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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., disrupted Senate Republicans’ plans to quickly confirm President Donald Trump’s national security nominees on Tuesday night when he objected to bypassing lengthy procedural votes that are routinely skipped. 

“Unfortunately, we were at the point of almost having a consent agreement to have a vote on the confirmation of John Ratcliffe to be the CIA director tomorrow. Not today, not yesterday, when it should have happened, but tomorrow,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on the chamber floor. “But the senator from Connecticut has decided to object at the last minute.”

“I don’t really understand the objection to Mr. Ratcliffe. He was confirmed by the Senate to be the director of National intelligence. He was fully vetted through the bipartisan process in the Senate Intelligence Committee. We voted him out yesterday on a 14 to 3 vote,” Cotton, also the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, continued. 

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Thune told senators they could confirm nominations the easy way or the hard way.  (Reuters)

During his objection, Murphy said there were “serious concerns” from some Democrats about Trump’s CIA pick John Ratcliffe. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask to make sure that we have a full, real debate that lasts two days on the Senate floor,” he said. 

The Connecticut Democrat notably previewed Trump’s eventual second presidency over the summer. “There’s a lot of anxiety in the country and in the party today, and that’s because the stakes are so high,” he said. 

“That’s because Donald Trump presents an existential threat to democracy. He has advertised he is going to transition this country from a democracy to a dictatorship,” he claimed in a July appearance on CNN.

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Cotton chairs the intelligence committee. (Getty Images)

Murphy’s Tuesday night objection to speeding through the routine procedural votes is the first case of Democrats using the strategy Republicans employed while in the Senate minority to gain leverage to negotiate. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed his frustration with the objection on the floor, saying, “OK, so 14 to 3 coming out of the committee. And we’ve now wasted a whole day where we could have been acting on that nomination.”

“And so really, I think the question before the House is, do we want a vote on these folks on Tuesday or vote on them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Because that’s what we’re going to do,” he said, threatening weekend votes in the upper chamber. 

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Ratcliffe is Trump’s choice to lead the CIA. (Getty Images)

“This can be easy or this can be hard.”

Murphy foreshadowed this type of defiance while speaking to reporters last week. 

“I think Republicans changed the rules here over the last two years,” he said. “They used extraordinary powers to block nominees and to lengthen every process.”

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Murphy foreshadowed the move last week.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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“The rules are different now, they changed the way the Senate works,” he reiterated. 

Thune took the necessary actions to tee up eventual votes on Ratcliffe, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Defense Pete Hegseth and his pick for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Since there is no agreement with Democrats to limit debate and bypass certain procedural votes, the nominations will not ripen for confirmation votes for more than a day. 

President Donald Trump’s first actions in the Oval Office included rolling back healthcare policies put forth by former President Joe Biden, including expansions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “ObamaCare.”  

Directly after he was sworn in on Monday, Trump moved quickly to revoke a long list of Biden executive orders covering a wide range of issues. Two of the orders that were revoked included efforts by Biden to expand access to the ACA and restore the federal program “to the way it was before Trump became president” the first time around.

The move angered Democrats, who argued the action was an “attack” on the federal health insurance program.

“Donald Trump’s immediate priority as president is ripping away affordable health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans and screwing over people with preexisting conditions,” the Democratic National Committee said in a Tuesday statement. 

Shortly after taking office in January 2021, Biden passed Executive Order 14009, titled the “Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.” The move, which Trump rescinded as part of his Day One executive actions, doubled the window of time that uninsured Americans had to apply to participate in the federal insurance program. Under Trump’s first term, the ACA’s open enrollment period was six weeks long.  

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In addition to expanding the open enrollment period, Biden’s January 2021 executive order also directed all relevant federal agencies to examine their policies and implement any necessary changes to help get more people covered under the ACA.

President Trump denied wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, in April of the following year, Biden signed a second executive order on “Continuing to Strengthen Americans’ Access to Affordable, Quality Health Coverage,” which Trump also reversed on Monday. The April order from Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to analyze new policies aimed at “exploring how medical debts are collected from beneficiaries,” in order to find new ways to reduce “the burden of medical debt on working families and individuals across the country.” 

Consistent with both of these orders, agencies facilitated the expansion of the ACA through new eligibility provisions, increased funding to groups that help people sign up for the ACA, and more. 

Other changes enacted by Trump during his first days in office included the revocation of a Biden-era policy that directed Medicare and Medicaid to investigate how to lower drug costs. In response to that order, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a $2 cap for certain generic drugs, ensured Medicare beneficiaries did not overpay for drugs that received accelerated approval, and helped state Medicaid programs pay for certain high-cost, cutting-edge therapies. Biden’s policy that capped insulin costs at $35 and implemented a $2,000 out-of-pocket maximum for prescription drug costs went unaffected by Trump’s Day One orders.

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Trump also acted during his first day in office to rescind several of Biden’s COVID-19 health orders, such as directives to ensure equity in the pandemic response and COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal workers. He withdrew the U.S. from its participation in the World Health Organization, as well.

The Democratic National Committee argued Tuesday that Trump was “screwing over people with pre-existing conditions.” 

“Donald Trump’s immediate priority as president is ripping away affordable health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans,” the DNC said in a Tuesday statement. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, more Americans have health coverage than ever before, and Trump wants to unwind this progress even though the American people overwhelmingly support the ACA. Trump’s plans will do nothing but raise costs and make Americans sicker.”

Yet, according to a health policy expert from Vanderbilt University, the moves Trump made on health policies will likely not be consequential when it comes to how much Americans are paying for their healthcare. 

An emergency sign points to the entrance to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, March 23, 2017. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

“When administrations change over, many of them want to undo some of the actions of other presidents, even when those are more symbolic,” Dr. Stacie Dusetzina, a professor at Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy told NBC News. “It could mean that the Trump administration is not interested in pursuing any of the work that has since developed out of these executive orders.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump administration for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on Wednesday unveiled a lengthy report that he says serves as a “roadmap” to “Make America Healthy Again” and points to how the flawed American healthcare system impacts “national defense.” 

The 47-page report – titled “The Case for Healthcare Freedom” – is a “painstakingly researched” summary of “America’s health crisis and how to address it,” Roy said.

Its findings include that U.S. healthcare spending had reached $4.9 trillion in 2023. 

As a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), health spending accounted for 17.6%, and costs are growing around 1% faster than the annual GDP, the report says.

The report argues that “if conservatives care about a strong national defense and low taxes, these trends have to be reversed.” 

