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Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom will temporarily raise the American Flag at the state Capitol to full height on Inauguration Day next week, joining a handful of GOP governors and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in the decision.

Newsom’s press office confirmed the decision to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night.

Following tradition, flags at the U.S. Capitol and state buildings across the country are flying at half-staff because of the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, 2024. 

Flags temporarily raised to full height will return to half-staff on Jan. 21 for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period, which ends on Jan. 28 – eight days after President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office.

HONORING TRUMP: SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS FLAGS TO FLY AT FULL-STAFF AT US CAPITOL BUILDING DURING PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered that flags at the state Capitol temporarily fly at full-staff on Jan. 20 for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.  (Getty/AP)

As of Thursday morning, Newsom is the only Democratic governor to issue the directive, which comes as Southern California is ravaged by catastrophic wildfires.

Similar decisions were recently made by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – all of whom are Republicans.

House Speaker Johnson also ordered that flags at the U.S. Capitol fly at full-staff for Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

DESANTIS ORDERS FLAGS AT FULL-STAFF FOR TRUMP’S INAUGURATION DESPITE 30-DAY MOURNING PERIOD FOR JIMMY CARTER

Trump has criticized the potential for flags to be displayed at half-staff for his inauguration following Carter’s death.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also ordered that the flag at the U.S. Capitol temporarily fly at full-staff for Trump’s inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”

“Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years – It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast,” he continued. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

President-elect Trump has criticized the possibility of the flag flying at half-staff during his inauguration on Jan. 20 despite it falling during the 30-day mourning period following the death of former President Jimmy Carter. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

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Flags were flown at half-staff when former President Nixon was sworn-in for his second term in 1973 after Nixon ordered the flags to be lowered following the death of former President Truman.

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

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, has vowed to head up a Justice Department free from political influence and mismanagement if confirmed – using her confirmation hearing Wednesday to assuage concerns that she might use the role to go after Trump’s so-called “enemies” or otherwise weaponize the Department of Justice. 

For weeks, Bondi has done the same behind closed doors – meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan charm offensive designed to head off any unexpected encounters and ensure an easy path to confirmation.

As of Wednesday, the careful strategy seems to have paid off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida AG in light of their earlier in light of their earlier one-on-one meetings in private.

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

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“I had a good meeting with her,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told Politico Wednesday following the hearing. 

Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the start of her confirmation Wednesday, Bondi highlighted her early dreams of becoming a prosecutor – a dream she said was realized almost immediately after beginning law school.

“From the moment I interned at the State Attorney’s office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor,” Bondi said, noting that she had four jury trials while in law school. “I lost most of them,” she laughed, but still “never wanted to do anything else.” 

“If confirmed,” Bondi continued, her tone turned serious, “I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components.”

She also vowed to collaborate closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on earlier relationships developed with Senate offices in the run-up to Wednesday’s hearing.

Trump’s Democratic detractors wasted little time in the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi’s confirmation and her ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect; many of them confronted her directly with the names of her would-be predecessors who tried and failed to do the same. 

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

They questioned her willingness to go after political “enemies” and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI nominee. 

But Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of Wednesday’s hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break. 

She highlighted her record on fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, and human trafficking as Florida’s top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.

If confirmed, Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border. 

Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen. 

‘UNLIKELY COALITION’: A CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN A SECOND TRUMP TERM

Pam Bondi shakes hands as her confirmation hearing resumes. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

Sunshine State endorsements 

Those who have worked with Bondi in her decades-long prosecutorial career have described her in both a series of interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner. 

Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar – a role where they would go on to work in tandem to crack down on the state’s opioid crisis – some of the office’s most important and lasting work. 

He credited her in an interview as the “most responsible for ridding the state of Florida of destructive pill mills,” citing her push for statewide legislation, and her work in enforcing Florida’s “Statewide Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Road Map” to coordinate federal, state and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis, among other actions.

At the time, the Sunshine State was at the epicenter of the U.S. opioid crisis, with an abundance of “pill mills,” cash-only clinics, and lack of statewide prescribing laws that allowed for the purchase of addictive medications largely without restrictions.

When Bondi took office, opioids were killing around seven people each day, Aronberg said in an interview. There were also “more pain clinics than McDonald’s locations” in Florida at the time, he said, illustrating the magnitude of the problem. If confirmed as U.S. attorney general, Bondi has made clear she plans to remain focused on cracking down on illicit drugs – albeit on a national scale. 

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, Jan. 15, 2025.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Other parts of her record in Florida were also highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and economic relief secured by then-Florida attorney general Bondi on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State. 

After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi’s lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief. 

These issues are likely to take center stage in Thursday’s hearing – the second day of Bondi’s two-day confirmation – which will focus on testimony of others who have worked with her over the years.

National praise

In the weeks ahead of Bondi’s hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former top Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi, praising both her experience for the role and commitment to the rule of law.

The letter from the former Justice Department officials was signed by top officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations, and by former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, who noted: “It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials – much less Attorneys General – to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe.”

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The letter also praised what the officials described as Bondi’s “national reputation” for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.

More recently, Bondi also earned the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included both Democrats and Republican attorneys general, who touted what they described as Bondi’s wealth of prosecutorial experience – including in her role as Florida’s top prosecutor – that they said makes her especially qualified for the role. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to reconvene Thursday at 10:15 a.m. to hear from a panel of outside witnesses relating to Bondi’s qualifications for attorney general.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, a top Democrat who served on the congressional committee investigating President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, isn’t expecting any favors from the outgoing commander-in-chief. 

He said he thinks a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden, protecting him from Trump’s potential retaliation, is unnecessary because the Jan. 6 committee “didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“I don’t think a pardon is necessary. I stand by the work that we did,” on the committee, Aguilar told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday.

The California Democrat also said that he has “not sought a pardon,” nor has he spoken to anyone at the White House about one. Fox News Digital reached out to Aguilar to inquire whether he would accept one, if it were granted to him, but did not hear back.   

Lawmakers who served on the House committee investigating Jan. 6 have been split about the importance of a preemptive pardon. Some fear it will set a bad precedent for future presidents and assert that the Constitution’s speech and debate clause provides adequate protection against criminal prosecutions, or civil lawsuits, over their legislative work. Others, meanwhile, have welcomed the idea of a pardon, fearing “retribution” from Trump.

MICHAEL COHEN PLEAS FOR BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL PARDON: ‘I’M SOMEBODY’S SON ALSO’

U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, left, and Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 13, 2022.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the former Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump, said he spoke with the White House last month about the potential of issuing pardons for lawmakers who served on the committee, and said he would accept a pardon from Biden if it were granted to him.

“I believe Donald Trump when he says he’s going to inflict retribution on this,” Thompson said this week. “I believe when he says my name and Liz Cheney and the others. I believe him.”

Other than Thompson, no other members of the committee have indicated they will accept a pardon granted to them by Biden. However, they have stopped short of saying whether they would decline one.

“I’ve not been in touch with the White House. I’ve not sought one,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who served on the committee, said Tuesday. 

“It would be the wrong precedent to set. I don’t want to see each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who also served on the committee, said in an interview with CNN earlier this month. Former GOP Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger made the same argument as Schiff, but went a step further, saying that he did not want one.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said during a live event this week hosted by Politico that he wasn’t sure what the right call for Biden was. 

“Different people have different feelings about the whole pardon thing because there are these outrageous threats that are being leveled against people just for doing their jobs, like Jan. 6 prosecutors at the Department of Justice,” Raskin said. He added that “in a just world” there would be no need for a pardon because the committee did nothing wrong.

“I’m glad we’ve got a wise president with wise people around him who will be able to figure that out,” Raskin said.  

BIDEN’S HHS SECRETARY WARNS AGAINST IMPLICATIONS OF PREEMPTIVE PARDON FOR FAUCI, OTHERS

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., left, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, confer in the House chamber as lawmakers gather for a joint session of Congress to certify the votes from the Electoral College in the presidential election, in Washington, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. 

