President-elect Trump estimated the exact time his administration will be "fully operational" on Jan. 20 in his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

"You just have a few days to wait. We're going to be fully operational, I would say, by about 2:00 on the 20th," Trump said from the AmericaFest stage. 

Trump took the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center Sunday as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the "biggest conservative movement in the country" – where the president took a victory lap for his electoral win last month, and to also preview his administration in the waning days of the transition period. 

"The thing that brings people together is victory. It's winning. And we had that for much of my first year. We had the most – we had the greatest economy in history, in our first term. We can now call it a first term. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country, maybe in the history of any country, frankly. And we had – we did things that nobody could have done. And we're going to do them even better now. We're going to be drilling, as we say, ‘drill, baby, drill.’ We're going to drill, baby drill, but we're going to be doing a lot more than drilling," he said of his win and upcoming administration. 

TRUMP SET TO DELIVER FIRST RALLY-STYLED SPEECH SINCE DECISIVE ELECTION WIN: 'BIGGEST CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT'

On Saturday evening, Trump issued a message on Truth Social, calling for the U.S. to regain control of the Panama Canal. He elaborated during his speech Sunday that "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question."

"A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. commerce and rapid deployment of the Navy from the Atlantic, all the way to the Pacific. It's an incredible thing. And drastically cut shipping times down to U.S. ports by days and even weeks. The United States is the number one user of the Panama Canal, with over 72% of all transits heading to or from U.S. ports. Think of that. So we built it. We're the ones that use it. They gave it away," he said. 

The canal had been under American control since its construction was completed, and it began operations in 1914. It was handed over to Panama during President Jimmy Carter's administration in 1977.

Trump also previewed his upcoming administration, saying that in addition to carrying out the "largest deportation operation in American history," his admin will also roll out an advertising campaign highlighting the evils of drug use, spotlighting fentanyl that flows across the border. 

"We're going to do very big advertising campaigns, just like a campaign for running for president. We spend a lot of money, but it'll be a very small amount of money, relatively. We're going to advertise how bad drugs are for you, how bad they are. They ruin your look. They ruin your face. They ruin your skin. They ruin your teeth. If you want to have horrible teeth, take a lot of fentanyl. If you want to have skin that looks so terrible, take fentanyl," he said. 

Efforts to bolster border security and deport illegal immigrants in the nation, Trump said, will also include efforts to secure the northern border. 

"Canada allows people and drugs to flood in through our northern border. You know, we have a northern border that's not doing so well either. Likewise, people are coming in from Mexico in numbers that have never, ever been seen before. We had 21 million people come in over the past four years," he said. 

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN

Trump's speech on Sunday followed Congress avoiding a prolonged government shutdown early Saturday morning. Members of the House returned to the negotiating table last week after Trump and allies such as Elon Musk slammed a more than 1,500-page bill as "outrageous" and rife with excessive spending. 

Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown. The final bill, however, did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling.

Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, including on Sunday, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill. 

In his speech, Trump again reaffirmed his support for former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense in his second administration, as Hegseth battles allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking while rallying support for his confirmation among senators. Hegseth has denied the allegations and vowed that he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to Trump's Cabinet.

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"To get wokeness out of our military and restore the unquestioned strength and fighting spirit of the American armed forces, I have appointed Pete Hegseth to be our next secretary of the defense. He's going to be great. You know, I've interviewed with him a lot on Fox, and all he ever wanted to talk about was the military," he said. 

Trump also celebrated his other Cabinet picks, including Pam Bondi as attorney general, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

"When you look at, like, autism from 25 years ago, and you look at it now, something's going on. And I nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Think of it. Think of this: 25 years ago, autism, 1 in 10,000 children. Today it's 1 in 36 children. Is something wrong? I think so, and Robert and I, we're going to figure it out," he said. 

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The former and upcoming president continued in his speech with his typical campaign talking points, vowing to come through on his promises to unleash the energy industry and remove "woke" policies from schools and the military. 

"I will sign day one orders to end all Biden restrictions on energy production. Terminate his insane electric vehicle mandate. Cancel his natural gas export ban, reopen ANWR in Alaska, the biggest site potentially anywhere in the world, and declare a national energy emergency," he said. 

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Adding at another point: "With a stroke of my pen on day one, we're going to stop the transgender lunacy. And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools, and middle schools, and high school. And we will keep men out of women's sports."

Trump also quoted his mother at one point during his speech, citing her use of the word "befuddled" to describe Democrats following the election. 

