FIRST ON FOX: At the second Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus meeting, Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led discussions on how they can most effectively and quickly begin cutting waste across the government.
The new 18-member caucus convened on Thursday morning and strategized on how to avoid some of the pitfalls other similar efforts have run into.
"The Senate DOGE Caucus is hitting the ground running on day one of the Trump administration to downsize government," Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Biden’s bloat has created a target-rich environment for finding ways to eliminate waste and make the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and after today, I feel confident that we have plans in place to serve as the action arm in Congress to deliver for taxpayers."
For years, Ernst has been taking inventory of government waste, which has given the caucus a list of places to begin eliminating excess bureaucracy and making the government run more efficiently.
Some specific targets for the caucus are federal telework, IRS agents with unpaid taxes and U.S. funding going to foreign laboratories with little accountability.
Caucus members mapped out how they can address these items in a way that ensures they can get "multiple bites at the apple," per Ernst's office.
To do this, the Republican members plan on taking advantage of tools such as the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which can be used to overturn rules put in place by federal agencies, and budget reconciliation.
The budget reconciliation process is already expected as a key vehicle for Republican tax and immigration policy objectives, and the party has further signaled it could pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator even suggested they could do three such bills during the 119th Congress.
The benefit of passing legislation through budget reconciliation is that it requires a simple majority and is not subject to the 60-vote threshold of the legislative filibuster. The CRA is similarly not beholden to the filibuster.
Last year, Ernst took the opportunity to lay out a plan that cuts $2 trillion of what she says is waste. In it, she recommends selling empty government buildings, auditing the IRS and firing agents that owe taxes, and slashing seemingly random or "silly" studies conducted by the government, among other things.
DOGE was previously announced by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new advisory board looking to cut government waste.
Former President Obama wished his wife Michelle Obama a happy birthday on Friday, calling her "the love of my life."
The former first lady has turned 61, but has largely avoided being out in public in recent weeks. She will not attend President-elect Trump's inauguration on Monday, and was not seen at former President Jimmy Carter's funeral last week.
To commemorate her birthday, the former president shared a tribute to his wife on Instagram, writing, "You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!"
Michelle later shared the post on X and captioned it, "Love you, honey!" followed with a heart emoji and an emoji of a face blowing a kiss.
Sources reportedly close to Michelle told People that the former first lady intends to skip Trump's inauguration because she cannot contain her disdain for the Republican president-elect.
The former first lady repeatedly took jabs at Trump while on the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris and during her speeches at the Democratic National Convention in August. In one speech at the DNC, she accused Trump of spreading "racist lies" and opposing her husband's political career because of his race.
Though she is often floated as a choice of Democratic candidate for president, the source emphasized that the former first lady also has no interest in being a public figure now that her public service has ended.
While she will not be in attendance at Trump's inauguration, the former president is scheduled to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration event along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and their spouses.
Unconfirmed rumors swirled late last year that the Obamas' marriage was on the rocks and that Barack Obama had been involved in a romantic affair with actress Jennifer Aniston.
Aniston emphatically denied the rumors, telling late night host Jimmy Kimmel, "That is absolutely untrue. … I know Michelle more than him."
When reached for comment at the time, an Obama representative told Fox News Digital, "Stop."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading 22 other attorneys general in suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a new rule that would fine the oil and natural gas sector for methane emissions that exceed a certain level.
The GOP states are alleging the new rule, which was established in President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, is "arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of discretion." The complaint against the EPA is scant on details, other than asserting the new rule is "unlawful" because "the final rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority."
While the Supreme Court has articulated a very narrow authority on how Congress can delegate its legislative power, Steve Milloy, former Trump administration EPA transition adviser and senior fellow at the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute, said it is unclear to him how the EPA's rule circumvents Congress.
"The IRA clearly says EPA is to levy a tax and prescribes the tax rate," Milloy told Fox News Digital, pointing to the section of the IRA's "Waste Emissions Charge" that sets a threshold for methane emissions at 25,000 metric tons. "I will be interested to see how the states support their claims."
Nonetheless, Milloy is against the new fee on the oil and gas sector, noting methane is an "irrelevant greenhouse gas."
"The tax is pointless and will accomplish nothing except to make oil and natural gas more expensive," he said.
Milloy suggested the move to sue in the final days of the Biden administration is to start the process for the plaintiffs to settle with the Trump administration. According to him, this is a tactic that has been used by both sides of the green energy debate. He added that in the past, the Trump administration has sought to get rid of "sue and settle" tactics.
"Congress needs to change the law," Milloy said. "Because, let's say that they sue and settle, well, the next administration can come back and undo it."