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Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, attends Donald Trump’s inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“The Case for Healthcare Freedom lays out a detailed roadmap for how Congressional Republicans can help President Trump deliver on the promise to address America’s health crisis,” Roy said in a statement. “The problem isn’t just health insurance, or Big Pharma, or food additives that are making us unhealthy; it’s the fact that politicians, bureaucrats and corporations are all benefitting from a broken, cronyistic system that lets them put profits over patients with impunity.” 

Roy argued that right now, Congress has “a tremendous opportunity to put American healthcare back on track by embracing the empowerment of patients and doctors through the promotion of expansive health savings accounts in the budget reconciliation process, and we need to take full advantage.” The congressman went on to say, “giving the same actors more power and money won’t work; if we want to Make America Healthy Again, the answer is healthcare freedom. If we want to control our budgets and healthcare spending, the answer is healthcare freedom.”

The wide-ranging report comes just two days after President Donald Trump was sworn into a second term. The pledge to “Make America Healthy Again” became a focal point of Trump’s campaign when Democrat turned Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race and backed him. Trump tapped Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, but his confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled. 

The report includes criticism of the program providing food welfare assistance for low-income households. 

Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends Donald Trump’s inauguration in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025.  (Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images)

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“While chronic food illness kills up to 678,000 Americans per year, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will likely pay over $250 billion on junk food for the next 10 years,” Roy’s office notes.

The report also targets the coveted weight loss and diabetes drugs championed as “miracle medication,” which has even used by celebrities to drop pounds in recent months. It found the Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, “spent at least $25.8 million over the past decade on U.S. medical professionals to promote two of its obesity drugs, Wegovy and Saxenda.”

The report assesses that families and their employers on average in 2024 spent $25,000 annually, or nearly the cost of a company car, for health insurance, and that’s despite “the false promise of Obamacare to lower premiums by $2,500 a year.” The cost of premiums has increased at least 100% since 2010, according to the report. 

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.  (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“Obamacare has made healthcare so expensive that it now subsidizes households earning up to $600,000 per year for their health insurance,” the report says.

In 2024, the report found, four of the top five American industries by revenue were healthcare-related. Those were hospitals, which came in first; drug, cosmetics and toiletry wholesaling, which came second; health insurance, which earned the third place slot; and pharmaceutical wholesaling, which came in fifth. 

The report also discusses how 47% of hospital cash prices are lower than the insurer-negotiated price “that people pay hundreds of dollars a month for the privilege of having.” 

The report argues multiple insurance companies, including UnitedHealth, Anthem/Elevance, and Humana, “earn” a majority of their revenue from taxpayers.

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“We do not have a free market in the healthcare system. The government controls more than 80% of health spending,” according to a summary of the report provided by Roy’s office. “The Left’s solution to fix our healthcare system is spending even more money and giving the government even further control over the healthcare system. ‘Medicare for All’ would cost an additional $33 trillion over 10 years, and it would leave 70% of Americans financially worse off.” 

The U.S. Pentagon is sending an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border by the end of the month, a U.S. official told Fox News on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear what specific units would be sent, though the Trump administration is expected to make a formal announcement later Wednesday.

There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. The troops were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under title 10 authorities, were approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be in place until the end of FY2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson. 

The 1,500 additional service members will deploy to different locations along the southern border by the end of the month, the U.S. official said. 

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The U.S. Pentagon is sending an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border by the end of the month, a U.S. official told Fox News on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

The added troops will act in the same roles as the service members already there, providing aerial reconnaissance, data entry, training, vehicle maintenance, detection and monitoring, and some other logistical support roles. 

Migrants walk along the US-Mexico border fence in Lukeville, Arizona, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. An influx of migrants crossing the border unlawfully has overwhelmed U.S. border officials.  (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The announcement will mark the third time that U.S. troops have been sent to the southern border in the last two years. 

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In May 2023, former President Joe Biden and Austin approved a request from former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to send an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border for 90 days to assist with the influx of migrants after pandemic era health restrictions ended in May 2023. 

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In March 2024, Austin approved another DHS request for 2,500 service members, including national guardsmen under Title 10 duty status.

In an apparent swipe at President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested the Los Angeles fires were the result of climate change, urging skeptics that, “If you don’t believe in science, believe your own damn eyes.”

He wrote those words in a press release issued on Tuesday in response to Trump’s executive orders around the environment and paired them alongside horrifying images of the fires raging in California, which have so far killed 27 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes and structures. 

Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, signed several executive orders to reverse parts of former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement – a legally binding treaty between nearly 195 parties who are committed to international cooperation on climate change.

In response to Trump distancing from the climate pact, which sought to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035, the California governor suggested that withdrawing from the global emissions agreement contributes to environmental incidents such as the West Coast fires.

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

Several other Democratic lawmakers across the country have also tried to pin the disastrous fires on climate change, despite residents fuming at local officials after some fire hydrants were not producing water in areas impacted by the fires. 

“The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not ‘a hoax.’ Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a social media post in January.

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The claims come as California officials continue to receive backlash for funding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the city, while the fire department budget was slashed by $17.6 million this year.

President Donald Trump found a letter from former President Joe Biden while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker)

“When you just look at water not coming out of fire hydrants and then nobody seems to know why. And then the governor says, ‘Well, I’m going to investigate it,’ it’s just kind of a sideshow in a time when we need real definitive, strong leadership,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital of Newsom.

Actor Michael Rapaport also blasted Newsom for talking about “Trump-proofing” California ahead of his inauguration instead of focusing on “fire-proofing” the state. 

“If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that’s to make sure that your fire and your police department are well-funded,” filmmaker and former “Family Ties” star Justine Bateman told Fox News’ Jessie Watters.

Fire crews monitor the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong)

Newsom extended an invitation to Trump to visit the areas in California that were impacted by the fires. 

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Trump told attendees at a pre-inauguration rally that he plans to visit southern California later this week, marking his first trip to the state since being sworn-in as president. 

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

The director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has resigned from her position, while a Biden-era executive order that sought to phase out the use of private prisons has been repealed amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to implement drastic reforms to the Justice Department.

Colette Peters, who has led the BOP since August 2022, is out as director of the beleaguered agency, and she has been replaced by William Lothrop, who had been serving as deputy director of the BOP.

Peters was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 and touted as a reform-minded outsider tasked with rebuilding an agency plagued for years by staff shortages, widespread corruption, misconduct and abuse.

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Then Attorney General Merrick Garland shakes hands with Colette Peters, then director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, after she was sworn in at BOP headquarters in Washington, on Aug. 2, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein via AP)

The agency has nearly 36,000 employees and is responsible for more than 155,000 federal inmates. 