During Biden’s final interview as president with a print publication last week, he indicated that preemptive pardons for Trump’s political foes were still under consideration. Biden also noted in the interview that he had personally urged Trump not to “try to settle scores” when he met with the president-elect at the White House following his November election victory.  

Trump has referred to Thompson and other members on the Jan. 6 committee as “thugs” and “creeps.” During an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” last month, Trump accused the members on the committee of destroying evidence, adding that “everybody on that committee … should go to jail.”

BIDEN CLAIMS HE ‘MEANT WHAT I SAID’ WITH PROMISE NOT TO PARDON HUNTER, HOPES IT DOESN’T SET PRECEDENT

“They lied. And what did they do? They deleted and destroyed a whole year and a half worth of testimony. Do you know that I can’t get — I think those people committed a major crime,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker.

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

On Tuesday, the Justice Department released a 137-page report outlining the details of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Due to Trump’s election victory, prosecutors were forced to drop the case, but the report, according to Smith, shows how Trump allegedly used “lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process.”

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The Jan. 6 committee concluded its work after roughly a year and a half of investigations with a final report that determined Trump played a central role in the events that led to the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and that there was enough evidence for federal prosecutors to convict him. The report included several criminal referrals that the committee ultimately passed on to the Department of Justice. 

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s nominee for attorney general, engaged in a tense exchange with Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday that resulted in praise from conservatives on social media.

“You have an incoming president who said, ‘I have the absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,’ and in fact, President-elect Trump considers the DOJ to be his law firm,” the Hawaii senator said to Bondi on Wednesday. “I ask you this: If President-elect Trump asks, suggests or hints that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?”

“Sen. Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to –” Bondi began to respond.

Hirono then interrupted by saying, “I am listening to you now, could you please respond to the question?”

DEM SENATOR WHO BASHED HEGSETH’S QUALIFICATIONS STANDS BY DOD SEC WHO OVERSAW BOTCHED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL

Trump AG pick Pam Bondi, right, went back and forth with Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono in her confirmation hearing. (Getty Images)

“You were the only one who refused to meet with me but what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the attorney general,” Bondie said before being interrupted by Hirono again.

“I’m very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Miss Bondi,” Hirono said.

“So I think it’s really important to us that the attorney general be independent of the White House, and you have a president-elect who considers the AG’s office his law firm. I would like to know whether if the president suggests, hints, asks, that you, as attorney general, should investigate one of his perceived enemies.”

FRESHMAN GOP SENATOR SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE WITH ‘BEST’ RESPONSE TO HEGSETH’S ANSWER ON GENDER QUESTION

Pam Bondi (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Bondi responded, “I certainly have not heard the president say that. But what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and its statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith.”

Conservatives on social media praised Bondi for her handling of Hirono’s questions.

“Pam Bondi CLAPS BACK,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X.

“Pam Bondi isn’t playing with these far-left Senators,” the Media Research Center posted on X.

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Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii (Nathan Posner/File)

“Pam Bondi obliterates Sen. Mazie Hirono for refusing to meet with her,” conservative commentator Paul Szypula posted on X. “This was spectacular.”

“Common @PamBondi W,” the Trump War Room posted on X.

“Imagine thinking Maxie Hirono is qualified to be a U.S. Senator but Pam Bondi isn’t qualified to be U.S. Attorney General lol,” conservative commentator and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted on X. 

Bondi is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, and some have speculated that she will earn some votes from Democrats. 

After New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the planned opening of a massive, 2,000-bed migrant shelter in the South Bronx, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres slammed the decision, accusing Adams of treating the borough as an immigrant “dumping ground.”

The mayor’s office responded to Torres’ accusation by pointing out that despite the new shelter being opened, they are planning to close 46 migrant shelters across the city and reduce the total shelter bed count by 10,000 by June. She noted that the Hall Street shelter in Brooklyn, one of the largest shelters being closed, housed 3,500 migrants. 

The office announced the new shelter last week while simultaneously claiming that the ongoing migrant crisis in New York City is waning. 

This comes as New York is set to close its sprawling tent shelter on Randalls Island and dozens of other shelters in the next few months. New York is a migrant sanctuary city and has a “right to shelter” law that requires the city to accommodate anyone seeking shelter who has no other option. However, in recent months, Adams has taken a different tone toward immigrants in the city and announced the closure of a string of migrant shelters. In last week’s statement, Adams said the closures are part of the city’s efforts to find “more opportunities to save taxpayer money and turn the page on this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”

“Thanks to the administration’s successful asylum seeker management strategies and federal border policy changes the city advocated for that have continued to drive down the number of people in the city’s care for 27 straight weeks and reduce costs by nearly $2.8 billion over three fiscal years,” the mayor’s office said. 

TRUMP BORDER CZAR MEETING WITH NYC MAYOR ADAMS DESPITE SANCTUARY CITY STATUS

NYC Mayor Eric Adams sits down for an interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum. (Fox News/The Story)

Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that it will cost the city between $250,000 and $340,000 to retrofit and prepare a 275,000-square-foot former office building in the Bronx to accommodate the expected thousands of men who will live in the new migrant shelter.  

The shelter’s location – 825 E. 141st St. – was renovated in 2017 and is near an infamous section of the Bronx called “the Hub,” which is known for having a high volume of open drug use and activity, including the use of heroin and fentanyl. The building is owned by SoBro Local Development Corp., a nonprofit that’s stated mission is to “enhance the quality of life in the South Bronx by strengthening businesses and creating and implementing innovative economic, housing, educational, and career development programs for youth and adults.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Adams’ announcement was not taken well by many Bronx residents. Many of the migrant shelters in the city have earned reputations as centers for violence, crime and gang activity from the likes of the international criminal group Tren de Aragua. The New York Post reported one 21-year-old Bronx resident named Serene Bilal saying: “Wrong move!… You need to work with the people already here. We have issues going on. Why the Bronx? Why pick on the Bronx?

“It’s going to be dangerous,” Bilal told the outlet. “We don’t know who these people are. We are not talking about 10 people. We’re talking about thousands. That’s a lot.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS MAKE UP 75% OF ARRESTS IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, SAY POLICE: REPORT

Congressman Ritchie Torres speaks during a press conference in the Bronx on Jan. 17, 2022. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Torres, who is rumored to be considering a run for New York governor, also slammed the decision to place the new shelter in the Bronx.

“Instead of decisively dismantling open-air drug markets in the Hub, the City is treating the South Bronx as a dumping ground for an endless stream of shelters,” Torres told Fox News Digital.

“The Bronx is treated differently from the rest of the city,” he went on. “We are treated as the second-class borough of New York City.”

Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, responded to Torres’ criticisms by emphasizing that the overall number of shelters across the city and the tax burden on citizens is being significantly reduced. 

“I know that every elected official has specific people to speak to but we’re really looking at it from a holistic lens,” said Garcia. “The bigger picture here is we’re closing 46 migrant sites, we are reducing our bed count by 10,000 beds across the city, not just the Bronx. And we’re specifically closing shelters that are in oversaturated areas.” 

She noted that the city’s migrant shelter system was never meant to be permanent and noted the new Bronx shelter is also a temporary measure. 

Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on July 31, 2023.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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In response to a question about when the Bronx shelter will close, Garcia said: “We don’t have a specific timeline as to when it will close. It’s a lease, so it won’t be forever.” 

She said that it will depend on the next migrant census taken by the city.

“For the past over six months now, we’ve seen a decline in our [migrant] census numbers. So if that continues, obviously there’s not going to be a need for it,” she said. “So, at some point it will close in the near future. It’s just we still need places to put people while we have to help them take their next steps.”

Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

President-elect Trump’s top aide on immigration and the border spoke with House Republicans during a roughly hour-long meeting Wednesday.

Lawmakers who left the room hailed Stephen Miller, who was tapped to be U.S. Homeland Security adviser in the new Trump administration, as a brilliant policy mind.

Two sources present for the discussions told Fox News Digital Miller talked about the need to scale up the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workforce, which is noteworthy given Trump’s promise to execute mass deportations when he returns to office.

