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The Justice Department made public Volume I of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his now-closed investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, days before he is set to be sworn into office. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume, which focuses on the election case against Trump, of Smith’s report on Tuesday at midnight after back-and-forth in the federal court system.

An opening letter from Smith to Garland said that it is “laughable” that Trump believes the Biden administration, or other political actors, influenced or directed his decisions as a prosecutor, stating that he was guided by the Principles of Federal Prosecution.

“Trump’s cases represented ones ‘in which the offense [was] the most flagrant, the public harm the greatest, and the proof the most certain,’” Smith said, referencing the principles.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH FROM RELEASING FINAL REPORT

A split image featuring US Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In the lengthy report, Smith said his office fully stands behind the decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he “resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power” after he lost the 2020 election.

Smith said in his conclusion that the parties were determining whether any material in the “superseding indictment was subject to presidential immunity” when it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election. The department then determined the case must be dismissed before he takes office because of how it interprets the Constitution.

“The Department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind,” the report stated.

In an early Tuesday morning post on Truth Social, Trump called Smith “desperate” and “deranged” for releasing his “fake findings” in the middle of the night.

APPEALS COURT WILL NOT BLOCK PARTIAL RELEASE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TRUMP REPORT

Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special counsel in November 2022. 

Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ’s public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.

FLASHBACK: ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND NAMES SPECIAL COUNSEL TO INVESTIGATE TRUMP ON MAR-A-LAGO DOCUMENTS, JAN. 6

The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith recently requested to dismiss charges he brought against Trump in a case alleging his interference in the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

FLASHBACK: TRUMP SAYS HE ‘WON’T PARTAKE’ IN SPECIAL COUNSEL INVESTIGATION, SLAMS AS ‘WORST POLITICIZATION OF JUSTICE’

This month, though, Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report. A federal appeals court reversed her ruling, allowing the Justice Department to make Smith’s report public. 

Former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.  (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

In the classified records probe, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal counts including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty. 

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.  (Department of Justice via AP)

FLASHBACK: FBI SAID IT HAD ‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ TO BELIEVE ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED DOCS REMAINED AT MAR-A-LAGO, AFFIDAVIT SAYS

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. 

In the 2020 election case, Smith charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; violation of an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Trump pleaded not guilty. 

The cases brought by Smith against Trump never made it to trial in either jurisdiction. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to the press at the end of the day during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images)

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Despite efforts by Trump attorneys to prevent the report’s release, Attorney General Merrick Garland had maintained that he would make at least one volume of Smith’s report public.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

A Washington state Democrat is floating a policy to help protect unemployed illegal immigrants who are unable to receive unemployment benefits.

The news comes as President-elect Trump and his border czar-designate Thomas Homan signal a crackdown on illegal immigration and talk of “mass deportation” plans in a reversal of the Biden-era status quo.

State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is introducing a bill that would ensure Washington residents legally ineligible to work in the U.S. – a group for which illegal immigrants compose the vast majority – have access to assistance.

Saldaña, of Seattle, declined to comment further on her bill to Fox News Digital, but a representative for the lawmaker noted she had previously highlighted “undocumented workers’ … substantial contributions to Washington’s economy.”

BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS WREAKING HAVOC ON K-12 SCHOOLS SAYS TOP GOP LAWMAKER

That group collectively paid almost $400 million in unemployment taxes over the past 10 years, and the bill will aim to ensure those who pay into the system are able to rely on it when they need to, her office said.

The representative said Saldaña has reintroduced similar legislation during both Democrat and Republican administrations in the past because the “inequities in our immigration system” are systemic and longstanding.

Saldaña has previously argued that providing unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who qualify will help stabilize the workforce and prevent future cases of poverty and homelessness due to job loss.

It will therefore have lasting positive effects on the Evergreen State’s economy, her office said.

Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he had not seen the text of the bill as of Monday afternoon but was aware of the proposal itself.

CALIFORNIA BILL AIMED AT MAKING IT EASIER FOR MIGRANTS TO BUY HOMES MAKES MAJOR ADVANCEMENT

“We have a lot of work to do on immigration, both on undocumented immigrants and on legal immigration in our state. That’s largely a federal issue,” Braun said.

“I look for the folks in D.C. to handle [the immigration issue] and for us [in state government] to stay clear.”

Under federal law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation. Neither are individuals with expired work authorizations and dependents of people living in the U.S. under several visa classifications.

The excluded visa classes include O – “extraordinary ability”; R – Religious worker; and F – student visas.

According to a 1985 memo from the Department of Labor, “an alien must be legally authorized to work in the United States to be considered ‘available for work’ – Therefore, an alien without current, valid authorization to work from the INS is not legally ‘available for work’ and not eligible for benefits.”

The memo referred to the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor entity to today’s Department of Homeland Security.

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Washington State Capitol (Getty)

Elsewhere in the U.S., the Colorado Office of New Americans allows undocumented workers to access a “Benefit Recovery Fund” to help those who have been “separated from employment through no fault of their own” and meet several other specifications.

In California, however, Democrat lawmakers sought to offer assistance similar to that Saldaña is seeking but were blocked by fellow liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom vetoed that legislation in September and also blocked a proposal that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.

FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss blasted President Biden in his highly-anticipated report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden, saying the commander-in-chief’s characterizations of the probe into his son were “wrong” and “unfairly” maligned Justice Department officials, while admitting that the presidential pardon made it “inappropriate” for him to discuss whether any additional charges against the first son were warranted. 

Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Weiss’s final report after his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden.

The Justice Department transmitted the report to Congress on Monday evening. 

Weiss, in his report, chided President Biden for his Dec. 1, 2024 decision to grant his son a “Full and Unconditional Pardon” covering nearly eleven years of conduct, including conduct related to both convictions the special counsel obtained. 

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

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

The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but his father, President Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December. 

Weiss, in the report, blasted the president’s decision to pardon but also the press release that was sent out to the public that “criticized the prosecution of his son as ‘selective,’ ‘unfair,’ ‘infected’ by ‘raw politics,’ and a ‘miscarriage of justice.'”

“This statement is gratuitous and wrong,” Weiss wrote in his report. “Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.” 

Weiss also pointed to a comment made by Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who said: “The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.” 

“These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics,” Weiss wrote in his report. “Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives.” 

Weiss added: “Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America’s justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law.” 

In another section of the report, Weiss notes that, in light of the presidential pardon, he “cannot make any additional charging decisions” and said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss “whether additional charges are warranted.” 

“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss wrote. “The President’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith.” 

Weiss added: “The President’s characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong.” 

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in November 2018. 

Hunter Biden, son of President Biden departs the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 3, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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

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

BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE

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

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed investigator David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation. (Fox News)

Justice Department regulations require Weiss to transmit any final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has pledged to release as much as possible to the public. 

The Justice Department and Special Counsel Weiss’ office declined to comment. 

