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EXCLUSIVE – Ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, conservatives in the most populous red state in America are launching a new Texas Republican Leadership Fund (TRLF) to elect “true” conservatives to crucial leadership roles.

Despite being led by a strongly conservative Republican governor and having a commanding majority in the legislature, the last four Texas House speakers have been elected through the support of Democrats. The result has been Democrats exercising an outsized level of power and influence in the largest Republican state in the nation. An inside track with the Texas speaker also gives Democrats significant control over some of the most important issues affecting the nation, such as enforcement of Texas’ more than 1,250 miles of border.

Alex Fairly, the TRLF’s principal donor, told Fox News Digital it is time for that to change.

TRLF, which is officially registering with the Texas Ethics Commission Tuesday and launching with $20 million of initial funding, has the support of many of Texas’ most influential leaders who are intent on making the state the definitive leader in conservative politics.

ELON MUSK MOVES TO MAKE STARBASE, TEXAS, THE OFFICIAL ‘GATEWAY TO MARS’

A Texas flag attached to a bike waves in downtown Austin with the state Capitol dome in the background. (Reuters)

While he hopes that all Republicans in the Texas House will stand with the caucus to elect a conservative leader, Fairly said the $20 million will be available for use in the primaries and upcoming 2026 general election to hold elected officials “accountable” if they side with a Democratic-backed speaker.

According to Fairly, Texas conservatives are fed up with lukewarm Republicans cutting backroom deals with Democrats in the state legislature. And as Trump prepares to return to the White House in January, he said it will be more important than ever for Texas to support the new administration’s agenda through strong conservative leadership at the state level.

“Texas leads the way on many of the biggest conservative issues,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question that having a Republican majority in the House… has a massive impact on what happens across the country and supporting President Trump and his agenda.”

This comes amid an ongoing battle in the Texas legislature over who will be the next speaker of the House. The most recent speaker, Rep. Dade Phelan, who came to power in 2021, dropped out from consideration after facing intense criticism from Republicans for failing to pass key conservative priorities such as school choice and for his role in the unsuccessful impeachment effort against vocal Trump ally Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

TEXAS BLOCKS SCHOOL CHOICE AS OTHER REPUBLICAN-LED STATES GO ALL-IN

Speaker Dade Phelan presides over the House, Aug. 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Now, the Texas House of Representatives is set to elect a new speaker on Jan. 14. There are two frontrunners: Phelan ally Rep. Dustin Burrows and Rep. David Cook, who is backed by more hardline conservatives.

After going to the Democratic side of the aisle to help him secure the necessary 76 votes to win the speakership, Burrows declared the race over.  

However, Burrows’ attempt to bargain with Democrats has caused outrage from many conservatives, even including Donald Trump Jr., who said the move was not in line with voters’ election night “mandate” to Republicans. 

“It’s unbelievable what is happening in Texas right now,” he said on X. “There is a group of so-called Republicans cutting a deal with liberal Democrats to elect a speaker instead of uniting behind the Republican nominee, @DavidCookTexas! Unbelievable! Republicans have a mandate!”

LONGTIME DEMOCRAT TEXAS JUDGE SWITCHES PARTIES IN MONUMENTAL MOVE

Fairly said that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “carried the load for most of the nation” on the border security issue during the “darker years” of the Biden administration. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fairly, who is an entrepreneur and health care executive who has been a vocal supporter of school choice, says the race for the speakership is not set in stone. This time, he believes there is strong resolve among Texas Republicans to stop moderates from handing over control to the Democrats.

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“In spite of the progress made in this past election cycle toward… conservative priorities, there may still be work to do in the next primary cycle,” he said. “These funds will be available to help expand a true Republican majority.”

“Democrats don’t give their votes away for free, they want things in return,” he went on. “So, we end up with a House that’s not really run by the majority, it’s co-run by Democrats and a minority of Republicans. It just puts Texas in just such a weak position to accomplish what we could if we really were led by a majority of Republicans.”

“This time we’re bringing this out into the light.”  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Fox News Digital he plans to meet with Senate Democrats, in addition to Republicans, as he looks to shore up support for confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in President-elect Trump’s incoming administration. 

Asked by Fox News Digital whether he would be meeting with Democrats on the Hill as well, Kennedy, a former Democrat himself, said, “Oh yeah.” 

ELIZABETH WARREN WANTS ANSWERS FROM TRUMP OVER ELON MUSK ‘CONFLICTS OF INTEREST’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to reporters at the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, New York, on Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, Pool)

However, the former independent presidential candidate didn’t say which Senate Democrats he would meet. 

“I don’t know,” he said when asked by reporters. 

Kennedy kicked off his Capitol Hill meetings for his HHS bid on Monday, meeting with several Republicans. No Democratic senators were included in a list of dozens of lawmakers that he was set to meet with at the beginning of the week. 

DOGE CAUCUS FOUNDING MEMBER DEBUTS 2 BILLS TO KICK-START WASTE CUTS IN TRUMP TERM

Former President Trump shakes hands with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Last month, Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick. The two were initially running against each other in the 2024 election before Kennedy dropped out and endorsed Trump. 

Kennedy’s confirmation could face several obstacles, particularly when it comes to vaccines, agriculture and abortion. 

TOM COTTON DEMANDS DOD RECORDS ON BORDER-WALL MATERIAL SALES BE PRESERVED

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building in Washington on July 13, 2020. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He has been an outspoken skeptic of vaccinations, which some Republican and Democrat senators have pointed to as a concern. 

Kennedy is also pro abortion rights and has supported abortion access throughout his life, which has left some Republicans with questions, as HHS has some authority over regulations that apply to abortion and those who provide them. 

JUDGES BACKING OUT OF RETIREMENT AHEAD OF TRUMP TERM LEAVE GOP SENATORS FUMING

RFK Jr has been a top vaccine critic. (iStock)

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His critiques of the food industry and farming have given him some appeal with Democrats, but at the same time, Republicans representing agricultural states have stressed that they want to protect farmers and ranchers from certain burdensome policies and regulations.  

It’s unclear what exactly the coalition supporting Kennedy will look like in the Senate, whether he will have the support of all Republicans or if some Democrats will be needed to get him over the finish line. 

President-elect Trump dropped his most recent round of ambassador nominations on social media Tuesday night, before issuing a warning to Senate Republicans about any potential deals with Democratic lawmakers.

The Republican leader began by nominating Herschel Walker as his choice for U.S. ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Walker, a staunch Trump ally, ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 as a candidate from Georgia.

“I am pleased to nominate Herschel Walker as United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,” Trump’s post began. “Herschel has spent decades serving as an Ambassador to our Nation’s youth, our men and women in the Military, and athletes at home and abroad.”

Trump went on to call Walker, a former National Football League (NFL) player, a “successful businessman, philanthropist, former Heisman Trophy winner, and NFL Great.” The president-elect also commended Walker’s previous work in the first Trump administration.

TIDE TURNS FOR HEGSETH AS TRUMP’S DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE GOES ON OFFENSE

Former football player and political candidate Herschel Walker interacts with former president of the United States Donald Trump prior to Game Four of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Truist Park on October 30, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Michael Zarrilli/Getty Images)

“During my First Term, he served as Co-Chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Herschel has traveled to over 400 Military installations around the World, removing the stigma surrounding mental health,” Trump added. “He represented the United States at the 1992 Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. bobsled team.”
 
