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A pair of suspected terrorist attacks on New Year’s Day were both allegedly carried out by former U.S. service members, raising questions about how those with access to sensitive intelligence and the nation’s most advanced weapons get swept up in radical beliefs. 

Early Wednesday morning, Texas resident Shamsud-Din Jabbar allegedly plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14. He was a former Army staff sergeant, with a deployment to Afghanistan under his belt. 

Hours later, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas — a suspected terror plot that was linked to active-duty Army Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, who allegedly carried out the attack that led to his own death while on approved leave. He was a member of the elite Green Beret unit. 

From 1990 to 2022, 170 individuals with U.S. military backgrounds plotted 144 unique mass-casualty terrorist attacks in the United States — 25% of all individuals who plotted mass-casualty extremist crimes during this period, according to a study by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.

Early Wednesday morning, Texas resident Shamsud-Din Jabbar allegedly plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14. (FBI)

NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: INVESTIGATION CONTINUES, AS FBI SAYS NO OTHER SUSPECTS INVOLVED

Questions posed to the Department of Defense about its plans to identify and root out radicals by Fox News Digital went unanswered. 

Here’s a look back at some other military radical extremists who have conducted attacks on U.S. soil in the 21st century: 

2009: Army psychiatrist Nidal Hassan kills 13 

In 2009, former Army Major Nidal Hassan killed 13 people in a mass shooting at Fort Hood Army base in Texas. The Islamic extremist and former Army psychiatrist had spoken out about the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Retired Colonel Terry Lee, who worked with Hassan, told Fox News that the Army major would make “outlandish” statements like, “the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor,” referring to U.S. troops. 

Hassan reportedly shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” as he opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 30 others in the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military base. 

Hassan admitted to the killings in court and now sits on death row.

2021: Army Private Cole James Bridges tries to provide intel to ISIS 

In 2021, Army soldier Bridges, 24, was arrested for conspiring to blow up the 9/11 memorial in New York and attempting to assist ISIS in killing U.S. soldiers. 

Now serving 14 years in prison, Bridges was caught when he began communicating online with a covert FBI agent who he believed to be an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East. 

2020: Army Private Ethan Melzer provides intel to neo-Nazi group

Melzer, 24 at the time of his sentencing, is serving 45 years in prison for sending sensitive U.S. military information to the Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), an occult-based neo-Nazi and White supremacist group, in an attempt to facilitate a mass-casualty attack on Melzer’s Army unit.

He was arrested in 2020 after joining the Army in 2018 to infiltrate its ranks and gain insight for his work for O9A. After being deployed to guard a remote, sensitive foreign U.S. military base, he shared details about the site with O9A members and began to call for a deadly attack on his colleagues. 

2014: Frazier Glenn Miller kills three outside Jewish centers  

Miller, a lifelong White supremacist, shot and killed three people, two outside a Jewish community center and one outside a Jewish retirement home, in Kansas in 2014. 

Miller had been vocal about intending to kill Jews, though all of his victims were Christians. 

He served in the Army for 20 years, serving two tours of duty in the Vietnam War and 13 years as a member of the elite Green Berets. Having led a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, Miller had a history of run-ins with the law. He served three years in prison after being convicted in 1987 of conspiring to acquire stolen military weapons and for planning robberies and an assassination. 

Miller has since died in prison. 

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

2014: Knife-wielding Navy vet Zale Thompson injures police officers 

Thompson, a Navy veteran, committed a Salafi-jihadist-inspired hatchet attack in Queens, New York in 2014, injuring four police officers. The attack was deemed an act of terrorism as Thompson was a recent Muslim convert. In the months preceding the attack, he visited hundreds of websites associated with terrorist organizations. Thompson was involuntarily discharged from the Navy in 2003, after having been arrested six times between 2002 and 2003 in domestic disputes. 

He was shot dead by police on the scene of the 2014 attack. 

2016: Afghanistan War vet Micah Xavier Johnson kills five police officers 

In 2016, Johnson ambushed police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five and wounding nine others. The 25-year-old Army reserve Afghanistan War veteran was angry over police shootings of Black men. He perpetrated the attack at the end of a protest against the recent killings by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

Dallas mourns the killing of five police officers 

2020: Three veterans try to bomb a Forest Service building

Las Vegas authorities arrested Andrew Lynam, an Army reservist, alongside Navy veteran Stephen T. Parshall and Air Force veteran William L. Loomis — all self-identified Boogaloo Bois — on May 30, 2020, for conspiring to firebomb a U.S. Forest Service building and a power substation to sow chaos during a police protest after the killing of George Floyd. 

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In total, 480 people with a military background were accused of ideologically driven extremist crimes from 2017 through 2023, some 230 of whom were arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. 

Senate Republicans are urging expedited confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration appointments, particularly those for crucial national security posts, in the wake of a New Year’s attack in New Orleans where a terrorist suspect drove a car into a large crowd, killing more than a dozen people. 

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the senseless terror attack in New Orleans,” said incoming Senate Republican Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on X. 

“With reports of ISIS inspiration, the American people expect clear answers from the administration,” Thune said. “The threat posed by ISIS will outlast this administration, and this is a clear example of why the Senate must get President Trump’s national security team in place as quickly as possible.”

The FBI said the holiday attack left at least 14 people dead and dozens of others injured. Israel revealed that two of its citizens were among those injured. Victims’ names are not to be released until autopsies are finished and families are notified, New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement. 

MIKE JOHNSON GETS PUBLIC GOP SENATE SUPPORT AHEAD OF TIGHT HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE

From left: Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard (Reuters)

Republicans in the Senate were already eager to quickly push through Trump’s selections, including Kash Patel for FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. But with the latest attack and others developing around the country, many lawmakers have indicated that a prompt confirmation process is even more crucial. 

Incoming Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., wrote on X, “The U.S. Senate must confirm President Trump’s national security team as soon as possible. Lives depend on it.”

HEALTHY LIVING, PARTY UNITY, AND ‘TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES’: CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS’ NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Thune will be sworn in as Senate majority leader on Friday. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

“I’ll be working to ensure President Trump has every tool at his disposal, including a fully confirmed national security and intelligence team ASAP to investigate these attacks and make our country safe again,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in response to the attack. 

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., echoed that sentiment in her own statement, saying, “We must work nonstop to get President Trump’s national security team in place without delay.”

Several other Republicans made similar calls for Trump’s choices for national security posts to be prioritized and confirmed without hesitation. 

BERNIE SANDERS PLANS TO SPEARHEAD LEGISLATION ON KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL

New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. (Chris Granger/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., expressed frustration that the FBI was apparently behind on intelligence regarding the suspect in the New Orleans attack. 

“The fact that a reporter has better intel than the FBI tells us all we need to know. The FBI has failed its core mission,” the senator wrote on X in response to a report that New York Post reporters had arrived at the suspect’s home before the agency. 

“America needs a fearless fighter like [Patel] at the FBI,” Blackburn continued.

DEM SENATOR REVEALS HOW SHE NARROWLY WON KEY STATE THAT TRUMP FLIPPED: ‘BE PRACTICAL TO FIND RESULTS’

Blackburn is a top supporter of Trump pick Kash Patel for FBI director. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Two sources on an FBI call with House and Senate members on Thursday informed Fox News that the FBI claimed they had zero intelligence on suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar before the attack.

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The FBI told lawmakers that Jabbar was “inspired” by ISIS but added that they have no evidence yet that the terrorist group directed him.

In the days since New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared New York City’s subways had improved in safety, a woman was burned alive, a man was pushed in front of an oncoming train and gangs of illegal immigrants have robbed straphangers.

Just before Christmas, the Democrat took to X to claim that, since March, she has taken action to make subways “safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day.”

“Since deploying the [New York National Guard] to support [the NYPD] and MTA, safety efforts and adding cameras to all subway cars, crime is going down, and ridership is going up,” she wrote on Dec. 22.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), while mostly serving the five boroughs, Long Island and Lower Hudson Valley suburbs, is a state-operated, not city-operated, agency.

However, in that short time, an illegal immigrant allegedly set a woman on fire on an F train, a man miraculously survived being shoved in front of a 1 train and Venezuelan gang members have been robbing straphangers at will.

In Coney Island, Guatemalan national Sebastian Zapeta was charged with murder after allegedly lighting a Toms River, New Jersey, woman on fire while she slept on board an F train at the Stillwell Avenue Terminal. That incident occurred the morning of Dec. 22, hours before Hochul’s post.

The victim, Debrina Kawam, once worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals in the early 2000s but had more recently lived in a New York City homeless shelter.

Zapeta’s arraignment has been set for Tuesday. He told the NYPD he overindulges in alcohol and “doesn’t know what happened,” according to NBC News.

“My office is very confident about the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zapeta accountable for his dastardly deeds,” Kings County Democratic District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said of the case.

Earlier this week, 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins of Brooklyn allegedly shoved an unsuspecting straphanger into the path of a South Ferry-bound 1 train at W 18th Street Station in Chelsea.