Lothrop, who says he has more than 30 years’ experience working in the BOP, announced the change via a statement on Tuesday, the day after President Trump was sworn into office. The BOP director is not subject to confirmation by the Senate, per the legal news service Law 360.

“On Jan. 20, 2025, Director Peters separated from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and I will be serving as the Acting Director,” Lothrop said. “As we face ongoing challenges, including staffing shortages and operational issues, I am committed to working alongside you to find real solutions that strengthen our facilities. We will continue collaborating with our law enforcement partners and stakeholders to maintain robust programming and support services for inmates.”

“Our mission remains clear: to provide a safe, secure and humane environment, ensure public safety, and prepare those in our custody for successful reentry into society,” his statement added.

Colette Peters, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has resigned from her position. ( Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

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Soon after Trump was elected, Peters announced the closure of six male federal prison camps and one female facility, including the scandal-hit Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, per Forbes.  

FCI Dublin had garnered the nickname “rape club” after the Justice Department in December was ordered to pay almost $116 million to 103 women who say they were abused there. 

The prison’s former warden, Ray Garcia, and at least seven other employees are now in prison themselves for sexually abusing inmates.

During her Peters, she appeared before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and spoke about the challenges the BOP faced, but she had trouble getting results. 

William Lothrop is not the acting director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).  (Federal Bureau of Prisons )

In September 2023, Peters was scolded by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, who said Peters forced them to wait more than a year for answers to written follow-up questions they sent her after she first appeared before the committee in September 2022, leaving them without information critical to fully understanding how the agency runs.

Peters also irked senators by claiming she couldn’t answer even the most basic questions about agency operations — like how many correctional officers are on staff — and by referring to notes and talking points on a tablet computer in front of her.

In 2024, then President Biden signed the Federal Prison Oversight Law, which allowed the Office of Inspector General to conduct more unannounced prison inspections, per Forbes. 

Of the inspections OIG has done over the years, it found significant shortages of staff, poor medical care for prisoners, rotten food and dirty living conditions. Peters said she welcomed the law, but that it had not yet been funded.

The entrance to FCI Dublin, which is located in California’s Bay Area. ( Anda Chu/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)

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Trump reversed Executive Order 14006, which had eliminated Justice Department contracts with private prisons. The reversal now allows for new contracts between private prison corporations and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump has revoked a Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. 

After taking the oath of office on Monday, the new president signed an order revoking former President Joe Biden’s order known as Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their Country in Uniform, which was signed in 2021.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to reinstate the ban on transgender troops he imposed during his first term. In his inauguration speech, he said he would formally recognize that there are only two genders: male and female.

There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender service members.

The new executive order was part of a rapid-fire succession of moves Trump has taken to undo Biden’s policies. In a statement, the White House called out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government that “has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.”

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President Donald Trump has revoked a Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. (Greg Nash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The move comes as part of a campaign taken up by Trump and his Defense Department secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to weed out any DEI practices across U.S. forces. 

Last week, Trump tapped Matthew Lohmeier to be the Air Force’s next undersecretary. In 2021, Lohmeier, a Space Force lieutenant colonel, was fired after calling out the military’s diversity programs and alleging “Marxism” within its ranks. 

Lohmeier has self-published a book, “Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military” and appeared on podcasts claiming the military was being weakened by Marxism, diversity efforts and critical race theory.

President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to reinstate the ban on transgender troops he imposed during his first term. (Photo by Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chair of the House Armed Services Committee, praised the move, “is already restoring the focus of our military on lethality by putting an end to woke DEI programs.”

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Monday’s actions are part of a wider Republican crackdown on transgenderism within the military. GOP lawmakers successfully included an amendment in their 2025 defense policy bill that bans irreversible transgender care for minors in the military healthcare system.

The move comes as part of a campaign taken up by President Donald Trump and his Defense Department secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to weed out any DEI practices across U.S. forces. (AP)

An order requiring the federal government to only recognize two genders has prohibited the use of taxpayer money for “transgender services” following reports that some inmates were receiving transgender care funded by the government. Medicaid, in some states, currently covers such treatments. 

Also, under that order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims are to be segregated by biological sex. It would block requirements at government facilities and at workplaces that transgender people be referred to using pronouns that align with their gender. Trump’s team says those requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.

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The order does not issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can participate in, though many states have passed laws in those areas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Washington, D.C., pastor who delivered a liberal sermon during a church service attended by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance is facing fierce backlash from fellow pastors, as well as critics on social media for “weaponizing” the pulpit instead of promoting unity. 

“Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She’s the first woman to hold the position. She was given a great honor today, a chance to unify America around a Christian message at the dawn of a new administration. Instead, she disgraced herself with a lecture you’d hear on CNN or an episode of The View. What an embarrassment,” Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk posted to X. 

Catholic Vote, a conservative nonprofit, added on X, “Liberal Protestant Pastor Mariann Edgar Budde blindsides Trump and Vance, weaponizing her sermon to attack them in front of their families by saying they should ‘have mercy’ on gay, lesbian, and transgender children. Unbelievable.”

Trump and Vance, alongside their respective families, took part in a long presidential tradition of attending the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral the day after the inauguration. The National Cathedral, an Episcopal Church, has hosted the prayer service the day after the presidential inauguration since 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn-in. 

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President Donald Trump attends the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

This year’s service, however, took a turn when the bishop of the protestant church warned that gay and transgender children allegedly “fear for their lives” and that Trump should “have mercy,” before turning her attention to illegal immigrants living in the U.S. 

Trump and Vance appeared visibly annoyed by the comments, as Trump looked off to his side, while Vance shot a look over at Trump. 

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” Mariann Edgar Budde claimed in the church service. 

President Donald Trump and Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“And the people who pick our crops, clean our office buildings, labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat at restaurants and work the night shifts at hospitals, they may not be citizens, or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she continued. 

Pastor and former NFL star Jack Brewer told Fox News Digital that the sermon is “just the beginning of Democrats’ desperate attempts to race bait America back into the pernicious grips of DEI.”

Jack Brewer, former safety for the Minnesota Vikings, speaks during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The fact that President Trump demanded that God remain as the foundation of America should have received non-partisan praise from all of our nation’s clergy. We are addressing DEI and wokeness in our government and businesses and it’s time to address wokeness in churches as well,” he said. 

Pastor Rob Pacienza of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida and founder of the Institute for Faith and Culture slammed the comment in a statement to Fox Digital. 

“Ironically, the bishop used the pulpit and the service to not only lecture the president but to promote a secular worldview and her woke ideology. Unity can only be achieved through a commitment to biblical truth, not cultural assimilation. Her sermon was indicative of the heresy being taught by mainline denominations. Our nation was founded upon the truth that there is God, and he alone defines good and evil,” he said. 

Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks added that he “would like to know … why she didn’t ask for the previous administration to have mercy on these trans kids and immigrants.” 

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde arrives as President Donald Trump looks on during the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“This Bishop asked Trump and his administration to have mercy on trans kids and immigrants. What I would like to know is why she didn’t ask for the previous administration to have mercy on these trans kids and immigrants?  Where was she when it counted? We have children who are so young that they do not know the ways of this world and yet we are doing irreversible damage to their bodies — damage that many have since regretted. Where was she when Biden opened the borders and allowed millions of people who knew they were breaking the law to cross over,” Brooks told Fox News Digital following the sermon. 

Pastor Corey Brooks speaks to Fox News. (Fox News )

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“We knew a day of reckoning was coming. Yet where was her request for compassion back then. What the previous administration did was not compassion but ideological malpractice. They operated on children out of ideology. They allowed in people from other countries out of ideology. This was not compassion. Our compassion must be for our citizens first and foremost,” he added. 

Other critics of the remarks slammed Budde on social media for what they described as an attack on Trump and his policies. 

The pastor of Kings Church in New York City, David Englehard, added in a comment provided to Fox News Digital that “when compassion divorces itself from truth, it becomes a counterfeit virtue—easily manipulated, shallow, and destructive.”

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“As Christ warned in John 8:44, the father of lies thrives where truth is discarded, twisting kind intentions into tools of hell. True compassion bows to the authority of law and justice-for his throne is established on Justice; without these, it is not compassion at all, but indulgence in sophistry that serves the enemy of God,” Englehard said. 

Additionally, country music artist John Rich responded to the sermon by citing scripture. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:30”

John Rich performs at Flagstock in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

Trump demanded an apology from the pastor in a Truth Social post early Wednesday morning, describing her tone as “nasty.” 

“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!” he posted. 

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His message followed Budde joining CNN, where she explained that she was speaking directly to Trump in the sermon. 

“I was speaking directly to him. I was also, frankly, as you do in every sermon, speaking to everyone who was listening through that one-on-one conversation with the president. Reminding us all that in the people that are frightened in our country, the two groups of people that I mentioned are our fellow human beings, and that they have been portrayed in, all throughout the political campaign, in the harshest of lights that … I wanted to counter as gently as I could with a reminder of their humanity and their and their place in our wider community,” she said. 

Democrats have named their members to serve on the House Oversight Subcommittee for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and warn they will “fight back” against cuts to critical federal programs. 

The newly minted agency, a key promise of President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, is tasked with slashing government waste and providing increased transparency when it comes to government spending. It was created via executive order on Monday.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M. announced on X Tuesday that she will serve as the ranking member.

Trump signing an executive order, Rep. Marjorie Taylor and Greene Rep. Melanie Stansbury. (Jim Watson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, left, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, top right, Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Integrity Project, bottom right.)

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

Stansbury will be joined by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D- Mass., Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, as well as Eleanor Holmes Norton, a non-voting congressional delegate for Washington, D.C., per Politico. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the ranking member of the full Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will be permitted to sit on the subcommittee in an ex officio capacity, the outlet reports. 

Stansbury vowed to “use every tool available to work across the aisle and combat policies that are harmful to Americans.”

She said in a video on X that Democrats are “100% in” on DOGE if it operates to improve government efficiency and make federal agencies work better. But if it’s going to be “political theater to do the bidding of President Trump and his billionaire allies,” then they are prepared to “fight back.”

“I know what good government looks like and am not afraid to fight for it,” Stansbury said in a separate statement, per Politico. “At the same time, I am prepared to fight to protect the vital programs, services, and employees that keep our communities safe and the economy running.”

DOGE is tasked with reigning in government spending.  (Getty Images)

‘EFFICIENT AND ACCOUNTABLE’: GOP-LED DOGE BILL AIMS TO SLASH OUTFLOW OF FEDERAL DOLLARS

Garcia, too, said he will use his position on the oversight subcommittee to “fight back” against the House GOP’s plans to “attack the federal workforce.” He said Republicans plan on cutting critical federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and give tax cuts to billionaires and the wealthiest corporations.

He took aim at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is chair of the subcommittee. 

“Marjorie Taylor Greene and her extremist allies are helping push a radical agenda in this subcommittee that includes eliminating the Department of Education and programs for seniors and veterans,” Garcia said in a statement. 

“We’re ready to fight back on day one, call out attempts to slash our social safety net, and make sure we take care of working families and the middle class.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Greene announced Republican members selected to serve on the subcommittee; Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas; Rep. William Timmons, S.C.; Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas; Rep. Brian Jack, R-Ga.; Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.; Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo.; and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas. 

She said they bring a wealth of experience and are dedicated to providing a more efficient, effective and accountable federal government.

“Together, we will strive to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement within federal agencies, ensuring that the government operates efficiently and transparently for the American people,” Greene said in a statement. 

Trump announced Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would be leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in November, but Ramaswamy has since stepped away from the agency. (Getty Images)

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The announcements come amid news that former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is leaving the newly created department. 

Ramaswamy, who along with Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, was tapped in November by Trump to steer DOGE, is expected to launch a Republican campaign for Ohio governor early next week, according to a Fox News source.

Running for elected office requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on its structure. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday described the letter former President Biden left him inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as “inspirational” and teased reporters that he may release the “very nice” note at some point.

Trump was asked about the letter, which he found inside the Resolute Desk on Monday with a little help from Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, during a press conference announcing a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

“It was a very nice letter,” Trump told reporters. “It was a little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it, do a good job. Important, very important. How important the job is.”

The president added that he appreciated the letter so much that he may release it to the public.

TRUMP’S FBI OVERHAUL BEGINS AS ACTING DIRECTOR BRIAN DRISCOLL PUTS ‘UNTOUCHABLE’ FEDS ON NOTICE: FORMER AGENT

President Donald Trump holds up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him in the Resolute Desk as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“It was a positive, for him, in writing it,” Trump continued. “I appreciated the letter.”

Trump found the letter – addressed to “47″ – after Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter while he was signing a flurry of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in front of a gaggle of reporters.

Trump found the letter in the Resolute Desk after Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked whether Biden had left him a note. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“He may have. Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before discovering the white envelope. “Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing.”

Trump had then teased reporters that they should read it together before pulling back the reigns. He said he’d open the letter later Monday night.

