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Left-wing nonprofit ProPublica is facing renewed scrutiny after an email exchange related to its recent unpublished story on Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was released on Thursday.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

DRONE ACTIVITY NEAR TRUMP-BEDMINSTER, PICATINNY ARSENAL SPURS NJ FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS

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.

DOGE-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

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.

GOP LAWMAKER TORCHES OFFSHORE NJ WIND PROJECTS AS MD MAYOR BLASTS ‘STAR WARS’ BACKDROPS

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?”

The Biden administration’s aggressive regulatory stance towards big businesses has stymied growth, a cohort of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other business sector experts expressed to Fox News Digital. 

Earlier this week, Albertsons abandoned its $25 million merger with fellow grocery store chain Kroger, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), led by President Biden appointee Lena Khan, sought to challenge the buyout, arguing it would stifle competition and raise prices. The challenge and the merger’s eventual failure is the latest example of the Biden administration’s offensive against big business. 

“We have literally had offers from strategic buyers to buy us, and we go to our counsel and the counsel says, ‘Don’t even try. The FTC will absolutely flag this thing, and you will spend tens of millions of dollars and be stuck in a bureaucratic hell answering questions in court for a year,” said venture capitalist Ravin Gandhi, a former CEO who has been involved in multiple merger and acquisition deals and maintains a stake in a number of startups. 

‘GOV’T KNOWS BEST’: BIDEN ADMIN BREAKS OBAMA RECORD FOR FILLING FEDERAL REGISTER WITH MOST REGULATIONS

“Lena Khan was explicit in talking about even mid-market M&A as a vehicle for monopoly. And anyone who has built a business and sold it, like I have, knows that’s ridiculous.”

The headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., is seen on Nov. 18.

The chilling effect described by Gandhi has been echoed by other analysts, who say that the Biden administration’s rhetoric and policies have required businesses to take matters into their own hands by abandoning or restructuring their transactions in the face of FTC and Department of Justice antitrust concerns. An analysis by international law firm Morgan Lewis found that under Biden, the vast majority — nearly three-quarters — of all transactions in which the government sought more details from companies about a proposed merger were subject to enforcement action.

“America wants a different choice,” said Cardone Capital CEO Grant Cardone. “This idea that Joe Biden is going to make the world more competitive is a red herring.”  

Cardone, too, expressed frustration over regulatory battles with the Biden administration, noting that they have made it “almost impossible for people to do business.” 

Cardone Capital CEO Grant Cardone attends Gateway Celebrity Fight Night 2024 in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 27.

Several other business leaders, venture capitalists and people with detailed knowledge of mergers and acquisitions echoed the concerns shared by Gandhi and Cardone that business growth has been stymied.

“The FTC’s aggressive antitrust enforcement under the Biden administration has significantly dampened M&A activity, particularly in the tech sector,” said Kison Patel, a financial tech entrepreneur and the host of “M&A Science,” a podcast about mergers and acquisitions. “For example, one Fortune 10 tech company has scaled back its deal making from 30 to fewer than five transactions.” 

CONSTRUCTION TRADE GROUP LEADERS LOOK FORWARD TO NEW LEADERSHIP UNDER TRUMP: ‘RELIEF ON THE HORIZON’

Armen Martin, a veteran merger and acquisitions attorney, added that in talking to venture capitalists, he had heard optimism about FTC Commissioner Khan’s exit. She will be replaced by President-elect Trump’s nominee for FTC Commissioner, Andrew Ferguson. 

“I think you will see a lot more M&A activity under the Trump administration as companies feel more confident that the government won’t get involved,” Martin said.

President Trump holds gold scissors as he cuts red tape tied between two stacks of papers representing the government regulations of the 1960s and the regulations of today in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 14, 2017.

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Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News Digital, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said that the recently blocked grocery store merger “makes it clear that strong, reality-based antitrust enforcement delivers real results for consumers, workers, and small businesses.”  

“Today’s win protects competition in the grocery market, which will prevent prices from rising even more,” he added.

Washington, D.C.-area restaurants once again will not be free from politics as the Trump team prepares to settle into the nation’s capital for a second term. 

Food workers inside the Beltway are prepared to refuse service and cause other inconveniences for members of the incoming Trump administration, but this is not the first time the administration and allies will have to deal with harassment while sitting down to dinner.

In September 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife were harassed at Fiola, an upscale Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Protesters confronted them over Cruz’s support for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings. Videos circulated online showing demonstrators shouting at the couple, chanting, “We believe survivors.” Cruz and his wife eventually left the restaurant due to the altercation.

WASHINGTON, D.C., POLITICAL BAR TAKES DOWN REPUBLICAN SYMBOL AFTER FIERCE BACKLASH

Ted Cruz was heckled out of a Washington D.C. restaurant by a group of protesters opposing the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018. (Smash Racism DC)

This incident was part of a broader wave of confrontations involving Trump administration officials and allies over the summer that year.

As such, in June 2018, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was confronted by protesters at MXDC Cocina Mexicana, a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., over the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters chanted, “Shame!” and called her a “villain,” forcing her to leave.

Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, known for his role in shaping immigration policy, recounted an incident when he went to pick up an $80 sushi order from a restaurant near his apartment that same month. As he left, the bartender followed him outside, called out his name and, when Miller turned around, gave him a double middle finger. He threw away the sushi out of fear someone in the restaurant had tampered with the food, the New York Post reported at the time.

DC FOOD WORKERS VOW TRUMP OFFICIALS WON’T FEEL WELCOMED WHEN DINING OUT IN NATION’S CAPITAL

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

Also in June 2018, the owner of The Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, asked then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave, citing opposition to the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies. 

Industry veterans, bartenders and servers in the nation’s capital told the Washingtonian this week that resistance to the Republican figures in the progressive city was inevitable and a matter of conscience. 

BIDEN ADMIN SETS NEW TARGET TO TRIPLE US NUCLEAR CAPACITY FROM 2020 LEVELS

Protesters march in reaction to the upset election of Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race for President of the United States on Nov. 12, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

“You expect the masses to just ignore RFK eating at Le Diplomate on a Sunday morning after a few mimosas and not to throw a drink in his face?,” said Zac Hoffman, a Washington, D.C., restaurant veteran who is now a manager at the National Democratic Club.

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Not every liberal hospitality sector worker in the report planned to protest the incoming administration while doing their job, however. 

A bartender named Joseph said while he was disappointed by the election results, he was looking forward to higher tips with more Republicans in Washington.

Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this report.

An uptick in alleged drone sightings along the East Coast touched off a flurry of panicked calls for investigation on Friday from residents and state lawmakers, even as public officials stress the aircraft in question are, in fact, being flown lawfully, and a retired port authority aviation expert tells Fox News Digital that fears are overblown.

The drone complaints began pouring in last month in New Jersey, where witnesses and residents first began reporting drone sightings off of coastal areas, including off of Cape May, a scenic town located outside of Atlantic City.

More recently, lawmakers in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland have reported new alleged drone sightings in their home states, with some witnesses alleging the aircraft in question have been the “size of cars” or seen flying above sensitive infrastructure or in restricted airspace.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday he had written to President Biden to share his concerns about the fresh reports of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sightings in New Jersey airspace, and called for more federal resources to investigate the issue.

“It has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote in the letter.

DRONE MYSTERY: NEW JERSEY HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Other lawmakers in the state have gone even further, calling for the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to join in their investigations into the unmanned aircraft, with one Garden State lawmaker urging the objects be “shot down” if necessary.