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

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington, as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, left, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, look on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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

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

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

Late Monday, Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, issued a response to Weiss’ report to Fox News: “Like all his court filings, David Weiss’ 27-page report continues to ignore some of the major mysteries of his 7-year investigation. Mr. Weiss conveniently omits his proposal to resolve this investigation in 2023 with a pair of misdemeanors and a diverted gun charge recommended by career prosecutors. Mr. Weiss also fails to explain why he reneged on his own agreement, a reversal that came at the 11th hour in court as he and his office faced blistering attacks from Republicans and his then filing unprecedented charges for someone with no aggravating gun factors who had paid his taxes in full years before the charges were filed. Finally, and most curious, Mr. Weiss fails to clarify why he and his prosecutors pursued wild – and debunked – conspiracies about Mr. Biden by a Russian agent that prolonged this investigation and ultimately cost taxpayers millions of dollars. What is clear from this report is that the investigation into Hunter Biden is a cautionary tale of the abuse of prosecutorial power.”

Democratic lawmakers are claiming the severity of the Los Angeles wildfires was a result of climate change, despite reports that the city’s fire hydrants ran out of water and the fire department’s budget was slashed just weeks before the Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 15,000 acres.

Several fires broke out across the Southern California mountains in early January, quickly spreading to coastal residential areas and destroying more than 10,000 homes and structures. 

As the fires gained national attention, Democratic lawmakers across the country began to claim it was climate change rather than state policies that caused the disastrous fire damage.

“And what has happened is that climate change has dried out our foliage, our flora. And coupled with these massive winds, these 50 to 100 miles an hour winds that happen every year around this time, a little ember can turn into a massive fire,” Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., who represents a district not far from the raging fires, told NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”

LA COUNTRY CUT FIRE BUDGET WHILE SPENDING HEAVILY ON DEI, WOKE ITEMS: ‘MIDNIGHT STROLL TRANSGENDER CAFE’

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope)

“Climate change has wreaked havoc on us,” Min said.

After the fires engulfed the Los Angeles mountains, it was reported that local fire hydrants were not producing water and that the firefighter funding had recently been cut by millions.

Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged these reports, and demanded an independent investigation be conducted into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) regarding the lack of water in the middle of the crisis, but Democratic lawmakers shifted the blame away from state leaders.

“The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not ‘a hoax.’ Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a social media post on Wednesday morning.

Homes along Pacific Coast Highway are seen left in ashes from the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Malibu, Calif.  (Mark J. Terrill)

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said that the state leaders who don’t acknowledge climate change as a crisis, who are commonly Republican, are at fault. 

“I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country & the world & elected ‘leaders’ are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing, which is to acknowledge that climate change is real & start to solve it,” Crockett wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Jan. 8. 

Another Democratic lawmaker, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, said in January that he was “glad to be working with Gov. Newsom and helping CA, ravaged repeatedly by the effects of climate change.”

Senator Bernie Sanders said that “the scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not ‘a hoax.’ Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is.” (Elaine Cromie/Bloomberg)

Months before the fires broke out, Los Angeles city officials cut the fire department budget by $17.6 million, while hundreds of thousands of dollars were being allocated to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the state.

Celebrities immediately began pointing fingers at city leadership for investing in programs such as a “syringe exchange” program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts, instead of more funding for fire prevention efforts.

“We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits,” actress Sara Foster wrote in a post on X. 

Monstrous wildfires ravaged coastal cities in California in January. (AP)

On the same platform, Khloé Kardashian called out the city’s Democratic mayor, writing, “Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!”

Rick Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, suggested that forest management could have mitigated the fires.

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“We knew the winds were coming. We knew that there was brush that needed to be cleared 20 years ago,” Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, told the LA Times. “This fire could have been mitigated — maybe not prevented.”

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

-Elon Musk, AI and tech titans, venture capitalists invited to pre-inauguration dinner at dawn of Trump era

-These are the 2025 elections to watch as Trump returns to White House

–Senate GOP tees up confirmation hearing blitz in effort to meet ambitious Trump targets

Special Counsel Report Can Go Public

A federal judge cleared the way for the release of the special counsel report on President-elect Trump’s election interference case on Monday.

Judge Aileen Cannon approved the release of the first of two volumes of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in her Monday ruling. Cannon will consider releasing the second volume, which relates to Trump’s handling of classified documents, on Friday.

Smith suspended his investigations into Trump after the president-elect secured his return to the White House in November…Read more

Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to give remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

White House

CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE: Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Israel’s Netanyahu…Read more

‘MORE PURPOSEFUL AND BIGGER’: Sullivan claims Biden admin leaves Russia, China and Iran ‘weaker,’ America ‘safer’ before Trump hand-off…Read more

World Stage

‘DISTRACTING’: Trudeau says 51st state is distraction from Trump tariff threat, acknowledges facing ‘successful negotiator’…Read more

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, from left, Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s president, during the funeral service of late former US President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. Washington gathered to pay tribute to Jimmy Carter on Thursday, bringing together political rivals in the wake of a rancorous election to honor a former president praised by both parties for his humility and decency.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

‘MUTUAL IMPORTANCE’: Canadian leader meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, discusses energy relationship…Read more

GRASS IS GREENER: Trump’s House GOP allies unveil bill to authorize country’s purchase…Read more

Trump Transition

BANKING BREAKS WITH CLIMATE: Wall Street breaks from net zero climate alliance ahead of Trump term…Read more

TRUMP TAX CUTS: Major push to protect, renew Trump tax cuts launched by powerful conservative group…Read more

‘HE IS TRULY EVIL’: Trump ally Steve Bannon pledges to ‘take… down’ Elon Musk…Read more

US President-elect Donald Trump, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. (R) watch a fight during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16, 2024. US President-elect Donald Trump was greeted by chanting fans as he attended the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 16. Trump entered the arena shortly before the start of the main card accompanied by UFC chief executive Dana White, who was a prominent backer during his election campaign. Several political allies of Trump were also in attendance including entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have been asked by Trump to lead efforts to cut government inefficiency. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

GLIMMER OF HOPE: Wife of detained American in Afghanistan meets with Trump’s national security adviser…Read more

‘BATTLE-PROVEN’: Hegseth was ‘incredibly talented, battle-proven leader,’ military evaluations show…Read more

Capitol Hill

ENDING ‘LOOPING’: Sen Ernst renews push for bill ending illegal immigration ‘loophole’ as Congress takes action…Read more

FIRESTORM: The political firestorm that’s about to singe Capitol Hill…Read more

NOT GOING EASY: Schumer directs Dems to to put pressure on Trump nominees ahead of confirmation hearings…Read more

A rigorous week of confirmation hearings will begin on Tuesday. (Reuters)

NEW DAY: Meet Leader John Thune’s all-star cabinet as Republicans take over Senate majority…Read more

Across America 

AN ENDURING DEPARTMENT: The Department of Education through the years: A look at long-term trends of pitiful student performance…Read more