POLITICO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CALLS TRUMP ‘GREATEST AMERICAN FIGURE OF HIS ERA’ DUE TO HIS INFLUENCE

The presidential tradition of leaving a letter to their successor began in 1989 when President Ronald Reagan left the White House after two terms in office, with former President George H. W. Bush taking over.

Handwritten letters from former presidents left for their successors are photographed Saturday, Jan 18, 2025, in Washington. Every president since Ronald Reagan has left a note for his successor. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Bush continued the tradition despite losing the White House to former President Bill Clinton after just one term in office. The tradition has carried on to this day through Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.

Biden, however, was the first president to find himself in the unique position of writing a letter to someone who is both his successor and the predecessor who left him a note four years earlier. Trump became the first president to serve nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.

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Biden has said Trump left him a “very generous letter,” but has so far declined to share the content of what Trump wrote, deeming it private.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio is advising his department to cease refugee resettlement operations and begin ramping up vetting of visas from certain regions in response to executive orders from President Donald Trump. 

After officially becoming its next secretary, Rubio directed the Department of State to halt refugee resettlement programs, a senior department source told Fox News Digital.

He also ordered the department to implement enhanced vetting for visa applications from “dangerous regions.” 

The secretary cited new executive orders signed by Trump after his inauguration Monday. 

LAKEN RILEY ACT SET TO BECOME ONE OF FIRST BILLS TO HIT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DESK

Rubio instructed the department to begin taking certain actions in line with Trump’s executive orders. (Reuters)

Among dozens of executive orders, Trump signed one aimed at “Realigning The United States Refugee Admissions Program” and another to “[Protect] the United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats.”

NEXT OHIO SENATOR, A ‘FISCAL CONSERVATIVE,’ AIMS TO ‘GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF PEOPLE’S LIVES’

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The former dictated that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) be suspended due to its detrimental effect on the country’s interests. The latter order calls for increased vetting of all aliens, “to the maximum degree possible,” especially those “from regions or nations with identified security risks.”

DOGE CAUCUS PLANS FOR BIGGEST IMPACT, EYEING KEY TOOLS TO EXPEDITE CUTTING WASTE

Trump’s executive order on refugees further stipulates that “the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the entry of such aliens as refugees is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.”

Rubio was the first Trump Cabinet member confirmed, the Senate voting unanimously to do so Monday night. 

Rubio directed the Department of State to suspend the refugee program.  (Reuters)

He was sworn in Tuesday morning, becoming the 72nd secretary of state. 

OHIO GOV. DEWINE PICKS LT. GOV. TO FILL VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JD VANCE’S VACANT SEAT

In remarks at the department Tuesday, Rubio said, “There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be destructive. They’re not meant to be punitive.

“The changes will be because we need to be a 21st century agency that can move by — a cliché that’s used by many — at the speed of relevance. But we need to move faster than we ever have, because the world is changing faster than we ever have. And we have to have a view that some say is called ‘look around the corner.’

A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally rushes a border wall March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post/Mega)

“But we really need to be thinking about where are we going to be in five, seven, 10 or 15 years. Some of the issues that confront humanity today have no precedent. They have no historic precedent. Some of the challenges we face have no historic precedent. We can compare it to another era, to another time, but they’re not the same. Things are moving faster than ever,” he explained. 

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Immigration was a top campaign priority for Trump during the 2024 election. 

In his inaugural address Monday, Trump promised, “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted. And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.” 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., showed frustration with Democrats on Tuesday after a confirmation vote for President Trump’s pick for CIA director in John Ratcliffe, who has bipartisan support, was blocked.

Speaking on the Senate floor after the vote was blocked by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Thune said the Senate can remain in session all weekend to confirm Trump’s picks if progress continues to be delayed.

“Do we want a vote on these folks on Tuesday or vote on them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Because that’s what we’re going to do. This can be easy or this can be hard,” Thune said. “This is about America’s national security interests, and we’re stalling, so that’s not going to happen.”

NEW GOP SENATOR TEARS INTO DEMS ‘SEEKING TO DELAY’ PETE HEGSETH DOD CONFIRMATION

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was frustrated with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., after he blocked a confirmation vote for John Ratcliffe as CIA director on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Ratcliffe was approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee by a bipartisan vote of 14 to 3. Because of that, Thune said the vote to confirm him “shouldn’t be hard.”

“Democrats and Republicans, in a very big bipartisan fashion, agree that he is very qualified for this job,” Thune said, adding that he isn’t sure what stalling accomplishes.

When blocking the vote, Murphy said many Democrats have “serious concerns” about Ratcliffe’s ability to work as CIA director because he “repeatedly politicized intelligence” during his eight months as National Intelligence director in 2020.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask to make sure that we have a full, real debate that lasts two days on the Senate floor,” Murphy said on Tuesday.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said there needed to be two more days of debate before John Ratcliffe could be confirmed as CIA director because of Democrats’ “serious concerns.” (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

CONFIRMATION DELAYS STACK UP FOR TRUMP NOMINEES AS PAPERWORK LAGS IN FEDERAL OFFICES

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the delay is for “no good reason” and is simply an attempt “to drag out all of these nominations to play procedural games.”

Cotton noted that while the Democrats acted in similar fashion in 2017 with Trump’s first administration and the Republicans in 2021 with Biden’s picks, that this didn’t happen during confirmation votes prior to the past two elections.

“We should especially get back to that practice when it is a highly accomplished, well-qualified nominee of integrity, like John Ratcliffe,” Cotton said. “Now we’re going to spin our wheels for two days. But, as I said, don’t make plans for the weekend. Don’t have any dinner dates scheduled starting on Thursday night because we’re going to get these nominees done the easy, collegial way. Or apparently the hard way.”

John Ratcliffe served as director of National Intelligence for eight months during President Trump’s first administration. (Getty Images)

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Only one of Trump’s Cabinet nominees has been confirmed thus far, and that was former Florida senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. He was confirmed on Monday by a unanimous vote.

Several nominees have advanced out of committee votes while others still await confirmation hearings.

President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony Monday featured the largest, most complex security footprint of any inauguration in U.S. history. 

The nation’s capital was transformed seemingly overnight from a pedestrian-friendly city into a daunting and impenetrable fortress – the result of a multi-agency task force that erected 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, coordinated aerial surveillance and drones, and saw the deployment of tens of thousands of law enforcement, military personnel, undercover agents, and national guard trucks across D.C.

The impressive, whole-of-government security effort on Inauguration Day was unprecedented, and not without reason: Trump was the victim of two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign — including a shooter who came so close to him as to nick his ear — and a domestic threat landscape that was heightened further by the terrorist-inspired attack in New Orleans and the execution-style killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan late last year.

