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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

The scene at the southern border and President-elect Trump (Getty Images)

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 

Migrants climb the wall to seek asylum in the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, on June 7, 2024. (Carlos Moreno/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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

China’s President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia, Nov. 20, 2024. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)

“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. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., is considering a run for New York governor – and he’s raising his national profile with a tidal wave of criticism against leaders in his own party.

Torres has been vocally opposed to the blue stronghold’s progressive criminal justice policies and has criticized how Gov. Kathy Hochul has managed the Empire State, raising eyebrows about a potentially bruising primary in 2026.

“Hochul has a history of coded stereotyping, falsely claiming that young black Bronxites have never heard of the word ‘computer.’ She knows as much about me and communities of color as she knows about governing effectively. Absolutely nothing,” he wrote on X last week.

He was also one of the first Democrats to come out and blame the progressive left for Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President-elect Trump, saying at the time, “Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party.”

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT

Rep. Ritchie Torres speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing investigating the collapse of FTX in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When reached for comment, Torres’ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that he is weighing a gubernatorial bid “and plans to make a final decision by mid-2025.”

The congressman himself gave insight into his thinking when he recently went after New York City Mayor Eric Adams for employing a staffer who had been accused of ripping down posters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas.

“If I were at the helm of NYS or NYC government, antisemites need not apply. Tearing down posters of the hostages is completely unacceptable and would not be tolerated,” Torres wrote on social media.

In late November, he accused both Adams and Hochul of being “complicit” in a stabbing spree that left three New Yorkers dead. 

That same month, he lambasted New York’s policies as bad for business.

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

Torres has been targeting Gov. Kathy Hochul with criticism. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“There are regulations in place that make it impossible to do business… and have made it impossible to build,” Torres said during a Citizens Budget Commission meeting, according to the New York Post.

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who chaired the New York State Republican Party for over a decade, said it was not shocking to see Torres attacking Hochul while mulling his own gubernatorial bid.

“Richie Torres is vocalizing many of the same criticisms Republicans have raised about the dysfunction in Albany. So it’s not surprising that she’s facing a challenge from her own party,” Langworthy said.

However, he dismissed Torres’ critiques of progressivism as “posturing in the face of Hochul’s failures and the undeniable success” of Trump’s platform.

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

Rep. Nick Langworthy, the former New York State GOP chair, said Torres was echoing criticisms espoused by Republicans. (Getty Images)

Torres had been a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) until earlier this year, when he left over disagreements about Israel. 

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When asked about Torres’ criticism, Hochul said at a recent press conference that she was “a little busy” doing her job.

“Those who have government jobs who aren’t focused on their jobs, and are focused on an election almost two years off, I would think their constituents would have a problem with that,” she said.

Lara Trump announced via X that she would be stepping down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) citing that during her time the RNC had three distinct goals, and they had all been accomplished.

She started her journey as co-chair of the RNC in March 2024, but it has been widely discussed that she is considering her potential options as father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump once again takes the reins at the White House.

“With that big win, I kind of feel like my time is up,” she said. “What I intended to do has been done.”

LARA TRUMP SAYS SHE’D ‘LOVE TO CONSIDER’ FILLING RUBIO’S SENATE SEAT IF ASKED BY DESANTIS

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump look on during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisc. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Trump only began her journey as co-chair in March and was pivotal in Republicans retaking control of the Senate while maintaining a narrow House majority.

There has been talk that she may be considered as a replacement for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as Trump has said he will be tapped to be the next Secretary of State.

Last month she told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that she “would love to serve the people of Florida” and “would love to consider” filling the seat if asked.

LARA TRUMP SAYS SHE WOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ CONSIDER BECOMING SEN. RUBIO’S REPLACEMENT: ‘WOULD BE AN HONOR’ | FOX NEWS VIDEO

Lara Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 22, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

On Sunday, Trump discussed with Howard Kurtz how much of an honor it would be to even be considered.

“Certainly, we’ve all had the opportunity over the past nine years to fully involve ourselves in politics, to understand the American people, what they want, and we’ve all been residents of the state of Florida now for over three years,” she said. “If that’s something that’s put in front of me, it would be a true honor.”

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law to former President Donald Trump and candidate for RNC co-chair, fires up a crowd of supporters in North Charleston, South Carolina on February 21, 2024. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)

Maye Musk, mother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is one of many pushing for her to replace Rubio.

“The Senate is an old man’s club. We desperately need a smart, young, outspoken woman who will reveal their secrets,” she posted on X. Lara Trump is 42.

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Elon Musk seemingly agrees with his mother’s sentiments as he responded to her X post saying, “Lara Trump is genuinely great.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on “Hannity” that he “would be like over-the-top excited” and that Republicans “could not do better … than Lara Trump.”

Ultimately, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is reportedly being considered to replace Pete Hegseth, will choose Rubio’s replacement. 

Michael Whatley will remain RNC chairman.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump has released a new fragrance line for men and women to commemorate his historic election victory, and he found an unwitting model to help sell it.

An online ad for the fragrance features a viral photo of Trump and Jill Biden, with the first lady seemingly smiling at him at the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday.

“Here are my new Trump Perfumes & Colognes! I call them Fight, Fight, Fight, because they represent us WINNING,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“A fragrance your enemies can’t resist,” reads the tagline.

TRUMP, JILL BIDEN ATTEND NOTRE DAME REOPENING IN FRANCE WITH WORLD LEADERS

President-elect Donald Trump shared an image and link to a website on his Truth Social account to promote his new fragrance line. (Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)

Trump sat between French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, during the ceremony, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Britain’s Prince William.

The first lady and her daughter, Ashley, were also seated in the same row as Trump.

Noticeably missing from the festivities was President Biden, who declined an invitation to attend the ceremony held five years after a devastating fire wrecked the centuries-old Paris landmark. The White House cited a “scheduling conflict.”

On Election Day last month, social media erupted when the first lady was photographed wearing a red pantsuit to cast her ballot. The wardrobe selection raised eyebrows, as the color red is synonymous with the Republican Party.

Many took to X to joke that the first lady voted for Trump in the wake of speculation the Bidens were not thrilled with the way the president was forced to end his re-election bid in July.

The first lady caused another social media firestorm when many noted what seemed to be an icy reception for Vice President Harris at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a remembrance ceremony on Veterans Day. Harris was Trump’s opponent in the 2024 presidential race.

As Harris took her seat for the wreath-laying ceremony, Biden appeared to look straight ahead through dark sunglasses.

“Jill Biden refused to even look at Kamala,” wrote the popular X account “End Wokeness.”

