EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, N.H. — Kelly Ayotte becomes the nation's newest governor on Thursday when she's inaugurated at the New Hampshire State House.
The former U.S. senator, who previously served as a state attorney general, takes office in the key New England swing state a week and a half before President-elect Trump is inaugurated.
And Ayotte, who succeeds fellow Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in steering the Granite State, says she looks forward to working with the Trump administration.
"I'll work with the administration on behalf of New Hampshire and advocate for the Granite State on important priorities here: keeping the state safe, making sure that when it comes to federal resources that we're advocating for New Hampshire, so I look forward to working with the administration," Ayotte said in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration.
During last year's gubernatorial campaign, which culminated with Ayotte defeating Democrat gubernatorial nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in November's election, the issue of illegal immigration and border security was often in the spotlight in a state that shares a border with Canada and has long dealt with an acute fentanyl crisis.
Ayotte, who pledged on the campaign trail to prevent New Hampshire from becoming a sanctuary state for illegal migrants, will have what Sununu didn't enjoy the past four years: a Republican in the White House.
"President Trump is going to enforce the laws, and that's important to me. And we have a northern border."
Noting her tenure as a state attorney general, Ayotte said, "I believe it's important that criminals are held accountable. And as we look at New Hampshire, we're not going to allow New Hampshire to become a sanctuary state. And so it's important that we enforce our laws. We welcome legal immigration, but those who come here illegally and especially those who commit crimes need to be held accountable."
Ayotte was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and was a rising star in the GOP and regarded as a leader on national security and foreign policy.
But Ayotte lost re-election in 2016 by a razor-thin margin of just over 1,000 votes at the hands of then-Democrat Gov. Maggie Hassan.
Now, as she takes over running the Granite State, she said that "my No. 1 priority is being a governor for everyone in New Hampshire, for all the people, and being accessible to the people of New Hampshire."
"Making sure that we continue to grow our economy, our prosperity, our freedom here in New Hampshire, having a responsible budget where we live within our means but serve the people of New Hampshire effectively, those will be my priorities on day one," she added.
Ayotte, who made history nearly two decades ago as the state’s first female attorney general, made history again in November as the first Republican woman to win election as New Hampshire governor.
"We have so many strong women that have served in this state, a great history," Ayotte said. "There are so many examples of women who have led and great men who have led, too."
She said her "hope is that every young girl out there understands that whatever position she strives to attain, it's available to her, and that we aren't even having these discussions about whether a woman's elected or a man's elected because it's just equal for everyone to understand that those opportunities are there, and I think that's what's happening in New Hampshire."
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is gunning to codify Remain In Mexico, a cornerstone of President-elect Donald Trump's border policy during his first term.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a first-term lawmaker, is leading the effort that was first shared with Fox News Digital on Thursday.
His bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly known as Remain In Mexico.
"The American people gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate to secure the border, and Congress must pass the Remain In Mexico Act as a first step to secure our border and fix the problems Democrats created in our country," Gill told Fox News Digital.
The policy, which Trump implemented in January 2019, required migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. southwestern border to await their immigration proceedings in Mexico.
A federal judge had halted the Biden administration from stopping the program, but officials ceased its use for new cases in mid-2022.
President Biden had campaigned on ending the policy, which human rights groups and left-wing organizations had criticized as cruel and inhumane, given the accusations of rape and other crimes that migrants had endured while waiting in Mexico.
The American Civil Liberties Union previously said about the policy, "The Remain in Mexico Policy, misleadingly dubbed the "Migrant Protection Protocols" created a humanitarian disaster at the border and has been the subject of ACLU lawsuits since it was first implemented in 2019."
Proponents of Remain In Mexico, however, have argued that it is one of the only viable solutions to help cities and towns on the U.S. side of the border, many of which have seen their infrastructures strained by the volume of people crossing illegally or seeking asylum.
Gill is introducing his bill roughly two weeks before Trump takes office for his second term.
Codifying the policy in federal law would make it significantly harder for critics to then repeal it under a different administration.
Congressional Republicans have been rushing to prepare for Trump's return with a flurry of conservative legislative proposals made since the 119th Congress kicked off last Friday.
A significant number of those bills are related to immigration and the border, an issue that proved critical for the GOP in the November elections.
The House passed its first bill of the term on Tuesday, aimed at enabling federal officials to detain migrants accused or convicted of theft-related crimes. More than 40 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, alongside all present Republicans.
Trump has signaled he is hoping for an active first 100 days in office, particularly with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate.
The White House did not return a request for comment.
Supporters and friends of the late President Carter will attend his funeral Thursday at Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral.
