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President-elect Trump is in Europe this weekend for his first overseas trip since his commanding victory in last month’s presidential election.

Trump will meet with Emmanuel Macron after the French president invited him to attend Saturday’s star-studded VIP event for the official reopening of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire wrecked the centuries-old Paris landmark.

First Lady Jill Biden will also attend the ceremonies, but it’s Trump who will be holding court with world leaders.

The president-elect’s appearance will serve as Trump’s unofficial return to the global stage, and it is another reminder that he is quickly becoming the center of the world’s attention.

TRUMP RETURNING TO EUROPE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE ELECTION

“This is without question a major moment in French history and the fact that Macron wanted to share it with Trump speaks to the significance of what Trump is achieving even before he gets to the Oval Office again, said Brett Bruen, a public affairs and strategic communications veteran, and former U.S. diplomat who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

“He is being feted quite literally in Paris with all the glitz and glamour,” Bruen, president of the Global Situation Room, added.

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And Bruen and other analysts give credit to Macron for inviting Trump to this weekend’s festivities.

“This is a really smart move by Macron to get things rolling in the right direction when it comes to U.S.-French relations under Trump,” he said. “But let’s also not forget the fact that Macron is both badly weakened in his own country and on the European continent…[Macron] may see in Trump an opportunity to restore his lost luster as the European leader who can most effectively engage with the new American president.”

Trump has taken a slew of calls in the weeks since the November election from international leaders congratulating him on his White House victory. 

The trip to Paris comes a week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hastily made an unannounced stop in Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump after the president-elect threatened a trade war with Canada and Mexico. 

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Trump argued that Canada had failed to prevent large amounts of drugs and undocumented people from crossing the northern border into the U.S. and also pointed to America’s massive trade deficit with Canada.

According to reporting from Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump suggested to Trudeau that Canada could become the 51st state.

Trump has also weighed in recently on a number of international conflicts. In the volatile Middle East, the president-elect warned this week in a social media post that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas does not release all the hostages held in Gaza before he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

News of Trump’s invitation to Paris came earlier this week as President Biden was on a history-making trip to Angola, as he became the first American president to visit the sub-Saharan African nation.

But Biden, likely on his last overseas trip before Trump takes over in the White House next month, is already being overshadowed on the world stage by his predecessor and successor.

“While President-elect [Trump] is still weeks away from taking the oath of office, loyalties and the attention of world leaders has shifted to the incoming President and from Washington to Mar-a-lago with breathtaking speed,” Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College, told Fox News.

Matt Mowers, a veteran GOP national public affairs strategist and former diplomat at the State Department during Trump’s first administration, made the case that “Biden’s essentially been a lame duck” for months and that “world leaders have been shifting their gaze to the next administration.

While members of the Biden White House would likely disagree with such sentiments – especially after the current administration played a large role in hammering out the cease-fire that halted fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah – it is undeniable that world leaders have already started to engage directly with the incoming president and administration.

While the spotlight traditionally shifts from the outgoing to the incoming president, Mowers argued that “it is more pronounced this time because the difference in the Biden and Trump approach to foreign policy is so different.”

Mowers emphasized that Trump is already aiming “to shape world events” by “being bold, not timid, in the statements he’s putting out, and the world is already reacting to that kind of American strength.”

“World leaders that want to get something done… have to engage with Trump,” he added.

Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist who served at the State Department during Trump’s first term, told Fox News that “the world is demanding leadership” and that “the Oval Office has been replaced by Mar-a-Lago.”

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Lesperance, pointing to Biden’s swing through Africa, noted that lame duck presidents’ final weeks are “usually filled with celebratory moments and efforts to cement one’s legacy. Often the focus is on their role on the world stage on behalf of America and its allies.’

However, he argued that “Biden’s pronouncements on Ukraine, Gaza and the importance of climate change go largely ignored by world leaders. Instead, they focus on Trump’s picks for his foreign policy team and pronouncements about changes in U.S. foreign policy position. It’s pretty evident that while Biden attempts a victory tour, the world has turned the page.”

In 2025, the Trump administration and Congress are poised to represent a significant realignment of political power, moving its focus from the East and West coasts to the heartland after decades of coastal dominance.

Republicans chose Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as majority leader of the upper legislative chamber.

President-elect Trump nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead Homeland Security and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., figures to hold a top cybersecurity subcommittee post.

In that regard, Dakota State University President José-Marie Griffiths, who has advised Noem, Burgum and other regional figures, particularly on cybersecurity issues, said it’s about time the region received attention.

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“These people all have a worldview that’s much larger than just the middle of the country, obviously. But it’s nice to know that the voices of the people in this part of the country will be heard and presumably considered and taken into account on a larger scale,” she said.

During Bill Clinton’s first run for president, his top strategist James Carville called Pennsylvania “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle,” which led to “Pennsyltucky” becoming part of the national lexicon as a punchline.

Recent legislative leaders also hailed largely from California and New York with Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell being an exception.

In her interview with Fox News Digital, Griffiths added that the idea of bringing more prominence both institutionally and occupationally to the heartland does have a few proponents on the coasts.

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She noted Rep. Ro Khanna’s past comments about expanding his district’s “Silicon Valley” economy to other underserved parts of the country. The Democrat visited rural Kentucky and West Virginia to support emerging tech programs and to study how the private sector and federal funds can enhance such efforts.

“No person should be forced to leave their hometown to get a new economy job,” Khanna previously said.

On Friday, Griffiths added that in the 7,000-person town of Madison, South Dakota, where she lives and works, people are happy with their environs and don’t wish to relocate to Khanna’s California or commercial hubs like New York with its population of 8.3 million.

“We have a tremendous number of really good young people in this part of the world,” she said. “They want to [stay] here, and we want to make sure that there’s opportunity for them to do the kinds of work that they’re well qualified for.”

Griffiths isn’t the only South Dakotan anxious to see what the new year brings for her region.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., who represents the entire state in Congress, spoke briefly on the matter after a meeting with DOGE figureheads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Thursday.

One proposal from DOGE proponents is to shift bureaucratic power outside of Washington, D.C., to areas where its work is relevant and people can interact better with agencies.

“The U.S. Forest Service should be moved to Rapid City, South Dakota,” Johnson said.

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“The Black Hills of South Dakota offer an incredible natural resource, and it is a forest that has faced all of the major challenges facing our forests across this country. I would tell you the people in the Black Hills love that forest, and they want to make sure that it exists for generations.”

Johnson said it would be easier to move the agency, founded by former Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Gifford Pinchot and long anchored in Washington, closer to the areas it affects.