Conservative author David Harris Jr. has suggested there seems to be a “rift” within the party after Harris’ blowout loss to Trump.

On his fragrance website, the “Fight, Fight, Fight” collection is for “Patriots who never back down, like President Trump.”

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS TO TRUMP ‘DOMINATING WORLD LEADERS’ WITH MACRON HANDSHAKE DURING MEETING IN FRANCE

First lady Jill Biden speaks with President-elect Donald Trump during a ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024. (Thibault Camus/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“This scent is your rallying cry in a bottle,” the description reads. “This limited edition cologne embodies strength, power, and victory.”

The perfume and cologne bottles feature Trump’s image and raised fist from the July 13 assassination attempt on him at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally that claimed the life of Corey Comperatore, 50, a firefighter and father of two daughters.

Trump was hit in the right ear, and two other men, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were also wounded by gunfire.

TRUMP WELCOMED BY WORLD LEADERS AT NOTRE DAME REOPENING CEREMONY IN ‘PRESIDENTIAL’ FASHION

Vice President Harris and first lady Jill Biden attend a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11, 2024, in Arlington, Va. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The perfume and cologne start at $199 and $298 for a buy one, get one for 50% option.

Two of the fragrances are already sold out, according to the website.

“Great Christmas gifts for the family. Go to gettrumpfragrances.com/. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!” Trump wrote.

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This is the latest product the president-elect has sold this year. He also sold “God Bless the USA” Bibles and a line of $400 sneakers during his presidential campaign.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the first lady for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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

President-elect Trump announced that Alina Habba would be joining his White House team as the counselor to the President on Sunday evening.

“Alina has been a tireless advocate for Justice, a fierce Defender of the Rule of Law, and an invaluable Advisor to my Campaign and Transition Team,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “She has been unwavering in her loyalty, and unmatched in her resolve – standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles, and countless days in court.”

The president-elect noted that there are not many who understand the weaponization of the “injustice” system as well as Habba.

“As a first generation American of Middle Eastern Heritage, she has become a role model for women in Law and Politics, most recently being named Chaldean Woman of the Year,” Trump continued. “Congratulations to Alina, her husband Gregg, and her three beautiful children, Chloe, Luke, and Parker.”

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

Trump named his lawyer Alina Habba as counselor to the president. (Getty Images)

Habba responded on X, saying, “Honor of my life to serve the 45th and 47th President of the American people.”

Along with appointing Habba, Trump announced that he was nominating Christopher Landau to serve as Deputy Secretary of State, who will work alongside Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.

Together, Trump said, the two will promote the nation’s security and prosperity through an America-first foreign policy.

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

Christopher Landau, former ambassador to Mexico, speaks during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S., on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021.  (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Chris served as my Ambassador to Mexico, where he worked tirelessly with our team to reduce illegal migration to the lowest levels in History,” Trump said. “He is also one of our Country’s great lawyers and clerked for both Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court.”

Trump wrote in another post that Michael Needham will serve as the counselor of the Department of State, having served with Rubio for many years.

DEMOCRATS’ FUROR OVER ‘UNQUALIFIED’ TRUMP NOMINEES PUTS BIDEN’S STAFFING DECISIONS BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Michael Anton, former US deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Thursday, March 2, 2023.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Michael Anton, Trump added in another post, will serve as the director of policy planning in the State Department.

“Michael served me loyally and effectively at the National Security Council in my First Term. He has an extensive background in Government, the private sector, and academia,” he wrote. “He spent the last eight years explaining what an America First foreign policy truly means.”

TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’

Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, speaks during a campaign event with Donald Trump at the Waukesha Expo Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And finally, while making a barrage of posts to Truth Social, Trump congratulated Chairman Brian Schimming for getting elected to another term to lead the Wisconsin GOP.

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“Brian has been with us from the very beginning and has been key to our many Republican Victories in the Badger State, including our HISTORIC WIN in 2024,” Trump said. “Brian is MAGA all the way, and I look forward to continuing working with him to grow our America First Movement in 2026, and beyond!”

President Biden said during a Sunday afternoon press conference that the U.S. will support Syria’s neighboring nations and help bolster stability in the region after dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country amid an ongoing civil war. 

“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty,” Biden said Sunday during a press conference from the White House.

Biden detailed that following Assad’s departure in the face of rebel forces, the U.S. will support Syria’s neighboring countries – such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel – “should any threat arise from Syria during this period of transition.” Biden said this effort will include senior administration officials meeting with world leaders, and the president also speaking directly with leaders in the neighboring nations. 

“Second, we will help stability, ensure stability in eastern Syria. Protecting any personnel, our personnel, against any threats, and will remain our mission against ISIS will be maintained, including security of detention facilities where ISIS fighters are being held as prisoners,” Biden continued of the U.S. plan of action after the collapse of the Assad regime. “…. Third, we will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward an independent sovereign” Syria. 

ASSAD ARRIVES IN MOSCOW, IS GRANTED ASYLUM BY RUSSIA

President Biden speaks about the situation in Syria in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Dec. 8, 2024. (Chris Kleponis/AFP via Getty Images)

Bashar al-Assad fled Syria after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus on Saturday. Assad, whose government used chemical weapons repeatedly on its residents, reportedly fled with his wife and children. 

Biden said the U.S. did not have confirmation on Assad’s whereabouts, noting that “there’s word that he’s in Moscow.” 

Syria has been in the midst of a nearly 14-year civil war as Islamist rebels attempted to overthrow Assad and his family’s dynasty, which had ruled the country for the last 50 years. 

“The United States will do whatever we can to support [Syrians], including through humanitarian relief, to help restore Syria after more than a decade of war and generations of brutality by the Assad family,” Biden said. 

“And finally, we will remain vigilant. Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses. We’ve taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days. And they’re saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” Biden continued Sunday. 

Trump and Assad (Getty Images)

The president noted that the U.S. will also continue efforts to secure American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for more than a decade. 

“We are mindful that there are Americans in Syria, including those who reside there, as well as Austin Tice, who was taken captive more than 12 years ago. We remain committed to returning him to his family,” Biden said. 

Ahead of reports of Assad fleeing, President-elect Trump warned that the U.S. should not get involved in the civil war. 

TRUMP RESPONDS AFTER REBELS OVERTAKE SYRIA, OUSTING LONGTIME DICTATOR: ‘ASSAD IS GONE’

“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” he wrote.

Trump added on Truth Social early Sunday morning: “Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”

President-elect Trump warned that the U.S. should not get involved in the Syrian civil war. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success,” his post continued. “Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.”