​​”We are literally being invaded by drones,” Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herbwe told reporters on Wednesday night following a town hall meeting in New Jersey. 

“We have no idea who is doing [this] and where they’re coming from.” 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., issued a statement on Friday citing concerns “about the potential for these unmanned aerial vehicles — many of which are as large as a car — to disrupt air traffic and, more alarmingly, to be used maliciously to threaten national security.”

These remarks have added to a growing collective sense of panic — but a panic that many in the law enforcement community say is both unfounded and unnecessary. 

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby sought to assuage these fears, stressing during a press briefing Thursday that there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.” 

Others in the law enforcement community also echoed this sentiment. Retired Port Authority Police Detective Lt. John Ryan told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday that the uptick in activity is likely due to two things.

HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is seen next to a photo of reported drones in Connecticut. Blumenthal is among the lawmakers who have pushed for action on the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The first, he said, is that drones are a fast-evolving technology that has seen a boom in both recreational and commercial use in the U.S. in the last 10 years. Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp uptick in use, most if not all of which is legal.

Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp uptick in use: As of October of this year, there were more than 790,000 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Association (FAA), and nearly 400,000 registered commercial drones. 

That’s “just to give you an idea” of the magnitude of the number of legal drones in the U.S., said Ryan, whose extensive police career included serving for a decade as the emergency service special operations commander at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and then later, the chief officer of the Port Authority, whose role includes oversight of all transportation facilities, including Kennedy, LaGuardia and all other airports and ports in the area.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TRUMP FINDINGS TO DOJ BEFORE LEAVING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

A map showing drone sightings around New Jersey.

The second mistake, Ryan said, is that the individuals in question are asking the wrong authorities for help.

“The mistake I see people making is that they’re going to the wrong agencies and asking these questions,” he added.

The FAA is the federal body tasked with registering drones and other U.S. aircraft. It’s also the one tasked with monitoring recreational and commercial drone use in the U.S.

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“In New Jersey, they’ve been asking the FBI, they’ve been asking the Department of Homeland Security — they’ve been asking everybody except the people that they should be asking,” said Ryan.

The Pentagon also reiterated this view, noting that an initial assessment had shown the drones were not from another country, and were not shot down because they were not deemed a threat to national security.

Kirby echoed this sentiment on Thursday. Asked whether the U.S. would consider banning drone use in U.S. airspace, he told reporters, “I don’t know that we’re at a stage right now where we’re considering that” as a policy option.

President-elect Trump on Friday posted a message on his Truth Social account that contrasted his 2023 mugshot with his Time magazine cover.

Trump was named Time’s Person of the Year this week, which included a cover and an in-depth interview as he prepares to take office for the second time. 

“How it started, how it’s going,” Trump wrote with his mugshot on the left side and his Time cover on the right. 

TRUMP SPEAKS ON BEING NAMED TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR FROM THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

“How it started, how it’s going,” Trump wrote with his mugshot on the left side and his Time Magazine cover on the right on Truth Social.  (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

Trump’s mugshot was taken in May 2023 when he was processed at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta after being indicted on election racketeering charges.  

The magazine announced Trump, who faced an assassination attempt last summer and won the first nonconsecutive U.S. presidential term since Grover Cleveland in the 19th century, had been named its Person of the Year Thursday. 

TRUMP PROMISES ‘TREMENDOUS INCENTIVE’ ON TAXES DURING SECOND TERM 

President-elect Trump speaks at a reception at the New York Stock Exchange after being named Time’s Person of the Year for the second time Dec. 12, 2024, in New York City.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Trump, in a ceremony after the announcement, called it an “honor.” 

‘Thank you very much for doing it,” he said. “Thank the whole group at Time. Really professional people.” 

Trump, during a ceremony after the announcement, called it an “honor.”  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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He was first named the magazine’s Person of the Year after his first presidential win in 2016. 

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

Here’s what’s happening…

– Dem claims Trump wielding nuclear strike authority ‘should terrify you’ —  then people point out the obvious

– Tren de Aragua being used as tool of Maduro regime, says former high-ranking Venezuelan military officer

– ‘Politically motivated’ FBI treated conservatives like domestic terrorists on Wray’s watch: whistleblower

Biden’s Conahan Commutation 

President Biden has sparked anger among Pennsylvanians after he commuted the sentence of a corrupt judge who was jailed for more than 17 years after he was caught taking kickbacks for sending juveniles to for-profit detention facilities.

In what came to be known as the kids-for-cash scandal, former Judge Michael Conahan shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and shared $2.8 million in illegal payments from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit lockups. Another judge, Mark Ciavarella, was also involved in the illicit scheme, the effects of which are still felt today among victims and families. 

The scandal is considered Pennsylvania’s largest-ever judicial corruption scheme with the state’s supreme court throwing out some 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 kids after the scheme was uncovered…Read more

Joe Biden, Kids for cash scandal clemency case (CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images))

White House

ANOTHER ROUND: Biden administration announces $500M aid package to Ukraine…Read more

‘ADDRESS THE BIAS’: Biden admin launches national strategy to combat Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate…Read more

FINAL VERDICT: Negative economic and political ratings for Biden as he exits…Read more

President Joe Biden speaks about his administrations economic playbook and the future of the American economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

FINAL STRETCH: White House says to ‘expect more’ climate funding before President Biden leaves office…Read more

Trump Transition

SYRIA QUANDARY: Trump’s pledge against ‘forever wars’ could be tested with Syria in hands of jihadist factions…Read more

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

‘FEEL THE PAIN’: Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘WE SHOULD KNOW’: Sen. Booker ‘frustrated’ by lack of transparency about drones, says it’s causing ‘misinformation to spread’…Read more

MOVING ON UP: Top GOP rebel angles for key House leadership-backed committee post…Read more

‘SHOULD BE SHOT DOWN’: Sen. Blumenthal says mysterious drones spotted recently ‘should be shot down, if necessary’…Read more

PELOSI: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi injured, hospitalized while traveling to Luxembourg…Read more

‘HORRIFIC RINO’: GOP Sen. Murkowski says she’s ‘not attached to’ GOP label, but is ‘still a Republican’…Read more

‘ACT DECISIVELY’: Senate Dems demand Biden extend protections for illegal immigrants ahead of Trump admin…Read more

Across America

‘PREVENTABLE’ CRIME: DA to seek death penalty against illegal immigrants accused in Nungaray murder case…Read more

‘EQUALLY ANGRY’: Legislators across political spectrum ‘equally angry’ over handling of drone sightings: New Jersey lawmaker…Read more

SHOCKING DEATH THREATS: WV lawmaker arrested after threatening to kill entire region’s delegation over caucus beef…Read more

‘EGREGIOUS HYPERPARTISANSHIP’: Montana Supreme Court blocks ban on transgender surgeries, prompting outcry from GOP lawmaker, supporters…Read more

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers argued that Assembly Bill 377 “ignores” a 2015 policy created by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) to govern the eligibility of transgender high school athletes in the state. (ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)

THEORIES RUN WILD: Drone experts rule out US government experiment, unsure of other New Jersey drone phenomenon theories…Read more

LEFT-WING ATTACK: Climate justice group has deep ties to judges, experts involved in litigation amid claims of impartiality…Read more

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

Two Chinese spies and a Chinese national who was charged for disseminating child pornography were part of a White House prisoner swap as Biden’s presidency nears the end.