The service, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., comes as President Biden declared Thursday a National Day of Mourning for the 38th president, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
The so-called presidents’ club — the five living men who once occupied the White House — will all gather for the event. President Biden and former presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and President-elect Trump will come together for the first time since the 2018 funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.
Biden will deliver the eulogy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are also expected to attend, along with their Democratic counterparts, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Tributes began Jan. 4, when a motorcade carried Carter’s body through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, before heading to Atlanta and the Carter Presidential Center, where family and loved ones paid tribute.
Carter then lay in repose at the Carter Center and then the Capitol, where the public could pay respects from Tuesday evening through early Thursday.
After the D.C. service, the Carter family will head back to Plains for a private ceremony at Maranatha Baptist Church and another procession through Plains, where supporters are encouraged to line the streets for the motorcade before he’s buried on his property next to his late wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023.
Carter, the former governor of Georgia, won the presidency in 1976. He was guided by his devout Christian faith and determined to restore faith in government after Watergate and Vietnam. But after four years in office and impaired by stubborn, double-digit inflation and high unemployment, he was roundly defeated for re-election by Ronald Reagan.
While in the White House, Carter established full diplomatic relations with China and led the negotiation of a nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he led several conservation efforts, showing the same love of nature as president as he did as a young farmer in Plains.
Carter lived out the rest of his years in the unassuming ranch house he'd built with his wife in 1961, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and making forays back into foreign policy when he felt it was needed, a tendency that made his relationship with the presidents' club, at times, tense.
He earned a living in large part by writing books — 32 in all — but didn't cash in on seven-figure checks for giving speeches or take any cushy board jobs as other presidents have.
In his spare time, Carter, a deeply religious man who served as a deacon for the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, enjoyed fishing, running and woodworking.
Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed to Fox News Wednesday that he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump the day before Trump’s high court appearance but said they did not discuss an emergency application the former president's legal team planned to file to delay the sentencing.
Alito told Fox News' Shannon Bream he was asked if he would accept a call from Trump regarding a position that his former clerk, William Levi, is being considered for, and praised Levi’s "outstanding resume."
"William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon," said Alito.
Alito said he did not speak with Trump about the emergency application, nor was he "even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed."
"We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect," Alito said.
Alito told Fox News that he is often asked to give recommendations to potential employers for former clerks and that it was common practice.
Levi once served in the Justice Department during the President-elect's first term and also clerked for Alito from 2011 to 2012.
Alito, speaking to Trump the day before Trump’s appearance in high court regarding his New York hush-money case, is causing some to call him out, saying the conversation was an "unmistakable breach of protocol."
"No person, no matter who they are, should engage in out-of-court communication with a judge or justice who’s considering that person’s case," Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, said in a statement.
Alito said he was unaware there was an emergency request being readied by the Trump legal team with respect to the New York State case, and there was no discussion of it.
He confirmed to Fox News that the call was solely about Levi, and that there was no discussion of any matter involving a Trump legal issue – past, present or future.
He also said there was no discussion of any issue before the Court or potentially coming before the Court.
ABC News was the first to report the Trump-Alito call.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is firing back at President-elect Donald Trump for comments he made Wednesday about the response to deadly wildfires currently devastating Southern California.
Trump spoke with reporters after attending meetings Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not "[doing] a good job," but noted they "worked well together" and would again when he takes office later this month.
"It's very sad because I've been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come - you'd have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific - because they're trying to protect a tiny little fish," Trump said. "For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It's a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration."
Newsom's press office released a statement on social media following Trump's remarks saying there was a reason for not using the pumps.
"LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps," Newsom's press office wrote on X.
His office added that the city used water tenders to supply water, which is a common tactic in wildland firefighting.
Newsom's office also dismissed claims there is a water shortage.
"Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump's claims that he would open some imaginary spigot," Newsom's office said.
The office posted a number of quotes from California officials saying water reliability and water supply are stable.
One of the comments said there was enough water to supply 40 million people for a year.
Earlier in the afternoon, Trump accused Newsom of refusing to sign a water restoration declaration and criticized him for the low fire containment.
"Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo. January 20th cannot come fast enough!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Newsom's office said there was no such thing as a water restoration declaration.
They also noted that the supply and transport of water are unrelated.
"Trump is conflating two entirely unrelated things: the conveyance of water to Southern California and supply from local storage," according to the post. "And again, there is no such document as the water restoration declaration - this is pure fiction."
Still, Trump was not done with his criticism of Newsom.
In a scathing late-night post on Truth Social, Trump said the wildfires were "all his fault!!!"
