks in office …Read more

‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’: Biden updates the nation following fall of Syrian Assad regime …Read more

Trump Transition

‘SERIOUS AND GROWING THREAT’: Pro-life groups sound off after Trump says he will not restrict abortion pills: ‘Serious and growing threat’ …Read more

PRESSURE CAMPAIGN: Elon Musk joins Trump allies in House GOP pressure campaign over social media bill …Read more

‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’: Cheney responds to Trump suggesting jail time for J6 committee members …Read more

‘INTEGRITY CANNOT BE FOLDED’: Hundreds of vets back Tulsi Gabbard for DNI …Read more

Capitol Hill

ROAD TO FBI: John Cornyn ‘inclined’ to back Trump FBI pick Kash Patel after Senate meeting …Read more

‘BIASED,’ ‘WRONG’: Top Dem objects to defense bill banning funds for transgender medical care for minors …Read more

BIG APPLE SHOWDOWN: House Dem’s torrent of attacks against own party fuels primary showdown buzz …Read more

‘NOT WRONG’: Elon Musk agrees with Ron Paul’s call to ‘ELIMINATE foreign aid’ …Read more

Trail Dust

SENATOR TRUMP?: Lara Trump announces she is stepping down as RNC co-chair amidst talk she may be up for Florida Senate seat …Read more

EARLY START: Dem senators-elect start weeks in advance by filling vacancies in CA, NJ …Read more

Across America

‘SANITY IS RETURNING’: ‘Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day’ leaves folks looking forward to Trump …Read more

BAD FOR BUSINESS: Execs scramble for security after UnitedHealthcare CEO murder: experts …Read more

‘DIPLOMATIC’: Trump’s tariff threats are tools in Trump’s ‘war chest’ to advance U.S. interests …Read more

END OF AN ERA: Hunter Biden: A look at how the saga spanning over six years unfolded …Read more

WINNING SCENT: Trump releases new fragrances in ad featuring first lady : ‘They represent us WINNING’ …Read more

HISTORIC OFFENSIVE: Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the terror leader at the center of Assad’s fall? …Read more

WHY TRUMP WON: Donald Trump says this is the reason he won last month’s presidential election …Read more

RESISTING THE LAW: Blue state attorney general advises state officials on how to resist ‘draconian’ Trump deportations …Read more

‘DERAILING’ MIGRANT CRIME: Report offers roadmap to defeat Tren de Aragua in US cities …Read more

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate and a member of the Armed Services Committee, has signaled toward supporting President-elect Trump’s nominee for defense secretary.

After meeting on Monday for a second time with Pete Hegseth, Ernst wrote in a statement that “as I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

An Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who until last month was a longtime Fox News host, Hegseth has been the focus of a slew of reports spotlighting a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. 

Hegseth has denied allegations that he mistreated women and has vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed as defense secretary. A separate report showcased allegations Hegseth mismanaged a veterans nonprofit organization that he once led.

TRUMP RALLIES BEHIND HEGSETH BUT INVITES DESANTIS TO ARMY-NAVY GAME

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, walks with his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, left, to meet with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, of the Armed Services Committee at the Capitol on Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Ernst, a conservative lawmaker first elected to the Senate in 2014, is considered a pivotal vote in the confirmation battle over Hegseth, who in the past has questioned the role of women in combat.

The senator is also a survivor of sexual assault who has a strong legislative record of addressing sexual assault and harassment in the military.

She said in her statement that “following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women – based on quality and standards, not quotas – and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”

TRUMP ORBIT RAMPS UP CRITICISM OF ERNST OVER HEGSETH NOMINATION

Ernst’s office told Fox News on Monday that “the senator has consistently followed the process, which she has said since the beginning, and doing her job as a United States senator.”

After meeting with Hegseth last week, Ernst said in a social media post that she and Trump’s defense secretary nominee had a “frank and thorough” conversation. 

A day later, when asked in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” if she wasn’t ready to vote to confirm Hegseth, the senator replied, “I think you are right.”

Ahead of his second meeting with the senator, Hegseth told Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, “I’m really looking forward to meeting with Sen. Ernst. I appreciate her. I respect her background and her service. She’s incredible. And the ongoing conversation has been very fruitful.”