On Nov. 22, Biden granted clemency to Yanjun Xu, Ji Chaoqun and Shanlin Jin. 

Their releases were part of a prisoner swap that returned three wrongfully detained Americans from Chinese custody: Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung. 

The three Americans returned to the U.S. before Thanksgiving.

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

Mark Swidan was arrested in China in 2012 on drug charges the U.N. says aren’t legitimate. (Mark Swidan Family)

Harrison Li holds a photo of his father, Kai Li, in Palo Alto, Calif., in January. (AP/Jeff Chiu)

Xu and Chaoqun were both Chinese nationals who were convicted of espionage in the U.S. 

Xu, according to a release from the Department of Justice, was the first Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States to stand trial and was sentenced to 20 years.

According to court documents, Xu targeted American aviation companies, recruited employees to travel to China, and solicited their proprietary information, all on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

BIDEN LEAVING OFFICE WITH LOWEST APPROVAL IN 16 YEARS, FOX NEWS POLLING SHOWS

In one example, noted in court documents, Xu attempted to steal technology related to GE Aviation’s exclusive composite aircraft engine fan module – which no other company in the world has been able to duplicate – to benefit the Chinese state.

The Department of Justice said that Xu openly discussed his effort to steal U.S. military information in addition to commercial aviation trade secrets.

Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese spy extradited to the US for trial, was convicted in 2021 on counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and trade secret theft. (U.S. District Court)

A federal jury in Chicago in September 2023 convicted Ji Chaoqun, 31, of conspiracy to act as an agent of China’s Ministry of State Security without notifying the U.S. attorney general, acting as a spy in the U.S., and lying on a government form about his contacts with foreign agencies. (Fox 32)

Chaoqun was arrested and convicted after working with Xu on behalf of the CCP.

The federal agency said that Xu recruited and “handled” Chaoqun, who was stationed in Chicago during the duration of the scheme.

The DOJ said that Xu directed Chaoqun to collect “biographical information on people to potentially recruit to work with them.”

“Xu’s handling and placement of a spy within the United States to obtain information regarding aviation technology and employees is yet another facet of Xu’s egregious crimes towards the United States and further justifies the significant sentence of imprisonment he received today,” said U.S. Attorney Parker at the time of the pair’s conviction.

Jin was serving his sentence after being convicted of possessing more than 47,000 images of child pornography while a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 2021.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 8, 2024, in Washington, DC.  (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

Biden commuted on Thursday the sentences of 1,499 people. He is also pardoning 39 individuals who were convicted of non-violent crimes.

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President-elect Trump is set to take office in a little over a month, on January 20. He has said that he will immediately pardon people convicted of participating in the January 6, 2021, riot in the U.S. Capitol.

A top Team Trump official disclosed the moment that “really set the campaign on a trajectory to victory” – the day President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Columbiana County, Ohio, to survey the East Palestine train derailment.

“The ripples from that day do not get enough attention,” White House communications director-designate Steven Cheung said on X, formerly Twitter, in retweeting an op-ed making that assertion.

In February 2023, a Norfolk-Southern train hauling caustic industrial chemicals – including vinyl chloride – derailed in a small community near the Pennsylvania border, causing immediate chaos and long-lasting, widespread damage to the region.

A controlled burn held shortly after the derailment released toxic phosgene into the air.

WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES MISTAKES IN INITIAL EAST PALESTINE DISASTER RESPONSE

Steven Cheung (inset) and Donald Trump. (Getty)

On February 23 – Ash Wednesday – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, hosted Trump at the site, where the former and future president highlighted Americans “forgotten” by President Joe Biden – who had not yet shown up and would not visit for several more months.

The Republican mogul handed out “Trump”-branded water and met with local officials. Meanwhile, officials in both Ohio and Pennsylvania were also visibly working to hold the railroad accountable.

In his tweet, Cheung was responding to an op-ed by Pittsburgh-based Washington Examiner writer Selina Zito, who covered the crisis at the time.

Zito wrote that Trump’s arrival had happened at a political nadir for the Republican, following the 2022 midterm losses and amid a then-close presidential primary race with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

She noted in a tweet that it was Vance – his future running mate – who brought him to the site.

Trump’s mantra of “you are not forgotten” to Rust Belt residents too often forgotten by Washington helped change minds in the area, Zito wrote, quoting a local resident who said she had “switched parties because of the way he spoke directly to the concerns.”

“I have voted for him both times since then,” the woman, who owns an East Palestine farm, said.

TRUMP VISITS EAST PALESTINE, HANDS OUT TRUMP-WATER: ‘WE STAND WITH YOU’

Former President Donald Trump, with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs after greeting supporters and touring water pumps at Little Beaver Creek during a visit to East Palestine, Ohio. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty)

Trump told residents that day that “in too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal.”

The disparity between Trump’s eagerness to “show up” and Biden’s apparent putting-off of a visit to East Palestine helped turn the tide in the Republican’s favor, the column continued.

“100%,” Cheung wrote in his tweet.

Trump’s former running mate, Mike Pence, also called out Biden at the time, saying he was “AWOL” and remarking to Fox News that the Delaware Democrat’s policies had “derailed the economy of East Palestine long before that train came through.”

On the Pennsylvania side of the line, both Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his then-former gubernatorial opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, also responded quickly to the derailment.

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Shapiro lodged a criminal referral at the time, and Mastriano led hearings that hosted affected residents along the Ohio border wherein Norfolk-Southern CEO Alan Shaw notably no-showed.

“It is very disheartening to hear that these alleged delays and botched response approaches took place – especially since those in East Palestine, Ohio, and areas in my district here in Pennsylvania have been dealing with the aftermath of this derailment for over a year now,” state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. told Fox News Digital at the time, after a whistleblower had spoken out about alleged mistakes from Biden’s EPA response – which the agency disputed.

Countries in Europe are slamming the brakes on asylum cases filed by Syrian migrants in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, but it is not yet clear whether the U.S. will take similar action.

The U.K. and Norway, along with E.U. countries of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, have suspended applications from Syrians after the fall of the Assad regime.

While it does not necessarily mean those people will be returned to Syria, it puts those applications in limbo in a continent that saw a massive surge of Syrian migration during the 2015 European migration crisis.

TRUMP’S PLEDGE AGAINST ‘FOREVER WARS’ COULD BE TESTED WITH SYRIA IN HANDS OF JIHADIST FACTIONS 

The European Union has also said that conditions are not currently in place for the safe return of nationals to Syria.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, on May 3, 2023, In Damascus, Syria. (Photo by Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

While Europe has seen a considerably more sizeable influx of migrants from Syria than the U.S., it is not clear how those cases in the U.S. will change, if at all, given the changing political dynamics in the Middle Eastern country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services handle asylum cases, and asylum officers are instructed to consider changes in circumstances when considering those cases. So, if an applicant’s country becomes more stable, then the consideration of that case changes dynamically. Therefore, if Syria stabilizes, it may make it harder for Syrians to receive a positive ruling on their cases.

US GROUP LOOKS FOR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS IN SYRIA AFTER FALL OF ASSAD REGIME: WON’T ‘LEAVE A STONE UNTURNED’ 

But so far, there have been no pauses of Syrian asylum cases announced by the Biden administration. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Migrants and refugees line up at the central registration center for refugees and asylum seekers LaGeSo (Landesamt fuer Gesundheit und Soziales – State Office for Health and Social Affairs) LaGeSo in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. ((AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File))

One factor that could change in the next year is Temporary Protected Status, which grants deportation protection and work permits for nationals of countries deemed unsafe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Syria for TPS in January, and that lasts until September 2025.