Hawkins initially got away but was soon caught near Columbus Circle and Central Park, according to reports. The injured victim’s survival was lauded as a miracle, as he fell into a “trench” between the tracks as the train ran over him and was ambulanced to a hospital with head injuries.

ECONOMIC EXPERTS PAN HOCHUL’S ‘INFLATIONARY’ INFLATION REFUNDS

Hawkins had prior arrests for body-slamming a police officer in Queens. His father, Shamel Hawkins, told the New York Post, “We think somebody put something in his weed.”

Shamel Hawkins said Kamel had been “acting weird” recently and that he “needs help” but continues to refuse to seek it.

On New Year’s Day, WPIX reported two separate unprovoked subway stabbing incidents during daylight hours on the West Side. A 30-year-old man was reportedly stabbed in the head and hip awaiting a 1 train at 110 Street and Broadway. The station is in otherwise one of the safer areas of Manhattan, near Columbia University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the diner made famous in the sitcom “Seinfeld.”

Another man was stabbed while awaiting a 2 train at 14th Street and 7th Avenue that same day, according to the outlet.

Meanwhile, authorities found 22 Tren de Aragua migrant gang members during a raid on a residence in Crotona Park, Bronx last month. Federal law enforcement had tracked the ankle monitor of Jarwin Valero-Calderon – a Venezuelan national originally arrested in Nassau County and under a deportation order – to the building.

HOCHUL SPARKS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER CONGESTION PRICING REBOOT AS DEMS WORRIED TRUMP WOULD BLOCK IT

Hochul said in an X video on her account, called “This Week in New York,” that her “five-point plan to improve subway safety” has led to overall subway crime dropping 10% since March 2023.

Hochul also said she will deploy 250 more National Guard members to take part in Joint Task Force: Empire Shield.

In its December report on November’s crime stats, the NYPD listed subway crime as having decreased 15% that month from 240 reported incidents to 202 and a year-to-date decrease of 6% from 2,137 to 2,002.

The NYPD said the subways saw their safest year-to-date figure in more than a decade.

“We are all in this together, and while the downward trends in violence and disorder across New York City are highly encouraging as we enter the final month of 2024, we have a lot more work to do to deliver the public safety that New Yorkers deserve,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in a Dec. 3 statement.

However, New Yorkers overall felt less safe on the MTA as of late.

“Kathy Hochul needs to resign,” commentator Chaya Raichik – or “LibsOfTikTok”—wrote on X after chronicling some of the recent subway incidents, and claiming some of the recent underground robberies were committed by Tren de Aragua gang members.

“Of course she won’t resign. These people care only about their power and the perks,” FOX Business host David Asman wrote in a reply. “Only New Yorkers can get rid of her.”

“Daniel Penny for governor,” another X user commented, referring to the man acquitted in the death of a crazed straphanger who had been menacing passengers earlier this year.

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber pledged during a March transit board meeting “we are not going back” to the mid-20th century when the subway was incredibly unsafe. “This is a nightmare for New Yorkers,” he said after learning Carlton McPherson – whom neighbors described to the Post as “a little off” – had recently fatally shoved a man in front of a Woodlawn-bound 4 train on 125 Street in Harlem.

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MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Getty)

Mayor Eric Adams also addressed the public sentiment in remarks earlier this year.

“Public safety is the actual safety and it’s how people are feeling,” he said in March. “We know we have over 4 million riders a day and a reliable system. We know we have approximately six felonies a day out of those 4 million riders. But if they don’t feel safe, then we’re not accomplishing our task.”

“Stats don’t matter if people don’t believe they are in a safe environment,” he said, according to WNBC.

Lieber said at the March meeting he would not be “surrendering our city to anyone.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., received public support from Republicans in the Senate as he faces an uncertain vote Friday to determine whether he will maintain the role in the new Congress. 

“My friend [Johnson] has done an incredible job in the House, and I’m glad he’s at the helm there as Congress looks forward to growing our economy and safeguarding our communities in the new year,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on X. 

HEALTHY LIVING, PARTY UNITY, AND ‘TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES’: CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS’ NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Sens. John Kennedy, left, and Bill Cassidy, right, threw their public support behind fellow Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson for speaker. (Reuters)

Johnson also got the backing of the other member of Lousiana’s Senate delegation, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. “I agree with President Trump that [Johnson] is the right man to lead. He’s a committed conservative and a man of integrity,” he wrote on X, referencing President-elect Donald Trump’s recent endorsement. 

During the last-minute government-spending fight last month, most Republican senators were careful not to call for Johnson’s replacement. However, that didn’t stop others, such as Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, from suggesting that someone else would do a better job. 

BERNIE SANDERS PLANS TO SPEARHEAD LEGISLATION ON KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on April 12, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“Technically, the rules of the House—I don’t think you have to be a member of the House to be speaker. And other people talked about it,” Paul told reporters in December. He noted that he has previously gotten stray votes to be speaker, as has Trump.

“And so, we’ll leave it open to interpretation. I think that, hey, seriously, Elon Musk is having an impact.”

When asked about his confidence in Johnson, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., sidestepped, saying, “I can’t make a decision. I don’t know him that well. He’s got to work with everybody else. He doesn’t have to work with us.”

DEM SENATOR REVEALS HOW SHE NARROWLY WON KEY STATE THAT TRUMP FLIPPED: ‘BE PRACTICAL TO FIND RESULTS’

Since the House speaker will be selected solely by the lower chamber, few Republican senators are expected to weigh in publicly. But the fact that some have is notable in and of itself. 

In order to be elected as the speaker of the House, a member must get a majority of the votes cast. Depending on whether all House members are there, how many vacancies there are, and whether anyone chooses to vote “present,” thereby lowering the majority threshold, Johnson could be in a situation where he can only afford to lose one GOP vote.

There are still several House members that have said they are unsure whether they will back Johnson. 

REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN FOR FEDERAL DEATH ROW REPRIEVES AHEAD OF LEAVING OFFICE

Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and Rep. Thomas Massie (Getty)

Additionally, at least one Republican lawmaker is a “no,” even after Trump’s endorsement. 

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“I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X. “We’ve seen Johnson partner with the democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget.” 

The speaker vote is set to take place on Friday to set the new Congress in motion. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are excoriating the FBI for its initial characterization of the brutal car attack in New Orleans as not terror-related, before the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency backtracked and launched a terrorism investigation allegedly connected to ISIS. 

“The FBI has a no-fail mission. There is no room for error. When they fail, Americans die. It’s a necessity that Kash Patel gets confirmed ASAP,” a source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning. 

Early Wednesday morning, chaos broke out on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as New Year’s Eve revelers partied on the streets. The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is accused of ramming a truck into the crowds on the beloved and famed party street, killing at least 15 and injuring dozens of others. Jabbar, who was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, was killed after opening fire on police. 

As details filtered to the public on Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials, including the FBI, held a press conference where a special agent initially told the public that the attack was not related to terrorism. 

NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: SEARCH CONTINUES FOR BOURBON STREET ‘PEOPLE OF INTEREST’ AS STATE AG VOWS DEATH PENALTY

From left to right, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Kash Patel and President-elect Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

“We’ll be taking over the investigative lead for this event. This is not a terrorist event,” said New Orleans field office FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan during the press conference. 

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

The mayor of New Orleans contradicted Duncan in the same press conference, declaring that the attack was connected to terrorism. 

“Know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack. It’s all still under investigation. You’ll hear more after me,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat who has served in the role since 2018, said at the presser. 

The FBI released statements later Wednesday outlining that the attack was now under investigation as an act of terror, including reporting that an ISIS flag was found on the truck that rammed into the crowds. 

Superintendent of Police for the New Orleans Police Department Anne Kirkpatrick makes a statement after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

“An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” one FBI statement said. 

SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK

“The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject,” the statement added. 

Conservative lawmakers decried the attack and mourned for the victims, while also directing their ire at the FBI for its alleged failures in handling the attack. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a key Senate ally of Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, slammed the FBI in a series of messages posted to X and again rallied support for Patel’s confirmation to serve as FBI director. 

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 10 people were killed when a person allegedly drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, 2025 in New Orleans. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)

OFFICIALS POSTPONE SUGAR BOWL IN  THE WAKE OF APPARENT TERROR ATTACK ON BOURBON STREET

“The tragic terror attack that killed innocent people in New Orleans is a stark reminder of the importance of strong leadership. America needs a fearless fighter like @Kash_Patel at the FBI,” Blackburn posted on Wednesday. 

Blackburn also took issue with the FBI for allegedly reporting to the suspect’s home in Texas after the media had already staked out the property. 

“The FBI didn’t show up to the NOLA suspect’s address until 1pm today. We were on scene before. No one came out of the home or answered the door,” New York Post reporter Jennie Taer posted to X on Wednesday. 

Blackburn responded to the Post reporter, saying that the FBI had “failed” its mission as the nation’s top law enforcement agency. 

“The fact that a reporter has better intel than the FBI tells us all we need to know. The FBI has failed its core mission,” Blackburn posted. 