SILENCE IS DEAFENING: Major blue city mayor silent after illegal immigrant uses shelter for criminal activity…Read more

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Trump tasks blue state Republicans with ‘homework’ as GOP plots massive conservative policy overhaul…Read more

JOB CHANGE: DNC hires former Harris staffers behind @KamalaHQ for social media response to Trump…Read more

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Wisconsin State Fair Expo in West Allis, Wis., Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

ACTBLUE DONATIONS: Newsom defends fire response with fact-check site linking to Dem Party fundraising platform…Read more

GRANITE SPLIT: NH bill would divide presidential electors by district: ‘We want voters to feel their vote counts’…Read more

‘LOUD AND CLEAR’: State conservatives demand action on noncitizen voting: ‘Time for Congress to listen’…Read more

‘HARM AND DISTRESS’: ACLU Colorado warns law enforcement to not cooperate with ICE…Read more

POLLUTION SOLUTION?: Cap-and-trade returns: NY plans to force big oil to ‘invest’ in ‘green’ by paying for emissions…Read more

‘WITHOUT ROADBLOCKS’: Newsom suspends CA environmental law to eliminate ‘roadblocks’ for wildfire victims rebuilding homes…Read more

BORDER TO BLAZE: Man arrested near LA fires with possible blowtorch is an illegal immigrant: ICE sources…Read more

ACTBLUE DONATIONS: Newsom defends fire response with fact-check site linking to Dem Party fundraising platform…Read more

Governor Gavin Newsom, left, and LA wildfires, right (Getty)

HALF-BAKED IDEA: New NYC ‘char broil’ rule would force restaurants to cut emissions by 75%…Read more

APPEAL SHOT DOWN: Supreme Court makes decision on gun law challenges in Delaware, Maryland…Read more

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

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is meeting with Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Democrats on Monday evening to discuss the confirmation hearing for controversial Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth — just hours before its set to take place. 

A Senate Democratic source confirmed the last-minute meeting to Fox News Digital. 

Schumer and other Democrats have made their opposition to the former Fox News host clear in the days leading up to the hearing, which is the first to take place of all President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees. 

MEET LEADER JOHN THUNE’S ALL-STAR CABINET AS REPUBLICANS TAKE OVER SENATE MAJORITY

Schumer is meeting with committee Democrats hours ahead of the hearing. (Reuters)

The meeting, first reported by Axios, comes after the New York Democrat urged his fellow caucus members to grill Trump’s nominees in their upcoming hearings and force them to go on record about controversial Trump agenda items, per a Senate Democratic source. 

The source added that Democrats are planning to lay the groundwork to say that they warned about Trump’s Cabinet picks early on. 

SCHUMER DIRECTS DEMS TO PUT PRESSURE ON TRUMP NOMINEES AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

Hegseth was chosen to be Trump’s Secretary of Defense.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In floor remarks on Monday, Schumer said, “Unfortunately, Mr. Hegseth’s background is deeply troubling, to put it generously. We have all read the reports about his radical views, his alleged excessive drinking, the allegations about sexual assault, and his failures in the financial stewardship of multiple organizations.”

Hegseth has denied all allegations, including those suggesting financial mismanagement, sexual assault and alcohol consumption. 

The Secretary of Defense nominee’s spokesperson did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

SENATE GOP TEES UP CONFIRMATION HEARING BLITZ IN EFFORT TO MEET AMBITIOUS TRUMP TARGETS

Schumer has criticized Hegseth over various allegations.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Democrats on SASC include Ranking Member Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Angus King, I-Maine, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. Debbie Fischer during a Senate hearing. (Reuters)

Reed and Hegseth met last week for a notably brief discussion. Afterward, the SASC ranking member said in a statement, “Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers.” 

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“As with any nominee for this critical position, Mr. Hegseth must undergo the same high-level of scrutiny as prior Secretary of Defense nominees,” he added. 

“Lone actors” pose the greatest threat to safety during the upcoming presidential inauguration events, according to U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. 

He referenced two incidents last week on Capitol Hill where people sought to “disrupt” congressional proceedings with potentially violent tactics. 

An estimated 250,000 ticketed guests will attend the formal inauguration on Jan. 20, according to law enforcement.

That will be supplemented by another 25,000, who law enforcement expect will attend various demonstrations going on around the Capitol on Inauguration Day. The inauguration and its accompanying events have been designated a “National Special Security Event,” the highest federal protective status an event can receive, authorities said. 

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

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

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

People take their places as a rehearsal begins on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 12, 2025, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Manger’s remarks came during a Monday press conference with federal and local law enforcement officials, including leaders from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police, during which they discussed their preparation for the inauguration. 

Representing the FBI was the assistant director in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, David Sundberg, who said the FBI was “not currently tracking any specific or credible threats to the inaugural ceremony or to the Capitol complex.”

The upcoming week of events will be secured similarly to the two high-profile National Special Security Events from last week, the presidential election certification and the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, authorities indicated. However, the inauguration will get a little extra support from roughly 4,000 local law enforcement officers who have volunteered to help and an estimated 7,800 National Guard soldiers who will deploy to the nation’s capital. In total, according to the Secret Service’s special agent in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, Matt McCool, a total of about 25,000 law enforcement officers will be on duty.

Members of the U.S. military Joint Honor Guard parade as they rehearse ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration in front of the White House on Jan. 12, 2025.

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

The inauguration will get extra concrete barriers and more than 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, which is more than has been used for any National Special Security Event in the past. 

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith said that the district is expecting to see 12 different First Amendment demonstrations during the inauguration. Smith said that while the “MPD will ensure your right to peacefully protest,” they “will not tolerate any violence.”  

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

The Washington Monument and the White House are visible as workers assemble a media riser and the presidential inauguration parade review stand along Pennsylvania Avenue on Oct. 25, 2024.

When asked by a reporter what the biggest difference was between this inauguration and the last in 2021, McCool said there is a “slightly more robust security plan.”

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“We’ve learned,” McCool said. “This is our fifth NSSE this year in the Washington field office. We’ve done 83 NSSEs, each one we take a look at, and if there’s areas where we need to improve, we do it. But what I can tell you is that we are 100% confident in the plan that we have put in place for this inauguration that the public and our protectees will be safe.” 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary, laying out a bevy of accusations and about 100 questions that she expects him to answer at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.  

Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, penned the 33-page letter last week to Hegseth. It describes why she thinks he is “unfit” to serve, referring to him at one point in the letter as “an insider threat” due to a tattoo Hegseth has that Warren claims is tied to “right-wing extremism.” 

“Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespect a diverse array of servicemembers who are willing to sacrifice for our country,” Warren writes in the letter. “I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense.”

ARE PETE HEGSETH’S TATTOOS SYMBOLS OF ‘CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM?’

The letter starts off with accusations against Hegseth that include claims of financial mismanagement during his work operating two nonprofits, and accusations of heavy drinking and sexual assault. 