SYRIAN INSURGENTS REACH GATES OF DAMASCUS, THREATENING DECADES-LONG ASSAD REGIME

President Bashar al-Assad on May 3, 2023, in Damascus, Syria. (Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted the fall of Assad’s regime on Sunday, saying it was a “direct result” of Israel’s attacks on Iran and Hezbollah, while noting the situation overall is “fraught with significant dangers.” Israel is in the midst of a more than year-long war after Hamas launched attacks on the nation on Oct. 7, 2023. 

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

“This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression,” Netanyahu said Sunday. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a televised statement on Nov. 26 in Jerusalem. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)

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“We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel. We’re going to follow events very carefully. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel,” Netanyahu added. 

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

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the capital of Damascus, has arrived in Moscow and has been granted asylum by the Russian government, according to Russian News Agency Tass.

Speculation about where Assad might land has been widespread since the longtime dictator fled the country, with allies such as Iran and Russia being at the top of the list.

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visit an air base in Latakia Province, Syria, Dec, 11, 2017. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/via Reuters/File)

Assad was forced to flee the country after a coalition of largely radical Islamist groups led a sweeping offensive across Syria, culminating in the capture of the country’s capital city and the fall of Assad’s regime, which had seen his family rule Syria for over 50 years.

The offensive was the latest development in a bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for almost 14 years, a war that also led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization and yearslong interventions by countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Rebels In northwest Syria seized military vehicles belonging to the regime along the route toward Kweris Airport In the eastern countryside of Aleppo on Dec. 2, 2024. (Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via APRami Alsayed/NurPhoto via AP)

ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE

Assad has been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had for more than a decade dedicated military resources to the defense of Assad’s regime and its government forces.

Assad now arrives in Russia with his family, according to an Interfax news agency report, citing a Kremlin source.

Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on Nov. 29, 2024.  (Bakr Alkasem/AFP via Getty Images)

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“President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds,” the source told the outlet.

President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are expected to ramp up criticisms against Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst as she stalls on offering support to Trump’s secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth. 

“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. 

​​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. 

Hegseth has since been on Capitol Hill meeting with Republican senators to rally support as he battles allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing. 

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

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 17: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) speaks to reporters following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol October 17, 2023 in Washington, DC. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke on a range of issues including the United States support for Israel following the Hamas terrorist attacks. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) ( Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Ernst sits on the ​​Senate Armed Services Committee, which will hold the secretary of defense nominee’s confirmation hearing, and met with Hegseth last week. Ernst, however, has withheld committing to voting in favor of Hegseth.

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

Hegseth added in his own comment on the meeting with Ernst, that he had a “substantive conversation with Senator Ernst, I appreciate her sincere commitment to defense policy, and I look forward to meeting with her again next week.”

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

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife Jennifer Rauchet, as they walk through the basement of the Capitol, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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 last week when he doubled down on his support of Hegseth in a Truth Social post, while Vice President-elect JD Vance also said the Trump team is “​​not abandoning this nomination.”

​​”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!!!”

Ernst is a ​​retired Iowa National Guard lieutenant colonel,​ and spoke before the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday where she addressed her advocacy for survivors of military sexual assault. 

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the U.S. Capitol on February 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I am a survivor of sexual assault, so I have worked very heavily on sexual assault measures within the military, so I’d like to hear a little more about that, and I’d like to hear about the role of women in our great United States military,” Ernst said, according to Politico. 

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

She added that she was “excited” to meet with Hegseth, “but there will be a very thorough vetting before he moves forward.”

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, speaks with reporters following a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Hegseth will head back to Capitol Hill this week to rally support for his nomination as conservatives and Trump supporters intensify their criticisms against Ernst and other colleagues who have stalled on supporting Hegseth despite voting to confirm Biden nominees nearly four years ago. 

“If you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin, but criticize @PeteHegseth, then maybe you’re in the wrong political party!” Don Trump Jr. wrote on X.

“Joni Ernst sucked as a Senator long before this. The rest of the country is just now finding that out. However, defeating an incumbent US Senator takes high name ID, connections, and funding potential,” talk show host Steve Deace wrote on X. “I’m one of the few people in Iowa with all three. 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.”

A conservative nonprofit, Building America’s Future, told the Daily Caller it is spending half a million dollars in ads supporting Hegseth as SecDef, while calling on voters to rally their respective senators to support the nominee. 

“America needs a Defense Secretary who knows what it means to fight, and understands the price of freedom. Pete Hegseth is a patriot, a decorated combat veteran and a warrior who will stop at nothing to keep America safe,” the ad says. 

“The Deep State is trying to stop his nomination, but Pete isn’t backing down. Call your senator today and urge them to confirm Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense,” the ad continues. 

PETE HEGSETH RAMPS UP PENTAGON PITCH WITH BACK-TO-BACK MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. The rally, held in partnership with Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action, comes come two weeks after Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Harris held a rally at the same location.  (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

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Ernst has previously found herself at odds with the Republican Party and Trump, including in comments both during the first Trump administration and over the summer where she spoke favorably of transgender individuals serving in the military. Under the Trump administration in 2018, the 45th president officially authorized the Pentagon to ban transgender individuals from joining the military, with limited exceptions, after making the pledge to do so in 2017.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ernst’s press office on Sunday but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report. 

Massachusetts has seen a spike in illegal migrants arrested for sex offenses over the last several months as the state and city of Boston have pledged to resist President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations.

Since August, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officials have arrested 26 illegal migrants in the Boston area for sex crimes against children ranging from child rape to sexual assault to distributing child pornography.

Many of these migrants were previously removed from the U.S. only to later illegally re-enter the country.

As recently as Dec. 3, an illegal migrant, Adrian Patricio Huerta-Nivelo, 25, was removed by ICE after it was discovered he was wanted for rape of a minor in his home country of Ecuador.

ICE NABS ANOTHER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN MASS. CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX CRIME, AS GOV SNUBS TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

Flags fly above Boston City Hall on Nov. 11, 2021.  (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Nivelo’s removal came just a day after the Boston City Council unanimously voted to reaffirm a 2019 measure restricting Boston police’s ability to cooperate with ICE in deporting illegal migrants. The measure seeks to protect immigrant communities from “unjust enforcement actions” and restricts Boston police’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bans police from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has also vowed that state police would “absolutely not” assist Trump in the mass deportations operation.

Despite this, a spokesperson for Healey denied that Massachusetts is a “sanctuary state,” telling Fox News Digital that “as a former prosecutor and attorney general, the governor believes violent criminals should be deported.”