Meanwhile, Griffiths said that with Noem potentially succeeding Alejandro Mayorkas, a South Dakotan will be primed to shift more attention to the issue of cybersecurity in the regionally relevant agriculture sector.

“Not only does she have the borders to protect, but there’s a strong cybersecurity component to her mandate there. And then Doug being in Interior and chairing that Energy Council energy consortium will be very, very interesting because that also goes to support the efforts in terms of having the United States retain its lead role in new and emerging technologies,” Griffiths said, noting DSU is a STEM university.

To the north, Mark Jorritsma of the North Dakota Family Alliance, which works to “strengthen faith, family and freedom” and works closely with state leaders, said he is also encouraged by the federal leadership shift.

“We are excited that the Dakotas will have an even more significant influence on the path our country takes,” Jorritsma said Friday.

“President-elect Trump continues to show his support for things that have made our country great — an abundance of resources and energy, the importance of the agricultural sector and an emphasis on faith, family and freedom.

“We look forward to strong leadership by these individuals, representing not only the Midwest, but advancing the values that have been foundational to the success of our entire nation.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Burgum, Noem, Rounds and Thune, but did not receive responses by press time. 

The National Police Association (NPA) announced on Friday its endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, praising his record of “transparency” and “accountability” they say makes him well-positioned to head up the nation’s sprawling law enforcement agency. 

In a statement Friday, the NPA—a nonprofit group that represents more than 240,000 U.S. police officers— praised Patel’s “distinguished career” both as a former federal prosecutor and legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command.

“The law enforcement community knows that effective leadership at the FBI is essential for building public trust and enhancing coordination across all levels of policing,” the group said. “Kash Patel’s proven record of leadership, expertise in counterterrorism and intelligence, and ability to navigate complex legal and operational challenges make him the ideal candidate to restore faith in the FBI’s mission and ensure it remains a steadfast ally to our nation’s police forces.

“We are confident that under his stewardship, the FBI will thrive in its vital mission to protect and serve the American people,” the group added.

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Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism. 

Trump announced earlier this month that he plans to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and nominate Patel as his replacement. Wray could also voluntarily vacate the position on his own before Trump’s inauguration, though he has not yet said whether he plans to do so.

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“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing his plans to nominate Patel.

Still, replacing a sitting FBI director is a controversial move. FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms, allowing them, in theory, to operate without political pressure and interference from a sitting president.

Trump also selected Wray during his first term as president to replace former FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired less than four years into his tenure. Trump praised Wray at the time as a “fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity.”

Patel’s nomination has also sparked criticism from some circles, who have cited his earlier vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.”

Those fears were not shared by the NPA, however. In their statement, the group said Patel’s appointment would mark a “pivotal moment for law enforcement and public safety across the United States.”

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His leadership “will bring a renewed focus on collaboration, ethical standards, and the relentless pursuit of justice,” they said.

President Biden participated in the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C. on Thursday night in what will be his last time attending the annual event before he exits the White House next year to make way for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

“Merry Christmas America!” Biden declared during remarks at the tree-lighting event.

Freelance photographer Andrew Leyden shared photos of the ceremony, writing on X, “As he left the National Christmas Tree lighting, @POTUS removed his stocking cap, bent over to look at the press and then asked ‘You’re still here?’ It was very cold and windy tonight.” 

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“For a bit of context– as the night went on and temperatures dipped, Biden put on a wool stocking cap. When it came off static electricity + wind. It happens,” he noted in another post.

“Biden’s entire presidency summed up in a hairdo,” one X user quipped.

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Biden — whose decades-long Washington career has spanned more time than the length of some Americans’ entire lives — in 1987 commented on a Washington Post piece that suggested he had undergone a hair transplant. 

“Guess,” Biden said when asked to confirm the matter, according to the outlet. “I’ve got to keep some mystery in my life.”

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While Biden suggested prior to the presidential election that Trump represented a “genuine danger to American security,” the outgoing president is slated to attend Trump’s inauguration next month.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the progressive Democrat from New York, has launched a bid to serve in the top Democratic role on the House committee leading investigation efforts into the federal government.

In a letter to her fellow lawmakers on Friday, AOC announced her candidacy to serve as ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the 119th Congress, a position currently held by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

The “Squad” member, in her pitch to colleagues, noted that her focus would be to lead a Democratic effort against the incoming administration under President-elect Trump.

“This is not a position I seek lightly,” the congresswoman wrote in the letter. “The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one. Now, more than ever, we must focus on the Committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life.”

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“In the 119th Congress, Oversight Committee Democrats will face an important task: we must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class,” she continued. 

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AOC’s announcement comes just days after Raskin, the committee’s current ranking member, announced he would be seeking the top Democratic post again during the next Congress.

AOC will also be competing for the seat against Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who recently declared his bid for the Oversight role.

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Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., currently serves as chairman of the committee, which focuses on ensuring efficiency and accountability within the federal government and its agencies. 

Republicans have big plans for spending cuts next year, but some GOP lawmakers are doubting Congress can muster the momentum for significant changes.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel on cutting spending and the national debt, were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a series of meetings with lawmakers on how Congress and the White House can work together to achieve that goal.

And while that advisory panel is chiefly aimed at what executive actions Trump could take, lawmakers are conceding that significant, lasting change must be achieved through legislation. And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there.

“The problem’s in that room,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referring to other GOP lawmakers who met with Musk and Ramaswamy. 

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“These guys, you know, they talk real tough,” but they did not vote in ways he believed showed they were serious about cutting spending.

“You don’t see a lot of that. Now, when is that going to start? Is it going to start just because Elon and Vivek [address us]?” Burchett asked. “I just worry about us losing steam. … We’ve got to get some guts, and people have got to hold us accountable.”

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Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Fox News “a lot of members” stood up to suggest ways to “save money” during Thursday afternoon’s brainstorming session with Republicans and the DOGE duo.

“One would think more of them would have been willing to vote, cast votes on the floor of the House in order to do those things early,” Bishop added.

The DOGE discussions have opened up longstanding wounds within the House GOP, whose members spent a significant amount of the 118th Congress battling among themselves over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues. 

The national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion.

A senior House GOP aide expressed optimism about the new goal but added that Musk and Ramaswamy were “swinging for the fences.”

“The hard part is once they find the stuff to cut, I think it’s Congress who has to do the actual cutting, right?” the aide said.

Another senior GOP aide said, “The mission of DOGE is worthy and absolutely necessary, but nothing is going to change. We aren’t going to cut spending like we [have to] to get our fiscal house in order, and we aren’t going to slash waste at any significant level.”