Should the Trump administration choose not to extend or redesignate Syria for TPS, it would require those who are no longer protected from deportation and who do not have another legal status to leave the U.S. or face deportation.

However, the number of Syrians protected under TPS is relatively few, compared to other nationalities and the situation in Europe. DHS estimated that around 8,000 Syrians were eligible for TPS in January.

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The Center for Immigration Studies cited statistics showing that the number of Syrians granted asylum between 2011 and 2023 was just over 7,000. Meanwhile, data obtained by Fox News Digital this week shows that there are 741 Syrians with deportation orders on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) non-detained docket. In Europe, around 183,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2023, according to the Associated Press.

The U.N. refugee agency has called for “patience and vigilance” for Syrian migrants, arguing that much will depend on whether Syria’s new government is respectful of law and order.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A controversial judicial advocacy organization funded by left-wing nonprofits continues to work with judges and experts involved in climate change litigation despite publicly downplaying the extent of those connections.

“CJP doesn’t participate in litigation, support or coordinate with any parties in litigation, or advise judges on how they should rule in any case,” the Environmental Law Institute Climate Judiciary Project President Jordan Diamond wrote in a recent letter to The Wall Street Journal in response to criticism of the project. 

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Law Institute (ELI) created the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) in 2018, establishing a first-of-its-kind resource to provide “reliable, up-to-date information” about climate change litigation, according to the group. The project’s reach has extended to various state and federal courts, including powerful appellate courts, and comes as various cities and states pursue high-profile litigation against the oil industry.

A Fox News Digital review shows that several CJP expert lawyers and judges have close ties to the curriculum and are deeply involved in climate litigation.

DARK MONEY FUND POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO ECO ACTIVIST GROUPS BLOCKING HIGHWAYS, DESTROYING FAMOUS ART

According to NPR, people worried about climate change are turning to “eco-chaplains” to deal with their anxiety. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images)

Princeton University professor Michael Oppenheimer contributed to the CJP curriculum and presented “Evidence of Change: Judging Climate Litigation” with CJP’s Sandra Nichols Thiam at the 2022 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference July 20, 2022. 

Oppenheimer has a long history of filing climate-related amicus briefs from 2019-2022 in litigation across several states.

Robin Kundis Craig, a professor at the University of Utah’s Law School, wrote a module for CJP in 2022 and has also filed several amicus briefs showing she is active in court cases. 

One example occurred in 2023, when Craig is listed on an order granting legal scholars’ request to file amicus, which was signed by Justice Mark Recktenwald, who, Fox News Digital previously reported, quietly disclosed last year that he presented for an April course in collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute Climate Judiciary Project. 

Recktenwald co-presented at a December 2022 National Judicial College webinar sponsored by CJP, “Hurricanes in a Changing Climate and Related Litigation.” In 2023, he co-presented with Professor Robert DeConto at a National Judicial College seminar, “Rising Seas and Litigation: What Judges Need to Know about Warming-Driven Sea-Level Rise.”

RADICAL CLIMATE ACTIVIST ENDORSES BLOWING UP PIPELINES IN STARTLING INTERVIEW, ADMITS PEOPLE COULD BE KILLED

President Ali pushed back on suggestions his country was harming the environment by claiming Guyana has the lowest deforestation rate in the world. (Adobe Stock)

In October 2023, Recktenwald’s Hawaii Supreme Court denied an appeal from oil companies to toss a Honolulu climate misinformation suit.

Craig also filed an amicus in Hawaii state court in July 2022, where an order was signed by Judge Jeffrey Crabtree allowing the brief to be filed. Crabtree is a member of the National Judicial College Curriculum Development Committee, which creates curricula for “Environmental Law Essential for the Judiciary.”

“Don’t underestimate the importance of the role of state court judges in environmental law,” the curriculum’s website states.

Ann Carlson, who joined the Biden administration in 2021, served on ELI’s board of directors for years while also “providing pro bono consulting” for Sher Edling, an eco law firm representing a number of jurisdictions, on litigation against oil companies, financial disclosures showed. Sher Edling counsel Michael Burger has also participated in multiple ELI events, and former Sher Edling lawyer Meredith Wilensky was previously an ELI Public Interest Law Fellow.

BIDEN ADMIN REPORT COULD SLOW TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO UNLEASH DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS, EXPERTS SAY

Burger is the executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and an ELI presenter who has filed amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs in climate cases across the United States. 

UCLA’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment hosted a talk in October 2017 with Sher Edling’s Vic Sher, “Suing Over Climate Change Damages: The First Wave of Climate Lawsuits.” Ann Carlson was the moderator for that discussion.

John Dernbach, listed as an expert on CJP’s website, filed an amicus brief in 2019 as part of a brief of legal scholars in support of plaintiffs in City of Oakland v BP. 

In this June 1, 2017, file photo, protesters gather outside the White House in Washington to protest President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate change accord.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“Judges attending Climate Judiciary Project events are advised that they are walking into a left-wing lobbying shop,” American Energy Institute President Jason Isaac told Fox News Digital. “Under the guise of ‘judicial education,’ CJP uses activist academics to give a pro-plaintiff sneak peek at climate change lawsuits. This kind of politicking underlines that the climate change lawsuits themselves are a left-wing attack on our quality of life.

“The Supreme Court will have an opportunity early next year to hear a case asking whether blue states and far-left mayors like Brandon Johnson can sue energy providers for climate change. Let us hope the court takes the case and ends Green New Deal lawfare.”

Fox News Digital previously reported that since it was founded more than five years ago, the project has crafted 13 curriculum modules and hosted 42 events, and more than 1,700 judges have participated in its activities. And multiple judges serve as advisers at CJP, potentially having an impact on its curriculum and modules.

“So-called ‘climate change lawsuits,’ lawsuits claiming that private companies should be monetarily liable for damage to public infrastructure allegedly caused by climate change, have exploded in the past five years,” GOP Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a letter to Environmental Law Institute earlier this year.

“In tandem with this unprecedented litigation, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) launched a ‘first-of-its-kind effort’ to provide judges with ‘education on climate science, the impacts of climate change, and the ways climate science is arising in the law.’ It appears that ELI’s goal in providing this ‘education,’ however, may be to influence judges to side with plaintiffs in climate change cases.”

The letter went on to label Carlson as “one of the program’s architects” and requested “information to allow the Committee to evaluate the efforts of both Ms. Carlson and ELI to influence the federal judiciary in its adjudication of climate litigation.”

Cruz alleged that “ELI intends to accomplish via the courts what it cannot get enacted into law: a radical environmental agenda.”

“To help judges reach those ‘appropriate’ decisions, the Project developed the ‘Climate Science and Law for Judges Curriculum’ (the Curriculum). While ELI claims the Project is ‘neutral’ and ‘objective,’ the Curriculum reads like a playbook for judges to find in favor of plaintiffs in artificial climate change cases against traditional energy companies: it includes courses that ‘show how climate science is built on long-established scientific disciplines’ and ‘explore the human-caused component of [global] warming,’ such as the ‘causal connections between emissions’ and ‘changes in the climate.’”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks with reporters after Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., attended the Republican Senate luncheon in the U.S. Capitol Nov. 1, 2023 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

An American Energy Institute report earlier this year alleges CJP “hides its partnership with the plaintiffs because they know these ties create judicial ethics problems.”