Boston officials have been largely silent on the series of sex crimes against residents in the city. Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, and the Boston City Council did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

MIGRANT ACCUSED OF VIOLENT CRIMES ARRESTED BY ICE AFTER MASSACHUSETTS COURT REFUSED TO HONOR DETAINER

In this undated photo, ICE agents arrest an illegal immigrant. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE))

November

Boston ICE officials arrested six illegal migrants for sex crimes against children in November.

One of the most recent arrests, announced by ICE on Dec. 5, involved a 46-year-old Honduran national named Salvador Castro Garcia, who is charged with indecent assault and battery of a child under 14.

Garcia was previously deported in 2001 but then re-entered the country at an unknown location and time. ICE took Garcia into custody on Nov. 21 after he was released on bail by the Brockton District Court.

In addition to Garcia, Boston ICE ERO officials arrested Felix Meletz Guarcas, a 45-year-old Guatemalan national, on Nov. 20 after he was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor.

‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR VOWS SHE WILL DEFY TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘CAUSING WIDESPREAD FEAR’

Felix Meletz Guarcas, 45, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is charged with sexually assaulting a child in Rhode Island.  (ICE)

According to an ICE statement, the Rhode Island Department of Corrections refused ICE’s request to hold Guarcas in custody, forcing agents to make a dangerous arrest in a public parking lot. ICE is currently holding Guarcas in custody pending a hearing before an immigration judge.

On Nov. 18, Boston ICE officials arrested Belardis Tapia Gonzalez, a Dominican national charged with second-degree child molestation-sexual assault, and Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, who was charged with rape of a child in his home country of Brazil.

Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos, a 42-year-old Colombian migrant, was arrested by ICE in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Nov. 15 after being charged with rape of a child by force, statutory rape, and aggravated rape against a minor.  

On Nov. 12, ICE arrested Guatemalan illegal migrant Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz, 21, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, after he was charged in Massachusetts with rape of child by force, rape of a child and indecent assault and battery against a minor.

ICE arrested three illegal immigrants in Massachusetts this week for alleged forcible rape of children. (ICE)

October

Boston ICE ERO arrested three illegal migrants for child sex crimes in October.

Officials arrested Andre Tiago Lucas, 36, from Brazil, on Oct. 31. Lucas fled his native country after being convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old child.

Two more migrants – Colombian national Mateo Hincapie Cardona, 28, and 20-year-old Guatemalan national Selvin Alex Galvez-Mejia – were arrested by Boston ICE ERO on Oct. 29 and Oct. 18, respectively.

Cardona is charged with enticing a child under 16, distribution of obscene matter, and lascivious posing and exhibiting a child in the nude. Mejia is charged with rape and indecent assault and battery against a minor.

June 2, 2022: ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior. ((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))

September

Boston ICE officials arrested nine illegal migrants charged with sex crimes against children in September.

Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas, a 38-year-old Guatemalan national, was arrested by Boston ICE ERO on Sept. 20. He was charged with forcibly raping a Massachusetts minor.

Within a single week, seven illegal migrants – Abraham Malpica, Sept. 13, Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, Sept. 12, Enrique Alberto Ortiz-Brito, Sept. 12, Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, Sept. 11, Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, Sept. 11, Jefferson Jerome, Sept. 11, Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, Sept. 10, Elmer Sola, Sept. 10 – were arrested by Boston ICE officials for sex crimes.

On Aug. 1 Jorge Luis Castro-Alvarado, 28, Guatemala, was arrested after raping a Massachusetts resident.

Mayor Michelle Wu on February 14, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts  (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

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August

In August, six illegal migrants – Akim Marc Desire, 18, Haiti, Warley Neto, 24, Brazil, Elmer Perez, 49, Guatemala, Cory Bernard Alvarez, 26, Haiti, Marc Kervens Beauvais, 34, Haiti, Jackson Bento-Pinheiro, 35, Brazil – were arrested by Boston ICE for sex crimes against children.

Before President Biden was inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president, he and his administration put its staunch support of transgender issues at the forefront of its policies. 

In the waning days of the Biden administration, Fox News Digital revisited the Biden administration’s support of transgender issues, including a handful of controversies that elicited backlash from conservatives. 

“The president’s belief is that trans rights are human rights,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said within the administration’s first month in office during a press conference. 

One day before Biden was inaugurated, he announced the nomination of a person who would become the first known transgender woman to hold an office that required Senate confirmation: Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine. The announcement was soon followed by Biden, in his official capacity as president, rolling back Trump-era trans policies, celebrating holidays championing the trans and LGBTQ communities at large, and pledging support to transgender individuals during each of his State of the Union addresses. 

BIDEN OFFICIAL RACHEL LEVINE SAYS EARLY MEMORIES WERE OF TRANSGENDERISM, QUESTIONING BIOLOGICAL SEX

Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine (Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-News via AP, File)

Following Biden’s successful nomination of Levine to the Department of Health and Human Services, a job Levine still holds, Biden again underscored his administration’s explicitly pro-trans stance when he rolled back the first Trump administration’s ban on trans members of the military. 

Under the Trump administration in 2018, the 45th president officially authorized the Pentagon to ban transgender individuals from joining the military, with limited exceptions, after making the pledge to do so in 2017.

Biden bucked the policy on his fifth day in office through an executive order, saying it was “the right thing to do” and in the “national interest” of the country. 

President Biden gestures after signing an executive order on advancing equality for LGBTQI+ individuals and handing the signing pen to Javier Gomez of Florida during a pride event at the White House June 15, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the White House said in January 2021. “This question of how to enable all qualified Americans to serve in the military is easily answered by recognizing our core values.”

The White House said at the time that America “is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive,” adding that “the military is no exception.”

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

The Biden administration has also elevated trans and LGBTQ holidays across the last four years, including issuing messages of support of “Transgender Day of Visibility” each year.  

“Transgender rights are human rights – and I’m calling on every American to join me in uplifting the worth and dignity of transgender Americans. Together, we can stamp out discrimination and deliver on our nation’s promise of freedom and equality for all,” he posted to his X account in March 2021. 

First lady Jill Biden walks onstage during a Pride celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on June 26, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

International Transgender Day of Visibility was created by activists more than 10 years ago and is celebrated each year on March 31. The holiday came under fierce fire earlier this year, however, as it fell on the same day as Easter Sunday – t​​he most holy holiday for Christians. Conservatives, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ripped the White House’s decision to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, calling it an attack on Christianity.

