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Outgoing GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., is gunning to be the next leader of President-elect Donald Trump’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), after Trump’s first nominee withdrew his name from the running, a source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital. 

D’Esposito has been working to consolidate support from regional law enforcement unions to support his bid, and he has been actively making calls to people in Trump’s orbit to get his name to the top, the source indicated, adding that D’Esposito has been “campaigning pretty hard for this.”

SMALL TOWN POLICE ON FRONT LINES OF CARTELS’ DRUG WAR COSTING AMERICANS THEIR LIVES

Long Island Republican Reps. Nick LaLota, left, and Anthony D’Esposito speak to reporters outside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., after George Santos was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1, 2023. (Photo: Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

Trump nominated Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister for the role over the weekend, but Chronister withdrew his name from consideration on Tuesday. Chronister’s decision came amid criticism from Republicans over how he handled lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

THOMAS MASSIE, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATORS VOCALLY OPPOSE TRUMP’S DEA NOMINEE

After first being elected in 2022 to represent a Long Island congressional district that voted for President Biden in 2020, D’Esposito lost his bid for re-election last month to Democrat Laura Gillen.

On Wednesday, the Nassau County Detectives Association lobbied for Trump to nominate D’Esposito to be the next head of the DEA, which is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Trump’s next DEA chief would be his point man to help stem the massive flow of fentanyl making its way into the U.S.

Around $4 million worth of fentanyl was seized by the LAPD. (LAPD)

“As a respected member of Congress, D’Esposito has demonstrated leadership & commitment needed to help DJT in his goal of Making America Safe Again,” the group wrote on social media Wednesday.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Trump’s transition team to glean more details on where D’Esposito stands in terms of being named the next head of the DEA, but did not receive an on-the-record response by publication time.

A growing number of migrants are weighing returning home rather than facing the consequences of President-elect Trump’s planned border policies, according to a new report.

Mexican officials say between 50 and 100 migrants are now requesting “voluntary return” to their own countries, with migrants either covering their own costs or relying on state funds. Some migrants credit their apprehension to Trump’s plans to eliminate a U.S. government app used to claim asylum with border agents.

“I trust I will arrive before Mr. Trump takes office,” one migrant, Johana, told Reuters. “If it’s not by appointment, there’s always a way.”

President Biden’s administration has used the application to allow hundreds of thousands migrants to schedule border crossings and claim asylum in the U.S. Officials with the incoming Trump administration have said they will eliminate the program as well as re-institute the “remain in Mexico” policy.

BORDER PATROL, ICE MORALE SURGING AFTER TRUMP ELECTION WIN: ‘THEY KNOW THEY CAN GET THE BAD GUYS NOW’

Many migrants are seeking to return home in anticipation of Trump’s border policies. (Fox News)

Migrants waiting to receive appointments in Mexico will be stranded there if they don’t get a date scheduled by the beginning of Trump’s term, leaving them to either attempt crossing illegally, remain in Mexico during their asylum process, or return home.

DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS

Thanks to the dangerous cartel environment in Mexico, many are saying they would rather return home.

“I cry every day and ask God to take me back, I don’t want to be here anymore… this is horrible,” said Yuleidi Moreno, a migrant who has yet to receive an appointment.

President-elect Trump has vowed an immigration overhaul once he enters office. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Nidia Montenegro, another migrant in the same position, said she would choose to return home if she could.

“I am traumatized. If I don’t get the appointment, I will go back,” she told Reuters.

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

Officials in Trump’s first administration stressed that its policies were aimed at dissuading migrants from making the dangerous journey through Mexico to the U.S. border. Migrants are often kidnapped and faced with violence by cartels.

Tom Homan refutes claims from ABC’s “The View” that Trump will deport legal U.S. citizens as part of his mass deportation plan. (Fox News)

Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has says the new administration will both stem illegal immigration and take the cartels “off the face of the earth.”

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“They have killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world and Trump is committed to calling them terrorist organizations and using the full might of the United States Special Operations to take them out,” Homan said on Fox News last month.

Reuters contributed to this report

The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over the constitutionality of state laws banning gender transition medical “treatments” for minors, a politically charged issue dealing with transgender rights. The justices heard nearly two-and-a-half hours of tense oral arguments over a challenge to a Tennessee law.

At issue is whether the equal protection clause — which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same — prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor’s transition to another sex.

Hundreds of people on both sides of the issue rallied in front of the court. Some demonstrators held signs saying, “Kids’ Health Matters,” while others promoted “Freedom To Be: A Celebration of Transgender Youth & Families.”

The court’s ruling could affect other current legal fights over transgender rights, including bathroom access and participation in scholastic sports. It could also serve as a legal template to future disputes involving the LGBTQ+ community, and whether sexual orientation is a “protected class” that deserves the same rights that involve a person’s race and national origin.

The three justices appointed by former President Trump could be the key to deciding the socially divisive question. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, and Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon public session.

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENTS IN LANDMARK CASE

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen at sunset. The court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a high-profile case centered on transgender medical treatments for minors. (Aaron Schwartz/SIPA USA)

Justice Samuel Alito cited “hotly disputed” medical studies on the supposed benefits of such medical treatments. Instead he referred to other research from Great Britain and Sweden that reported on the negative consequences from teens that underwent gender transition treatments.

Those studies “found a complete lack of high-quality evidence showing that the benefits of the treatments in question here outweigh the risks,” he told the federal government’s attorney. “Do you dispute that?”

But Justice Sonia Sotomayor countered with evidence from underage individuals that were denied treatment.

“Some children suffer incredibly with gender dysphoria, don’t they? I think some attempt suicide?” she said. “The state has come in here and, in a sharp departure from how it normally addresses this issue, it has completely decided to override the views of the parents, the patients, the doctors who are grappling with these decisions and trying to make those trade-offs.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh summed up the competing interests facing the high court.

“How do we as a Court choose which set of risks is more serious in deciding whether to constitutionalize this whole area?”

Chief Justice John Roberts voted in the majority in a 2020 case favoring transgender employees who claim workplace discrimination. That opinion was authored by Gorsuch. But in Wednesday’s arguments, Roberts suggested state legislatures – rather than courts – were in a better position to decide such questions over regulating medical procedures.

TED CRUZ, GOP LAWMAKERS URGE SCOTUS TO END ‘MEXICO’S ASSAULT ON OUR SECOND AMENDMENT’

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was named a respondent in the court challenge. (AG Jonathan Skrmetti/Fox News Digital)

“The Constitution leaves that question to the people’s representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor,” Roberts told ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who was representing transgender minors, parents and a doctor. Strangio is the first openly transgender attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court.

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U.S. Supreme Court members, front from left, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, and back from left, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson pose for their official portrait on Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

He appeared alongside the U.S. solicitor general, representing the Biden administration in opposing the law in Tennessee, one of about two dozen with similar bans. 

Prelogar said the state laws have the effect of “sex discrimination,” since the minor’s gender is key when determining specific medical treatments for those seeking to transition.

She cited the benefits of such “medically necessary care” that can have the effect of preventing “escalating distress, anxiety, and suicidality.” The Justice Department mentioned the experience of Ryan, one of the plaintiffs, who told the courts such treatment “saved his life.”

The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association have all endorsed such medical treatments for youths.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told reporters after the arguments, “The Constitution allows the states to protect kids from unproven, life-altering procedures based on uncertain science.”

The state’s lawyer told the justices its law — known as SB1 — “draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes,” like a congenital defect or precocious or early onset puberty.

In arguments, much of the discussion was whether the laws were applied equally to boys and girls, and whether states had a greater interest in regulating treatment, since it involved underage individuals.

“It’s really for minors,” said Justice Clarence Thomas. “So why isn’t this simply a case of age classification when it comes to these treatments as opposed to a [outright] ban?” for everyone.

But the three more liberal justices were skeptical of the state’s positions.