“Congratulations Herschel! You will make Georgia, and our entire Nation, proud, because we know you will always put AMERICA FIRST!”

Trump followed up his post about Walker to announce Nicole McGraw as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Croatia. The president-elect described McGraw as a “philanthropist, businesswoman, and World renowned art collector.”

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

Former NFL running back and former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker addresses the crowd at a rally for Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump at the Atrium Health Ampitheater on November 03, 2024 in Macon, Georgia. (John Moore/Getty Images)

“Nicole has brought fine art to the People through her work leading CANVAS Art Charities, and raised Millions of Dollars for neglected and abused children as a Board Member of Place of Hope,” Trump wrote. “She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a BFA in Art History and Studio Art. Congratulations Nicole!”

After issuing the nominations, Trump ended with a note warning Senate Republicans not to make deals with Democrats to “fast track” nominations this month.

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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“To all Senate Republicans: NO DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS TO FAST TRACK NOMINATIONS AT THE END OF THIS CONGRESS,” Trump wrote. “I won the biggest mandate in 129 years. I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in.”

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…

-Red state reveals plan to purchase auctioned border wall materials to store for Trump

–Electoral College vote moves Trump another step toward officially becoming president

-Vance will likely be 2028 front-runner, but RNC chair ‘excited about the bench that we have’

‘Numerous Federal Laws Were Likely Broken’

Former Rep. Liz Cheney is facing calls from GOP legislators that the FBI investigate her for “potential criminal witness tampering” related to her former role on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, a report released Tuesday by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight chairman, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., details.

“Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge,” the report, which was provided to Fox Digital, found. 

Cheney, in comments provided to Fox News Digital on Tuesday afternoon, defended her former committee’s investigation, while arguing Loudermilk’s report “intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence.”

“January 6th showed Donald Trump for who [he] really is – a cruel and vindictive man who allowed violent attacks to continue against our Capitol and law enforcement officers while he watched television and refused for hours to instruct his supporters to stand down and leave,” Cheney said to Fox News Digital….Read more

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) speaks at a town hall with Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on October 21, 2024 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Cheney joined Vice President Harris for stops Monday in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

White House

SCHOOL’S OUT: Jill Biden leaves job at Virginia community college ahead of White House departure…Read more

‘ALMOST A CRIMINAL ACT’: Biden taken to task for selling border wall materials …Read more

‘DEEPLY DISTURBING’: Biden administration pressuring African country to adopt lax abortion laws in exchange for foreign aid: report…Read more

‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: Biden clemency for convicted fraudsters met with outrage…Read more

THE BIG C: Biden’s clemency for doc in chemotherapy fraud scheme contrasts with longtime ‘Cancer Moonshot’ advocacy…Read more

LAST-DITCH EFFORT: Two new student debt relief programs from Biden barrel toward imminent release…Read more

Trump Transition

PUBLIC SHOWDOWN: Pete Hegseth may release sexual assault accuser from confidentiality agreement, setting up public showdown…Read more

‘UNOFFICIAL CO-PRESIDENT’: Elizabeth Warren wants answers from Trump over Elon Musk ‘conflicts of interest’…Read more

(KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

EXCITEMENT AND WORRY: Majority of Americans optimistic about Trump agenda, poll finds, despite tariff concern…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘PHENOMENALLY BAD IDEA’: Dems push drastic move that Mike Lee calls ‘a phenomenally bad idea’…Read more

IN THE DOGE HOUSE: Top Republican touts ‘real motivation’ behind House DOGE Caucus’ mission before first meeting…Read more

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: House AI task force says ‘unreasonable’ to expect immediate congressional action on AI in 250-page report…Read more

WHAT HAPPENED?: Republican demands info from State Department on delayed Afghanistan flights….Read more

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Getty Images)

SPARTZ FLY: House GOP lawmaker rejects committee assignments to dedicate time to DOGE…Read more

GETTING STARTED: DOGE Caucus senator introduces 2 bills to kick-start waste cuts in Trump term…Read more

BLOW TO SQUAD: AOC loses bid to be top Democrat on powerful House Oversight Committee…Read more

‘CONSEQUENCES’: GOP rebels plot mutiny against Johnson over government shutdown drama…Read more

Across America 

SWING-STATE CURVEBALL: Swing state governor’s race sees a twist as top Dem will run as independent…Read more

‘WE NEED SOLUTIONS’: Chicago community activist sounds off on migrant crisis: ‘I welcome’ Trump border czar…Read more

MOVING TO SANCTUARY CITIES: TN lawmaker proposes sending illegal migrants accused of minor crimes to sanctuary cities instead of deporting…Read more

NO TAX ON TIPS: Virginia Gov. Youngkin calls for end to taxes on tips ahead of legislative session…Read more

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

LOOKING AHEAD: ‘America First’ group says its voter-targeting made a difference as Trump picks several leaders for WH…Read more

‘UNDERMINED CLIMATE PROGRESS’: Environmental group launches six-figure battleground state ad buy against Newsom’s ‘climate leadership’…Read more

DRONES: Government agencies say joint investigation into drone sightings reveals no threat: ‘We recognize the concern’…Read more

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

Congressional leaders are unveiling their plan to avoid a partial government shutdown by the Friday federal funding deadline.

House Republicans released the 1,547-page text of a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 government funding levels to give lawmakers more time to agree on funding the rest of FY 2025.

It’s the second such extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), since FY 2024 ended on Sept. 30.

The bill extends FY 2024 government funding levels through March 14, while also including more than $100 billion in funding for disaster relief after storms Helene and Milton battered the U.S. Southeast just months ago. A further $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers is also included.

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

Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a deal to avoid a partial government shutdown. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The legislation has health care provisions aimed at lessening the influence of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and legislation aimed at revitalizing Washington, DC’s RFK Stadium and the surrounding area.

The bill will also make way for outbound investment legislation, to crack down on the flow of U.S. dollars benefitting Chinese military and technology firms overseas.

Recent drone activity on the Eastern Seaboard that’s alarmed private citizens and lawmakers alike also inspired negotiators to include a reauthorization and extension of the government’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program.

To offset some of that funding, House leadership staff said the bill will allow the Treasury to recoup some of the funds the federal government spent rebuilding the Baltimore Key Bridge.

It must pass the GOP-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate by Friday and hit President Biden’s desk by midnight that day to avoid a partial government shutdown.

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

It includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief aid (Adam Eugene Willis for Fox News Digital)

Last-minute negotiations delayed the bill’s expected Sunday release to Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, GOP hardliners are crying foul at Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for stacking what they anticipated would be a “clean” CR with unrelated policy riders.

“We talked with the speaker up until this weekend, the only discussion was ‘How long is this clean CR going to be?’ And suddenly we find out – I heard rumors over the weekend – they’re negotiating with a health care package that included PBM stuff,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting to bring forward a several-thousand-page bill that nobody’s read, even today, nobody’s even seen it, and then they expect us to vote on it without any debate.”

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

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., was among the conservatives criticizing the bill. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Allies of President-elect Trump had pushed for a short-term extension into the new year to give his administration, and a fully Republican Congress, more control over government funding.