Meanwhile, another forthcoming lawsuit from the Michigan Oil and Gas Association (MOGA) and the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AMFree) has also asserted that the new rule circumvents Congress, but provided details explaining why.
"Under Subpart W, facilities in the natural gas and petroleum supply chains must report greenhouse gas emissions if they emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions each year," the second lawsuit explains. "For gases other than carbon dioxide, ‘equivalent’ emissions are determined by multiplying emissions by the gas’s ‘global warming potential’ ('GWP')."
Michael Buschbacher, a partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, which is representing MOGA and AmFree in their lawsuit, agreed with Milloy that it will take legislation to reverse the new methane rule, but said the purpose of their legal filings is "to get the most onerous mandates off the books, so the American energy industry can begin its march back to dominance under the new administration."
"The Biden-era environmental regulations aren’t going to magically vanish at 12:01 on Monday. It’s going to take time and legislation to unwind the mess that he has left behind," Buschbacher said.
The EPA declined to comment on the matter, citing the pending nature of the litigation.
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday she will be addressing her state’s share of the national youth mental health crisis by planning to give parents the power to sue Big Tech companies and "hold bad actors accountable."
Sanders will also be addressing the issue at the World Economic Forum next week in Davos, Switzerland. She will join "The Anxious Generation" author Jonathan Haidt to discuss the role of smartphones and social media in causing harm to America’s youth.
At Davos, Sanders will also join Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for a bipartisan session discussing state priorities and state governments’ role in a presidential transition – as President Biden yields to President-elect Trump.
As for the Big Tech issue, Sanders told Fox News Digital that protecting children is paramount to her administration.
"In the past decade, across America, anxiety, depression and suicide among teens have skyrocketed, and the culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media," she said.
"Under my leadership, Arkansas will act to empower parents and protect kids."
"I look forward to … Davos to talk about this critical issue and how my administration is stepping up to hold Big Tech accountable."
In terms of addressing Big Tech’s alleged role in accentuating the nationwide youth mental health crisis, Sanders noted that she had previously launched a phone-free-school pilot program in 2024. The program offers schools state funding for phone pouches to prevent use during the school day.
Sanders, whose father, Mike Huckabee, previously served as Arkansas governor, said she plans to update the state’s Social Media Safety Act as well.
In terms of holding Big Tech responsible in the mental health crisis, Sanders said that "modern threats … require modern solutions."
"Nowhere is that truer than with our kids," she said in her State of the State.
"In the past decade, across America, suicide rates among teens have tripled, self-harm among girls has risen by nearly 200%, and depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media."
She had invited a Centerton, Ark., mother whose 16-year-old son took his own life after going from an active, sports-loving teen to one who spent more and more time watching social media videos on his phone.
The boy’s mother tried to take his phone away, and he eventually retreated to his room, where within 13 minutes he had already taken his own life.
"Months later, reeling from grief," Sanders said, "[The boy’s mother] decided to go through [his] phone. She got on his TikTok, and what she saw shocked her: video after video giving step-by-step instructions on how to take his own life."
"We will give moms like [her] the right to sue Big Tech companies under state law, so that they can hold bad actors accountable."
In a recent New Yorker interview, Haidt – the author appearing with Sanders at Davos – expressed shock at the difference between the "You’re sitting too close to the television, your eyes will burn out" generation and the new generation being warned about the pitfalls of social media.
"The technological environment in the '90s was miraculous. We loved it. The millennial generation grew up on it. Their mental health was fine. . . . And then in 2012 and 2013: Boom. The graphs go way, way up. Mental health falls off a cliff. It’s incredibly sudden," Haidt said.
President-elect Donald Trump is planning to immediately shake up the State Department by moving new officials into top roles.
A source familiar with the situation tells Fox News that the new Trump administration will immediately move new officials into key operational roles at the State Department to ensure the department is carrying out the Trump foreign policy agenda from day one.
Normally, career State Department officials will oversee these key positions while political appointees await Senate confirmation. The Trump team is bringing in dozens of "senior bureau officials" to ensure the career employees have Trump-aligned officials over them. The source says the transition has already identified the senior bureau officials who will be taking over.
The source also says this move affects more than 20 additional key roles at State. Reuters reported last week that Trump officials have already asked others to step aside, bringing a total of about 30 senior positions affected by this initiative. They include all of those working as undersecretaries and overseeing key regional, policy and communications bureaus.
Asked to comment, a spokesperson for the transition team told Fox, "It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump's vision for putting our nation and America's working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix, and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals."
Trump's transition team recently asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to a Reuters report.
Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz, the career diplomats who were allegedly asked to leave their roles, oversee the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination.