“It’s a dodge to say that this is not based on sex, it’s based on medical purpose, when the medical purpose is utterly and entirely about sex,” said Justice Elena Kagan.

She added the state law seems to me sending a message that “there’s something fundamentally wrong, fundamentally bad, about youth who are trying to transition.”

“One of the articulated purposes of this law is essentially to encourage gender conformity and to discourage anything other than gender conformity,” said Kagan. It “sounds to me like: we want boys to be boys and we want girls to be girls.”

Trump, who takes office again next month as president, had promised in his re-election campaign to implement certain policy changes that would affect transgender individuals across various sectors.

A ruling is expected by late June 2025.

The case is U.S. v. Skrmetti (23-477). 

FIRST ON FOX: The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling on Republican leaders to reject President Biden’s $98.4 billion disaster aid request.

In an official position staked out by the GOP group on Wednesday evening, lawmakers are demanding a slimmed-down package covering what is “absolutely necessary,” to be offset with spending cuts elsewhere.

“Congress should not pass a whopping $100 billion unpaid disaster supplemental funding bill — that Democrats will use to cement their own unrelated priorities — in the waning days of Democrat control in Washington right before Republicans take control of the White House and both Chambers,” the House Freedom Caucus statement read.

JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a House Freedom Caucus news conference outside of the US Capitol on Monday, May 30, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“The House should consider only what is absolutely necessary right now to provide critical relief to hurricane victims and farmers, and pay for it with offsets from wasteful spending elsewhere in the government, then wait for President Trump to take office to better manage disaster relief.”

It comes as both House and Senate lawmakers negotiate over how large the disaster aid package should be, and whether it should be attached to an end-of-year federal funding bill that’s critical to avoiding a partial government shutdown during the holiday season.

More than 100 people were killed in North Carolina alone when Helene barreled into the Southeastern U.S. in late September.

Hurricane Milton, another deadly storm, hit Florida and Georgia roughly a week later.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told “Your World” host Neil Cavuto that a $100 billion disaster aid package may be necessary.

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

U.S. President Joe Biden attends a meeting, at a Carrinho facility, near Lobito, Angola, December 4, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

“I believe that we need that disaster supplemental at about $100 billion. There’s nearly an estimate of $50 billion in North Carolina alone,” Tillis said. “It’s going to take years to recover and we shouldn’t be playing games with people’s lives.”

But some fiscal conservatives have balked at the prospect of granting the mammoth-sized federal request without cutting costs elsewhere.

They’ve argued that granting the Democratic administration’s request for such a hefty package would be a reckless move that would further balloon the national debt.

“I’m not going to vote for $100 billion unpaid for. Zero chance,” Freedom Caucus Policy Chair Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital last month.

Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus and whose district was hit hard by Helene, told Fox News Digital that he was in touch with House leaders about a disaster aid bill but said details were still being crafted.

Meanwhile Congressional leaders are expected to negotiate on a continuing resolution (CR), a short-term extension of the current government funding levels, by the Dec. 20 partial shutdown deadline.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will need to work with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer if a disaster aid bill is to be passed this year. (Reuters)

“We’re looking at a couple of different options,” Edwards said on Wednesday morning. “It may be attached to the CR, it may run parallel to the CR, but it’s very much being constructed right now.”

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Asked about Biden’s requested total, he said, “It’s still being built. We’ve got pretty much the bones established, we’re just trying to determine proportionately, how much money we spend in each of the various areas.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who discussed disaster aid and government funding with the House Freedom Caucus on Tuesday evening, gave little insight into his plans during his weekly press conference.

“It’s serious, serious damage. But the initial request was $116.5 billion. And what we’re doing right now is the important, methodical job that the House has, to go through really line by line and assess those requests and make sure that they all are actually tied to disaster and not superfluous items and issues that are included,” Johnson said.

President-elect Trump announced Wednesday he is nominating former Missouri Rep. Billy Long to serve as commissioner of the IRS in his new administration.

In a statement released Wednesday, Trump called the former congressman “an extremely hard worker, and respected by all, especially by those who know him in Congress.” The president-elect also referenced Long’s experience working as a tax adviser.

“Billy brings 32 years of experience running his own businesses in Real Estate and, as one of the premier Auctioneers in the Country,” the Republican leader wrote in a Truth Social post. “He then served 12 years in Congress, because he ‘felt it was important for his constituents to have a Representative who has signed the front of a check’!

“Taxpayers and the wonderful employees of the IRS will love having Billy at the helm. He is the consummate ‘people person,’ well respected on both sides of the aisle. Congratulations Billy!”

NEW YORK JUDGE GRANTS TRUMP REQUEST TO FILE MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES, CANCELS SENTENCING INDEFINITELY

Trump announced he is nominating Kelly Loeffler, left, and Billy Long, right, to serve in his administration. (Reuters/Getty Images/AP Images)

Trump soon followed his announcement by naming former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler to head the Small Business Administration (SBA). The purpose of the SBA is to provide small businesses with access to resources such as loans, government contracts and business counseling.

“Small Businesses are the backbone of our Great Economy. Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive,” Trump’s Truth Social post said. “She will focus on ensuring that SBA is accountable to Taxpayers by cracking down on waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach.”

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

Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., speaks during Erick Erickson’s The Gathering event in Atlanta Aug. 18, 2023. (Alyssa Pointer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump called Loeffler, a longtime ally and a co-chair of his inaugural committee, a “tremendous fighter” and cited her success in business.

“Prior to her tenure in the U.S. Senate, Kelly built a 25-year career in financial services and technology,” Trump’s statement said. “Along with her amazing husband, Jeff, she helped build a Fortune 500 company from 100 employees to over 10,000, as Executive VP. She and Jeff also helped me secure the Big Election Win in Georgia!”

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In this Nov. 2, 2010, file photo, Missouri Republican Representative-elect Billy Long speaks to supporters at an election night rally in Springfield, Mo. (AP)

In the first two years of Trump’s first administration, the SBA was led by Linda McMahon, who resigned in 2019. Trump tapped McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, to serve as secretary of education in November.

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

Here’s what’s happening…

-Incoming GOP Senate majority leader unveils legislative agenda for Trump administration’s first 30 days

-Federal judge accuses President Biden of attempting to ‘rewrite history’ in Hunter Biden pardon

–‘Overwhelming evidence’ of negative consequences from gender ‘treatments’ focus of landmark Supreme Court case

Mexican Standoff 

Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, along with other Republican Congress members, filed an amicus brief in support of U.S. gun manufacturers, urging the Supreme Court “to uphold American Sovereignty and the Second Amendment.”

The case, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the Mexican government, in which the government alleged U.S. gun manufacturers, like Smith & Wesson, Ruger and others, should be liable for gun violence carried out by cartels south of the border, because the companies were allegedly aware their firearms were being trafficked into the country.