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But some GOP lawmakers worried that fighting the previous year’s battles will risk derailing the forward-facing agenda Republicans hope to enact in Trump’s first 100 days.

“His agenda is going to be subject to a one-seat majority for some time, in the best case scenario, he gets about three or four seats. So we don’t have much margin for error,” one House Republican said.

Some lawmakers in the new Congressional DOGE Caucus are eyeing a crackdown on federal agencies work-from-home policies when Republicans take over the levers of power in Washington DC next year.

The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The caucus held its first meeting on Tuesday, which lawmakers described to Fox News Digital as largely “organizational.”

DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital the room was full of interested lawmakers.

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN

Trump announced Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would be leading the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.  (Getty Images)

“We had 29 sign up to come, so we met in a small conference room. But it was packed – we had over 60 members attend,” Bean said.

That included three Democrats – Reps. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Val Hoyle, D-Ore., and the first Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.

Documents given to attendees and shared with Fox News Digital encouraged lawmakers to think of what kind of DOGE goals would be “worthwhile lifts,” “quick wins,” “lower priority,” and “low-hanging fruit” and other ways to organize and prioritize initiatives.

Asked about what some “low-hanging fruit” for the panel would be, Bean said, “People going back to work.”

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS

“We have a problem,” Bean said. “[Federal workers] do a large amount of work from home. Which, that’s a debate – whether or not they’re productive working from home. But if they are working from home, we have between a 6 and 15% occupancy of billions of square foot of commercial buildings that we are spending billions on to upkeep and whatnot. Do we still need that much space if people aren’t using their offices?”

That was echoed by Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, who also attended the meeting.

Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., co-founded a corresponding caucus in the House ( (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

“You know, when you take out security, you’ve got one percent of the federal government workers who are going in to work on a regular basis, and we’re paying for 100% of them all to have office space,” Van Duyne said. “There’s lots of low hanging fruit. I just hope we can identify what those are.”

Bean also dismissed accusations from critics of Musk and Ramamswamy’s DOGE push that it was a way for Republicans to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits

“That is not the intent,” Bean emphasized. “It is not the intent [to be] cutting benefits, of either health or [veterans] or Social Security. But those benefits…have limited shelf life, unless we make reductions elsewhere. So the purpose is not to cut those things, but to safeguard them.”

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

Other lawmakers who attended said they came away enthusiastic about the group’s cost-cutting and efficiency goals.

“It was a good introductory meeting of the caucus, kind of challenging us all to think about our expectations and how we can help, you know, take ideas and move them in to bill form and work through the normal committee process to do that,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., said.

“I’ve even gotten a lot of ideas from constituents…I think this is a really great grassroots effort.”

Fox News Digital previewed the DOGE Caucus’s new logo, along with an email hotline for Americans to send suggestions on government efficiency. (Fox News Digital)

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House GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore, R-Utah, another DOGE Caucus co-chair alongside Bean and Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said “there’s a billion and a half ideas, and we need to make it so it’s actually actionable for Vivek and Elon.”

Both Bean and Moore indicated that the next steps for the caucus would be to split up into working groups targeting various aspects of DOGE’s mission.

The next caucus meeting is expected in January, Bean said.

An attorney advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slamming a New York Times report last week that claimed the Trump HHS secretary nominee sought to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for the polio vaccine.

“Contrary to hysterical media reports that the petition sought to make sure no polio vaccines would be available, the scope of the petition was quite narrow,” Aaron Siri, a close RFK Jr. adviser and partner at Siri & Glimstad LLP, told Fox News Digital. “It simply asked the FDA to require a proper trial for licensure for children of a novel polio vaccine.”

The New York Times reported Friday that Siri is “waging a war” against all vaccines, but Siri said the report “falsely claimed the petition sought to eliminate” the polio vaccine, “as if there is only one, and that our client sought to leave Americans without the choice to get vaccinated for polio.” 

RFK JR SET TO FACE ABORTION, VACCINE SCRUTINY IN SIT-DOWNS WITH SENATORS ON CAPITOL HILL

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing former President Donald Trump set off a wave of intense reactions from the mainstream media.  (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

“In reality, the petition sought to ensure the safety of one of the six existing licensed polio vaccines that we inject into our children three times before their first birthday,” he said.

The report came just days before RFK Jr. headed to Capitol Hill this week to meet with Senators, seeking support for his HHS confirmation.

The petition, filed in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) and not as an individual action by Siri, urged the FDA to suspend the polio vaccine IPOL for infants and children. ICAN’s request stems from concerns that IPOL, licensed in 1990 by Sanofi, was approved based on pediatric trials that, according to the FDA, evaluated safety for only three days after injection.

This is not the traditional polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk or Albert Sabin that many people are familiar with, Siri added. Instead, it is a product utilizing a different technology, where the polio virus is grown on monkey kidney cells that have been genetically altered to replicate indefinitely, similar to cancer cells. Traces of these cells are present in each vaccine dose.

BIDEN CLEMENCY ANNOUNCEMENT GETS MIXED REVIEWS ON CAPITOL HILL: ‘WHERE’S THE BAR?’

Nurse Lydia Fulton prepares to administer the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as well as a vaccine used to help prevent the diseases of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio at Children’s Primary Care Clinic in Minneapolis, MN, Friday April 28, 2017.  (Courtney Perry/For the Washington Post)

Another petition filed on behalf of ICAN in 2021 addresses 13 childhood vaccines containing aluminum adjuvants. According to the petition, a peer-reviewed study found discrepancies between the aluminum levels in these vaccines and the amounts listed on their FDA-approved labels. The petition calls on the FDA to verify and publicly release documentation proving the accuracy of the aluminum content or halt distribution until resolved — an issue critics say should not be controversial for products injected into infants.

“Currently, political labeling (pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine) is inadequate to encompass the realities of medical ethics, regulatory capture, and the influence of corporate money on health policy,” Siri said. “We must be able to raise valid questions about vaccine safety, efficacy and policy without fear that any deviation from the mantra ‘safe and effective’ will be smeared with epithets and outrage.”

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

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a listening session on youth vaping of electronic cigarette on Nov. 22, 2019 in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In the days since media outlets have reported about Siri’s petition, both Trump and RFK Jr. have said they support the polio vaccine, without specifying which one. RFK Jr. has expressed his skepticism of some vaccines, while supporting the use of others, in interviews during his 2024 presidential campaign run as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) slogan. 

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“Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied,” Katie Miller, the transition spokeswoman for Kennedy, said in response. 

Meanwhile, Trump said “everything should be looked at,” adding that he’s a “big believer in the polio vaccine,” during a Mar-a-Lago press conference Monday morning. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be asked to explain some of his beliefs about farming and food production by Republicans who are protective of the agricultural industry in their states. This could stand in the way of a smooth confirmation if he doesn’t manage to address their concerns. 

“They’ve got to be able to use modern farming techniques, and that involves a lot of things, not only really sophisticated equipment, but also fertilizers and pesticides. So, we have to have that conversation,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters. 

“I’m always going to stand up for farmers and ranchers.”