All three of the career diplomats named in the report have worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, Reuters noted. Unlike political appointees, diplomats do not typically resign when a president leaves office.
Throughout his political career, Trump has gone after the "deep state," and this move could be seen as part of his efforts to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level.
Trump has never hid his disdain for the government agency responsible for foreign relations, dubbing it the "Deep State Department" during his first term, reflecting his belief that career diplomats were working to subvert his agenda.
Trump is likely to work in tandem with his Secretary of State nominee, Marco Rubio, who, during his confirmation hearing, said that State employees would need to work towards Trump's "America first" agenda and pledged to make the agency "relevant again."
"What has happened over the last 20 years under multiple administrations is the influence of the State Department has declined at the expense of other agencies, and also at the expense of National Security Councils, because it takes so long for the State Department to take action," said Rubio.
"And so, increasingly, you stop getting invited to the meetings, and they stop putting you in charge of things, because it takes too long to get a result."
He said that "the core mission of the department has not been well-defined" in the modern federal bureaucracy, and "it’s our obligation to define that."
"We want the State Department to be relevant again, and it should be because the State Department has a plethora of talented people who are subject-matter experts and who have skills in diplomacy. And it’s not being fully utilized, because, increasingly, on issue after issue, we’ve seen the State Department marginalized because of internal inertia, because of the way the structure works. We have to be at that table when decisions are being made, and the State Department has to be a source of creative ideas and effective implementation," he added.
Rep. Brian Mast, R–Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,told reporters that he was looking to root out those at State who had directed the so-called "woke" funding programs at the department.
"If you have people that are writing grants nefariously supporting a radical agenda, like doing drag shows abroad and trying to find this vague tie and not tying things to U.S. national security interests, then they should be aware that we'll be looking for them, and we will be looking for creating authorities to make sure that their existence doesn't continue in the State Department."
Vivek Ramaswamy, the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, plans to launch a bid for Ohio governor, multiple sources confirm to Fox News Digital.
The sources add that Ramaswamy, who along with Elon Musk is co-leader of President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, is expected to make an announcement on a gubernatorial run "shortly."
"Vivek’s base plan remains [the] same: to get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly," said an Ohio operative familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News on Friday.
Current Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.
DeWine on Friday announced that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat held by former Sen. JD Vance until earlier this month, when the vice president-elect stepped down ahead of Monday's inauguration.
Before the Senate announcement, Husted had long planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine.
The now-39-year-old Ramaswamy, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, saw his stock rise as he went from a long-shot to a contender for the Republican nomination.
Ramaswamy campaigned on what he called an "America First 2.0" agenda and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the field of rivals, calling Trump the "most successful president in our century."
He dropped his White House bid a year ago after a distant finish in the Iowa caucuses. Ramaswamy quickly endorsed Trump and became a top surrogate on the campaign trail.
Ramaswamy, an Ohio native, was named along with Musk, the world's richest person, to lead DOGE, in an announcement in November by Trump.
Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.
President Biden doesn’t appear to be resting during his final weekend in the White House. Instead, he’s pushing for a new amendment to the Constitution that would make the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) "the law of the land."
In a statement released by the White House, Biden demanded that the United States "affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all."
While his point is clear in the statement, a post on his official X account had users mocking the president. The post references the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. However, the US Constitution only has 27 amendments, the last of which was ratified in 1992.
In a post on X calling the ERA the "law of the land," implying that it is already part of the Constitution, which is not the case. Social media users were quick to point this out, with some calling the president a "dictator."
Others online also brought up Biden’s past rhetoric about Trump being a "threat to democracy," accusing the president of trying to "declare" an amendment into existence.
Citing the American Bar Association in the statement, Biden argued that the ERA has "cleared all necessary hurdles to formally be added to the Constitution." Biden added that he agreed with "the ABA and with leading constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution." However, despite Biden’s argument, the National Archives disagreed.
In its own December statement on the ERA, the National Archives said that "at this time, the Equal Rights Amendment cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions."
The ERA, a proposed amendment to the constitution that would guarantee "equal rights under the law" to all Americans regardless of sex. Its latest iteration was a rapid response by New York Democrats to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex," Biden said in the White House statement.
The assertion triggered a community note, which read, "Readers added context they thought people might want to know. The Archivist of the United States, charged with officially publishing ratified amendments, has confirmed that the ERA was not ratified and based that analysis on binding legal precedent. There is no 28th Amendment."
A spokesperson for the Biden administration did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the last few years, America’s divide over women’s rights has grown larger. Some celebrated the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, while others saw it as a fundamental attack on freedom. Additionally, the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports has turned into a heated debate about fairness and equality.