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Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also skeptical, told Republicans at Thursday’s meeting they needed to “grow a spine” to actually move meaningful spending cuts.

“I’ve said to my colleagues, ‘If you can’t print money, if, literally, it was banned today, what would you do?’ You would do what you do for your home budget. You would say, ‘Well, we can’t take a vacation here. I can’t get a fancy new car because I need to get braces for my child,'” Roy told WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor.

“We don’t ever do that, and, until we do, all of the DOGE waste-cutting in the world won’t help. We’ve got to do both. We need the waste-cutting, but we need Congress to grow a spine.”

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Some Republicans are skeptical of having Musk and Ramaswamy lead the charge.

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“They had no game plan — a wish list that they’re giving to Santa and the American people that will never be even remotely accomplished,” one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital of Thursday’s meeting.

The GOP lawmaker called DOGE a “magical department that has been erected out of thin air,” and pointed out its logo was heavily inspired by a cryptocurrency known as “dogecoin” that Musk has backed.

“They’re going to run into a brick wall called ‘members of Congress who know how to do our job,’” the lawmaker said.

The University of Michigan is the latest public university to dismantle its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) as part of its faculty requirements, making it one of several universities this year to roll back DEI initiatives.

“The University of Michigan will no longer solicit diversity statements as part of faculty hiring, promotion and tenure,” the school said in a news release Thursday.

University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley announced the decision to stop using the diversity statements following an Oct. 31 recommendation from a faculty working group, the university said. The group reportedly criticized the statements “for their potential to limit freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus.”

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“As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach,” McCauley said.

The university chose not to implement two other recommendations from the working group: integrating DEI content into teaching, research and service statements, and enhancing training on how to write and assess them.

Several other public universities this year have also rolled back their DEI initiatives and requirements. 

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Following Senate Bill 17 being signed into law this year, Texas public universities eliminated DEI offices, DEI-related positions and mandatory DEI training. This included layoffs and restructuring at institutions like the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. 

The University of North Carolina system redirected millions from DEI initiatives to public safety and discontinued DEI programs on campuses in May. The state also prohibited mandatory diversity statements for job applications in academia​.

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Iowa’s three public universities — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — began eliminating DEI offices and reallocating funds after a state law was passed earlier this year.

Last year, Florida’s restrictions on DEI in public universities were part of a broader set of education reforms implemented under Gov. Ron DeSantis, following the passage of legislation targeting DEI programs.

Universities aren’t the only institutions rolling back DEI initiatives, and during his campaign, President-elect Trump vowed to eliminate DEI programs in federal agencies. In 2020, then-President Trump issued an executive order to ban “divisive” training for federal contractors. And the House Oversight Committee held a hearing last month about dismantling DEI policies. 

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“It is a multibillion-dollar industry that pushes a left-wing, far-left ideological orthodoxy in essentially every area of American life, which is why I’ve begun to call it the ‘DEI enterprise,’ instead of just DEI, so that people have a sense of what I’m talking about,” Devon Westhill, a constitutional and civil rights attorney, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has encouraged DEI initiatives across several sectors of the federal government. In 2021, President Biden widened an executive order directing agencies to assess and “remove barriers” to equal opportunity through DEI policies. Another executive order signed that year was a government-wide initiative to embed DEI principles in federal hiring.

President-elect Trump expressed public support for embattled defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth Friday, and the nominee said he had a “substantive conversation” with Sen. Joni Ernst. 

Hegseth, a former National Guard officer, has been meeting with Republican senators this week to rally support as allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking have surfaced. He has denied any wrongdoing. 

Ernst has not committed to voting for Hegseth. 

“Looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump told Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” Friday. “I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record, actually. Went to Princeton, went to Harvard. He was a good student at both, but he loves the military. And I think people are starting to see it. So, we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.”

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Trump confirmed he still has confidence in Hegseth.

“He’s a very smart guy,” Trump said. “I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time. I mean, he’s basically a military guy. I mean, every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military.”

Trump said that while he didn’t have assurances from senators that his nomination would be confirmed, he believes he will get it through. 

“I’ve had a lot of senators calling me up saying he’s fantastic,” Trump said. 

Asked by Welker about the allegations of excessive drinking, Trump said, “Well, I’ve spoken to people that know him very well, and they say he does not have a drinking problem.” 

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Trump also supported Hegseth on Truth Social on Friday, writing, “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. 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.”

Hegseth wrote on his X account Friday: “I just had another substantive conversation with Senator Ernst, I appreciate her sincere commitment to defense policy, and I look forward to meeting with her again next week.”

Ernst also called their meeting “constructive” on her account, adding that the two plan to meet again next week. 

“Pete Hegseth and I will continue our constructive conversations as we move forward together in this process. We plan to meet again next week. At a minimum, we agree that he deserves the opportunity to lay out his vision for our warfighters at a fair hearing,” she said. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance also told reporters Friday that Hegseth has the incoming administration’s full support and won’t face a “sham hearing before the American media.”

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“Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media,” Vance told reporters while in North Carolina. “We believe Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense. That’s why Trump nominated him. We’re not abandoning this nomination.

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“I fully support Pete. I think Pete’s going to get confirmed, and we are completely behind him. I have talked to Joni [Ernst]. I’ve talked to a number of my colleagues about this nomination and about other nominations. All I’m asking is people actually allow the Senate nomination process to work. We do not determine important government officials based on anonymous sourcing from the American media.”

San Diego County will soon vote on a resolution to block all county cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including letting them know about the release of criminal illegal immigrants — coming just weeks before the Trump administration is expected to launch a historic deportation campaign.

The resolution would go further than the state’s sanctuary law, which generally limits law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE, and represents a hardline stance against all cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

The new resolution, which will see a vote on December 10 as part of the county’s “commitment to social justice and inclusion,” will say that the county will not provide assistance or cooperation to ICE “including by giving ICE agents access to individuals or allowing them to use County facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, expending County time or resources responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding individuals’ incarceration status or release dates, or otherwise participating in any civil immigration enforcement activities.”

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“When federal immigration authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Border Patrol, coerce local law enforcement to carry out deportations, family members are separated and community trust in law enforcement and local government is destroyed,” an overview of the resolution claims. “Witnesses and victims who are undocumented or who have loved ones who are undocumented are afraid to come to the County for help, which includes calling local law enforcement. This puts the public safety of all San Diegans at risk.”

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas said that California’s current sanctuary laws restricting ICE deportations don’t go far enough.

