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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PETE HEGSETH SAYS HE WILL BE ‘STANDING RIGHT HERE IN THIS FIGHT’ AFTER MEETING WITH SENATORS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trump responded definitively that “the answer is no.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SUPREME COURT PRESERVES FULL ACCESS TO MEDICAL ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s happening…

-Biden breaks Obama record for filling Federal Registers…

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

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

‘MOVE ON’

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

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

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

White House

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

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

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

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

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

Trump Transition

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

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

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

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

Capitol Hill

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

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

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

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

Trail Dust

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

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

Across America

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRUMP ORBIT RAMPS UP CRITICISM OF ERNST OVER HEGSETH NOMINATION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Trump has praised Hegseth in the past few days.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is Tren de Aragua?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why is Tren de Aragua spreading across the US?

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

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

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

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

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

How to ‘derail’ the train

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

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

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

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

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

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

What will Trump do?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS

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

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

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

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

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

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

President Biden’s administration has filled up the Federal Register with more pages of regulations than any other president in history, breaking President Barack Obama’s record. 

As of last week, on Dec. 3, the Biden administration set a new federal record for the most Federal Register pages filled in a single year – 96,088. The number puts the administration on pace to fill more than 100,000 pages by the end of its term.

The record was previously held by Obama, who, in the final year of his second term, filled 95,894 pages.

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

The Federal Register, which is published by the National Archives and Records Administration and overseen by the Office of the Federal Register, is a daily publication of new and amended federal regulations.

“Federal Register page counts are a highly imperfect gauge of regulatory burden. Biden’s milestone, though, still underscores the expanding scope of federal intervention,” said Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., fellow at the Washington-based nonprofit the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “The record-setting 2024 Federal Register provides a stark reminder of the scale of the regulatory state, and it ain’t even done yet.”

CONSTRUCTION TRADE GROUP LEADERS LOOK FORWARD TO NEW LEADERSHIP UNDER TRUMP: ‘RELIEF ON THE HORIZON’

During the final year of President-elect Trump’s first term in office, the Federal Register saw its fourth-largest number of pages filled. However, Crews said that number was likely inflated by efforts to eliminate rules that require agencies to issue new ones, as well as emergency COVID-19 pandemic measures. Meanwhile, during Trump’s first year in office, 2017, there were fewer pages added to the Federal Register than anyone since Bill Clinton in 1993, Crews pointed out.

Shortly after entering the Oval Office in 2017, Trump issued Executive Order 13771, which initiated a new federal rulemaking process requiring that for every single regulation added by the Trump administration, two must be taken away. The result of this was net cost savings throughout Trump’s first term, Crews said.

LEAVE THE OIL TO ME: TRUMP VOWS TO UNLEASH US ENERGY, UNDO KEY BIDEN RULES IN 2ND TERM

Trump has signaled that he will expand his deregulation efforts during his second term, pledging to erase 10 regulations for every new one added.

Machalagh Carr, director of the Center for Legal Action at the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News Digital that with the incoming Trump administration “a new day is dawning and help is on the way.”

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“For the last four years, [the Biden administration] has done their very best to strangle American free enterprise with a blizzard of unworkable regulations and mandates,” Carr said. “The political appointees calling the shots in the Biden administration have a hostile view of the innovators and companies that power our economy and believe that government knows best.”

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for both Biden and Trump, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progressive Democrats are frustrated with how President Biden is handling his lame duck era, with President-elect Donald Trump dominating the news cycle with Cabinet nominations and meetings with world leaders.

Biden has remained relatively quiet in the weeks since Trump won re-election and has allowed Trump to steal the show at several notable events. Biden sent his wife, first lady Jill Biden, to attend the re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, giving Trump an opportunity to greet French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the cameras.

“This is one of the lamest of lame ducks we’ve seen with a Democratic administration. A massive missed opportunity,” Usamah Andrabi, spokesman for the progressive group Justice Democrats, told the Wall Street Journal.