"If you watch television now, they're all befuddled. They don't know what the hell happened. They're befuddled. To use quite a nice word that my mother used to use years ago, talking about somebody that's a mess. But they did. They've lost their confidence. And hopefully they'll lose it for a long time and then come over to our side because we want to have them," he said. 

AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters "​​all while celebrating the greatest country in the world." The venue has about a 14,000-person capacity, while Turning Point reported about 21,000 tickets were sold for the convention. 

"We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix," Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release ahead of the event. "This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far."

President-elect Trump is set to take the stage in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday to deliver his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

"We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix," Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release. "This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far."

"When I spoke to the president, he said he’d only do it if we called it a ‘Tribute to Arizona,’ so that’s exactly what we’re doing. President Trump knows the people of Arizona have always been with him, they’re loyal to him and they just delivered the largest win for him of all of the swing states, giving him a 5.5% margin of victory."

Trump is expected to take the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center at 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the "biggest conservative movement in the country."

LAWMAKERS REACT TO STOPGAP FUNDING AND AVERTING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Trump’s address at the event comes just a day after Congress avoided a prolonged government shutdown. 

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning – after the midnight deadline had passed and the government briefly shut down – and sent the legislation to President Biden for his signature. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNS STOPGAP FUNDING BILL INTO LAW, NARROWLY AVERTING SHUTDOWN

Last week, lawmakers had reached an agreement on a short-term spending bill that included more than 1,500 pages of text. Conservatives and Trump allies, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, slammed the original and lengthy legislation, as negotiations came down to the wire last week, taking issue with provisions such as increasing lawmakers' cost of living. 

Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown, which has exceeded $36 trillion. The House crafted a new, 116-page bill that included suspending the debt limit for two years until January 2027, roughly $110 billion in disaster relief aid for Americans affected by storms Milton and Helene, as well as a measure to fund rebuilding Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN

That bill failed 174 to 235, before House lawmakers negotiated and passed another version. 

TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING BILL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

The final bill sent to Biden included economic relief for farmers and disaster aid for those affected by recent storms, but it did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump had requested. 

Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill. 

Ahead of Trump’s speech on Sunday, conservative lawmakers and allies, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, upcoming Trump administration "border czar" Tom Homan, comedian Rob Schenider, and Kirk will also take the stage. 

AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters "​​all while celebrating the greatest country in the world."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind, Julia Johnson and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

Republican lawmakers in Arizona are calling for Pima County recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly to be investigated for her handling of the 2024 General Election, accusing her of closing an early ballot request portal before the legal deadline for early ballot requests, among two other claims of potential misconduct.

Arizona State Representatives Teresa Martinez and Rachel Jones penned a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes last week requesting a probe following reports of "significant and highly concerning issues" involving Cazares-Kelly’s actions leading up to and during the election, the lawmakers said in a joint statement Monday. Cazares-Kelly, a progressive Democrat, has been in office since 2021. 

Martinez and Jones claim the Pima County Recorder’s Office disabled its online ballot request system six days before the legal deadline, impacting nearly 4,000 voters. They say the decision has raised concerns about compliance with Arizona election laws and potential voter disenfranchisement in the county, located in southern Arizona. The county has a population of just over 1 million people, per the 2020 census, making it Arizona's second-most populous county, behind Maricopa County. 

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The pair have also raised concerns that inadequate safeguards in the recorder’s voter registration program for prison inmates may have allowed ineligible individuals to vote. They say previous inquiries into this matter, including a letter sent by Jones and State Representative Cory McGarr on June 5, went unanswered. 

Thirdly, Martinez and Rachel Jones say that the method of how undeliverable ballots were processed, stored and tracked under Cazares-Kelly's leadership, has also been raised.

A follow-up letter sent by Jones and McGarr on Oct. 24 to clarify compliance with Arizona law likewise received no response, according to the letter.

"Election integrity is the foundation of our democracy, and voters deserve to know their elections are being administered fairly, lawfully, and transparently," Martinez said in a statement. "The numerous irregularities and lack of accountability from the Pima County Recorder’s Office demand a full investigation." 

ARIZONA ALLEGED ‘FAKE ELECTORS’ WHO BACKED TRUMP IN 2020 INDICTED BY GRAND JURY

Jones added that: "When nearly 4,000 voters face barriers to requesting a ballot, and when questions about unlawful voting and ballot processing are met with silence, it’s clear that immediate action is needed to restore public trust."