Legal experts, privacy groups and parents alike applauded the Supreme Court's Friday ruling upholding a federal law banning TikTok unless it is divested from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, while others deemed it as "anti-democratic."
The ban is set to go into effect on Sunday.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."
Former Vice President Mike Pence turned to X and called the decision "a victory for the privacy and security of the American people."
"This law was the result of a bipartisan cooperation and I commend it's authors and supporters in Congress for enacting this vital law for our national security," he continued. The CCP has been put on notice that the American people’s data is no longer for the taking. The incoming Trump administration must be prepared to uphold this TikTok divestment law and put the privacy and security of America first."
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., likewise said the Supreme Court "correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments" in a post on X.
"ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline," the senator wrote. "The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app. The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., said the decision was "unsurprising,and the answer is that the Chinese government needs to give up control of TikTok."
Carrie Severino, President of Judicial Crisis Network, echoed Cotton's sentiments, also saying in a statement that the high court "rightly recognizes the danger of the Chinese Communist Party being able to access and maliciously deploy the data of hundreds of millions of Americans."
President Biden notably maintained his stance that he would enforce the law banning the social media app and would instead punt the implementation to President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration.
Severino stated she hopes "that President Trump's incoming administration vigorously enforces this important national security law."
Executive Director of American Parents Coalition Alleigh Marré also posted on X reacting to the holding. "This is a huge win for parents! Kids will be free from TikTok’s poison, its powerful, dangerous algorithm and compromising influences."
"I am incredibly proud to see that the highest court in the land has agreed that our elected officials hold the power to protect our national security from our most powerful foreign adversaries," said Michael Lucci, Founder and CEO of State Arumor, in a statement. "This decision is a vindication of the tireless work of so many patriotic groups, including State Armor, have done over the last year to make the public and lawmakers aware of the dangers that TikTok poses."
Lucci continued on to call for TikTok's sale to an American company "or immediately cease all operations within the United States, per the Supreme Court’s decision."
Others reacted to the Supreme Court's decision with disappointment, including Electronic Frontier Foundation Civil Liberties Director David Greene who called the holding "anti-democratic."
"Shutting down communications platforms or forcing their reorganization based on concerns of foreign propaganda and anti-national manipulation is an eminently anti-democratic tactic, one that the U.S. has previously condemned globally," he said in a statement released.
Likewise, Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law Erwin Chemerinsky told Fox News Digital in a statement that he believes the Court was "wrong" in its decision.
"Although unanimous, I think the Court was wrong," Chemerinsky said. "It accepted uncritically the government’s argument that China being able to gather information would harm national security; it never explained what kind of information is likely to be gathered to what effect.
"The impact on speech is staggering to ban a platform used by 173 million people in this country," he continued.
Just last year, Congress required that TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19. The law was subsequently signed by Biden.
When the law was passed, Congress specifically noted concerns over the app's Chinese ownership, which members said meant the app had the potential to be weaponized or used to amass vast amounts of user data, including from the roughly 170 million Americans who use TikTok.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, told lawmakers that she will end the controversial CBP One app, and a related migrant parole program that has allowed nearly 1.5 million immigrants into the US.
"Yes, Senator, if confirmed and I have the opportunity to be secretary, on day one CBP One will be shut down," Noem told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Noem was first asked by Hawley if the southern border was secure.
"Senator, no, the southern border is not secure today. But in just three days, we will have a new president in this country, President Donald J. Trump. And he will secure our border," she said.
She was then asked about the use of the CBP One app, which allows immigrants to be paroled into the U.S. The app was created during the first Trump administration to assist with scheduling cargo inspections. However, it was controversially expanded in 2023 to allow migrants to make an appointment at a port of entry to be allowed in, initially due to an exception from the Title 42 public health order and then, since May, to be paroled into the U.S. as part of the Biden administration’s expansion of "lawful pathways."
As of the end of December, more than 936,500 individuals had made appointments to be paroled through the app, according to Customs and Border Protection.
Connecting to that was a parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), which allows up to 30,000 nationals a month from those countries to receive travel authorization to enter the U.S. after a vetting process. As of the end of December, about 531,000 nationals had been allowed in through the program. It was first applied to Venezuelans in October 2022 and expanded to the other three nationalities in January 2023.
While the Biden administration said it was a part of an effort to encourage legal, rather than illegal, immigration and had been part of a slowing down of nationals entering illegally from those groups, opponents condemned it as a "concierge service" for otherwise illegal mass migration.
Noem said she would end CBP One on the first day in office, although the agency will keep some information.
"There's data and information in there that we will preserve so that we can ensure we know who's coming into this country and who's already here, that we need to go find," she clarified.