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

When approached for comment on the criticisms, the FBI directed Fox Digital to its three previous statements on the attack that described it as an act of terror but did not comment on the New Orleans’ agent saying Wednesday that the attack was not connected to terrorism. 

“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” the FBI said in one of its three statements provided to Fox Digital. 

A photo released by the FBI of Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (FBI)

Jabbar was identified as a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas. He was an Army veteran who served as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from March 2007 until Jan. 2015, and he deployed to Afghanistan from Feb. 2009 to Jan. 2010.

Trump slammed President Biden and his administration’s policies for the attack. 

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

“With the Biden ‘Open Border’s Policy’ I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe. That time has come, only worse than ever imagined. Joe Biden is the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER,” Trump posted to Truth Social. 

New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Chris Granger/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Biden mourned the attack on Wednesday, highlighting that despite the violence, “our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated.”

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“New Orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world,” the president said. “It’s a city full of charm and joy. So many people around the world love New Orleans because of its history, its culture, and above all, its people.”

“So I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated,” he added.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to hold what is being called a “victory rally” the day before he is sworn in to a second term in the White House, according to a sign-up page on his inaugural website.

Trump will headline the event, which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EST on Jan. 19, the day before his inauguration, at the Capitol One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C.

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President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrive at his Mar-a-Lago Club on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)

The arena, home to professional hockey’s Washington Capitals and professional basketball’s Washington Wizards, has a capacity of roughly 20,000 people.

TRUMP’S 2024 VICTORY SETS UP HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS IN 2026

The rally would be the first organized by Trump and his team since his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)

However, Trump did speak in front of thousands of conservative activists at a rally hosted by Turning Point USA on Dec. 22 in Arizona.

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According to the sign-up page on the inauguration website, those seeking to attend the rally can only register for up to two tickets on a first come, first served basis.

Word of the inauguration eve rally was first reported by CBS News.

As House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to retain his role, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., targeted fellow Republican Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., who has indicated that he is “undecided” on whether he’ll vote for Johnson.

President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for the job this week, but Roy noted during an appearance on Fox Business that he does not think the speaker will have the votes needed to win during the upcoming Friday vote.

Van Orden asserted in a post on X that Trump “received a mandate from the American people in November,” while Roy “did not.”

“It is the America First Agenda, not the Chip Roy First Agenda. It is Make America Great Again, not make Chip Roy Great. President Trump is fighting for America, Chip is fighting to keep his brand marketable,” Van Orden claimed.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RACE FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

Left: Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., talks with the media before a vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024; Right: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., arrives to a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2024. (Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Right: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Some people apparently need to understand that in order to be a Leader, you have to learn how to follow first. I would love to work with Chip, but he needs to understand he can be part of the Team, but there is no way in hell he is the Captain. The Captain will be moving back into the White House shortly and his 1st Lieutenant is @SpeakerJohnson,” Van Orden declared in the post.

Fox News Digital reached out to a Roy spokesperson to request a comment from the congressman.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has declared that he will not vote for Johnson to remain speaker.

Roy has noted that he is “undecided” on Johnson, but is demanding change.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO FAILING TO ELECT A HOUSE SPEAKER QUICKLY

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol after the last votes before the August recess on July 25, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“@RepThomasMassie will not be voting for Hakeem Jefferies, as opposed to GOP who voted with Dems (more Dems than GOP each time) to spend some $3 trillion & give $61bb to Ukraine with no border security,” Roy said in a post on X. 

“The reason I am still undecided on the Speaker vote (as opposed to hard no) is it’s not ALL the fault of @SpeakerJohnson & my desire is to give him grace & @realDonaldTrump room to deliver on a strong agenda for which we were elected. But something MUST change,” he noted.

Johnson’s path to victory is precarious, and he could be derailed if another Republican joins Massie in staunchly opposing Johnson’s bid to retain the speakership.

REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ DEMANDS ‘ASSURANCES’ SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘WON’T SELL US OUT TO THE SWAMP’

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Fox News Senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has explained, “The winning candidate must secure an outright majority of all Members voting for a candidate by name.”

Pergram described a possible scenario in which just two Republicans could prevent Johnson from reaching the threshold necessary to win. “So let’s say there are 434 members and all vote for someone by name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he also wins. But 217? No dice,” Pergram noted.

The House of Representatives will soon vote for a speaker of the House to lead the chamber for the next two years under the incoming Republican administration.

The previous race for the top House post was plagued by infighting among the GOP, who have been unable to easily find consensus on a speaker candidate in recent years. Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted as speaker by his Republican colleagues in October 2023, and it took lawmakers several weeks to finally elect their next leader: Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

Johnson is running to retain his position in the next Congress but has not yet received support from all of his Republican colleagues. The 2025 vote carries particularly intense pressure as the House must agree on and elect a speaker in order to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory just days later.

When will the House speaker vote take place?

The House is scheduled to vote on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at noon, as dictated by the Constitution. 

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO FAILING TO ELECT A HOUSE SPEAKER QUICKLY

House Speaker Mike Johnson is running for speaker of the 119th Congress. (Valerie Plesch)

A speaker must be elected before the 119th Congress can be sworn in.

Who is running?

Republicans have the majority in the House for the 119th Congress, so they are in charge of choosing a speaker.

Current House Speaker Mike Johnson is running again as head of the chamber. At this point, no other candidates have thrown their hat into the ring, but in past years, alternatives have been floated during the day of the vote.

How many votes does a candidate need to win?

Republicans currently hold a slim, four-seat majority in the chamber with 219 seats compared to the Democrats’ 215.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy swears in the officers of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2023. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

The GOP majority is to dwindle even further when two of Trump’s Cabinet picks, Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., assume their roles pending Senate confirmation, which is expected to take place several weeks after the speaker vote.

A candidate for speaker must receive an outright majority to win. Given the number of seats held by the GOP, a Republican candidate would need 218 votes if all 434 members vote.

GOP LAWMAKER ‘FULLY SUPPORTS’ SPEAKER JOHNSON: ‘WE DON’T NEED A PROTRACTED SPEAKERS RACE’

Which Republicans have not committed to supporting Johnson? 

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., recently told reporters he won’t vote for Johnson for speaker. 

Another GOP member suggested that he has not yet committed to voting for Johnson: “Right now, I think that Mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions, but I’m going to keep my options open. I want to have a conversation with Mike,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., recently told reporters he won’t vote for Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/File)

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., recently said Democrats won’t bail out Johnson if he does not receive enough GOP votes.

How could the recent government funding bill affect the vote?

Johnson introduced a government funding bill in early December, but the first proposal failed before it even reached the House floor after opposition from Republican lawmakers and outside Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

A second government funding bill was brought to the House floor, but bipartisan lawmakers voted against the legislation. Johnson introduced a third package, but many of his GOP colleagues didn’t support it. While 34 Republicans voted against Johnson’s bill, it passed in the House with unanimous Democrat support.

With more than two dozen Republicans breaking with Johnson on the government funding fight, he could face potential pushback against his speaker re-election efforts. Anywhere from four to 10 Republicans could oppose Johnson in the speaker’s race, Fox News’ Chad Pergram previously reported.

Could the House race affect the certification of the election?

The vote for speaker will take place on Friday, just three days before Congress is scheduled to certify the results of the Electoral College for Trump.

President-elect Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House. (Andrew Harnik)

The House cannot proceed with any official business, such as counting the presidential election votes for Trump, until a speaker is elected and the next Congress is sworn in. In January 2023, it took House Republicans four days and 15 ballots to elect a speaker.

Trump announced he would back Johnson for the position, a pivotal endorsement that could help determine the Louisiana Republican’s chances come Friday’s vote.

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“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

The Constitution dictates that the 119th Congress begins at noon et on Friday. 

And the first order of business in the House is to elect the Constitutional officer for the legislative branch of government: Speaker of the House.

Only the House votes for Speaker. And the House can’t do anything – I’ll repeat that, anything – until it chooses a Speaker. 

It can’t swear-in Members until the House taps a Speaker and he or she is sworn-in. The Speaker then swears-in the rest of the body, en masse. Then the House must adopt a rules package to govern daily operations. Only then can the House go about debating bills, voting and constructing committees for hearings. 

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If the House fails to elect a Speaker on the first ballot, it must proceed to a second ballot. 

And on and on.  

Consider for a moment that the House had never even taken a second vote for Speaker in a century before the donnybrook two years ago. It took four ballots to re-elect late House Speaker Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., in 1923. 

What is past is prologue for the House. Consider how the House consumed 15 rounds spread out over five days before electing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January, 2023. The Speakership remained vacant – and thus, the House frozen – for 22 days after Republicans dumped McCarthy nine months later. House Republicans then tapped House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for Speaker. Scalise withdrew his name before there was even a floor vote. House GOPers then tapped Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to become Speaker. But Jordan lost three consecutive votes for Speaker on the House floor, bleeding support on each ballot. House Republicans then anointed House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., for Speaker. Emmer withdrew hours later. 