Miller also discussed ways to cut federal funds going toward sanctuary cities and states, a cash flow that Republicans had previously promised to target if they were to control the levers of power in Washington.

COLORADO MAYOR SPEAKS OUT AFTER VIDEO OF ARMED VENEZUELAN GANG IN APARTMENT GOES VIRAL: ‘FAILED POLICY’

Trump adviser Stephen Miller addressed a group of House Republicans Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Getty Images)

The strategy meeting comes as congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

The sources told Fox News Digital Miller’s portion of the meeting partly focused on what border and immigration policies could go into a reconciliation package and what kind of funding Congress would need to appropriate. 

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

The sources said Miller told Republicans the incoming Trump administration understood the president-elect’s border and immigration goals were “probably not going to get a lot” of Democratic votes and that “those more controversial things would need to be in reconciliation.” More bipartisan initiatives could be passed during the regular process, the sources added. 

A House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital of an understanding that Congress would follow Trump’s lead.

“I think we’re going to see a slew of executive orders early, and that is going to be helpful to separate from what we have to do legislatively,” the lawmaker said.

One source in the room said Miller emphasized the importance of messaging, adding that “nothing matters if we don’t get our message out to the American people.”

President-elect Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital Miller discussed “low-hanging fruit” that Trump could tackle by executive order, mentioning “deportation” as a possibility.

“Tax stuff, that’s going to take some time,” Norman said.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., declined to go into specifics about the meeting but told Fox News Digital the discussion focused on “illegal immigration and how that’s going to be curbed … to bring commonsense solutions to the program.”

HOUSE DOGE CAUCUS EYES FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS IN NEW GOAL-SETTING MEMO

“I had a couple of questions about the cost to American taxpayers if we don’t repatriate some 12 million illegal aliens who the Biden administration has let into our country,” Alford said.

Miller declined to answer reporters’ questions when he left the room.

He was invited to address the Republican Study Committee led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the House GOP’s largest caucus, which acts as a conservative think tank of sorts for the rest of the House Republican Conference. 

Pfluger told Fox News Digital in a statement after the meeting, “The Republican Study Committee is in lockstep with the incoming Trump administration. We are committed to working around the clock to deliver on the promises we made to the American people, especially when it comes to securing our border and enforcing immigration policies.”

“We will continue to work with Stephen Miller and his team to deliver the legislative victories they need from the House.”

House GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were not in attendance, nor were they expected.

Rep. Mark Alford said he asked about the cost to taxpayers to keep millions of illegal immigrants in the country. (Getty Images)

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the group’s previous chairman, said there was “nothing new” said during the meeting, adding it was an opportunity for Trump’s aides to address the House GOP.

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Trump and his aides have already paid heavy attention to congressional Republicans. 

Several of his incoming White House aides are in regular contact with top GOP lawmakers. Trump personally invited several groups of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago last weekend.

President Biden’s proclamation removing Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror caused an uproar in Florida, notably among the president’s fellow Democrats.

The rare political unity in the Sunshine State was pronounced after Biden certified on Tuesday that Havana’s Miguel Diaz-Canel regime has “not provided any support for international terrorism” during the preceding six-month period.

Biden’s declaration also claimed Havana provided Washington with assurances it will not support terrorism in the future, and that the U.S. maintains its “core objective” of “more freedom and democracy” for the Cuban people.

However, Democratic Floridians were up in arms at the development.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, in heavily-blue Broward County, told Axios on Tuesday that the outgoing president is doing lasting political damage.

“This is Joe Biden literally sinking the Democratic Party in the state of Florida,” he said. “Big time.”

CUBA’S REPORTED RETURN TO MEDDLING IN US ELECTIONS A ‘BADGE OF HONOR’ FOR TARGETED CRITICS

Once the most notable “swing state” — rife with ballot “hanging chads” and the “Brooks Brothers Riot” of the 2000 election — Florida has seen a major rightward lurch in recent years.

State Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated an electoral blowout of Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist in 2022, and President-elect Trump shocked the state by flipping Miami-Dade County red in 2024.

Trump lost Miami-Dade by 30 points in 2020, but won by 11 points in November. The county has a sizable Latino and specifically Cuban-American population — highlighted by its famed “Little Havana” neighborhood along U.S. Highway 41.

“Just as we try to patch the hole in the boat, Biden punches another hole in it,” Moskowitz told the outlet. 

“Florida is a red state, and Biden just waved the white flag of surrender.”

Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said she is “disappointed” at the decision.

“We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba’s removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately.”

Fried said in a statement that generations of Floridian Cuban-Americans have shared stories of the Castro regime’s oppression, and that Diaz-Canel is Raul Castro’s “hand-picked successor” as the first non-Castro to lead Cuba since Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by the Castro brothers in 1959.

Following the terror-sponsored designation change, Havana officials reportedly pledged to release more than 500 political prisoners — for which the Catholic Church had been negotiating for some time.

As the news fell just ahead of Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing to be Trump’s secretary of state, a spokesperson for Biden told Axios the timing is strictly coincidental.

Rubio is one of several lawmakers — and residents — of South Florida whose parents or grandparents fled the Communist nation.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. — the only Cuban-born member of Congress — called Biden a “pathetic coward” for his decision to drop Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation.

‘BLOODIED’ LITTLE HAVANA DEMONSTRATOR SLAMS BIDEN: ‘CUBANS DON’T WANT VACCINES, THEY WANT FREEDOM’

Gimenez added that Rubio will “pulverize the [Castro/Diaz-Canel] regime once and for all.”

He told Fox News Digital that Biden’s decision is “morally bankrupt” and geopolitically “treacherous,” for a malign regime that sits less than 90 miles from the edge of his own congressional district’s Monroe County boundary.

Gimenez went on to warn that the decision ignores Cuba’s coziness with the Chinese Communist Party, and intelligence sharing with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega.  

“The [Cuban] dictatorship must be confronted and isolated — never appeased.”

He praised Florida leaders from Biden’s side of the aisle for being willing to speak out at such an important time.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican whose Miami-Dade district abuts Gimenez’, said he is “disgusted but not surprised” by what he called Biden’s “final acts of betrayal to the security interests of the United States.”

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President Biden, left, removed Cuba’s state sponsor of terror designation on Tuesday, saying that the regime of Miguel Diaz-Canel, right, has “not provided any support for international terrorism” in the past six months. 

As Moskowitz and other Democrats warn of the damage being done to the Democratic Party by moves such as the removal of Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation, several Florida Democrats have fled the party and praised Trump in recent weeks.

Maureen Porras, the vice-mayor of Doral, Florida — the tony Miami suburb where Trump owns a golf club and resort — told The Floridian her now-former party “prioritized minority opinions” and “neglected to… address the real issues affecting our community.” 

Meanwhile, State Reps. Susan Valdes of Tampa and Hillary Cassel of Hallandale Beach, Florida, recently changed their affiliation from Democratic to Republican.

President Biden is ending his tenure in the White House on a “sad” note after “lying to the nation” and taking credit for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas during his farewell address on Wednesday evening, a Trump transition official said. 

“Joe Biden is going out sad. Lying to the nation trying to take credit for a deal that all parties credit President Trump for making happen. Biden has had well over a year to secure the release of these hostages and peace. He failed. Trump succeeded,” a Trump transition official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. 

War has raged in the Middle East since October of 2023, with Israel and Hamas coming to a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday that also ensured the release of hostages. 

Biden delivered his final address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he took a victory lap for the cease fire in his opening remarks. 

BIDEN TAKES SOLE CREDIT FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS DEAL, WARNS OF ‘OLIGARCHY’ THREATENING DEMOCRACY IN FAREWELL SPEECH

Left: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Dec. 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C.; Right: President-Elect Donald Trump reacts during his meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales at the Embassy of the United Kingdom’s Residence on December 7, 2024 in Paris, France. (Left: Pete Marovich/Getty Images; Right: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

“My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,” Biden said. 