She then pointed to CHNV, "where our federal government actually paid to fly people into this country directly from other countries without any vetting or knowing who they are."
"So there's several of these programs that need to be eliminated, and we need to ensure that we're following legal immigration laws," she said.
Hawley followed up, asking if she would put an end to "abuse" in the parole system.
"We will go back to case by case evaluation of these parole cases and ensure that we have more resources, if you will partner with us, to make sure that our legal immigration system is fully utilized, that we have more judges, more immigration courts, so that we can process people legally and make sure that they are, going through that process rather than, like Joe Biden has done, use this as an excuse to allow people to come into our country with no consequences," she said.
Noem, if confirmed, will oversee DHS at a time when the agency is expected to launch a historic mass deportation operation targeting illegal immigrants within the U.S., while also attempting to expand border security at the southern and northern borders.
She will work with "border czar" Tom Homan, who was picked by Trump in November to head the operation and border security efforts.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's final press conference quickly devolved into chaos Thursday after reporters had to be forcibly removed from the event, including one, an activist, who was physically carried out.
The men were upset that a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel had not been reached sooner, accusing Blinken of "genocide" and being a "criminal."
Writer and activist Sam Husseini had to be dragged out of the event by security. Another reporter, Grayzone News' Max Blumenthal, left more peacefully but still had to be escorted out after shouting questions at Blinken about why he had kept "the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?"
"You pontificate about a free press?" Husseini erupted. "I'm asking questions after being told by Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions, and so I ask them. Wasn't – wasn’t the point of the May 31st statement to block the ICJ orders? You blocked the ICJ orders!"
Blumenthal questioned Blinken on why he had allowed "the Holocaust of our time," as he was escorted out, but that didn't stop the uproar. Blinken kept trying to get back on course amid the interruption, at one point asking people to "respect the process," but Husseini refused.
"Oh, respect the process?" Husseini yelled as he was being carried away. "Respect the process while everybody – everybody from the International – from Amnesty International to the ICJ’s saying that Israel’s doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to respect the process. Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague?"
Three security guards ultimately had to grab Husseini in an attempt to remove him from the room. Husseini shouted as he clasped the table he was sitting at while he continued shouting at Blinken: "You're hurting me! You're hurting me!"
The United States, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed this week to a cease-fire deal – the basis of which was proposed by President Joe Biden in May. Israel still has to fully ratify the agreement, but it is a three-phase process that is expected to commence as early as Sunday. The deal marks the first reprieve in fighting since a short truce took place in November 2023, but fighting resumed several days later with both sides arguing violations of the agreed upon deal.
"Three hundred reporters in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs. Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal?" Blumenthal shouted at Blinken, after the secretary of state thanked members for their "hard questions" during the past four years of his tenure. "You all knew we had a deal. Everyone in this room knows we had a deal, Tony, and you kept the bombs flowing."
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that it is committed to advancing press freedom and values the opportunity to regularly communicate with members of the press. But they said the State Department also follows agency norms, which posit that anyone attending department press briefings must act in a professional manner, observe restrictions that may be laid out in advance and not impede other speakers.
Blinken defended the Biden administration's policy approach to the fighting in Gaza during his final press conference as Ssecretary of state on Thursday. He did acknowledge that the war in Gaza posed a "uniquely challenging situation" due to the humanitarian issues that Palestinians faced after Hamas launched their attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He also acknowledged that the U.S. had "real differences with Israel on the way it’s gone about the necessary defense of its people and its country."
But, according to President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, the Biden administration does "not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide," he said earlier this year.
The deal reached this week hit a quick snag when Hamas sought to push last-minute demands into the deal. Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from far-right politicians not to go through with it. Still, on Friday morning, Netanyahu said that, pending approval by Israel's security cabinet and government, the proposed cease-fire and hostage deal was still on and expected to commence on Sunday.
President Donald Trump's inauguration will now take place inside the U.S. Capitol due to cold weather forecast for Monday, the first indoor inauguration since Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in January 1985.
On that frigid January 20th 40 years ago, the air temperature was 7 degrees, with a windchill of -40.
Monday's forecast is a high of 23 degrees and a low of 10, but brutal winds are expected to whip across the city, making the temperature feel more like single-digit temperatures.
President Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated inside the Capitol in 1801, as was custom in the nation's early history. Organizers moved President James Monroe's inauguration outside, because the Capitol was so badly damaged after the War of 1812 when the British burned it, which kicked off the custom of swearing in a president outside in front of the National Mall.
President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961 had similar temperatures - a high of 26 and a low of 19. It was held outside, even after a storm dumped eight inches of snow the previous day.
