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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had two thoughts about President Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden after previously saying he would not, while talking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker on Sunday.

“When you have his opponents going after his family as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his, his son and his family,” Sanders said. “On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one. It was a very wide open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents.”

Despite that, Sanders believes that Biden leaves a “strong legacy” due to being progressive on domestic policies. He also said that “the economy today in many ways is in very strong shape.”

Sanders even went as far as to say Biden was the most progressive president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Discussing the minimum wage, Sanders told Welker he would work with President-elect Trump to raise it, as it has stood at $7.25 an hour since 2009.

Welker said Trump acknowledged it was too low, but Sanders said the last time he tried to get it raised to $15 an hour was two years ago and no Republicans voted for it. 

FORMER DEM CONGRESSMAN WHO LOST BY 109 VOTES IN 2020 CONFIRMED TO LIFETIME JUDICIAL SEAT

Sen. Bernie Sanders said he believes the U.S. should raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour. (iStock)

President Biden walks with Hunter Biden toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

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“Look, a $7.25 per hour minimum wage is an absolute disgrace,” Sanders said. “We have millions of people in this country who are working for starvation wages. They cannot afford housing, that cannot afford to adequately feed their kids.”

Sanders now believes the minimum wage should be $17 an hour, and hopes lawmakers “can work in a bipartisan way to finally accomplish that goal.”  

FIRST ON FOX: A labor union representing thousands of Border Patrol agents is all in on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, calling on senators to confirm her nomination “qui​​ckly.” 

“On behalf of the men and women of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) who protect our nation’s borders, we are excited to provide our support for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee, Governor Kristi Noem, to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez wrote in a letter to Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rand. Paul, R-Ky., the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, respectively. 

Perez sent the letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, to the senators on Thursday, joining a growing chorus of law enforcement groups throwing their support behind Noem. The DHS oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The union, which represents about 18,000 Border Patrol agents, wrote in their letter to Paul and Peters that Noem has showcased her ability to “get things done” both at home in South Dakota, and on the national stage when she aided Texas’ “Operation Lone Star” to battle the immigration crisis. 

‘SECURE OUR BORDER’: MASSIVE POLICE ORG CALLS FOR SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF NOEM TO DHS

Former President Trump listens as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

“Governor Noem is a seasoned leader who knows how to get things done – not only as chief executive of her home state but also in Washington, DC, where she served with distinction and integrity in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Perez wrote in the letter, which was also sent to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the incoming Senate majority leader. 

“Governor Noem was the first governor to deploy National Guard personnel to the border in Texas to support Operation Lone Star. This deployment bolstered our resources at a critical time along the border and helped to protect Texans and Americans alike.”

TRUMP SELECTS SOUTH DAKOTA GOV KRISTI NOEM TO RUN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Noem has repeatedly deployed South Dakota National Guard troops to the southern border in Texas to help stem illegal border crossings. 

Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence, under the watch of the Texas National Guard, to enter into El Paso, Texas, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

“The border is a war zone, so we’re sending soldiers,” Noem said in a press release in February, which marked the fifth deployment of National Guard troops to the border under the Biden administration. “These soldiers’ primary mission will be construction of a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, drug cartels, and human trafficking into the United States of America.”

Earlier this month, Washington, D.C., insiders told Fox News Digital that they anticipate Noem will earn endorsements from a long list of law enforcement groups for her federal nomination. 

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

Fox News Digital previously reported that the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, the Fraternal Order of Police, sent letters to both President-elect Trump and Paul outlining their staunch support of Noem as secretary of homeland security. 

​​”Governor Noem has been a longtime ally of the FOP during both her tenure in the House of Representatives and as Governor of South Dakota. The South Dakota State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Governor Noem for her re-election campaign in 2022, citing her belief in the rule of law and commitment to public safety,” Fraternal Order of Police national president Patrick Yoes wrote in a November letter to Trump, which was obtained by Fox News Digital. 

 Immigrants are photographed at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Perez echoed that sentiment for Border Patrol agents, specifically, calling for Noem’s speedy confirmation to bolster the border and homeland security overall. 

“We are confident that as Secretary, Governor Noem will continue to ensure Border Patrol agents have the resources and manpower that we need to secure our border. We urge you to quickly begin consideration of this critical nomination and confirm Governor Noem as Secretary once President Trump is sworn in,” Perez said. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT KRISTI NOEM, THE ‘BORDER HAWK’ NOMINATED BY TRUMP TO LEAD DHS

Noem has served as governor of the Mount Rushmore State since 2019, and notably gained national attention and praise from conservatives during the pandemic when she bucked lockdown orders and mask mandates common in liberal states such as California and New York. 

Gov. Kristi Noem visits FOX Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” on May 7, 2024, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Trump, who ran on a pledge to end the immigration crisis at the southern border and crack down on the deadly drug epidemic ravaging communities across the nation, announced his nomination of Noem just days after his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

EX-TRUMP OFFICIAL PREDICTS ‘ENTIRE MINDSET CHANGE’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER, HAILS ‘FANTASTIC’ PICK TO LEAD DHS 

“Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times. She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries. I have known Kristi for years, and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects – She will be a great part of our mission to Make America Safe Again,” he wrote last month in his announcement. 

Noem began meeting with Senate lawmakers last week to rally their support for the confirmation process. 

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“We’ve just had great conversations with Sen. Peters, talked about some concerns within the agency, what we can do to solidify our national security interests,” Noem told reporters, according to Roll Call. “And I think Republicans and Democrats in this country recognize how important homeland security is, and that we’re working together to make sure that we’re safe.”

Republican Brad Knott, who flipped North Carolina’s 13th District red in November, explained to Fox News Digital why he resigned as a federal prosecutor to run for Congress – and what his priorities will be once he’s sworn into the House next month. 

A lifelong North Carolinian and former longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney, Knott said that he considered it a “high honor” to spend most of his career working alongside law enforcement, including through organized crime investigations spanning across the country. It was the effects of President Biden and Vice President Harris taking office on local law enforcement in particular that drove Knott to run for Congress. 

Observing the impact of the border crisis on communities, Knott said that he couldn’t sit by and watch the sheer “availability of drugs, the presence of violence, the inability to combat it effectively because of just the deluge of people and contraband and criminality that was coming across the border and really the refusal of Washington to do what it could do.”

“I had a very, very extensive career in law enforcement, saw a lot in that role and was very much troubled by what I saw on a policy level once Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took the reins in January of 2021,” Knott said. “And the deliberate policies and the actions that they took upon taking the oath had a trickle-down effect that was just undeniable. And it was undeniably harmful not only for us as prosecutors, but federal law enforcement, local law enforcement, and then obviously the communities that we are all tasked to protect.” 

FRESHMAN FOCUS: REPUBLICAN ROB BRESNAHAN, WHO OUSTED SIX-TERM HOUSE DEMOCRAT, REVEALS HOW HE DID IT

Rep.-elect Brad Knott, R-NC, after joining other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on Nov. 15, 2024.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Noting executive policies alone, Knott said “there was an absolute refusal to tackle this problem,” which he found “baffling” given the numbers of drug overdoses, attrition rates of law enforcement agencies and crime. 

“There was just not an appetite at all to tackle this issue. And after a number of years of that, I ultimately followed my heart. We had prayed about this and given the unique posture I had before I decided to run,” Knott said. “Seeing crimes all over the country and the effects of it, I thought that it’d be worth trying to run for office in an effort ultimately to fix those issues that I had a firsthand account of seeing and seeing how to combat it effectively.” 

Knott’s endorsement by President-elect Trump in April resulted in his overwhelming May run-off primary win, staving off the prior GOP front-runner Kelly Daughtry. He went on to defeat Democrat Frank Pierce on Election Day last month, winning the redrawn district now covering all or parts of the eight counties in or near the state capital of Raleigh. 

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The highlight of campaigning for office, Knott said, was door knocking and hosting town halls for the opportunities to speak and interact with voters firsthand. 