President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he gives his farewell address Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington.  (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans,” he continued. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN RELEASES FAREWELL LETTER, SAYS IT’S BEEN ‘PRIVILEGE OF MY LIFE TO SERVE THIS NATION’

Former US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) as they pose for a photo during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago estate, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States on July 26, 2024.  (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Credit for reaching the agreement, however, was bolstered by the incoming Trump administration, according to sources who told Fox Digital that a recent meeting between Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly played a pivotal role in the deal. 

FOX NEWS GETS AN INSIDE LOOK AT IDF’S WAR AGAINST HAMAS

Netanyahu also thanked Trump on Wednesday for “his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families,” the official Prime Minister of Israel X account posted. 

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

“The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism.”

The X account added later: “Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal.” 

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED: ‘AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT’

When asked who the history books would remember for championing the ceasefire deal earlier Wednesday, Biden balked at the suggestion Trump and his team spearheaded the effort. 

“Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?” Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon’s White House news conference.

“Is that a joke?” the president responded.

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“Oh. Thank you,” Biden responded when Heinrich said it was not a joke, and then walked away.

Reactions from social media came pouring in Wednesday night as President Biden delivered his farewell address to the country, ending a career in politics that spanned over half a century.

“Joe Biden discussing democracy, a free press, institutions and the abuse of power in his final farewell speech is rich,” GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X. 

“What an embarrassing and pathetic end to an embarrassing and pathetic term,” Fox News host Greg Gutfeld posted on X. 

“Joe Biden can’t even read. Every time he speaks it gets worse,” conservative commentator and radio host Clay Travis posted on X. “Trying to run him in 2024 is the most reckless and indefensible presidential decision in any of our lives.”

BIDEN BALKS WHEN ASKED IF TRUMP DESERVES CREDIT FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL: ‘IS THAT A JOKE?’

President Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“My thoughts on President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address: It was underwhelming and divisive,” Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, posted on X.

“I’m relieved his four-year term is coming to an end. Mr. Biden failed to bring Americans together and pushed terrible “whole of government” policies that weakened us on many fronts: energy, national security, economics/small business, foreign affairs, and general freedoms. History won’t look kindly on Biden’s tenure. He’s now the most unpopular U.S. President in history.”

‘SINKING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’: BIDEN’S CUBA MOVE SPURS RARE BIPARTISAN CONDEMNATION IN KEY ELECTORAL STATE

President Biden speaks about his administration Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“Joe Biden mentions climate hysteria ahead of actual priorities, like border security, lowering costs, and peace through strength,” GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X. “They never learn.”

“Joe Biden’s going out of office the same way he went in: Petty, partisan, and frankly not telling the truth,” GOP Congressman Darrell Issa posted on X. 

“I’m stunned,” former Democratic adviser Dan Turrentine posted on X. “I’m no historian, but, I don’t recall a more dark Presidential farewell address? It’s more a cry to the DNC than accentuating the positive to the country. This is sad.”

President Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware July 17, 2024.  (Susan Walsh/AP)

“Biden ends his presidency by using rhetoric that would be right at home in a third-world communist dictatorship,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “This may be the worst farewell speech in presidential history.”

Democrats, however, generally had a decidedly different take.

“Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right,” former President Obama posted on X. 

“That’s what Joe Biden did. At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new jobs, historic wage gains, and lower health care costs. He passed landmark legislation to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and address the threat of climate change.  I’m grateful to Joe for his leadership, his friendship, and his lifetime of service to this country we love.”

Liberal commentator Harry Sisson posted on X, “President Biden just gave the best speech of his presidency.

“His farewell address was incredibly moving. I will always be thankful for President Biden and his talented administration. Thank you to everyone who served and gave America an amazing four years.”

Biden has four days left in his presidency before Monday’s inauguration, when President-elect Trump will be sworn into office.

“My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration —  by my administration — a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,” Biden said in his opening remarks, taking credit for the recent announcement that a cease-fire deal had been reached in Israel. 

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“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans.” 

Biden’s speech also focused on the American dream and the “most powerful idea” that “all of us are created equal.”

“The very idea of America was so big we felt the entire world needed to see,” Biden said. “The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War. Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person, but by many people, from every background and from around the world. Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She’s on the march, and she literally moves. 

“A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force. A nation of immigrants came to build a better life, a nation holding a torch. The most powerful idea ever in the history of the world that all of us, all of us are created equal. All of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice and fairness that democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible, our rights, our freedoms, our dreams.” 

A Native American tribe in South Dakota lifted its banishment on Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in a letter Wednesday, offering its endorsement of her nomination to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider wrote a letter to Noem Wednesday informing her the tribe’s executive committee voted to “remove the banishment” it placed on Noem in May and congratulated her for her nomination to serve in President-elect Trump’s cabinet. 

The letter comes just days before Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing. 

“I commend you on your nomination by President Elect Donald Trump to the position of Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and hereby support your nomination. I wish you the best of luck during the Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2025, and believe that your dedication to the safety and security of the United States will benefit us all,” Reider’s letter states, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital. 

SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. NOEM BANNED FROM TRIBAL RESERVATION OVER REMARKS ON US SOUTHERN BORDER

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota and President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., not pictured, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

All nine native tribes in South Dakota banned Noem from their reservations last year after outrage over her suggestion that tribal leaders benefit from cartels and the immigration crisis and comments regarding native children’s futures. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe was the last tribe to ban her.

POWERFUL FIRE UNION THAT WAS NEUTRAL IN 2024 BACKS NOEM FOR DHS AS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE

“Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better,” Noem said last year in a comment that drew criticism from tribes. 

Reider addressed the issue in his letter to Noem Wednesday, explaining that the governor has apologized for her previous remarks and explained her commentary. 

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

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

“One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some. In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated,” Reider wrote. 

TRIBES BLAST SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR’S CLAIM THAT LEADERS ARE BENEFITING FROM DRUG CARTELS

Badlands National Park in South Dakota (Bernie Friel/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The letter comes as Noem prepares for her Senate confirmation hearing Friday morning.   

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

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In the months since her nomination, Noem has picked up endorsements from at least eight police groups or unions, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents. 

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

The International Association of Fire Fighters, a large, historically Democratic firefighter union, also recently endorsed Noem, arguing during the raging wildfires in Los Angeles she “understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made.”

The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.

Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress.

REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY

The Congressional DOGE Caucus, co-led by Reps. Aaron Bean (pictured), Pete Sessions, and Blake Moore, held its second meeting (House of Representatives/Getty Images)

Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

“We’re going to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people,” Sessions told Fox News Digital.

Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it “DOGE Days.”

“We’re going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we’re on them,” Bean said. “We’re going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum.”

They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of. 

DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER

Congressional DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Pete Sessions (Getty Images)

During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.

And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants.

“Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That’s ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit,” Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills.

Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste.

Sen. Joni Ernst, who leads DOGE efforts in the Senate, also attended (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation.

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The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails.

Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm.

Sessions added, “I’ve gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I’d like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also.”

Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, all but assuring he will assume the role of top diplomat under the new Trump administration later this month.

Rubio’s confirmation hearing — a process usually full of verbal diatribes, strong political agendas and illusive answers — was full of pleasantries, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers applauding his work in the Senate and his in-depth knowledge of complex issues across the globe.

Here were the top moments from Rubio’s hearing.

RUBIO TO PITCH FOREIGN POLICY CREDENTIALS TO SENATE AS HE VIES TO BECOME AMERICA’S TOP DIPLOMAT

PROTESTERS

While Rubio may have been welcomed by his Senate colleagues, his hearing wasn’t entirely contention-free.

The Secretary of State-hopeful’s opening remarks were interrupted by several protesters affiliated with a group known as Code Pink, who were protesting the Israel-Hamas war and wore pink shirts that read “stop killing the children of Gaza.”

Two of the demonstrators forced to leave the chamber were male, before a female protester also stood up and yelled out in Spanish. 

She was quickly escorted from the room and the hearing promptly restarted.

“I get bilingual protesters,” Rubio said to the panel of Senators with a grin before resuming his remarks.

Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

IN JEST

Rubio’s quip about the protesters appeared to set the tone for his hearing.

Though Rubio faced tough questions about detailed geopolitical issues on nearly every continent, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also joked around with their Senate colleague.

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott introduced Rubio at the top of the hearing and quipped that “finally” he will get to be the senior Senator of Florida after the duo have served together in the upper chamber since 2019.

Democrat from New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker drew chuckles when he said, “Senator Rubio the President [elect] made a great decision in choosing you.

“You’re a thought leader in foreign policy. I, however, don’t think most Americans know how great of a thought leader you are in NCAA, NFL and high school football, and I’m a little disappointed that you’re not going to the head of the NCAA right now.”

To which Rubio replied, “Not yet,” garnering laughs from the room.

In another bipartisan moment rarely seen during Cabinet nomination hearings, Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth told a touching story from one of her first encounters with Rubio — a stark contrast to her questioning of Pete Hegseth the day prior. 

In 2018, not only was Duckworth relatively new to the upper chamber, but the soon-to-be new mom was also pushing the congressional body to change its rules and allow new parents to bring their infant onto the Senate floor during a vote.

Duckworth, who is physically disabled after surviving a 2004 RPG attack on her helicopter in Iraq, described rolling across the Senate floor in her wheelchair when she heard someone call out her name. 

“And you came running down from the top back of the Senate chambers to tell me, ‘I’m with you. I will support you’,” she said.  “And I just want to thank you for that kindness… It was a moment of true bipartisanship.”

Rubio responded and said, “I think what I exactly said is, ‘What’s the big deal? This place is already full of babies’,” once again drawing laughs.

INTERNATIONAL UNDERWATER CABLE ATTACKS BY RUSSIA, CHINA ARE NO ‘MERE COINCIDENCE’ WARNS EU’S TOP DIPLOMAT

Though Rubio faced tough questions about detailed geopolitical issues on nearly every continent, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also joked around with him. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

SERIOUS MATTERS

The five-hour hearing wasn’t all fun and laughs, as Rubio was pressed on issues with major security implications like the war in Ukraine, China, NATO and Artic security.

Rubio surprised no one with his tough-on-China approach and his commitment to remaining a strong ally of NATO’s.

Though one area Senators may have hoped Rubio would have come out more definitively was over what continued support for Ukraine may look like and how the incoming Trump administration will handle the question of Ukraine becoming a NATO member. 

Both Ukraine and Russia have signaled they are open to negotiating a ceasefire. But securing a lasting peace deal could be difficult as Ukraine entering the NATO alliance has been deemed a non-negotiable by both Kyiv — who wants the alliance’s security — and Moscow — which has fervently opposed Ukrainian NATO membership.

“The truth of the matter is that in this conflict there is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are too brave, and fight too hard, and the country is too big,” he said.

US Senator Marco Rubio testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2025.  (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

But Rubio added that “there’s no way Ukraine is also pushing these people [Russians] all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion.”

Rubio pointed out that Ukraine will not be able to keep up with the sheer number of bodies that Russia can throw in to the war.

“It’s important for everyone to be realistic. There will have to be concessions,” Rubio said. “This is not going to be easy. “[It’s] going to require a lot of hard diplomacy.”

TRUMP CABINET PICKS PAM BONDI, MARCO RUBIO, OTHERS FACED A FULL DAY OF QUESTIONS FROM SENATORS

THE CHINA PROBLEM

The security threats surrounding China came up in nearly every issue Rubio was asked to address, including its growing presence in Africa and Latin America, its oppressive practices in the South China Sea, concerns over trade, human rights abuses, tech and its growing relationships with other adversarial nations.

But one issue newer to headlines as of late is China’s involvement in the Panama Canal.

“This is something that’s existed now for at least a decade in my service,” he said referring to a 2017 trip he took to Panama. “Chinese companies control port facilities at both ends of the canal — the east and the west. And the concerns among military officials and security officials, including in Panama, at that point, [was] that could one day be used as a choke point to impede commerce in a moment of conflict.”

“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” he added.

The issue over Chinese control over the major waterway resurfaced earlier this month when Trump refused to say whether he would rule out military intervention in the Panama Canal.

Rubio was pressed on this issue multiple times, though he was clear that he was not yet at a point where he knew enough about the legal parameters of U.S. intervention in Panama to give a thorough response. 

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Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine applauded Rubio for being “extremely well-prepared” for his confirmation hearing as the next secretary of state. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

KAINE GUSHES 

Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine applauded Rubio for being “extremely well-prepared” for his confirmation hearing as the next secretary of state — a stark contrast to his tense engagement with Hegseth during his hearing one day prior.

“We’re used to seeing nominees who know a lot about a couple of things, and sometimes, who know very little about virtually everything,” he said. “But I think you’ve seen a hearing with a nominee who, agree or disagree with the points he’s made, he’s not talking out of a briefing book.

“He’s not having a thumb through a binder to decide how to answer a particular question,” Kaine continued. “I’ve always been struck by working with Sen. Rubio on this committee, since I came to the Senate in January 2013, that he has a very well-developed sense of the world and a passion in all corners of it.”

Kaine’s sentiment appeared to be shared by the entirety of the committee, and many of the senators expressed confidence that Rubio will be unanimously confirmed for the top job.

A pair of voting advocacy groups founded by failed Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams were hit with a historic fine by the Georgia Ethics Commission for violating campaign finance laws to bolster Abram’s 2018 election.  

“Today the State Ethics Commission entered into a consent agreement with the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund for a total of $300,000,” the Georgia State Ethics Commission posted in a statement on Wednesday. “This certainly represents the largest fine imposed in the history of Georgia’s Ethics Commission, but it also appears to be the largest ethics fine ever imposed by any state ethics commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case.”

Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 as part of an effort to register more minority voters and young voters. The organization was founded as a charity that can accept tax-deductible donations, while the New Georgia Project Action Fund worked as the organization’s fundraising arm. 

The groups admitted to failing to disclose about $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures that were used during Abram’s election efforts in 2018, according to the commission’s consent order. The groups were hit with a total of 16 violations, including failing to register as a political committee and failure to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions.

STACEY ABRAMS SAYS TRUMP RE-ELECTION WAS NOT A ‘SEISMIC SHIFT’ OR ‘LANDSLIDE’

Stacey Abrams (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images/File)

The groups were accused of carrying out similar activity in 2019, when they reportedly failed to disclose $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 while advocating for a ballot initiative. 

STACEY ABRAMS ACCUSES CNN HOST OF ‘REPEATING DISINFORMATION’ ABOUT HER CASTING DOUBT ON 2018 ELECTION RESULTS
 

“This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered, and I believe this sends a clear message to both the public and potential bad actors moving forward that we will hold you accountable,” the ethics commission continued in its statement Wednesday. 

STACEY ABRAMS PRAISED ON ‘THE VIEW’ FOR NOT CONCEDING ELECTION, DEFENDS SAYING SHE ‘WON’ GEORGIA RACE IN 2018

Abrams stepped down from the group in 2017, with Sen. Raphael Warnock taking the reins as the New Georgia Project’s CEO from 2017 to 2019, the Associated Press reported. Warnock was elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia in 2020. 

Democrat Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who also serves as the head pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, speaks from the pulpit. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images/File)

A spokesperson for Warnock’s Senate office told the AP that he was working “as a longtime champion for voting rights” and that he was not aware of campaign violations. The spokesperson added that “compliance decisions were not a part of that work.” Fox Digital also reached out to Warnock’s office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Abrams ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022, but lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in both races. Abrams drew national attention after the 2018 race when she refused to concede to the Republican despite losing by 60,000 votes. 

STACEY ABRAMS ON NOT CONCEDING GEORGIA LOSS: WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ‘LEGITIMATELY QUESTION’ SYSTEMS

Amid the 2018 race, she touted the New Georgia Project on her X account, which was called Twitter at the time.

“When Abrams sees a problem, she doesn’t wait for someone else to step up – she does it herself. So when she saw that 800,000 people of color in Georgia weren’t registered to vote, Abrams immediately set out to fix the problem & founded The New GA Project,” she tweeted. 