Fox News Digital briefly spoke with ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a rare appearance on Capitol Hill

House Republicans finally nominated House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for the job. The Louisiana Republican won on the floor. But some conservatives have been disappointed in Johnson ever since. They’ve flagged how he handled multiple, interim spending bills from last November on. They didn’t like that he allowed a bill on the floor to aid Ukraine. They opposed him doing yet another interim spending bill in September. They really didn’t like how he worked with Democrats on major, must-do pieces of legislation. And then there was the misstep of the staggering, 1,500-page interim spending package which Mr. Trump and Elon Musk pulverized from afar in December. Johnson then did President-elect Trump’s bidding with another spending package – which included a debt ceiling increase. But 38 House Republicans bolted on that bill. 

So Johnson’s tenure has been bumpy. And that’s why he’s on the hook come Friday afternoon during the vote for Speaker. Everyone on Capitol Hill is on tenterhooks when it comes to wrapping this up expeditiously. 

Here’s what will happen Friday at noon: 

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CALLS ON INCOMING ADMINISTRATION TO TARGET ‘THE AXIS OF AGGRESSORS’

Acting House Clerk Kevin McCumber will preside until the House elects a Speaker. The first order of business is a “call of the House.” That’s where the House establishes how many of its Members-elect are there, simply voting “present.” The House should clock in at 434 members: 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats. There should be one vacancy. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned in the fall – and said he did not “intend” to serve in the new Congress, despite having won reelection. 

Watch to see if there are absences in that call of the House. Fox is told that Democrats who have struggled with health issues of late – including Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., Dwight Evans, D-Penn., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will likely be there. But the Speaker’s election is about the math. How many lawmakers report to the House chamber will dictate margins in the Speaker’s vote.

Then it’s on to nominating speeches. Incoming House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., will nominate Johnson for Speaker. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., will nominate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Anyone else can then place someone’s name in nomination.

Then, the House calls the roll of Members-elect alphabetically. Each Member rises and verbally responds, calling out their choice by name. Reps. Alma Adams, D-N.C., Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., and the aforementioned Aguilar are the first names out of the block.

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But lawmakers can vote for anyone they want. That includes persons who aren’t House Members. That’s why there have been votes cast over the years for the late Gen. Colin Powell, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. 

This is what Johnson – or anyone else must do – to win the Speakership:

The winning candidate must secure an outright majority of all Members voting for a candidate by name. 

So let’s say there are 434 members and all vote for someone by name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he also wins. But 217? No dice. Under those circumstances Johnson would have prospectively outpolled Jeffries, 217-215 – with two votes going to other candidates. But the “most votes” doesn’t win. 217 is not an outright majority of House Members voting for someone by name. The House must take ANOTHER ballot to elect a Speaker. 

Fox is told there are anywhere from 12 to 17 Republicans who could vote for someone besides Johnson. And some Republicans are being cagey about their votes. 

BERNIE SANDERS PLANS TO SPEARHEAD LEGISLATION ON KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL

Here’s something to watch: Members who vote “present.”

Rather than voting for someone besides Johnson, some Republicans may protest by simply voting “present.” A “present” vote does not count against Johnson. 

So let’s do some hypothetical math here:

Let’s say 434 Members cast ballots. Jeffries secures support from all 215 Democrats. Three Republicans vote “present.” In other words, not voting for any candidate by name. Johnson scores 216 votes. He has the most votes. But more importantly, only 431 Members voted for someone by name. 216 is an outright majority of 431. 434 doesn’t matter under these circumstances. So Johnson becomes Speaker. 

But there is serious danger in too many Republicans voting “present.” 

Consider this scenario: 

All 215 Democrats vote for Jeffries. But five Republicans vote “present.” Johnson records 214 votes. 429 Members cast ballots for someone by name. The magic number here is 215. Guess who’s Speaker? Jeffries. He marshalled an outright majority of all Members voting for a candidate by name.

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As they say in the movies, “You play a very dangerous game, Mr. Bond.”

With such a thin margin in the House, Republicans are absolutely tinkering with fire if they get too cute by half. Yes. Some conservatives might not want to re-elect Johnson as Speaker. But they certainly don’t want Jeffries. 

So it’s hard to say what happens on Friday afternoon. If the House dithers too long, this could delay the certification of the Electoral College vote on Monday. The House and Senate must meet in a Joint Session of Congress on January 6 to certify the election results. No House Speaker? No Joint Session. 

But something else will likely unfold if this drags on. Johnson loyalists and mainstream Republicans have had it with right-wing ideologues, the Freedom Caucus and other freelancers. Expect a full-on brawl between those two factions if Republicans struggle to elect a Speaker.

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And as we wrote earlier, what is past is prologue. 

A protracted battle over the Speakership serves as prologue to the looming, internecine fights among Republicans when it comes to governing. That’s to say nothing of implementing a solitary plank of President-elect Trump’s agenda.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a warning on Tuesday that the United States must maintain “judicial independence” just weeks away from President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. 

Roberts explained his concerns in his annual report on the federal judiciary. 

“It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy. Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system—sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topics,” Robert wrote in the 15-page report. “Nevertheless, for the past several decades, the decisions of the courts, popular or not, have been followed, and the Nation has avoided the standoffs that plagued the 1950s and 1960s.” 

“Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings,” Roberts said, without naming Trump, President Biden or any specific lawmaker. “These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving. As my late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, an independent judiciary is ‘essential to the rule of law in any land,’ yet it ‘is vulnerable to assault; it can be shattered if the society law exists to serve does not take care to assure its preservation.’”

“I urge all Americans to appreciate this inheritance from our founding generation and cherish its endurance,” Roberts said. 

DEMOCRATS LAUNCHED ‘CALCULATED EFFORT’ TO UNDERMINE SCOTUS SINCE DOBBS, CBS REPORTER SAYS

Roberts also quoted Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who remarked that the three branches of government “must work in successful cooperation” to “make possible the effective functioning of the department of government which is designed to safeguard with judicial impartiality and independence the interests of liberty.”

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor stand on the House floor ahead of the annual State of the Union address by President Biden before a joint session on March 7, 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)

“Our political system and economic strength depend on the rule of law,” Roberts wrote.

A landmark Supreme Court immunity decision penned by Roberts, along with another high court decision halting efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot, were championed as major victories on the Republican nominee’s road to winning the election. The immunity decision was criticized by Democrats like Biden, who later called for term limits and an enforceable ethics code following criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices.

A handful of Democrats and one Republican lawmaker urged Biden to ignore a decision by a Trump-appointed judge to revoke FDA approval for the abortion drug mifepristone last year. Biden declined to take executive action to bypass the ruling, and the Supreme Court later granted the White House a stay permitting the sale of the medication to continue. 

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The high court’s conservative majority also ruled last year that Biden’s massive student loan debt forgiveness efforts constitute an illegal use of executive power. 

THE BIGGEST SUPREME COURT DECISIONS OF 2024: FROM PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY TO OVERTURNING THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE

Roberts and Trump clashed in 2018 when the chief justice rebuked the president for denouncing a judge who rejected his migrant asylum policy as an “Obama judge.”

In 2020, Roberts criticized comments made by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York while the Supreme Court was considering a high-profile abortion case.

Roberts introduced his letter Tuesday by recounting a story about King George III stripping colonial judges of lifetime appointments, an order that was “not well received.” Trump is now readying for a second term as president with an ambitious conservative agenda, elements of which are likely to be legally challenged and end up before the court whose conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump during his first term.

In the annual report, the chief justice wrote generally that even if court decisions are unpopular or mark a defeat for a presidential administration, other branches of government must be willing to enforce them to ensure the rule of law. Roberts pointed to the Brown v. Board of Education decision that desegrated schools in 1954 as one that needed federal enforcement in the face of resistance from southern governors.

Chief Justice John Roberts, left, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito are seated as they and the other Supreme Court members sit for a group photo at the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

He also said “attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.” 

While public officials and others have the right to criticize rulings, they should also be aware that their statements can “prompt dangerous reactions by others,” Roberts wrote. 

Threats targeting federal judges have more than tripled over the last decade, according to U.S. Marshals Service statistics. State court judges in Wisconsin and Maryland were killed at their homes in 2022 and 2023, Roberts wrote.

“Violence, intimidation, and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable,” he wrote.

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Roberts also pointed to disinformation about court rulings as a threat to judges’ independence, saying that social media can magnify distortions and even be exploited by “hostile foreign state actors” to exacerbate divisions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Politics in 2024 was nothing short of unprecedented. 

Now that the U.S. has put a bow on the year, Fox News Digital looks back on the biggest political news stories that turned Washington, D.C., on its head. 

President Biden (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Biden’s drops out of presidential race at 11th hour after increasing scrutiny of his mental acuity

The year kicked off with President Biden in the driver’s seat of the Democratic Party as he keyed up a re-election effort in what was shaping up to be a second matchup against now-President-elect Donald Trump. 