“I am leading this amicus brief to uphold American sovereignty and our Second Amendment. The lawsuit filed by Mexico seeks to trample on our Constitution,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to the Supreme Court ending this madness, putting an end to Mexico’s assault on our Second Amendment, and sending a clear message that American sovereignty will not be eroded by any country.”…Read more

 Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talking with reporters on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

White House

‘ALL HELL TO PAY’: Trump bucks Biden’s ‘don’t’ doctrine on world stage, hits adversaries with ‘all hell to pay’ deadline…Read more

PARDON-PALOOZA: Jeffries wants Biden to dole out pardons for people aggressively prosecuted ‘for nonviolent offenses’…Read more

‘EXPECT MORE’: Who else could Biden pardon after sparing Hunter from sentencing?…Read more

President Joe Biden, wearing a Team USA jacket and walking with his son Hunter Biden, heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2024.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

CALLING FOR FAST CASH: Top Dems, activists call on Biden admin to dole out more student loan forgiveness before term ends…Read more

‘NOBODY IS SAFE’: Dem senator urges Biden to extend protections for illegal immigrants before Trump admin…Read more

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ: Biden appears to rest his eyes at African summit in Angola…Read more

Trump Transition

FILLING OUT THE ROSTER: Trump announces picks for Army secretary, trade adviser, hostage envoy, NASA…Read more

SECOND THOUGHTS?: Trump floats DeSantis as potential defense secretary replacement if Hegseth falters…Read more

OPEN CABINET: Trump transition signs agreement for FBI background checks…Read more

PENTAGON PITCH: Pete Hegseth ramps up Pentagon pitch with back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill…Read more

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, makes his way to a meeting with Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., in Russell building on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

‘VOLUNTARY RETURN’: Some migrants, anticipating Trump’s policies, are already turning back home: report…Read more 

Trail Dust

WINNER IN CA-13: Democratic challenger Adam Gray flips California’s 13th Congressional District in nation’s final House race…Read more

Capitol Hill

FIRST ON FOX: GOP senator to propose ban on gender transition treatment for minors…Read more

‘IT’S DISAPPOINTING’: Top House Democrat says Hunter Biden pardon was ‘disappointing,’ calls out Biden for flip-flop…Read more

SPEAKER-SUPPORTED: House GOP leaders endorse Trump-backed candidate Jimmy Patronis for Matt Gaetz’s old seat…Read more

FRESHMAN FOCUS: Republican Rob Bresnahan, who ousted six-term House Democrat, reveals how he did it...Read more

Rob Bresnahan, Republican nominee for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, takes the stage during a Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump campaign rally at Riverfront Sports on October 09, 2024 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

NEXT UP: Outgoing GOP congressman seeks role as Trump’s drug czar after first nominee falls through…Read more

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: People are policy…Read more

Supreme Court

DIVIDED BENCH: Supreme Court appears divided over state bans on gender transition ‘treatments’ for minors…Read more

JUST LIKE ‘ASPIRIN’?: Sotomayor compares trans medical ‘treatments’ to aspirin in question about side effects during oral arguments…Read more

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

It is that in politics, people are policy. 

So President-elect Trump’s “policies” descended on Capitol Hill this week. 

Thus begins the quadrennial tradition of various Cabinet nominees parading around the Senate. They’re here to meet with senators, answer questions, press the flesh, get a sense of what senators want to know about them in a confirmation hearing – and where the pitfalls lie.

We got a sliver of this before Thanksgiving. That’s when former attorney general nominee and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., huddled with a handful of Republican senators. Then Gaetz bowed out, so it was on to Trump’s second pick for attorney general – Pam Bondi.

Bondi arrived at the Capitol Monday to meet with incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, but her first meeting was postponed because Grassley’s flight was delayed. They finally chatted later in the afternoon.

“I look forward to working with you and leading your nomination through the United States Senate,” said Grassley once he finally made it to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building.

President-elect Trump smiles during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024, in New York City. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO RECESS APPOINTMENTS

“Should I earn the trust and the nomination from all of the senators, I will do my best every day to work tirelessly for the American people. And I will make you, the president and our country proud,” added Bondi.

“Is this going to be easier than Mr. Gaetz?” asked yours truly.

“No questions. No questions,” ordered Grassley.

Bondi soon headed to the Russell Senate Office Building to caucus with the current top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

“She’s a great choice. Been a longtime friend. I think right person at right time,” said Graham.

Bondi may have an easier path to Senate confirmation than the other nominee roaming the Senate corridors, Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth.

He met with Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.

“We’re taking it meeting by meeting,” said Hegseth.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, faces a host of questions about whether he’s qualified to lead such a massive organization as the U.S. military. There’s been a blanket of allegations lodged against Hegseth.

“Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?” asked Nikole Killion of CBS.

“I won’t dignify that with a response,” replied Hegseth.

He then proceeded to a series of sessions with Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Hegseth appears to have earned the support of some of the most conservative members of the Senate.

“We don’t need a general officer, admiral or a person of high command,” said Tuberville. “We need a drill sergeant in the military. We need somebody to straighten the military out. Get the woke, the DEI affiliation out and go from there.” 

Hegseth was back at it Tuesday morning, meeting with Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. 

Wednesday meant meetings with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. 

Hegseth has also expressed reservations about women serving in combat. 

Colleague Aishah Hasnie pressed Hegseth on this very point as he toggled between Senate offices. 

“We have amazing women who serve in our military. Amazing women,” said Hegseth. 

“Do you think they should be in combat?” asked Hasnie.

“I think they’re already in combat,” replied Hegseth.

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. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Amid all the focus on Bondi and Hegseth, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the nominee for United Nations ambassador, snuck in a meeting with Grassley. And Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent is also slated to meet with Thune and newly tapped Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo. 

Out of the middle of nowhere, Education secretary nominee Linda McMahon materialized for a session with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Tuesday. 

You think things are hitting a fevered pitch now? Wait until FBI pick Kash Patel and Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. begin making their office calls. 

And we haven’t even gotten to the prospective confirmation hearings of Hegseth, Kennedy and Patel in early January. Cable TV channels will likely carry those hearings wall-to-wall. And depending on the day, it may be a challenging programming decision on which hearing to take live – especially if two or three all come around the same time. 

A dynamic duo arrives at Capitol Hill later this week – who don’t require confirmation. And in fact, their visits may command more attention than any of the nominees for the next cabinet. 

President-elect Trump tapped former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. They’re set to meet with House and Senate Republicans about their plans to pare back the government. They begin with meetings with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the Senate’s DOGE Caucus.

“We have a lot of waste that exists in the federal government,” said Ernst. “We have over $1 trillion of savings already identified for the DOGE.”

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty Images)

Even Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., became the first Democrat to join the House DOGE Caucus. 

“I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue,” said Moskowitz. “The caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House.”

When it comes to confirmations, Democrats insist that Republicans do things by the book. They want background checks on nominees, and they’re also imploring the GOP not to allow Trump to bypass the Senate if there are problems and install people temporarily via recess appointments. 

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., took issue with the speedy meetings Republican senators had with nominees. Some of those sessions resulted in GOP senators then proclaiming they would vote to confirm.

US CAPITOL POLICE ARREST HOUSE DEMOCRAT STAFF MEMBER AFTER FINDING AMMUNITION

“You can’t do a speed dating process for the Cabinet of the president of the United States without ending up embarrassed and with things that are discovered only through a deep investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Durbin, “I can tell you privately, many Republicans senators have spoken to me and said ‘For goodness sakes, we can’t do away with the FBI check.’ That is something that’s just integral to the system.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to Thune, imploring him to preserve the Senate customs for confirming nominees.

“The advise and consent authority is a cornerstone of the Senate’s constitutional mandate. A power central to preserving America’s system of checks and balances. The Founding Fathers knew firsthand the great danger of allowing unchecked executives to appoint individuals to positions of power without any guardrails,” said Schumer. “Hopefully this doesn’t become an issue. But nevertheless, it will be the responsibility of the incoming Republican majority to protect the Senate against any attempt to erode its authority.”

So this is going to be quite a few weeks. 

Lots of meetings. Lots of hearings. Lots of votes. All surrounding staffing the next administration.

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Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is fond of saying that the Senate is “in the personnel business.” 

It’s also in the “policy” business, and those “policies” are now walking around the halls of Capitol Hill. 

Justice Sonia Sotomayor likened the side effects of transgender medical procedures on minors to that of taking an over-the-counter painkiller during Wednesday’s oral arguments in the U.S. v. Skrmetti case.

“Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin,” Sotomayor said. “There’s always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that’s going to suffer a harm. So, the question in my mind is not, ‘do policymakers decide whether one person’s life is more valuable than the millions of others who get relief from this treatment?'”