“We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only – the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Karoline Leavitt, who served as the Trump campaign’s press secretary before being named as Trump’s White House press secretary, said at the time. 

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital at the time that Biden, as a Christian, was working to bring “people together” with the event.

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said. 

BIDEN SAYS HE ‘DIDN’T DO THAT’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT EASTER BEING ‘TRANS VISIBILITY DAY,’ DESPITE PROCLAMATION

Fox News Digital previously reported that the White House has celebrated or commemorated seven other holidays focused on LGBT issues, including National Coming Out Day in October; Lesbian Day of Visibility in April; International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in May; Pride Month in June; Spirit Day in October; Intersex Awareness Day in October; and Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. 

Sam Brinton, who worked as a Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary, speaks onstage during a Trevor Project event on June 11, 2018, in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for The Trevor Project)

The Biden administration came under fire in 2022 when one of the U.S. government’s first “non-binary” officials was accused of stealing airport luggage on multiple occasions. Non-binary is understood as an individual who does not exclusively identify as male or female. 

EMBATTLED FORMER BIDEN OFFICIAL ACCUSED IN MULTIPLE AIRPORT THEFTS ENDS 2023 FREE

Sam Brinton, a biological male, worked as the Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary, but made national headlines in 2022 when accused of stealing luggage at airports. Brinton was charged with stealing a woman’s suitcase at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in September and another at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas in July. The DOE said, amid outrage over the case, that Brinton was no longer employed by the department. 

Las Vegas police booked Sam Brinton at a Clark County, Nevada, detention center. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Biden also hosted what was billed as the White House’s largest Pride celebration in its history in 2023. During that event, a transgender model and activist, Rose Montoya, came under fire for going topless and cupping their bare breasts while standing on the South Lawn of the White House. The incident was slammed by conservatives as an “international embarrassment” and Montoya was subsequently banned from visiting the White House. 

“This behavior is inappropriate and disrespectful for any event at the White House. It is not reflective of the event we hosted to celebrate LGBTQI+ families or the other hundreds of guests who were in attendance,” the White House said in response to the controversy. “Individuals in the video will not be invited to future events.”

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

Rose Montoya attends The TransLatin Coalition’s 10th Annual GARRAS Fashion Show Fundraiser at Pacific Design Center on Nov. 16, 2024, in West Hollywood, California. (JC Olivera/Getty Images)

The administration has also invited notable transgender individuals to the White House over the last few years, including hosting “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider in 2022, and held a sit-down discussion with transgender internet influencer Dylan Mulvaney – who was embroiled in the Bud Light commercial controversy in 2023. The Biden admin also saw the elevation of transgender retired Navy officer and activist Shawn Skelly as assistant secretary of defense for readiness in 2021, a role Skelly still holds. 

Shawn Skelly attends Out Magazine’s #OUT100 Event on Nov, 9, 2017, in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for OUT Magazine)

The White House celebrated the progress of the trans community under Biden’s administration in a comment to Fox Digital. 

“President Biden is proud to stand up for the dignity of every single American, and to have achieved historic progress for the following values that Fox Corporation shares and includes in their employee handbook: transgender Americans deserve an ‘environment free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, and without fear of consequences or transphobia for living openly,” Bates said. 

BUD LIGHT HASN’T FULLY REBOUNDED AS ONE-YEAR MARK OF DYLAN MULVANEY FIASCO APPROACHES: ‘VERY STUBBORN BOYCOTT’

Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider speaks in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 31, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden has also supported the transgender community each year during his State of the Union addresses, vowing in his first year that the “president has your back.” 

“To all transgender Americans watching at home, especially young people who are so brave, I want you to know your president has your back,” Biden declared during his first State of the Union address in 2021.

In 2022, he said: “The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong. As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your president, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.”

Dylan Mulvaney accepts the Streamy Award for Breakout Creator onstage at The Streamy Awards on Aug. 27, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

“Let’s also pass the bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity. Our strength is not just the example of our power, but the power of our example. Let’s remember the world is watching,” Biden said in his 2023 State of the Union address. 

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, which is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, also showed their support for the LGBT community under the Biden administration by flying the pride flag during June each year. 

US RAISES PRIDE FLAG AT EMBASSY TO THE HOLY SEE

Trump’s second administration is expected to be a departure from Biden’s unequivocal support of promoting transgender issues. The president-elect vowed on the campaign trail that he will ban biological males from women’s sports, as well as vowing to remove “woke” ideology from the military – though no decision has been made if that policy will include removing trans individuals from the military. 

“On Day One, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender affirming care’ – ridiculous – a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance, and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. Can you believe this?” Trump said in a campaign video last year of his plan to “protect children from left-wing gender insanity.” 

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“I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures, and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states. It’ll go very quickly.”

FIRST ON FOX: A new 16-page House GOP memo shows Republican lawmakers are claiming victory on issues like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), border security, and green energy in Congress’ annual defense policy bill.

The 1,800-page bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was released on Saturday evening and details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent.

“The [fiscal year 2025] NDAA builds upon the gains made in the FY24 NDAA to end the radical woke ideology being forced on our servicemen and women and restores the focus of our military on lethality,” a page of the House Armed Services Committee’s memo on the bill said.

The document, obtained by Fox News Digital, touts key wins that GOP negotiators believe they scored in the bipartisan talks.

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

Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to hold a vote on the NDAA this week. (Getty Images)

The page pushing back on “woke ideology” said the NDAA “guts DEI bureaucracy” by extending a Pentagon hiring freeze on DEI-related roles and stopping all such recruitment until “an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs” can be completed.

It also bans the Defense Department from contracting with advertising companies “that blacklist conservative news sources,” according to the memo.

The memo said the NDAA also guts funding for the Biden administration’s “Countering Extremist Activity Working Group” dedicated to rooting out extremism in the military’s ranks.

The annual defense policy bill also does not authorize “any climate change programs,” and prohibits the Pentagon from issuing climate impact-based guidance on weapons systems.

On border security, a cornerstone issue for Republicans, the memo touted the NDAA’s support for “deployment of National Guard troops” to support Border Patrol at the southwest border.

TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS

The House Armed Services Committee, led by Rep. Mike Rogers, is out with a new talking points memo on the NDAA. (Getty Images)

A significant portion of the document stressed quality of life improvements for U.S. service members secured in the NDAA, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the last year. That includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops and increasing access to child care for service members, while also providing job support to military spouses.

All the while, the memo emphasized that the $895 billion in spending the NDAA directs only represents a 1% increase over fiscal year 2024 levels.