ELIZABETH WARREN WANTS ANSWERS FROM TRUMP OVER ELON MUSK ‘CONFLICTS OF INTEREST’

Some Senate Republicans want answers from RFK Jr. on agricultural beliefs before confirming him. (Reuters)

Hoeven told Fox News Digital he would need certain assurances from Kennedy to support him. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters he wants Kennedy “to understand that when I started farming in 1960, we raised 50 bushels of corn to the acre. Now, we raise on an annual average about 200 in Iowa. A lot more than that.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., speaks May 4, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

“And you can’t feed 9 billion people on the face of the earth [if] we don’t take advantage of genetic engineering.”

Before meeting with Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told reporters he planned to ask him about pesticide use. 

Afterward, it seemed Kennedy addressed any concerns, because Tuberville wrote on X, “Our meeting reaffirmed what I already knew: RFK Jr. is the right man to make sure our food is safe, bring transparency to vaccines and health care, and Make America Healthy Again.”

DOGE CAUCUS FOUNDING MEMBER DEBUTS 2 BILLS TO KICK-START WASTE CUTS IN TRUMP TERM

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. visits “The Story With Martha MacCallum” at Fox News Channel Studios Sept. 25, 2024, in New York City. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images)

While some Republicans are worried about the agricultural implications of Kennedy’s positions, his food safety stances are providing some level of appeal to certain Democrats, whose votes he could potentially need to be confirmed. 

A number of Democratic senators told Fox News Digital their interest was piqued by Kennedy’s thoughts on food regulations, but none said they had meetings scheduled yet. 

TOM COTTON DEMANDS DOD RECORDS ON BORDER-WALL MATERIAL SALES BE PRESERVED

John Hickenlooper expressed some interest in RFK Jr.’s food production beliefs.  (Anna Moneymaker)

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“His approach to food and nutrition is more direct and perhaps might be more successful than continuing the way we’ve been doing it,” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital.

“I’m definitely looking forward to him coming in and testifying.”

A representative for Kennedy did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.

FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican senator is introducing legislation to block the federal government from disposing of border wall materials after a controversy over the auctioning of border wall parts made headlines again.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing legislation to prohibit the use of federal funds “to deconstruct, dismantle, or otherwise render inoperable any segment of the physical barrier along the international border between the United States and Mexico.”

The bill would also bar the use of funds “to auction, sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any materials or supplies purchased or otherwise acquired by the Federal Government for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, or reinforcing a physical barrier along such border.”

‘STANDING BY TO HELP’: RED STATE REVEALS PLAN TO PURCHASE AUCTIONED BORDER WALL MATERIALS TO STORE FOR TRUMP

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The bill comes in response to the ongoing controversy over the auctioning of border wall materials by the Biden administration.

The Biden administration abruptly ended border wall construction in January 2021 after 450 miles had been built during the first Trump administration.

The auctioning of border wall parts began in 2023 with parts listed for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told media outlets the excess material had been turned over for disposition by the Army Corps of Engineers and was for sale.

Those auctions have continued, with officials in Arizona telling Fox News Digital that auctions have been occurring weekly for some time. The practice made headlines last week when The Daily Wire published video showing unused wall parts being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona even though the materials could be used by the next Trump administration. 

A furious President-elect Trump called the moves “almost a criminal act” and called on President Biden to “please stop selling the wall.” 

TRUMP CALLS FOR END TO BORDER WALL AUCTIONS: ‘ALMOST CRIMINAL ACT’ 

Sen. Bill Hagerty tours the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, Feb. 19, 2024. (Senate Republican Conference)

The president-elect also said he is working with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other Texas leaders to reacquire the materials.

“What they’re doing is really an act, it’s almost a criminal act,” he said. “They know we’re going to use it, and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it. And it’ll cost double what it cost years ago, and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re talking about a lot of, a lot of wall.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

A defense official told Fox News last week that the Pentagon has been disposing of excess wall construction in accordance with the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. That plan was submitted in March.

The official said that border states, including Texas, were given preference for materials and that the materials no longer belong to the U.S. government, adding the Defense Department has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of it.

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“Through our reutilization, transfer and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GovPlanet online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns.”

Hagerty’s bill would supersede any existing law, including the NDAA. His office says the NDAA provision was intended to encourage border wall construction.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

With just over a month left in office, top members of President Biden’s Cabinet are standing behind their past statements expressing support for his leadership and their belief that he is still fit for office — despite a year of controversy and debate over Biden’s ability to serve out his term.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cabinet officials and their departments, asking them if they believed President Biden was fit to serve, and if they stood by past statements of confidence in his ability to continue.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a statement in September, said that he has “full confidence in President Biden’s ability to carry out his job. 

“As I’ve said before, I come fully prepared for my meetings with President Biden, knowing his questions will be detail-oriented, probing, and exacting. In our exchanges, the President always draws upon our prior conversations and past events in analyzing the issues and reaching his conclusions,” he said.

BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE ‘MAN THAT WAS TOO OLD,’ SAYS BYRON YORK

On Monday, DHS said that the secretary stands by those comments.

President Joe Biden in attendance at the U.S. National Christmas Tree Lighting held outside the White House on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has called Biden “one of the most accomplished presidents in American history and continues to effectively lead our country with a steady hand.”

“As someone who is actually in the room when the President meets with the cabinet and foreign leaders, I can tell you he is an incisive and extraordinary leader,” Raimondo said.

A spokesperson said this week that Raimondo stands by those comments.

Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary told Fox in September: “As Secretary Austin has said before, he has watched President Biden make tough national security decisions and seen his commitment to keeping our troops safe – he has nothing but total confidence in our Commander-in-Chief.”

This week, Singh said those comments still stand.

Biden’s mental acuity was a subject of speculation even preceding him being sworn into office, but discussion about its implications came to a head this year after what was widely seen as a disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump that seemingly initiated the process to replace him on the Democratic ticket in the race for the presidency.

BIDEN’S AGE MUCH MORE OF A LIABILITY THAN TRUMP’S, POLL FINDS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Biden eventually dropped out of the race, handing the nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris, who would in turn go on to lose in the November election against President-elect Trump. But while Biden said he would not seek re-election, he chose not to step down from office. 

The subject of Biden’s acuity re-emerged in September when he handed over the reins of a Cabinet meeting to first lady Jill Biden. But it was then that Cabinet members backed Biden and said they had no concerns about his ability to serve. 

U.S. first lady Jill Biden speaks while attending her first cabinet meeting during her husband President Joe Biden’s administration at the White House on September 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra — one of Biden’s staunch defenders — said Biden “has done more as president for this country than any other president whom I have worked with since 1992.”

“So yes, not only can he do the job, but he has been doing it,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “And we are fortunate to have someone who continues to use all of his experience to take us further. If you recall where we were four years ago, the depth of a pandemic, Americans losing their jobs, Americans losing their health care. Today, more Americans are employed than ever before. Today, more Americans have health coverage than ever before. No President in the history of this country has ever placed 700 million vaccines in the arms of Americans to keep them alive and keep them healthy. The result? Our economy is healthy.”

“Is he fit? He’s proving it,” Becerra added. 

An HHS spokesperson said that Becerra’s comments stand.

BIDEN IS SAYING ‘SCREW YOU’ TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, BEN FERGUSON ARGUES

Spokespersons for other agencies that had previously commented, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture, also said they stood by those comments.

As it stands, President Biden will finish his term on Jan. 20 when President-elect Trump is sworn into office.