SUPREME COURT TO WEIGH STATE BAN ON TRANSGENDER ‘MEDICAL TREATMENTS’ FOR MINORS

Supporters of a Tennessee law rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a case on transgender transition procedures for minors on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Sotomayor’s comments came after Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice defended his state’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors, which is the first time a case involving transgender procedures has been brought before the high court. Rice argued that countries like Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom have limited such interventions due to reported irreversible consequences.

Justice Clarence Thomas questioned Rice about alternative approaches – like in the case of West Virginia – with Rice dismissing them as speculative policymaking that fails to eliminate risks associated with gender transition entirely.

TRUMP TEAM DISMISSES REPORTS HE WILL DISCHARGE TRANS IN MILITARY: ‘NO DECISIONS ON THIS ISSUE HAVE BEEN MADE’

U.S. Supreme Court members, front from left, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, and back from left, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson pose for their official portrait at the Supreme Court building on Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“They cannot eliminate the risk of detransitioners,” Rice said. “So, it becomes a pure exercise of weighing benefit versus risk. And the question of how many minors have to have their bodies irreparably harmed for unproven benefits is one that is best left to the legislature.”

The high-profile case, United States v. Skrmetti, centers on a Tennessee law that bans gender-transition treatments for adolescents in the state. The law also takes aim at health care providers in Tennessee who continue to provide gender-transition treatments to transgender minors, opening them up to fines, lawsuits and other liability.  

The three justices appointed by former President Trump could play a key role in the outcome. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett pressed both sides with tough questions, while Justice Neil Gorsuch remained silent throughout the lengthy hearing. A ruling is expected by July 2025.

‘OF COURSE I SUPPORT THE PARDON OF MY SON,’ JILL BIDEN TELLS REPORTER

A trans flag and the Supreme Court building (Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images | AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The petitioners in the case are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to overturn the Tennessee law on behalf of parents of three transgender adolescents, and a Memphis-based doctor who treats transgender patients. The petitioners were also joined by the Biden administration earlier this year under a federal law that allows the administration to intervene in certain cases certified by the attorney general to be of “general public importance.” 

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Tennessee passed its law, Senate Bill 1, in March 2023. But it is just one of at least 25 U.S. states that has banned gender transitions for transgender minors, while more than 15 have enacted “shield” laws that protect such procedures. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens says he is “excited” by the prospect of incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan leading the charge of deportations and border security – as he pointed to violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as one of the top threats facing the country.

Owens, who took the position of chief last year, spoke to Fox News’ Griff Jenkins in San Antonio, Texas, in his first interview since the election. He was asked what he thought of the appointment of Homan, a former Border Patrol agent and former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I’m excited because Tom Homan is a brother Border Patrol agent. He served time in this uniform. And so I’m excited to see any of our green family make good,” he said. “And I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.” 

NYC MAYOR DELIVERS BLUNT MESSAGE TO LEFT-WING CRITICS OVER DESIRE TO MEET WITH TRUMP’S INCOMING BORDER CZAR

Migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona. (U.S. Border Patrol)

“I can tell you that the interior enforcement and the deportations, what they represent is a consequence. They represent a consequence of not following our laws and coming into our country the right way,” he said.

There have been tensions between the Biden administration and Border Patrol agents over the handling of the crisis at the southern border. The Border Patrol union has been deeply critical of the administration and backed the Trump campaign during the presidential election. 

Owens came into the role as chief in a year that saw record encounters at the southern border. He said “it’s been exhausting” for agents to deal with the last four years at the border. Numbers have dropped sharply recently due in part to a proclamation limiting asylum signed by President Biden in June, but it is unclear if those numbers will remain low for long. 

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 

Owens warned that cartels are adjusting their tactics to get around the new challenges, including increased technology, and he pointed to fentanyl and the violent Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua as two of the top threats on the agency’s radar.

“It’s a very serious threat for us,” he said of Tren de Aragua (TdA). “It is one of our top priorities, just like fentanyl. Tomorrow it may be something else, but today it’s TdA and fentanyl that they represent some of the biggest threats to our people in this country.”

The gang has been linked with a number of high-profile crimes across the U.S. and has expanded its presence and criminal activities into multiple states, including Colorado, where it has reportedly taken over a number of apartment buildings. 

Owens also points to the unknowns facing agents, including 250,000 gotaways at the border.

BORDER STATE OFFERS TRUMP MASSIVE PLOT OF LAND TO AID MASS DEPORTATION OPERATION

“We need to make them come to the front door. It’s that unknown, and what the intent is that scares me the most and probably any other law enforcement and border security professional that you’re going to ask out there. It’s why are they coming in, and why aren’t they using the front door? And what are they planning on doing that could potentially harm our country and our people?” he said.

He noted that it’s harder to vet migrants from countries where there are no diplomatic relations, meaning it’s much harder to know who is coming into the U.S. He says that what keeps him up at night is the possibility of failure in apprehending threats coming into the U.S.

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“What keeps me up at night is not being successful, knowing that for every person that we miss, for every drug load that we miss, people’s lives are forever impacted. And in some cases, people can die. That’s something that none of us wants to see,” he said.

President Biden appeared to rest his eyes during a summit with African leaders in Lobito, Angola, in a moment that was caught on video. 

Seated in the middle of a table with various officials from African countries, the 82-year-old president can be seen closing his eyes and resting his head while Tazania’s Vice President Philip Mpango spoke. 

Biden’s eyes remained closed for more than a minute. Otherwise, he was alert and gave remarks before and after the brief period. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WHO ELSE MIGHT BIDEN PARDON AFTER HE SPARED HUNTER FROM SENTENCING?

Biden appears to rest his eyes during a summit with African leaders in Lobito, Angola, on Dec. 4, 2024.  (Reuters)

Several observers on social media said it looked like the president fell asleep.

“Joe Biden fell asleep during a meeting with African leaders today,” Outkick founder Clay Travis posted on X. “He’s sharp as a tack though! Honestly, this feels intentional. Who puts an 82 year old on a plane for a THREE DAY trip to Africa?! Three days! So dumb.” 

BIDEN PLEDGES $1B IN AID TO AFRICA AS NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AFTER HELENE

Biden attends a meeting at a Carrinho facility near Lobito, Angola, on Dec. 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

Jake Schneider, who was the rapid response director for President-elect Trump’s campaign, quipped, “Biden literally falls asleep during his own meeting in Africa. Who’s running the country?”

And Denver-based radio host Ross Kaminsky, among others, called the episode “embarrassing” for the United States.

BIDEN TRAVELS TO AFRICA WHERE POLICIES WERE ‘OVER-PROMISED AND UNDER-DELIVERED,’ AMID MASSIVE CHINA EXPANSION

Biden shakes hands with Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, as Tanzania’s Vice President Philip Isdor Mpango stands next to them at a Carrinho facility near Lobito, Angola, on Dec. 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

“It’s incredible that our enemies haven’t challenged us more while we’re basically without a president,” Kamisnky shared on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, Biden announced $1 billion in humanitarian aid to support Africans displaced by historic droughts and food insecurity.

“The United States continues to be the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance. That’s going to increase, you know, that’s the right thing for the wealthiest nation in the world to do,” Biden said while speaking in Angola. “Today I’m announcing over $1 billion in new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts and food insecurity. We know African leaders and citizens are seeking more than just aid. You seek investment.

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Biden’s visit to Angola this week marks the first time the president has stepped foot on African soil during his presidency, and it comes as people in North Carolina continue to face challenges after Hurricane Helene caused destruction and devastation in late September.

Last month, the White House requested $98 billion in additional disaster relief funding to help efforts in Helene-ravished areas.

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

A Democratic senator is calling on the Biden administration to extend deportation protections and work permits for illegal immigrants in the U.S., ahead of what is expected to be a historic mass deportation campaign by the incoming Trump administration.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a post on X that “President Biden has the power to protect immigrant families, and I’m calling on him to use it.”