The New Georgia Project said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital that they are “glad to finally put this matter behind us” so the group can “fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia.”

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“While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago,” the group continued. 

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

Here’s what’s happening…

–President Biden releases farewell letter, says it’s been ‘privilege of my life to serve this nation’

-CIA nominee John Ratcliffe says US faces ‘most challenging security environment’ ever in confirmation hearing

-Why some Trump nominees could be confirmed with a voice vote – and why some could not

Bondi Flips the Script on Dems 

Conservatives on social media celebrated President-elect Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi’s response to a question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday. 

“It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime?” Whitehouse said during his line of questioning. “It’s a prosecutor’s job to start with a crime and look for a name. Correct?”

Bondi responded by highlighting the federal government’s investigations into Trump…Read more

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

White House

‘HARMFUL’: Biden offshore drilling ban may have reverse effect on environment, set back conservation by decades: experts…Read more

‘STRONGER’ AMERICA’: President Biden set to deliver farewell speech to the nation…Read more

WORST PRESIDENT EVER?: Majority say Biden will be remembered poorly as president says farewell to the nation…Read more

‘IS THAT A JOKE?’: Biden balks when asked if Trump deserves credit for Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal: ‘Is that a joke?’…Read more

This combination photo shows President Joe Biden, left, on March 8, 2024, in Wallingford, Pa., and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel. Biden and Netanyahu spoke Thursday about Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.  ((Fox News/Getty Images))

DEEPLY UNDERWATER: Biden leaving office with approval ratings still buried deep in negative territory…Read more

‘BETRAYED THE CUBANS!’: Democrats and Republicans criticize Biden admin’s Cuba detente…Read more

World Stage

‘WILL NOT BOW DOWN’: Puerto Rico governor asks Trump to intervene after Venezuela’s Maduro threatened to invade the US territory…Read more

Trump Transition

‘ENERGY DOMINANCE’: Trump Energy Sec pick to share American ‘energy dominance’ vision at confirmation hearing: ‘Agent for change’…Read more

TIME CRUNCH: Confirmation delays stack up for Trump nominees as paperwork lags in federal offices…Read more

Some of President-elect Trump’s nominees like Governors Doug Burgum and Kristi Noem have seen their confirmation hearings delayed (Getty Images)

FULL-STAFF: DeSantis orders flags at full-staff for Trump’s inauguration despite 30-day mourning period for Jimmy Carter…Read more

DOUBLING DOWN: Dem senator who bashed Hegseth’s qualifications stands by DOD sec who oversaw botched Afghan withdrawal…Read more

‘BILINGUAL PROTESTERS’: Rubio brushes off demonstrators who erupted in Senate hearing: ‘I get bilingual protesters’…Read more

NEW HIRE: Former Trump HHS official tapped to be RFK Jr’s chief of staff…Read more

SMOOTH SAILING: Duffy confirmation hearing marked by bipartisanship, pledge to visit Helene-devastated states…Read more

‘POTENTIAL TARGET’: Government agencies concerned Trump inauguration ‘potential target’ for extremists…Read more

‘THIS WAS SPECTACULAR’: Bondi claps back at Hirono amid questions about political prosecutions: ‘Refused to meet with me’…Read more

Trump attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Sen. Richard Blumenthal clashed during her confirmation hearing (Getty Images)

‘EXCUSE ME’: Bondi shuts down Dem senator’s questioning attacking another Trump nominee…Read more 

Capitol Hill

RETURN TO WORK: House Oversight report says telework is ‘wasting billions’ in taxpayer cash ahead of 1st hearing…Read more

‘RIGHT ON’: Freshman GOP senator sets social media ablaze with ‘best’ response to Hegseth’s answer on gender question…Read more

President-elect Trump’s SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth took part in a confirmation hearing on Tuesday (Getty Images)

‘GREEN ENERGY SCAM’: House GOP resolution would overturn Biden’s gas water heater ban…Read more

Across America 

‘VIBE SHIFT’: Tennessee AG optimistic about SCOTUS case after ‘radical gender ideology’ reversal in lower court…Read more

COLLEGE NIGHTMARE: Family attorney of fraternity pledge left debilitated from hazing cheers new law as good start but not enough…Read more

‘UNACCEPTABLE’: New GOP bill seeks to hold private elite universities to same tax standard as corporations…Read more

‘IS IT FAIR’?: Florida proposal would bar illegal migrants in the US from attending some colleges…Read more

WILL SHE RUN?: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn eyes gubernatorial bid…Read more

FREE TUITION: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveils plan to offer free tuition at city, state colleges…Read more

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presents her 2025 executive state budget in the Red Room at the state Capitol on Jan. 16, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

STOCKPILE: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says state will stockpile abortion pills ahead of Trump’s return to White House…Read more 

SPECIAL SESSION: Tennessee to call special session fast-tracking Trump agenda on immigration, school choice and disaster relief…Read more

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

A Muslim cleric who has praised Iran and refused to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization was reportedly tapped to deliver a benediction at President-elect Trump’s inauguration. 

Husham Al-Husainy is a well-known Iraqi-American imam in Michigan, overseeing the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn. Al-Husainy was among a swath of Muslim voters in Michigan who indicated ahead of Election Day that they would support Trump instead of the Democratic Party’s ticket in November.  

“I lean towards Mr. Trump because I found him closer to the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. Because I support peace, no war,” he said back in October, Fox News Digital reported at the time. He added that the country “deserves to have a strong leader where he can bring peace in this world.”

Before he indicated support for the former and upcoming president, Al-Husainy reportedly made a series of questionable comments. A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Middle East Media and Research Institute, for example, reported this week that the Muslim cleric praised Iran in a 2022 interview.

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Husham Al-Husainy prepares to vote at Maples Elementary School, Nov. 2, 2004, in Dearborn, Michigan. (Farah Nosh/Getty Images)

“Thank God We Have the Islamic Republic of Iran; Its Light Goes to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and All Over,” he said in the interview, the nonprofit posted on X. 

The conservative nonprofit The Middle East Forum described the cleric as a “radical antisemitic, pro-Hezbollah Shia imam,” who reportedly hosted a 2015 rally in Dearborn where he “wished death upon Saudi Arabia” amid the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war. 

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In 2007, Al-Husainy joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity on the “Hannity & Colmes” program, where he was pressed on whether he considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The cleric joined the program following his invitation to the DNC’s winter meeting that year to deliver the invocation. 

“I’ll ask you again. Is Hezbollah – this is a yes or no question. Is Hezbollah a terrorist organization? Yes or no?” Hannity asked the imam. 

“Now if – I give you a time to ask me a question. Now give me time to answer it, please,” Al-Husainy said. 

“Yes or no?” Hannity continued. 

Imam Husham Al-Husainy on June, 19, 2007, in Dearborn, Michigan. (Mary Chapman/AFP via Getty Images)

“First of all – first of all, Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization. And I’ve got nothing to do with that. But there is a biblical meaning of Hezbollah. It is in Judaism and Christianity and Islam meaning people of God and that means yes,” the imam responded. 

WALZ PICK DOES LITTLE TO PERSUADE DEARBORN’S ANTI-BIDEN/HARRIS VOTERS

Later in the segment, Hannity again asked if Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. 

“​​This is – your idea of a political or… you know what Hezbollah means? I support the people of God,” Al-Husainy said. 

The State Department has recognized Hezbollah as a terrorist organization since 1997. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team regarding the invitation and Al-Husainy’s previous comments, but did not receive a reply. 

Matt Foldi, the former congressional candidate and current editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter, shared a photo on X this week reportedly showing the official program of Inauguration Day, including that Al-Husainy, a Catholic priest, the Rev. Frank Mann, Rabbi Ari Berman and a Detroit pastor, Lorenzo Sewell, are slated to deliver benedictions. 