President Joe Biden and his successor President-elect Donald Trump.  (Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden spoke this week at a DNC holiday celebration in Washington, D.C. During his remarks he argued that the country is in a “resoundingly” better position today than when he and Harris entered the White House.

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“The one thing I’ve always believed about public service, and especially about the presidency, is the importance of asking yourself, have we left the country in better shape than we found it? Today, I can say with every fiber of my being, of all my heart, the answer to that question is a resounding yes,” he said.

He went on to encourage staffers to “stay engaged” in the years ahead.

“You’re not going anywhere, kid,” Biden said of Harris. “Because we’re not gonna let you.”

An environmental group is calling out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s climate leadership in a six-figure battleground state ad buy which claims his policies in California have “significantly undermined climate progress.”

While running for governor in 2018, Newsom said he would shut down the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in California – the location of the largest methane leak in U.S. history. “I’m fully committed to doing that,” Newsom told a reporter when asked if he would shut down the facility. “The question is how quickly can we do that, but my commitment is to make that happen. We need to be more aggressive than we have been.”

Newsom added that he was “unequivocally” committed to shutting it down, but environmental groups are calling out the governor after allowing the facility to remain open six years later. 

Food & Water Action, the political and lobbying arm of Food & Water Watch advocating against climate change, announced on Monday a $100,000 ad buy against Newsom across four battleground states – Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Michigan.

GAVIN NEWSOM GRILLED OVER HEFTY PRICE TAG TO HELP ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ CALIFORNIA: ‘TOTAL WASTE’

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference where he signed legislation related to oversight of oil and gas wells. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

The ad buy specifically targets Newsom’s leadership on the climate, specifically for not following through on his campaign promise regarding the Aliso Canyon facility.

CALIFORNIA REPARATIONS BILLS KILLED AS NEWSOM SOUGHT TO AVOID APPEARING ‘TOO PROGRESSIVE’

“Americans are looking for leadership to resist Trump’s assault on our climate. Someone who follows through and won’t back down,” the ad says. “Gov. Newsom promised to shut down Aliso Canyon, the site of the largest gas blowout in U.S. history. A public health disaster. But his public utilities commission is considering keeping it open indefinitely – just like the oil and gas industry wants. Climate leadership? We’re looking for it.” 

However, in a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Daniel Villaseñor, spokesperson for Newsom, said that “the Governor’s energy policy is ambitious, not reckless.” 

“We are committed to safely closing Aliso Canyon without harming working families with skyrocketing utility bills,” the spokesperson said. “No governor has done more to accelerate our transition to clean and renewable energy, but it would be irresponsible to close Aliso Canyon before demand for natural gas declines. That’s a recipe for precisely the same price spikes we’ve seen in the gasoline market.”

A woman holds a sign while attending a public hearing on a massive natural gas leak, on Jan. 16, 2016, in Granada Hills, near Porter Ranch, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Villaseñor added that Newsom “wants to see Aliso Canyon phased out, but not at the cost of enormous price increases for working families and our ability to keep the lights on.” The California Public Utilities Commission is planning to meet on Dec. 19 to discuss the future of the facility.

The environmental group claims that Newsom is trying to appear as a climate change champion, but that his record in California suggests otherwise.

“Governor Newsom wants to position himself as a national leader on climate and in opposing Trump, but he can’t be a credible national leader if his own house is not in order,” Mitch Jones, deputy director of Food & Water Action, said in a press release. 

“While Newsom has taken some important steps on oil drilling, other policies have significantly undermined climate progress. These include undermining rooftop solar, embracing industry-backed plans like dirty biogas and carbon capture, and failing so far to keep his promise to close Aliso Canyon,” Jones added.

While there is still a push from environmental groups to shut down the facility, it remains California’s largest underground natural gas storage facility and its operation has helped the state avoid potential energy price increases, according to the Energy Information Administration.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a top surrogate for the Biden campaign. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium)

The ads were notably launched in battleground states amid months of speculation that Newsom could potentially launch a presidential bid in 2028.

Newsom was a top surrogate for President Biden during his re-election bid, and was floated as a leading candidate to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket before the president dropped out of the race. 

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The governor’s second term in Sacramento will finish at the end of next year, right around the time the 2028 presidential election will start to heat up.

A majority of Americans say they are optimistic about the polices President-elect Trump will pursue in his incoming administration, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.

The poll found that 53% of Americans are either very or somewhat optimistic about Trump’s second term. That is a slight rise from the weeks prior to his first term, when just 50% of Americans said they were optimistic. The only segment of Americans who are less optimistic about Trump’s second term than they were about his first are Democrats, with just 10% saying they look forward to the next four years.

“It should come as no surprise there is a stark partisan divide on the Trump agenda. The real question is how these policies will affect American families, especially among those who voted for Trump in 2024,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

The poll also found that Trump’s least popular policy is his tariff agenda, with 47% of respondents saying they expect tariffs will hurt their family and just 23% saying they expected it to help. One of Trump’s most popular polices is his plan to eliminate income tax for certain wages, with 48% of respondents saying the plan would help their family, compared to just 15% who say it would hurt.

FORMER POLLSTER ANN SELZER HITS BACK AT CRITICISMS OVER IOWA POLL: ‘THEY ARE ACCUSING ME OF A CRIME’

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

Monmouth conducted the poll from Dec. 5-10, surveying 1,006 U.S. adults via phone interviews and online surveys. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.9%.

The poll comes as Trump is cruising toward his second inauguration and has begun targeting perceived enemies in the media. Trump on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines register and pollster Ann Selzer. The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs committed “brazen election interference” and fraud by publishing a final 2024 presidential poll showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading him in Iowa. Trump ultimately won the state by 13 points.

SHOCK POLL HAS HARRIS LEADING TRUMP IN IOWA WITH 3-POINT SHIFT TOWARD VICE PRESIDENT IN RED STATE

Pollster J. Ann Selzer announced she was ending her career of election polling after President-elect Donald Trump’s win. (Getty Images/ The Bulwark Podcast via YouTube screenshot)

The lawsuit was filed Monday night in Polk County, Iowa under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act and related provisions. It says it seeks “accountability for brazen election interference committed by” the Des Moines Register (DMR) and Selzer “in favor of now-defeated former Democrat candidate Kamala Harris through use of a leaked and manipulated Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted by Selzer and S&C and published by DMR and Gannett in the Des Moines Register on Nov. 2, 2024.” The lawsuit is also against the parent company of the Des Moines Register, Gannett, which also owns other publications, including USA Today.

Trump attorneys said Selzer had “prided herself on a mainstream reputation for accuracy despite several far less publicized egregious polling misses in favor of Democrats” and said she “would have the public believe it was merely a coincidence that one of the worst polling misses of her career came just days before the most consequential election in memory, was leaked and happened to go against the Republican candidate.”

President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated a second time on Jan. 20, 2025. (Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

“The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” the lawsuit states, adding that “defendants and their cohorts in the Democrat Party hoped that the Harris Poll would create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris in the final week of the 2024 Presidential Election.” 

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“Instead, the November 5 election was a monumental victory for President Trump in both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote, an overwhelming mandate for his America First principles, and the consignment of the radical socialist agenda to the dustbin of history.” 