In February, however, Biden’s 81 years of age and mental acuity fell under public scrutiny after years of conservatives questioning the commander-in-chief’s mental fitness. Special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents as vice president, announced he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

The report renewed scrutiny over Biden’s mental acuity, which rose to a fever pitch in June after the president’s first and only presidential debate against Trump. 

Biden faced backlash for a handful of gaffes and miscues in the days leading up to his debate against Trump, including former President Obama taking Biden’s wrist and appearing to lead him off a stage during a swank fundraiser, and also abroad when Italian Prime Minister Giogia Meloni guided Biden back to a group of world leaders when he appeared to wander off to give a thumbs-up to a parachutist during the G-7 summit. 

When the big debate day arrived, Biden missed his marks repeatedly, tripping over his responses and appearing to lose his train of thought as he squared up against Trump. The disastrous debate performance led to an outpouring of both conservatives and traditional Democrat allies calling on the president to bow out of the race in favor of a younger generation. 

CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA

The White House for weeks defiantly insisted that Biden would “absolutely not” drop out of the race, with his communications team and campaign daily combating the claims and speculation.

On July 21, Biden issued a tweet that Sunday afternoon announcing he would bow out of the race.

The Washington Post Editorial Board argued that Vice President Harris and the Democratic Party’s cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive issues was part of the reason the party lost the 2024 election. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Kamala Harris ‘installed’ as Democrat presidential nominee

Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to pick up the mantle shortly after dropping out of the race in a separate social media post published on X, formerly Twitter. 

Biden’s exit from the race, when there were only about 100 days left before Nov. 5, was the first time the presumptive nominee of a major political party withdrew from the election after winning primaries. 

Harris soon launched her truncated campaign, flanked by staffers from the Obama administration and campaigns and also a handful of holdovers from Biden’s campaign. 

Harris earned the nomination of the party despite not running in the primaries, sparking some calls, including from Democrats, that the process was “undemocratic.” High-profile Democrats from the Obamas to the Clintons threw their support behind Harris, while former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Harris’ nomination was fair by arguing the nomination process was “open” and Harris “won it.” 

“We do not live in a dictatorship,” left-wing group Black Lives Matter declared over the summer. “Delegates are not oligarchs. Installing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee and an unknown vice president without any public voting process would make the modern Democratic Party a party of hypocrites.”

Harris previously ran for the White House during the 2020 election cycle, but she dropped out in early December 2019, two months before the 2020 Iowa caucuses.

BLACK LIVES MATTER SAYS DEMS ARE ‘PARTY OF HYPOCRITES’ FOR ‘INSTALLING’ HARRIS SANS ‘PUBLIC VOTING PROCESS’

President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Time magazine about the first assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pa., in July. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump assassination attempts

Before Trump was elected president, he faced two assassination attempts in July and September that rocked voters and the election cycle. 

Trump took the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 for what was intended to be a rally in the crucial swing state. Then shots rang out. 

Trump was seen dropping to the ground during the rally before he quickly stood up, a bloodied ear apparent, while surrounded by Secret Service agents.

“Fight, fight, fight,” Trump was seen shouting to the crowd with a raised fist as he was escorted off the stage. 

One man, Corey Comperatore, lost his life while protecting his family from the attack, and two other people were seriously injured. 

The would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. 

TRUMP SAYS HE ‘PROBABLY TOOK A BULLET TO THE HEAD’ DUE TO DEM RHETORIC

Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

The attack unfolded just days before the Republican National Convention kicked off in Milwaukee. Despite initial speculation the RNC would be upended by the attempt, Trump appeared throughout the week with a patch over his injured right ear before formally accepting the nomination in a speech. 

“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” Trump said in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. 

“Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene. But now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory,” Trump continued. “Bullets were flying right over them, missing them by a very small amount of inches. And then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin’s life, took him out.”

Weeks later, on Sept. 15, Trump faced an assassination attempt while golfing at his Trump International Golf Club in Florida. 

Trump was safely escorted from the green at his golf club in West Palm Beach that Sunday afternoon after suspect Ryan Routh allegedly pointed a rifle toward the 45th president just outside the perimeter of the club. Routh fled the scene but was apprehended shortly thereafter on I-95. 

Routh allegedly waited in the bushes near Trump’s golf course for 12 hours ahead of the attempt on the former president’s life.

Routh has pleaded not guilty in the case, which includes charges such as the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and assault on a federal officer. His attorneys are reportedly considering an insanity defense as court proceedings continue. 

TRUMP AT HIGHER RISK OF ASSASSINATION THAN OTHER FORMER PRESIDENTS THANKS TO ‘PUBLIC ENEMY’ RHETORIC: EXPERT

Former President Trump speaks during an election night watch party at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 24, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s conviction and political ‘comeback’ 

While juggling his successful re-election effort, Trump spent much of the year battling criminal charges and legal cases, including sitting trial for weeks in the New York v. Trump case. 

FOX NEWS PROJECTS DONALD TRUMP DEFEATS KAMALA HARRIS TO BECOME 47TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

​​Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump maintained his innocence in the case and called it a “sham” and “witch hunt.” The guilty verdict was slammed by both Trump and legal experts as an example of “lawfare” promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November. 

Trump plowed ahead with his election effort despite the guilty verdict, completing a massive political comeback when he defeated Harris at the polls.

BRAGG PITCHES POST-PRESIDENCY TRUMP SENTENCING IN RENEWED PUSH URGING JUDGE MERCHAN TO KEEP CONVICTION ALIVE

President-elect Donald Trump celebrates beating Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential race. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Heading into Election Day, the polls were tight and both Trump and Harris zeroed in on locking down votes in key battleground states, most notably Pennsylvania. Final results from the election were expected to take days, harkening back to the 2020 election cycle during the pandemic, but Trump’s decisive win was declared late on election night. 

Trump took the stage to accept victory after Fox News projected he would win Pennsylvania, which carries 19 electoral votes, as well as Wisconsin, Georgia and North Carolina. Trump ultimately notched 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226 and also secured the popular vote. 

TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS

“Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you. And with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America. That’s what we have to have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” he said just before 2:30 a.m. after the election. 

NYPD officers detain dozens of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Anti-Israel protests erupt on college campuses 

During last year’s college school year, agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they do not feel safe on some campuses. 

Radicals on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel. 

CAMPUS ‘OCCUPATION GUIDE’ TAPS INTO AGITATORS’ ‘RAGE,’ INSTRUCTS HOW TO ‘ESCALATE’ CHAOS

Terrorist organization Hamas launched a war in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests heightened to the point Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia, were warned to leave campus for their own safety. 

On Penn’s campus, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in May that anti-Israel radicals were passing around multiple guides directing agitators on how to break into buildings, “escalate” protests, create weapons and even administer first aid.

Anti-Israel protesters sparked campus unrest at the University of North Carolina. (Travis Long/News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS

“Let repression breed more resistance. We will not disavow any actions taken to escalate the struggle, including militant direct actions. Our notion of ‘safety’ in the imperial core is built on centuries of corpses, and this liberal framing of ‘safetyism’ prevents us from escalating and winning, which is our duty to Palestine and us all. We keep us safe by escalating. Don’t hesitate to take more risk,” one how-to guide dubbed “FLOOD THE GATES: ESCALATE” read.

The college protests and war in Israel became a focal point of the presidential race as well as down-ballot races, with Republicans repeatedly condemning antisemitism on college campuses and demanding peace be restored to colleges.

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College administrators from top schools such as UCLA, Rutgers and Northwestern were grilled by lawmakers over their handling of antisemitism on campus, while Trump warned school leaders if they allow antisemitism to run rampant, they could lose accreditation.

Several “winners” and “losers” emerged in 2024 as the year comes to a close after Republicans took control of Congress in the November election and several prominent Democrats ended up on the losing side.

WINNER – President-elect Donald Trump

Pundits in the media largely wrote Trump off after he left office and argued his political career was over in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and House impeachments. That critique intensified after he found himself facing indictments in several different jurisdictions and battling with several prominent Republicans during the GOP primary. 

However, Trump weathered the political storm while surviving two assassination attempts and won back the White House in November in what many described as the greatest political comeback in American political history.

TOP POLITICAL GAFFES OF 2024

From left: VP Kamala Harris, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, VP-elect JD Vance

Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20 for a term that will be bolstered by Republican control of the House and Senate for at least the next two years.

LOSER – VP Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

President Biden made history this summer when he dropped out of the presidential race amid pressure from many within his own party and essentially handed the reins to his vice president despite calls to hold an open primary process.

After several months of campaigning along with a spending blitz of $1 billion, Harris ultimately failed to make the case to voters that the Biden-Harris administration policies should be continued with four years of a Harris presidency. 

Harris lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College to Trump, and Republicans down the ballot secured enough seats to keep control of the House and retake control of the Senate.