Trump also called on Newsom to resign.
"One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground," Trump wrote. "It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!"
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper earlier on Wednesday, Newsom was asked in general about Trump blaming him for the wildfire disaster.
"One can't even respond to it. I mean… you know, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn apart. Churches burned down," Newsom told Cooper. "This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t."
Newsom went on to praise President Biden, saying he "didn‘t play politics."
Biden visited a fire station Wednesday in Los Angeles alongside Newsom for a briefing from authorities on the raging wildfires.
The California wildfires, which ignited Tuesday afternoon, have already forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. The Los Angeles area fires are threatening at least 28,000 structures. At least five people were killed.
President-elect Trump pointed to a strategic benefit of the one-bill approach to budget reconciliation that he's said he prefers during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday evening at the Capitol.
By combining legislation relating to both the southern border crisis and taxes into one reconciliation bill, Trump suggested that one issue could potentially force some lawmakers to make a difficult decision. For example, if a Republican doesn't support a piece of the tax component, they would also have to vote against the border provisions because they are in one measure.
With portions of Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring this year, the party is looking to act quickly. But the tax debate in 2025 is expected to be more divided among Republicans than that regarding the border. In particular, there is some disagreement in the party on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which can benefit some states more than others and have been hit by some Republicans as inefficient.
"If somebody, for example, in the House is balking because there's not SALT in the tax agreement or some other provision they want, if that also means they'd be holding out and voting against the border, it might make it harder for them to do so," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. "That's a very valid point."
While SALT was not posed as an example of this by Trump himself, it was mentioned by a GOP senator in a side conversation among other attendees as they went over the advantages of a one-bill approach, Hoeven said.
A source familiar told Fox News that Republicans are preparing to go with Trump's one-bill preference, but they are also keeping the potential for two bills, one on the border and another to address taxes, in their back pocket in the case of any significant obstacles.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Trump that if one bill is what he wanted, that is what they are going to try first, the source said.
A number of senators have their own preferences for two separate reconciliation bills instead, and some made their cases to Trump during the meeting. However, the conference is set to move forward with Trump's one-bill approach.
Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal came up during the discussion following Trump's remarks about each. Trump has recently said he wants U.S. to take back control of critical trade medium the Panama Canal, while also expressing interest in making Greenland and Canada part of the U.S.
Sources familiar told Fox News that Trump brought these up himself during the meeting, telling senators at one point that these countries "were screwing with" the U.S.
The senators believe his approach to Canada is already managing to change the country's "behavior" and could have even contributed to the recent resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the sources added.
Leaders in the tech industry are urging the Biden administration not to add a new regulation that will limit artificial intelligence exports, citing concerns it is overbroad and could diminish the United States' global dominance in AI.
The new rule, which industry leaders say could come as early as the end of this week, effectively seeks to shore up the U.S. economy and national security efforts by adding new restrictions on how many U.S.-made artifical intelligence products can be deployed across the globe.
"A rule of this nature would cede the global market to U.S. competitors who will be eager to fill the untapped demand created by placing arbitrary constraints on U.S. companies' ability to sell basic computing systems overseas," stated a Monday letter from Jason Oxman, the president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), sent to Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo. "Should the U.S. lose its advantage in the global AI ecosystem, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to regain in the future."
The process to place new export controls on artificial intelligence goes back to October 2022, when the Biden administration's Commerce Department first released an updated export framework aimed at slowing the progress of Chinese military programs. Details of the new incoming export controls surfaced after the Biden administration called on American tech company NVIDIA to stop selling certain computer chips to China the following month.
In an update to the rule the following year, the Biden administration announced the initiation of a public notice and comment period. Finally, last month, as the president's term in the White House winds down, the administration published two new updates to the rule that added more limits to the proposed export controls. The rule is now in its final stages before it will be formally published in the Federal Register.
"The Bureau of Industry and Security’s ('BIS') proposed Interim Final Rule ('IFR') is a highly complex and wildly overbroad attempt to regulate Artificial Intelligence and GPUs in the name of national security," Ken Glueck, the executive vice president at Oracle, wrote in a blog post Sunday that was published to his company's website.
"For over half a century, bipartisan consensus has held that the best way to achieve U.S. technological leadership is to regulate technology with a light touch. As a result, American companies have continued to lead each successive generation of technology, from the personal computer to the Internet, to mobile, to the cloud, and now Artificial Intelligence."
In addition to fears that the new regulations will stifle economic growth in the domestic AI sector, some critics have also argued that blocking American AI manufacturers from selling their computer chips around the globe could actually benefit China.