She pointed to the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is a status administered by the Department of Homeland Security that allows nationals who are living in the U.S. already to obtain work permits and be shielded from deportation. 

TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP REVEALS ROADMAP TO REBUILD NEW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM ‘FROM THE ASHES’ 

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto holds a Border Patrol challenge coin as she speaks about Republicans abandoning the bipartisan border deal during the Senate Democrats press conference in the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 6, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

TPS grants protection to nationals from countries considered unsafe to return them to. It has been used broadly by the Biden administration, including to protect hundreds of thousands of nationals from Haiti and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has sought to provide additional safeguards for those protected from deportation via the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. That program benefited illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 

President Biden speaks to reporters outside of St. Edmond’s Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“They are part of our communities, and what the president can do is just take legal action to extend their TPS statuses,” Cortez Masto said on MSNBC on Tuesday. “But it’s not just our TPS recipients. My hope is that the president, in the last two months, also quickly processes our DACA recipients applications. We need to make sure our dreamers also have the ability to stay here, continue to be a part of the country that they grew up in.”

The first Trump administration sought unsuccessfully to end DACA, and reduced the use of TPS. In the next administration, it is expected to either terminate TPS for many nationalities or allow them to expire without renewal.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Cortez Masto highlighted the Trump campaign’s promise to launch a mass deportation campaign as a rationale for the extension of TPS and additional DACA protections.

“They’re going to engage in mass deportation and nobody’s safe,” she said. “So that’s why I’m asking the administration to come in and take action that they can now to protect some of the immigrant community, TPS recipients and DACA recipients, make sure that at least we’re bringing certainty to them and keeping their families together.”

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The Biden administration moved on TPS as recently as October, when it both extended and redesignated TPS for Lebanese nationals – meaning that new nationals not initially covered could apply for protection. 

The Department of Homeland Security estimated that approximately 11,000 Lebanese nationals would be eligible under both TPS and Deferred Enforcement Departure – a similar use of executive authority administered by the president.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, is ramping up his pitch to lead the Pentagon with back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill.

Since his nomination, Hegseth has been meeting privately with senators in Washington, D.C., in an effort to earn their support ahead of his confirmation hearing next year.

Hegseth was back on the Hill for a second day on Wednesday, meeting first with incoming Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who is set to be the Armed Services Committee chair, ahead of a crucial meeting with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The nominee has faced a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations, all of which he has denied, since being tapped for the top administration role.

TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS

Pete Hegseth, center, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Defense secretary, makes his way to a meeting with Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., in the Russell Building on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Tom Williams)

Multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump is reportedly considering nominating Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as Defense secretary in place of Hegseth amid the allegations against him.

TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS

However, Hegseth brushed off the potential replacement, telling reporters that he spoke with Trump on Wednesday morning, who reportedly told him to “keep going, keep fighting.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, center, and his wife Jennifer Rauchet walk through the Hart Senate Office building on Dec. 3, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker)

“Why would I back down?” Hegseth said. “I have always been a fighter. I am here for the war fighters.”

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Hegseth added that he would be “meeting all day with senators.”

Fox News’ Bret Baier, Paul Steinhauser and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

President-elect Trump announced several more additions to his incoming administration on Wednesday, including his choices for Army secretary, trade adviser, hostage envoy and NASA administrator.

Daniel P. Driscoll of North Carolina, a veteran and venture capitalist, will serve as secretary of the Army. 

“I am pleased to nominate Daniel P. Driscoll, from the Great State of North Carolina, to serve as the Secretary of the Army. As a former Soldier, Investor, and Political Advisor, Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

He has also selected Peter Navarro to be trade adviser, Adam Boehler to be a special envoy for Hostage Affairs, and Jared Isaacman to head up NASA. 

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. 

House Republican leaders have endorsed Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis for election in the Sunshine State’s 1st Congressional District.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., are all backing the candidate.

Patronis shared the endorsements on social media, thanking each of the House GOP figures.

WITH TRUMP PLEDGING ENDORSEMENT, FLORIDA CFO WILL RUN FOR MATT GAETZ’S FORMER HOUSE SEAT

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (C), accompanied by U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (L), and U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Last month, President-elect Donald Trump urged Patronis to run, pledging to endorse him.

“Should he decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JIMMY, RUN!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post

Special primary and general elections will be held next year to fill the seat vacated last month by Matt Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general. 

FLORIDA CFO REQUESTS REPORT ON POTENTIAL FOR INVESTING SOME STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM FUNDS INTO DIGITAL ASSETS

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis delivers remarks before Gov. Ron DeSantis took to the stage. (Tiffany Tompkins/Bradenton Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Gaetz, who had just been re-elected prior to leaving office, ultimately withdrew himself from consideration for the Cabinet-level post. 

But Gaetz is not the only Trump nominee who has bowed out.

FLORIDA SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER WITHDRAWS AS TRUMP’S NOMINEE TO LEAD DEA

President-elect Donald Trump looks on during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024, in New York City (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who Trump recently nominated to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, withdrew himself from consideration for the job.

Conservatives ripped a social media account associated with House Democrats on Tuesday over a deleted post suggesting the economy is strong and seemingly minimizing the struggles of those who have difficulty affording groceries. 

“And here we were thinking y’all couldnt afford eggs!” the Ways and Means Democrats posted on X on Tuesday with a screenshot of an X post from journalist Paul Brandus that said, “Record air travel, holiday shopping busting records, stock market at all-time highs. The economy is ‘the worst ever,’ some Pollyannas whine.”

The post, which has since been deleted by the Ways and Means Democrats, sparked backlash from conservatives on social media.

“What an embarrassing thing to post … wow,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X, “and Dems wonder why they lost.”

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

House Ways and Means Democrats are facing backlash over a deleted tweet about the economy. (Getty Images/File)

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Egg prices soared—he couldn’t afford it all!” GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney posted on X. “Ways and Means Dems tweeted with smiles so wide, While the cost of eggs kept rising high! Humpty Dumpty cracked in despair, ‘These prices, these prices, they’re too much to bear!’ Democrats laugh, they don’t seem to care, But we’re stuck paying more for eggs in high-cost despair!”

“This is really what Democrat staffers on Capitol Hill think of the American majority who just rejected their policies after causing the worst inflation crisis our country has seen,” conservative commentator Amanda Head posted on X. “This is just how out-of-touch they are!”

ANDY PUZDER: TRUMP WON IN AN ‘IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID’ ELECTION. DEMOCRATS CHOSE JUST TO BE STUPID

A woman shops in the dairy section of a supermarket in Manhattan, N.Y., on Jan. 27, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

“And people wonder why the Dems lost…,” Meredith Schellin Turton, digital director for House Speaker Mike Johnson, posted on X.

“Americans have been struggling for FOUR YEARS to afford basic necessities and House Democrats are mocking them,” Johnson posted on X. “Talk about your all-time out of touch, disgraceful comments.”

“House Dems deleted the tweet below in which they mocked people for complaining about the price of eggs, and also thought they were dunking on Republicans because there was record high spending on Black Friday,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to House Ways and Means Democrats for comment but did not receive a response. 

A Gallup poll released in the lead-up to the presidential election showed 52% of Americans believed they and their families are worse off today than they were four years ago. 

The polling powerhouse noted that participants’ responses to whether they felt “better off” were typically tied to the U.S. economy. 

Gallup’s monthly economic confidence index, which ranges from -100 to +100, registered at -26, with 39% saying they were better off financially four years ago.

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During the past three years, Americans have named inflation as the most important financial problem facing their families. The survey’s findings suggest that inflation is an underlying fear of many Americans’ perception of the economy despite generally low unemployment and steady economic growth.

Approximately 46% of Americans say their current economic conditions are “poor,” some 29% described them as “only fair,” while 25% said they were “good” or “excellent.” 