The Massachusetts Democrat accused Hegseth of “gross mismanagement” in running up debt and using business funds at the nonprofits he ran for personal expenses. She cited past colleagues of Hegseth’s who claimed to be privy to what took place. Warren also claimed in her letter that some of Hegseth’s past colleagues had shared he may potentially have a drinking problem, citing “at least 11 separate incidents in which [Hegseth has] been described as drinking excessively or inappropriately in public.” Warren asks in the letter if Hegseth would resign if he were to be caught drinking again.  

NEW GOP SENATOR TEARS INTO DEMS ‘SEEKING TO DELAY’ PETE HEGSETH DOD CONFIRMATION  

Warren also went after Hegseth’s policy positions in the letter, several of which were made during media appearances and in books. 

Warren slammed Hegseth for previous comments about women in the military, including remarks he made that only men should be allowed in combat roles. Warren questioned Hegseth about other aspects of women in the military as well, including whether he thinks single women in the military should have access to birth control.

Secretary of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth, left, and Senator Liz Warren, right. (Getty)

Hegseth, an advocate for getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military, was slammed by Warren in her letter for calling for the firing of “any general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI woke s–t,” during a podcast interview in November. 

Warren added that in addition to potentially firing Defense Department officials promoting DEI, she also detailed fears about Hegseth’s willingness to help aid Trump in going after his political opponents. In one of Warren’s questions, she requested that Hegseth share his thoughts on the 2020 election and whether he believes Trump won, or lost fairly. 

At one point in the letter, Warren highlighted that Hegseth had been removed from President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 because of concerns he was “an insider threat” following reports that his tattoo with the words “Deus Vult,” was allegedly a “Christian expression associated with right-wing extremism.”

AMERICAN HEROES MAKE POWERFUL MOVE AHEAD OF HEARING FOR TRUMP’S PENTAGON PICK

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 the Russell building on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)  (Tom Williams)

Other sections seek to harp on Hegseth’s alleged unwillingness to work with allies, including those within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Warren suggested Hegseth will not adequately support considering his “skepticism” over aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Warren devoted an entire line of questioning to whether Hegseth will “undermine” veterans’ benefits, and questioned what Hegseth might do to the Department of Defense Education Activity, the part of the agency that educates troops’ children.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump Transition spokesperson Bran Hughes said that Hegseth “looks forward to answering Senators’ questions and detailing his many qualifications at his hearing tomorrow.”

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“Senator Warren’s letter to Pete Hegseth is exactly what the American voters rejected on November 5,” Hughes said. “Instead of focusing on ‘woke’ policies that have weakened our national defense, the voters gave a mandate to rebuild our military, and that’s exactly what a reform-minded Secretary of Defense like Pete Hegseth will do. Senator Warren’s letter proves why ideologically driven college professors have no place driving their social agenda at the Department of Defense.”

Efforts to reach Warren for comment for purposes of this story were unsuccessful. 

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate are reviving a push to require that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) beds be filled before illegal immigrants are released from custody – a bill named after 12-year-old murder victim Jocelyn Nungaray.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, are re-introducing the “Justice for Jocelyn Act.”

The bill would require that every ICE detention bed be filled before any releases of illegal immigrants into the interior. Even if they are filled, the bill would require DHS to exhaust all additional measures before releasing migrants into the interior, including enrolling them in continuous GPS monitoring via ankle bracelets or similar devices.

CRUZ VOWS TO MAKE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION PUSH AT GOP CONVENTION AFTER CHILD MURDERED: ‘SPEAKING FOR JOCELYN’ 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images/File)

The bill is named for Nungaray, who was killed last year. Two illegal immigrants face capital murder charges and are accused of luring her under a bridge, tying her up and killing her before throwing her body into a river. 

Officials confirmed they were in the country illegally. One arrived in March and the other in May. Both were released on an order of recognizance pending their immigration court hearings. 

“Last year, I began the fight for justice for 12-year-old Jocelyn. The aliens responsible for her murder crossed the southern border illegally and should have been detained by ICE,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

“Democrats’ reckless open-border policies prevented ICE and Border Patrol agents from acting, left thousands of detention center beds empty, and allowed these criminals to go free. Congress should act with urgency to ensure no other American family ever has to endure what Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, has been forced to face,” he said. “Standing alongside Alexis in this fight for justice has been an immense privilege, and I will not stop fighting until our communities are safe and justice is served.”

“I am proud to join my Texas colleague in the Senate, Senator Ted Cruz, in reintroducing the Justice for Jocelyn Act,” Nehls said in a statement. “Jocelyn Nungaray’s death was entirely preventable. The Justice for Jocelyn Act would improve the detention and tracking of illegal aliens released into the United States and would put the safety of the American people first.” 

DA TO SEEK DEATH PENALTY AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACCUSED IN NUNGARAY MURDER CASE 

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas (Nathan Howard/File)

“Congress, meaning the House and Senate, must immediately pass this legislation and get it to President Trump’s desk as soon as possible,” he said.

The bill is one of a number of bills being introduced in Congress that focuses on cracking down on illegal immigration. Last week, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft-related crimes. It has also advanced in the Senate.

SENATE DEMS TO JOIN REPUBLICANS TO ADVANCE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL NAMED AFTER LAKEN RILEY

On Monday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, re-introduced “Sarah’s Law,” which would require the detention by ICE of illegal immigrants charged with killing another person. 

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The incoming Trump administration is expected to launch a “historic” mass deportation operation when it enters office next week, and it will have the backing of Republicans in the House and Senate. 

A committee of the California legislature has indefinitely postponed its planned first hearing in a special session called to “Trump-proof” the state and bolster its legal defense in case of attacks from the incoming administration.

KCRA first reported that the Assembly Budget Committee’s Tuesday hearing, is now off the docket.

The committee’s chairman, Democratic Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, represents one of the districts impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires and is currently under evacuation orders. Democrats were previously hoping to have legislation passed by Inauguration Day.

LA COUNTY CUT FIRE BUDGET WHILE SPENDING HEAVILY ON DEI, WOKE ITEMS: ‘MIDNIGHT STROLL TRANSGENDER CAFE’

California’s Capitol in Sacramento (Visions of America/Joe Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

State lawmakers also made changes to legislation connected to former President Trump on Friday as the Los Angeles wildfires continue to ravage the region. They suggested creating a website to track lawsuits between California and the Trump administration, set guidelines for using $25 million in extra funding for the state Department of Justice’s legal battles, and proposed $25 million in grants for immigration services.

“This Special Session funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda. During the last Trump Administration, California successfully defended reproductive freedoms, attacks on our immigrant communities, LGBTQ civil rights, and threats to our environment, from the unlawful assault launched by the Trump Administration,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener said in a press release. 

‘IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME … TO FIGHT DONALD TRUMP?’: CA HOUSE SPEAKER DODGES FIERY QUESTIONING FROM REPORTER

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)

Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special legislative session to bolster the state’s legal fund in case of attacks from the Trump administration. 