“It’s essential to do that because it gives you a window, a front row seat and to what people are actually focused on,” Knott said. “It cuts through the noise. It cuts through the media. And in my old job, it’s like getting to talk to the jury. It just goes right to the relevant party.” 

Through those conversations, Knott said the people of the 13th district expressed “a fairly consistent basket of issues” involving the border crisis’ strain of resources on local police and first responders, and in schools and hospitals. 

“But beyond that, there was an overwhelming sense that the country was just headed in the wrong direction,” Knott told Fox News Digital. “And from a priority standpoint, I think many people realize that the last administration, the current administration, but soon to be the last administration, were prioritizing things that most Americans just did not agree with. There’s real suffering in the United States right now, and there’s a very real misconception that the economy is doing well, that the economy is robust. It is not robust. And most people in the 13th District had a real understanding of just how limited the economy is.” 

Knott stressed that the United States is $36 trillion in debt – and regardless of their background, he said voters overwhelmingly felt their taxpayer dollars were funneled to illegal immigrants and conflicts abroad, rather than Americans at home. 

“Most people are struggling and struggling mightily. And whether it’s sending tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars abroad, tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal immigrants, the promulgation of thousands of regulations that strangle small businesses, essentially enabling only the connected and the big businesses to thrive,” Knott said. “And again, the overall sentiment was the country is just headed in the wrong direction. And the path we’re on, it needs to change. And so getting out into the community, our belief about getting into the race was certainly affirmed that the people, regardless of race, regardless of class, regardless of of politics, really, they wanted they wanted meaningful changes to obvious problems.” 

“We are $36 trillion in debt. What have you received for all of that spending?” Knott asked, stating that “we are going to have to pay that back for no services rendered.”

As for the border crisis, Knott condemned how the U.S. government “literally borrowed money from other countries, from the taxpayers, their future earnings to subsidize the illegal immigration invasion,” as “we were spending tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars a year over the last couple of years paying for illegal immigrants to be here, to be educated here, to eat here, to sleep here. And incentivizing more of it.” 

“That’s just one example of the gross incompetence, but the unbelievable power of Washington,” Knott said.

UKRAINE AID 

The Biden administration is rushing to dispense billions more in U.S. aid to Ukraine before Trump takes office. Additional assistance amid what is nearly a three-year-long conflict will be deliberated by the new Congress, controlled by the GOP in both chambers, as Trump is expected to pressure Ukraine and Russia to come to a cease-fire agreement. 

Trump with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.  (SARAH MEYSSONNIER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Knott decried how those in the political class and media simplify the Ukraine debate, arguing that objectives can be “more complicated than just one line.” Yet, he says, his focus remains on the American people. 

“Obviously, I think what Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine is, it’s horrible. It should not be happening. I believe that Ukraine is certainly entitled to its border, to its sovereignty,” Knott said. “And as I agree with President Trump, it needs to stop before tens of thousands of more people are killed. And, at the same time, recklessly dispensing of American dollars to a foreign country with what seems to be very little oversight when we have tremendous problems at home to deal with, that’s a very legitimate concern. And there comes a point where we have to question whether or not our involvement is worth it to the American people.” 

“And we have suffering at home to the degree that we are currently seeing. I prefer to send those dollars and to keep those dollars here. And flatly speaking, we have a $36 trillion debt,” Knott added. “And the idea that the United States can just dump tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars into what seem to be very righteous endeavors around the world, we simply can’t do that with no end in sight. And so my main focus is guarding the dollar, guarding the hard earnings of Americans, and really focusing as a government on the American citizenry that seems to be so downtrodden and taken advantage of and rebuilding that first.” 

Knott said that Trump has “made it very clear to the Republican Congress that he expects us to deliver solutions, and he also expects us to work with the other side,” recognizing the GOP holds control by just a slim margin in the House. 

“I mean, the open border, overregulation, overtaxation, overspending, inflation, the debt, these are not Republican problems to tackle. These are American problems that we must all tackle,” Knott said. “And if we don’t fix these things quickly, whether it is, you know, tens of millions of people coming across our border and requiring an increased percentage of support from the American taxpayers, whether it’s the $36 trillion debt, these issues will ultimately gravely weaken the country. And so without saying my expectations, my hope is that the 119th Congress will find a way to meaningfully address these very serious problems, not for Republican benefit, but for the country’s benefit.” 

‘UNIFIED GOVERNMENT’: INCOMING HOUSE REPUBLICAN REVEALS AGENDA FOR NEW CONGRESS AFTER OUSTING DEM INCUMBENT

NORTH CAROLINA’S 13TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Knott will replace Democrat Rep. Wiley Nickel, who did not seek re-election after citing the congressional remapping by Republican state legislators that reconfigured the district to strongly lean red. Nickel, who has signaled interest in running for Senate in 2026, will serve just one term in the House after flipping the seat blue by a razor-thin margin in 2022. Republican Ted Budd, another Trump-backed candidate, represented the district for three terms and that year successfully ran for the U.S. Senate.

Across his district’s “robust and diverse” set of industries, ranging from agriculture, heavy equipment and infrastructure projects, Knott said he observed a “common thread” of business owners expressing frustration with D.C. bureaucracy. 

From a conversation with a large scale sweet potato farmer in the district, as North Carolina is one of the largest producers of the crop in the country, Knott said he was told, “I can deal with the weather, I can deal with storms, I can deal with droughts, but I cannot deal with the regulations that are coming out of Washington, D.C.” And the incoming congressman heard a similar story from infrastructure companies, which he says relayed how “the cost of regulatory overreach is becoming so great that they’re having to just reallocate resources from building bridges to hiring basically paperwork pushers to deal with the regulations and the bureaucracy maze that is levied upon them.” 

“In terms of taking that power back, Washington has no business in telling our farmers how to farm, our builders how to build, our teachers how to teach,” Knott said. “Kind of reestablishing the priorities in Washington and cutting the reach, sort of removing the tentacles as it is, I think will enable a much greater degree of flourishing for big businesses, small businesses, and really everyone in the 13th District.” 

Trump’s TRUTH Social post endorsing Knott called him a “Strong Patriot” who would support law enforcement and the military, secure the border and protect the Second Amendment. As for Daughtry, the daughter of a former longtime Republican legislative leader, Trump described her as a “RINO” – Republican in Name Only – “who has given money to Far Left Democrats, pledged to vote for Obama, and is no friend to MAGA.” 

“President Trump was undeniably effective as he weathered perhaps more resistance that was thrown at him than any candidate, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe the history of the country,” Knott said. “And all of that resistance was designed and promulgated from Washington, D.C. And it’s a very interesting metaphor that Washington, D.C. was fighting so hard against President Trump, both in his first term as president and when he was running again in the last couple of years. And my entire hope as a soon-to-be congressman is to equal out the balance of power again, to really leverage whatever ability we have as the 119th Congress, to dispense resources and power back to the people of this great country.” 

Trump’s nominee to be FBI Director Kash Patel arrives at Sen. Joni Ernst’s, R-IA, office for a meeting in the Russell Senate Office Building on Dec. 9, 2024.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

TRUMP’S FBI AND DOJ PICKS

Trump is expected to bring a major shake-up to federal law enforcement, and while Knott said he does not know Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, or Attorney General pick Pam Bondi personally, he appreciates how Patel has supported “this decentralizing thrust of putting officers back into communities for safer collaboration, more in-depth collaboration with local law enforcement, and hopefully communities will be made safer.” 

“There does need to be a rigorous review of how the FBI is being managed and how it’s being used and what percentage of the tax dollars that we allocate for the FBI are being used for Washington, D.C., bureaucracy versus putting police on the streets to make American communities safer,” Knott said, adding that he’s confident Patel and Bondi will face “rigorous review,” will stand for questioning in the Senate and “then the right decision will hopefully be made following that review.” 

Recognizing that most first-term members do not get their first committee assignment picks, Knott said his background would make him a good candidate for the Judiciary. 