Democrats also feel that Biden and the White House have not been critical enough of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Trump has already had one nominee withdraw, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary and a former Fox News host, has also drawn criticism.

HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED

“We should be less hobbled and more spurred. We should be vocal, pushing back against these nominees who are nothing but a disaster in the making,” Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee told the Journal.

“Most voters don’t know Kash Patel or even who Matt Gaetz or Tulsi Gabbard are,” Waleed Shahid, a progressive Democratic strategist, told the outlet. “But many more Americans would know if President Biden spoke about them… The only way to win the war of attention is by going to the voters and explaining things to them, which President Biden has consistently avoided doing.”

However, the White House pushed back on the criticism, arguing that Biden has been busy on foreign trips.

“President Biden is making every day of this term count as he accelerates the implementation of an unprecedented agenda that will benefit hardworking Americans for generations,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the Journal.

PROPOSITION 36 OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOROS-BACKED SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES

Top Democratic governors have been far more vocal in criticizing the incoming administration. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an effort to “Trump-proof” California last month. Part of that plan includes spending $25 million on potential legal battles with the Trump administration.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also said he is prepared to “fight like hell” against the Trump administration, but he acknowledged the need to have a working relationship with the White House.

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“If your values are being attacked, or you’ve got communities or people who are being attacked that don’t deserve it, you’ve got to fight like hell,” said Murphy. “And then over here, you’ve got to have a relationship with the guy.”

First on Fox: Hundreds of veterans across the nation are offering their unequivocal support to former Democrat Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence under President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, Fox News Digital has learned. 

“President Donald Trump’s selection of Tulsi Gabbard reflects a profound recognition of her steadfast dedication to our nation and her unwavering commitment to safeguarding the American people. While most Americans know Tulsi as a fearless and principled Congresswoman who stood up to entrenched political systems, we know her as a fellow veteran—one whose worldview was forged through the crucible of serving in combat zones and a lifelong devotion to service,” reads a letter, “American Veterans for Tulsi Gabbard,” which was published Monday and obtained by Fox News Digital. 

More than 250 veterans signed the letter, including high-profile and nationally known names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn, former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, Arizona Rep. Rep. Eli Crane, Florida Rep. Brian Mast and political commentator Jack Posobiec. 

“Because of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tulsi answered the call of duty, enlisted in the Army, and stepped away from her position as a Hawaii State Representative when she volunteered to deploy to Iraq with her unit. Instead of using her political status to avoid deployment, Tulsi volunteered to serve in a medical unit in Iraq, directly facing the harsh realities, costs, and traumas of war,” the letter continues.

TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’

“Her commitment to service did not end there,” it added, before pointing to Gabbard’s 22 years of standing “shoulder-to-shoulder with her fellow servicemembers,” including when she served in the House. 

TULSI GABBARD SAYS TRUMP ‘LISTENS’ AND ‘RECOGNIZES’ CHALLENGES AMERICANS FACE

“As a Member of Congress and as a civilian, Tulsi has been a stalwart advocate for veterans’ health concerning toxic exposures and cancer care as a result of our fellow veterans’ military service. Tulsi’s life exemplifies a rare blend of selflessness, courage, and leadership—qualities desperately needed to reform and strengthen our intelligence community,” the letter says. 

Nearly 70% of the veterans who signed the letter worked in special operations and/or intelligence, while about 54% of the signatories are retired service members, and the vast majority of signers overall saw combat while in the military, Fox News Digital learned. 

Trump nominated Gabbard just days after his election win over Democrat Vice President Harris last month, arguing Gabbard will bring a “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength.” The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters. 

TULSI GABBARD ‘GRATEFUL AND HONORED’ TO BE OFFERED DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE POSITION

Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. 

She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after throwing her hat in the 2020 White House race. 

Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent, before becoming a member of the GOP this year and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign. 