"The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows," Trump posted on Truth Social, addressing the expected cold.
"There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!)."
Trump said D.C.'s Capital One Arena will be open Monday for live viewing of his inauguration "and to host the Presidential Parade."
"I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing in," Trump wrote.
Only days after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was sworn-in in Indianapolis, the former Republican senator officially rid the state government of its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) apparatus.
Instead, Braun – who grew a small Jasper truck-body business called Meyer Distributing into a major player with 700 product lines – said on Friday it takes a politician who "signed the front side of a paycheck" to understand what economic priorities actually matter, and DEI is not one of them.
"At the [Indiana] inaugural, which was over the weekend for me, there was so much excitement knowing something is afoot even in a good red state like Indiana, mostly because of what's going to happen out in D.C. and the partnership that can happen between enterprising states like ours has always been," Braun said on "Fox & Friends."
"We’ve never really had somebody from Main Street… be our own governor here."
Braun contrasted the conservative economic vision with that of President Biden and other Democrats, whose platform is "built on big government."
"Rahm Emanuel said ‘never let a crisis go to waste’," he said in that respect, referring to the former President Barack Obama confidant’s motto during the 2008 financial crisis. The line was seen as a suggestion to use tough moments to force through tenets of one’s personal agenda.
In comments to Fox News Digital, Braun said that in nearly 40 years of running a business, he knows what works and what does not.
Instead of DEI, Indiana needs "MEI" – or Merit, Excellence and Innovation – to be a priority, he said.
"Government should be laser-focused on one thing: getting results for the people they serve. We’re replacing the divisive DEI ideology with a level playing field of MEI -- the same reason we’re eliminating college degree requirements where they’re not essential and adding key performance metrics for accountability," Braun said.
"[That is] because everyone should be judged on what they do, not who they are."
Braun noted his business background and reiterated how his guiding principle of growing Meyer into the expansive business it is today has been "results – above everything else."
"That’s exactly what we’re putting first in my administration."
In his order, Braun cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard – which found affirmative action programs violate the Equal Protection Clause – and said state resources would not be used to "support [DEI] positions, departments, activities, procedures or programs if they grant preferential treatment based upon one person's particular race..."
It also bans requirements of Indianans to have to disclose their personal pronouns or for employers to mandate job applicants to provide a DEI-related statement.
"We've grown the federal government to a place that I hope DOGE… brings it down because you’ve got a lot of anxious governors that want to double down on [DOGE] – we’re going to do it anyway," Braun said separately on Fox News Channel.
Braun said that since COVID-19, too many Indiana bureaucrats are still teleworking and that the DEI-nixing effort is also another way to streamline government to be more effective, just like Meyer.
The state’s DEI office had been established by Braun’s predecessor, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
After the George Floyd incident in Minnesota, Holcomb addressed Indianans on the issue of "getting to the root causes of inequities and not just reacting to the symptoms."
Holcomb, who first ascended to the governorship when Mike Pence became vice president in 2017, appointed then-University of Notre Dame public affairs director Karrah Herring to lead the new DEI department.
Braun also received some pushback on his decision:
The Indiana legislature’s minority leader said he respects Braun’s right to position his new administration how he wants but questioned his chosen hierarchy.
"Thinking of the myriad issues Hoosiers are facing, though, I can’t understand why this is a top priority," State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said in a statement.
GiaQuinta added a recent caucus meeting with the DEI office was "insightful and helpful" to their work addressing Indianans’ needs, and called the department’s sunset a "distraction from the real issues."
The members of the Republican National Committee, in a vote that was never in doubt, on Friday re-elected chair Michael Whatley to continue steering the national party committee.
"This organization has got to be the tip of the spear. And as your chairman, I promise this organization will be the tip of the spear to protect Donald Trump," Whatley said, as he spoke after the unanimous voice vote at the RNC's annual meeting, which was held this year in the nation's capital ahead of Monday's inauguration of President-elect Trump.
Whatley, a longtime Trump ally and a major supporter of Trump's election integrity efforts, who was serving as RNC general counsel and chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, was named by Trump last March as chair as the former president clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Whatley succeeded longtime RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, whom Trump no longer supported.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC's winter meeting, Whatley says his job going forward in the 2025 elections and 2026 midterms is straight forward.
"It's really critical for us to make sure that the Trump voters become Republican voters," Whatley told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNCs' winter meeting, which is being held in the nation's capital.
Republicans enjoyed major victories in November's elections, with President-elect Trump defeatingVice President Kamala Harris to win back the White House, the GOP flipping control of the Senate from the Democrats, and holding on to their razor-thin majority in the House.