“While the California Values Act significantly expanded protection from deportation to California residents, it fell short of protecting all residents, because it allowed agencies to still notify ICE of release dates and transfers individuals to ICE without a warrant in some circumstances,” she said.

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She argues that the “loophole” has resulted in some illegal immigrants being transferred to ICE custody or ICE being notified of their release. The resolution is similar to a 2019 policy adopted in Santa Clara County.

“By avoiding active cooperation with ICE, including through specific notification to ICE of the release dates of immigrants, the County avoids treating a group of individuals differently solely on the basis of their immigration status,” she says.

Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who opposes the resolution, says he believes the resolution will pass, given the Democratic makeup of the board of supervisors. He said he believed the move was in line with a broader effort by the state to “Trump-proof” the state, and called it a “knee-jerk” reaction. 

“This is going to really impede different agencies and working together to make sure that everyone’s safe, even the immigrants that are here now that have come across the border. This is going to hurt their communities even worse,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“I think this is going to allow more criminals who are here illegally to stay in San Diego County, and to get away with these kinds of crimes to where law enforcement can’t work with immigration or with ICE on a much broader group of crimes. So, it’s going to allow more rampant crime here and make our cities and our communities less safe.”

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Multiple officials at state and local level across the U.S. have said they will not cooperate with the upcoming deportation campaign by the new Trump administration. In Boston this week, the city council unanimously voted for a resolution to protect illegal immigrants from “unjust enforcement actions” and restricting Boston police from cooperating with ICE. 

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However, some Republican states have said they will help the administration in its plans, with Texas going a step further and offering land on which to stage the deportation operation.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was bombarded with questions from reporters in the first televised press briefing since President Biden pardoned son Hunter Biden.

She also spoke to reporters earlier this week from Air Force One. 

“The statement that he put out on Sunday when he made this decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, it’s in his own voice,” Jean-Pierre said after she was asked about Hunter Biden’s pardon by an Associated Press reporter. 

“I think it takes you through his thinking. And he did. He wrestled with this. He wrestled with this, and again, he said in his statement, in his own voice, that he made that decision this past weekend.” 

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The president and Jean-Pierre said unequivocally when asked over the summer that the president would not pardon his son. 

Jean-Pierre insisted “circumstances have changed.”

“Republicans said they weren’t going to let up, weren’t going to stop,” she said. “Recently announced Trump appointees for law enforcement have said on the campaign that they were out for retribution, and I think we should believe their words, right? We should believe what they say.” 

She added that the president said in his statement that Hunter and the Biden family had been through “enough.”

“And he wrestled with these circumstances, the change in circumstances, ultimately, and the combination of that … certainly led to the president changing his mind and issuing this pardon,” she explained. 

But reporters continued to press her on the issue, asking whether the American people were owed an apology. Jean-Pierre appeared to evade the question, instead urging people to read the president’s statement. 

HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON’T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED

“He wrestled with it,” she reiterated. “He wrestled with it and made this decision. That’s what I can tell the American people.

“I think the American people understand, and I think they understand how difficult this decision would be. And I would actually add, and I think it’s important to note here, as you’re asking me these questions — important questions to ask — that there was a poll, a U.S. Gov poll that came out that, some of you all reported on it.

“And it said 64% of the American people agree with the pardon — 64% of the American people. So, we get a sense of where the American people are on this. Obviously, it’s one poll, but it gives you a little bit of insight. Sixty-four percent is nothing to sneeze at.” 

She noted that some legal experts have said “no one would be criminally prosecuted with felony offenses with these facts,” claiming Hunter Biden was politically targeted.

Hunter Biden was convicted on three felony charges related to illegally owning a gun while being a drug user. He also pleaded guilty in a federal tax case. 

She was also asked if the president has concerns about his credibility regarding the pardon and about allegations he “misled the public.” 

“Virtually no one would be criminally prosecuted with family offenses, with these facts. Whether it’s absent aggravated factors, similar charges are rarely brought,” she said, again pointing to Biden’s statement.

One reporter also noted that Biden has received “swift criticism” from members of his own party who call it a “setback,” worrying that President-elect Trump and Republicans could use the pardon against them in the future. 

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“He’s going to focus on the American people,” Jean-Pierre responded when asked if he felt the need to respond to Democratic criticism. 

Texas Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, the newly elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, spent years as a City Council member in Austin and led the charge to strip funding from local law enforcement — at one point bragging about it on social media.

“We did it!!” Casar wrote on X after legislation he drafted in the Austin City Council passed, resulting in a more than $100 million cut in local police funding and an end to three incoming cadet classes. The measure passed unanimously in 2020 after a stint of police shootings involving people of color. 

Casar on Thursday was elevated to the highest-ranking leadership position for progressives in the House of Representatives, following a unanimous vote from his peers in the caucus. The move comes as Democrats continue to conduct a forensic analysis following the election, many of whom have called on the party to take a more centrist approach in the future. 

Casar’s history as a public official, particularly at the local level, does not illustrate moderation, according to Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association. 

“‘Far-left radical’ is a really good way to describe what he did in [Austin],” said Farris.

EVEN DEMOCRATIC VOTERS REJECTED LEFTIST POLICIES AND POLITICIANS IN THE MOST SURPRISING PLACES

In 2017, Casar led a charge to reject a mutually agreed upon contract between the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association, setting off a wave of retirements and hiring issues due to the uncertainty around job security and benefits for officers. Meanwhile, in 2020, Casar led the drafting of legislation to strip more than $100 million in funding to the police department, which included the elimination of funding from three planned police cadet classes. Instead, the reallocated funds went to programs related to abortion access, affordable housing and food security. 

Shortly thereafter, the City of Austin began redirecting certain 911 calls to mental health professionals. Additionally, last year, a shortage of officers compelled police in Austin to ask residents to dial 311, instead of 911, if they got robbed near an ATM. 

BLUE STATE MAKES $350M ‘DEFUND POLICE’ COMEBACK AFTER RECORD HOMICIDES, VIOLENT GANG TAKEOVERS

During his time as a City Council member in Austin, Casar also authored two “Freedom City” resolutions, which eliminated the use of discretionary arrests for certain non-violent crimes and required police to inform people that they are legally allowed to deny requests for immigration papers. Other policies Casar supported in his position as City Council member included a ban on non-lethal police munitions and certain chokeholds.

As a member of Congress, Casar has continued putting pressure on Austin’s police officers, as well. 

Last year, he called on the Department of Justice to conduct oversight into “the Department’s policies and practices of excessive and lethal use of force, racial discrimination, and discrimination against people with mental health conditions.”