The lawsuit notes that Selzer, after more than 35 years in the industry, “retired in disgrace from polling less than two weeks after this embarrassing rout.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

The hard work and vision of a top policy and advocacy group in the America First movement helped make the difference in the 2024 presidential election, as several of its chairmen prepare to join the new Trump administration, a top official said.

America First Works executive director Ashley Hayek told Fox News in a Monday interview that her group has succeeded in focusing on popular policies from the first Trump administration and bringing those to state governments.

As the 2024 race heated up, Hayek said, America First Works turned to voter turnout as its plan to continue the prevalence of the political movement’s message.

“How do we educate people on these policies even more and mobilize voters?” she recalled asking.

“So we did a major study and analysis of the over 3,100 counties across the country, and we identified 21 key counties that we knew would be really important to be successful. And keep in mind that these are states that some were blue, some were red, some were purple, but some of the states were called in favor of Joe Biden in 2020 by only a 10,000 vote advantage,” she said.

MCCORMICK-CASEY RECOUNT TOPS $1 MILLION

President-elect Trump (Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

The initiative, nicknamed “Project 19” after the original 19 counties it targeted, sought to bring out to the polls low- and no-propensity voters. The latter is largely unique in the campaigning realm: seeking out voters technically considered “active” on state rolls but who have not voted in the past four cycles.

It not only targeted counties in swing states or reliably conservative states, but also in blue states like New York and New Jersey. In the latter, Trump came within four points of flipping it red for the first time this century, while a majority of New York’s counties voted for the Republican but were outweighed by the five boroughs, Erie County (Buffalo) and a couple others.

“I think it’s kind of no secret when you look at any of the major media markets and the counties that those touch – look at Phoenix – that’s Maricopa County, Las Vegas, it’s Clark County, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, these are major urban areas, but they all have collar counties as well that become battlegrounds for both parties.”

“And when we were on the ground, we would see, from time to time, Kamala Harris door-knockers, not as often as we thought we would,” Hayek said.

The group’s election integrity work led them to target voters in places like Bucks County, Pennsylvania – where the RNC had launched a lawsuit after early voters were turned away from the Doylestown elections office.

“We were able to message directly to voters saying, ‘Hey, stay in line, don’t get out of line,'” she said.

“We would call ahead to find out how long the line was for some of our elderly folks who couldn’t wait in line that long.”

“Those are the types of tactics just making it more accessible to vote. That’s what conservatives want to do. We want to make it easier to vote, harder to cheat. That’s been our mantra the entire time.”

FIVE KEY PA COUNTIES THIS ELECTION

President-elect Trump tapped AFPI’s Brooke Rollins as agriculture secretary. (Fox News)

Through its voter outreach operations, Hayek said her group’s canvassers noticed a shift in pro-Harris activity from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt – noting the latter had been President Biden’s strategy.

Hayek suggested Harris shifted to shoring up areas that had been in Biden’s pocket because her lack of “strategic messaging” was not resonating in those places as his once did.

A California native, Hayek said her group is also very involved in the Golden State despite its blue bent.

“I do think you’re seeing more of a cultural shift. I do think that we’re going to have to do things at a more local level in the state of California, and we’re going to have to start working together in a lot better ways,” she said.

With crime and taxation continuing to plague the elector-rich state, Hayek said she hopes to see America First Works’ work there continue to make inroads, similar to how former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., got relatively close to unseating Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York by focusing on issues and eschewing hyper-partisanship.

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President-elect Trump shakes hands with former Congressman Lee Zeldin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty  Images)

America First Works’ partner group, America First Policy Institute, has since seen at least four of its leaders tapped for roles in the new administration, including Zeldin.

Co-founders Brooke Rollins and Linda McMahon are agriculture and education secretary-designates, respectively, while Zeldin and fellow co-chairman ex-Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., are also primed for White House roles in 2025.

“I think this is a really exciting time not just for America First Works, but for all Americans,” Hayek said.

“And one of the things that was really important to us was having conversations with voters… so we made sure to collect information about what policies people cared about the most: is it the economy, is it the border, is it education? So to be able to continue those conversations throughout 2025, 2026 and beyond is going to be really important for this movement.”

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

The House task force on artificial intelligence (AI) is urging the U.S. government to aim for “a flexible sectoral regulatory framework” for the technology in a nearly 300-page report released Tuesday morning.

The report held up a light-touch approach to regulation, as well as “a thriving innovation ecosystem” as pillars that help keep the U.S. a leader in AI. “If maintained, these strengths will help our country remain the world’s undisputed leader in the responsible design, development, and deployment of AI,” the report read.

The task force is led by California Reps. Jay Obernolte, a Republican, and Ted Lieu, a Democrat, and was commissioned by House leaders as Congress scrambles to get ahead of rapidly advancing AI technology. However, the new report cautioned lawmakers to remain fluid to keep up with AI’s evolving nature while making several recommendations on how to approach a “carefully designed, durable policy framework.”

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

The House task force on AI released a 253-page report. (Getty images)

“It is unreasonable to expect Congress to enact legislation this year that could serve as its last word on AI policy,” the report read. “Policy will likely need to adapt and evolve in tandem with advances in AI.”

The task force also encouraged existing “sector-specific regulators within federal agencies” to “use their existing authority to respond to AI use within their individual domains of expertise and the context of the AI’s use.” While encouraging innovation, however, the report also cautions AI regulators to “focus on human impact and human freedom,” keeping people at the center of their decision-making.

More specific recommendations on government use encourage federal offices to use AI to streamline administration and other everyday tasks – but urge them to “be wary of algorithm-informed decision-making.” It also called for more transparency in government use of AI and the adoption of standards for government AI use. The report also acknowledged the harm AI poses to society, particularly in the arena of civil rights.

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

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., leads the task force. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Improper use of AI can violate laws and deprive Americans of our most important rights,” the report read. “Understanding the possible flaws and shortcomings of AI models can mitigate potentially harmful uses of AI.”

It called on the government to explore guardrails for mitigating flaws in decision-making involving AI, and for agencies to be prepared to identify and protect against “discriminatory decision-making.” The task force also encouraged more education on AI literacy in kindergarten through high school to prepare American youth for a world where AI permeates nearly every facet of society. For young adults, it called for the government to help facilitate public-private partnerships in the AI jobs sector. 

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN

Other recommendations touched on the realms of health care, data privacy, and national security – a testament to AI’s ubiquity.

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“While the House AI Task Force has engaged in a robust process of interviews, meetings, and stakeholder roundtables, many issues of significant relevance to AI were not fully explored by the Task Force or this report. The House AI Task Force encourages members, committees of jurisdiction, and future congresses to continue to investigate opportunities and challenges related to AI,” the closing pages read.

Among those issues are export controls, election integrity, law enforcement, and transportation.

Officials in Texas say they are preparing to buy and store border wall materials being auctioned off by the federal government and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office in January.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials that have been left near the border after the sudden stop of border wall construction in 2021. 

“I will bid on all of that wall, and we will buy it in Texas, and we will give it to Donald Trump,” Patrick said on “The Ingraham Angle.”

“I’ve got a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,” he said.

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

Then-former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Oct. 15, 2024 in Atlanta. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

His comments were supported by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who said she is “fully prepared” to help in the effort.