She is anticipated to head to Capitol Hill this week to speak with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and GOP leadership to rally support for her confirmation proceedings. Critics have attempted to paint Gabbard as a national security risk who is sympathetic to U.S. adversaries, a narrative the veterans combated in the letter. 

“The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes, and so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, for example, recently said of Gabbard. 

DEMOCRATS TRASH TULSI GABBARD AFTER TRUMP TAPS HER FOR DNI POST

The veterans hit back at such critics, saying they are spreading “baseless lies” because they are “unable and unwilling to challenge the substance of her views.”

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET

“We are appalled by the baseless attacks questioning Tulsi’s loyalty to our great nation. For over 20 years and across multiple combat deployments, Tulsi has risked her life to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people. These attacks insult not only her, but every one of us Veterans who have served our country,” the letter reads. 

“Tulsi’s patriotism, shaped on the battlefield, mirrors the values and aspirations of the American people far more than the failed policies of so called ‘experts’ in Washington, who have been part of the problem for too long.”

Gabbard has been outspoken against creating new wars, declaring in her speech in October during Trump’s historic Madison Square Garden rally that a vote for Harris was a vote for “war.”

“I’ve served now for over 21 years. I’ve deployed to different war zones three times over that period, and I’ve seen the cost of war for my brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price. I carry their memories and their sacrifice in my heart every day. So, this choice that we have before us as Americans is critical. It’s important to us. It’s important to those of us who serve, who have volunteered to put our lives on the line for the safety, security and freedom of our country and our people,” she said.

GOV KRISTI NOEM REFLECTS ON TRUMP WIN, SAYS DEMOCRATS ‘TRY TO PUT WOMEN IN A BOX’

“A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for Dick Cheney. And it’s a vote for war, more war, likely World War III and nuclear war. A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for a man who wants to end wars, not start them, and who has demonstrated already that he has the courage and strength to stand up and fight for peace,” she continued.

DEMOCRATS ‘CARE SO LITTLE FOR OUR DEMOCRACY,’ SAYS TULSI GABBARD

The veterans in their letter celebrated that Trump and his upcoming administration have “a clear mandate to enhance national security without engaging in needless wars or infringing on civil liberties” and that Gabbard will “carry out that mandate” if confirmed. 

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“We are deeply grateful to President Trump for appointing Tulsi Gabbard to this critical role and proud to stand beside her – a leader whose courage and convictions we know firsthand. A warrior whose vote cannot be bought, and whose integrity cannot be folded. We are honored to call her one of our own,” they wrote.

Democratic Senator-elect Andy Kim was appointed to the upper chamber of Congress early on Sunday following his election win last month.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, announced on Sunday that he appointed Kim to the U.S. Senate following the official certification of the 2024 election results by the state board of canvassers and Sen. George Helmy’s resignation on Thursday. Helmy, a former chief of staff to Murphy, was sworn into the Senate in September after Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was convicted in a federal corruption trial and resigned from the Senate a month prior.

Kim defeated GOP businessman Curtis Bashaw by nearly 10 percentage points in November’s election. 

“Today, I am appointing Senator-elect Andy Kim to the United States Senate so he can begin his term in office before the new year begins,” Murphy said in a statement. “Taking this step will allow Senator Kim to embark on the smoothest possible transition into his new role so he can hit the ground running serving the people of New Jersey.”

INCOMING GOP SENATE MAJORITY LEADER UNVEILS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S 1ST 30 DAYS

Murphy congratulated Kim “for making history as the first Asian American Senator from New Jersey and as the first Korean American Senator in the nation.” 

“His election represents a proud milestone –  not just for our great state, but for our entire country,” Murphy said. “I look forward to working with Senator Kim to continue lowering costs for New Jerseyans, defending our fundamental freedoms, and building a stronger and fairer state for every family.”

Kim, who will be sworn in on Monday, said it is an honor “to get to represent the state that gave my family a chance at the American Dream in the U.S. Senate.” 