JORDAN PETERSON SAYS TRUMP’S ELECTION WAS BLOW TO WOKEISM: REJECTION OF ‘HEDONISTIC, POWER MAD PROGRESSIVES’

“There was a thought in 2020 that the Democrats were actually going to flip the Texas House, and Casar was used in several campaign ads by Republicans all over the state. Democrat friends of mine thought the ‘defund the police movement’ was the reason that Democrats didn’t win,” Farris said. “I’ve spoken to several Democratic friends of mine, and they will tell you that [Casar] was a hindrance to the state-level Democrats in 2020.”

Following last month’s elections, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was among a score of Democratic lawmakers who argued the party has lost its centrist, working-class base.

SANDERS DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS CRITICISM OF DEMOCRATS, FIRES BACK AT PELOSI’S PUSHBACK

“There is more to lose than there is to gain politically from pandering to a far left that is more representative of Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok than it is of the real world,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said following the election. “The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling.”

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the same day as Casar’s caucus election victory, NBC News published a story about the sophomore congressman in which he echoed much of the analysis from other Democrats that an intra-party shift is necessary.   

“We are now at a place where we have to put winning way above being right all the time,” he told the outlet. “It’s less of a left-right fight and more of a getting back to a Democratic Party that’s for everyday people, no longer being seen as preachy or disconnected.”

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Nonetheless, during a press conference following his victory, Casar said, “If the Democratic Party was a little more like Chairwoman [Washington Rep. Pramila] Jayapal and a little less like [West Virginia Sen.] Joe Manchin, I think we would have won this election.” Jayapal is the outgoing chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has similarly led efforts to defund the police.

Fox News Digital reached out to Casar’s office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

President-elect Trump announced last week that he intends to nominate former White House aide and longtime ally Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, potentially making him the only U.S. president to have fired and installed two separate FBI directors in the middle of their 10-year terms. 

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump said in a social media post announcing his intent to nominate Patel for FBI director. 

“He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.”

Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism. He was endorsed on Friday by the National Police Association, which praised Patel’s record of “transparency” and “accountability” that it said makes him well-positioned to head up the nation’s sprawling law enforcement agency. 

KASH PATEL: MILLEY, BIDEN ADMIN ‘PEDDLING FALSE FACTS’ ON CHINA PHONE-CALL CONTROVERSY 

Still, news of Trump’s plans to nominate Patel was met with criticism — if not shock — from others in the law enforcement community. 

That’s because replacing a sitting FBI director is a controversial move that breaks with the express purpose of the role, which, under post-Watergate laws, mandated that directors are nominated for 10-year terms: an express length of time designed to allow the directors — at least in theory — to operate outside political pressure or interference from a sitting president.

Trump sent shock waves through the law enforcement community in 2017 when he fired then-FBI Director James Comey, who at the time was less than four years into his 10-year term. Trump also personally selected current FBI Director Christopher Wray — whom he praised at the time as a “fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity” — to replace him.

For Trump to install Patel as FBI director, two things must happen: Wray must exit the job, and Patel must earn Senate confirmation. 

How Wray will leave remains unclear. 

He could opt to voluntarily vacate the position on his own before Trump’s inauguration, though he has not yet said whether he plans to do so. If Wray does not voluntarily vacate his position, Trump could be the only president in U.S. history to have fired and installed two separate FBI directors.

TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS

Patel must also be confirmed by the Senate, though it is likely that the Republican-led chamber will move to approve him for the role.

Patel’s nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.” He has since attempted to clarify some of those remarks.

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Only one other FBI director has been fired in U.S. history: William Sessions, a Reagan appointee who was widely disliked both for being an ineffective leader and for using his post to commandeer limousines and private government flights for personal business, among other things.

EXCLUSIVE: A growing number of prominent veterans are signing onto an open letter endorsing Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth as he battles back allegations that may stymie his confirmation.

The Heritage Foundation began collecting the signatures on Thursday and garnered more than 74 in that short time, a foundation official told Fox News Digital.

“As military veterans and patriotic Americans, we are pleased to see an outstanding veteran nominated to lead the Department of Defense,” the letter begins.

“Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran who served as an Infantry Officer in the Army National Guard, deploying overseas to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.”

HEGSETH SAYS HE’LL BE ‘STANDING RIGHT HERE IN THIS FIGHT’

The veterans state that Hegseth has “worked tirelessly” to support U.S. troops and that his experience and drive will lead him in rebuilding the military back to a “fighting force . . . capable of defending the national security interests of the American people.”

They cite Hegseth’s long-held stance on “depoliticizing” the military and his rebuttals of “DEI”-type policies and other “toxic ideologies” they claim have been foisted upon troops in recent years.

“Ending wokeness is just the start. The Pentagon is also bloated with bureaucracy and waste. The defense industrial base is failing to deliver,” the veterans wrote.

“Cost overruns and delays have become the norm. The Department of Defense needs a Secretary of Defense willing to confront both the entrenched bureaucracy and the defense industry and force them to deliver the ships, planes, and munitions our troops need to confront America’s adversaries.”

TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS

Dan Caldwell is a veteran of the Marine Corps and Camp David security force who, along with his fellow adviser at the Center for Renewing America, three-time-deployed Marine Joseph Wade Miller, signed onto the letter.

They join at least 40 other prominent veterans in supporting Hegseth’s nomination, as the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host faces allegations surrounding alcohol abuse and mistreatment of women.

Eddie Gallagher, of the Pipe Hitters Foundation, also signed the letter. Gallagher launched the veteran defense-focused nonprofit after being found not guilty in a war crimes trial.

James Jay Carafano, Rob Greenway, Wilson Beaver, Steve Bucci and Jeremy Hayes, all decorated military veterans who are advisers to, or fellows at, the Heritage Foundation, signed onto the missive.

The letter also calls out the previous administration’s inability to secure the southern border and restore peace in Eurasia. 

“Pete Hegseth shares these priorities and is ready to execute the Commander in Chief’s agenda on day one. As proud American veterans, we stand with him and the President in this historic endeavor,” they write.

Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage, called Hegseth the “right kind of fighter for America” and a person who is ready to “clean up” the Pentagon.

“At a time when bloat and woke initiatives detract from the core warfighting mission of our armed forces, we need a secretary like Pete who has both served in combat and advocated for veterans on Capitol Hill,” Roberts said separately from the letter.

Victoria Coates, a former adviser on national security to both Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Hegseth would be “a literal breath of fresh air in the musty halls of the Pentagon.”

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On Thursday, Hegseth said he refused to back down from a fight as his nomination remains in limbo amid drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing. 