Cazares-Kelly’s office provided Fox News Digital with a Nov. 19 press release which she addressed concerns regarding the early ballot request portal.

It reads that Pima County discovered a district boundary error weeks before election which led to an "unavoidable delay" in the vendor’s printing and assembly of ballots resulting in many voters flood the online form to request ballots. Some voters did so despite already being on the Active Early Voting List (AEVL), which duplicated their ballot requests.

"The processing of online ballot requests is still a very manual process in our office, requiring us to look up each voter record and review many pieces of information," Cazares-Kelly said, per the release.

"Follow-up communication is often necessary.  After monitoring the progress of the ballot requests during the week leading up to the October 25 deadline, it became clear that our office could not manually process all the online requests in a timely manner. Only 39% of the more than 20,000 ballot requests manually processed before October 19 were valid."

She said that her data team filtered out about 4,000 duplicate requests and emailed the remaining 3,900 voters with unique online early ballot requests, urging them to call the office so it could process the requests more quickly with one phone call versus back-and-forth correspondence.  

"I am confident that most of the voters who requested a ballot using our online form either received their already queued ballots, voted early in person, updated their addresses online or successfully requested a mail ballot," Cazares-Kelly said.

A spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' office says it has received the letter but is declining to comment further, telling Fox News Digital that the attorney general’s office does not comment on potential investigations. 

Cazares-Kelly is the first Native American woman elected to a seat in Pima County, according to her campaign website. She is the President of the Progressive Democrats of Southern Arizona and Vice President of the Arizona Democratic Party's Native American Caucus.

In Martinez’s and Jones’ letter, the pair made reference to Mayes’ comments last month that her office was investigating whether President-elect Trump’s remarks about former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s law.

On the campaign trail, Trump called Cheney a war hawk and postulated how she might feel standing in a war zone with "nine barrels shooting at her."

"Arizonans deserve free, fair, and transparent elections," the letter reads. "In light of your recent decision to immediately investigate President-elect Donald Trump over his speech (although you later determined his remarks were protected by the First Amendment), we hope you will agree that Recorder Cazares-Kelly's alarming conduct administering the 2024 General Election warrants a thorough investigation."

READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS CLICK HERE.

Paul Bissonnette, a former NHL player and hockey analyst on TNT, was assaulted by six men at a restaurant in Arizona on Sunday night after he alleged that a group of "drunk golfers" were causing a scene after being refused service. 

Bissonnette, who last played in the league for the Arizona Coyotes, released a video statement on social media on Monday after news broke that six men were arrested and are facing charges of assault and disorderly conduct for the incident that took place at Houston’s restaurant in Scottsdale. 

The former hockey player, who also hosts a podcast on Barstool, gave his version of events in a video posted on X. He explained that the incident took place at a restaurant he frequents and that he became involved after he saw one of the men become physical with the restaurant’s manager. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"I go to dinner at this place called Houston’s – I go there like three or four times a week. The staff’s incredible, the food’s incredible and, just like good people, I love going there," he began.  

"At one point there was a bit of a ruckus going on in the bar – it was a bunch of drunk golfers. Things obviously continued to escalate. They asked one guy to leave, and then one guy kept getting in the manager’s face, put his hands on him, and that went on for probably 30–45 seconds. You could tell he was a little shocked and surprised and stunned. 

"It’s a family restaurant, I don’t think there was anybody in there who could go maybe help him out. So I went over, I just grabbed the guy's arm that was on [the manager]. I said ‘Sir, if you continue to harass and assault the staff, we’re gonna have problems.’ And then they just started chucking. So, it escalated extremely quickly. I think it was seven guys I fought with throughout the course of the restaurant all the way into the parking lot over to CVS." 

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Bissonnette, 39, said the fight spilled out into the street and claimed that he was kicked in the head several times. He said he was taken to the hospital as a result. 

"Got taken down a couple of times. I got boot f---ed in the head three times by the CVS – luckily didn’t get knocked out," he said in the video. 

"Just like bad dudes. Way too drunk and I don’t know what else they had in their system, but yeah, I’m very, very angry at these guys and kind of want their names out there and want them to pay the piper. Just unacceptable behavior at a family restaurant just because they couldn’t grab another cocktail and didn’t want to hear ‘No’ for an answer. Like I said, at that point with the guy all over the manager I just figured I had to go over."  

