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
DOUBTFUL LEGACY: Majority of Americans say President Biden will be remembered as a below-average president: Gallup ...Read more
'FURTHER THE PUBLIC INTEREST': AG Merrick Garland intends to release Jack Smith report on Trump election case ...Read more
STILL THINKING: Biden says pre-emptive pardons for Trump targets still under consideration ...Read more
ROAD BLOCK: Dems accused of 'stonewalling' Tulsi Gabbard confirmation after GOP calls for quick hearing ...Read more
MAGAFEST DESTINY: Trump flexes his muscles with repeated talk of American expansionism ...Read more
'DRIVING THE WHALES CRAZY': Trump signals he could oppose new wind energy production during second term ...Read more
TRUMP TRIAL: President-elect files emergency petition to SCOTUS to prevent sentencing in New York ...Read more
FIRST ON FOX: Bipartisan lawmakers introduce bill in warning to Putin-allied government ...Read more
SENATE STEP FORWARD: Dems expected to help advance Laken Riley Act ...Read more
'NEED TO GO': Fetterman open to potential Greenland acquisition, declares support for Laken Riley Act ...Read more
BRING BACK DEATH PENALTY: Top Republicans roll out bill that would undo 9/11 plea deals ...Read more
'I SAW IT FIRSTHAND': Ex-Dem rep calls presidential race 'unwinnable,' had concerns about Biden ...Read more
'REVIEWING THE OPPORTUNITY': Gaetz mulls bid for Florida governor ...Read more
PARTISAN FLASH POINT: NC Supreme Court blocks election results for one of its own seats amid legal challenge ...Read more
DRUG DEALERS BEWARE: VA seeks murder charges for fentanyl deaths ...Read more
TARIFF THREAT: Mexico disperses migrant caravans heading to U.S. ahead of Trump inauguration ...Read more
'TERRIBLE JOB': Flashback: Trump repeatedly called out Newsom on wildfires in first term ...Read more
NAME GAMES: Mexico president turns tables on Trump with map idea of her own ...Read more
'TRUE DISASTER': Trump pins blame for 'apocalyptic' wildfires on Newsom ...Read more
'I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED': 'Hillbilly Elegy' actress says JD Vance's family was 'generous' on set ...Read more
'RAPE GANG SCANDAL': UK lawmakers reject inquiry despite Musk appeals ...Read more
DIRECT HIT: U.S. hits underground Houthi weapons depots ...Read more
Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
The Biden administration was sued by the state of Alaska over claims they violated a Trump-era law by narrowing the scope of a mandated oil and gas lease.
During President-elect Donald Trump's first term in 2017, he signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which required the government to allow for at least two oil and gas drilling lease sales in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) by December 2024.
With the deadline quickly approaching, the Biden administration announced in December plans to move forward with an oil and gas lease sale of 400,000 acres within the northwest portion of the program area. But the lease, which was the smallest amount required under the Trump-era law, contained some restrictions.
In a lawsuit filed on Monday, the state of Alaska sued the Biden administration on claims that they are violating the statutory mandate of Congress by limiting drilling in the region.
"Interior’s continued and irrational opposition under the Biden administration to responsible energy development in the Arctic continues America on a path of energy dependence instead of utilizing the vast resources we have available," Alaska's Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter set aside an area of ANWR, known as "Area 1002," for the potential future exploration and development of natural resources.
The state of Alaska claims that by limiting drilling in the region, the Biden administration "negates Congress’ express call for oil and gas leasing and development on the Coastal Plain."
"Congress did not authorize a new direction for ANWR. President Biden’s Administration ignored the law and took this unlawful detour without even presenting their final decision to the public for comment," Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor said in a statement.
The Biden administration issued restrictions on the lease, such as surface use and occupancy, which the complaint claims could "make any development economically and practically impossible."
The lawsuit was filed just days before the lease sale is expected to take place on Jan. 9.
The Department of Interior told Fox News Digital it would not be commenting on the lawsuit.