Trump hit back at Newsom after the announcement, saying on his Truth Social account, “He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election.”

Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice filed 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million. In one case, the federal government was ordered to repay California nearly $60 million in public safety grants, according to Newsom’s office.

‘DEVASTATING’: CALIFORNIA HAD RECORD RAINFALL LAST YEAR, BUT LACKED INFRASTRUCTURE TO STORE IT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tours the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on Jan. 8, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

While California filed over 100 lawsuits, Trump’s administration only brought four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, the Trump DOJ sued over three sanctuary state laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and over California’s state-level net neutrality law.

In 2019, Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards, attempting to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions rules. The Trump administration also sued California over its controversial independent contractor law, AB 5, in 2020. 

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Fox News Digital did not hear back from Newsom’s office for comment by press deadline.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has selected four top Republican allies to be part of his unofficial cabinet as he looks to make his own impression on the upper chamber after taking the mantle from longtime GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 

The new Republican leader has tapped Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to advise him in his new role and sit in on key leadership meetings. 

McConnell had his own group of personally selected senators that joined him for meetings. At times, that included Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

SCHUMER DIRECTS DEMS TO TO PUT PRESSURE ON TRUMP NOMINEES AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

Thune succeeded McConnell as Republican leader. (Getty Images)

Weekly leadership meetings are also routinely attended by elected leaders in the conference, such as Senate President Pro-Tempore Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Senate Republican Conference Chairman Cotton, Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Republican Conference Vice Chair James Lankford, R-Okla., and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C.

Each of the members of Thune’s new informal team brings their own style and priorities along with them. 

Marsha Blackburn

Blackburn brings with her the advantage of her ties to President-elect Trump and his sphere of influence. The Tennessee Republican has her finger on the pulse of the “Make America Great Again” movement and, in this capacity, can help keep the leadership team be as plugged in as possible. 

She can also attempt to bridge any gaps between the group of conservative Republicans that clashed with McConnell, namely Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, as Blackburn has aligned with them on several issues. 

In a statement, Blackburn told Fox News Digital, “My role helping Leader Thune will be to move forward the President’s nominees and ensure we are championing the President’s agenda in the Senate to Make America Great Again.” 

SENATE GOP TEES UP CONFIRMATION HEARING BLITZ IN EFFORT TO MEET AMBITIOUS TRUMP TARGETS

Each of Thune’s informal advisers bring different strengths to the table.  (Reuters)

Steve Daines

Fresh off of a stint as chairman of the NRSC, during which he helped elect a Republican Senate majority, Daines will also bring to the table his great relationship with Trump and the team he’s bringing with him to the White House. The senator also sits on the finance committee, which will be front and center during the tax debate that Trump has made one of his top priorities. Republicans are planning to extend key provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as they are set to expire this year. Daines will be a key medium between the committee and leadership and they work to accomplish Trump’s agenda. 

Also sitting on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), the Montana Republican brings key knowledge of the intersection of policy and politics, as Trump and the GOP set out to accomplish as much as they can in the first 100 days of his administration—including action on several global issues. 

“Senate Republicans are ready to get to work enacting President Trump’s agenda of a secure border, lower taxes, safe cities, lower prices, affordable gas, an end to reckless spending and strong national security. I look forward to working with Leader Thune and the rest of our colleagues to deliver these wins to the American people,” Daines said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

Mullin is a key ally of Trump who is well connected in both the House and Senate. (Markwayne Mullin for Senate )

Markwayne Mullin

Mullin has made himself invaluable to his colleagues as a key link between Trump, the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was the first senator to publicly endorsed Thune for the leader role, and he previously was part of his deputy whip team. His solid relationship with Trump is expected to help guide relations between the chamber and the incoming president. Notably, Mullin was one of Trump’s 2024 campaign surrogates, traveling with both the president-elect and Vice President-elect JD Vance, as well as assisting Republican Senate candidates across the country. 

“It’s an honor to be included at Senator Thune’s leadership table,” Mullin told Fox News Digital in a statement. “From border security and slashing regulations to funding our military and extending tax relief, Leader Thune is the right person to lead the Senate effort to implement President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda. I’m proud to be in this fight with him. As the Leader often says, ‘if someone else is in a better position to take the shot, you always make the extra pass.’ That’s how we intend to govern this majority. It’s all hands on deck to deliver for the American people, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve.”

‘DELAYING AND OBSTRUCTING’: TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN HITS BACK AS DEM CALLS FOUL ON TRUMP CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

John Cornyn

As a 22-year veteran senator and a former leadership member, Cornyn brings crucial experience to Thune’s leadership team. The Texas senator is a member of the all-important budget committee and is expected to make passing a budget and reining in federal spending one of his priorities in this capacity. He’s also a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus, which will help facilitate the new advisory board announced by Trump. DOGE will be led by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Now at the helm of the Senate, House and presidency, Republicans have their best shot in years to dictate spending levels. 

Cornyn has spent more than 22 years in the Senate. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In recent floor remarks, Cornyn outlined his priorities for this Congress. “We have an opportunity to pass huge wins for President Trump and more specifically, for the American people, and that comes first through the budget reconciliation process. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he emphasized. 

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“We can’t let this go to waste by not taking this occasion to finally address our skyrocketing debt,” he said. 

Cornyn concluded, “We have a lot of work to do, but this is an incredible opportunity that I trust we will not squander.”

A man seen in a viral video being confronted and apprehended by Los Angeles residents, and who was eventually arrested by police with an alleged blowtorch, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources tell Fox News.

Los Angeles police took the man into custody after a group of local residents grabbed him near the Kenneth Fire, allegedly carrying a blowtorch, according to video from Fox 11 Los Angeles.

He is shown holding a torch head and a yellow fuel tank, before being tackled to the ground by at least five residents.

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: HOMEOWNERS CONFRONT MAN THEY BELIEVE IS ARSONIST AS CELEBRITIES FUEL FIREBUG THEORIES

Pedestrians help a firefighter stretch a hose as an apartment building burns, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, California. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

ICE sources tell Fox that he is a Mexican illegal immigrant named Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva. He is in custody due to a probation violation and has not been charged with arson. 

ICE intends to place a detainer request on him – a request that ICE be notified on any release so he can be transferred into their custody and potentially deported. However, they do not expect it to be honored as California is a “sanctuary” state that largely limits local and state law enforcement cooperation with the agency.

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

A still image from home security video appears to show a Los Angeles man holding a torch head and fuel tank before residents tackled him and called police as wildfires rage across Southern California. Police said he was taken into custody but could not confirm he was connected to any fires. (FOX 11 Los Angeles)

A Los Angeles law enforcement source had previously told Fox News Digital that it’s not uncommon to find people have intentionally set wildfires.