“That’s one of my passions, is to retool the criminal code in such a way that when President Trump leaves office, law enforcement still has the tools to protect the American people rather than relying solely on executive policy and executive power which can be undone with the stroke of a pen like we saw with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he said. “I think we need to rebuild the criminal code in some respects to be a more durable solution for the American people.” 

TRANSGENDER BATHROOM CONTROVERSY 

The incoming House class already has seen controversy with the election of transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del. In response, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., pushed for a resolution banning members and House staffers from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” Mace, a rape survivor, said she’s received death threats for publicly calling to preserve private spaces for women and girls, and she said she was “physically accosted” on the Capitol grounds on Tuesday. 

Knott, who was on the Hill for orientation while the controversy unfolded, praised the response of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who enacted a policy preserving single-sex facilities on Capitol grounds. While Johnson said everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, the speaker stressed, “A man cannot become a woman.” 

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“It was one of the unfortunate instances of our orientation insofar as we talked about very serious issues that affect all Americans, not just a very small percentage of society. And I think the speaker hit the nail on the head,” Knott said. “He said all people are worthy of respect and dignity and being treated with respect and dignity and kindness. But that does not mean that anybody who claims to be a woman should be able to go into a bathroom where women are, where little girls are.” 

“As the father of two little girls, I stand behind the speaker’s sentiment that men should stay in men’s locker rooms, women should be and women’s locker rooms. And you’re born a man. You’re born a woman. And we should adhere to that,” Knott added. “It’s not uniform across the board. There are some people who would abuse that liberty to satisfy their own perversions. And of course, there are some who would not. And the speaker’s policy, I think, is the one that’s most respectful, it’s most clear, and it’s the easiest for us to follow.” 

President-elect Trump took China by surprise when he invited President Xi Jinping to his upcoming inauguration, a friendly gesture ahead of a widely expected trade war. 

The move left everyone wondering what Trump was up to — a Chinese head of state has not attended a U.S. inauguration in all of history. 

Xi is not expected to accept the invitation, sources told CBS News. 

“We have a good relationship with China. I have a good relationship,” Trump told CNBC on Friday. “We’ve been talking and discussing with President Xi some things.”

But the invitation comes as the U.S. intelligence community disclosed a massive hack of eight U.S. telecom companies, finding that Chinese hackers had accessed the data of millions of Americans, including Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The hack, nicknamed Salt Typhoon and one of the most far-reaching in history, affected mostly people in the Washington, D.C., area, and was targeted at government-linked people. Information about their phone calls and texts was intercepted. 

CHINESE HACKERS TARGET US TELECOMS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT YOUR DATA

President-elect Trump. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, a Chinese national was arrested on suspicion of flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force base in Northern California, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. 

“Many people were disappointed by this invitation,” said China expert Gordon Chang.

“A man who is responsible for spreading COVID beyond China borders, for being behind the fentanyl program, which kills 70,000 Americans a year, that was not a good look for the United States,” he went on. “And it betrayed weakness.”

“The Chinese president looks at that and believes that Trump is not serious,” said Chang. 

“Xi Jinping has made it clear that the United States is China’s enemy. He’s done that in many ways. And for an American president to show friendship is not a gesture in Xi’s mind, it’s a display of weakness, and Chinese leaders always take advantage of weakness.” 

It’s not clear if the invitation means that Trump is looking to take a more diplomatic approach to the relationship with China after a campaign marked by threats of hiking tariffs. 

CHINA DENIES NEW REPORT LINKING CCP TO FOUR SITES IN CUBA ALLEGEDLY USED TO SPY ON THE US

Trump has floated the idea of a 60% across-the-board levy on all goods imported from China, which would cover some $400 billion worth of products. 

Free trade supporters have worried this would break a top campaign promise for Trump: to rein in and prevent the record inflation figures seen under the Biden administration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)

President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

And the threat of a trade war comes as military tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific. China has been putting on displays of force in the waters off the shores of U.S. allies like the Philippines and Japan, and increasingly threatening Taiwan, an island democracy it views as its rightful territory. 

Defense experts have begun to muse whether the U.S. could find itself at war with China.

Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at Defense Priorities think tank, welcomed the news of the invitation, reading it as a sign of being willing to engage.

“Nothing like that has happened under the Biden administration,” he said. “Trump is a dealmaker, and I think China is eager to make deals.

“The Biden approach was very ideological, you know, the world is black and white.” 

“If we go into a new Cold War, the results, I think, will be devastating for both the United States and China,” Goldstein added. “I think there is some understanding in the Trump team that the stakes are enormous here.”

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China, meanwhile, is considering devaluing its currency further in anticipation of Trump’s tariffs, according to a Reuters report. 

“People have got to realize that trading with China generally is a good thing. But yeah, we have to. There are some key readjustments that need to take place,” said Goldstein.

“I would like to see that take place from readjusting China’s currency.”

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said China is the “greatest threat” to the United States and that President-elect Donald Trump will bring “peace through strength, not peace through appeasement.” 

Gimenez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital the CCP is the “adversary we have to watch, both militarily and economically.” 

“China is making great strides around the world,” Gimenez said, pointing to its capacity in production, specifically with defense materials and weapons. “It surpasses that of the United States’ and we have seen that we are lacking.” 

NATO CHIEF URGES MEMBERS TO ‘TURBOCHARGE’ DEFENSE PRODUCTION AS HE PAINTS PICTURE OF A WORLD BOUND FOR WAR

Gimenez said the Russian-Ukraine war has “demonstrated to us that our defense capacity has been degraded over the decades.”

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)

“It shows we could run out of munitions fairly quickly if we had a prolonged fight with China,” he said, warning that China also “has the ability to produce many more ships than we do.” 

Gimenez said the U.S. is “trying to do catch-up.” 

“We have to update how we do things at the Pentagon, we have to be more nimble, we have to get the private sector involved, and we have to eliminate bureaucracy that has hampered our ability to protect ourselves,” he said. 

‘BE AWARE’: HOUSE LAWMAKERS DESCRIBE WHAT IT’S LIKE LIVING UNDER THREAT BY CHINA, IRAN

But as for the approach to the China threat, Gimenez blasted the Biden administration, specifically President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

This view shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (VCG via Getty Images/File)

“I think China, with Biden and Blinken, thought they could do just about anything they wanted or thought they could fool them,” he said. “The Biden administration was always exhibiting weakness and trying to appease our enemies, whereas Trump knows exactly who our friends are, who our enemies are and is going to put the security of America first.”

Gimenez added, “He understands that the security of America lies in peace through strength, not peace through appeasement.”

As for confronting the threat in the coming months, Gimenez pointed to the importance of the U.S. being energy independent.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Getty Images/File)

Gimenez said he wants to “make America the energy spigot of the world, where the world goes to get energy is America.” 

TRUMP TAPS FORMER ACTING AG MATTHEW WHITAKER AS NATO AMBASSADOR

“It would help our financial situation, our balance sheet, and give us the ability to help our friends and weaken our enemies,” he said.

“We could use our energy dominance as an economic weapon against our enemies, helping our friends and hurting our enemies,” he continued. “We can substitute Iranian and Venezuelan oil with American oil, Russian oil with American oil, and then starve those countries which are allied with China of their greatest source of revenue and then impede their ability to help China.”

“If China finds itself isolated in the world, I think that’s the best way we can contain this threat,” he said. “But we have to project strength and the willingness to confront aggression by the CCP.”

President Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit at the White House on Nov. 15, 2021. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

As for the House Select Committee on the CCP, he said they have “much more work to do.” 

“The China threat is increasing,” he said, noting that the committee is bipartisan in its nature and that members on both sides of the aisle have “bought into that China is the threat and that China will be the threat.”

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“It’s not climate change, it’s China,” he said. “And we have to confront that threat or live in a world that is dominated by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“And Trump is going to project strength and back those words with action.”

President-elect Trump nominated a few more candidates Saturday to serve in various positions during his second term.

Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes was picked as the chairperson of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board (IAB). IBM executive Troy Edgar was tapped as deputy secretary of Homeland Security. And Bill White was chosen as the ambassador to Belgium.