The memo gives insight into Republican plans for national security in the new year, when the GOP will control all the major levers of power in Washington, D.C., after commanding victories in the 2024 election.

Measures highlighted by the memo on countering China and Iran are likely to get wide bipartisan support. The NDAA itself normally passes with a healthy margin of both Republicans and Democrats, save for progressives and conservatives traditionally critical of the military industrial base.

But a provision touted by Republicans in the memo – one that bans funding for transgender medical treatments for children of service members – has sparked partisan frustrations.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, cited the measures when he told Politico that he did not know if he could support the NDAA.

GOP TENNESSEE AG REACTS TO ORAL ARGUMENTS IN SUPREME COURT TRANSGENDER RIGHTS CASE: ‘FEEL REALLY GOOD’

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“It’s the Republicans taking advantage of a partisan wedge issue,” he told the outlet.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the limitations on progressive policies in the NDAA.

“We remain determined to confront increasingly hostile threats from Communist China, Russia, and Iran, and this legislation provides our military with the tools they need to deter our enemies,” Johnson said in a statement.

“This legislation includes House-passed provisions to restore our focus on military lethality and to end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military by permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors and countering antisemitism.”

The bill is expected for a vote sometime this week.

President-elect Trump reacted Sunday morning to the news that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad had fled Syria after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus.

“Assad is gone,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”

“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success,” his post continued. “Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.”

SYRIAN DICTATOR BASHAR ASSAD FLEES INTO EXILE AS ISLAMIST REBELS CONQUER COUNTRY

President-elect Trump reacted Sunday morning to the news that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad had fled Syria. (Getty Images)

Trump added: “Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”

Assad, who used chemical weapons multiple times on his population, and his British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, fled with their three children, according to Syrian television reports, although it was not known where they were headed.

A video statement from a group of men on Syrian state TV said that Assad had been overthrown and that all prisoners had been released.

“Assad is gone. He has fled his country,” Trump wrote. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

The man who read a statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus is calling on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state.”

“Long live the free Syrian state that is to all Syrians and all” their sects and ethnic groups, the statement said.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said early Sunday he did not know where Assad was.

ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE

Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, left, and his late father and predecessor, Hafez, hang on the wall of a destroyed apartment in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, August 17, 2006.  (PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

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Crowds of Syrians gathered in the central squares of Damascus to celebrate Assad’s departure.

Syria has been embroiled in a bloody, nearly 14-year civil war as Islamist rebels sought to overthrow Assad and end more than 50 years of Assad family rule over the Syrian Arabian Republic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An incoming Missouri state lawmaker introduced a bill to provide $1,000 to people who report illegal migrants to authorities.

Republican state Sen.-elect David Gregory proposed a measure that would offer $1,000 to any person who turned in an illegal migrant who is subsequently arrested.

SB 72 would allow the state’s Department of Public Safety to “develop an information system for people to report violations of this act which shall include a toll-free telephone hotline, e-mail and online reporting portal.”

BLUE STATE COUNTY TEES UP VOTE ON ‘KNEE-JERK’ RESOLUTION TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATIONS

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on December 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)

The bill would also create the “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program” which would allow local citizens to serve as bounty hunters “for the purpose of finding and detaining illegal aliens” in the state.

Only bail bond agents and surety recovery agents may apply to the program to serve as bounty hunters.

The proposal would also make it a felony for anyone to be in the state as an illegal migrant.

ANOTHER MAJOR BLUE CITY DOUBLES DOWN ON VOW TO OBSTRUCT TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLAN

Migrants wait in line to enter the shelter set up by the authorities for migrants as migrants wait for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) one application in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on May 23, 2023. (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“As I ran for State Senate, I promised to make Missouri a national leader in combating illegal immigration,” Gregory said in a post on the social media platform X.

“Now, I’m following through with my promise. SB 72 makes it a felony to be here illegally and the bill will finally allow Missouri law enforcement to find and arrest illegal immigrants,” he continued. “We need all hands on deck to ensure we catch illegal immigrants BEFORE they commit violent crimes.”

Migrants board a state-sponsored bus to New York outside the Mission: Border Hope non-profit organization in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Christopher Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations in his second administration.

FIRST ON FOX: A new report looked at company statements, annual reports and other publicly available documents from every Fortune 500 company and found that virtually all of them have maintained their commitments to “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) despite a trend of private companies relinquishing these commitments amid growing criticism.

Walmart, last week, became the latest major company to roll back its DEI commitments. The private sector’s move away from such commitments, which include race-based hiring practices or other preferential treatment provided based on someone’s immutable characteristics, has been strong enough that it spurred a cohort of 49 Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pen a letter several weeks ago to the country’s Fortune 1000 companies, urging them not to give in to pressure to dismantle their DEI commitments. The lawmakers argued that such commitments help provide for a fairer shot at the American Dream for “everyone.” 

The effort to ensure that “everyone” is given a fair shot is a main reason why Walmart decided to begin rolling back some of its commitments.

“Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today,” Joe Pennington, the director of Walmart’s global press office, told Fox News Digital. “We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone.”     

While pressure on private companies to relinquish their DEI commitments has yielded some change, 485 of the country’s 500 largest companies continue to maintain some form of DEI commitment, according to a new report from the right-leaning Heritage Foundation.

‘THIS S— HAS TO STOP’: FORMER JILL BIDEN SPOX RIPS DEMS FOR ‘VILIFYING’ DEI CRITICS AS ‘WHITE SUPREMACISTS’

Researchers spent weeks combing through various documents and communications belonging to all of these companies, and developed a user-friendly database so that readers can see the commitments for themselves.

Jonthan Butcher, the report’s lead author, told Fox News Digital that he thinks public pressure is very influential when it comes to getting private companies to relinquish what he described as discriminatory DEI commitments. Sources familiar with Walmart’s decision to roll back their DEI policies indicated that public pressure, in addition to feedback from customers and associates, was an aspect that spurred some of the company’s changes.

“I think that when the pressure has been applied one by one … businesses recognize that when they’re called out, they don’t have any way to defend themselves and say, ‘Well, what we’re really doing is wholesome.’ No one has tried to say that,” Butcher said. “Instead, they’ve simply backed away. And appropriately so.”

TRUMP’S CHOICE FOR FCC CHAIRMAN SAYS AGENCY ‘WILL END ITS PROMOTION OF DEI’ NEXT YEAR

Criticism over workplace DEI commitments was bolstered following last year’s affirmative action ruling from the Supreme Court that barred racial preferences in university admissions.

Some of the major companies highlighted in Butcher’s report include Nike and UnitedHealth Group. 