Over the past few days, a high-profile Trump ally has threatened to fuel a primary challenge against Ernst when she’s up for re-election in 2026.

“This is the red line. This is not a joke. … The funding is already being put together. Donors are calling like crazy. Primaries are going to be launched,” said Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative activist and radio and TV host who co-founded and steers Turning Point USA.

GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR?

Kirk, on his radio program, warned that “if you support the president’s agenda, you’re good. You’re marked safe from a primary. You go up against Pete Hegseth, the president repeatedly, then don’t be surprised, Joni Ernst, if all of a sudden you have a primary challenge in Iowa.”

In Iowa, conservative commentator and media personality Steve Deace took to social media and used his radio program to highlight that he would consider launching a primary challenge against Ernst.

“Defeating an incumbent US Senator takes high name ID, connections, and funding potential,” Deace wrote. “I’m one of the few people in Iowa with all three.”

Deace, who supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in this year’s Iowa GOP presidential caucus, said, “I don’t want to be a Senator, but I am willing to primary her for the good of the cause if I’m assured I have Trump’s support going in. Or I am willing to throw my support and network behind someone else President Trump prefers to primary Joni Ernst instead.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a top Trump supporter in the Iowa caucuses, wrote a column on Breitbart urging Hegseth’s confirmation.

While she didn’t mention Ernst by name, Bird took aim at “D.C. politicians” who “think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/File)

David Kochel, a veteran GOP consultant who was a key strategist and early backer of Ernst during her successful 2014 Senate campaign, told Fox News that “Joni Ernst is doing what the Constitution says what her job is, which is advise and consent.”

“I think that everybody should just give her the space to do her job, and making threats to a combat veteran usually doesn’t work out great,” Kochel said.

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Trump has praised Hegseth in the past few days.

“Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News,” the president-elect wrote on Friday.

But Fox News and other news organizations have reported that Trump is potentially considering nominating DeSantis as defense secretary as a possible replacement should Hegseth’s nomination falter.

Ernst’s name has also come up as a possible replacement.

But the senator said last week in an interview with RealClearPolitics that “I am not seeking to be secretary of defense.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Tyler Olson and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is looking for answers from the FBI after President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the bureau was reportedly targeted by Iranian hackers. 

“For an Iranian-backed group to have targeted the potential next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is extremely alarming,” the North Carolina senator wrote in a Monday letter to FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “Also alarming is the speed at which sensitive and potentially classified information about this attack spread to the news media.”

JOHN CORNYN ‘INCLINED’ TO BACK TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL AFTER SENATE MEETING

Thom Tillis, left, questioned the FBI over a reported cyberattack on Kash Patel, right, and how quickly the media knew about it. (Reuters)

It was reported by several outlets last week that Kash Patel, who Trump has chosen to be his nominee for FBI director in his new administration, was the target of an Iranian hacking attempt.

DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS APPOINT INCOMING CALIFORNIA, NEW JERSEY SENATORS 3 WEEKS EARLY

In response to reports of the hack attempt, Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital, “Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director.” 

LARA TRUMP ANNOUNCES SHE IS STEPPING DOWN AS RNC CO-CHAIR AMID TALK SHE MAY BE UP FOR FLORIDA SENATE SEAT

Patel has been meeting with senators on Capitol Hill. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)

In his letter, Tillis pointed to various law enforcement sources that apparently communicated with news publications. 

“As you know, it is imperative that the FBI and other intelligence agencies maintain confidentiality to ensure the American people are safe from enemies at home and abroad. The release of this information raises major national security and personal safety concerns,” he wrote.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP COMPILES LIST OF ‘WOKE’ SENIOR OFFICERS THEY WANT PETE HEGSETH TO FIRE

Tillis, above, questioned Abbate on how information got out. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

The Republican asked Abbate a series of questions, including whether FBI employees shared information about the cyberattack with either the media or with third parties that could’ve given it to the media.

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The FBI told Fox News Digital that it received the letter but had no further comment.

Patel has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill and meeting with senators as he looks to shore up support before Trump is inaugurated in January.

A new report released by the Heritage Foundation offers the first comprehensive English language look at the massive Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) whose cruel exploits in the U.S. have been making national headlines.

The verdict? According to the report’s author, Joseph Humire, the threat America faces from Tren de Aragua is much worse than most people think.