Nunes, if confirmed, will lead the IAB, which advises the president on the legality of foreign intelligence activities.

“While continuing his leadership of Trump Media & Technology Group, Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s activities,” Trump said in the announcement.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES MORE PICKS, NOMINATES KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE TO SERVE AS AMBASSADOR TO GREECE

President Trump called Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., “a true American Patriot” ahead of his re-election primary. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

Los Alamitos Mayor Pro Tem Troy Edgar during a Banners of Honor ceremony at the Los Alamitos (Calif.) Joint Forces Training Center.  (Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Trump also named Edgar as his pick for deputy secretary of Homeland Security. 

“Troy served for me previously as the Chief Financial Officer and Associate Deputy Under Secretary of Management for Homeland Security, where he did an outstanding job managing their $90 Billion Dollar budget, resourcing critical immigration policy, and funding Wall construction,” Trump said.

“Troy is currently an executive at IBM. He holds an M.B.A. and B.S. of Business Administration from the University of Southern California,” Trump said. “He was previously the Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, where he helped me lead the City and County revolt against Sanctuary Cities in 2018.”

If the two are confirmed, Edgar will serve alongside South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was tapped as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Secretary.

Bill White, CEO of the Buckhead City Committee, attends a fundraiser in Atlanta Oct. 13, 2022. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)

Also on Saturday afternoon, Trump announced that businessperson and major political donor White would serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium.

White is the founder and CEO of Constellations Group, a Manhattan-based consulting firm, and previously served as president of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York.

“Bill is a highly respected businessman, philanthropist, author, and advocate for our Nation’s Military, Veterans, and First Responders. He is the CEO of Constellations Group, and former President of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum,” Trump said. 

“Bill has worked tirelessly to support Great American Patriots who have given everything for our Country by raising over $1.5 Billion Dollars for our fallen heroes, catastrophically wounded, and severely burned Service Members. He is a twice recipient of the Meritorious Public Service Award for extraordinary service from the U.S. Coast Guard, and for outstanding support from the U.S. Navy.”

NEW POLL REVEALS WHAT AMERICANS THINK OF TRUMP’S TRANSITION DECISIONS 

White was a major Trump donor and surrogate for his 2024 campaign, though the millionaire investor backed former President Obama and Hillary Clinton in past races.

Former President Trump tours Little Beaver Creek in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2023, after the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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The picks are the latest in a long string of nominations the president-elect hopes the Senate will approve.

President-elect Trump on Saturday seized on the mysterious drone controversy in New Jersey to mock one-time ally turned nemesis Chris Christie. 

The president-elect, who will take office in just over a month, shared an artificially generated meme of the former New Jersey governor eating McDonald’s with more McDonald’s meals being delivered by drones, mocking his weight on Truth Social and X. 

Christie endorsed Trump in 2016 but was later axed as the head of his transition team. 

Last year, Christie had a short-lived presidential campaign for the 2024 election during which he called Trump a “coward” and a “puppet of Putin,” but he dropped out in January.

TRUMP BRINGS POLITICAL DRAMA TO ARMY-NAVY GAME SIDELINES

President-elect Trump on Saturday seized on the mysterious drone controversy in New Jersey to mock one-time ally Chris Christie.  (Donald Trump/X)

“I want to promise you this, I’m going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambition,” he said when he dropped out. 

Christie’s weight has been a frequent target for Trump since their falling-out. Last year, Trump jokingly told a supporter to not call the former governor a “fat pig.” 

Since mid-November, New Jersey residents have been baffled by unexplained sightings of what appear to be drones. 

Chris Christie endorsed Trump in 2016 before their falling-out.  (Reuters/Mike Segar)

NEW JERSEY LAWMAKER CALLS FOR LIMITED STATE OF EMERGENCY TO COMBAT MYSTERIOUS DRONES

The sightings have also been reported in other areas of the country, including military installations, prompting lawmakers to demand answers. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement have said the drones don’t appear to be a threat to public safety. 

On Friday, Trump called for the drones to be shot down if there’s no reasonable explanation for them. 

Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey Dec. 8. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)

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“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A New Jersey state Senator is calling on Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency to ground all drones as a way of getting to the bottom of ongoing reports of unmanned craft swarming the Garden State in recent weeks. 

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a Republican, told “Cavuto Live” on Saturday that he also wants the FAA to join in the state of emergency as the public becomes increasingly frustrated with a lack of answers as to what is going on in the skies. 

Bramnick says he has contacted Murphy about enacting a state of emergency but has not gotten a response.  

State Sen. Jon Bramnick is calling for a limited state of emergency due to mysterious drone sightings. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images, left, and Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press, right.)

DRONE MYSTERY BEFUDDLES NEW JERSEY OFFICIALS, FRUSTRATES RESIDENTS

“I’ve gotten silence and we met with the state police [who] have no information. Can you imagine? The Department of Defense must have some serious secret if we can’t get any information on car-sized drones flying over our military bases.”

A series of unidentified drone sightings near U.S. military installations and over residences have been spotted in New Jersey since mid-November, including President-elect Trump’s Bedminster golf course, which is causing alarm. Apparent drones have also been spotted in New York City, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, among other states, as well as over three US airbases in the UK.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby has said many of the purported drone sightings are actually lawfully operated manned aircraft and that there is no evidence of a national security or public safety threat.

Map showing some of the places where mystery drones have been spotted in Northeastern USA in December 2024.  (Fox News)

FORMER GOVERNOR SPOTS MYSTERY DRONES IN MARYLAND, BLASTS FEDS FOR LACK OF TRANSPARENCY

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday said the government doesn’t have the authority to shoot down drones and believes reports of some sightings are cases of mistaken identity.

The apparent lack of transparency about the situation has fueled conspiracy theories and raised national security concerns that a foreign entity may be behind the mysterious sightings. 

The government’s dismissal of witness reports is also irking residents who believe the government’s answers are insufficient. Some have threatened to take matters into their own hands and shoot them down.

“Every time someone comes out of the top secret briefing, we get the same answer,” Bramnick said. “’Well, we need more information,’ but apparently it’s not a threat. Now, I don’t know how they’re determining that. The Defense Department must be speaking to someone because they’re surely not speaking to any of the residents in New Jersey.”

A photo taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. The drones seemed to be well above the 400 feet height FAA regulations allow. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)

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“The Department of Defense has to explain why they don’t know what a car-sized drone is doing, where it came from, where it’s going. Is it sinister? Is there some sort of threat? Don’t you think the Department of Defense should have that information? The technology is there.”

Bramnick says that the state does not have the proper equipment or resources to deal with drones. He notes that the Garden State only has two state helicopters, and when one of those choppers was sent up to investigate a drone, its lights turned off and it fled. 

“Now, that’s an indication that the drone is not here for a good purpose, otherwise I assume somebody operating the drone would tell the state police what they’re doing. That’s why we have to ground all drones at this time,” Bramnick added. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a stern warning to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after a report highlighted how one of Kennedy’s associates had sought to rescind approval for a polio vaccine.

McConnell, a polio survivor, said in a statement that “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed – they’re dangerous.” 

“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” he added, without naming Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who is President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 

NOBEL LAUREATES CRITICIZE RFK JR. HHS NOMINATION OVER ‘LACK OF CREDENTIALS,’ VACCINE STANCE

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., takes a question from a reporter during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

McConnell’s statement follows a New York Times report on Friday that highlighted how Kennedy’s personal attorney, Aaron Siri, had represented clients in cases that sought to rescind approval for a version of the polio vaccine and others. 

“Like millions of families before them, my parents knew the pain and fear of watching their child struggle with the life-altering diagnosis of polio. From the age of two, normal life without paralysis was only possible for me because of the miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love. But for millions who came after me, the real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine,” McConnell said.

RFK JR. WANTS TO CLEAR OUT ‘ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS’ IN THE FDA: ‘THEY HAVE TO GO’

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

“For decades, I have been proud to work with devoted advocates – from Rotary International to the Gates Foundation – and use my platform in public life to champion the pursuit of cures for further generations. I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress, and I will not today. 