“It’s a dream that remains out of reach for too many of our neighbors, and one that I’m ready on day one to fight for,” Kim, who represented New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District in the House, said. “I want to thank Governor Murphy and Senator Helmy for ensuring that New Jersey was well represented during this transition, and look forward to getting to work for the people.”

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

In a statement announcing his resignation Thursday, Helmy said he and Kim “have worked closely since his being elected to ensure a seamless transition and I have made myself readily available over the coming weeks to support this process.” 

“It has been the honor of a lifetime representing the people of New Jersey in the Senate, and I am eternally grateful to Governor Murphy for entrusting me with this responsibility,” Helmy said. “The voters of New Jersey made the right decision in November to elect Andy Kim to serve as their United States Senator. Having known him for nearly a decade now, I can attest to Senator Kim’s great dedication, character, and empathy towards the people of New Jersey.” 

In his brief 85 days in office, Helmy touted how he introduced and co-sponsored over 30 bills, including five resolutions that passed the Senate Chamber, maintained a perfect voting record, including the confirmation of 20 federal judicial nominees, “advocated for youth mental health and supplying humanitarian aid to Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon,” and successfully nominated 48 New Jersey candidates to the four United States Military Academies.

Menendez was convicted in July on all 16 counts he faced in a federal corruption trial. Prosecutors alleged he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including gold, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange for using his influence to meddle in state and federal investigations regarding three businessmen. The now-former senator is alleged to have also helped one friend obtain a multi-million-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another retain a contract to provide halal meat to Egypt.

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Menendez asked for a new trial and for his conviction to be dismissed last week, citing what he argued was improper evidence viewed by jurors during deliberations. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a “Happy Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day!” post on Sunday, earning backlash, with people expressing eager anticipation for the change in presidential administrations next month.

“Today on Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day, everyone deserves to feel seen, respected and supported—no matter who they love. Create a world where everyone feels proud to be themselves!” HHS declared in the tweet.

Stephen Miller, who previously served in President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration and will serve in the upcoming administration as well, responded to the HHS post by noting, “Sanity is returning to HHS in 43 days.” 

BIDEN LEGACY INCLUDES RELENTLESS PUSH FOR TRANSGENDER AGENDA

Referring to the HHS post, Fox News Contributor Caitlyn Jenner replied to Miller, “Please! This is just absurd.” 

Elon Musk responded to Jenner, noting, “At this point, I’m just confused. I have no idea what they even mean.”

“DITTO,” Jenner replied.

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS TRANS ACTIVIST FOR GOING TOPLESS AT PRIDE MONTH EVENT: ‘INAPPROPRIATE AND DISRESPECTFUL’

GOP lawmakers indicated that they look forward to Trump taking office on Jan. 20.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who will become a senator next month, tweeted, “Glad this type of bulls— will end on Jan 20! Can’t come soon enough.”

3 MONTHS AND 28 DAYS: LGBTQ EVENTS CLOG CALENDAR AS WHITE HOUSE FACES BACKLASH OVER EASTER ANNOUNCEMENT 

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“This entire Administration is nothing but activists … not public servants. January 20 can’t get here soon enough,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., noted.

“Liberals are concerned @RobertKennedyJr might make this agency weird?” former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., posted.

President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, ending a saga that has lasted for more than six years, with wide-ranging investigations by the Justice Department and both chambers of Congress related to his conduct and business dealings. 

Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. 

BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE

The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16. 

Here’s a look back at how it all began: 

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in 2018.

The probe was predicated, in part, by suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding foreign transactions. Those SARs, according to sources familiar with the investigation, involved funds from “China and other foreign nations.”

Fox News first reported the existence of some type of federal investigation involving Hunter Biden in October 2020, ahead of the last presidential election. It became known then that in the course of an existing money laundering investigation, the FBI had subpoenaed the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden.