A water treatment plant failure threw North America’s oldest continuous lawmaking body into crisis this week, as lawmakers were effectively shut out of the Virginia State Capitol for safety reasons.
Throughout the rest of Richmond, residents were dealing with a lack of water, and hospitals had to employ tanker trucks to provide the water needed not only to quench patients, but to provide heat and sanitization of medical implements, according to one state lawmaker.
The right-leaning group Virginia Project said the crisis may be the reason for the legislature to take an immediate interest in infrastructure funding, before offering a Confederate-era suggestion:
"Perhaps the waterless legislature should retreat to Appomattox," a social media post from the group said, referring to the community about 100 miles southwest of the Capitol: where the Richmond-based Confederate States of America surrendered to the Union in April 1865.
Others, like Virginia Republican Party chair Richard Anderson, placed blame on the recently-departed Democratic mayor who is now running for lieutenant governor.
"[The crisis is] a direct result of inept leadership by former Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond--who presided over his city's crumbling infrastructure," Anderson said.
"Stoney as LG? Never."
The crisis hit less than one week after the current Democratic mayor, Dr. Danny Avula, took office.
Avula, previously a pediatrician at Chippenham Hospital in neighboring Chesterfield County, said he has been hands-on since the water system first failed.
Avula said he spent much of Tuesday night at the city plant and announced Wednesday morning that some of the pumps are beginning to come back online.
"We're starting to see that reservoir level fill up. It's really encouraging. Right now the reservoir level is at 7ft for some context. [Our] reservoirs typically run at about 18ft."
Avula’s work drew him bipartisan praise, including from one prominent Republican.
State Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg, the Senate GOP Caucus Chair, said he’s never seen a legislative session begin in such chaos in his 21 years in the Capitol.
"Kudos to the new mayor for his tireless efforts to resolve this inherited crisis," he said on X, formerly Twitter.
State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, told Fox News Digital the water outage doubly affected his work, as both the Capitol and his district office in nearby Mechanicsville both felt the effects.
McDougle said the outage’s reach has gone beyond Richmond’s limits and into Henrico and Hanover counties to the north and east. Constituents have been reaching out to his office for help.
McDougle praised Gov. Glenn Youngkin for being "extremely aggressive in trying to find solutions to the problem that was created in the city," and offered the same for officials in suburban counties.
"[We are] trying to make sure that we're getting water to infrastructure like hospitals, so that they can continue to treat patients and to get water available to citizens so that they can take care of their families.
"But this has been a real effort on behalf of the state government and local jurisdictions trying to assist Richmond."
He said Avula does not deserve blame for the crisis, as he only took office days ago.
"It’s a shame this had to be on his first week," McDougle said.
"But we need to really investigate and get to the bottom of how [the Stoney] administration could have let this become such an acute problem that would impact so many people."
Schools in McDougle’s district were shut down Wednesday, and the legislature was gaveled out until Monday — after concerns from leaders and staff that the fire-suppression system in the iconic Capitol could malfunction without enough water flow.
McDougle remarked that while exercising caution is wise, Virginia’s spot as the oldest continuous legislature obviously predated utilities, and that the people’s work can and should be done in whatever way possible while the Capitol is out-of-order.
Another state lawmaker put the blame at the foot of Richmond’s longtime Democratic leadership.
Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, said Richmond has been a city "plagued by systemic neglect and a lack of accountability."
"Now, Stoney wants to be our commonwealth's next lieutenant governor. Despite the city's growing infrastructure needs, Democrats in Richmond allowed critical issues like water contamination and aging pipes to fester, leaving residents vulnerable to unsafe drinking water and deteriorating public health," Williams said.
He previously proposed a bill that would have allowed state agencies to study utility upgrades and provide engineering support.
With Democrats marginally in control of the legislature and hoping to prevent Youngkin’s deputy Winsome Sears from succeeding him in November, Williams said the crisis is emblematic of Democrats’ "larger failure… in Virginia, where promises of progress and equity often ring hollow when the real work of maintaining essential services is neglected."