The GOP leader was joined by his Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who demanded that RFK Jr. make his position on the polio vaccine clear.

TRUMP TAPS RFK JR. TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

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)

“This would undoubtedly make America sick again,” Schumer said, sharing the Times report on X. “It’s outrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine that has virtually eradicated polio in America and saved millions of lives. RFK Jr. must state his position on this.” 

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Reached for comment, a Trump transition team spokesperson said, “Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As President-elect Trump gets ready to return to the White House, a leading Democratic pollster and strategist highlights that her party needs a new game plan to confront the former and soon-to-be future president.

“The 2025 playbook cannot be the 2017 playbook,” Molly Murphy, a top pollster on Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, emphasized as she gave a presentation at the first meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s executive committee since last month’s election.

Trump’s convincing win over Harris — he captured the popular vote and swept all seven key battleground states — as well as the GOP flipping the Senate and holding on to their fragile majority in the House, has Democrats searching for answers as they now try to emerge from the political wilderness.

Murphy, pointing to post-election polls, said most Americans give the president-elect a thumbs up on how he’s handling his transition, and that Trump will return to the White House next month more popular compared to eight years ago, when he first won the presidency. 

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR SPELLS OUT THE PARTY’S 2026 GAME PLAN

Trump arrives to speak at an election night celebration at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

And she noted that voters “give him a pass on the outrageous” comments he continuously makes because they approve of his handling of the economy. 

Murphy, in her comments Friday as DNC leaders huddled at a hotel near the U.S. Capitol, said the Democrats’ mission going forward is to change that perception.

“We want to focus on this term … and tell the story about how this term is worse and things are not going to be good for the American people,” Murphy said.

The Democrats’ message should be “Donald Trump does not care about you. He is going to screw you,” Murphy argued. “As a north star, I think we need to stay focused on … the economy and costs.“

“A lot of people are expecting the price of milk to go back where it was,” Murphy noted. 

TRUMP ALLIES TURN UP THE HEAT ON HOLDOUT GOP SENATORS 

She said Democrats need to borrow a page from the GOP’s 2024 campaign playbook: “We can do what they did to us … even if the economy is stronger, costs are still going to be too high for people.”

And she added that Democrats need to spotlight what she called unpopular parts of the Trump agenda, including “tax breaks for the wealthy” and “letting corporations drive up prices and making you pay for it.” 

The Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) executive committee meets for the first time since the presidential election on Dec. 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

And she said the party needs to frame Trump’s proposed tariffs on key American trading partners “a sales tax on the American people that will drive up prices,” which was a line that Harris used on the campaign trail.

Murphy also spotlighted that Trump and Republicans made gains with key parts of the Democratic Party’s base – younger voters, Latinos, and Black voters because of the economy, but also because of the Democrats’ “wonky” messaging.

“A lot of times we’re talking about polices,” Murphy said, while Republicans have “culture conversations that create a connection between the party and the people that go beyond polices.”

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR FRONT-RUNNER OFFERS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ ADVICE

Murphy argued that “these culture conversations that conservatives have been able to have in an organic way have been able to draw a connection that we know is not supported by policy … and we know that we have a lot of shared values with these working Americans and we need to find ways to have more authentic connection points there.”

Vice President-elect Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican from Ohio, joins Trump during an election night celebration at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 6, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DNC chair Jaime Harrison complimented Murphy’s presentation. 

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But, Harrison, who is not running for a second four-year term steering the national party committee, pointed to the next White House race and offered that the party should also target Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance.

“I think it will be a big error on our part if we focus all of our attention on Donald Trump and not JD Vance, particularly as we start to look at the 2028 race,” Harrison highlighted.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — who was urged by President-elect Donald Trump to run in the special election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District — hopes to win so he can support the incoming commander-in-chief’s agenda.

Patronis told Fox News Digital during an interview on Thursday that he is eager to run and “support President Trump’s agenda about” eliminating “wokeness” which has “infiltrated” government and society.

“We need common sense,” he said, asserting that it is not currently “very common” in the U.S.

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

Left: Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis; Right: President-elect Donald Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Dec. 12, 2024 in New York City.  (Left: Fox News Digital; Right: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Asked whether he would be interested in joining the House Freedom Caucus if he wins the House seat, Patronis indicated that he would “love to know what they’re all about,” and said that many of the things he is familiar with the group participating in “make sense to” him.

He said, “the citizens of the United States, or in this case District 1, spend their money better than Washington D.C. does.”

Patronis wants the Sunshine State to adopt gold and silver as legal tender and has called for a study on the issue.

HOUSE GOP LEADERS ENDORSE TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE JIMMY PATRONIS FOR MATT GAETZ’S OLD SEAT

Gold bars are displayed at Shinhan Bank in Seoul on Jan. 9, 2004. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

“Gold and silver have been trusted assets for thousands of years, and it makes perfect sense to use them as legal tender. I’m launching this study to determine the best way to get it done,” Patronis said in a statement included in a press release earlier this week. 

He indicated to Fox News Digital that he hopes the study will pave the way for the state legislature to approve legislation “to allow this type of economic freedom right here in the state of Florida.”

In addition to Trump’s backing, Patronis also has scored endorsements from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

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

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Election Day for the special election is set for April 1, but Patronis will first face the special Republican primary contest next month.

President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend the annual Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, and they are bringing some guests who are sure to stir debate. 

In what will be the 125th meeting of the Black Knights and Midshipmen, a source tells Fox that Trump is taking Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to the highly anticipated football clash, while Vance confirmed on social media that he will have Marine veteran Daniel Penny by his side. 

Penny was found not guilty in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely in New York City earlier this week, a decision which was criticized by some commentators on the left and underscored a divide between crime and mental health.

President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend the annual Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, and they are bringing some guests who are sure to stir debate.  (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, left, Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, second from left, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, second from right, Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, right. )

DANIEL PENNY FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

Hegseth is still battling it out to secure his nomination for the top defense role and the dynamics of his appearance will be interesting given Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will also be in attendance. 

DeSantis at one point was touted as a possible replacement for Hegseth, although it is unclear if he will be seated with Trump in a suite.  

Hegseth’s appearance will mark a very public declaration of support from Trump, as some senators are still holding out on committing to his confirmation. 

Hegseth, an Army National Guard and former longtime Fox News host, deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been the focus of misconduct reports.

Trump’s defense secretary nominee has denied allegations that he mistreated women but did reach a financial settlement with an accuser from a 2017 incident to avoid a lawsuit. He has vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed as defense secretary.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Defense Secretary, gives a thumbs-up as he walks with his wife Jennifer Hegseth, left, to meet with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

JD VANCE CONFIRMS DANIEL PENNY WILL ATTEND ARMY-NAVY GAME AFTER ACQUITTAL IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

Meanwhile, Vance took a swipe at New York City prosecutors for taking on the case in a post on X confirming Penny’s attendance.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance wrote. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.” 

Penny, 26, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the May 2023 subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who had barged onto the train shouting death threats while high on a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2.

Marine veteran Daniel Penny will attend the game alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

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Trump attended the game as president in 2018, 2019 and 2020, while he also appeared as president-elect in 2016.

President Biden has never attended the annual clash as president, although he did appear as vice president.

This season has been a banner year for both football programs, adding buzz to the annual rivalry match. The teams have a combined 19 wins this year and with victories over Air Force, the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will be awarded to the winner of Saturday’s game. 

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, Paulina Dedaj and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

The Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights line up for the snap at the line of scrimmage during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 9, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass.  (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for his second White House term just weeks after the abrupt toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria— a pivotal moment that could test Trump’s long-held promises to end U.S. involvement in so-called “forever wars” in the Middle East or putting more American boots on the ground in these countries.

With roughly six weeks to go before he takes office, Trump does not appear to be backing down on his promises of pursuing a foreign policy agenda directed toward prioritizing issues at home and avoiding entanglements overseas.