Stories about the laptop were widely panned by Democrats and mainstream media outlets as Russian disinformation. At the time, then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe confirmed that the laptop was “not part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” but that claim was rejected by Democrats and many in the media.

Social media companies like Twitter and Facebook censored and limited the circulation of stories related to Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election.

Only in 2022 did media outlets verify that the laptop did belong to Hunter Biden and did hold legitimate records belonging to him.

Twitter, under the new ownership of Elon Musk, released records surrounding the company’s decisions to block the circulation of the Hunter Biden stories – even though he had been under federal investigation at that point for nearly two years.

Hunter Biden confirmed the investigation into his “tax affairs” in December 2020, after his father was elected president.

But Hunter Biden’s business dealings were also, simultaneously, being investigated by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in 2019. Specifically, the senators were investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. 

Grassley and Johnson released a report in September 2020 saying that Obama administration officials “knew” that Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma was “problematic” and that it interfered “in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.”

Hunter Biden joined Burisma in April 2014 and, at the time, reportedly connected the firm with consulting firm Blue Star Strategies to help the natural gas company fight corruption charges in Ukraine. During the time Hunter Biden was on the board of the company, Joe Biden was vice president and was running U.S.-Ukraine relations and policy for the Obama administration.

Also in 2019, Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine came into the spotlight during the first impeachment of now-President-elect Donald Trump. 

House Republicans wanted to call Hunter Biden to testify in the impeachment proceedings in the fall of 2019. 

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘DAD,’ ‘BIG GUY’ DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Trump was acquitted in Feb. 2020 on both articles of impeachment against him — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — after being impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2019. 

Trump was impeached after a July 2019 phone call in which he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine, specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Burisma and Joe Biden’s successful effort to have former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin ousted.

At the same time as that call, Hunter Biden was under federal investigation, prompted by his suspicious foreign transactions. 

Trump’s request was regarded by Democrats as a quid pro quo because millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen. Democrats also said Trump was meddling in the 2020 presidential election by asking a foreign leader to look into a Democrat political opponent.

Republicans had been investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings, specifically with regard Burisma. House Republicans, who were in the minority at the time, made several requests to subpoena Hunter Biden for testimony and documents related to the impeachment of Trump and his business dealings that fell at the center of the proceedings.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma and Hunter Biden had a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin were not fired.

FLASHBACK: DEMOCRATS CLASH WITH REPUBLICANS OVER PROSPECT OF CALLING HUNTER BIDEN IN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ … I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled telling then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Biden recollected the conversation during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations in 2018.

Meanwhile, once President Biden took office, the House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., began investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the business dealings of the Biden family. Comer ultimately found that the Biden family and its associates had received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014.

But it wasn’t until 2023 that whistleblowers from the IRS, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of politicization in the federal probe of Hunter Biden to Congress. 

The two alleged that political influence had infected prosecutorial decisions in the federal probe, which was led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who they said had requested to become a special counsel. 

After Shapley and Ziegler testified publicly, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to continue his investigation of the first son and, ultimately, bring federal charges against him in two separate jurisdictions — Delaware and California. 

House Republicans continued to investigate allegations of politicization brought by Ziegler and Shapley, as well as findings related to the Biden family’s business dealings from Comer’s probe. 

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT

Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith came together and launched an impeachment inquiry against President Biden to determine whether he had any involvement in his son’s business dealings. Biden repeatedly denied having any involvement, despite evidence placing him at meetings and on phone calls with his son and his foreign business partners.

In August, House lawmakers released their final report, spanning 292 pages, saying that Biden had engaged in “impeachable conduct.” They said he had “abused his office” and “defrauded the United States to enrich his family.”  

Republicans said there is “overwhelming evidence” that Biden had participated in a “conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.” They alleged that the Biden family and their business associates had received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by “leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden.” 

In the summer of 2023, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal gun charges as part of a plea deal that collapsed before a federal judge in Delaware. In a stunning reversal, Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty and sat for a trial this year. 