Whatley, who was interviewed on Thursday on the eve of the formal RNC chair vote, said the GOP needs "to cement those gains" made in the 2024 elections.
"We're going to go right back to the building blocks that we had during this election cycle, which is to get out the vote and protect the ballot," Whatley emphasized.
The RNC chair pointed to "the lessons that we learned" in the 2024 cycle "about going after low propensity voters, about making sure that we're reaching out to every voter and bringing in new communities," which he said helped Republicans make "historic gains among African American voters, among Asian American voters, among Hispanic voters, young voters and women voters."
Speaking a couple of days before the president-elect's inauguration, Whatley emphasized that once Trump's in the White House, "we're going to go right back to the RNC. We're going to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We've got a couple of governor's races…that we're going to be working on in ‘25."
But Whatley said "everything is focused on ‘26," when the party will be defending its majorities in the House and Senate, "because that is going to determine, from an agenda perspective, whether we have two years to work with or four. And America needs us to have a four-year agenda."
"What we're going to be doing is making sure that we are registering voters," Whatley said. "We're going to be…communicating with the folks that we need to turn out."
Pointing to the 2024 presidential election, he said "it's the same fundamentals."
But he noted that "it's not just seven battleground states" and that the 2026 contests are "definitely going to be a very intense midterm election cycle."
While Democrats would disagree, Whatley described today's GOP as "a common sense party…this is a party that's going to fight for every American family and for every American community."
Referring to former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to serve in his second administration's cabinet, Whatley touted "the fact that we have two former Democratic presidential candidates who are going to be serving in the president's cabinet. That shows you that this is a commonsense agenda, a commonsense team, that we're going to be moving forward with."
In December, Trump asked Whatley to continue during the 2026 cycle as RNC chair.
"I think we will be able to talk when we need to talk," Whatley said when asked if his lines of communication with Trump will be limited now that the president-elect is returning to the White House. "We're going to support the president and his agenda. That does not change. What changes is his ability from the White House to actually implement the agenda that he's been campaigning on."
The winter meeting included the last appearance at the RNC by co-chair Lara Trump. The president-elect's daughter-in-law is stepping down from her post.
She stressed that it's crucial the RNC takes "the opportunity the voters have given us" to "continue to expand the Republican brand."
The elder Trump is term-limited and won't be able to seek election again in 2028. Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance will likely be considered the front-runner for the 2028 GOP nomination.
Whatley reiterated what he told Fox News Digital in December, that the RNC will stay neutral in the next race for the GOP nomination and that the party's "got an amazing bench."
"You think about the talent on the Republican side of the aisle right now, our governors, our senators, our members of Congress, people that are going to be serving in this administration. I love the fact that the Republican Party is going to be set up to have a fantastic candidate going into '28," he highlighted.
Unlike the DNC, which in the 2024 cycle upended the traditional presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.
Asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley reiterated to Fox News that "I have not had any conversations with anybody who wants to change the calendar, so we will wait and see what that looks like as we're going forward. We're at the RNC meetings this week and having a number of conversations with folks, but that is not a huge push."
"I don't think that changing the calendar really helped the Democrats at all," Whatley argued. "And I think that us, making sure that we are working our system the way that we always have, is going to be critical."
The swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Trump's inauguration will be moved inside because of cold temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C., Fox News has learned.
Brutal cold and ferocious winds are forecast for the D.C. region on Monday, with temperatures expected to hover just over 20 degrees, the Washington Post reported.
With the wind chill, it will feel more like single digit temperatures. There is also a possibility of snow from a storm forecast on Sunday.
The Inaugural Committee has yet to comment on the move.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is eying a proposal that would slash federal diversity and inclusion programs, according to a new report.
DOGE is tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters.
The proposal circulating among DOGE advisors is a 19-page report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative and libertarian nonprofit organization, the Washington Post reports.
Specifically, the document claims that there is more than $120 billion annually spent on "diversity, equity and inclusion" initiatives like Agriculture Department grants and loans for minority farmers and ranchers – efforts the organization claims are unconstitutional.
Although it’s unlikely that the entirety of those funds will face complete elimination, sources told the Post that these diversity efforts will likely face cuts to free up spending. DOGE advisors have viewed the document, and it is making its rounds through the committee, the Post reports.
"That’s been sent down from on high, that all this DEI stuff has to go," someone familiar with DOGE’s early plans told the Post. "Once all these guys get confirmed, and he’s the president on Jan. 20, this is going to happen fast and furious."
Musk is expected to occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building which is directly beside the West Wing and where the majority of office space for White House staffers exists, the New York Times reported this week.