Additionally, 62% said the economy is “getting worse,” while 32% said in the survey that it is “getting better.”

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Voters in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District gave six-term incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., the boot last month in favor of a young, energetic and successful businessman who says he’s ready to defend their interests in the nation’s capital.

Republican Rep.-elect Rob Bresnahan, 34, tells Fox News Digital in an interview that “kitchen table issues” helped him connect with northeastern Pennsylvanians and oust Cartwright, a progressive who had served in Congress for more than a decade. 

“When we were knocking on doors and talking to people every single day over a period of 13 months, the first thing anyone had to say was, ‘I can’t afford my bills. I can’t afford rent. I can’t afford my mortgage. I can’t afford school property taxes. I can’t afford groceries,'” Bresnahan said. 

Rising prices for food and gas have made living costs unaffordable for Pennsylvanians, he explained. And as voters have watched illegal immigrants overrun the southern border and be provided free food, housing and benefits, while billions in foreign aid flows out from the U.S. to other countries, they felt that foreigners were being treated better than Americans by their government, said Bresnahan. 

PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRAT REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT CONCEDES RACE TO GOP CHALLENGER

Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright and Republican Pennsylvania House candidate Rob Bresnahan.  (Getty Images/Rob for PA)

“We’re looking around at our neighbors saying, ‘hey, what about us here?’ And they couldn’t help but feel that they have been put second for a long time.” 

Bresnahan was a success story before he won election to the House of Representatives. A fifth-generation native of Luzerne County, at just 19 years old he was entrusted to be CFO of his grandfather’s construction company, which builds electrical infrastructure for municipalities and highways throughout Pennsylvania. 

He spent his college years at the University of Scranton dashing back and forth between the office and class as he worked to help the business recover from the global financial crisis. His hard work paid off, the business grew and Bresnahan became CEO after graduating in 2013.

“I was still living at home with my parents and I was in and out of a dorm room and running a company with 58 employees even though I couldn’t legally drink a Coors Light yet,” he told the Citizen’s Voice in 2021. “The combination was a heavy workload but it was a sacrifice that I would make again in a second.” 

But as the years passed, Bresnahan, like many Americans, felt the country was headed on the wrong track. The decisions coming from Washington, D.C., were bad for his business, his employees and the people they serve. And so, he decided to enter politics to make a difference.

“I felt that the country was not heading in the right trajectory with what is happening on our southern border. We had life essentially unaffordable for the average person. And I’ve always been a person to roll up my sleeves and throw myself into fire,” Bresnahan said.

PA DEM IN DISTRICT THAT VOTED FOR TRUMP SAYS HE’S A MODERATE, BUT VOTING RECORD TELLS ANOTHER STORY

Rob Bresnahan, Republican nominee for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, takes the stage during a Trump campaign rally at Riverfront Sports on Oct. 9, 2024 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images)

His winning congressional campaign focused on securing the border, cutting taxes and trimming government spending, creating “family-sustaining jobs” in the Keystone State and supporting law enforcement. In April, Bresnahan received an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump.

“A successful Businessman, Rob has worked hard to Create Jobs and Grow the Economy, unlike his opponent, Matt Cartwright, who is completely beholden to Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

With the campaign behind him, Bresnahan says he and the other members of the incoming Republican majority in Congress are ready to hit the ground running with a pro-growth agenda in January. 

“Securing the border. That needs to be done day one, Jan. 3 at 12:01 p.m., the day after we are all sworn in,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think there’s going to be a big playbook, but that is a tangible win right off the bat.”

SINGLE HOUSE RACE STANDS BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND 1-SEAT MAJORITY

A view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2024, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.  (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

On inflation, Bresnahan says Congress and the Trump administration can tackle unaffordable prices by lowering energy costs. “Talking about just Pennsylvania alone, 52% of homes are heated from natural gas. $45 billion a year are generated from the natural gas industry, and $76 billion in GDP comes out of the fracking and natural gas industry,” he said, insisting that policymakers must stop “vilifying natural resources.” 

The rising national debt, at $36 trillion, is another burden on the economy Bresnahan says Congress must address. “We’re spending more on debt servicing – just our national debt and the interest – than we are on our national defense budget.”

The young lawmaker said there will be “tough votes” on discretionary spending when Congress convenes in January. But two of the largest contributors to the federal debt and deficit will remain untouched.

“Obviously, we can’t cut Medicare. We can’t cut Social Security. We have to preserve that for our current generation, and we have to find ways to preserve it for our generation and the next generation. But I don’t believe that there’s a one-size-fits-all policy on any circumstance, let alone the national debt and the expenditures of the federal government,” Bresnahan said.

However, he added that illegal immigrants should not benefit from programs that Americans have paid in to, including Social Security and Medicare.

REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected to keep his job after Republicans held on to their House majority.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Republicans are expected to extend the 2017 tax cuts that became law during Trump’s first term in office. Bresnahan says he supports those tax cuts and insists that economic growth spurred by deregulation and investments in infrastructure and American jobs can make up for any potential revenue losses.

“We have to get people back to work,” he said. “We have to create economic climates that are conducive to the American people to incentivize them to go to work.” 

Part of that is to support jobs that don’t require a college degree, such as carpenters, plumbers or electricians. “These are great, family-sustaining careers with annuities starting on day one, with health insurance for your family, and you’re earning while you learn.” 

Turning to foreign policy, Bresnahan said the United States must remain a global superpower and pursue “peace through strength.” 

“But we have to be strong as the United States,” he added. Asked about growing GOP opposition to foreign aid, including to Ukraine, Bresnahan emphasized that he supports efforts to push back against Russian aggression – but he wants to do so responsibly.

YOUNGEST HOUSE REPUBLICAN-ELECT REVEALS HOW GOP WON BACK AMERICA’S YOUTH

“Putin is a war criminal and needs to be stopped,” he said. “I am all supportive of providing weapons, missiles, rockets – actually, there’s a big manufacturing facility inside of my district. But where I do want accountability is the raw, hard dollars that have been sent. I want audits done on those to ensure they’re going to the right causes.” 

Echoing Trump’s beliefs about putting America first, Bresnahan said there is a point where “enough is enough” and that Europe has to match U.S. contributions to foreign aid. 

“Again, I’m looking at, you know, 25% of my bridges are structurally deficient. We have aging infrastructure levees that protect over $1 trillion of property here in the United States. You’re talking about power distribution grids that haven’t been re-invested in since the 1950s with 50 years of usable life. And, you know, we were without power for multiple days now, going on which could possibly be a week (Editor’s note: A blizzard in Breshanan’s district had postponed this interview). Europe didn’t come and send over trucks to help us rebuild our grids.”

“Ukraine obviously has a lot going on, but we need to take care of our own people. We have to take care of our own Americans. And I believe Donald Trump had that narrative and that’s why he just won an election in a landslide, because it’s about us,” he added. 

Bresnahan hopes to bring “common sense” solutions to the complex problems facing Americans. He has pledged to work with whomever has a good idea, Republican or Democrat, and has earned endorsements from both No Labels and the moderate Problem Solvers Caucus. Though he calls himself a “fiscal conservative,” he rejects political labels because “I don’t think confirmation bias is the right way to solve any issue.”

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“I believe most challenges can be overcome through healthy and solid debate,” he added.

And what about those issues that inflame passions on both sides? Before this interview, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., made national headlines after she put forward a resolution that would bar Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., a transgender lawmaker who is biologically male, from using the women’s bathrooms in the capitol. 

Bresnahan said that while he believes biological men should not play in women’s sports or use their facilities, the flare up between Mace and McBride distracts from other important issues facing Americans – like crumbling infrastructure and expensive living costs. 

“I don’t want the 119th Congress to be hijacked by what bathrooms we should be using when we have been elected to provide real solutions for the real American people. And that’s what I’m going down to Washington, D.C. to do.” 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

President-elect Trump’s transition team has signed on to an agreement for the FBI to vet the incoming administration’s cabinet nominees, the transition team announced Tuesday.