“We’ve had great conversations, about who I am and what I believe,” Hegseth said of his meetings with senators. “And, frankly, the man I am today, because of my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ and my wife, Jenny, right here, I’m a different man than I was years ago.”

That exchange followed the leak of a critical letter that Hegseth’s mother, Penelope, wrote to him years ago about his relationships with women. However, Penelope Hegseth told Fox News on Wednesday that she had written the email in an impassioned moment and later apologized for it.

Multiple sources reported to Fox News that Trump is considering his former primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – a retired Navy lieutenant commander – for the top Pentagon spot in case Hegseth falters.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn will roll out a package of legislation backing up Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) objectives, as Republican lawmakers launch legislative efforts to rally behind the cost-cutting efforts. 

The Tennessee Republican announced her plans to unveil the “DOGE Acts” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. They would seek to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., freeze federal hiring and salaries for one year, and get federal workers back in the office.

The GOP senator will reportedly unveil a series of measures that will mirror more of the framework being pushed by the new agency to cut government spending, according to the senators’ spokesperson.

“I will be introducing legislation that coincides with @DOGE’s plan to make the federal government more efficient,” Blackburn said in a post on X. 

‘WE’RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH’: REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY

“My DOGE Act will freeze federal hiring, begin the process to relocate agencies out of the D.C. swamp, and establish a merit-based salary system for the federal workforce,” Blackburn said. 

A spokesperson for the senator later revealed that she plans to announce several of these bills.

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS

“Senator Blackburn is planning to introduce a package of bills – known as the DOGE Acts – aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for managing taxpayer dollars next week,” Blackburn’s spokesperson said in a statement, the Hill reported. “The DOGE Acts coincides with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan to make the federal government more efficient.”

Musk responded to the senator’s tweet, writing “thank you” in a post.

The announcement came after Musk and Ramaswamy, the pair appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the efforts, spent the day meeting with lawmakers to discuss cost-cutting opportunities and objectives.

Lawmakers told Fox News Digital that they were “very impressed” with the DOGE framework following their meetings with the duo.

Along with Blackburn’s legislative plans, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, unveiled a 60-page cost-cutting proposal during a meeting with GOP senators and Ramaswamy on Thursday.

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The DOGE efforts have already gained bipartisan support from Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., joining the House’s GOP-led congressional caucus. Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked whether he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering, “Yes.”

Former transgenders, parents and activists braved frigid temperatures on Wednesday morning to rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court to demand an end to the “butchery” and “trauma” of child sex-change surgeries and treatments.

The rally took place as the court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a high-stakes case over the constitutionality of Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and transgender surgeries for minors. 

One of the rally speakers, Matt Walsh, who is a podcast host for the Daily Wire and creator of the “What Is a Woman” documentary, told Fox News Digital that the case is about “basic truth.”

“The trans agenda represents a unique, distinct threat to children. We have to stand up and protect them, that’s what this is all about,” he said. “If the Supreme Court gets this case right, then we could be looking at ultimately the death of the gender ideology industry. That’s what we want, and that’s what’s at stake.”

‘OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE’ OF NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FROM GENDER ‘TREATMENTS’ FOCUS OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT CASE

The rally was organized by a diverse set of groups, including medical watchdog Do No Harm, the Heritage Foundation, Catholic Vote and the LGB Alliance.

One member of the LGB Alliance, Glenna Goldis, from Brooklyn, told Fox News Digital that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people see sex-change treatments as a form of conversion therapy.

“A lot of gay people feel strongly about this issue,” she said. “But we’re not able to get our voices out, because the LGBTQ lobby has so much money, and they drown us out, and they pretend that they’re speaking for gay people, but they do not.”

SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS

There was also a significant presence of former transgender people – “detransitioners” – many of whom said they did not want more children to undergo the negative health effects they had endured due to sex-altering treatments. 

One detransitioner, a woman named Laura Becker, told Fox News Digital that she had stopped the treatments after realizing that they were causing her incredible harm and trauma.

“My advocacy is around healing the trauma instead of permanently medically mutilating the bodies of children and vulnerable young adults like I was,” she said. “I took testosterone when I was 19, and I had my breasts sliced off when I was 20 years old, despite being suicidal. I ended up being diagnosed with PTSD two years later, just from the transition.”

“I had trauma already, which made me have an identity crisis, [and] then I had even more trauma from the medicalization,” Becker added. “That’s a permanent effect I live with for the rest of my life.”  

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN AS SCOTUS DEBATES STATE’S BAN ON TRANS SURGERIES FOR MINORS

Another detransitioner, named Claire A., from Maryland, told Fox News Digital that the vast majority of people who undergo sex-change surgeries and treatments suffer from severe traumatic experiences that are only compounded by transitioning.

“I started going to therapy for trauma that I experienced in my childhood that contributed to my trans identity, and through healing from that, I healed from the pain that made me feel I needed to change my body,” she said.

Despite ending her treatments, Claire said she continues to suffer daily pain.

“I’m three years off of testosterone, and I still experience pelvic floor dysfunction,” she said. “My voice hurts, I can’t raise my voice very loud, it hurts to talk. It hurts. My joints hurt. It’s not a fun life to live. I would like to keep other children from being forced to live this life.”

There were also several parents of transgender children who have been denied custody and access to their children because they would not affirm their transgender identities.  

“I haven’t held my son in four years, my son is six years old now,” Adam Vena, a father from California, told Fox News Digital.

Vena said that with the prompting of his son’s mother, his child, Aidan, began transitioning into a girl at two years old. Two years later, Vena said, he lost custody of his son, “because I was not a gender-affirming parent.”

ACLU LAWYER DEFENDS TRANS PROCEDURES FOR MINORS DESPITE ACKNOWLEDGING ‘IT’S NOT THE KIDS WHO ARE CONSENTING’

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“A California court ordered my son to go to a gender clinic at a Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles when I requested to sit in on the gender assessment, they denied me access to ask my own questions as his father,” he explained. “They also denied me a phone call. So, me being a father has been completely cut out of my son’s life.” 

Harrison Tinsley, another California father who recently regained custody of his son, told Fox News Digital, “I think this is one of the greatest evils of our time, like our lobotomy or slavery, transgender mutilation of children.”

“The time to stop this is right now,” said Tinsley. “The Supreme Court’s going to rule the right way, and I’m hoping that Trump and Congress can ban this federally, stop the mutilation of children and stop this irreversible damage.” 

FIRST ON FOX: A top law enforcement official in Tennessee is warning that the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is operating in the state and conducting human trafficking — the latest indicator of a growing footprint by the bloodthirsty gang.