Richmond businessowner Jimmy Keady echoed Williams, telling Fox News Digital the crisis isn’t just a failure of infrastructure but of past city leadership:
"For nearly 48 hours, businesses have forced to close. Residents were left without clean water, and hourly workers lost wages," Keady said.
"The political implications are just as severe," added Keady, who is also a political consultant.
He noted Virginia’s legislature is only in session for a few months, and referenced how lawmakers must explicitly pass resolutions to extend business beyond a term’s end date.
"By losing nearly 11% of this short session, Virginia lawmakers are losing valuable time to pass legislation that will address growing problems throughout our commonwealth, such as economic growth, rising medical costs, and — sure enough — aging infrastructure."
Richmond’s water supply is primarily sourced by the James River.
Fox News Digital reached out to Stoney's campaign and House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth. Avula could not be reached.
In remarks late Wednesday, Youngkin praised public and private partners around the capital region that have helped residents deal with the lack of water, from Avula to companies like Amazon and Publix.
"The collaboration from the surrounding counties with the city of Richmond and the state resources has been truly inspiring. The counties of Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield not only brought to bear all their expertise in emergency management, but their resources."
"They all mobilized fire-pump trucks in order to make sure that if there was a fire emergency and there was no water available in the city, that in fact the city could react really quickly to those urgencies."
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., sparked online backlash with a post in which he questioned President-elect Trump’s ability to bring down grocery prices. Social media users were quick to point out that food prices spiked under President Biden's leadership.
"I don’t care if Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. I just want to know what he’s going to do to lower the cost of groceries," Rep. Swalwell wrote on X.
But social media users noted that the congressman’s party had control of the House, Senate and White House while Americans struggled to afford food. While they later lost control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections, the Democrats held on to the Senate.
Swalwell later appeared to double down on his assertion that Trump will not lower grocery prices.
"Guys, it’s so obvious. Trump has no idea how to lower your cost of groceries. So he’s going to distract you by sending your kids to die fighting Canada," Swalwell tweeted.
However, this only brought more fury the congressman’s way, with social media users questioning why the congressman is not more worried about the fires raging in his state that has so far left two dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.
On Tuesday, President Biden released a statement on the deadly wildfires and announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved a grant to help fight the inferno.
"I am being frequently briefed on the wildfires in west Los Angeles. My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire," Biden said in a statement.
The Trump team has not responded to a request for comment.
Police in the Mexican state of Chihuahua believe that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua may be behind the murder of a Mexican immigration official just south of the U.S. border.
The Mexican immigration agent, Luis Alberto Olivas, was pushed down a hill and stoned to death by two Venezuelan migrants identified as David J.V. and Carlos Arichuna S.M. on Dec. 30. The murder took place by a military checkpoint close to Ciudad Juárez, just south of El Paso, Texas.
According to Border Report, Mexican authorities believe that at least one of the Venezuelans is suspected of being a member of Tren de Aragua (TdA), which is a transnational criminal organization that facilitates much of the drug and human trafficking in the area.
Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya told Border Report that one of the alleged killers "has the tattoos that we have identified as probably linked to Tren de Aragua" and that police have shared this information with other agencies and are "waiting for the next binational meeting to have it checked in [American] databases."
The tattoo in question depicts an owl, a symbol that according to Mexican investigative journalist Luis Chaparro is "often found on Tren de Aragua members" and often indicates a human smuggler "guide."
According to local news source "El Diario MX," the two possible Tren de Aragua members threw stones at Olivas’ chest, pushed him, causing him to fall six meters down a hill, and then smashed his head with a large stone, killing him.
TdA has been active on the U.S. southern border in recent weeks. On Dec. 31, the Texas Department of Public Safety caught four confirmed TdA members trying to sneak into the U.S illegally.
The individuals were identified as Segundo Ocando-Mejia, 39; Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, 27; Antonio Joe Urruttia-Rojas, 18; and Levi Jesus Urrutia-Blanco, 18. Ocando-Mejia had tattoos on his shoulders indicating he may hold rank or leadership within the gang.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has led many efforts to secure the border and clamp down on TdA, responded to the arrests by saying: "Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua."