IMAM AL-HUSAINY REACTS TO DNC FLAP

Fox News Digital also attempted to reach Al-Husainy via the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Dearborn, Michigan, is home to the proportionally largest Muslim population in the U.S. and became the birthplace of the “Abandon Biden” movement last year as Arab voters spoke out about the administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. The movement morphed into “abandoning” Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race in July, and ultimately endorsed Trump on Election Day. 

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign event at Macomb Community College, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Muslim voters overall favored Harris by 32 percentage points in the 2024 election. Trump won 32% of their vote, while Harris won 63%. In 2020, Biden had won 64% of the Muslim vote, and Trump had won 35%. Trump faced mixed support from Muslim and Arab American voters, but in swing states like Michigan, their support became especially crucial. 

Arab American voters in Dearborn said following the election that they voted for Trump over Harris in protest of her stance on the Israel-Hamas war. 

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“They didn’t vote for Trump because they believe Trump is the best candidate,” Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani told Politico in November. “No, they voted for Trump because they want to punish the Democrats and Harris.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

Lawmakers questioned President-elect Trump’s energy secretary on climate change, the Los Angeles wildfires, and the Biden administration’s green energy agenda during his nomination hearing, which saw disruptions from several climate protesters.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing for Chris Wright, Liberty Energy Inc. CEO and Trump’s pick to head the Energy Department, on Wednesday, which was also his birthday.

The Trump nominee was introduced by a Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who described him as “an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels.” Wright focused his responses on energy dominance, saying that climate change is a “real issue,” global energy demand, and his focus on growing energy resources.

“America has an historic opportunity to secure our energy systems, deliver leadership in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles and meet Cold War legacy waste commitments,” Wright said in his opening statement.

HOUSE GOP RESOLUTION WOULD OVERTURN BIDEN’S GAS WATER HEATER BAN

Chris Wright speaks during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Wright said he has identified three “immediate tasks” where he will focus his attention, if confirmed: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs, and increasing production in America.

“President Trump shares my passion for energy, and if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy,” Wright told the committee.

Republicans, such as Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, positioned their questioning on Biden administration policies, such as a ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, regulations on household appliances, and most recently blocking drilling along the coast.

Multiple Democratic senators claimed that the committee chairman, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, scheduled the confirmation hearing before all required paperwork on Wright was provided to the members of the committee. Other Democrats used their time at the mic to claim the Los Angeles fires were caused by “climate change.”

President-elect Trump during a campaign rally at the PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Despite the misinformation that’s circulating here in the Capitol, into California, and everywhere in between, it’s clear that these fires only reach the size and the scale that they have because of unseasonably dry vegetation and extremely high winds, both of which are a direct result of climate change,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said during the hearing. 

Asked about the issue of climate change, Wright said he believes it’s a “real issue”

“I’ve studied and followed the data and the evolution of climate change for at least 20 years now. It is a global issue. It is a real issue. It’s a challenging issue,” Wright said, adding that he believes the solution to climate change “is to evolve our energy system.”

Fox News Digital captured footage of several climate change protesters who disrupted Wright’s hearing on Wednesday. 

A protester holds up a “Big Oil Profits LA Burns” banner as Chris Wright testifies during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Bill Clark)

One protester stood up while Wright was being questioned and asked if his policies would “put out the fires in LA.” 

“Are you gonna ask any questions or just softball on the climate this entire time,” said another protester who was removed from the hearing room.

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Several other climate protesters were also stationed outside the hearing room, with shirts that read, “I won’t let my future burn.”

Government agencies are cautioning that President-elect Trump’s inauguration may attract violent extremists – especially those harboring “election-related grievances,” according to a new report. 

While no specific credible threats have been identified, agencies like the FBI, Secret Service and Capitol Police authored a threat assessment asserting that extremists may view the inauguration as “their last opportunity to influence the election results through violence,” Politico reports. 

The threat assessment identified foreign terrorists, domestic extremists or lone wolves who could pull off violent acts, including vehicle-ramming attacks, bomb hoaxes or swatting calls.

Likewise, law enforcement cited concerns about protests breaking into chaos, especially since certain groups who’ve faced arrests in previous protests have applied for demonstration permits. 

TRAVEL TIPS FOR ATTENDING PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP’S INAUGURATION AS EXPERTS WEIGH IN

The sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol as a rehearsal takes place on the West Front ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

“Past protests by some of these individuals have involved traffic blockades, trespassing, property destruction, and resisting arrest,” the threat assessment said. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger cautioned Monday that “lone actors” are the most serious threat to inauguration festivities, during a press conference with federal and local law enforcement officials about the inauguration.

CHECK OUT TRUMP’S PICKS FOR TOP CABINET AND ADMINISTRATION POSITIONS

Members of the U.S. military Joint Honor Guard parade as they rehearse for the presidential inauguration in front of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Newsroom)

“The biggest threat, I think, for all of us remains the lone actor,” Manger said. “Just in the past week, while President Carter was lying in state, we had two lone actors show up at the Capitol: one trying to bring in knives and a machete; another one who was trying – what I believe – to disrupt the proceedings by setting their car on fire down in the peace circle area.” 

“Capitol Police were able to interdict these folks before they had a chance to do any harm,” Manger said. “But that threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week.”

As a result, the inauguration will feature a beefed up law enforcement presence. Approximately 4,000 local law enforcement officers have volunteered to assist, and 7,800 National Guard soldiers will also be deployed. 

ABBOTT ORDERS FLAGS AT FULL-STAFF FOR TRUMP’S INAUGURATION DESPITE ONE MONTH ORDER TO HONOR CARTER

U.S. Capitol surrounded by fencing in preparation for Jan. 6, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

Matt McCool, the Secret Service’s special agent in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, said that altogether roughly 25,000 law enforcement officers will be working. McCool said this year’s inauguration plan features a “slightly more robust security plan,” in comparison to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. 

“What I can tell you is that we are 100% confident in the plan that we have put in place for this inauguration that the public and our protectees will be safe,” McCool said.

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Additionally, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said it is bracing for 12 separate First Amendment demonstrations at the inauguration, noting that they will have a right to peacefully protest. Still, she said violence won’t be permitted.  

“I want to reiterate – as I always have – that violence, destruction and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated,” Smith said Monday. “Offenders will face swift and decisive consequences.”

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

U.S. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi clashed with a senior Democratic senator during her confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday.

Bondi was forced to defend President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed her on his past comments. 

He referenced Patel’s suggestion of closing down FBI headquarters and threatening an “enemies list,” among other remarks.

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

President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and Sen. Richard Blumenthal clashed during her confirmation hearing. (Getty Images)

“Is that a person who, appropriately, should be the FBI director? Aren’t those comments inappropriate? Shouldn’t you disavow them and and ask him to recant them?” Blumenthal hammered.

Bondi replied, “Senator, I am not familiar with all those comments. I have not discussed those comments with Mr. Patel.”

“What I do know, is Mr. Patel …” she began before Blumenthal attempted to cut her off.

Bondi pressed forward, “Excuse me. What I do know is Mr. Patel was a career prosecutor. He was a career public defender, defending people. And he also has great experience within the intelligence community.”

‘UNLIKELY COALITION’: A CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN A SECOND TRUMP TERM

President-elect Donald Trump is pushing the Senate to confirm his nominees. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

“What I can sit here and tell you is, Mr. Patel, if he works with running the FBI, if he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed, he will follow the law. If I am the attorney general of the United States of America, and I don’t believe he would do anything otherwise,” Bondi said.

Blumenthal replied, “Well, let me just submit that the response that I would have hoped to hear from you is that those comments are inappropriate, and that you will ask him to disavow or recant them when he comes before this committee, because they are indeed chilling to fair enforcement and the rule of law.”

It comes after Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., similarly pressed Bondi on what Democrats have called Patel’s “enemies list.”

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They are referring to a list of 60 people in Patel’s book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy,” who he branded as part of the “deep state.”

Bondi defended Patel during Whitehouse’s questioning as well, while vowing there would never be an “enemies list” at the DOJ.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is calling a special legislative session to address his school choice bill, as well as other prioritizes of President-elect Trump’s incoming administration, such as immigration law and disaster relief in the Volunteer State. 