It’s notable, then, that this year’s sprawling security footprint did not expressly include one key component considered fundamental to U.S. tradition: The naming of a designated survivor.

Fencing stands in front of the U.S. Capitol. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

In D.C., the tightly coordinated federal protection efforts were carefully planned long ahead of Trump’s inauguration ceremony by the Secret Service and many other federal agencies. 

It’s both a nod to recent security concerns, and more largely an effort to protect the U.S. body politic, foreign dignitaries, donors, and thousands of attendees from any mass catastrophe or threat. 

The designated survivor, who in a catastrophic event would bear the responsibility of leading the U.S. in the aftermath of a crisis, is typically a Cabinet officer when major security events put elected officials all in one spot, such as inaugurations and State of the Union addresses.

WORLD LEADERS REACT AS TRUMP RE-ENTERS WHITE HOUSE

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Commander In Chief Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Previous designated survivors have included former DHS secretary Jeh Johnson, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was tapped for the role during President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. 

Gates, a George W. Bush appointee, was kept on by Obama and served in his Pentagon role until July 2011, according to his official Defense Department biography.

The survivor’s location, and sometimes identity, remains confidential until after the event disperses and its attendees have safely returned home. In high-profile events, a broader contingency plan is in place.

As Garrett Graff reported in 2016, Gates’s role as designated survivor during Obama’s inauguration also included the support of another government heavyweight — James Clapper, then the undersecretary of intelligence — who stowed away during the ceremony deep in an underground government bunker in Pennsylvania, a backup to the backup, if you will, and a nod at the detailed succession plan carefully crafted by a group defense, intelligence, and other federal agencies over the span of some 40-plus years.

So it was notable that no designated survivor was named during the 47th presidential inauguration.

TRUMP INAUGURATION GUEST LIST INCLUDES TECH TITANS MARK ZUCKERBERG, JEFF BEZOS, ELON MUSK
 

President Donald Trump attends the Commander in Chief Ball in honor of his inauguration in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. (Reuters/Daniel Cole)

No reason was given for the absence of the designated survivor, which was first reported by NBC News.

It’s possible that the sprawling security presence coordinated in the run-up to Jan. 20 was deemed sufficient to protect against any threats.

DEMS PROMISE TO ‘STAND UP TO’ TRUMP BUT LAUD ‘PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER’ AFTER SPEECH

President Donald Trump reviews the troops during his inauguration ceremony in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Greg Nash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s also possible the event, which was held indoors and thus restricted to the public and to members of the news media, was limited enough as not to warrant the designated survivor. 

Ahead of the event, FBI and Secret Service personnel stressed the stringent security measures in place and the tight vetting of any ticketed attendees.

David Sundberg of the FBI’s Washington Field Office told Fox News earlier this week that the bureau was not tracking “any specific or credible threats” for Inauguration Day.

“All attendees will undergo screening,” said Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. 

These individuals told Fox News that the fencing alone is more than any other designated National Special Security Event in the past.

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“Designated checkpoints will be set up for members of the public interested in attending the inauguration,” McCool said ahead of the inauguration — a protocol also applied to attendees of the modified Capital One festivities, which were moved inside due to frigid temperatures.

Neither the White House, DHS nor the FBI immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the absence of a designated survivor.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday said that the mass deportation operation has already started, as the Trump administration looks to make good on promises to tackle the border crisis and crack down against illegal immigration.

“No, it started [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] teams are out there as of today,” Homan said on “America’s Newsroom.” “We gave them direction to prioritize public safety threats that we’re looking for. We’ve been working up the target list.”

The administration has promised to launch a “historic” mass deportation operation, and sources told Fox News Digital that arrests were being planned on “day one.” Some media outlets reported on Friday about an operation in Chicago, but Homan said that was re-evaluated due to the leak of information.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

“There was some discussion about Chicago because the specific operational plan was released. So we had to look at and reevaluate, ‘Does this raise officer safety concerns?’ And it does. But we’ve addressed that  and teams are out there, effective today,” he said.

As for who will be targeted in the operation, Homan said that the priority are public safety threats, but he has said repeatedly that no-one is “off the table” when it comes to arrests if they’re in the U.S. illegally.

“Right out of the gate it’s public safety threats, those who are in the country illegally that have been convicted, arrested for serious crime,” he said. “But let me be clear. There’s not only public safety threats that will be arrested, because in sanctuary cities, we’re not allowed to get that public safety threat in the jail, which means we got to go to the neighborhood and find him.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Thomas Homan speaks at the National Conservative Conference in Washington D.C., Monday, July 8, 2024. (DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“And when we find him, he may be with others. And unlike the last administration, we’re not going to tell ICE officers not to arrest an illegal alien. So if they find, others will be arrested. So sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in their neighborhoods and more collateral arrests,” he said.

Homan spoke hours after Fox News reported on two DHS memos, including one that rescinded a 2021 memo by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which provided an expanded list of areas that are “protected areas” where ICE could not engage in immigration enforcement. It said the policy was designed to make sure enforcement did not limit “people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.”

‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Those areas include schools, universities, healthcare facilities, places of worship, “places where children gather,” social service establishments, food banks, religious or civil ceremonies and disaster or emergency response and relief centers.

The memo issued Monday rescinded that guidance and said that common sense should be used instead.

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“Going forward, law enforcement officers should continue to use that discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense,” the new memo said. “It is not necessary, however, for the head of the agency to create bright line rules regarding where our immigration laws are permitted to be enforced.”

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

Here’s what’s happening…

– ‘Class act’ Barron Trump sets social media ablaze for shaking hands with Biden at dad’s inauguration

– Trump ‘articulated a playbook,’ experts say of his policy-oriented inaugural address

– Top 5 Inauguration Day moments

Security Clearances Revoked

President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of more than 50 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

A total of 51 former national security officials released a public letter in 2020 claiming that even though the laptop did not have “any evidence of Russian involvement,” it looked like a “Russian information operation.”