Titled “Derailing the Tren de Aragua,” the report offers U.S. leaders a starting point to understand the violent criminal organization that it says was “honed and perfected inside Venezuelan prison walls then exported throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

Humire told Fox News Digital that he hopes the report will give the incoming Trump administration a starting point on how to respond to and dismantle the TdA before it can continue to grow more roots within U.S. borders.

EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’

Migrants enter the U.S. in Lukeville, Ariz. (Fox News)

“The TdA is unique among criminal organizations because it has an ideology associated with it,” Humire said in the report. “Now that the TdA is already present in America, to fix this, a proper understanding of the TdA is necessary to detect their motives, tactics, and overall strategy of organized crime.”

What is Tren de Aragua?

Humire, who is director of the Center for a Secure and Free Society and a Heritage Foundation fellow, told Fox News Digital that the first thing to understand about Tren de Aragua is that it is much more than a gang. Rather, it is an organized international terrorist effort backed by some of America’s worst enemies to sow chaos and destabilize the U.S.

Born from a Venezuelan prison more than a decade ago, Tren de Aragua, which means “Train from Aragua,” burst into the national consciousness in 2023 after reports of members of the group holding an entire apartment building hostage in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.  

Since then, reports of violent crimes by Tren de Aragua members have spread like wildfire, including the high-profile murders of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston.

AMERICANS WILL BE ‘TARGETED’ AS TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS MULTIPLY ACROSS US, EXPERT WARNS

José Antonio Ibarra, an illegal migrant from Venezuela, was recently convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. (File)

American media coverage and politicians have cast Tren de Aragua as a group of simple thugs and criminals. However, Humire’s report emphasizes that Tren de Aragua is a state-sponsored transnational criminal organization sponsored by and embedded in the Venezuelan socialist government.

Rather than working to detect and deter criminals and terror, Humire said that key aspects of the Venezuelan government help facilitate TdA’s operations, not only within Venezuela but throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

With the backing of the Venezuelan government, he said TdA has an intentional “invasion ideology” that is bent on achieving territorial control of neighborhoods and regions in a matter of weeks rather than the yearslong process taken by most gangs and transnational criminal organizations.

‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: MEDIA, GOVERNMENT DOWNPLAYING VENEZUELAN GANGS, SAYS WOMAN WHO FLED HER COLORADO APARTMENT

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix/File)

Why is Tren de Aragua spreading across the US?

While many comparisons have been drawn between Tren de Aragua and the El Salvadoran gang La Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13), TdA is expanding much more quickly, which Humire said is likely due to its unique origin and state sponsorship in Venezuela.

He also alleged that TdA’s rapid expansion in the United States is a “direct consequence of the Biden–Harris Administration’s failed immigration policies and lack of border enforcement.”

The Biden Cuban, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans parole program and the Venezuelan parole program before it have made it so that in many cases Venezuelan migrants are being waved into the country en masse with little to no vetting. Because of these policies, the Venezuelan population in the U.S. has grown by nearly 1 million – 520.8% – becoming the fastest-growing nationality in the U.S. since 2021.

The result has been that though TdA is new to the U.S., it now has a presence in more than 30 major U.S. cities and at least 100 federal investigations involving the group are underway, as the report puts it, “catching most of the U.S. law enforcement community by surprise.”

COLORADO REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT SURGE ON CITIZENS: ‘THEIR SOULS ARE CRUSHED’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced the state is going to target a Venezuelan gang that he said is notorious for brutal violence and murder and poses a threat to Texans’ safety. (X/@GregAbbott_TX)

How to ‘derail’ the train

In the first 100 days of his new administration, Humire said Trump should follow the example set by Texas’ efforts to root out the gang by delivering on his promise to launch an “Operation Aurora” to take a “whole-of-government approach” that uses federal resources within the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the military to complement state-led law enforcement efforts as well as partner with Latin American allies to hit TdA from every angle.

“It is believed that the main TdA leaders have not yet arrived in America, meaning time is of the essence to take preventive measures,” says the report.

Humire said the Trump Department of Homeland Security should immediately label TdA a transnational terror group and mark Venezuelan migrants as “special interest aliens.” This designation would reverse the Biden administration’s policy of waving in Venezuelan migrants and instead allow U.S. immigration officials to more properly vet Venezuelan migrants.