“When you have wind conditions like this, it brings out the serial arsonists, who are sickos,” the source said. There is no confirmed connection between arson and any of the fires as of last week.

Illegal immigration has been a top political issue and the Trump administration is expected to launch a massive deportation operation once it takes office next week.

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Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Some states have said they will cooperate with the operation, while other state and local officials say they will not, and could even actively resist those efforts.

Recently, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to work with the incoming administration on deporting those who are violent criminals. But the Trump administration may have the hardest job in California, where there is not only a sanctuary state law in place but also efforts in local jurisdictions to go even further, forbidding ICE cooperation.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Matt Finn contributed to this report.

Country music star Carrie Underwood is expected to perform at President Trump’s inauguration, Fox News Digital has learned. 

A Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital Underwood will perform during the swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on Jan. 20. 

Carrie Underwood’s Tennessee home caught fire on Sunday night. (Getty Images)

Underwood, the 2005 “American Idol” winner, will be singing “America the Beautiful” and will be joined by the Armed Forces Choir and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club. 

Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” after Vance takes his Oath of Office and before Trump takes the Presidential Oath of Office. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

A federal judge cleared the way for the release of the special counsel report on President-elect Trump’s election interference case on Monday.

Judge Aileen Cannon approved the release of the first of two volumes of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in her Monday ruling. Cannon will consider releasing the second volume, which relates to Trump’s handling of classified documents, on Friday.

Smith suspended his investigations into Trump after the president-elect secured his return to the White House in November.

Cannon had issued a temporary block on releasing Smith’s reports last week after Trump co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed an emergency motion to block the reported imminent release of Smith’s final report.

JUDGE GRANTS JACK SMITH REQUEST TO DISMISS JAN. 6 CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP, APPEAL DROPPED IN FLORIDA DOCS CASE

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

Cannon prohibited the release of the report as she considered Nauta and De Oliveira’s claims.

Cannon said Smith was “temporarily enjoined” from “releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice.”

FORMER TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS WANT JUDGE TO BLOCK SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REPORT

She ultimately ruled against the pair on Monday, however, arguing that there was “insufficient basis” to grant an injunction against releasing the report.

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon. (US Courts) (US Courts )

It is customary for special counsels to release a final report, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached. In Smith’s case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump’s status as president-elect and long-standing Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. 

JUDGE GRANTS JACK SMITH REQUEST TO DISMISS JAN. 6 CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP, APPEAL DROPPED IN FLORIDA DOCS CASE

Trump has blasted Smith’s work as a “fake report.

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith recently requested to dismiss charges he brought against Trump in a case alleging his interference in the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Attorney General Merrick Garland has opted to release the reports from two other special counsels whose investigations concluded during his tenure – publishing both the summary reports submitted by John Durham, who was tapped by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019 to review the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the final report from Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney whom he tapped in 2023 to investigate President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report

A wife working to bring her husband home from years of wrongful detainment in Afghanistan saw heartening progress over the weekend. 

After traveling to Mar-a-Lago with no promise that anyone with President-elect Donald Trump’s team would see her, Anna Corbett had a meeting with incoming National Security Advisor Michael Waltz for more than an hour and received a phone call from President Biden. 

“I have heard from several that President Trump is concerned about our family. He knows that we are down here. He knows about our situation, and is very concerned,” Corbett revealed to Fox News on Monday morning. 

On Sunday, Waltz came to Corbett’s hotel and met with her for over an hour, she said. 

“I am extremely encouraged, and the contrast of my experience is just mind-blowing right now.” 

Corbett said she “absolutely believe[s]” the Trump administration will bring her husband home, but “the details are unclear.” 

WIFE OF AMERICAN DETAINED IN AFGHANISTAN HEADS TO MAR-A-LAGO TO BEG TRUMP TO TAKE UP PRISONER SWAP

Anna Corbett, center, and her daughter traveled to Mar-a-Lago this weekend and met with incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. (Anna Corbett )

Corbett spoke with Fox News Digital on Friday as she was heading down to Mar-a-Lago on a last-minute flight to beg for a meeting with Trump. 

Biden had not called her once, she said, in the two and a half years since her husband was detained, until this weekend. 

She told Fox News Biden was “very kind” and “empathetic,” but the call was “absolutely devastating” because it was clear he was not going to bring Ryan Corbett home in his final days in office. 

“What I heard him say is he is not bringing Ryan home,” she said.

Since Ryan Corbett was detained two and a half years ago, he “just keeps missing milestones,” according to Anna Corbett. One of their three kids recently shot his first buck while hunting, another was elected prom queen and another graduated from high school. 

The Corbett family lived in Afghanistan, where Ryan Corbett operated a business prior to the Taliban takeover in 2021. 

“We love the people, and had to evacuate when the Taliban took over, but Ryan kept his business open, and that’s why he returned to Afghanistan,” said Anna Corbett. 

In August 2022, Ryan Corbett and a German business partner returned to Afghanistan to train new hires for their business that offered consulting services and lending. Both were detained by the Taliban, and since then, Anna Corbett has had short calls with him about every two weeks as his condition in prison has deteriorated. 

The White House on Sunday confirmed Biden spoke with Corbett’s family, along with the families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi – who have also been unjustly held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2022.

Anna Corbett, second from right, has been working to secure the release of her husband Ryan since his detainment in Afghanistan in 2022. (Anna Corbett)

US IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH TALIBAN TO SWAP AMERICANS IN AFGHANISTAN FOR PRISONER IN GUANTANAMO

White House officials noted that over the last four years, Biden brought home more than 75 Americans unjustly detained around the world. All Americans detained before the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021 have returned home, according to the White House.

“Globally, President Biden and his team have worked around the clock, often in partnership with key allies, to negotiate for the release of Americans held hostage or unjustly detained abroad so that they can be reunited with their families, and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the term,” according to the statement.

Reports broke last week that the Biden administration was negotiating with the Taliban to swap three U.S. citizens being held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner alleged to have been a close associate of Usama bin Laden. 

Ryan Corbett was detained in 2022 while traveling for business. (Anna Corbett )

The deal seemingly stalled, as a senior Taliban official told The Guardian the group would rather wait to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration.

Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy last week he would consider a prisoner swap but seemed skeptical. 

“I haven’t looked at it,” Trump said Thursday. “I have not been in favor of the trade, but I’ll be taking a look tomorrow. We’ll announce something tomorrow.” 

Despite the detentions, the U.S. remains the largest financial supporter of Afghanistan, having offered the nation around $3 billion since the 2021 withdrawal. 

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The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July 2024, involve exchanging suspected senior al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for U.S. citizens Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022.

The Taliban has long sought the release of Rahim, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba since 2008, because the Pentagon believes he was a close associate of bin Laden. 

In November 2023, the Guantánamo Bay prison review board cited Rahim’s work for senior al Qaeda members, and his participation in attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, as reasons to keep him in custody.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., instructed his caucus not to hold back when it comes to confirmation hearings beginning this week for some of President-elect Trump’s nominees for top roles. 