"The Biden administration is trying to force other countries to pick a side – the United States or China – and it is likely going to discover that if it issues this ultimatum, many will pick China," Stephen Ezell, vice president of global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said in a Tuesday statement published on the foundation's website.
"Moreover, the United States should be countering efforts by China and Russia, which recently launched an AI Alliance Network among BRICS countries, to offer its own allies and partners access to AI data, models, and computer resources," he added.
Ezell and others also highlighted the rushed nature of the new proposed rule on export controls, arguing that hurrying to get it finalized has been at the cost of adequate industry input on the new regulations.
"We respectfully caution against making such a swift and significant shift in policy during this transitional period, and without meaningful consultation with industry," the Semiconductor Industry Association said in a Monday statement. The group encouraged the Biden administration to "hand over the policymaking process" to the incoming Trump administration because it will "ensure there is appropriate opportunity for government and industry leaders, together with our global partners, to thoughtfully address this critical matter."
It is uncertain exactly how the incoming administration might approach this issue. Trump has signaled he is not afraid to initiate new trade deals and could potentially use the export controls as leverage.
However, the president-elect said following his November election victory that a focus of his second term will be to "win the A.I. arms race with China (and others)."
"With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World," Trump wrote in an email announcing former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as the new head of the Interior Department.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
President Biden will be in office less than two more weeks, but that's not slowing down Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, both Republicans, from taking the Biden administration to court over new energy-efficient housing standards they argue undermine affordable housing and go beyond what federal law allows.
This isn't the only late lawsuit or complaint filed against the Biden White House in its waning days, and it marks Paxton's 103rd lawsuit challenging the Democratic administration.
"So, I don't know if anybody's close to that, but he's kept us busy because we've had to prevent him from being more of a king or a dictator than an elected executive who is responsible for implementing, not creating, laws," Paxton told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Paxton said they "may have another" lawsuit on the way, but they may not have it ready in time.
In addition to Utah and Texas, the states participating in the lawsuit with the National Association of Home Builders are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. The coalition contends the administration’s energy standards are not only burdensome but also exceed the authority granted by Congress.
"Even as our nation prepares to transition to a new administration, the outgoing HUD and USDA offices are committed to inflicting unwanted and unneeded cost increases on Americans who are already struggling to pay their bills, provide for their families, and secure a brighter future for their children," Reyes said in a statement.
The Biden administration has claimed these rules will save money by making homes more energy efficient. However, critics argue the rules are increasing upfront costs and reducing options for buyers.
The lawsuit also questions whether the administration had the legal authority to enforce these rules. The attorneys general say the administration is relying on private organizations, like the International Code Council, to set standards that go beyond what the original law intended.
Biden's renewable energy agenda has been a controversial focal point of energy critics over the last four years. On Monday, Biden also signed an executive action that bans new drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters.
Trump's press secretary quickly slammed the order on X.
"This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill," Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
More than a dozen Republican AGs over the last four years have kept the Biden administration on alert and issued notices on several of his policies. In November, Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird, alongside more than 20 other attorneys general, sent a letter to special counsel Jack Smith, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, calling on them to drop their cases against President-elect Trump to avoid the risk of a "constitutional crisis."
Paxton also filed a lawsuit in November against the Biden-Harris Department of Justice to prevent potential destruction of any records from Smith’s "corrupt investigation into President Donald Trump," according to his office.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back by time of publication.
FIRST ON FOX: Two former Navy SEALs are planning to bring hundreds of veterans to Washington, D.C., next week to march in support of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation for defense secretary.
Hegseth, a former Army National Guardsman, will take the hot seat before the Armed Services Committee for a hearing on Tuesday ahead of a confirmation vote.
The group, organized by Bill Brown and Rob Sweetman, are planning to pack "as many veterans into the hearing room" as possible. They plan to have veterans meet outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 4 a.m., before the building opens at 7 a.m. and the hearing kicks off at 9:30 a.m.
The pair got to know Hegseth through his participation in the yearly New York City SEAL Swim in the Hudson River, organized by Brown.
A group of veterans will also meet at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at 9 a.m. to march in support of Hegseth. Brown is inviting all veterans to bring American flags and join their group.
"There's something really powerful about having a physical presence of support, other than just social media," said Sweetman. His organization, 62Romeo, helps veterans transitioning out of the military get their sleep back on track and is helping to sponsor the event.
Sweetman expects at least 100 SEALs to join and hundreds of other veterans.
Brown said he and others began organizing the march over the "total dismay that a lot of us in the military, a lot of us who served our country and war and overseas, have with the current leadership in the Pentagon."