2024’S MOST ANNOYING PEOPLE. LEFT AND RIGHT CAN AGREE ON AT LEAST 2

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, arrive at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Harris was widely criticized for her decision to select Walz as her running mate, with many political experts making the case that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was the optimal choice. Walz had been labeled by many media outlets as a personable and popular governor who brought “Midwestern charm” to the ticket but also consistently brought negative attention to the campaign with a series of gaffes and controversial statements about his past military service. 

“Historically, vice presidents have little impact on a presidential candidate’s fate,” Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of the Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital last month. 

“But in the case of Tim Walz, it proved to be a disastrous decision that doomed Kamala Harris from the moment she made it. Not only was Walz ill-prepared for the national spotlight and media scrutiny, but Harris passed over several better options. Given how little Americans knew about Harris or her policy positions, they were right to question her judgment on this big decision.”

WINNER – Elon Musk

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO officially threw his support behind Trump shortly after the former president survived being shot during a failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

Musk quickly became a fixture on the campaign trail and spoke at a rally at the site of the assassination attempt. 

“As you can see, I am not just MAGA. I am Dark MAGA,” Musk joked at the rally in October, a nod to the Dark Brandon meme. He called the upcoming Nov. 5 election “the most important election of our lifetime.”

Over the past few months, Musk has positioned himself as a key voice in the Trump administration and has been seen at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida several times – some outlets have reported that he is living on the property – and his influence has grown to the point that liberal pundits are accusing him of being the “co-president.”

Musk, along with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was appointed by Trump to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, which has already made waves in Washington, D.C., with elected officials on both sides of the aisle supporting the agency’s stated goal of slashing government waste.

LOSER – George Soros

2024: THE YEAR PRO-TRUMP CELEBRITIES BECAME MAINSTREAM

Left-wing billionaire and philanthropist George Soros (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Soros money machine that has propped up progressive lawmakers and district attorneys across the country suffered significant losses in blue California on election night as voters overwhelmingly rejected progressives on the issue of crime.

California voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Prop 36 that rolled back key provisions of Proposition 47, which was advertised by Democrats in the state as progressive crime reforms that would make the state safer. 

When Proposition 47 passed in 2014, it downgraded most thefts from felonies to misdemeanors if the amount stolen was under $950, “unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.”

Progressives suffered another major loss in Los Angeles, where District Attorney George Gascón, who co-authored Prop 47 and was backed by Soros, was defeated by former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman as crime was seen as a top issue of the election cycle.

In another loss for Soros-backed prosecutors in the Golden State, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled, less than two years after taking office, after backlash for her alleged soft-on-crime approach.

Oakland Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao, who faced heat from her constituents amid rising crime, was also ousted from office after her recall effort passed with 65% of the vote.

In San Francisco, where crime has been a major concern with voters, Democrat Mayor London Breed lost her re-election campaign.

“I think that this is broader than just a message from people who care about crime,” Cully Stimson, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and co-author of the book “Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America’s Communities,” told Fox News Digital.

“This is a massive mandate and cry for help from the general population that we want our state back, we want our counties back, and we want our cities back and that our failed social experiments have had enough time, and they’re an absolute, abysmal failure.”

WINNER – Vice President-elect JD Vance

TRUMP’S CONVINCING 2024 VICTORY SETS HOUSE GOP UP FOR HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE IN 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the vice president-elect, leaves the Senate chamber as lawmakers work on an interim spending bill at the Capitol on Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The popular narrative among left-wing pundits during the presidential election cycle was that Trump’s VP pick, Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance, would alienate voters with a personality they deemed to be unlikable.

Contrary to that narrative, Vance solidified himself as a formidable force in conservative politics, appearing on a variety of podcasts, holding frequent press conferences and putting forward a debate performance that several polls suggested he won.

Vance held a 34% favorability rating when he joined Trump on the ticket. That number shot up over the next few months, and Real Clear Politics reported in mid-November that his favorability rating had shot up to 44%.

“I thought people would be more unnerved by JD Vance,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow told Semafor this week.

Vance, 40, will be the third-youngest vice president in American history when he is sworn in next month. As Trump is prevented by the Constitution from seeking another term in office, Vance is already viewed as a front-runner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.

“We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance,” Donald Trump Jr. said in October on the campaign trail. 

The younger Trump, who’s a powerful ally of the vice president-elect, is extremely popular with the MAGA base.

“The vice president will be in the catbird seat, no question about it,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney recently told Fox News Digital. 

LOSER – Democrat Senate incumbents

On their way to taking control of the Senate, Republicans successfully unseated several Democrats who had spent decades in the chamber.

Sen. Sherrod Brown had represented Ohio in the Senate since 2007 before falling in November to his Republican challenger, businessman Bernie Moreno. Brown, considered one of the most vulnerable members of the Senate heading into the election, had attempted to paint himself as a moderate to Ohio voters who ended up voting for Moreno in a state that Trump carried by 11 points.

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Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, who comes from a prominent family in Pennsylvania politics, has represented the state in the Senate since 2007 and had long been considered one of the toughest incumbents to defeat until he lost to GOP challenger Dave McCormick in November.

McCormick, a 59-year-old businessman, defeated Casey by a razor-thin margin of 0.2% after riding Trump’s endorsement and dissatisfaction with the economy that Biden and Harris presided over for four years.

“We heard a common refrain. The one message we heard over and over again is we need change. The country is headed in the wrong direction. We need leadership to get our economy back on track to get this horrific inflation under control,” McCormick said after the election.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who also joined the Senate as a Democrat in 2007, met a similar fate in November after losing his seat to former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy.

Tester had taken up more moderate stances in recent years, openly breaking with the Biden-Harris administration on several issues throughout the years, but it was not enough to persuade voters in Montana, where Trump won by almost 20 points.

Fox News Digital’s David Rutz, Paul Steinhauser and Cortney O’Brien contributed to this report.

Most Americans look at the beginning of a new year as a fresh start, and an opportunity to set goals to better themselves over the next 12 months – and members of Congress are no exception.

Like millions of people across the U.S., lawmakers are setting their own New Year’s resolutions, ranging from the professional to the very personal. 

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is stepping down from the top spot on the committee after being term-limited, said his resolution was to use his new role as chairman emeritus “to be a strong voice on foreign policy and national security issues.”

On a more individual level, McCaul told Fox News Digital he also set a New Year’s resolution for “daily exercise and spending my time on the things most important in life, like family. And taking time to smell the roses.”

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

Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Michael McCaul, and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, all shared New Year’s resolutions with Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said her New Year’s resolution involved cleaner eating.

“My New Year’s resolution is to not eat anything with seed oils. It’s going to be nearly impossible because they stick them in everything,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, shared a broader goal for unity in 2025 involving his fellow House Republicans – after a 118th Congress marked by historic levels of discord and infighting.

Rep. Pat Fallon shared a resolution for unity within the House GOP. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I always said that the Republican conference is a big family,” Fallon said. “We may be dysfunctional at times, but we’re still a family, and my New Year’s resolution is that we can all sing from the same sheet music enough times to make a difference for the American people.”

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., said, “My New Year’s resolution is to help Make America Healthy Again by steering our nutrition policy toward promoting healthy food choices, starting with changes to the food stamp (SNAP) program.”

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

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., will provide the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

On the Senate side, lawmakers shared resolutions to forward the GOP agenda.

“With a new year, new Congress, and new President, I know we can get America back on track and usher in a new golden era. My 2025 resolutions are to help secure our southern border to make our families and communities safer; return to regular order to cut wasteful spending and ensure Congress is a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars; and pass pro-family tax reform that grows opportunity and prosperity across our nation,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital.

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said, “My New Year’s resolution is to become less tolerant of climate alarmism and hasten the demise of the administrative state.” The Republican will chair the energy committee in the new Congress. 

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., revealed his resolution is to “confirm all of Trump’s nominees and secure our borders.”

A controversial immigration program that has been in place for decades has recently become a hot-button issue as it looks likely to be axed or severely limited by the incoming Trump administration, and Democrats are calling on President Biden to take moves to preserve it.

Temporary Protected Status is a program established in the 1990s that allows the government to designate countries unsafe for nationals to return to, granting nationals already in the U.S. work permits and protection from deportation if they are here illegally or if their legal status expires.

The Biden administration designated or re-designated a number of countries for TPS, including Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan and others, allowing hundreds of thousands of nationals to remain in the U.S. as a result. There are currently 17 countries designated for TPS.

‘LEGAL AUTHORITY’: SENATE DEMS DEMAND BIDEN EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN 

Migrants board a city bus to a shelter intake center after traveling on a bus from Del Rio, Texas, to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on May 13, 2023. (Victor J. Blue)

The first Trump administration sought to wind down TPS for a number of countries, but it was caught up in a yearslong court battle launched by left-wing civil rights groups on the matter.

TPS again became a major issue in 2024 as Republicans and conservatives drew attention to mass migration via humanitarian parole from Haiti. Migrants were coming in via the use of the CBP One app and a program that allowed up to 30,000 migrants from four countries a month into the U.S. They could then be eligible for TPS if they arrived before the country was re-designated.

There were widespread reports of Haitian migrants flooding towns in Ohio and elsewhere, which were picked up by former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Trump promised to revoke TPS for Haiti earlier this year. 