A number of Senate Democrats say they will vote to advance a bill that would require federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft – increasing the bill’s chance of passing in the upper chamber.
At least 10 Senate Democrats are expected to vote to advance the bill in the upper chamber, giving it the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster if all Republicans vote in favor. It would then begin debate on the bill, and eventually have a vote on final passage, where it would only need 51 votes to pass and send it to the president's desk.
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Angus King, I-Maine, Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., have all said they will support advancing the bill. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he is likely to support advancing the bill.
"You know, I plan, I plan to support it. Because if you're a criminal, you should be held accountable," Rosen said.
Hickenlooper's office said he will vote to let the bill proceed to amend it, but "he does not support the Laken Riley Act in its current form."
A senior GOP staffer told Fox News Digital that they believe they have the votes to proceed to a full debate. Kelly echoed those comments.
"Yeah I think it will," he said when asked by Fox if it will get more than 60 votes.
The Laken Riley Act, which passed the House on Tuesday with 48 Democrats voting in favor, is named after a nursing student killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia’s campus last year.
It not only requires the feds to detain illegal immigrants guilty of committing theft, burglary or shoplifting until they are deported, but also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. Riley’s killer, Jose Ibarra, had previous arrests, including for theft, but had never been in ICE detention.
It was the first bill introduced in the House in the new Congress and indicates how tackling illegal immigration, both at the border and in the interior, is likely to be a top priority for Republicans and some Democrats.
President-elect Trump won his presidential campaign in part by focusing on the border crisis which had plagued the Biden administration before a recent, sharp drop in numbers. Trump has pledged to carry out a "historic" mass deportation campaign and his team have indicated they intend to push back against "sanctuary" cities that refuse to comply with ICE.
A number of the Democrats saying they will support the bill have a looming re-election fight. Sens. Shaheen, Peters, Ossoff and Hickenlooper are all up for re-election in 2026 and illegal immigration could again be a crucial issue as it was in many races in 2024.
Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump is envisioning a future without new wind energy projects under his administration, arguing that this power source is economically impractical and is causing harm to marine life.
Trump has long criticized using wind farms as a main form of energy production, but his latest remarks suggest that his incoming administration could place major restrictions on the future production of new wind-powered energy projects.
"It's the most expensive energy there is. It's many, many times more expensive than clean natural gas," Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. "So we’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built."
The federal government currently offers several different ways to obtain subsidies for windmill production, which Trump pointed to as one of the main issues with the energy source.
"The only people that want them are the people getting rich off windmills, getting massive subsidies from the U.S. government," he added. "You don’t want energy that needs subsidy."
The incoming president has also claimed potential interference with sea mammals is an issue, specifically in Massachusetts.
"You see what's happening up in the Massachusetts area, where they had two whales wash ashore in I think a 17-year period," Trump said during the news conference. "Now they had 14 this season. The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously."
Trump finds consensus with some environmental groups on the issue.
"That's the only thing out there that's changed, and it's changed dramatically," said Constance Gee of Green Oceans, a group that strives to protect ocean life, according to WCVB 5. "There is so much ship traffic out there. It's so loud. There's piledriving. There's sub-bottom profiling with sonar."
The National Marine Fisheries Service, however, says that there is no evidence currently connecting wind turbines and whale deaths.
Trump's latest comments were criticized by a Democratic ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, who said the incoming president "is completely out of touch."
"Trump is against wind energy because he doesn’t understand our country’s energy needs and dislikes the sight of turbines near his private country clubs," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement.
Wind energy is currently the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). However, such energy production has received growing opposition from members of the GOP in recent years, who have expressed concerns over its potential adverse effects.
"Like the canary in the coal mine, the recent spate of tragic whale deaths shed new light and increased scrutiny to the fast-tracking of thousands of wind turbines off our coast," Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said in March 2023.