However, Trump’s promises about ending U.S. military commitments abroad could be tested in Syria, where conditions in the country are now vastly different from Trump’s first term — creating a government seen as ripe for exploitation by other foreign powers, including governments or terrorist groups.

US OIL AND GAS PRODUCERS PRESSURE HOUSE TO PASS PIVOTAL PERMITTING BILL AND GET AMERICA ‘BACK ON TRACK’

U.S. Army soldiers survey an area during a joint patrol in Manbij, Syria, in 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zoe Garbarino via AP)

“This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved,” Trump said on Truth Social over the weekend, as rebel-backed fighters advanced into Damascus, forcing Assad to flee to Moscow for safe haven. 

Trump, for his part, has acknowledged the foreign policy situation he stands to inherit in 2025 could be more complex than he saw in his first term, especially in the Middle East. 

It “certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now,” Trump told leaders earlier this week in Paris, where he attended a grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Here is a rundown of what Trump did in Syria in 2019 and how his actions could be insufficient today.

Current status 

In Syria, the speed at which rebel forces successfully wrested back control of major cities and forced Assad to flee to Moscow for safe haven took many by surprise, including analysts and diplomats with years of experience in the region. 

It is currently an “open question” who is currently in charge in Syria, White House National Security communications advisor John Kirby told reporters earlier this week. 

However, the rebel-led group that ousted Assad is currently designated as a terrorist organization in the U.S., raising fresh uncertainty over whether Trump might see their rise to power as a threat to U.S. national security and whether he might move to position U.S. troops in response.

PATEL ‘READY TO SERVE’ AS FBI DIRECTOR, SEEKS ‘SMOOTH TRANSITION’ AFTER WRAY RESIGNATION NEWS

Then-President Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq in 2018. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

The conditions are also ripe for exploration by other governments and adversaries, which could seize on the many power vacuums created by the collapse of Assad’s regime. 

In the days following Assad’s flight to Moscow, senior Biden administration officials stressed that the U.S. will act only in a supporting capacity, telling reporters, “We are not coming up with a blueprint from Washington for the future of Syria.”

“This is written by Syrians. The fall of Assad was delivered by Syrians,” the administration official said. 

Still, this person added, “I think it’s very clear that the United States can provide a helping hand, and we are very much prepared to do so.” It’s unclear whether Trump will see the situation the same.

Trump’s first term

In October 2019, Trump announced the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, news that came under sharp criticism by some diplomats and foreign policy analysts, who cited fears that the decision risked destabilizing one of the only remaining stable parts of Syria and injecting further volatility and uncertainty into the war-torn nation. 

However, at the time, that part of the country was stable. U.S. troops were stationed there alongside British and French troops, who worked alongside the Syrian Defense Force to protect against a resurgence of Islamic State activity. However, the situation is different now, something that Trump’s team does not appear to be disputing, for its part.

Additionally, while seeking the presidency in 2024, Trump continued his “America first” posture that many believe helped him win the election in 2016 — vowing to crack down on border security, job creation, and U.S. oil and gas production, among other things — incoming Trump administration officials have stressed the degree to which they’ve worked alongside the Biden administration to ensure a smooth handover when it comes to geopolitical issues.

Rebel fighters stand near the Iranian embassy after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria. (REUTERS/Firas Makdesi)

Unlike his first White House transition, Trump’s preparations for a second presidential term have been remarkably detailed, efficient and policy oriented. That includes announcing nominations for most Cabinet positions and diplomats, and releasing policy blueprints for how the administration plans to govern over the next four years.  

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“For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity that they can play one administration off the other, they’re wrong, and we… we are hand in glove,” Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News in an interview following Trump’s election in November. “We are one team with the United States in this transition.”

EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Trump won’t be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms, but Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley says that Trump will play a “significant” role in supporting GOP candidates.

Republicans enjoyed major victories in last month’s elections, with Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House, the GOP flipping control of the Senate from the Democrats, and holding on to their razor-thin majority in the House.

Whatley argued that “as we go forward into this next election cycle, the fundamentals are going to remain the same” during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

“We need to make sure that we are building our state parties, that we’re building our ground game, we’re building our election integrity apparatus to be in place to make sure that when we get those candidates through those primaries in ‘26, that we’re going to be in a position to take them all the way to the finish line,” he emphasized.

TRUMP KEEPS WHATLEY STEERING REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOLLOWING ‘OUSTANDING’ JOB

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley gavels in and calls the convention to order on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But the party in power traditionally suffers setbacks in the following midterm elections. And Trump, who was a magnate for voter turnout, won’t be on the ballot in 2026.

Whatley said that even though he won’t be a candidate, “President Trump is going to be a very significant part of this because at the end of the day, what we need to do is hold on to the House, hold on to the Senate so that we can finish his term and his agenda.”

TRUMP ALLIES TURN UP THE HEAT ON HOLDOUT GOP SENATORS 

And Whatley predicted that “Donald Trump will be very active on the campaign trail for Republicans. And his agenda is the agenda that we’re going to be running on.”

President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee outraised the Trump campaign and the RNC this past cycle, but Whatley is confident that with the party soon to control the White House, Republicans will be even more competitive in the campaign cash race in the midterms.

“We’re pretty excited about where we are in terms of the fundraising that we did throughout the course of this cycle and what we’re going to do going forward,” he said.

Whatley said that his message to donors will be “we were successful in putting Donald Trump into the White House, and we need to carry forward with his agenda by keeping these House majorities and Senate majorities.”

He also pushed back on the persistent questioning of the RNC and Trump campaign’s ground game efforts during the general election.

“We focused very hard on low propensity voters. This was an entirely new system that we put in place over the course of this election cycle. It worked very, very well,” he touted. 

And looking ahead, he said “in a midterm election cycle, low propensity voters are going to, again, be very, very important for us. So, we’re going to continue to focus on building that type of a program.”

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR FRONT-RUNNER OFFERS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ ADVICE

Whatley spotlighted that ‘we also focused on outreach to communities that the Republican Party has traditionally not reached out to – Black voters, Hispanic voters, Asian American voters. That’s why we were able to see such seismic shifts towards Donald Trump versus where those blocks had been in 2016 and 2020. We also saw seismic shifts among young voters and women voters because we were talking to every single American voter. Our ground game was very significant.”

Whatley was interviewed a week after Trump asked him to continue as RNC chair moving forward.

In March, as he clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Trump named Whatley to succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair. Whatley, a longtime ally of the former president and a major supporter of Trump’s election integrity efforts, had served as RNC general counsel and chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. 

Trump is term-limited and won’t be able to seek election again in 2028. Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance will likely be considered the front-runner for the 2028 GOP nomination.

Vice President-elect Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio (left) and President-elect Donald Trump during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., US, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But asked if the RNC will hold to its traditional role of staying neutral in an open and contested presidential primary, Whatley said “we will.”

And he added that “I’m very excited about the bench that we have in the Republican Party right now. You think about all the Republican governors, you think about all the Republican senators, the members of the House that we have, the leaders across the country that have been engaged in this campaign are going to be part of the president’s cabinet.”

Whatley argued that the president-elect’s “America First movement is bigger than Donald Trump. He is the tip of the spear. He is the vanguard of this movement. But. It is a very big movement right now.”

The chairman also emphasized that “Donald Trump has completely remade the Republican Party. We’re now the working-class party. We’re now a party that is communicating and working with every single voter, speaking to every single voter about the issues that they care about. So, as we go into 2028, we are in a great position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement.”

The sign outside the New Hampshire capitol in Concord honors the state’s cherished century-old tradition of holding the nation’s first presidential primary in the race for the White House. (Fox News )

Unlike the DNC, which in the 2024 cycle upended the traditional presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.

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Asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley said “I’ve not had any conversations with anybody who wants to change the calendar on our side. I know the Democrats did during the course of this election cycle, not sure that it really helped them all that much.”

“We’re very comfortable with the calendar as it is. But as we move towards 2028, we’ll have those conversations,” he added.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders are cautiously optimistic heading into the new year with a second Trump administration.