Trump’s team says it will “submit names for background checks and security clearances,” an agreement typically signed even before the election. The FBI historically vets each cabinet nominee and also handles security clearances, a process that could not begin until the agreement was made.

“This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement.

A number of Republicans in the Senate had been apprehensive about the transition team’s initial unwillingness to face FBI background checks, and several praised the Tuesday agreement.

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

President-elect Trump has agreed to allow his cabinet nominees to undergo vetting by the FBI. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images)

“I think that’s good –– it’ll save them some headache,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., according to Politico. “And it’ll give the public and senators a little comfort, I think, so I’m glad to hear that.”

DOJ SETTLES WITH FORMER FBI OFFICIALS OVER RELEASE OF ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS

Trump and his allies have been openly critical of the FBI both on the campaign trail and since the election. Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the organization, has been a crusader against the “deep state” since Trump’s first term and has echoed Republican claims that Democrats have “weaponized” the FBI.

A side-by-side of Kash Patel and President-elect Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

“Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.

“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI,” he added.

FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to be replaced by Kash Patel, who worked in the Pentagon during Trump’s first term. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Patel’s name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released in 2018 that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump.

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“If they had gotten it right in the first place, when Devin and I and so many others were actually putting out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the left-wing agenda, there would be no reassessment,” Patel told Fox News Digital of the memo last year. “They could not have done their work in the deep state without their partners in the mainstream media, who are part of that deep state.”

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Biden pardoned son Hunter Biden Sunday after repeatedly vowing he would not spare him from sentencing in a pair of separate federal court cases. 

Biden has just under 47 days remaining in the Oval Office before President-elect Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president. 

As Biden’s term comes to an end, a handful of elected officials and others have called on the president to issue pardons for other Americans, including the suggestion of “preemptive pardons” for Democrats ahead of Trump’s second term. 

HUNTER BIDEN PARDON WILL UNDERMINE PARTY’S ‘SELF-PROCLAIMED AUTHORITY’ ON RULE OF LAW: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST

President Biden speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House Nov. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

‘Preemptive pardons’ for Trump’s perceived enemies 

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey claimed after the election he expects Trump to act in a “fascistic way” as president and called on Biden to pardon Democrats who could face prosecution under a second Trump administration.  

“I think that, without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey claimed during a local radio interview last month. 

“If it’s clear by Jan. 19 that that is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people because that’s really what our country is going to need next year.” 

Trump has long accused Democrats and the Biden administration of employing “lawfare” against him as he battled charges from racketeering to falsifying business records, with supporters such as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., proclaiming last month that “accountability is coming” for those who targeted Trump. 

Under Markey’s argument, Biden could preemptively pardon Democrats who directly prosecuted Trump on charges Trump has slammed as “shams” and “witch hunts.”

Kern Valley State Prison in California (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Sweeping pardons to end mass incarceration and ‘reunite families’

A handful of congressional Democrats — most notably representatives Ayanna Pressley, Mary Gay Scanlon and James Clyburn — called on Biden last month in a letter to issue sweeping pardons to convicts in a bid to “reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.”

The lawmakers requested the president pardon those who have languished in prison systems for years and rectify “draconian” sentences imposed on criminals. The letter specifically called for the president to consider pardons for the “elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers.” 

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“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges. The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform,” they wrote in a letter to Biden last month. 

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Pardoning President-elect Donald Trump 

Outgoing Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, said earlier this year Biden should have pardoned Trump from his indictments. 

“[Biden] should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from going forward,” Romney told MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle in May. “It was a win-win for Donald Trump.

“You may disagree with this, but had I been President Biden, when the Justice Department brought on indictments, I would have immediately pardoned him,” he said. “I’d have pardoned President Trump. Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy.”

Biden pardoning Trump is unlikely to happen and would only apply to his federal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Legal cases against Trump have stalled since his win last month. 

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A person holds foil while smoking after the decriminalization of all drugs, including fentanyl and meth, in downtown Portland, Ore., Jan. 25, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Clemency for drug offenders 

Biden has pardoned 26 people during nearly four years in office, a review of DOJ data shows. The majority of those individuals were convicted of drug crimes, such as conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine or conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. 

In October, seven Senate Judiciary Committee members and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock sent a letter to Biden calling on him to commute sentences for individuals who would have been handed shorter sentences under the 2018 First Step Act. The First Step Act was a criminal justice reform bill Trump signed into law following bipartisan support that reduced mandatory minimum sentences for some drug crimes. 

“This Administration has the opportunity to deliver justice to incarcerated people who were sentenced under overly harsh mandatory minimums that the bipartisan First Step Act corrected,” Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, who signed the letter, told Politico earlier this year. “President Biden should heed our call and use the power of executive clemency while he has it.”

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Julian Assange 

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is again earning support from lawmakers and others to be pardoned after years of legal woes over his publication of classified military documents leaked to him by a source in 2010. 

A bipartisan effort spearheaded by representatives James McGovern, D-Mass., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., called on Biden last week to pardon Assange and “send a clear message” that his administration will not target journalistic activity.

REPS MCGOVERN, MASSIE URGE BIDEN TO PARDON JULIAN ASSANGE TO ‘SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE’ ON PRESS FREEDOM

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks on the balcony of the embassy of Ecuador in London May 19, 2017.  (Constantin Eckner/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“We write, first, to express our appreciation for your administration’s decision last spring to facilitate a resolution of the criminal case against publisher Julian Assange and to withdraw the related extradition request that had been pending in the United Kingdom,” the lawmakers wrote to Biden. “This brought an end to Mr. Assange’s protracted detention and allowed him to reunite with his family and return to his home country of Australia.”

Assange reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to end his imprisonment in the U.K. over charges related to publishing classified military documents. He had spent years in the U.K. to avoid extradition to the U.S.

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He pleaded guilty in June to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information and was sentenced to time served. He returned to his native Australia after the plea deal. 

“The terms of Mr. Assange’s plea agreement have now set a precedent that greatly deepens our concern,” the lawmakers’ letter to Biden said. “A review of prosecutions under the Espionage Act makes clear that Mr. Assange’s case is the first time the Act has been deployed against a publisher.

“A pardon would remove the precedent set by the plea and send a clear message that the U.S. government under your leadership will not target or investigate journalists and media outlets simply for doing their jobs.” 

President Biden pardoned son Hunter Biden Sunday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Biden’s pardoning of his son Sunday followed the president saying earlier this year he would not pardon his son before and after Hunter was found guilty in a June gun trial. 

“I am not going to do anything,” Biden said after Hunter was convicted in the gun case. “I will abide by the jury’s decision.”

Hunter Biden was found guilty June 11 of lying about his drug use when buying a gun in 2018. He was found guilty on three charges — making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

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Hunter Biden had an extensive and well-documented history with addiction, which was best captured in his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” which walked readers through his spirals of crack cocaine use. 

Hunter Biden faced another trial regarding three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses over his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes in a California court in September. As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea. 

When grilled by the media about Biden pardoning his son after saying he would not take such an action, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president will make other pardon announcements in the coming weeks but did not provide details. 

“As it relates to pardoning or any clemency, the president, as you know, at the end of the year, makes announcements. He’s thinking through that process very thoroughly,” Jean-Pierre said Monday. 

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“I’m not going to get ahead of — of the president on this. But you could expect more announcements, more … pardons and clemency at the end of … this term.”

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

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a high-profile case involving the right of transgender minors to receive gender transition care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, in one of the most closely watched, potentially impactful cases slated to come before the high court this year.

The case, United States v. Skrmetti, centers on a Tennessee law that bans gender-transition treatments for adolescents in the state. The law also takes aim at health care providers in Tennessee who continue to provide gender-transition treatments to transgender minors, opening them up to fines, lawsuits and other liability.  