The letter came after the New York Post reported they had emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company…Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump signs pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025.   (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

White House

FAILED TO DELIVER: Trump did not keep ‘Day 1’ promise to grant clemency to Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road…Read more

READY, SET, GO: President Trump signed a record number of EOs on his first day in the Oval Office…Read more

‘UNACCEPTABLE RISK’: Federal judge blocks release of second volume of special counsel report to certain lawmakers…Read more

‘COMMON SENSE’: Trump DHS repeals key Mayorkas memo limiting ICE agents, orders parole review…Read more

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

JUST FOR THE TASTE OF IT: Trump brings back famous soda button to Oval Office desk…Read more

NEW HIRES: Trump nominees Collins, Stefanik to face Senate grilling while Bessent gets committee vote…Read more

TRUMP PROSECUTIONS: 4 Trump rivals that Biden didn’t pardon…Read more

‘READY TO FACE THEM’: Trump admin hits back as ACLU launches lawsuit on birthright citizenship: ‘Ready to face them’…Read more

‘HEARD AROUND THE WORLD’: Stefanik looks back to fiery exchanges with college leaders in Senate confirmation hearing: ‘watershed moment’…Read more

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January  21, 2025.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

STEPPING IN: Trump’s House GOP allies push birthright citizenship bill after progressive fury at presidential order…Read more

‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDER’: Blue-state governor bashes Trump birthright citizenship move…Read more

DEFENDING ‘BINARY REALITY OF SEX’: ‘Unlawful DEI-motivated’ workplace discrimination to be rooted out by Trump’s new acting EEOC chair…Read more

UTTER NEIN-SENSE: Stefanik excoriates Dem for Elon Musk ‘Nazi salute’ accusation…Read more

World Stage

TAKING IT BACK’: Russia sounds off on Trump’s threat to retake the Panama Canal…Read more

‘WEIGHS ON ME EVERY DAY’: Israeli military chief steps down, citing responsibility for October 7 Hamas massacre…Read more

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

LAST ACT OF CRUELTY: What was in the brown bags handed to Israeli hostages released by Hamas?…Read more

AMERICA FIRST: World leaders react as Trump re-enters the White House…Read more

Capitol Hill

DC CRACKDOWN: Bipartisan lawmakers join forces to break up ‘out-of-touch’ DC power structure…Read more

‘WEAPON OF ABUSE’: Chip Roy leads House Republicans in effort to repeal law used by Biden administration to prosecute pro-lifers…Read more

Across America

TERMINATED: Coast Guard commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus…Read more

CAUGHT: Massachusetts must pay feds $2.1B after mistakenly using pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits…Read more

‘SKIRTING’ SCOTUS: Medical schools evading high court precedent on race-based admissions…Read more

‘LOUD AND CLEAR’: Border state’s legislature moves to back Trump’s ICE on deportations….Read more

Raul Calderon-Interiano, who was in the U.S. illegally, was convicted of sex crimes in Baltimore and released, despite a detainer from ICE. (ICE)

BACK HOME: 2 Americans released in exchange for Taliban prisoner…Read more

COLD MURDER: Border Patrol agent killed in Vermont identified…Read more

TIDE CHANGE: DeSantis cites ‘Gulf of America’ in winter storm order after Trump rebranding…Read more

NUMBERS GAME: 4 states sue to block illegal migrants from census count used to assign congressional seats, electoral votes…Read more

‘LOUD AND CLEAR’: Border state’s legislature moves to back Trump’s ICE on deportations….Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., and Jon Husted, R-Ohio, were sworn in on Tuesday following the resignations of both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. 

With the two new senators, Republicans officially have 53 members in their Senate conference. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., recently announced Moody to be the next senator from Florida, taking over Rubio’s seat. She was the state’s attorney general prior. 

LAKEN RILEY ACT SET TO BECOME ONE OF FIRST BILLS TO HIT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DESK

Two new Republican senators were sworn in on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Shortly after DeSantis made his pick, Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, revealed his choice of his then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to replace Vance.

The final breakdown in the upper chamber is 53 Republicans and 47 senators in the Democratic caucus. 

NEXT OHIO SENATOR, A ‘FISCAL CONSERVATIVE,’ AIMS TO ‘GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF PEOPLE’S LIVES’

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody responds to cheering supporters after Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, announced her appointment as U.S. senator to replace Marco Rubio, during a news conference at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.  (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

While the GOP has a several seat majority, they will need the assistance of some Democrats to defeat the legislative filibuster’s 60-vote threshold to consider most legislation. 

However, on nominations and budget reconciliation, that threshold is lowered to 51. 

DOGE CAUCUS PLANS FOR BIGGEST IMPACT, EYEING KEY TOOLS TO EXPEDITE CUTTING WASTE

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, right, speaks beside Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine during a news conference on June 2, 2022, in Avon Lake, Ohio. DeWine and Husted have been drawn into a FirstEnergy Corp. investors lawsuit connected to the $60 million bribery scheme concocted by the energy giant and a now-incarcerated House speaker. (AP Photo/David Richard, File)

“Thank you so much. I will bring the same persistence and passion and tenacity as a United States senator that I have brought as Florida’s Attorney General,” Moody said after accepting DeSantis’s appointment. 

“If you have worked with me and fought with me over the last six years, you know, I don’t think of this as a job. I think of it as a calling,” she added. 

OHIO GOV DEWINE PICKS LT GOV TO FILL VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JD VANCE’S VACANT SEAT

The Capitol is seen under cloud cover in Washington, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) . (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Following DeWine’s announcement, Husted said, “Governor, I just want to say thank you. It is my honor to accept the appointment to serve the people of the state of Ohio in the U.S. Senate. I just appreciate that you have placed so much trust in me. First as a running mate, and then as lieutenant governor, and now as your appointee to the Senate.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a full and unconditional pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the anonymous marketplace website Silk Road, which the president promised to do “on Day 1” while on the campaign trail.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbri[c]ht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Ulbricht was convicted because his website, which was founded in 2011 and used cryptocurrency for payments, was used to sell illegal drugs, even though he did not sell any of the illicit substances himself.

In May, Trump delivered a speech at the Libertarian National Convention to a hostile crowd of boos in an attempt to win over Libertarian voters. Libertarians believe government investigators overreached in their case against Silk Road and generally oppose the war on drugs.

TRUMP FAILED TO DELIVER ‘DAY 1’ PROMISE TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO ROSS ULBRICHT, FOUNDER OF SILK ROAD

People hold signs in support of jailed darknet market Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, as former President Trump attends the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, D.C., May 25, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

While the attendees were not favorable to Trump for most of the event, they did give a big cheer when he said he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence to time served, as the crowd chanted “Free Ross” in hopes the presidential candidate would take action if elected to allow the Silk Road founder to return home to his family after more than a decade behind bars.

“If you vote for me, on Day 1 I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served. He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to get him home,” Trump told the crowd of Libertarians, many of whom were holding signs that said “Free Ross.”

Ulbricht reacted to Trump’s comments the following day on the social media platform X.

TRUMP PARDONS NEARLY ALL 1/6 DEFENDANTS

Members of the Libertarian Party stand in chairs while chanting and demanding the release of Ross Ulbricht during the party’s national convention at the Washington Hilton May 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

“Last night, Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day 1, if reelected,” he wrote. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment. It is thanks to your undying support that I may get a second chance.”