“If you buy it, I have a place to store it — on state land! The [Texas General Land Office] is standing by to help!” she said, calling the auctioning off of border wall materials by the Biden administration “shameful.”

The Biden administration abruptly ended border wall construction in January 2021 after 450 miles had been built in the first Trump administration. While border hawks say a wall is a critical tool to stopping illegal immigration, some Democrats have said a wall project is xenophobic and ineffective.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATING BIDEN ADMIN’S SALE OF BORDER WALL PARTS: ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’ 

This still image from a video shows construction of the border wall in Del Rio, Texas. (Office of Gov. Greg Abbott.)

The auctioning off of border wall parts began in 2023 with parts listed for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told media outlets that the excess material had been turned over for disposition by the Army Corps of Engineers and was now for sale.

Those auctions have continued, with officials in Arizona telling Fox News Digital that auctions have been occurring weekly for some time. The practice drew attention last week when The Daily Wire published video showing unused wall parts being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona, even though the materials could be used in the next Trump administration. 

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to restart border wall construction when he enters office next month. He described the selling off of the wall as “almost a criminal act” on Monday and appealed to the administration to stop the selling of the wall parts.

A defense official told Fox News that the Pentagon has been disposing of excess wall construction in accordance with the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. That plan was submitted in March.

The official said that border states, including Texas, were given preference for materials. Both Texas and California requested and received border materials, they said.

“Through our reutilization, transfer, and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GOVPLANET under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GOVPLANET online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DoD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Texas has already shown it is keen to aid the incoming administration in its efforts to secure the border and engage in a mass deportation campaign.

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Fox News Digital first reported last month that Texas has offered 1,400 acres of land to the incoming administration with which to stage its mass deportation operation. Border czar Thomas Homan said he is already planning on how to use the land effectively.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

CHICAGO – Community activist and Chicago Against Violence founder Andre Smith may be a Democrat, but he says he’s willing to work with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan to deport illegal immigrants from the Windy City. 

“I welcome in Chicago the border czar [Tom Homan],” Smith told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And [truth] be told, I wouldn’t mind working with him seeing that I was the first person in Chicago to stand up and fight against the migrants.”

Smith, who is also a preacher, has been on the front line of helping his community in Chicago, from helping the homeless population to fighting against local efforts by Mayor Brandon Johnson to disperse migrants throughout the city. 

CHICAGO RESIDENTS SLAM THE ‘STUPIDITY’ OF MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON’S LIBERAL POLICIES DURING CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Chicago resident Andre Smith voices his frustration over the city’s new $51 million migrant aid package. (Fox News)

“I would love when he come[s] to Chicago to work with him, and getting them expedited back where they came from,” Smith said of Homan. “Because to lie to a federal official is a federal offense, and if they came over on the pretenses of they are in fear of their life, then you have women, you have men, and all of them said they’re in fear for their life because someone is going trying to kill them, and lying, you have to make examples.”

Smith’s comments come as many Chicago residents have been outraged by “sanctuary city” policies that have brought in thousands of migrants to a city already plagued by one of the highest violent crime rates in the U.S.

“Here we are in Chicago, where we [are] supposed to be celebrating a season of joy, love and happiness,” Smith continued. “And a lot of people have Christmas trees and under their trees in Chicago. We are unwrapping gifts of neglect. We are unwrapping gifts of disappointment and heartaches. We are unwrapping gifts of $575 million of taxpayer dollars given to and misallocated to give to illegal migrants. We need solutions, and we need change.”

NEW DATA REVEALS AMERICA HAS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS FROM US ADVERSARY WITH DEPORTATION ORDERS

A group of migrants receives food outside the migrant landing zone during a winter storm on January 12, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election, Johnson — who allocated millions of dollars to migrant resources — vowed to defend the illegal migrants residing in Chicago, saying “we will not bend or break,” according to local news outlet WTTW. 

“Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years, but we will not be stopped, and we will not go back,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Homan spoke in Chicago last week and told local Republicans he wanted Illinois Democrats to “come to the table,” but if not to “get the hell out of the way.”

That comment sparked a fiery response from Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.

“Tom Homan, the next time you come to #IL03 — a district made stronger and more powerful by immigrants — you better be ready to meet the resistance,” she warned.

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SAYS ‘VIOLENT’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE DEPORTED, OPEN TO MEETING WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS

Incoming border czar Tom Homan spoke with Dr. Phil about the Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal migrants. (The Dr. Phil Podcast YouTube channel)

“You may think Chicago needs to get out of the way of Trump’s plans for mass deportation, but we plan to get ALL UP IN YOUR WAY.”

Ramirez’s comments add to a growing number of statements from Democratic leaders nationwide vowing to oppose or refuse cooperation with Trump’s mass deportation plans. 

But while Homan may face opposition from Illinois Democrats, there’s one Democratic leader willing to work with him: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

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“Violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported,” Pritzker said at a Northwest Side GOP gathering last week. “I do not want them in my state, I don’t think they should be in the United States.”

Pritzker, 59, is considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.

As Democrats hope to retain the governor’s seat in the swing state of Michigan with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term-limited, a top Democratic figure has launched an independent bid, leading to a search on the left for an alternative standard-bearer.

Three-term Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, viewed for some time as very likely to seek the governor’s office, reportedly surprised the state’s body politic by announcing he will do so as an independent.

“I went to Lansing and built relationships with Democrats and Republicans. We took our neighborhoods out of the darkness of burned-out streetlights and we lit the entire city to the national standard… and reduced Detroit’s unemployment rate to its lowest rate in more than 30 years,” Duggan said in his campaign launch video.

“The current system forces people to choose sides that find solutions. I want to see if I can change that.”

BUTTIGIEG REJECTS CRITICS OF EV FUTURE: LIKE PEOPLE IN 2000S SAYING WE COULD HAVE LANDLINES FOREVER

The Detroit skyline and the Ambassador Bridge are seen from Riverside Park. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

He struck a similar tone in recent remarks to reporters:

Duggan said in his final year as mayor he wants to “establish a working relationship with the Trump administration,” and noted he had done so with fellow Motor City native HUD Secretary Ben Carson one term prior.

He also told The Associated Press he views many Americans as being “tired of both parties and tired of the system – and so I want to offer people a choice.”

That choice led Democrats to reportedly pivot to a prominent Indiana native who recently moved north to his husband’s home state.

At an event with Detroit autoworkers, one man shouted a question about the Lions – rather than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s home-state Colts – which the AP illustrated as a potential challenge for the Traverse City newcomer to connect with Michiganders if he decides to run.

Another man at the event praised Buttigieg’s willingness to be “one of the few” politicians to speak to both liberal and conservative media audiences.

Buttigieg has said he won’t make any official political decisions on “how to make myself useful” until after his current boss, President Biden, leaves office, but has been contacted by several Michigan Democrats about entering the race.

Duggan’s announcement, however, was met with derision from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, another potential Democratic contender.

“In moments like this, we don’t flee from the party, but we stay and fix it,” Benson told FOX-2, which reported she is considering tossing her hat in the ring.

Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist in the Great Lakes State, told the AP that people are “shocked and angry” at Duggan for eschewing the Democratic Party label.

“Many view this as a serious situation where Mike Duggan could put the governor’s mansion in the hands of Republicans and roll back years of progress,” he said.