AEI says Sandra Nichols Thiam, an ELI vice president and director of judicial education, acknowledged as much in a 2023 press statement, saying, “If we even appeared biased or if there was a whiff of bias, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing.”

“Taken together, it appears CJP made the thinnest possible disclosures to create the appearance of rectitude,” AEI states. “But their admissions confirm that CJP exists to facilitate informal, ex parte contacts between judges and climate activists under the guise of judicial education. And secrecy remains essential to their operation, whose goal, as Thiam has said, is to develop ‘a body of law that supports climate action.'” 

AEI, a group self-described as “dedicated to promoting policies that ensure America’s energy security and economic prosperity,” says CJP’s work is “an attack on the rule of law.”

Climate activists protest in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Digital)

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“In America, the powerful aren’t allowed to coax and manipulate judges before their cases are heard,” the report states.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an ELI spokesperson said, “CJP doesn’t participate in litigation, support or coordinate with any parties in litigation, or advise judges on how they should rule in any case. Our courses provide judges with access to evidence-based information about climate science and trends in the law.

“Of course, experts in the field are welcome to provide their expertise to CJP programs while separately and independently providing that same expertise in another setting that is unrelated to the CJP program. It is routine and encouraged for judges to participate in continuing education that exposes them to expertise in a wide variety of disciplines.”

Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report

President Biden is facing increasing pressure from Senate Democrats to make a last-minute move to extend protections from deportations for some illegal immigrants, before the incoming Trump administration launches a mass deportation operation next year.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., held a press conference this week with immigration activists to renew calls to urge Biden to make moves for illegal immigrants currently protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

TPS allows nationals who are living in the U.S. and are from countries designated unsafe for them to return to, to obtain work permits and be shielded from deportation. DACA is a 2012 Obama-era executive order that allowed for some illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country free from deportation. 

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP ‘VERY OPEN’ TO KEEPING ‘DREAMERS’ IN US, TAKES SHOT AT ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DEMS

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

The incoming Trump administration is expected to allow TPS to expire for many countries, as it attempted to do in the first administration. Republicans have been deeply critical of the use of TPS, accusing the Biden administration of abusing the tool. A bill introduced by Sen.-elect Jim Banks in the House would restrict TPS designations by requiring Congress to approve them for 12-month terms, and requiring additional moves by Congress to extend them. 

However, Trump has expressed willingness to make a deal with Democrats to allow DACA recipients to remain in the U.S. 

“I will work with the Democrats on a plan, and if we can come up with a plan, but the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the Dreamers. The Dreamers, we’re talking many years ago. They were brought into this country many years ago, some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases, they become successful,” Trump said this week.

DEM SENATOR URGES BIDEN TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN: ‘NOBODY IS SAFE’

But Trump’s campaign was defined by a promise to launch a mass deportation campaign, and with that looming, Democrats want Biden to act before it takes effect.

“The president has legal authority to act to give these long-term immigrant communities certainty, and he should use it,” Cortez Masto said at the press conference.

“We know the incoming administration is going to try to implement chaotic immigration policies that tear our families apart,” she said.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 8, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

She was also skeptical of Trump’s promise to protect DACA administration, given what she said were his actions in the first Trump administration: “We brought him a bipartisan bill to protect our Dreamers — he killed it.”

“President Biden, you have the chance to cement your legacy on the economy as well as your humanitarian legacy, use this moment to protect long-term immigrants and strengthen our nation’s economy,” Padilla said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

The press conference came days after a letter from Democrats led by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., which expressed “deep concern about the threat the incoming administration poses to immigrants in our communities.”

“We write now because the window to secure and finalize your administration’s policies is closing rapidly. We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families,” they said.

FIREBRAND GOP LAWMAKERS DEMANDS MAYORKAS PRESERVE BORDER CRISIS RECORDS FOR TRUMP ADMIN: ‘UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE’ 

So far, there have been no indications that Biden is planning any such action on DACA. TPS extensions and redesignations are typically announced by the Department of Homeland Security. The White House did not respond to requests for comments from Fox News Digital.

The Trump administration pushed unsuccessfully to end DACA, being blocked by the Supreme Court. The matter remains in court, with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the policy under review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

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In 2019, Trump proposed an additional three years of protection for DACA recipients and others in exchange for money to build a wall along the southern border. Democrats rejected that deal as “hostage taking.”

The premier of a key oil region in Canada is threatening to cut off energy and critical mineral exports to the U.S. if President-elect Donald Trump implements a sweeping tariff on all Canadian products. 

Trump recently threatened a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican exports in an effort to stop the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs coming into the U.S.

Just days after Trump’s announcement, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said that he would consider retaliatory measures against the U.S. if the incoming president acted on his promise.

“We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy – going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin,” Ford, who represents a region known for its crude oil production, told reporters. 

TRUMP TAUNTS TRUDEAU WITH NEW TITLE AS HE CONTINUES TARIFFS PUSH: ‘GREAT STATE OF CANADA’

Doug Ford, Ontario, Canada’s premier, listens during a news conference following the Canada’s Premiers meeting in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. (Cole Burston)

The premier added that other officials in the country are reportedly identifying ways they can hurt U.S. exports if Trump enacts a tariff.

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL ISSUE EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CHARGE CANADA, MEXICO 25% TARIFF ON GOODS UPON TAKING OFFICE

“Some premiers proactively identified products that their provinces produce and export to the United States and which the U.S. relies on, and which should be considered as part of the Canadian response. This included some critical minerals and metals,” Ford said.

Canada was reportedly the largest source of U.S. energy imports in 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

President-elect Donald Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Canada. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)

“Canadians get hurt, but I can assure you one thing: the Americans are going to feel the pain as well, and isn’t that unfortunate?” Ford said.

Ford is also reportedly considering barring American-made alcohol from being sold in Ontario. 

Ford, however, might not be able to unilaterally cut off the province’s energy supply to the U.S., according to a Canadian political science professor.

“I do not believe Ontario could unilaterally stop electricity exports to the U.S. without Ottawa’s approval. Similarly, Michigan cannot unilaterally stop the flow of western Canadian natural gas to eastern Canada without Washington’s approval,” University of Toronto political science Professor Nelson Wiseman told Now Toronto in response to Ford’s retaliatory threat.

President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently met in Palm Beach, Florida.   (Nicholas Kamm)

Trump responded to the threats, saying “that’s okay if he does that.”

“The United States is subsidizing Canada, and we shouldn’t have to do that,” Trump told CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. “And we have a great relationship. I have so many friends in Canada, but we shouldn’t have to subsidize a country.”

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After Trump threatened a tariff on the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to meet with the incoming president at Mar-a-Lago. Trump called it a “very productive meeting.” 

CHARLES TOWN, W.V. – A West Virginia state delegate-elect was arrested Thursday after allegedly threatening to kill multiple lawmakers, reportedly after being informed he might be dropped from his GOP caucus position.

Del-elect Joseph de Soto, a medical doctor from Gerrardstown – about 100 miles west of Washington, D.C. – allegedly threatened several other delegates, including the Speaker of the House, on Tuesday, reportedly expressing outrage over being told to step down.

De Soto was listed in state jail records for Berkeley County as having been booked as a “pretrial felon” for making terroristic threats. 