This week, Fox News Digital spoke to leaders from various faith communities, many of whom expressed hope the incoming administration would lead in the right direction but wary that President-elect Trump would still prove himself.

“There are some [Jewish] communities that feel positive and optimistic, and there are some communities that feel extremely concerned,” said New York City Rabbi Jo David, who has a private rabbinic practice.

President-elect Trump and a rosary (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/BrianAJackson via iStock)

“I think there’s a mixed reaction, but there’s a skeptical optimism,” said Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

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Lorenzo Sewell, senior pastor at 180 Church in Detroit, said Trump has the opportunity to go down as “the greatest president in history” if he plays his cards right. “Only thing he needs to do is righteously regulate [the appropriate] resources.”

Samuel Rodriguez is lead pastor at New Season, a prominent U.S. megachurch, and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He echoed the sense of hope that some faith leaders are feeling looking toward Inauguration Day. 

A mother and girl fold hands in prayer on a Bible together. (iStock)

“I believe we’ll see a stronger emphasis on protecting religious freedom and ensuring that faith communities are empowered to thrive,” Rodriguez said. “Policies that respect the role of faith-based organizations in society — whether they’re feeding the hungry, educating children or advocating for life — will likely take center stage. I also anticipate an administration that values the contributions of people of faith, not as something to tolerate but as an essential cornerstone of our nation.”

With respect to the Jewish community, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said antisemitism, particularly on social media and on college campuses, and the “embrace of the Hamas narrative,” are a top priority. 

FOX NEWS ‘ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED’ NEWSLETTER: TRUMP’S WARNING TO HAMAS GIVES HOSTAGES’ FAMILIES NEW HOPE 

A sign at the University of Chicago’s anti-Israel encampment includes slogans like “Break open the gates, globalize the intifada” and “We will honor all our martyrs.” (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

“We expect and hope for a completely different approach on the part of the incoming administration,” Cooper said. “We expect that the billions and billions of sanction relief that President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken have given to the terrorist-sponsoring regime in Iran, that’s going to come to an end.”

Cooper also said building on and advancing the Abraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, will be important.

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For Tarin, the biggest hope among the Muslim community, he says, is that there is not a repeat of the 2020 order by Trump that prevented people from certain Muslim countries from coming to the U.S.

“No. 2, the hope is that all Americans, including American Muslims, their civil rights and civil liberties and the issues that they’ve been advocating for are protected. No. 3, the hope is for a cease-fire and the end to the conflict in the Middle East and specifically in Gaza,” Tarin said. 

He added that it would be beneficial if Trump embraced parts of the Biden administration’s national strategy on Islamophobia. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for comment but did not receive a response.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, indicated that she’s not wedded to the Republican label, but noted that she has never abandoned it.

Murkowski, who made the remarks at a conference for the No Labels group, claimed that she’s “more of a Ronald Reagan … Republican than I am a Trump Republican. And … some would say, well you’re not really a Republican at all,” she noted. 

But the senator said “you can call me whatever you want … I’m not attached to a label. I’d rather be that no label.” 

Murkowski said she’d prefer being known as someone who seeks to “do right by this state and the people that I serve regardless of party.”

ANTI-TRUMP GOP ALASKA SENATOR DOESN’T SHOOT DOWN NOTION OF BECOMING INDEPENDENT

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a news conference about high gas prices at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“In fact, I think I am more comfortable with that identity,” she noted, than with an “identity … as a Republican, as a party person.”

But later during her remarks, Murkwoski noted that she’s never ditched her GOP label.

“I am still a Republican,” she said, noting, “I’ve never shed my party label.”

DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Special Diabetes Program in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2023. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF)

President-elect Trump urged a crowd in Alaska in 2022 to “dump the horrific RINO senator Lisa Murkowski,” using the acronym that stands for “Republican in name only.” 

In late 2002, Frank Murkowski, who had just departed the U.S. Senate to serve as governor, appointed his daughter Lisa Murkowski to fill the Senate vacancy. 

She has since won election to the Senate multiple times, including in 2022 when she defeated Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka.

TRUMP ENDORSES MURKOWSKI PRIMARY OPPONENT KELLY TSHIBAKA

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C, on Nov. 13. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Earlier this year, Murkowski endorsed former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during the GOP presidential primary.

A Montana law banning transgender surgeries for minors will remain temporarily blocked following a state Supreme Court ruling that a Republican lawmaker is calling an “egregious example of hyperpartisanship.” 

The justices sided with a lower court judge who found that the law — which sought to prohibit the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria — likely violates Montana’s constitutional right to privacy. 

Republican Sen. John Fuller, who sponsored the bill before it was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte in April 2023, told The Associated Press that the decision on Wednesday “is an egregious example of the hyperpartisanship of the Montana Supreme Court.” 

He criticized the courts for upholding the “ability to sterilize and mutilate children” and denying protection to children “from unscientific and experimental drugs and operations that have grown increasingly evident as a danger to children.” 

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

Transgender rights activists hold signs as they march through the University of Montana campus in May 2023 in Missoula, Montana. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The ruling came on the same day the United Kingdom announced that “existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones will be made indefinite, following official advice from medical experts.” 

“Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people,” Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said in a statement. 

In Montana’s case, transgender youth argued the law would ban them from continuing to receive gender-affirming medical care, violating their constitutional rights to equal protection, the right to seek health care and the right to dignity. The state Supreme Court upheld the injunction based on the right to privacy, which court rulings have said includes the right to make personal medical decisions free from government interference. 

Montana is one of at least 26 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors and most face lawsuits. Some bans have been temporarily blocked by courts, while others have been allowed to take effect. Fifteen states have enacted protections for gender-affirming medical care for minors. 

“Today’s ruling permits our clients to breathe a sigh of relief,” Akilah Deernose, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said in a statement. “But the fight for trans rights is far from over. We will continue to push for the right of all Montanans, including those who are transgender, to be themselves and live their lives free of intrusive government interference.” 

INCOMING REPUBLICAN SENATOR REVEALS HOW HE WILL ‘STRAP ROCKET-BOOSTERS’ TO TRUMP’S AGENDA IN NEW CONGRESS 

Demonstrators gather on the steps of the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Montana, in March 2021. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)

The case against the Montana law now goes to trial before District Court Judge Jason Marks, with the state attorney general’s office telling the AP it looks forward to defending the law. 

“In upholding the district court’s flawed decision to temporarily block a duly enacted law, the Supreme Court put the wellbeing of children — who have yet to reach puberty — at risk by allowing experimental treatments that could leave them to deal with serious and irreversible consequences for the rest of their lives to continue,” spokesperson Chase Scheuer said to the news agency. 

In a majority opinion, Justice Beth Baker wrote that the law, titled Senate Bill 99, blocks “lawful medications and procedures administered by competent and licensed health care providers,” according to The Washington Examiner. 

Demonstrators hold a sign that reads “Democracy Dies Here,” on the steps of the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Montana, in April 2023. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)

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“SB 99 affords no room for decision-making by a patient in consultation with their doctors and parents,” she reportedly added. “The statute is a complete ban, prohibiting individualized care tailored to the needs of each patient based on the exercise of professional medical judgment and informed consent.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Left-wing nonprofit ProPublica is facing renewed scrutiny after an email exchange related to its recent unpublished story on Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was released on Thursday.

A media firestorm began earlier this week when Hegseth revealed on X that ProPublica, which he called a “Left Wing hack group” was planning to publish a “knowingly false report” that he was not accepted by West Point in 1999. Attached to the post was a photo of Hegseth’s acceptance letter signed by West Point Superintendent Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, U.S. Army.

ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger responded to the post, explaining that West Point public affairs had told the outlet twice that Hegseth hadn’t applied.

“We reached out,” Eisinger wrote. “Hegseth’s spox gave us his acceptance letter. We didn’t publish a story. That’s journalism.”