Before his trial for federal tax crimes, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty. 

President Biden’s pardon of his son came after months of vowing to the American people that he would not do so. 

But on Sunday, the president announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. 

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“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”

Biden added, “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.” 

President-elect Trump announced plans to impose a 25% across-the-board tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, effective his first day in office. But the move is largely “a diplomatic” one that draws on Trump’s “war chest” to leverage U.S. interests, according to one expert.

Tariffs are taxes that governments place on goods being imported or exported. They can raise the cost of imported products, making local products more attractive to buy.

“President Trump has used tariffs effectively before, and I think we can expect him to continue using them in a targeted manner, even in areas that are not directly related to trade,” Andrew Hale, Heritage Foundation’s senior policy analyst, told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS

Hale noted that Trump’s previous use of tariffs was aimed not just at trade imbalances but also at issues like border security and drug trafficking. According to Hale, Trump has consistently applied these tariffs in areas that extend beyond trade imbalances, using them as tools of diplomacy to further “America First” policies.

“Trump continues to assert American strength on the world stage, something the Biden administration has been reluctant to do, and both allies and adversaries have taken notice of this, what I would call a resurgence of U.S. leadership with Trump’s return,” he said.

Hale suggested that if Trump’s tariff proposals were implemented, Mexico and Canada might challenge them under the USMCA, but he doubts it would reach that stage, as such measures have previously proven effective in achieving U.S. goals. Hale also speculates that Trump could use tariffs as leverage in other contexts, such as targeting countries that act against U.S. allies like Israel.

“I don’t see it going that far, because it’s effectively worked,” he said.

TRUMP SUGGESTS CANADA BECOME 51ST STATE AFTER TRUDEAU SAID TARIFF WOULD KILL ECONOMY: SOURCES 

During his first term, Trump renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), replacing it with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which went into effect July 2020. The USMCA aimed to modernize and address issues in the original NAFTA, particularly concerning labor rights, environmental standards and digital trade.

“I’m going to inform her [Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum] on day one, or sooner, that if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send in to the United States of America,” Trump said during his last North Carolina campaign stop before the election.

Hale added that Trump’s success in using tariffs during the USMCA renegotiation with Canada and Mexico demonstrates their power as a diplomatic tool, as Trump has criticized the nations over trade imbalances and issues like drug trafficking as justifications for the tariffs.

TRUMP TARIFFS WILL BRING MEXICO TO THE TABLE, TEXAS DEMOCRAT SAYS

“The Biden administration has not been implementing USMCA as they should, as Mexico has been violating it,” Hale said.

While the tariffs aim to boost U.S. manufacturing, experts and some politicians warn they could disrupt supply chains, increase costs for businesses reliant on foreign goods, and potentially lead to retaliatory tariffs from trading partners, impacting American exporters. 

On Thursday, liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom of California took aim at Trump’s proposal, calling it “one of the biggest tax increases in U.S. history.”

“You are being betrayed by these policies,” Newsom said.

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According to the Tax Foundation, the Trump administration imposed some “$80 billion worth of new taxes on Americans” in 2018 and 2019 when he slapped tariffs on $380 billion worth of products.

The Biden administration largely kept these tariffs in place and then enforced additional tax increases on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Former Vice President Mike Pence came out in support of Trump’s tariffs, but urged a delicate approach to balance the country’s relationship with Beijing.

“I fervently hope his proposed tariffs will bring China back to the negotiating table as it did during our administration. I know this will be difficult and create challenges in the short-term, but it will be well worth it in the long-term,” Pence said this week. “We want better for America and China – and I believe a firm, but fair approach is the best way to get there.” 

Trump also recently suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that if a tariff for failing to address trade and immigration issues would kill the neighbor to the north’s economy, maybe it should become the 51st state, sources told Fox News.

Sources say Trump became more animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated to be more than $100 billion.

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall, Greg Wehner and Bret Baier contributed to this report.