While the left wing is divided between Duggan’s independent run and jockeying to fill the Democratic row on the ballot, the Republican race appears wide open.

“You know what, [20]26 is always in the back of my mind, but right now, we’re focused on [20]24,” conservative media host Tudor Dixon – the 2022 Republican nominee – said just before the presidential election when asked about running again.

HOUSE PANEL RELEASES YEAR-END REPORT ON BIDEN-MICHIGAN ELECTIONEERING CONTROVERSY

Michigan businessman and quality control expert Perry Johnson, a potential 2024 GOP candidate. (AP, File)

Other names floated in the Michigan press include businessman Perry Johnson – who briefly ran for president on the GOP line in 2024 – businessman Kevin Rinke, and several sitting GOP lawmakers.

Adding to the electoral uncertainty were Michigan’s 2024 split results, as voters there chose both Republican President-elect Trump and Democratic Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin from the top-tier races. 

As for Whitmer, reports have viewed her as a top contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential contest, along with several other governors, like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, California’s Gavin Newsom, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Maryland’s Wes Moore, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Minnesota’s Tim Walz.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Michigan GOP, Michigan Democrats and Buttigieg’s office for comment.

Several Senate Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a presidential election system where the winner of the popular vote wins the White House contest.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the proposed amendment, according to a press release.

“In 2000, before the general election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and abolish the Electoral College. I still believe today that it is time to retire this 18th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans,” Durbin said, according to the release. “The American people deserve to choose all their leaders, and I am proud to support this effort with Senators Schatz and Welch to empower voters.”

WHAT IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? HOW DOES IT WORK?

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., speaks following the weekly Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” Schatz stated. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.”

Welch claimed that “right now our elections aren’t as representative as they should be because of the outdated and flawed electoral college.”

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah slammed the proposal, calling it “a phenomenally bad idea,” in a post on X. “So naturally, Democrats are pushing it,” he added.

MCCONNELL ISSUES SMACKDOWN OF KENTUCKY DEM GOVERNOR’S CALL TO ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

 Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., responded to the proposal by accusing the Senate Democrats of wanting “to trample the Constitution.”

President-elect Donald Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

But there have been elections in U.S. history in which the winner of the Electoral College did not win the popular vote.

TIM WALZ BACKPEDALS STATEMENT THAT THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ‘NEEDS TO GO’

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands after the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on Sept. 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The most recent example was Trump’s 2016 victory where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote but lost the Electoral College.

FIRST ON FOX: One of the founding Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus members, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is leading the introduction of a legislative package targeting government waste related to the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s next term. 

The Oklahoma Republican gave Fox News Digital an exclusive first look at two bills he will introduce Tuesday, one to address cases of unemployment fraud and another to extend the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19 recovery fund fraud. 

“Making the government more efficient isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an American issue. Loopholes in the law let fraudsters get away with billions in COVID recovery and Unemployment Insurance payouts while forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. The decades of government waste must come to an end,” Lankford said in a statement.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is a founding member of the DOGE Caucus. (Reuters)

The first measure would allow states to halt unemployment payments to claimants if they are deemed fraudulent, getting rid of a requirement for unemployment agencies to restart payments within two weeks if they are appealed, despite potential fraud. 

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The latter bill would expand the extended statute of limitations for certain pandemic-era programs to all of them, including large and costly ones such as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, Economic Impact Payments and Unemployment insurance. 

According to Lankford’s office, Government Accountability Office Comptroller Eugene Dodaro endorsed the bill addressing COVID relief fraud. 

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“I am very pleased that this bill addresses the Inspector General community’s request to extend the statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment insurance program fraud,” he said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital by Lankford’s office. 

“If enacted, this bill would give our oversight partners and law enforcement additional time to pursue federal fraud-related investigations in these programs and hold individuals accountable to the American people.”

NJ LAWMAKER CRAFTS STATE DOGE COMMITTEE TO ‘MIRROR’ ELON’S BRAINCHILD: ‘WE NEED IT MORE’

In November, Trump announced that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead DOGE, a proposed advisory board tasked with eliminating government waste.

“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” he wrote in a statement at the time. 

Afterward, caucuses were formed in both the House and Senate, led by Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Blake Moore, R-Utah, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, respectively. 

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: A DOGE IN THE FIGHT

Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty Images)

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Ernst is a co-sponsor of Lankford’s COVID fraud bill.

Before Trump officially announced DOGE and his choice of Musk and Ramaswamy to lead it, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO said at an October rally that he believed it could cut trillions in government spending.

“I think we could do at least $2 trillion,” Musk said at the time. 

A co-chair of the House of Representatives’ Congressional DOGE Caucus said there is “real motivation” behind accomplishing its mission of cutting the federal deficit.

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, is House GOP Conference vice chair and the No. 6 House Republican, and recently joined Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in leading the caucus.

The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The caucus’ first meeting is slated for Tuesday. Moore said he hopes they can “create some structure on what we want to accomplish and set some initial first easy wins.”

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS

House GOP Conference Vice Chair and DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Blake Moore spoke with Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)

He did not elaborate on what those wins would be, but suggested one of the caucus’ main goals would be delivering recommendations to Musk and Ramaswamy on how to make the federal government more efficient.

“We’ve got people that have great ideas from their various committees on things, areas that we can find efficiencies, and just get that all on paper and eventually, you know, provide some recommendations,” Moore said.

The Utah Republican is hopeful that his unique position as a member of House leadership will allow him to be a conduit between the caucus and fellow congressional leaders.

“I was looking for another opportunity to help serve the conference,” Moore said of his decision to become a co-chair. “There is a ton of bipartisan work that’s already been done on this type of stuff for years leading up to it. We needed this moment as a catalyst to do it. So I am just thrilled to be a part of the leadership team.”

He also suggested that the enthusiasm for DOGE was unlike anything he’d seen for prior government initiatives.

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

Rep. Aaron Bean co-founded the DOGE Caucus. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“There’s real motivation behind this, and the American people are galvanized by this. For example, I’m the chair, co-chair of the Ski and Snowboard caucus. Utah has… got the best ski – greatest snow on earth and all that. That doesn’t draw the attention,” Moore said.

“But I became a co-chair also of the DOGE Caucus, and you could tell a widespread interest in this from both media back home [and] constituents. We have to honor that.”

Moore also dismissed concerns that DOGE’s internet meme-inspired branding might make people take it less seriously, arguing instead that it will help make Americans enthusiastic about the mission.

“Doge” is also the name of an internet meme popular in the 2010s, depicting a Shiba Inu and frequently accompanied by phrases in broken English representing the dog’s supposed internal monologue.

The Shiba Inu who inspired the Doge meme pictured in a stroller near a logo that bears her famous image. (Getty Images)

Musk has made no secret of his affinity for the meme, and even coined the name “Department of Government Efficiency” while posting references to it on X, formerly Twitter, before Trump made it a reality. He’s also promoted a cryptocurrency of the same name.

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“I’ve never seen so much excitement and engagement from my constituents,” Moore said. “The fact that it’s the Doge, I think this is how people connect now. Like, you know, that’s a good thing because it makes it relatable. And so I think it’s definitely something that kind of makes people laugh a little bit and just find the irony in it.”

“Whatever can get people’s attention, you have to use that for good. Then you’ve got potential for impact.”