During last week’s caucus lunch, Schumer said these hearings will be an opportunity for them to grill Trump’s choices and ask them questions about the incoming president’s agenda, a Senate Democratic source told Fox News Digital. 

In particular, the Democratic leader told his party that they should press nominees on how they specifically will help carry out some of the items Trump pledged to do during the campaign, the source said.

SENATE GOP TEES UP CONFIRMATION HEARING BLITZ IN EFFORT TO MEET AMBITIOUS TRUMP TARGETS

Schumer told Democrats not to go easy on Trump nominees. (Reuters)

As both parties compete for working-class Americans, who have been key deciding votes in the past several elections, Schumer and Democrats believe the confirmation hearings are a prime opportunity to put Trump’s selections on the record on crucial issues that matter to this group, according to the source. 

Additionally, Democrats are not planning on holding back when it comes to the backgrounds of nominees, they added. The caucus could use this time as a chance to lay the groundwork for any future blunders from Trump appointees, in which case they could say they warned colleagues early on. 

Confirmation hearings will kick off on Tuesday with Doug Collins being considered at 9 a.m. to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs. Pete Hegseth’s hearing to be Trump’s Defense secretary will follow at 9:30 a.m. 

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

A rigorous week of confirmation hearings will begin on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Some of the other Trump picks who will appear before committees this week are Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., for secretary of Homeland Security; CEO and founder of Liberty Energy Chris Wright for secretary of Energy; and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of State. 

Since Republicans will have a 53-seat majority in the Senate, they could manage to confirm Trump’s selections without any Democratic support. That is, if they can get all Republicans to back the incoming president’s choices. 

However, each nominee still needs to go through a confirmation hearing, during which members of both parties will question them. Many Democrats have already expressed their intentions to ask Hegseth, for example, about various allegations of fund mismanagement and sexual assault, which he has denied. 

‘DELAYING AND OBSTRUCTING’: TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN HITS BACK AS DEM CALLS FOUL ON TRUMP CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

Trump has set ambitious targets, including quick confirmation of nominees. (Getty Images)

Depending on their answers, hearings can play a role in whether a nominee ultimately gets confirmed. 

A member of the Armed Services committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has made clear her concerns about Hegseth. “I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense,” she wrote to the nominee last week.

“Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespect a diverse array of service members who are willing to sacrifice for our country,” she said. 

REPUBLICANS BLAST ‘JOKE’ SENTENCING OF TRUMP 10 DAYS BEFORE SWEARING IN

Warren has expressed her intent to thoroughly question Hegseth. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Armed Services ranking member, is also expected to pose questions on areas of concern. He met with Hegseth last week, but said afterward in a statement, “Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers.”

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“As with any nominee for this critical position, Mr. Hegseth must undergo the same high-level of scrutiny as prior Secretary of Defense nominees.”

While Hegseth’s confirmation process has been one of the most watched, it’s expected that Democrats will keep pressure on a number of Trump picks, with a handful of exceptions, such as for their colleague Marco Rubio, whom several Democrats plan to support. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Allstate insurance company for allegedly illegally collecting, using and selling the driving behavior data of over 45 million Americans.

Paxton filed the suit in the District Court for Montgomery County, Texas, on Monday morning. In the suit, he accuses Allstate, and its subsidiary data analytics company “Arity,” of secretly using driving data from over 45 million Americans’ mobile devices, in-car devices and vehicles to build the “world’s largest driving behavior database,” consisting of “trillions of miles” worth of data.

“Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid millions of dollars to install Allstate’s tracking software,” Paxton said in a Monday statement. “The personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law. Texans deserve better and we will hold all these companies accountable.”

Allstate is one of the largest auto, home and life insurance companies in the U.S. It is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois.

COURT ORDERS BIDEN ADMIN TO STOP SELLING BORDER WALL MATERIALS, WAS ‘ILLEGALLY SUBVERTING’ LAWS: TEXAS AG

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a rally featuring former President Donald Trump, Oct. 22, 2022, in Robstown, Texas. (AP Photo/Nick Wagner, File)

The suit said that in 2015, Allstate and Arity developed and integrated software into several third-party apps so that when a consumer downloaded these apps onto their phone, they unwittingly downloaded the tracking software. Once Allstate’s software was downloaded onto a customer’s device, they could monitor the consumer’s location and movement in real time.

According to the suit, the company used the driving data to justify raising customers’ insurance rates and further profited by selling the data to third parties, including other insurance companies.

“Defendants [Allstate and Arity] never informed consumers about their extensive data collection, nor did Defendants obtain consumers’ consent to engage in such data collection,” the suit said. “Finally, Defendants never informed consumers about the myriad of ways Defendants would analyze, use, and monetize their sensitive data.”

TEXAS AG SUES NCAA OVER TRANS INCLUSION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Tom Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of Allstate Corp., listens during the CEO Initiative event in New York, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The CEO Initiative brings together the CEOs of some of the worlds most enlightened companies to exchange best practices and leadership techniques, develop actionable solutions, and track tangible progress.  (Misha Friedman/Bloomberg)

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Because tens of millions of Americans, including millions of Texans, were never informed about their driving data being gathered, Paxton argues that Allstate’s data-gathering scheme violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the Data Broker Law, and the Texas Insurance Code’s prohibition on unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the insurance business.

He is asking the court to permanently block Allstate from continuing to gather and use customers’ data and to impose thousands of dollars in civil penalties per customer.

According to Paxton, this suit is the first enforcement action ever filed by a state attorney general to enforce a comprehensive data privacy law. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Allstate but did not immediately receive a response.

Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu is keeping silent after an illegal immigrant was caught using a taxpayer-funded migrant shelter in the Boston suburbs for criminal activity, including storing a weapon and nearly $1 million worth of drugs.

Wu failed to respond to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital, despite the migrant shelter involved being just a short drive from Downtown Boston.

Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, is facing criminal charges in federal court for illegally possessing an AR-15 and ammunition and over 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Boston 25 News also reported that Sanchez was also caught possessing cocaine with “an estimated street value of at least $750,000.” He is currently being kept in custody by state authorities.

BLUE STATE GOV CHANGES TUNE AFTER VOWING TO FIGHT TRUMP DEPORTATION EFFORTS, NOW HOPES HE FIXES BORDER

Mayor Michelle Wu gets emotional during the dedication of a new fire hose to the Boston Fire Department in memory of Michael Kennedy, who died while battling a massive Back Bay fire. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Sanchez was storing his weapon and drugs in his room at the Quality Inn Hotel in Revere, Massachusetts, which is a government-funded shelter for migrants.  

Boston and Massachusetts both have sanctuary policies in place and both Wu and Governor Maure Healey have vowed to resist President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.

Despite this, Healey expressed anger over the incident, saying, “It’s outrageous that this individual took advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity.”