“We’ve seen, in the past few months, a resurgence of intelligence information that tells us they are operating in our state. They are operating in the human trafficking space,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said.

Rausch made the comments on the “Unmuted with Marsha” podcast with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., video of which was shared with Fox News Digital. Blackburn noted the recent arrest of a Tren de Aragua fugitive from Venezuela with a history of violent crimes in Tennessee. 

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

Tren de Aragua is believed to have started in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded into Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. 

They are believed to have grown exponentially with the surge of Venezuelan migrants into the U.S. Numerous crimes in the last year have been linked to TdA, in states including Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Colorado and New York.

Rausch said that in 2022, his agents first came across the gang in Tennessee and made arrests in 2023, and over time they encountered victims who provided additional intelligence about the gang’s operations in Tennessee and elsewhere throughout the U.S. He told Blackburn that they appeared to briefly leave the state, but have since returned.

“What they’re doing is, they bring in these females, Venezuelan females, and they’re bringing them into the country. They’re smuggling them in, bringing them into the country. Some of them, they’re bringing in, exploiting our system, where they’ll come in and claim that they are fleeing the dictatorship and the challenges that exist in Venezuela,” he said.

NEW REPORT WARNS BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG’S FOOTPRINT WILL REMAIN IN US ‘FOR DECADES’ 

Rausch said that his agency has conducted two major operations where it had located TdA members in the Nashville area. However, he did caution about the extent of their presence and said that it wasn’t as intense as it is in other states like Colorado.

“Most recently, when we were expressing that we knew they were in Tennessee, and they’re operating in our major cities, that caused a lot of challenge, a lot of people got upset about that. They immediately went to thinking, ‘This is TDA that is taking over apartment complexes, as we’ve seen in other cities.’ We’re not there yet, but we don’t want to get there,” he said.

Rausch warned that the gang typically starts with human trafficking and moves to other crimes like organized retail crime and theft, before getting into the drug trade and becoming increasingly violent against other cartels. 

“We certainly don’t want to see it anywhere in the country, but my responsibility primarily is here in Tennessee, and so we don’t want that happening. And so I raised the alarm that we know they’re here operating human trafficking. We want to stop them at this point, where we can right now,” he said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Blackburn asked about solutions to the crisis, and mentioned her own legislation that would encourage local law enforcement co-operation with the federal government when they encounter a criminal illegal immigrant. 

“When someone is committing crimes in your country, and they’re in the country illegally, of course, you need to deport them,” Blackburn said.

Rausch noted also that returning migrants to their countries of origin can be difficult when they don’t accept them. 

“What do we do with these individuals? Do we hold them here in the U.S. prison until that situation in whatever country it is they came from that we can’t send them back to, that we figure that out? What is the answer to that?” he asked.

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The conversation comes ahead of what is expected to be a historic deportation operation by the incoming Trump administration. Trump this week announced additional picks for his border security team, including former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott as his choice to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

During the presidential election campaign, Trump said he intends to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.” 

The Biden administration has made a precedent-setting arrest related to anti-climate change activities this fiscal year, highlighted in a new report that shows a ramped-up enforcement effort against environmental offenses.

On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final report on enforcement efforts under President Biden, which detailed how climate-related penalties were enforced this fiscal year.

The EPA worked to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which requires the agency to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, a synthetic compound commonly used for refrigeration or air conditioning, by 85% by 2036.

The AIM Act led to the arrest of Michael Hart, of San Diego, in March on charges related to “smuggling potent greenhouse gases,” highlighted in the EPA report. The charges marked the first-ever greenhouse gas-related arrest issued under the AIM Act, but according to an EPA press release from earlier this year, “it will not be the last.”

EPA’S NEW RUL TO CHARGE OIL AND GAS COMPANIES FOR EMISSIONS COULD FACE A TRUMP RECKONING

Additionally, the EPA reported issuing $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017.

The agency’s environmental enforcement efforts also saw 1,851 civil cases concluded, 121 criminal defendants charged, and it issued more than 225 million pounds of “pollution reductions” in “overburdened communities,” according to the report. As of the end of 2024, there are about 480 open criminal investigations on environmental programs.

BIDEN IMPOSES NEW METHANE EMISSIONS TAX AS HE PREPARES TO LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE

The results reflect a 3.4% increase in civil cases and a 17.6% increase in criminal charges compared to 2023, The Associated Press reported.

In the FY 2024 report, the EPA also noted that collaborative efforts on the “implementation of EPA’s national priorities” led to a “12% increase in criminal leads opened because of referrals from EPA Headquarters and regional offices.”

“In Fiscal Year 2024, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program produced its strongest results since 2017, focusing on efforts to combat climate change and tackling some of the nation’s most significant environmental threats to our shared air, water and land,” David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. “The progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration has sent a clear signal that polluters will be held accountable and that protecting communities from harm is a top priority.”

The agency zeroed in on six areas of priority for FY 2024 as part of their National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative: mitigating climate change, exposure to PFAS, working against communities from coal ash contamination, reducing air toxics in overburdened communities, increasing compliance with drinking water standards and chemical accident risk reduction.

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Biden has made issuing green energy projects a focus of his administration, most recently handing out billions of dollars to fund climate-related projects in the remaining months of his term before President-elect Donald Trump steps into office.

President-elect Donald Trump will be in France this weekend to celebrate the re-opening of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral alongside several world leaders, marking his first foreign trip following his election victory last month.

Trump announced his plan Monday to attend the celebratory re-opening on his social media app Truth Social, which comes five years after a fire devastated the cathedral in 2019. The 700-million-euro restoration project was funded by donations from 150 countries and involved the application of carpentry methods dating back to the 13th century. Sources familiar with the president-elect’s plans told Fox News that Trump’s attendance was at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Security will be tight for the invite-only festivities that are set to begin Saturday afternoon, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said in an interview published by French media outlet Le Parisien. He said many of the measures will mimic those deployed during the Paris Olympics.

FIRST LOOK AT NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL’S RESTORED INTERIOR FIVE YEARS AFTER DEVASTATING FIRE

Nuñez also indicated that about 50 heads of state would be in attendance, but did not specify whom or from which countries. President Joe Biden, however, is not expected to attend, but first lady Jill Biden will be there.

Macron was the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump after his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN reported. The pair’s relationship heading into Trump’s second non-consecutive term will build on what the two established during Trump’s first term.

While the two traded barbs during Trump’s first term in the White House, Macron has shown a level of deference – at times – towards Trump that other NATO leaders have not. Reporters have described the pair’s relationship as a “bromance,” and in 2017 the two participated in a Bastille Day military parade in Paris aimed at highlighting the longstanding alliance between France and the U.S. 