Though this may sound controversial, Humire said it’s something that would not only better protect American citizens in the interior but also legitimize asylum seekers fleeing Venezuela.

TEXAS HAS SPENT MILLIONS PLACING RAZOR WIRE ALONG BORDER: IS IT WORKING?

A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico on Sept. 27, 2023, in Eagle Pass. (John Moore/Getty Images)

“This is really meant to protect the Venezuelan migrants because just because you come from one of those countries,” he said. “Most Venezuelan migrants will actually agree with this because they don’t want to be infiltrated by Tren de Aragua, and all Venezuelan migrants know how brutal and dangerous Tren de Aragua truly is.”

What will Trump do?

Humire said there are already positive signs from the Trump transition that the president-elect is serious about his promise to dismantle TdA.

“I think that appointing the border czar so early in the transition process was a clear signal that that’s one of the top, if not the top priority of the new Trump administration,” he said. “And Tom Homan, who was appointed as the border czar, is very well aware of this gang Tren de Aragua and all of the transnational criminal organizations that are undermining American sovereignty.”

Donald Trump (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP/File)

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He also said that some of Trump’s key Cabinet appointments, such as Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Rep. Michael Waltz for national security adviser, is evidence of a whole-of-government approach in which people in the administration realize that TdA “could be a big problem unless we nip it at the bud immediately.”

“This is something that the Biden administration could have done. They had all the tools necessary to do that, but they missed the key ingredient, which is political will,” he said. “So, the political will in the new administration to tackle this issue is very high, going from the president down to his appointees and all throughout.”

Allies of President-elect Trump are pressuring House leaders to take up legislation overhauling how social media companies deal with users under 18 – but time is running short with just two weeks left in this congressional term.

Elon Musk is among the figures in Trump’s orbit pushing for the legislation, and his company X has been involved in talks on reshaping the bill to alleviate concerns about some provisions. 

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this year in a 91-3 vote. It hit a snag in the House of Representatives, however, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., have both expressed reservations.

House leaders were worried the bill would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) too much power, and that it could open the door to censorship of certain viewpoints.

ELON MUSK AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY AGREE ON ‘NEED TO SCRUTINIZE’ US FUNDING FOR NGOS

Elon Musk is one of the Trump allies pushing House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, to hold a House vote on the Kids Online Safety Act. (Getty Images)

“When X testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last January, we committed to working with Congress on child safety legislation. We’ve heard the pleas of parents and youth advocates who seek sensible guardrails across online platforms, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) addresses that need. After working with the bill authors, I’m proud to share that we’ve made progress to further protect freedom of speech while maintaining safety for minors online,” Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, wrote on the platform this weekend.

“We urge Congress and the House to pass the Kids Online Safety Act this year.”

Musk wrote in response, “Protecting kids should always be priority #1.”

Donald Trump Jr., also sounded off Sunday, “We can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech. It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP.”

“KOSA is the right thing to do to protect our kids from dangerous online content – while still preserving free speech. Let’s pass this commonsense legislation now!” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, also chimed in.

The bill’s leaders, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., thanked Musk and Yaccarino in their own statement.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER OPEN TO ‘BIPARTISAN COOPERATION’ IN ELON MUSK’S DOGE PLANS

‘We can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech. It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP,’ Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

“These changes should eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said. “We appreciate that this endorsement and revised text reflects their publicly stated goal of furthering free speech without fear of censorship. We reiterate X’s call to pass KOSA by the end of the year – it is clear that this legislation has overwhelming support from Congress.”

Fox News Digital reached out to both Scalise and Johnson’s offices for comment on the most recent version of the bill and on the Trump allies’ push.

When asked last week whether there could be a KOSA vote this month, Scalise told Fox News Radio, “We still are working through some of the problems that give power to, for example, to an unelected bureaucrat who’s under investigation for abuse of power.”

Johnson told Punchbowl News in October that some details of the bill were “problematic.”

At least one senior House GOP aide who spoke with Fox News Digital is not optimistic that much can be done in the last two weeks Congress has in Washington this year, however. 

When asked what the odds were of KOSA getting a House-wide vote this month, the aide bluntly responded via text: “0.”