Last month, Ulbricht wrote, “For my last monthly resolution of 2024, I intend to study every day and to get up to speed as much as I can as I prepare for freedom.”

Trump later reiterated his promise to commute Ulbricht’s life sentence at a bitcoin conference, which he received loud cheers for.

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While Trump failed to deliver his promise to free Ulbricht on his first day back in office, he followed through on the second day.

Ulbricht, now 40, operated the website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. He was sentenced two years later to life in prison.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday announced the deployment of personnel and equipment to various maritime borders in the United States, a day after President Donald Trump dismissed the military branch’s leader. 

In a statement, Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said coast guardsmen would work to detect and deter illegal migration in support of Trump’s executive orders issued this week. 

“The U.S. Coast Guard is the world’s premiere maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America’s maritime borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Lunday said. “Per the President’s Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets—cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces—to increase Coast Guard presence and focus…”

RETIRED COAST GUARD HELICOPTER COMMANDER DETAILS RISKS TO AIR CREWS FIGHTING LA FIRES

The Coast Guard said it was taking immediate action to support executive orders signed by President Donald Trump the day after he was sworn into office.  (U.S. Coast Guard)

Key areas where authorities will focus their efforts include the waters off Florida to deter and prevent migrants from Haiti and Cuba from entering the U.S., and maritime borders around Alaska, Hawaii, as well as the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Somoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Lunday also wrote in the release that the agency would target the “maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America.” 

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico. In the federal executive order: “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” Section 4 rebrands the “area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico… an integral asset to our once burgeoning nation …and an indelible part of America” – as the “Gulf of America.”

The reference appears to be the first time a federal agency has acknowledged the name change.

The Coast Guard said it would also target the Bahamas and South Florida, and between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. 

In addition, the Coast Guard will support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border.

“Together, in coordination with our Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense teammates, we will detect, deter and interdict illegal migration, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activity before it reaches our border,” a news release states. 

A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sail off the coast of Key West, Florida. The Coast Guard on Tuesday said it would deploy additional resources to certain areas in support of President Trump’s executive orders to combat illegal immigration.  (iStock)

6 SUSPECTS ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN DEADLY HUMAN SMUGGLING INCIDENTS OVER THE PAST WEEK, COAST GUARD SAYS

On Monday, Trump also issued a flurry of executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration. 

Among the many charges was the termination of Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, 61, who was fired by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan was fired by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman. (Getty Images)

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Huffman didn’t cite a reason for the dismissal, but a senior DHS official told Fox News that Fagan was removed for failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and an “erosion of trust” over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the Coast Guard’s internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly reassigned multiple senior officials across various divisions ahead of the anticipated confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nomination for U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Fox News is told that multiple career staffers in the criminal and national security divisions at the DOJ were removed from their current posts and reassigned.

While it is difficult to fire a career person “just because,” reassigning is possible, and that appears to have happened.

Of those who were moved to other positions within the DOJ was Bruce Schwartz, head of the office of internal affairs, which handles extradition matters, a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. The same person reportedly told the wire service that about 20 officials had been reassigned.

DONALD TRUMP SWORN IN AS 47TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Also, reportedly moved was George Toscas, a veteran deputy assistant attorney general in the national security division who not only helped oversee major terrorism and espionage investigations but also was a key figure in politically motivated probes over the last 10 years.

Toscas was involved in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information as well as the investigation into Trump’s possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Toscas’ reassignment was confirmed to The Associated Press by another person familiar with the matter.

TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY ONE

Former President Trump headlines a Republican National Committee spring donor retreat, in Palm Beach, Fla., May 4, 2024  (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

“He has seen everything in both counterterrorism and counterintelligence,” a former colleague of Toscas’ who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post. “There is no one in the department who knows as much about prosecuting and investigating terrorists and spies as George Toscas.”

The Washington Post also learned from sources familiar with the matter that Eun Young Choi, another deputy assistant attorney general in the national security division, was reassigned within the department, and was notified of the change by way of email on Monday afternoon.

The DOJ declined to comment on the changes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP DISCOVERS LETTER FROM FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN IN RESOLUTE DESK

The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hours after Trump took the oath of office, the DOJ removed at least four senior officials from the division that operates the nation’s immigration courts, which are currently backlogged.

The Washington Post reported that there is a 120-day moratorium on some staff reassignments after newly confirmed leaders begin their appointments, under federal guidelines. Bondi has not yet been confirmed; therefore, the moratorium is not yet in effect in the DOJ.

Currently, James McHenry is running the DOJ as acting U.S. attorney general after Merrick Garland left the department on Friday. 

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The reasons for the moves were not immediately known, though it is common for a new administration to appoint its own hires to lead the DOJ.

The moves could also foreshadow additional changes, given Trump’s interest in the department, which investigated him during his first term and indicted him twice last year in separate cases that never reached trial and were withdrawn after Trump’s election win in November.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The White House’s Office of Personnel Management notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices by the end of the day Wednesday and place government workers in those offices on paid leave, Fox News Digital has learned. 

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Charles Ezell sent a memo to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies Tuesday evening directing them to, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to:

• Send an agency-wide notice to employees informing them of the closure and asking employees if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.
• Send a notification to all employees of DEIA offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs.
• Take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc) of DEIA offices.
• Withdraw any final or pending documents, directives, orders, materials, and equity plans issued by the agency in response to now-repealed Executive Order 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal Workforce (June 25, 2021).
• Cancel any DEIA-related trainings, and terminate any DEIA-related contractors.

INFLUENCERS PRAISE TRUMP FOR DECLARING ‘ONLY TWO GENDERS’ WILL BE RECOGNIZED BY US: ‘TRUTH IS WINNING!’

The memo also directed the heads of agencies and departments, by 12:00pm Thursday to share with OPM: 

• a complete list of DEIA offices and any employees who in those offices as of November 5, 2024.
• a complete list of all DEIA-related agency contracts as of November 5, 2024.
• any agency plans to fully comply with the above Executive Orders and this memorandum.

By Friday at 5pm, agency heads must submit to OPM: 

• a written plan for executing a reduction-in-force action regarding the employees who work in a DEIA office.
• a list of all contract descriptions or personnel position descriptions that were changed since November 5, 2024 to obscure their connection to DEIA programs.

TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY ONE

DEI department of homeland security (Fox News Digital-Hannah Grossman)

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The memo comes after President Trump signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. 

The president also signed an order making it “the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.”