Fox News Digital has learned that De Soto was advised of a vote removing him from a position for “undisclosed reasons,” and that “he was upset” after hearing the news. 

DOZENS OF STATES LOBBY EPA TO DENY CALIFORNIA WAIVER FORCING OUT OF STATE TRUCKS TO COMPLY WITH MANDATE

Travelers are greeted by a West Virginia welcome sign after crossing the East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77 in Princeton. (Charles Creitz)

De Soto then threatened to kill several fellow Eastern Panhandle lawmakers as well as House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.

“I am focused on four people who are evil … not angry, but at peace what I need to do,” De Soto said, according to the criminal complaint. When an individual tried to stop de Soto from threatening people, his response was “I did say I am going to kill people. I said I am going (sic) what is necessary to put them (sic) from office.”

De Soto said he had a vision from the Mormon Angel of Moroni to “destroy” Wayne Clark, R-Charles Town, and Dels. Michael Hite, Joe Funkhouser and Charles Horst, all R-Martinsburg. He also claimed to have been told by God to kill another lawmaker from Weirton.

“They play stupid games, they are getting stupid awards,” de Soto wrote in an email to a person who complained to police, according to a law enforcement report obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“Eastern Panhandle delegates … can all go to Hell. I will send them there as commanded.” 

In an interview Friday, one such delegate – Clark – said he received a call early in his five-hour commute home from Charleston to Charles Town that his family should relocate immediately due to a threat.

TRUMP, GOP CELEBRATE JOE MANCHIN RETIREMENT

Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, in the Eastern Panhandle. ( (UCG/Getty))

“I was driving straight into a snowstorm. So, I didn’t get to meet up with my family until almost 7 p.m., and I got the call at 3 p.m.,” Clark said.

Clark praised the Charles Town Police Department and the Jefferson and Berkeley County sheriff’s offices for acting quickly to secure his family. He also said he hopes de Soto gets personal help.

“He obviously needs some sort of help because of some things that happened in his life prior. I don’t know,” he said.

The lawmaker said he understands that running for office means your identity and votes and comments are out in the public, but maintained that one’s family should never be.

“Having someone make threats that are now affecting my family, I don’t know if you ever had that call: ‘Hey, Wayne. Get your family in a safe place’. Whoa. Okay. That’s a tough one to deal with.”

De Soto had been elected as a Republican in the 91st District, which includes the suburbs of Martinsburg. However, he reportedly filed to change his affiliation to Democratic just before his arrest.

That change could set up a partisan or legal fight as to how he is replaced, as West Virginia law provides that if a delegate vacancy exists, the outgoing lawmaker’s party’s county committee “shall appoint a member of the party” to the seat. The West Virginia State House is currently 89-11 Republican.

De Soto had reportedly been recently investigated for allegedly falsifying information about his medical career, which led to Republicans’ concerns, according to Huntington’s CBS affiliate.

West Virginia Democratic Party chair Del. Mike Pushkin said the party’s thoughts are with the affected delegates and their families.

“No one—especially those working in public service—should ever have to fear for their safety or the safety of their loved ones,” Pushkin, of Kanawha, said in a statement. “These allegations are deeply serious and should be treated with the full weight of the law.”

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In a statement, WVGOP Chairman Matt Herridge said the party is aware of the allegations and facts of the case, “as well as the steps the House GOP Caucus has taken toward [de Soto’s] expulsion.”

“Our elected officials sacrifice a lot to serve their communities, and it is a travesty for anyone to face the additional burden of threats made against themselves and their families. The West Virginia Republican Party supports our House leadership and their expulsion efforts.”

“We disavow and condemn the behavior of the former Republican Delegate-elect and continue to thank all those who are willing to serve their communities and state, in spite of the serious challenges it too often poses.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the West Virginia State Police for additional comment on de Soto’s arrest.

A call to a number listed for de Soto was not returned.

The Biden administration is seeking to rapidly disperse climate funds to cement the president’s green energy agenda before President-elect Donald Trump assumes the Oval Office in January.

In a memo released by the White House, Jeff Zients, White House Chief of Staff, said that the administration is going to “sprint to the finish line and get as much done as possible for the American people” in the remaining weeks of President Joe Biden’s term.

The top Biden official said that they plan to “obligate as much funding as possible before the end of the term,” including dishing out unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support climate-related projects.

The White House also said that Americans can “expect more action” on funding from the IRA – the Democrats’ climate legislation.

BIDEN ADMIN REPORT COULD SLOW TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO UNLEASH DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS, EXPERTS SAY

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Dec. 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C.  (Pete Marovich)

Trump has suggested that he would “undo” the IRA when he becomes president, legislation he has described as the “greatest scam in history.”

Though some House Republicans, who secured a majority in the chamber in the next Congress, have also signaled support for reworking the climate bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told CNBC that “you’ve got to use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer” on the legislation.

It’s unlikely, however, that the IRA would be completely overturned, given that nearly all the funds have already been awarded.

TRUMP TO INSTALL ‘ENERGY CZAR’ TO DISMANTLE BIDEN CLIMATE RULES: REPORT

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates warned against Republicans and the incoming administration attempting to undo Biden’s agenda. 

President-elect Donald Trump will assume the presidency on Jan. 20, 2025. (Peter Kramer/NBC)

“Repealing President Biden’s signature laws would be an historic redistribution of wealth from working Americans to Big Pharma and China,” Bates said in a memo first obtained by NBC News, adding that despite potential pushback, projects under the IRA “have been locked-in.”

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Bates also suggested that Republican districts are benefiting from the IRA.

“That includes the creation of over 330,000 clean energy jobs — disproportionately in House districts represented by Republicans,” Bates wrote. “Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve already saved more than 3.4 million Americans $8.4 million on clean energy upgrades to their homes, and more than 300,000 Americans have saved over $2 billion upfront on [electric vehicle] purchases.”

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., claimed that people should be terrified that President-elect Donald Trump will possess the power to initiate a nuclear attack. 

In a post on X, Markey noted, “Come January, Donald Trump will have the sole authority to launch a nuclear strike. This should terrify you. That’s why @RepTedLieu and I are urging @POTUS to put guardrails on presidential authority to start nuclear war.”

Trump — who trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 White House contest by winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote — previously served as president from early 2017 through early 2021. And during his Oval Office tenure, he never used nuclear weapons.

BIDEN ADMIN SETS NEW TARGET TO TRIPLE US NUCLEAR CAPACITY FROM 2020 LEVELS

Left: Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., attends the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago, Ill.; Right: President-Elect Donald Trump reacts during his meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales at the Embassy of the United Kingdom’s Residence on Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris, France. (Left: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Right: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

He has also been outspoken about the massive danger posed by nuclear weapons.

“To me, we have one really major threat: That’s called nuclear weapons,” Trump said earlier this year. “This isn’t Army tanks going back and forth and shooting at each other. This is obliteration,” he said of the powerful weapons. “We have incredible stuff, so does Russia. China has much less but” will “catch up,” Trump said, calling the issue the “single biggest threat by far to civilization.”

Josh Barnett, who lost in a Republican primary for an Arizona state Senate seat earlier this year, responded to Markey’s post by writing, “LOL he had the authority the last four years he was in office.” 

PUTIN SIGNS REVISED DOCTRINE LOWERING THRESHOLD FOR NUCLEAR RESPONSE IF RUSSIA IS ATTACKED

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

Others made the point as well.