Over the past four years, President Joe Biden has made major investments in the offshore wind industry as part of his green energy push, approving the nation's first 11 commercial scale offshore wind projects.
President-elect Trump, during his first administration, put Gov. Gavin Newsom on notice for his handling of repeated wildfires in the state, years ahead of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires currently raging.
"The Governor of California, @GavinNewsom, has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met that he must ‘clean’ his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers," the former and upcoming president posted to X in 2019.
"Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states," the thread continued.
Trump’s message to Newsom came as the Kincade Fire raged in Sonoma County from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, 2019.
"We’re successfully waging war against thousands of fires started across the state in the last few weeks due to extreme weather created by climate change while Trump is conducting a full on assault against the antidotes," Newsom said in response to Trump’s message, the Washington Post reported at the time.
Just roughly two weeks before Trump will be inaugurated as the nation's 47th president, he again took aim at Newsom's wildfire prevention leadership in the state, pinning blame for the LA County fires on Newsom and his environmental policies.
"Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,"Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday.
"He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!"
Newsom's director of communications Izzy Gardon told Fox Digital in response to Trump's Truth Social: "We’re focused on protecting lives and battling these blazes – not playing politics."
"There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need," Gardon added.
Trump has a long history of putting Newsom’s handling of wildfires under the microscope across his first four years in the White House, including in January 2019 when he threatened to cut off federal funds to California if reforms were not made to the state’s forest management services.
"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!" he posted to X that year.
"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!,"he added in 2018 on X.
Newsom and other Democrats have historically pushed back that wildfires in the state are due to climate change and global warming.
"You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation," Newsom shot back at Trump in 2019, for example, after the president slammed him for his wildfire leadership.
California Republicans, however, have echoed Trump that Newsom and other Democrats in the state "failed" in addressing forestry management.
"The Democrats who control this state, have been in charge of the legislature, and hold every statewide office have failed to take care of forestry management in California," Assemblyman James Gallagher said on Fox News in 2020. "We have overgrown forests with brush piles 10 feet high and dead and dying trees and it's a tinderbox waiting for a spark."
The California governor pledged in 2019 to reform California's approach to wildfire prevention, but a 2021 NPR investigation reported the governor overstated the efforts.
"The investigation found Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities," Scott Rodd wrote of the findings in 2021. "Newsom has claimed that 35 ‘priority projects’ carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399."
The state pushed back on the report, saying their efforts on wildfire prevention were hampered by the pandemic, "along with an unprecedented wildfire season which pulled our already strained wildfire crews away from prevention work to firefighting work."
"The notion that the Newsom administration is retreating on wildfire response – in dollars or actions – is wholly inaccurate," the governor’s office said after the investigation’s findings were released.
The Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan has since achieved and begun working on 100% of its 99 key actions, with the state also hiring an additional 3,000 new firefighters to CAL FIRE since 2019.
At least four wildfires are currently raging in Los Angeles County, tearing through the Pacific Palisades and Sylmar neighborhoods, as well as near Pasadena.
Newsom propositioned 65 fire engines, seven helicopters, nine bulldozers, and more than 105 specialized personnel in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties ahead of the fire spiraling earlier this week. The National Guard was also deployed in response to the fire.
"California has deployed 1400% firefighting personnel & hundreds of propositioned assets to combat these unprecedented fires in LA," Newsom said on X this week. "Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum chided President-elect Trump for saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, saying she has a new name for the United States.
"Mexican America. That sounds nice," Sheinbaum quipped Wednesday in Mexico City during a press conference, Reuters reported.
Sheinbaum cited a map from 1607 during the press conference and was joined by Mexico’s former culture minister, Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.
"The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century... as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent," Suarez del Real said, pointing to the map.
Sheinbaum’s remark followed Trump holding his own press conference Tuesday, where he made a series of announcements and further previewed his upcoming second administration, including saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
"We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot. They're essentially run by the cartels, and can't let that happen, because Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble. Very dangerous place," Trump said during the press conference.