The petitioners in the case are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to overturn the Tennessee law on behalf of parents of three transgender adolescents, and a Memphis-based doctor who treats transgender patients. The petitioners were also joined by the Biden administration earlier this year under a federal law that allows the administration to intervene in certain cases certified by the attorney general to be of “general public importance.” 

The petitioners argue the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The state has responded by insisting the law does not discriminate based on gender, arguing it sets parameters on age- and use-based restrictions on certain drugs and is therefore not a violation of the Constitution.

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Pro-transgender protesters rally for inclusion. Petitioners in U.S. v. Skrmetti will argue before the Supreme Court that transgender individuals have all the hallmarks of a “quasi-suspect class” under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.   (Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)

According to the U.S. Supreme Court website, the key question posed in the case is “whether Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SBl), which prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow ‘a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex’ or to treat ‘purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity,’ Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-33-103(a)(1), violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Wednesday’s oral arguments mark the first time the Supreme Court will consider restrictions on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors, giving the case importance in Tennessee and in other states across the country. 

Tennessee passed its law, Senate Bill 1, in March 2023. But it is just one of at least 25 U.S. states that has banned gender transition care for transgender adolescents, making the case — and Wednesday’s oral arguments — one of the most high-profile cases to be heard this session.  

The oral arguments have been anticipated for months. The controversial case comes at a time in Washington when Republicans will regain control of the White House and both chambers of Congress next month, giving them heavy influence and, some fear, more control over the federal judiciary. 

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s oral arguments.

Who’s arguing the case?

The petitioners will be represented by U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney who represented the original parties in the lawsuit.

Strangio, the deputy director for transgender justice for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, will be the first openly transgender person to argue before the Supreme Court.

The respondents in the case, namely the state of Tennessee, will be represented in court by Tennessee Solicitor General J. Matthew Rice and the state attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti. 

In a court filing submitted ahead of Wednesday’s oral arguments, Prelogar’s office argued the Tennessee law has a deliberate focus on “sex and gender conformity,” asserting Senate Bill 1 “declares that its very purpose is to ‘encourag[e] minors to appreciate their sex’ and to ban treatments ‘that might encourage minors to become disdainful of their sex.'”

“That,” the federal government wrote, “is sex discrimination.”

Counsel for the petitioners will argue that the Tennessee law imposes “differential treatment based on the sex an individual is assigned at birth,” triggering a higher level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

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They will also argue that upholding the ban will represent a “dangerous and discriminatory affront” to transgender minors not just in Tennessee, but across the country, a point that has been emphasized by Strangio.

The state argued in a court filing that the law “contains no sex classification” warranting the heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. Rather, it said, it “creates two groups: minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes.”

The question of scrutiny 

The Supreme Court has determined three different levels of scrutiny that help determine whether a law is permissible under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution: Strict scrutiny, heightened scrutiny and rational basis. The highest level, strict scrutiny, requires a law be passed to serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to minimize harm. 

The second level of scrutiny, or “heightened scrutiny,” requires the governmental body to prove its actions further an “important government interest” by using means “substantially related to that interest.” 

The lowest bar, rational basis, is the most deferential of the tests and requires the law only serve a legitimate interest with a “rational connection” to the means and goals of the statute.

The U.S. Supreme Court at sunset (Aaron Schwartz/SIPA USA)

Overview of the arguments

Wednesday’s oral arguments will center on whether banning gender transition care for minors violates protections under the Equal Protection Clause, either via gender discrimination or discrimination against their transgender status.

The petitioners in the case will argue that the Tennessee law discriminates against individuals and their right to receive the same medical treatments based on their sex. Under the law, the petitioners argued in their court filing, “an adolescent assigned female at birth cannot receive puberty blockers or testosterone to live as a male, but an adolescent assigned male at birth can.”

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Separately, they will argue that discriminating against individuals based on their transgender status is also sufficient to trigger higher scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause, noting that transgender individuals “satisfy all of the hallmarks of a quasi-suspect class,” including being subject to discrimination, representing a “discrete and identifiable minority” and other components outlined by the Supreme Court, thereby necessitating that heightened scrutiny be applied.

The respondents will argue that Senate Bill 1, places age- and use-based restrictions on certain drugs and, therefore, is not an example of unconstitutional discrimination. 

Further, they will argue that the law easily passes even the test of heightened scrutiny. The state contends it has “compelling interests” to protect the health and safety of minors in the state and “in protecting the integrity and ethics of the medical profession.”

The U.S. Supreme Court (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Case history

U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump appointee, granted a preliminary inunction for part of the Tennessee ban in June, siding with the petitioners’ assertion that “parents have a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children, which naturally includes the right of parent[s] to request certain medical treatments on behalf of their children[.]”

He said the ban on most types of gender care for transgender minors would likely not survive the heightened scrutiny test under the Equal Protection Clause, since the same treatments were not banned for their non-transgender peers. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit later overturned the district court’s decision and reinstated the full ban, using the lowest test of rational basis. The petitioners appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which agreed in June to review the case.

The petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to remand the case to the 6th Circuit Court to hear it again, this time using the test of heightened scrutiny.

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Strangio has repeatedly stressed the wide-ranging impact the Supreme Court decision could have on “countless transgender youth” of current and future generations and has described the bans as a “dangerous and discriminatory affront to the well-being of transgender youth across the country.”

Next steps

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on United States v. Skrmetti by July 2025. The Supreme Court typically issues summer decisions on cases argued during the October term.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., a former medical doctor, is expected to introduce legislation that would ban gender-related medical procedures on minors and impose a penalty for professionals who perform such treatments, Fox News Digital has learned.

The bill, titled the Safeguarding the Overall Protection (STOP) of Minors Act, aims to prohibit youth gender transition treatment and “castration procedures” by banning “the use of interstate commerce to perform, attempt to perform, conspire to perform, or provide referral for any gender mutilation procedures on a minor.”

“Americans resoundingly rejected the Left’s dangerous transgender agenda. Let’s call it exactly what it is: child abuse,” said Marshall. 

Marshall is expected to introduce the bill on Capitol Hill on Wednesday: “The days of demented doctors and activists getting rich off of mutilating, sterilizing, and castrating children are over.”

The STOP Act, if passed, would call on Health and Human Services (HHS) to impose a civil penalty of at least $100,000 on those “providing transgender mutilation services and treatments” for minors. Secretary Xavier Becerra currently heads HHS under President Biden. However, he will soon be succeeded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. 

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Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. (Tom Williams/File)

The Republican senator’s bill also seeks to provide assistance to people who no longer want to continue the gender transition process, commonly referred to as detransitioners.

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Marshall signaled he would work with Trump, who has suggested he would seek to slash “gender-affirming” care for minors, on the issue.

(Pamela Garfield-Jaeger/File)

“Our legislation keeps children’s safety paramount by prohibiting anyone from performing, facilitating, or even conspiring to give these irreversible therapies and procedures to minors,” Marshall said. “This bill is just the beginning of what’s to come with President Trump at the helm and our unwavering commitment to protecting children from transgender activists’ twisted and criminal agenda.”

Marshall first teed up the bill during a panel led by Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, and a group of lawmakers who discussed a heightened GOP focus on legislation against transgender medical procedures on minors. 

The U.S. Supreme Court (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

Lawmakers on the other side of the issue have spoken out in support of such procedures for minors, such as hormone replacement therapy and laser hair removal. Most recently, they pushed back on a ban in Tennessee that prevents minors from receiving puberty blockers.

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In September, a total of 164 lawmakers, including 11 senators and 153 representatives in the House, filed an amicus brief defending transgender youth against the ban. 

The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the law Wednesday and decide on whether to uphold the ban.

Fox News’ Jamie Jospeh contributed to this report.