Healey ordered an inspection of all shelters, starting with the Quality Inn Hotel in Revere, as well as a “full review” of the state’s shelter intake processes.

SIGNIFICANT MAJORITY BELIEVE TRUMP WILL ‘CONTROL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’: POLL

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport illegal criminal immigrants. (Getty Images)

“This further underscores our broken federal immigration system and the urgent need for Congress and the White House to act on a border security bill to prevent criminals from entering our communities,” said Healey. “The people of Massachusetts should not continue to have to deal with the impacts of federal inaction.”  

However, Wu, who has said Boston’s sanctuary policies “make everyone safer,” has remained silent. Although Fox News Digital spoke with Wu’s office, neither she nor her office have issued any response to Sanchez’s arrest. 

Since Trump’s 2024 electoral victory, Wu has doubled down on Boston’s sanctuary city status, saying police and city officials would not assist federal authorities with deportations.

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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, left, and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seen a recent spike in illegal immigrants arrested for sex crimes in the Boston area and throughout Massachusetts.

Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan has called out Wu for pledging resistance to the administration’s immigration agenda, telling Newsmax in November that “she’s not very smart.”

“President Trump is going to prioritize public safety threats,” said Homan. “What mayor or governor doesn’t want public safety threats out of their communities? I mean that’s your number one responsibility is to protect your communities and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

The Democratic National Committee has hired the social media staffers who ran the @KamalaHQ account during Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign, the organization announced Monday.

The social team will now focus on building a new @FactPostNews brand for the Democratic Party across X, Threads and Bluesky, with plans to expand to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. The account will seek to counter so-called “misinformation” from President-elect Trump’s administration in real time.

“The Republican disinformation machine is powerful, but we believe a stronger weapon is giving people the facts about how Trump and his administration are screwing over the American people,” DNC chief mobilization officer Shelby Cole told Axios.

The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Monday morning.

JAMES CARVILLE CONCEDES HE WAS WRONG ABOUT KAMALA HARRIS’ CHANCES: ‘IT WILL ALWAYS BE THE ECONOMY, STUPID’

The social media team behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign account is launching a new initiative with the Democratic National Committee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The team’s first set of marching orders will be to harass the confirmation process for Trump’s cabinet nominees, namely by highlighting their personal wealth, according to Axios. An internal memo calls the nominees “unfit billionaire picks.”

The new initiative comes as Democrats are re-evaluating their election strategies across the board following Trump’s commanding victory in November.

KAMALA HARRIS’ BUNGLED ANSWER ON ‘THE VIEW’ ABOUT BIDEN SEEN AS TURNING POINT FOR CAMPAIGN

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., conceded last week that Democrats should regard the 2024 election as a loss and reflect on what went wrong for the party after losing both the White House and Senate and failing to flip the House of Representatives.

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Schumer appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he was asked about Democratic strategist James Carville’s assertion that the reason Democrats lost was because of “the economy, stupid.”

“I told my caucus, and I’ll say it here, too… certainly it was a loss, but it’s also a challenge,” Schumer said of the election.

Schumer said Democrats faced “severe headwinds” to win four of seven contested Democratic Senate seats, though conceded that “we did some things wrong and we have to look in the mirror and see what we did wrong.”

President-elect Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans secured commanding victories across the board in November. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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“What we’re going to do is spend time talking to working families, showing them how much we care for them,” Schumer added. “And not just talk about legislation, but talk about the conditions that have made so many working families worried about their futures.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: A powerful, fiscally conservative political advocacy group is launching what it says is an eight-figure campaign to urge Congress “to protect prosperity” by renewing the sweeping tax cuts signed into law by President-elect Trump during his first administration.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the influential and deep-pocketed grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, is announcing that it’s spending $20 million to launch a wide-ranging campaign to urge the extension of Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

The campaign, which includes an ad blitz starting this week in all 50 states, was shared first with Fox News on Monday.

“Americans must unite and tell Washington now is not the time for higher taxes. By extending and improving the Trump tax cuts, we can make America more affordable, create greater opportunity, and reignite the American dream,” the narrator in one of the AFP ads argues.

TRUMP DETAILS STRATEGY TO RENEW HIS TAX CUTS

The 2017 law revised the nation’s tax code and gave a financial break to nearly all taxpayers. Many of the provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of this year, which would likely result in a tax increase for many Americans if Congress is unable to pass legislation to extend the cuts.

AFP says Congress is “facing a countdown to crisis that threatens the family budgets of virtually every American.”

The group also said that millions of Americans will pay an extra $1,500 or more next year in taxes if the cuts are not extended. 

AFP President and CEO Emily Seidel, highlighting that her group worked alongside Trump to pass the tax cuts last decade, called them the most pro-growth tax reform in American history.

TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO HUDDLE AT CAPITOL, WEIGH STRATEGY ON BUDGET, TAXES AND BORDER

“Renewing the TCJA must be a top priority so we can ensure this historic achievement continues to fuel decades of economic prosperity – and AFP is fully committed to mobilizing millions of people to ensure it gets done,” Seidel told Fox News in a statement.

AFP Vice President of Government Affairs Akash Chougule argued that the expiration of the tax cuts would “result in crippling tax increases for millions of families,” but “by extending and improving on the TCJA, we can make America more affordable, create greater opportunity, and reignite the American dream.”   

The group, and its aligned political wing, has a wide-ranging grassroots network across the country that it touts has reached nearly 30 million voters the past two years.

Americans for Prosperity, an influential conservative advocacy group, is launching a massive campaign to urge Congress to extend the Trump tax cuts. (Americans for Prosperity)

AFP says it will once again activate its grassroots army “to ensure pro-growth tax reform is Congress’ top priority” through “calls to lawmakers, community phone banks, and 20,000 contacts at constituent doors planned in February alone.”

The group says its campaign will also include more than 1,000 meetings at congressional offices, in-district events with their activists, roundtables with job creators and “shared testimonials from real American families and businesses who would suffer if Congress fails to renew the Trump tax cuts.”

Also being utilized: op-eds at the national and state levels, TV and radio interviews, direct mail efforts and AFP’s highly visible podcast.           

During his campaign last year to win back his old job in the White House, Trump repeatedly pledged to extend his tax cuts. 

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

No Democrats voted for the original tax cuts, which passed when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, as they do once again. 

While GOP House and Senate leaders are prioritizing extending the tax cuts, the massive price tag for extending them, which would likely even further balloon the nation’s $2 trillion deficit, is sparking divisions among congressional Republicans.

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While AFP had its differences with Trump during his first administration, it was a major supporter of his tax cuts as well as his bipartisan criminal justice reform law.

But the group’s political wing, which has long backed fiscally conservative causes and candidates, endorsed and supported Trump rival Nikki Haley in late 2023 as the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race got started. Haley was the last remaining rival to Trump, but after she ended her White House bid, AFP Action, the group’s political, wing concentrated its political efforts on down-ballot races.