“It’s been overrun. You can’t do that to people. I’d revoke [TPS], and I’d bring [the migrants] back to their country,” he told NewsNation when speaking about Springfield, Ohio.

Vance described TPS as a “government edict saying that you’re not allowed to deport people anymore.” Conservatives have long complained that continued extensions of TPS mean it is not “temporary” as it claims to be.

DEM SENATOR URGES BIDEN TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN: ‘NOBODY IS SAFE’

President-elect Trump (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/File)

Republicans have made moves to restrict the program in Congress. Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced a bill that restricts TPS designations by requiring Congress to approve them for 12-month terms and requiring additional moves by Congress to extend them. Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation operation, and restrictions on TPS and other immigration benefits are expected to accompany that.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

With that looming, Democrats have been urging Biden to extend protections under TPS and other programs to blunt the impact of the incoming administration.

“We write now because the window to secure and finalize your administration’s policies is closing rapidly,” Democrats led by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Biden in a letter this month.

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“We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families.”

So far, however, there’s been no movement on TPS by the Biden administration nor any indication that redesignations or extensions are imminent.

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

**NOTE: The Fox News Politics Newsletter will take a break tomorrow for the New Year’s Day holiday. We will return Thursday, Jan. 2. From all of us at Fox News Politics, Happy New Year!**

Here’s what’s happening…

– Learning Curve: The new players in Congress

– How border security dominated US politics and 2024, and sealed an election

– 10 rising stars in Democratic, Republican parties expected to emerge in 2025

DC Mayor Finds ‘Common Ground’ with Trump 

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that she and President-elect Trump “had a great meeting to discuss our shared priorities” for his upcoming term, despite their previously contentious relationship that hit a fever pitch in 2020 during the George Floyd riots. 

“President Trump and I both want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation,” Bowser said. 

The Democratic mayor said she and Trump “discussed areas for the collaboration between local and federal government, especially around our federal workforce, underutilized federal buildings, parks and green spaces, and infrastructure.”…Read more

President Elect Donald Trump, left, and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, right (Getty)

White House

RUBY MOUNTAINS: Biden moving to ban oil and gas leases for 20 years in Nevada region, just weeks before Trump inauguration…Read more

UNDER FIRE: Dems urge Biden to extend controversial immigrant program; Trump says he’ll cut it…Read more

World Stage

CHILL THROUGH EU: Ukraine receives US natural gas shipment for the first time amid fresh supply fears…Read more

An liquid natural gas (LNG) tanker is seen in Port Canaveral. (Malcom Denemark, Florida Today) ((Malcom Denemark/Florida Today))

Capitol Hill

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: Trump gives Johnson ‘complete and total endorsement’ ahead of Speakership fight…Read more

DEBT DILEMMA: Bernie Sanders plans to spearhead legislation on key Trump proposal…Read more

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.  (Reuters)

Across America

VERDICT IS IN: North Dakota senator’s son to serve 28 years in prison for crash that killed deputy…Read more

ON ICE: ICE shuts down programs offering services to illegal immigrants, citing ‘immense’ costs…Read more

‘LAWFARE…MUST END’: Georgia AG urges state Supreme Court to reject DA Willis’ appeal in Trump case…Read more

Georgia AG Chris Carr urged the state Supreme Court to not consider an appeal from Fulton County DA Fani Willis in the election interference case against President-elect Trump. (Getty)

PENTAGON: The Pentagon chief loses bid to reject 9/11 plea deals…Read more

9/11 PLEA DEALS STAND: Military Appeals Court rules Defense Sec Austin cannot rescind 9/11 plea deals…Read more

‘COUNTERPRODUCTIVE’: Hochul’s polluters pay bill could result in regressive costs for working families: economists…Read more

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

China was behind a “major” hack of the Treasury Department, the Biden administration said Monday, gaining access to unclassified documents and the workstations of government employees. 

After a year fraught with hacking across all government agencies, China experts say it’s time to get serious about thwarting adversarial espionage. 

“The latest intrusion should not come as a surprise. For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our homeland and networks,” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House China Select Committee, told Fox News Digital. 

“It is time for Congress and the incoming Trump administration to impose escalating costs to deter the CCP.” 

It’s not yet clear what exactly the hackers were seeking. The Treasury houses sensitive data about global financial systems, as well as estimates about China’s ailing economy. It also carries out sanctions on Chinese companies, as well as those aiding Russia in the war on Ukraine.

“Even though the Treasury says the Chinese only got unclassified documents, we’ve got to remember that a hack of the Treasury sends shudders not just across the U.S., but across the world. Countries rely on the dollar, can you rely on the stability of the American financial markets?” said China expert Gordon Chang. 

CHINA DIRECTS LARGEST MILITARY BUILD-UP SINCE 1930S NAZI GERMANY, EXPERT WARNS, CITING PENTAGON REPORT

“For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our homeland and networks,” Rep. John Moolenaar told Fox News Digital (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Treasury was notified by a service provider of the breach on Dec. 8, and all systems affected were taken offline. China called the accusation that it was behind the act “baseless” and said it “consistently opposes all forms of hacking.”

Despite China’s denial, the Treasury insisted a Chinese state-sponsored actor was behind the attack. Chang suggested Xi may have intended to get caught to send a message to the world. 

“We can’t actually exclude the possibility that the Chinese wanted to be caught because they wanted to actually create uncertainty around the world. They wanted to show the world that the United States is not safe — their networks are not good, the Chinese control them at will.”

STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL ASK SCOTUS TO UPHOLD TIKTOK DIVEST-OR-BAN LAW AMID TRUMP REQUEST TO PAUSE BAN

Just weeks ago, President-elect Donald Trump seemed to be making an attempt to smooth over relations with China with an invitation to President Xi Jinping for his inauguration. But the recent hacking attempt suggests such efforts might be futile, according to Chang. 

“American presidents had tried preemptive concessions to China for decades. They’ve not resulted in benefits to us. And the reason is because the Chinese don’t reciprocate them,” he said.

Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s communications were intercepted by Chinese intelligence, just as she was making determinations about new export controls on semiconductors and other key technology. The same hacking group also targeted officials at the State Department and members of Congress.

Treasury was notified by a service provider of the breach on December 8, and all systems affected were taken offline (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

 China, led by President Xi Jinping, has denied involvement in the hack  (Florence Lo – Pool/Getty Images)

And the Treasury hack comes just as the Biden administration is grappling with one of China’s biggest attacks on American infrastructure in history, dubbed Salt Typhoon. 

A Chinese intelligence group infiltrated nine U.S. telecommunications giants and gained access to the private text messages and phone calls of Americans, including senior government officials and prominent political figures. 

The Salt Typhoon hackers also gained access to an exhaustive list of phone numbers the Justice Department had wiretapped to monitor people suspected of espionage, granting them insight into which Chinese spies the U.S. had caught onto and which they had missed.

The onslaught of cyberattacks has prompted frustration — and raised questions — about cybersecurity and why America’s adversaries are able to penetrate U.S. government systems with regularity.

“The American people should be angry at the Chinese for hacking us, but they should be outraged at our political leaders because our political leaders know what’s going on. They have the means to protect us, and they have decided not to do so,” said Chang. 

Last week, incoming national security adviser Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., suggested the U.S. needed to not only play defense but go on offense to the attacks. 

Representative Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida, speaks during a news conference following an all-member House briefing on Afghanistan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021.  (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We have to stop trying to just play better and better defense,” he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “We need to start going on offense.”

“We need to start imposing consequences for those that are stealing our technology, spying on us, and now with a program called Volt Typhoon, is putting cyber time bombs on our critical infrastructure, like our water, our grid and our ports,” Waltz said.

“America can’t afford to just play defense on cyber anymore. We’ve got to go on the offensive and impose COSTS on those who are stealing our technology and attacking our infrastructure,” he added on X.

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Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on U.S. imports from China. Last month, the Biden administration issued its most stringent crackdown yet on China’s semiconductor industry with the intent of hindering its ability to develop AI for modern military uses.

California Republican leaders appeared to mock Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fiery response to a critical analysis of his handling of the Golden State’s homelessness crisis, saying that any increase in homelessness is not admirable.

State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Newsom, calling the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s year-end Homelessness Assessment Report an indictment of his capabilities.

“Gavin Newsom literally lost track of the $27 billion he spent on the homeless crisis,” Jones said, citing the report as listing California first in homelessness, with an increase of 3% to 187,000.

CA VOTERS NARROWLY REJECT $18/HR MINIMUM WAGE

“Today’s HUD report makes it clear that instead of solving the problem, Newsom’s endless spending ‘solution’ has only made it worse,” said Jones, R-San Diego.

In a recent statement, Newsom’s office indicated the state “distributed $24 billion to local governments to address homelessness through numerous state programs.”

“All that money is accounted for,” the statement continued, appearing to reference the funds Jones had claimed were “lost.”