Nike, for example, was found to have a page on its website about “representation and pay” that asserts, “NIKE is focused on its workforce representation, starting with women globally and racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.” Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group states on its “People & Culture” webpage that the company strives to provide patients with “culturally relevant care” and seeks to “advance a diverse health care workforce.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to both Nike and UnithedHealth Group for comment but did not receive a response.

Butcher ultimately said he believes Americans are waking up to the racially discriminatory elements of DEI practices, noting that the point of his research is to continue leveraging that momentum.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to roll back several of President Joe Biden’s green energy policies and initiatives when he assumes office in 2024. 

While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to lift the Biden administration’s “war on energy” and “disastrous” energy policies.

“They annihilated your steel mills, decimated your coal jobs, assaulted your oil and gas jobs and sold off your manufacturing jobs to China and other foreign nations all over the world,” Trump said of the current administration.

Trump appointed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head his newly formed National Energy Council, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – two pro-energy appointees who are expected to take aim at several of Biden’s policies. Here are five ways Trump could overturn several of those in short order:

1. The Paris Climate Agreement

The Paris Agreement, established at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2015, is a legally binding treaty among nearly 195 parties who are committed to international cooperation on climate change.

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Donald Trump (Evan Vucci)

Trump officially withdrew from the treaty in 2020, but Biden reinstated the U.S. to the climate agreement after taking office in 2021.

The Trump campaign told Politico in June that the president-elect would be in favor of withdrawing the U.S. from the treaty for a second time if re-elected.

2. Electric vehicle mandate

The EPA announced a final rule in March under the Clean Air Act to set new emissions standards that would require up to two-thirds of new cars sold to be electric vehicles by 2032.

The new standards would affect “light-duty vehicle manufacturers, independent commercial importers, alternative fuel converters, and manufacturers and converters of medium-duty vehicles,” according to the EPA’s final rule.

House Republicans have taken steps to block the mandate, passing the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in September to block the “out-of-touch regulation” from being enacted.

Trump tapped former gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) under his administration. (Jason DeCrow)

3. EV tax credit

Biden is currently offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 to incentivize the purchase of greener vehicles. 

However, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Trump plans to ax the tax credit as part of his sweep of Biden’s climate agenda.

One of Trump’s strongest allies, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, revealed in July that he supports getting rid of the credit. “Take away the subsidies,” Musk posted to X, saying that “it will only help Tesla.”

Companies that are financially sound, such as Tesla, could benefit if the playing field for electric vehicles is narrowed, while the smaller companies that rely on the tax credit for consumer affordability could face setbacks, analysts suggest.

TRUMP’S ENERGY AGENDA CAN MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN

4. Federal coal leases

Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently approved an amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) to ban new federal coal leases, essentially blocking any new federal mining leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the country’s largest coal-producing region, by 2041. 

This region produces about 40% of the nation’s coal. BLM, however, will allow for existing coal leases to continue to be developed.

Aerial photo of water holding ponds on private and public lands in the Tongue River and Powder River area of northern Wyoming near the Montana border.  (William Campbell.)

Following the decision, Trump’s transition team reinforced the idea of the president-elect’s campaign promise to bolster American-made energy.

“Families have suffered under the past four years’ war on American energy, which prompted the worst inflation crisis in a generation. Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

5. Waste Emissions Charge

Biden’s EPA recently announced that it will try to “incentivize” the oil and gas industry to reduce methane emissions by imposing a Waste Emissions Charge, allowed under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

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Under the Biden administration’s new rule, certain oil and gas facilities would be charged $900 per metric ton of “wasteful” emissions in CY 2024, $1,200 for CY 2025 and $1,500 for CY 2026.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s sign, on the headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Trump-supporting oil-advocacy groups and House lawmakers slammed the fee, with the American Petroleum Institute releasing a policy road map for the incoming Trump administration to hit back against the EPA’s final rule.

“Energy was on the ballot” in the 2024 elections, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told Fox News Digital in a statement following Trump’s victory in November.

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In electing Trump, Sommers said that voters had “sent a clear signal that they want choices, not mandates, and an all-of-the-above approach that harnesses our nation’s resources and builds on the successes of his first term.”

The Biden administration on Saturday announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.” 

“This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. “But, from this library, from this podium, I am confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom.” 

The aid package is provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and “will provide Ukraine with munitions for rocket systems and unmanned aerial systems,” a release from the administration said. “This package also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine reconstitute its forces and build and sustain combat power.” 

The announcement came as President-elect Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while at a ceremony commemorating the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire there in 2019. 

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The Biden administration on Saturday announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.”  (Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

During the campaign, Trump and running mate JD Vance heavily criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Trump said he would end the war before even entering office without offering further details. 

Vance also suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected. 

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French President Emmanuel Macron, center, poses with President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Élysée Palace in Paris Saturday.  (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Recently, Zelenskyy has said he is more open to negotiations in the war and has called for Ukraine to be allowed to join NATO. 

The Biden administration has committed to giving Ukraine as much aid as possible before Trump takes office in January. 

“In September, the president announced a surge in security assistance for Ukraine to put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before he leaves office,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement Monday while announcing $725 million in aid to Ukraine. 

Secretary Lloyd Austin  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.” 

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20.” 

Saturday’s announcement marks the administration’s 22nd aid package through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. 

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This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a request by the administration for Congress to authorize $24 billion in additional funding.

“It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now,” Johnson said. “We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that. So, I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”

Congressional leaders have agreed to terms for this year’s defense policy bill, with nearly $900 billion in spending, new limits on transgender-related medical care and a significant raise for young U.S. service members.

Roughly 1,800 pages detailing the new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that outlines U.S. defense and national security priorities each fiscal year, were released Saturday evening.

The bill details policy for $895.2 billion in federal spending.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the bill “refocuses our military on its core mission of defending America and its interests around the globe by supporting law enforcement operations and the deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border, expediting innovation and reducing the acquisition timeline for new weaponry, supporting our allies and strengthening our nuclear posture and missile defense programs.”

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Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will need to navigate passage of the NDAA this month (Reuters)

It includes a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops, according to the Republican leader’s office.

Another provision says “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18,” referring to the transgender children of U.S. service members.

The measure sparked backlash from the Human Rights Council, which called it an “attack” on military families.

“This cruel and hateful bill suddenly strips away access to medical care for families that members of our armed forces are counting on, and it could force service members to choose between staying in the military or providing health care for their children,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.