GOP SENATOR ANNOUNCES ‘DOGE ACTS’ TO BACK MUSK, RAMASWAMY GOVERNMENT COST-CUTTING OBJECTIVES

Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal led the legislation in the upper chamber. (Associated Press)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.

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KOSA is one of the most significant social media safety bills passed by the Senate in years.

It would put the onus on social media companies to prevent and mitigate potential harm that could be caused to users under age 17.

The bill would also force platforms to block addictive components for minor users and make it easier for minors to protect their information, among other measures.

Fox News Radio’s Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.

Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley doubled down that he believes Christopher Wray has failed his “fundamental duties” as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing he has “no confidence” in Wray’s continued leadership over the agency. 

“For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I’ve spent my career fighting for transparency, and I’ve always called out those in government who have fought against it,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, referring also to the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate. “For the public record, I must do so once again now.”

Grassley went on to say he “must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures,” Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued. 

The longtime Republican senator’s letter comes as Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, headed to Capitol Hill on Monday to meet with lawmakers, including Grassley, and rally support for his confirmation. 

WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’

Sen. Chuck Grassley in the U.S. Capitol after the Senate luncheons on Sept. 24, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Before the Senate could potentially confirm Patel as FBI chief under the second Trump administration, Wray would need to step down or be fired, as he is in the midst of a 10-year appointment that does not end until 2027. 

Grassley’s lengthy letter to Wray, which spans 11 pages, detailed specific examples of Wray’s “failures​​” as FBI director, which Grassley said “shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you.” The Iowa senator previously argued that Wray has “failed” as FBI director in a social media message posted one day after Trump nominated Patel as FBI chief. 

TRUMP NOMINATES KASH PATEL TO SERVE AS FBI DIRECTOR: ‘ADVOCATE FOR TRUTH’

Grassley pointed to the FBI’s “unprecedented raid” of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 regarding classified documents as an example of Wray’s failures. The Republican senator noted the raid included about 30 armed agents who were authorized to “​​use lethal force if needed” in order to execute the search warrant. 

The agents “even searched the former First Lady’s clothing drawers,” Grassley continued. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives for a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it. President Trump apparently was cooperating with the investigation, notwithstanding liberal press reports. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the FBI’s drastic escalation,” Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid “even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL, IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY DON’T BUY BIDEN ‘SPIN’ ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA

He also hit the FBI for acting as an “accomplice to the Democrats’ false information campaign designed to undermine my investigation of alleged Biden-family corruption.”

“On August 6, 2020, as Senator Ron Johnson and I were finishing our report on the Biden family’s financial connections to foreign governments and questionable foreign nationals, you succumbed to pressure from Democrats in Congress and provided an unnecessary briefing that Democratic leadership requested in an effort to falsely label our investigation as Russian disinformation.” 

FBI HAS LONG BEEN ACCUSED OF POLITICIZATION AHEAD OF DEM CONCERN OVER KASH PATEL NOMINATION

“That briefing consisted of information we already knew and information that wasn’t connected to our Biden investigation. We made clear at the time our concern that the briefing would be subject to a leak that would shed false light on the focus of our investigation. Predictably, on May 1, 2021, the Washington Post did just that, falsely labeling our investigation as Russian disinformation,” he continued. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 6, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

He added that the FBI “sat on bribery allegations” against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian officials. 

“Consistent with that FBI failure, yet another glaring example of FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump. You’ve repeatedly claimed you would ensure the FBI does justice, ‘free of fear, favor, or partisan influence.’ The FBI under your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it,” he wrote. 

Grassley argued that under Wray’s leadership, the FBI has also shown an “​​outright disdain for congressional oversight,” including failure to provide lawmakers with information related to the “​FBI’s ongoing mishandling of sexual harassment claims” made by female employees. 

“This request was not pulled out of a hat. It was based on credible whistleblower disclosures alleging hundreds of FBI employees had retired or resigned to avoid accountability for sexual misconduct,” Grassley wrote. 

The FBI also “refused” to provide information to lawmakers regarding the vetting process of Afghan nationals amid the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the nation in 2021, Grassley added. The FBI also came under fire from Grassley for “refusing to provide information to Congress on the FBI’s ‘Richmond memo,’” which has become known as the anti-Catholic memo for depicting traditional Catholics as violent extremists. 

TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL SHOULD TAKE THESE CONCRETE STEPS TO RESTORE TRUST: FORMER SPECIAL AGENT

FBI Director Christopher Wray and Sen. Chuck Grassley (Getty Images)

“Your and Deputy Director Abbate’s failure to take control of the FBI has hindered my work and others’ work throughout multiple Congresses on matters that needed timely information, and has prevented the truth on some issues from ever reaching the American people. You’ve also shown a continuing double standard and failure to carry through on promises,” Grassley wrote in his letter.

When asked about Grassley’s letter, the FBI told Fox News Digital that “the FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.”

“Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI.”

TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS

Trump joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” for an interview that aired Sunday, where the president-elect also slammed Wray and said the “FBI’s respect has gone way down over the last number of years.”

“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump said during the interview. 

Kash Patel is a longtime Trump ally and crusader against the “deep state.” (Kash Patel headshot)

“I certainly can not be happy with him. Take a look at what’s happened. And then when I was shot in the ear, he said, maybe it was shrapnel. Where’s the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming from heaven? I don’t think so. So we need somebody to – you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI. But the FBI’s respect has gone way down over the last number of years,” Trump continued. 

Wray has not revealed whether he will voluntarily step down as FBI director, with Trump expected to fire Wray in order to make room for Patel as FBI director. 

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Patel is a longtime Trump ally and crusader against the “deep state,” who has advocated for the firings of  “corrupt actors” within the FBI, “aggressive” congressional oversight over the agency, complete overhauls to special counsels, and moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Grassley’s letter, but did not immediately receive responses. 

California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta has joined a growing list of Democratic leaders vowing to resist President-elect Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan’s plans for mass deportations.

Last week, Bonta issued new guidance to courthouses, healthcare facilities, universities, schools, labor agencies, public libraries and shelters, requiring state-run agencies to adopt policies to resist Trump’s “draconian” and “inhumane” immigration enforcement actions.

“My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants – and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same,” Bonta said. “We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services.” 

BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

California Attorney General Rob Bonta. (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

According to California’s AG office, the guidance lays out model policies and recommendations that “guide public institutions in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities.”

“In California, we believe our public resources, like libraries, hospitals, courthouses and schools should be available for all without fear of civil immigration enforcement,” Bonta said during a press event announcing the guidance. “The model policies we’re issuing to public facilities … provide policy recommendations that may mitigate disruptions from immigration enforcement actions at public institutions.”

The guidance refers state agencies to a 2017 law called the “California Values Act” that the AG office said, “prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from assisting with immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions.”

BLUE STATE GOVERNORS SCORNED AFTER SENDING WARNINGS TO TRUMP: ‘THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH’ THIS

Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on June 13, 2024 in San Diego. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

Bonta’s guidance includes prohibiting the “unauthorized” collection or disclosure of information that “might indicate an individual’s or family’s citizenship or immigration status,” as well as instituting a policy of always referring federal law enforcement officials to a designated person who will “have the authority to respond to immigration enforcement-related requests.”

“I want to emphasize that the California DOJ is here to protect immigrants’ safety, immigrants’ freedoms and immigrants’ rights,” said Bonta. “Let me be clear, President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda is draconian and his rhetoric, xenophobic.”

Bonta, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines with his parents at 2 months old, also said that Trump’s deportation plan is “fiscally irresponsible.” He called immigrants “the backbone of our nation.”

1.4 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN US HAVE BEEN ORDERED DEPORTED, BUT HAVE YET TO BE REMOVED: OFFICIAL

A group of adult and child migrants are smuggled across the Tijuana-San Diego border as they climb the wall to seek asylum to the United States in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on June 7, 2024. (Carlos Moreno/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Kevin McCarthy, former speaker of the House and congressman from California, told Fox News that California politicians like Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom are costing California taxpayers huge sums by making the state a “magnet” for illegal immigrants.

“He’ll give them free healthcare, I mean, he denies California citizens certain things but not to those who come illegally that’s why we attract so many and it’s costing a great deal, we have a huge deficit in California,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy said that Bonta’s actions are an attempt to “make a name for himself” in Democratic politics despite concerns over illegal immigration and violent crime by illegal migrants playing a major role in Trump’s retaking of the White House in 2024.