Jurandir "J" Araujo, Hegseth’s first commander when he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay prison in 2004, who’s planning to help rally support, told Fox News Digital that back then he used to tell his colleagues that Hegseth would be president one day.
"I immediately noticed his dedication and commitment to the mission, and not only to the mission but to his men."
"As a young second lieutenant and platoon leader, Pete cared about not only training and instructing his men, but being a part of their daily lives," said Araujo. "He was always very caring about his troops, and their satisfaction with what they were doing there.
"I always saw something in him that was special," Araujo went on. "I gave him the call sign as a lieutenant of double-A, which means all-American."
"I made a point to tell the first sergeant, I said, you know, I said, "Lt. Hegseth, prepare yourself because this guy is gonna be president one day."
Hegseth’s nomination has been rocked by allegations that the former Army National Guardsman and Fox News host drank too much and behaved inappropriately with women.
A recently unearthed police report from 2017 revealed a sexual assault allegation against him that Hegseth thoroughly denies. Others have taken issue with his past comments arguing that women should not serve in combat roles.
The veterans coming to support him in D.C. are not deterred by the allegations.
"The Lt. Hegseth that I knew, and the Pete Hegseth that I know today is a man of integrity," said Araujo. "That's what I gauge my measurement on, as far as leadership and the ability to lead men and this country.
"His view on women in combat is the same as mine," said Brown. "The focus should be what’s going to make us the most lethal and combat-efficient force we can be."
"We're not little guys, we're big muscly dudes. Most women are going to have a hard time, with my plates, with my gear, dragging me out of harm's way. It’s just the truth… Pete was speaking out of love."
Both Brown and Sweetman said they were infuriated over the Afghanistan withdrawal and spurred to action when the Pentagon failed its seventh audit in a row. They hope Hegseth will hold those responsible for the withdrawal accountable and cut out waste at the Pentagon.
"There's gross corruption, fraud, wasting, abuse in the Pentagon," said Brown. "No one's been held accountable for the travesty in Afghanistan."
"We are hemorrhaging money with some of the defense contractor initiatives," said Sweetman. "There are no checks and balances on some of these large contracts, with some of the larger companies that are embedded with the government, and so we're looking at a huge budget that a lot of it is unaccounted for, specifically when we talk about the audits. How come you don't know where the money is going?"
Angelo Martinez served with Hegseth in Cuba, when he was a young soldier and Hegseth was his platoon commander. Martinez is now a staff sergeant, and has been in the Army for 21 years.
"I had the pleasure, or maybe not, of meeting many personalities or officers," he said.
"The difference between him and other officers, and there's very few of them that treat other people, meaning the enlisted soldiers, as, not saying equal, but they will look at you as an equal person."
"A lot of officers kind of look above us as U.S. enlisted soldiers, and he's one of the few people that took the time to get to know the soldier, understand you, listen to you, listen to your viewpoints and stuff like that. He was one of the few that cared."
"I'm actually on my way out of the military, and I joke that I hope one of the last few things I do here is I can take down the other secretary of defense and hang [Hegseth] up on my wall," Martinez said.
The NCO said he believed the fact that Hegseth didn’t retire as a colonel or a general was a plus, recalling times in Cuba when he and his platoon were on duty while the officers were off scuba diving on break. "He didn’t join them, he felt like he needed to be there with us."
"He's not that officer that would sit back and say, ‘You know what? I'm just gonna sit back and supervise and not have to deal with the grunt work.' Him not having the colonel rank or the star, it keeps him like among us still, rather than a distance, like someone above us looking down."
Martinez went on: "I have had people talk to me, asking about who he was, and how people had mixed feelings about him, what he did. And you know, a lot of people sometimes get a misunderstanding of who he is, but once you get to know him, you realize that he is the person for the job. Once you get to know him, you’ll probably be more comfortable with him being in that job."
-Senator Fetterman open to potential Greenland acquisition
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse California for costs associated with hiring more firefighters and controlling the raging wildfires that have ripped through Southern California.
News of the Fire Management Assistance Grants trickled in Tuesday, and by the evening the White House put out a statement from President Biden confirming the move. FEMA confirmed the measures on Wednesday, in an announcement laying out some details about the grants.
The funding will provide federal reimbursements for up to 75% of "eligible firefighting costs" incurred by the state, as California seeks to shore up its firefighting force and put out the wildfires that have killed at least two people and driven thousands from their homes. Eligible costs include expenses for field camps, equipment, materials, supplies and mobilization or demobilization efforts attributed to fighting the fires …Read more
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