TIDE TURNS IN FAVOR OF TRUMP DOD PICK PETE HEGSETH AFTER MATT GAETZ FAILURE

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, left, and West Point Military Academy, right (Getty)

After intense criticism from conservatives online, with some questioning why ProPublica did not press West Point on the inaccurate information and publish a story on that aspect, Eisinger posted a lengthy X thread outlining the steps ProPublica had taken researching the story claiming and touting how they “care about accuracy” and being “intellectually honest” and had given Hegseth a “fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.”

Questions about ProPublica’s journalistic standards intensified shortly afterward when Daily Caller published an email from reporter Justin Elliot reaching out to Hegseth’s lawyer, giving him an hour to respond to the allegation that he never went to West Point and asking, “Why did Mr. Hegseth say he got into West Point when that is not true?” 

SAMUEL ALITO SLAMS PROPUBLICA AS ‘MISLEADING’ AHEAD OF REPORT ALLEGING CONFLICT OF INTEREST FROM SCOTUS BENCH

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

“How can Mr. Hegseth be Secretary of Defense given that he has made false statements about getting into the military’s most prestigious academy?” Elliot asked.

That email drew the ire of many on social media, who took issue with the accusatory tone of the email and the small window to respond to such a serious allegation, which suggested the story had already been completed without hearing Hegseth’s side.

“ProPublica did not contact Pete Hegseth to get the full story,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “They contacted him to claim he was a liar while demanding a response within one hour not to offer his side, but to ask why he ‘lied’ and what else he ‘lied’ about.”

“This isn’t ‘journalism.’ It’s unethical garbage.”

“***Nothing*** in Jesse’s 11-tweet thread even hinted that ***this*** is how ProPublica actually approached the story— taking the falsehood from West Point, repeatedly asserting to Hegseth that he was a liar & implying he is unfit for SecDef, & giving him just one hour to respond,” journalist Jerry Dunleavy posted on X. 

“ProPublica’s Editor-in-Chief claimed that they gave @PeteHegseth a fair chance to respond to the West Point story because they ‘care about accuracy,’” Trump 2024 Rapid Response Director Greg Price posted on X. “According to this unhinged email obtained by @reaganreese, they straight up accused him of being a liar and gave him a one hour deadline to respond.”

REPUBLICAN MILITARY VETS IN CONGRESS ARE ON A MISSION TO GET HEGSETH CONFIRMED

West Point cadets salute as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III arrives for the 2021 West Point Commencement Ceremony in Michie Stadium.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a ProPublica spokesperson said, “Reporters do their job by asking tough questions to people in power, which is exactly what happened here. Responsible news organizations only publish what they can verify, which is why we didn’t publish a story once Mr. Hegseth provided documentation that corrected the statements from West Point.”

Fox News Digital reached out to West Point asking whether any disciplinary actions had been taken against the staffers for providing false information and why procedures had not been in place to prevent that kind of error. 

West Point directed Fox News Digital to its previously issued statement. 

“A review of our records indicates Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. An incorrect statement involving Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024.  Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error. Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.”

In a letter to West Point this week, Republican Congressman Jim Banks wrote, “It is outrageous that West Point officials would so grossly interfere in a political process and make false claims regarding a presidential nominee.”

“Even in the unlikely scenario of OPA mistakenly making false claims not once but twice, it is an unforgivable act of incompetence that OPA did not make absolutely sure their information was accurate before sharing it with a reporter.”

This week’s ProPublica controversy comes after the nonprofit, which has received millions of dollars from liberal foundations, faced strong criticism for its reporting on conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, which critics referred to as “hit pieces.”

Associate Justice Samuel Alito joins other members of the U.S. Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait in October 2022. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

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“Journalistic inquiry into the private dealings of public officials is essential for our democracy. But honest inquiry applies the same standard to all people rather than single out those with whom one disagrees,” Gretchen Reiter, senior vice president of communications at Stand Together, told Fox News Digital last year regarding ProPublica’s reporting on Thomas.

ProPublica’s reporting on Alito prompted the justice to write a Wall Street Journal op-ed where he wrote, “ProPublica has leveled two charges against me: first, that I should have recused in matters in which an entity connected with Paul Singer was a party and, second, that I was obligated to list certain items as gifts on my 2008 Financial Disclose Report. Neither charge is valid.”

ProPublica stood by its reporting on Alito but acknowledged there are “lessons for ProPublica in this experience.”

A top New Jersey lawmaker is proposing legislation to form a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Garden State, modeling it after the one Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are forming at the federal level.

“We need it more” than Washington, Senate Minority Whip Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, said. 

“We’re mirroring what the federal government and what those two gentlemen are doing.”

Pennacchio, who also previously worked under former Republican Gov. Donald DiFrancesco on economic development, said NJDOGE would take on a state budget that has increased 60% in the past seven fiscal years.

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NJ State Senate Minority Whip Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris. (New Jersey State Senate official photo)

“A lot of those increases were one-shots, when they borrowed money during the period of COVID. You’re not going to get that back. … They haven’t even spent it all. Those one-shots, they’re all gone.

“I’ve seen estimates of a budget deficit next year of maybe $4 billion. Next year is the governor’s race. We will have a new governor, and regardless of who comes in — Republican or Democrat — it would be nice to have a committee together to give them a blueprint of what we can or should not do.”

He said the state does have a “red tape” commission set up by former Gov. Chris Christie to trim regulations, adding it hasn’t borne results.

“Every dollar we save is $1 less that [Trenton] has to raise taxes,” Pennacchio said. 

Pennacchio’s committee, if approved, would consist of one member from the state Treasury, one from the Chamber of Commerce, the top Republican and Democrat from the Senate and General Assembly and one public member appointed by the governor.

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Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty)

“[N]ot only can we start to chip away at our exacerbated affordability crisis by cutting wasteful spending and ensuring efficiency, we can also ease the financial burden for our constituents across the Garden State by lowering the onslaught of taxes and fees,” Pennacchio said.

At least one other state senator is planning to endorse the idea but has not yet done so publicly. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives of the General Assembly for their reaction to the senator’s legislation.

Despite being long viewed as a reliably “blue” state, New Jersey came within about four points of electing Donald Trump instead of Vice President Kamala Harris. Political analysts pointed to the results as evidence of a tidal shift in public opinion toward government spending, among other subjects.

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Trump twice won Morris County and flipped Passaic County in 2024, parts of which Pennacchio represents. The lawmaker said his constituents are on board with his NJDOGE proposal and that they’ve similarly recognized disparities in the funding support they receive from Trenton.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump Transition for comment on the plan.

“My district is a district that is getting the bills. Schools in my district are seeing cuts while schools in other districts are not seeing cuts,” Pennacchio said.

“It is stuff like this that we should look at. … If the legislature sees fit that they still want to subsidize this nonsense, then that’s fine. They’ll be on record.

“Let’s greet the next new governor with outlines of what they can do, where there are cost savings, where things can be eliminated; that will stimulate the economy, maybe decrease taxes on the people.”

The 2025 field for that governor’s race is packed, with several top names in both partisan primaries.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Senate Leader Steve Sweeney and representatives Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer round out the Democratic choices.

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Truck driver and former state Sen. Ed Durr, Sen. Jon Bramnick, conservative journalist Bill Spadea and 2021 gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli are the top names on the Republican side.

State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Lakewood, also joined Pennacchio’s call for a NJDOGE.

“With President Trump’s plan to bring business back to the U.S., New Jersey has the chance to lead the charge. It’s time to restore our state’s manufacturing glory with high-paying jobs,” Singer said.

“Let’s make New Jersey the blueprint for the Make America Work Again movement, starting with a statewide DOGE.”

The New Jersey Capitol in Trenton (iStock)

Recently, large drones have been spotted across Pennacchio’s district, making nationwide news.

Pennacchio slammed the feds for offering Jerseyans few answers on the aircraft, saying that when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, government officials knew right away who orchestrated it.

“We even had some face time with the Department of Homeland Security (about the drones). They were useless. … They should be ashamed of themselves. The FBI director, he checked out. [Christopher Wray] already announced that he’s leaving. … So who’s minding the store here?”