AFTER TRUMP WIN, FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON ASKS IF EU IS ‘READY TO DEFEND’ EUROPEAN INTERESTS

Trump’s push to get other NATO countries to contribute more money to defense efforts – and his overall skepticism of the alliance – has been a point of contention between Trump and other NATO leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, clashed with Trump over his claims Germany was not contributing enough to NATO’s defense efforts. 

During a NATO summit in 2019, a cohort of global leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, then-Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and France’s Macron, were caught on a hot-mic seemingly making fun of Trump for engaging in long, rambling press conferences. The year prior, during a speech at the U.N., audible laughter could be heard after he said his administration had accomplished more in its first two years than any other administration in history.

But heading into Trump’s second term, world leaders seem to be aware of the importance of forging a good relationship with him. Just last week, Trudeau traveled to Trump’s Florida resort after the president-elect threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian products over concerns about illegal immigration. 

TRUMP TRUMPS BIDEN AS PRESIDENT-ELECT OVERSHADOWS WHITE HOUSE INCUMBENT ON WORLD STAGE

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Earlier this week, new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed Britain’s and the U.S.’ “special relationship,” before recalling when the president-elect “graciously hosted me for dinner in Trump Tower,” during an annual banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of London. 

Trump’s arrival in the French capital coincides with Macron’s strategic efforts to stabilize a government in turmoil. Following the ousting of his prime minister through a no-confidence vote, Macron now confronts increasing demands for his own resignation. 

FIRST ON FOX: Federal law enforcement has been manipulating the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system to gain access to Americans’ financial information without warrants or probable cause, the House Judiciary Committee said Friday. 

The panel and its Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released its interim report, first obtained by Fox News Digital, which details its findings. 

FEDS CONDUCTED ‘BROAD’ AND ‘UNJUSTIFIED’ SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS’ PRIVATE FINANCIAL DATA: HOUSE JUDICIARY

The committee said in the report that the FBI “has manipulated” the SAR’s filing process to treat financial institutions “as de facto arms of law enforcement, issuing ‘requests’ without legal process, that amount to demands for information related to certain persons or activities it considers ‘suspicious.'”

“With narrow exception, federal law does not permit law enforcement to inquire into financial institutions’ customer information without some form of legal process,” the report states. “The FBI circumvents this process by tipping off financial institutions to ‘suspicious’ individuals and encouraging these institutions to file a SAR — which does not require any legal process — and thereby provide federal law enforcement with access to confidential and highly sensitive information.” 

The committee said that, in doing so, the FBI “gets around the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act,” which specifies that it is a bank’s responsibility to file a SAR whenever it identifies a “suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.” 

The committee acknowledged that “at least one financial institution requested legal process from the FBI for information it was seeking,” but noted that “all too often the FBI appeared to receive no pushback.” 

‘ALARMING’ SURVEILLANCE: FEDS ASKED BANKS TO SEARCH PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS FOR TERMS LIKE ‘MAGA,’ ‘TRUMP’

“In sum, by providing financial institutions with lists of people that it views as generally ‘suspicious’ on the front end, the FBI has turned this framework on its head and contravened the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of particularity and probable cause,” the report states. 

The committee added that their oversight of “financial surveillance” had shed “new light on the decaying state of Americans’ financial privacy and the federal government’s widespread, warrantless surveillance programs.” 

The committee began their investigation into government-led financial surveillance earlier this year, after a whistleblower disclosed that following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Bank of America “voluntarily and without legal process” provided the FBI with a list of names of all individuals who used a Bank of America credit or debit card in the Washington, D.C., region around that time. 

Fox News Digital first reported in March that federal investigators had asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” as part of an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, warning that purchases of “religious texts” could indicate “extremism.” 

The committee also obtained documents that indicate officials suggested that banks query transactions with keywords like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and more.

A source familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital at the time that while Jan. 6 was the “impetus” for the queries and searches, none of the documents the committee had obtained revealed any specific time frames or limitations for banks searching for customer transactions with the terms. The source said the federal government used the information for investigations beyond Jan. 6.

“In the days and weeks after January 6, 2021, the FBI coordinated with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to encourage financial institutions across the country to scour their data and file SARs on hundreds of Americans, if not more, without any clear criminal nexus,” the report says. 

Bank of America, at the time, told Fox News it “follows all applicable laws and regulatory requirements to receive, evaluate, process, safeguard, and narrowly respond to law enforcement requests.”

Documents obtained by the committee revealed that at least one financial institution reached out to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with the idea that it would “support the Bureau’s efforts to address the acute threat of domestic terrorism.” 

“The financial institution encouraged FinCEN to use SARs as the basis for issuing Patriot Act 314 (a) requests, which allows FinCEN to ‘canvas the nation’s financial institutions for potential lead information’ from ‘more than 37,000 points of contact at more than 16,000 financial institutions to locate accounts and transactions of persons that may be involved in terrorism or money laundering.” 

FEDS SUGGESTED BANKS SEARCH TRANSACTIONS FOR TERMS LIKE ‘BIDEN,’ ‘ANTIFA’ AND MORE AFTER JAN 6: SOURCES

After those findings, the panel continued investigating the matter and obtained more than 48,000 pages of documents, noting that the information they received through their probe “is concerning.” 

“Documents show that federal law enforcement increasingly works hand-in-glove with financial institutions, obtaining virtually unchecked access to private financial data and testing out new methods and new technology to continue the financial surveillance of American citizens,” the report states. 

However, the committee is warning that “all Americans should be disturbed by how their financial data is collected, made accessible to, and searched by federal and state officials, including law enforcement and regulatory agencies.” 

“With the rise in e-commerce and the widespread adoption of cash alternatives like credit cards or peer-to-peer payment services, the future leaves very little financial activity beyond the purview of modern financial institutions or the government’s prying eyes,” the report states. “This is because, as a condition of participating in the modern economy, Americans are forced to disclose details of their private lives to a financial industry that has been too eager to pass this information along to federal law enforcement.” 

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The report says the committee’s investigation “makes clear that federal law enforcement has taken advantage of this dynamic by deploying financial institutions as arms of federal law enforcement, directing financial institutions to profile Americans using the typologies it distributes or urging financial institutions to identify any ‘suspicious activity’ an individual may have engaged in.” 

The committee is warning that “absent renewed safeguards, the federal government and financial institutions will continue to siphon off Americans’ sensitive financial data, place it into the hands of bureaucrats, and erode any remaining semblance of financial privacy in the United States.” 

The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.