“The audit showed that previously not all state programs required locals to report how those dollars improved homelessness for the most recent years and lacked data to compare the effectiveness of one program versus another. That’s been fixed. 

“This administration has added strong accountability and reporting requirements for local governments that receive state funding. Any notion that we don’t know where the money went is preposterous, and that’s not what the audit reported,” the statement said.

The report also cited that Illinois, Wyoming, Hawaii and Colorado were the states where family homelessness doubled or worse.

BRIAN W. JONES: SUPER SANCTUARY IMMIGRATION POLICY THREATENS LIVES AND AIDS VIOLENT CRIMINALS

A statement from the Republican caucus of the California State Assembly keyed into Newsom’s recent thorough defense against an op-ed in the outlet CalMatters that made similar criticisms.

“In case you missed it, Governor Newsom’s office threw a tantrum over a column… that broke down his history of failure on homelessness,” the caucus, led by Assemblyman James Gallagher of Yuba City, collectively wrote.

The CalMatters op-ed claimed Newsom’s handling of the homelessness crisis will be a key point of attack for his prospective 2028 Democratic presidential primary challengers if he chooses to seek higher office then.

The column cited Newsom as saying “what’s happening on the streets has to be a top priority,” and reported he indicated a willingness to hold local officials accountable as well.

“People have to see and feel the progress and the change…” Newsom said, according to the column.

Gallagher’s caucus then cited Newsom’s response to the column, which consisted of a series of pointed posts.

“Given the sheer population size of California, to talk about homelessness without any of the broader context or how this administration’s efforts compare to the prior is a disservice to Californians, plain and simple,” Newsom’s office’s account wrote on X.

ICE  DEPORTATIONS CATCH UP TO TRUMP-ERA IN FY 2024 AS BIDEN ADMIN COMES TO A CLOSE 

“As the Governor has said many times, the work is far from over and urgency and results at the local level are needed more than ever. It’s why new accountability tools have been put in place, for quicker results. It’s also a longer-term effort — through implementation of Prop 1, CARE Court, conservatorship reform, the just approved BH-Connect waiver all of which are aimed at addressing the systemic issues of homelessness but not yet fully online.”

Newsom’s office also posted that unsheltered homelessness grew four times faster during the waning years of Gov. Edmund “Jerry” Brown’s administration than under his.

“The number of unsheltered homeless increased by 13.83% during the Newsom Administration (2019-2023), compared to an increase of 51.79% in the five-year period prior to the administration (2015-2019),” the post read.

California’s 14% homelessness increase in 2023 also fell below the national increase of 21%, the governor’s office added in the statement released just before this year’s numbers.

In 2024, California saw a homelessness increase of 3%, according to a weekend statement released by Newsom’s office. The rate bests 40 other states, the release said. 

Assembly Republicans responded to Newsom’s original comments.

“Since the governor is committed to gaslighting on this issue, we’ll state the obvious: an increase of 20% is not progress,” their statement read.

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City of San Francisco workers remove a homeless encampment in the Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco, on Aug. 1. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jones, the Senate minority leader, cited Friday that he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to change California’s homelessness policies and focus on “compassionate enforcement” of encampment violations.

One of his proposals from this past term, which did not make it to Newsom’s desk, focused on existing state law deeming “lodging” in a public or private place without permission to be disorderly conduct.

The bill would have delayed any indictment on that count for 72 hours after first notice and imposed a “state-mandated local program” for homeless individuals in those situations.

In a separate statement, Newsom said no American should be without a place to call home:

“Homelessness continues to rise and increase at ever-higher numbers nationwide, but we are seeing signs of progress in California,” he said.

“We have turned the tide on a decades-long increase in homelessness – but we have more work to do. California‘s plan is ambitious and challenging but the data is proving that it is not impossible: our strategies are making a positive difference.”

Data also showed other large-population states like New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas also suffered a higher growth in unsheltered homelessness than California’s, which the governor’s office said was under one percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he will push forward new legislation to cap credit card interest rates to 10%, which is something President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to do temporarily on the campaign trail. 

“During the recent campaign Donald Trump proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. Great idea. Let’s see if he supports the legislation that I will introduce to do just that,” Sanders wrote on X. 

DEM SENATOR REVEALS HOW SHE NARROWLY WON KEY STATE THAT TRUMP FLIPPED: ‘BE PRACTICAL TO FIND RESULTS’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, and President-elect Donald Trump. (Reuters)

While campaigning in New York before winning the election against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump threw his support behind a “temporary cap on credit card interest rates.” 

“We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.”

REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN FOR FEDERAL DEATH ROW REPRIEVES AHEAD OF LEAVING OFFICE

Trump framed the temporary policy as something to help Americans as they “catch up.” 

The amount of credit card debt held by Americans rose to $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, per MarketWatch. 

According to data from Lending Tree, the average credit card interest rate in December was 24.43%, MarketWatch also reported. 

Regarding whether the president-elect still intends to implement this policy after he debuted it in September, transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”

Sanders’ office did not answer whether the cap in his legislation would be temporary, as Trump said, when asked for comment by Fox News Digital. 

TOP TRUMP AIDES JOIN GROUP PREPPING TO SHORE UP SUPPORT FOR MAGA AGENDA DURING SECOND TERM

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

While Trump backed such a temporary cap, Republicans have often opposed policies that could be harmful to businesses and restrict the availability of credit cards. 

In fact, top Trump ally and incoming Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., was a top opponent of efforts during the Biden administration to crack down on late fees and further regulate the credit card industry. 

SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK

Sen. Tim Scott was a top opponent of efforts during the Biden administration to crack down on late fees and further regulate the credit card industry. (Reuters)

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Earlier this year, Scott explained that the administration’s rule to cap credit card late fees would “decrease the availability of credit card products for those who need it most, raise rates for many borrowers who carry a balance but pay on time, and increase the likelihood of late payments across the board.”

Scott’s office declined to comment on a potential 10% interest rate cap. 

Ukraine has received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S., energy company officials confirmed this week— a positive development for Kyiv as it moves to ramp up its purchases of U.S. supplies and protect against broader supply concerns in the region.

Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, confirmed it has received some 100 million cubic meters of U.S. LNG in the shipment, which the U.S. shipped to an LNG regasification terminal in Greece. 

BIDEN’S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES NEW MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR AID PACKAGES FOR UKRAINE

An LNG tanker loaded with liquefied natural gas is moored at a floating terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in 2023. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)

The news comes after Ukraine’s DTEK inked a supply deal with U.S.-based LNG supplier Venture Global in June.

The DTEK contract is the first significant LNG contract to be struck between Ukraine and the U.S. and will allow Ukraine to purchase an “unspecificed” amount of LNG from Venture Global through 2026. The companies also signed a separate 20-year agreement, in keeping with traditional longer-term LNG supply contracts.

The news comes just hours before Russian gas giant, Gazprom, is slated to halt all piped gas deliveries shipped through Ukrainian pipelines to other European countries, following the expiration of its five-year contract.

GERMANY ACCUSES ELON MUSK OF TRYING TO INTERFERE IN ITS NATIONAL ELECTIONS

Then-President Donald Trump speaks at the Cameron LNG Export Terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana, in 2019. ( Scott Clause/USA Today)

Ukraine itself does not purchase Russian gas supplies. However, the European Union (EU) remains heavily dependent on imported gas, including from Russia.

Even after the abrupt throttling of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the EU depends on piped Russian gas for roughly 5% of its total gas imports— sparking fresh fears as to how the bloc might cope in the event of a supply emergency or colder-than-expected winter. 

A Belarusian worker on duty at a gas compressor station of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, southwest of the capital Minsk, Belarus. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

In the interim, Ukrainian officials said, they hope the additional U.S. supplies can help fill in the gap and help ease any near-term supply crises in the EU.

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“Cargoes like this are not only providing the region with a flexible and secure source of power, but are further eroding Russia’s influence over our energy system,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement. 

The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains.

The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration. 

“The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “Today’s action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape.”   

‘WRONG-HEADED’: ENERGY INDUSTRY LEADERS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN REPORT ON NATURAL GAS EXPORTS

President Biden speaks at the Department of Labor on Dec. 16, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch)

The Biden administration’s lease limitation does not put restrictions on mining in the region.

SCOTUS HEARS ARGUMENTS IN CASE THAT COULD RESHAPE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

During Trump’s first administration, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine whether 54,000 acres could be leased for oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains. 

The proposal was eventually rejected in 2019 after the public comment period saw “thousands of comments from the local area, the state of Nevada, and from across the nation” opposing the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the forest supervisor who signed the decision.

Great Basin, Nevada, Elko County, Ruby Mountains, Lamoille Canyon. (Dukas/Universal Images Group)

Jenna Padilla, the geologist for the Humboldt-Toiyabe Ruby Mountains ranger district at the time, said that geological surveys “show there is low to no potential for oil” in the region, the LA Times reported in 2018.

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It is unclear whether the Trump administration will consider potential leases in the region, but such actions could face roadblocks following the Biden administration’s new proposal.