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

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“These attorneys general should take a deep breath, listen to what the American public said and understand that immigration was one of the major reasons why Donald Trump won, and it wasn’t a Republican issue, [it was] Republican and Democrat too,” he said.

He pointed to the election of Nathan Hochman as Los Angeles County District Attorney, who he said was “overwhelmingly elected because we watched the crime go rampant.”

“As attorney general, your job is to protect your citizens. Why wouldn’t you want these gang members, I mean these are ruthless gang members and these have been running the drugs of fentanyl that have been killing your children, why wouldn’t you want them out? I would think that would be your job without having the president do it,” said McCarthy. “People want to see something else happen, especially from this attorney general.”

The Pentagon unveiled a new counter-drone strategy after a spate of incursions near U.S. bases prompted concerns over a lack of an action plan for the increasing threat of unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Though much of the strategy remains classified, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will implement a new counter-drone office within the Pentagon – Joint Counter-Small UAS Office – and a new Warfighter Senior Integration Group, according to a new memo. 

The Pentagon will also begin work on a second Replicator initiative, but it will be up to the incoming Trump administration to decide whether to fund this plan. The first Replicator initiative worked to field inexpensive, dispensable drones to thwart drone attacks by adversarial groups across the Middle East and elsewhere.  

The memo warned that the increased use of unmanned systems must reshape U.S. tactics, as they make it easier for adversaries to “surveil, disrupt and attack our forces … potentially without attribution.” 

A drone is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran. (/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY)

US SCRAMBLES AS DRONES SHAPE THE LANDSCAPE OF WAR: ‘THE FUTURE IS HERE’

The plan outlines a five-pronged approach: deepening understanding of enemy drones, launching offensive campaigns to thwart their ability to build such systems, improving “active and passive” defenses to such attacks, rapid increase of production of counter-drone systems and making counter-drone focus a top priority for future force development. 

For the past year, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been using small, one-way unmanned aerial systems to strike western shipping routes in the Red Sea. 

That has led to perilous waters along a trade route that typically sees some $1 trillion in goods pass through it, as well as shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and the Yemeni people. 

Some experts have deemed the U.S. response inadequate in deterring the Houthis from inflicting billions of dollars worth of damage to the global economy. 

Additionally, the cost of U.S. response to such attacks is disproportionate. While the Houthi drones are estimated to cost around $2,000 each, the naval missiles the U.S. fires back can run around $2 million a shot. 

In September, Houthis took out two U.S. Reaper drones in a week, machinery that costs around $30 million a piece. 

Deadly drone strikes have also been launched by both sides in Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

“Unmanned systems pose both an urgent and enduring threat to U.S. personnel, facilities, and assets overseas,” the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday announcing the strategy. 

“By producing a singular Strategy for Countering Unmanned Systems, the Secretary and the Department are orienting around a common understanding of the challenge and a shared approach to addressing it.”

A UJ-22 Airborne (UkrJet) reconnaissance drone, bought in the frame of the program “The Army of Drones,” readies to land during a test flight in the Kyiv region. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Three U.S. service members were killed in a drone strike in January in Jordan. Experts warned the U.S. lacks a clear counter-drone procedure after 17 unmanned vehicles traipsed into restricted airspace over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia last December. 

IRAN HIDING MISSILE, DRONE PROGRAMS UNDER GUISE OF COMMERCIAL FRONT TO EVADE SANCTIONS

The mystery drones swarmed for more than two weeks. Lack of a standard protocol for such incursions left Langley officials unsure of what to do – other than allow the 20-foot-long drones to hover near their classified facilities. 

Houthis have shot down U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones, like the one pictured here. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

Langley is home to some of the nation’s most vital top secret facilities and the F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. 

Two months prior to Langley, in October 2023, five drones flew over the Energy Department’s Nevada National Security Site, used for nuclear weapons experiments. U.S. authorities were not sure who was behind those drones either. 

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A Chinese surveillance balloon traversed over the U.S. for a week last year before the Air Force shot it down off the coast.

The Air Force’s Plant 42 in California, home to highly classified aerospace development, has also seen a slew of unidentified drone incursions in 2024, prompting flight restrictions around the facility.