“Hey buddy, he was already president once,” Tom Gillis, who describes himself on X as a “Former PGA tour player,” declared in response to the lawmaker’s post.

“He had the power before and didn’t use it,” another individual, Shonathan Perrius, tweeted.

In a letter to President Joe Biden Markey and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., declared that during his waning time in office the commander-in-chief could “safeguard the system against Donald Trump or any future unstable president, and make it constitutional.

“We urge you to announce that henceforth it will be the policy of the United States that it will not initiate a nuclear first strike without express authorization from Congress. In a situation where the United States has already been attacked with nuclear weapons, the president would retain the option to respond unilaterally,” the two Democrats declared in their letter to the president.

US MUST EXPAND NUCLEAR ARSENAL IN FACE OF RUSSIA AND CHINA THREAT, WARNS TOP OBAMA DEFENSE ADVISER

Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building following their weekly caucus meeting on May 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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The lawmakers have long advocated for the policy shift, repeatedly pushing legislation on the issue.

“As the coauthors of the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act — proposed legislation that prohibits any U.S. president from launching a nuclear first strike without prior congressional authorization — we urge you, in your remaining time in office, to change this unconstitutional policy,” they said in their letter to Biden.

“We first introduced this act during the Obama administration not as a partisan effort, but to make the larger point that current U.S. policy, which gives the president sole authority to launch nuclear weapons without any input from Congress, is dangerous. As Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office, it is more important than ever to take the power to start a nuclear war out of the hands of a single individual and ensure that Congress’s constitutional role is respected and fulfilled,” Markey and Lieu noted.

As FBI Director Christopher Wray is slated to resign after seven years of service in his 10-year tenure, questions about the bureau’s “political weaponization” have been reignited, with critics like President-elect Trump citing bias in domestic terrorism and civil rights probes.

While Wray, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, has faced scrutiny from conservatives for a kind of political bias in the bureau, FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin said the FBI’s shift toward politicized agendas within its field offices began in the post-9/11 era when sweeping reforms and surveillance powers were granted the agency.

“What people are seeing is the natural outgrowth of letting FBI agents, or FBI senior management, forecast what they think the crime is going to be in the country, being incentivized to be correct, because they’re going to be paid a monetary bonus at the end of it if they’re right, and then they go out and find that crime,” Seraphin told Fox News Digital.

FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION

FBI Director Christopher Wray (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall/File)

“And so it looks very politicized,” he added. “But I think that’s actually just a mistake of the correlation. In reality, what’s going on is the FBI is serving the interests of the senior management, which is that they want to get paid, and the easiest way to get paid is to go round up MAGA people, which they fall under this category of … anti-government, anti-authority, violent extremists.”

Over the last four years, the FBI has intensified its focus on domestic terrorists and targeting white supremacist activities. Between spring 2020 and September 2021, the FBI’s domestic terrorism caseload more than doubled, rising from approximately 1,000 to around 2,700 investigations, according to the Government Accountability Office. Wray testified in September 2020 that white supremacy is the largest category within domestic terrorism. 

Over the last four years, the FBI has increased its focus on domestic terrorism, particularly targeting white supremacist activities. The agency’s caseload more than doubled from about 1,000 to 2,700 investigations between spring 2020 and September 2021, according to the Government Accountability Office. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in September 2020 that white supremacy constitutes the largest domestic terrorism category.

Critics, however, have questioned the FBI’s definition of domestic terrorism. Seraphin said a New Mexico field office prioritized “anti-abortion extremists” as the state’s third-highest national security threat. Separately over the summer, a Texas doctor was charged with four felonies for exposing alleged transgender surgeries on children at a hospital.

“Everybody assumes that it’s about politics because the FBI has some really politically motivated leads,” Seraphin said. “The current deputy director, Paul Abbate, is very politically motivated, and he’s very hard leading to the left.”

Seraphin blamed the FBI’s seemingly political bias on an integrated program management, a McKinsey & Company-designed system rewarding executives with large bonuses for meeting self-set metrics, including domestic extremism and terrorism.

In December 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report titled “The FBI’s Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans.” The report followed Seraphin’s disclosure of an FBI memo labeling certain Catholic Americans as potential violent extremists.

GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ LETTER

(Richard Sheinwald/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

“They use national security words to go after domestic individuals, and they have national security tools to look through your email to grab access to your comms, your phone calls, your text messages, your emails and so on,” Seraphin said. “They have the ability to look into your bank account and check out your financial records. And should they find evidence of a crime that is not related to what they’re searching for, the threat that they’re actually looking for?”

“Do we want people to get away with crime? No, but we want the government to be accountable to the freaking Bill of Rights,” Seraphin said.

In a December interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump said, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him,” when asked if he would fire Wray upon entering his second non-consecutive presidential term. 

“He invaded my home,” Trump said, referencing the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Trump announced at the end of November his nomination of Kash Patel – a Trump ally and previous chief of staff to the secretary of defense – as the next FBI director. Patel has been critical of the FBI’s handling of investigations relating to Trump.

Seraphin, who said he has spoken to Patel about the bureau, said he may be “the most qualified” nominee for the role.

“He understands what the FBI does to directors in order to maintain their status quo,” Seraphin said. “That makes him a very potentially disruptive force to the status quo. But I actually think he’ll be if he’s able to achieve the things that he said, which is going out there and rooting out the corruption, taking away the political things, making sure that the FBI is subservient to the Constitution.”

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

FBI Director Christopher Wray, left, and Kash Patel (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)

Wray made his resignation announcement during an FBI virtual town hall from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, during which thousands of FBI employees across the country were expected to attend online.

“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray said during the town hall. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission: the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”

Wray also said his focus is and always has been on the FBI doing what is right.

“When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work – keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution – will not change. And what absolutely cannot, must not, change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time,” Wray said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI but did not hear back by the publication deadline.

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

A former high-ranking Venezuelan military officer is sounding the alarm about the migrant gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) being used as a tool of the Venezuelan government to sow violence and discord throughout the United States.

Tren de Aragua, which means “Train from Aragua,” is a massive criminal and terrorist organization that originated a decade ago in a Venezuelan prison and is already present in more than 30 major U.S. cities.

José Gustavo Arocha, a former lieutenant colonel in the Venezuelan army, told Fox News Digital that socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is behind much of TdA’s growth and rapid expansion, first in Latin America and now in the U.S.

VIOLENT VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SPREADS TO ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST REMOTE STATES

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix/File)

Arocha fled Venezuela to the United States in 2015 after being imprisoned by the Maduro regime for eight months. Since then, he said the situation has only worsened with Maduro asserting ever more control over the region. This year, Maduro retained control of the country by prevailing in a hotly contested election that was widely believed to be fraudulent. 

“We have to understand also something of the Tren de Aragua, the TdA. It’s a state-sponsored Maduro regime organization,” he said. “The real boss of the Tren de Aragua is in Caracas, Venezuela. It is the Maduro regime, because they created TdA, and they use the TdA as a blackmail [tool] for any situation.”

Arocha said the Maduro dictatorship’s counterintelligence agency – the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, also known as “DGCIM” – has been using TdA as an asymmetrical warfare tool, giving itself “plausible deniability.”

EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez/File)

Tren de Aragua first burst onto the scene in the U.S. when several members of the gang violently took control of an apartment building in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. Since then, the gang has been responsible for a steady stream of violent attacks and gang-related crimes, including the high-profile murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia.