While Musk and transition officials have discussed the nature of the billionaire's access to Trump post-inauguration, solidified plans are pending, according to the Times, which noted that special passes are usually required in order to freely visit the West Wing.
DOGE is not part of the federal government, but the committee is expected to suggest executive orders for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget on new initiatives.
Altogether, DOGE seeks to slash $2 trillion from the federal government budget through cuts to spending, government programs and the federal workforce.
Even so, that plan may be a bit ambitious. Musk recently said that eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget might not be realistic, and cutting $1 trillion was a more likely outcome.
"I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome," Musk said during tech trade show CES this month in Las Vegas. "But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion]."
President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that he needs "time to review" the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a federal law banning TikTok unless it divests from its Chinese parent company before Jan. 19 – the day before Trump is set to be sworn in.
Trump added that "everyone must respect" the high court's decision.
"The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it," Trump said in a statement posted to Truth Social. "My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!"
The statement came moments after Trump reportedly told a small group of journalists by phone that the law banning TikTok "ultimately goes up to me, so you're going to see what I'm going to do" after taking office.
"Congress has given me the decision, so I'll be making the decision," Trump said, according to CNN, which first reported the remarks.
Trump's Truth Social post appears to take a more deferential tone towards the nation's highest court, including its decision to uphold the bipartisan divestiture law passed last April with wide bipartisan support.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.
"For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed."
Trump has sought to delay the law from taking force. Attorneys for the president-elect filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month, asking justices to delay any decision until after Trump's inauguration Jan. 20.
But lawmakers disagreed.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Supreme Court in a filing of his own that Congress explicitly set the Jan. 19 date for the divestiture clause to take force since it "very clearly removes any possible political uncertainty in the execution of the law by cabining it to an administration that was deeply supportive of the bill’s goals."
This is a breaking news story. Check back shortly for updates.
FIRST ON FOX — A coalition of more than 400 U.S. farm, agriculture and growers groups sent a letter to Senate leaders this week urging the swift confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump nominee Brooke Rollins to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), praising her as a strong voice they see as well-positioned to speak to the interests of rural America.
The signatories included a whopping 417 national and state growers groups representing the interests of farmers, growers, hunters, ranchers, forest owners, renewable fuel associations and state departments of agriculture across the country — encompassing what they said is virtually "all aspects of American agriculture, food, nutrition and rural America."
The USDA is the agency that oversees the nation's agriculture and its practices. Its sprawling portfolio includes providing support for farmers, setting the standards for school meals and overseeing the safety of meat, poultry and eggs.
The letter was previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital and sent to Sens. John Boozman, R-La., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. — the chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, respectively — just one week before Rollins was slated to appear before the panel for her confirmation hearing.
In the letter, signatories praised what they described as Rollins’ foundational knowledge of agriculture, combined with her policy and business bona fides that they said made her uniquely qualified for the role of U.S. agriculture secretary.
Rollins "has been engaged in American agriculture since an early age," they said, noting Rollins’ childhood spent baling hay and growing livestock in Glen Rose, Texas — a small town some 70 miles outside of Dallas — as well as the summers she spent working on her family’s farm in Minnesota.
Later, Rollins majored in agricultural development at Texas A&M on a scholarship, before completing law school at the University of Texas. She went on to work for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and then later served as director of the United States Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term as president. She then became president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, whose mission is to "advance policies that put the American people first."
In the letter, the groups said Rollins’ agriculture and farming bona fides, policy expertise and her business experience make her uniquely prepared to "provide effective executive leadership for USDA’s important, wide-ranging activities and large workforce."
The timing of the letter and Rollins' pending confirmation hearing, slated for Thursday, comes at a crucial time for U.S. growers groups and agribusinesses across the country.
It comes as lawmakers have stalled on a new farm bill, and on other key priorities for farmers and industry groups across the country.
The 11th-hour passage of a government spending bill in late December helped narrowly avert a government shutdown, but it failed to provide the full extent of farm aid and other agriculture subsidies in the amounts considered necessary for many in the U.S.
In the letter, the groups cited Rollins’ "close working relationship" with the incoming president, which they said will "ensure that agriculture and rural America have a prominent and influential voice at the table when critical decisions are made in the White House."
In sum, the letter said, Rollins’ leadership at USDA is necessary to help "advocate for a new farm bill, stabilize an agricultural economy in decline, support the full food and agriculture and forestry value chain, and continue American agriculture’s long history of providing the most secure, affordable and nutritious food supply in the world."
Rollins is not expected to face staunch opposition to her nomination to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and lawmakers who have spoken out to date have praised both her experience and strong knowledge of the agriculture sector.