"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory," Trump said Tuesday. "The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."
The Gulf of Mexico is a partly enclosed sea that borders states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as well as Mexico and the northwestern portion of Cuba. Trump did not elaborate on how or when he will rename the body of water. Instead, he switched gears to the immigration woes in the U.S. under the Biden White House.
"Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them, and we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada, too. And the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers," Trump said.
Sheinbaum pushed back on Trump’s comment that Mexico is essentially "run by cartels," responding that the "people are in charge" of the nation.
Sheinbaum added during the press conference that she expects the U.S. and Mexico will have a "good relationship" during the second Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump not only wants to make America great again, he appears to be angling to make America bigger.
Trump has turned up the volume in recent days on his calls to acquire Greenland, regain control of the Panama Canal and make Canada the nation's 51st state.
The president-elect on Tuesday night once again trolled America's neighbor to the north, posting on social media two doctored maps that showed Canada as part of the United States.
"Canada and the United States. That would really be something," Trump said hours earlier at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. "They should be a state."
A day earlier, the president-elect argued in a social media post that "many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State."
While he said he would only use "economic force" to convince Canadians to join the U.S., he would not rule out military force when it comes to Greenland, the massive ice-capped island in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans that for centuries has been controlled by Denmark, and the Panama Canal, which the U.S. ceeded control of to Panama over 40 years ago.
"They should give it up because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world," Trump said of his longtime ambitions to acquire Greenland.
His comments came as Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son, made a day trip to Greenland, flying aboard Trump's campaign airliner.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded, saying Greenland had made it clear that it is not for sale.
"There is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either," Frederiksen said.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, also shot back at Trump's musings.
"Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country," he emphasized in a social media post.
Additionally, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also returned fire at Trump's threat to use "economic force" to absorb Canada, saying there is not "a snowball's chance in hell" of Canada becoming the 51st state.
Trump's recent mocking of the longtime Canadian prime minister, repeatedly referring to him as "governor" along with his threat to impose massive tariffs on Canada, was likely a contributing factor in Trudeau's resignation announcement earlier this week.
It was not just Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Trump even pledged during his press conference to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."
While Trump's efforts at American expansion - which has a prominent place in the nation's history - may never come to fruition, they are immediately forcing world leaders to react and respond, and likely will foreshadow the blunt effect his second administration will have on the globe.
"I think what he's doing is setting the tone for the next four years, which is that America is the dominant superpower in the world. We're the protector of freedom and democracy across the world. We're the only country capable of pushing back against China, and it's time we started acting like we're that country," veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News.
Matt Mowers, a veteran GOP national public affairs strategist and former diplomat at the State Department during Trump's first administration, emphasized that "Donald Trump has adapted Teddy Roosevelt’s mantra for the 21st century and ‘speaks loudly and carries a big stick’. He recognizes that to change the paradigm and repel Chinese and Russian economic expansion in our own hemisphere, he needs to speak boldly about exerting American influence in the region."
"Already, you have seen just how his mastery of the bully pulpit has expedited a political earthquake in Canada. This ensures that America remains dominant in our own backyard, which puts America’s interests first, expanding our trade and security cooperation," Mowers argued.
Not everyone obviously agrees with Trump's muscular approach.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, America's top diplomat in President Biden's administration, appeared to take aim at the president-elect.
"I think one of the basic propositions we brought to our work over the last four years is that we're stronger, we're more effective, we get better results when we're working closely with our allies. Not saying or doing things that may alienate them," Blinken said Wednesday at a news conference.
Blinken predicted that "the idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one. But maybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen. So we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it."
The Democratic National Committee accused Trump of having a "pathetic Napoleon complex" which it claimed "has left him more focused on invading Greenland than on lowering costs and growing the economy for the American people."
"While Trump is distracted by bizarre threats against our allies and busy doling out favors to his billionaire Cabinet picks, Democrats are focused on standing up for working families and making sure they don't get stuck with the bill from Trump's reckless agenda," DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd charged.