While some media reports have portrayed TdA as a simple gang, Arocha said the group has been trained and enabled by the Venezuelan government and DGCIM to advance a specific agenda and criminal ideology. Even the name “train from Aragua,” he said, evidences the group’s intent to transport its ideology throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Arocha said the Venezuelan government has already used TdA to inflict crippling crime waves in surrounding countries, helping to usher in a slate of socialist-friendly governments in Colombia, Peru and Chile.  

“They want to create all sorts of chaos in countries in order to shape the contours of the borders and also to create a sensation of instability [and] criminality,” he said. “This kind of culture they are exporting outside from Venezuela, first of all [to] Latin America, and right now the U.S.”

Migrants enter the U.S. in Lukeville, Ariz. (Fox News/File)

VENEZUELAN NATIONAL AND TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN TRUMP’S BACKYARD

According to Arocha, the Venezuelan government has seized on the historic migrant crisis under the Biden administration as a “big opportunity” to “create roots” in the U.S. The administration further worsened the situation by temporarily lifting key oil sanctions previously in place against Maduro.

“Just imagine, there are more or less 8 million Venezuelan migrants. It’s a huge number,” he said. “If you look at that, it’s like a wall where it’s spreading all over the states. And when you take into consideration the bussing of the migrants from Texas to other states, they are spreading like a disease, like a virus, all over the country.”

With President-elect Donald Trump soon to replace Biden, Arocha said Trump must put the destruction of Tren de Aragua at the “top” of the list of day-one priorities. While acknowledging that it’s crucial to close the southern border, Arocha said Tren de Aragua will simply return if the U.S. does not “contain” Maduro.

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President-elect Donald Trump (Allison Robbert/Pool via AP/File)

“Just imagine that, OK, you take all of Tren de Aragua and send [them] to Venezuela or whatever country. It’s going to come back. That’s not going to finish the disease,” he said. “You have to combat the cause of TdA. The cause of the TdA is the behavior of the Maduro regime that is trying to hurt the American people by using this asymmetrical tool.”

“The rule is to not give Maduro the ability to continue in Venezuela,” Arocha said. “What I mean is that if you let Maduro to have oil revenues, have the access to resources, you have to have TdA here in the United States.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is putting himself forward as a contender to be the next chair of the House Rules Committee, an influential panel that acts as the last gatekeeper for most bills before they get a House-wide vote.

“I will defer to the speaker on that,” Roy said when asked about the chairmanship on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast this week. “Obviously, I have put my name out there.”

It would be an astonishing ascent for a lawmaker who has been a vocal critic of House leadership on certain issues, particularly on government spending.

More recently, however, the GOP rebel – and current policy chair of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus – has gained a reputation for being a conduit between GOP leaders and the lawmakers usually known for bucking their directives.

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

Rep. Chip Roy could be in contention to be House Rules Committee chair ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))

Roy got a seat on the House Rules Committee as part of a deal with ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January 2023 to expand conservative representation – a piece of a wider compromise for McCarthy to win his short-lived House speakership.

The Texas Republican was not one of the eight Republicans who later voted to oust McCarthy despite his early criticism – and was even publicly skeptical of his colleagues’ decision to do so.

The House Rules Committee is the final stop for bills before a House-wide vote. The committee and its chair are responsible for dictating the terms of debate on a bill and what, if any, amendments will also get a vote.

After a bill passes the House Rules Committee, it is then subject to a House-wide “rule vote” to allow for debate on the legislation before a vote on final passage.

In his two years on the committee, Roy has voted against several House rules, which could put his hopes for the role in jeopardy.

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

That decision is up to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He’s scored support from multiple colleagues, however – Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital on Thursday, “He’d be great. I support him 100%.”

Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, wrote on X that Roy “will build the conservative coalition in the House needed to support President Trump’s priorities as Rule Committee chairman.”

But unlike other committees, whose chairpersons are selected by a wider group of lawmakers, only the House speaker gets a say for the House Rules panel.

“I think it’s important to have a rules chairman, whoever that may be, that will support leadership,” one GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak freely said about Roy’s bid. 

“The speaker is going to get his agenda passed one way or the other, and so whoever he appoints to that – that’s going to be the deal. Because he can remove them and then replace them.”

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN

Current House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess is retiring at the end of this year (Getty Images)

Another GOP lawmaker said, “He’s one of the brightest and knows procedure, but most won’t trust him in that role.”

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Rumors are swirling that current House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is also in contention for the role.

Current House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas, is retiring at the end of this year. 

The House passed a once-bipartisan bill on Thursday that authorizes 63 new permanent district judgeships over the next 10 years, 22 of which President-elect Trump can fill during his next term. 

The White House released a statement earlier this week that President Biden would veto the bill if it came to his desk. 

The Senate in August passed the “Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act” or the “JUDGES Act of 2024,” which staggers the 63 new permanent judgeships the president may choose over the next 10 years. Citing how courts are burdened by heavy caseloads, the bill says the president shall appoint 11 of those permanent judgeships in 2025 and 11 more in 2027. The president would tap another 10 judges in 2029, 11 in 2031, 10 in 2033 and 10 more in 2035, the bill says. 

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS BACK AWAY FROM BILL THAT WOULD GIVE TRUMP MORE FEDERAL JUDGES TO APPOINT

Now, however, key Democrats are backing away from the bill after Trump won the presidency, decrying how it was not voted on until after Election Day. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., released a statement after the JUDGES Act passed. (Getty Images)

“Today, the House passed the JUDGES Act to authorize additional federal judges to ensure the American people receive timely and fair justice,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. “This important legislation garnered broad, bipartisan support when it unanimously passed the Senate in August because it directly addresses the pressing need to reduce case backlogs in our federal courts and strengthen the efficiency of our judicial system.” 

“At that time, Democrats supported the bill — they thought Kamala Harris would win the Presidency,” he added. “Now, however, the Biden-Harris Administration has chosen to issue a veto threat and Democrats have whipped against this bill, standing in the way of progress, simply because of partisan politics. This should not be a political issue — it should be about prioritizing the needs of the American people and ensuring the courts are able to deliver fair, impartial, and timely justice.”

The proposal passed the House on Thursday by a 236 to 173 vote, with 29 Democrats voting in favor of it. 

The White House released a statement earlier this week that President Biden would veto the bill if it came to his desk. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DC COUNCILMAN A STEP CLOSER TO FACING EXPULSION AFTER LAW FIRM FINDS HE VIOLATED CODE OF CONDUCT

The bill’s Democratic co-sponsor in the House, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said in a floor speech Thursday before the vote that he now opposes the measure. 

“You don’t get to pick the horse, after that horse has already won the race. But that’s exactly what my Republican colleagues are seeking to do today,” he said. 

On Tuesday, the White House said while “judicial staffing is important to the rule of law,” the JUDGES Act is “unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice.” 

“The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies,” the statement said. “Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now. In addition, neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships.”

“Further, the Senate passed this bill in August, but the House refused to take it up until after the election. Hastily adding judges with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress would fail to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the judges are allocated,” the White House added. 

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., co-sponsored the bill in the Senate. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Todd Young, R-Ind., co-sponsored the bill in the Senate. 

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“In a bipartisan vote, the House just passed my JUDGES Act to address the shortage of federal judges and the severe delays Americans are experiencing. I urge President Biden to do the right thing for our judicial system and sign it into law,” Young wrote Thursday on X. “The legislation is widely supported by leading legal organizations and advocates across our country.” 

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