According to FOX10, Scottsdale police arrested six men involved in the fight on charges of assault and disorderly conduct. Five are facing misdemeanors and the sixth is facing a felony. They were not identified by law enforcement, according to the report. 

"There was an altercation inside the restaurant with six adult men and the management. Reportedly, Paul Bissonnette tried to help management calm the men and get them to leave. The situation escalated to the men assaulting Paul Bissonnette both inside and outside of the restaurant," Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis told the station.

Bissonnette played in the NHL from 2008-2014, spending his final six seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., on Monday appeared to poke fun at Senate Democrats for coming out in support of the filibuster after her former party had called for it to be abolished over the past four years to push through Democratic agenda items.

Sinema, who left the Democratic Party nearly two years ago, responded on the social media platform X to a report by the Washington Examiner citing Democratic senators who now say they support the Senate filibuster to block President-elect Trump's agenda in his second administration.

"Please, please, please stop what you’re doing and read these quotes," Sinema said.

"Filing under: schadenfreude," she continued.

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Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has also left the party to become an independent, were the two then-Democrats who opposed eliminating the filibuster during the Biden administration when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to abolish it in 2022, although he was unsuccessful without the support of Sinema and Manchin in a razor-thin majority for Democrats.

Both independent senators did not run for re-election and will be leaving the Senate in January.

In August, Schumer told the New York Post that Sinema and Manchin are "both gone" in 2025 when asked if he would make another attempt to eliminate the filibuster.

After the election, Schumer pleaded with Republicans to prioritize bipartisanship.

"I offer a word of caution in good faith: Take care not to misread the will of the people, and do not abandon the need for bipartisanship," Schumer said.

Earlier this month, Sinama responded to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who said she would not support eliminating the filibuster now that the GOP will control the House, Senate and White House, but would have supported it if Democrats had the trifecta.

"You don't say?" Sinema wrote on X.

The report from the Washington Examiner quotes several Senate Democrats, including Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who all expressed support for maintaining the filibuster to halt Trump-backed legislation.

"I'd be lying if I said we'd be in a better position without the filibuster," Blumenthal said. "We have a responsibility to stop autocratic and long-headed abuse of power or policy, and we’ll use whatever tools we have available. We're not going to fight this battle with one hand tied behind our back."

Durbin said he views the filibuster as "part of the calculation" on how Democrats will resist Republican bills in the next Congress in which the GOP will hold a 53-47 majority in the Upper Chamber.

"We had to live with it when we were in the majority," he said.

Schatz said: "I'm going to try not to make a mess of my position on this one."

The Hawaii democrat previously slammed the "unprecedented abuse of the filibuster by Republicans" during the Obama administration as he backed reforms.

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"You play with the rules that exist," Murphy said, adding that he is open to changes but not to "obliterate" the filibuster, which he criticized in 2021 as "downright dangerous," a "slap in the face to majoritarianism" and an "argument that essentially prioritizes consistency over democracy."

Incoming Senate GOP Leader John Thune, R-S.D., recently said that the filibuster will be "safe under Republican control," even if it blocks Trump's agenda.

"I find it ironic that a party that has spent a fair amount of time this election cycle talking about the importance of preserving our democracy seems intent on embracing the thoroughly undemocratic notion that only one party should be making decisions in this country," Thune said.

Attorneys general from 24 states are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling and uphold an Arizona law to prohibit biological boys from competing on girls' sports teams.

The petition comes after a federal appeals court ruled that the law likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

"Sports teams are divided by sex to begin with to give girls a level playing field so they’re not competing against boys," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release. "Arizona’s law restricting girls’ sports teams to biological females is just common sense, and it protects girls from competing against bigger, stronger males who identify as females."

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In addition to Wilson, the attorneys general supporting the petition are those from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

The petition notes that these states have laws similar to Arizona's that restrict girls' sports to biological females.

It also argues that the Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit states from offering separate sports teams for men, women, boys and girls.

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"In sports, equal access means a level playing field," the attorneys general write in their brief. "And a level playing field usually means sports teams divided by sex so that girls can compete against other girls."

"Basing the distinction on biology rather than gender identity makes sense because it is the differences in biology—not gender identity—that call for separate teams in the first place: Whatever their gender identity, biological males are, on average, stronger and faster than biological females. If those average physical differences did not matter, there would be no need to segregate sports teams at all," they continued.

The attorneys general are asking the high court to "make it clear that the Constitution does not prohibit states from saving women’s sports from unfair competition and providing meaningful athletic opportunities for girls and women," according to Wilson’s news release.