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President Biden speaks to members of the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2A Arena March 25, 2022, in Jasionka, Poland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The bill also includes border security elements Republicans had previously pushed for, including a bipartisan initiative to create a Northern Border Mission Center under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

According to Johnson’s office, it would also “fully support the deployment of National Guard at the southwest border to intercept illegal aliens and drugs.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., touted the significant pay raise for junior troops. He also said the NDAA “puts our service members first by boosting compensation, improving housing, supporting the spouses of service members, increasing access to child care and ensuring access to medical care.” 

Other provisions also place limits on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-based recruitment and the teaching of critical race theory in military-run schools.

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House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers touted the bill’s pay raise for junior troops. (Getty Images)

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The House is expected to vote on the NDAA next week.

The policy bill traditionally has passed with wide bipartisan support, save for some progressives and conservatives who are normally critical of the U.S. defense industrial complex.

However, it’s not immediately clear how many Democrats will be put off enough by its anti-DEI and anti-transgender medical care provisions to vote against the must-pass legislation.

President-elect Trump and Prince William shook hands at the re-opening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday, and afterward held a sit-down meeting at the British Embassy ahead of Trump’s inauguration. 

Trump and William also separately met with world leaders at Notre Dame, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

William was seen shaking hands and speaking with first lady Jill Biden, who represented the United States at the ceremony in place of President Biden. 

Prince William was asked to represent Britain at the event and after the ceremony, he and Trump reconvened at the British Embassy in Paris to discuss the “special relationship” between the U.K. and the U.S. 

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President-elect Donald Trump talks to Prince William in Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday in Paris.  (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

Fox News Digital has reached out to Kensington Palace and the Trump transition team for comment. 

The meeting was the pair’s first since Trump won the election. They last met during his first term in 2019 when Trump made a state visit to the U.K. 

William also met with President Biden in 2022, while he was there for his Earthshot Prize. 

Prince William and President-elect Trump inside the British Embassy in Paris on Saturday.  (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

Trump also met with then-Prince Charles in 2019 and Clarence House said at the time that the two have a “good working relationship.”

Prince William and President-elect Trump attend a meeting at the British Embassy in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday.  (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

TRUMP MEETS WITH MACRON, ZELENSKYY AHEAD OF THE NOTRE DAME REOPENING CEREMONY IN PARIS

Trump told ITV in 2019 that he was supposed to meet with Charles for 15 minutes during his state visit, but they ended up talking for over an hour about the environment. 

Trump met with Prince William at the UK Ambassador’s Residence in Paris on Saturday.  (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett)

“He is really into climate change, and I think that’s great. I mean, I want that. I like that,” Trump told ITV in 2019. “What he really wants, and what he really feels warmly about, is the future. He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate, as opposed to a disaster. And I agree.”

First lady Jill Biden met with Prince William at Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday.  (Thibault Camus/Pool via Reuters)

King Charles also contacted Trump last summer via a letter after his assassination attempt. 

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump with Queen Elizabeth in 2019.  (Alastair Grant – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The president-elect also met with the late Queen Elizabeth during the 2019 visit. 

President Trump speaking with Prince Charles in 2019.  (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

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Notre Dame has been under renovation since a devastating fire damaged the nearly 900-year-old cathedral, probably the most famous in Paris, in 2019. 

President-elect Trump met with world leaders ahead of the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral as he steps back onto the global stage following his election victory.

Trump traveled to France on Saturday to attend the reopening of Notre Dame, the famous cathedral that suffered serious damage during a fire five years ago. The trip marks Trump’s first international trip since he was elected to a second, non-consecutive term in office.

Trump’s diplomacy was on full display during the trip as he met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Presidential Palace in Paris. The pair was later joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“It’s a great honor for French people to welcome you five years later,” Macron said of Trump. “And you were, at that time, president for the first time. And I remember the solidarity and your immediate action. So, welcome back again. We are very happy to have you here.”

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France’s President Emmanuel Macron (C), US president-elect Donald Trump (L) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky pose before a meeting at the Élysée Presidential Palace in Paris on December 7, 2024. (Sarah Meyssonnier)

Ahead of the meeting, Trump said the world leaders would be talking about how “the world is going a little crazy right now.”

“We have a great relationship. As everyone knows, we accomplished a lot together,” Trump said of Macron. “And the people of France are spectacular.”

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Trump is expected to meet with Prince William, who is attending the event in place of his father, King Charles III, after the ceremony, according to Kensington Palace.

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shakes hands as he welcomes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (L) before a meeting at the Élysée Presidential Palace in Paris, France, on December 7, 2024. (Mustafa Yalcin)

President Biden is not expected to attend the event, however, First Lady Jill Biden will be present.

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William was scheduled to meet with the First Lady at the UK residence in Paris, but due to weather, the meeting was canceled, and the two will meet at the ceremony.

President-elect Trump attended the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral alongside First Lady Jill Biden and several other prominent world leaders.

Notre Dame was reopened on Saturday, five years after a fire caused serious damage to the landmark Gothic cathedral.

Trump was seated between French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, during the ceremony, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prince William.

Also in the same row as Trump was First Lady Jill Biden, who attended the event with her daughter, Ashley. President Joe Biden was not present.

TRUMP MEETS WITH MACRON, ZELENSKYY AHEAD OF NOTRE DAME REOPENING CEREMONY IN PARIS

First Lady Jill Biden (CL) speaks with President-elect Donald Trump during a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on December 7, 2024.  (Thibault Camus)

Trump and the first lady greeted one another ahead of the ceremony.

Tesla CEO and close Trump ally Elon Musk also attended the ceremony.

The president-elect met privately with Macron and Zelenskyy ahead of the ceremony and was expected to meet with Prince William following the event.

President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte Macron (CL) talks with President-elect Donald Trump (CR) as they sit alongside daughter of President Joe Biden, Ashley Biden (L), First Lady of the United States Jill Biden (2L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R) inside Notre Dame Cathedral ahead of a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the landmark cathedral, in central Paris, on December 7, 2024.  (Ludovic Marin)

The $740 million restoration project was funded by donations from 150 countries and involved the application of carpentry methods dating back to the 13th century. 

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Sources familiar with the president-elect’s plans told Fox News that Trump’s attendance was at the invitation of Macron, who was the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump after his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris in November, CNN reported. 

Guests stand as the doors to Notre Dame Cathedral open during a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the landmark cathedral, in central Paris, on December 7, 2024.  (Ludovic Marin)

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About 50 heads of state were expected to be in attendance, Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez said in an interview published by French media outlet Le Parisien, but he did not specify who or from which countries.