Lee announced that he would call for the Tennessee General Assembly to convene a special session on Monday, Jan. 27, to pass the Education Freedom Act. The governor said he will introduce a disaster relief legislative package addressing recovery needs for Hurricane Helene, as well as future natural disasters, and that the session will also tackle public safety measures regarding immigration, “as the incoming Trump Administration has called on states to prepare for policy implementation.”

The announcement from Tennessee came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday that he was calling a special session of his own to help coordinate Trump’s planned illegal immigration crackdown in the Sunshine State.

Lee issued a joint statement with Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, state House Speaker Cameron Sexton, state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, and state House Majority Leader William Lamberth. 

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR BACKS TRUMP PLAN TO NIX DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, SEES BELLWETHER ON NEW SCHOOL CHOICE BILL

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks on stage at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“We believe the state has a responsibility to act quickly on issues that matter most to Tennesseans, and there is widespread support in the General Assembly and across Tennessee for a special session on the most pressing legislative priorities: the unified Education Freedom Act and a comprehensive relief package for Hurricane Helene and other disaster recovery efforts,” they said. “The majority of Tennesseans, regardless of political affiliation, have made it clear that they support empowering parents with school choice, and the best thing we can do for Tennessee students is deliver choices and public school resources without delay.”

The statement added: “Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented disaster across rural, at-risk, and distressed communities that cannot shoulder the local cost share of federal relief funds on their own. The state has an opportunity and obligation to partner with these impacted counties and develop innovative solutions for natural disasters going forward.” 

“Finally, the American people elected President Trump with a mandate to enforce immigration laws and protect our communities, and Tennessee must have the resources ready to support the Administration on Day One,” they said. 

“Last year, Gov. Lee directed key state agencies to begin preparing for federal immigration policy implementation,” Lee’s press secretary, Elizabeth Lane Johnson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In this special session, we will ensure the state is best positioned to coordinate with federal, state, and local law enforcement to implement the Trump Administration’s plan to enforce the federal immigration laws on the books.”

“President Trump has made it clear that states will play a major role in partnering with his Administration to make our communities safer. Tennessee is heeding the call,” she added. 

Lee, whose initial school choice proposal failed in the state legislature earlier last year, spoke to Fox News Digital in November upon introducing a second package aimed at increasing parental rights. 

After Trump’s decisive election win, the governor argued that the political environment on the ground in Tennessee is not what it was months before when the first school choice proposal failed. 

The election saw a wave of pro-school choice candidates win at the state level, and Trump succeeded in his bid for the White House. Lee told Fox News Digital that he agreed with Trump’s promise to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, echoing the president-elect’s concern over the federal bureaucracy becoming entrenched with gender and race ideology rather than learning.

Gov. Bill Lee joins fellow governors for a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss border concerns on Feb. 4, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

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“In this case, states certainly know best. We know best in Tennessee what our children need and how best to educate our kids. The parents of this state should be given a greater influence on how their kids are educated, and that will happen if the federal Department of Education is dismantled and those funds are delivered to states to be used in a more efficient and more effective way,” Lee said at the time. “President Trump has long believed that school choice is important for the people of this country and that education freedom is something that all Americans could have. He’s talked about it. He campaigned on it.” 

Cars and debris near the Swannanoa River after catastrophic rains from Hurricane Helene flooded areas, Oct. 5, 2024 in Swannanoa, North Carolina. (Steve Exum/Getty Images)

Lee’s new school choice bill, titled the Education Freedom Act of 2025, would draw from funding already approved by the state legislature to allow the state Department of Education to award up to 20,000 scholarships – valued at about $7,000 each – for the next school year to be spent on tuition, tutoring, technology and examination expenses. The first 10,000 scholarships would be set aside for low-income students whose parents might not otherwise afford to send their children to institutions other than the public schools in their districts. 

In addition to establishing Education Freedom Scholarships, Lee’s office said the bill “further invests in public schools and teachers by delivering teacher bonuses to recognize their unwavering commitment to student success, increasing K-12 facilities funding, and ensuring state funding to school districts will never decrease due to disenrollment.” The governor and the General Assembly “will maintain their commitment to public schools by further investing hundreds of millions of state dollars in the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula, and raising starting teacher pay,” Lee’s office said. 

The governor is also planning to invest more than $450 million in direct disaster relief.

Hurricane Helene “was an unprecedented disaster that primarily impacted at-risk and distressed counties, with eligible damage-related costs estimated at $1.2 billion,” Lee’s office said. 

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The Disaster Relief Grants (DRG) Fund allocates $240 million “to bolster Tennessee’s existing disaster relief fund, as well as reduce the local cost-share burden from 12.5% to 5% and fund the state match requirement in order to access federal funds and cover administrative costs.” Lee’s package also establishes the Hurricane Helene Interest Payment Fund, which allocates $110 million to “help local governments manage loan interest for recovery costs by covering interest costs at 5% per year for three years on loans for recovery expenses.”

Finally, the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund allocates $100 million “to create a new program inspired by the HEAL Program that will provide flexible financial resources for future emergencies, including agricultural recovery, unemployment assistance, and business recovery efforts.” The package also sets aside $20 million for the rebuilding of Hampton High School in Carter County, which was destroyed in Hurricane Helene.

CIA nominee John Ratcliffe is telling senators on Wednesday about how he’ll reshape the intelligence community in what he calls “the most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history.” 

Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during President-elect Trump’s first term, is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The committee will then vote on his nomination before a full Senate vote to confirm him as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. 

Ratcliffe ticked off the nation’s biggest threats – China, the border, the Russia-Ukraine war and risk of nuclear fallout, Iran, North Korea and “increasing coordination among America’s rivals.”

At a time when intelligence and law enforcement agencies have found themselves front and center in the political realm, a source familiar with Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital he’s focused on “depoliticizing” the agency, and “eliminating any distractions” to its core mission of obtaining intelligence. 

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Ratcliffe is also expected to push for more aggressive spying operations, particularly on Beijing, where CCP operatives have been spying on the U.S. for years. 

“With Trump and Ratcliffe, the days of China pillaging American companies, infecting American infrastructure, and otherwise targeting and abusing the American people are over. The jackals can only scavenge in the lion’s domain for so long before they get their heads ripped off,” the source said. 

Ratcliffe signaled plans in his opening statement to increase the agency’s capacity to obtain human intelligence “in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult.”

CIA nominee John Ratcliffe is testifying Wednesday ahead of a confirmation vote. (Getty Images)

“We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our product,” Ratcliffe will say in his opening statement. 

“We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do. To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work.”

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Ratcliffe said he would try to recruit agents that could be described as “a Ph.D. who could win a bar fight,” but promised to fully investigate anomalous health incidents like Havana Syndrome. 

Ratcliffe also hopes to increase coordination with the CIA and the private sector – potentially through rotations that allow CIA agents to do a stint in the private sector or allowing private employees at AI and tech companies to join the CIA in mid-career appointments, according to the source. 

Ratcliffe wants to “depoliticize” the agency, currently led by Bill Burns. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

The nominee wants to focus on expanding human intelligence. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Ratcliffe’s hearing is expected to have a more policy-heavy focus than some of Trump’s more controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth, picked to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth faced senators on the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday where he was questioned on his drinking, sexual assault allegations and reports of financial mismanagement. 

Trump’s choice to oversee all intelligence agencies, Tulsi Gabbard, has also been met with skepticism by some in the Senate over her past opposition to U.S. surveillance laws and seeming closeness to U.S. adversaries, in particular a meeting she took with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. She’s since walked back her opposition to a surveillance program known as Section 702.

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Gabbard’s hearing is not yet on the books, neither is Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel. 

Trump’s national security nominees are in lockstep on at least one thing – the threat of China – and the need to update technologies and defenses to thwart the CCP’s chronic attacks on U.S. infrastructure. 

“We have to stop trying to just play better and better defense,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser pick, recently told FOX Business. “We need to start going on offense.”