President-elect Trump announced his latest picks to join the growing number of Cabinet choices as his Jan. 20th inauguration nears.
Trump, in a Friday evening announcement, said that Bill Briggs would serve as the next Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. If confirmed, Briggs will serve alongside Trump's pick for SBA Administrator, Kelly Loeffler.
"Bill is a successful businessman who served in my First Term as the Acting Associate Administrator in the Office of Capital Access at SBA," he said. "During his tenure, Bill helped oversee our Historic Paycheck Protection Program that saved many of our Small Businesses, and millions of jobs."
"I am pleased to announce that Ed Russo, an Environmental Expert, will lead our Environmental Advisory Task Force, which will advise my Administration on initiatives to create great jobs and protect our natural resources, by following my policy of CLEAN AIR and CLEAN WATER," he said. "Together, we will achieve American Energy DOMINANCE, rebuild our Economy, and DRILL, BABY, DRILL."
The nominations come as Trump continues to round out picks for his Cabinet as Jan. 20 nears.
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will soon begin holding hearings for Trump's Cabinet nominees.
Republicans will control the Senate with 53 seats to the Democrats' 47 once Senator-elect Jim Justice of West Virginia is sworn in later in January and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appoints a senator to fill Vice President-elect Vance’s seat.
Just like House members, senators, and congressional candidates, Trump's nominees are required to file personal financial disclosures before they assume office or are confirmed by the US Senate.
Those disclosure reports, along with their ethics agreements, include details of each person's assets, sources and amounts of recent income, and other details of their personal finances.
The documents are likely to reveal information like Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's salary at Fox News, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi's compensation for lobbying, and the sprawling assets of the billionaires working for the administration.
As of Friday, January 10, only one of these disclosures has been made public. This story will be updated as more become available.
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Russell Vought is Trump's nominee to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a role he served during the second half of Trump's first administration.
His financial disclosure shows that he brought in more than $542,000 in both salary and bonuses from the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank, and its affiliated advocacy group, Citizens for Renewing America. Vought serves as the president for both organizations.
He's made thousands in extra income on the side, including $15,000 from the Republican National Committee for helping to prepare the policy platform for the party's convention.
He also received a $4,000 honorarium from Hillsdale College on September 19, the date that he appeared on a panel during the conservative institute's Constitution Day celebration in McLean, Virginia.
His assets include various mutual and index funds, along with between $1,000 and $15,000 in Bitcoin, which generated more than $1,000 in income last year. As part of his ethics agreement, Vought agreed to sell off that Bitcoin within 90 days of his confirmation.
President-elect Trump announced a series of Cabinet picks as his Jan. 20 inauguration nears and Senate confirmation begins.
Trump nominated former Fox News contributor Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.
"He will work alongside Harmeet K. Dhillon, a fellow Californian, and our incredible Nominee for United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Justice Department," Trump wrote. "Leo is a highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst. He received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has defended many high-profile cases throughout his incredibly successful career.
"Leo will be a fantastic advocate for the American People, and ensure we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
In an announcement Thursday evening, Trump revealed Christine Toretti as his pick for ambassador to Sweden. He said Toretti is an "incredible businesswoman, philanthropist, public servant, and RNC Committeewoman."
"She is Chairman of S&T Bancorp, and a former director of the Pittsburgh Federal Reserve Bank," Trump wrote. "Christine has been a tireless supporter of important causes as a Board Member of the International Medical Corps, former Chair of the Andy Warhol Museum, Director of the NCAA Foundation, founding Director of the Gettysburg Foundation, Trustee of the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and Chair of the Anne B. Anstine Excellence in Public Service Series in Pennsylvania, and the Dodie Londen Excellence in Public Service Series in Arizona.
"Christine is one of fewer than sixty women who have received the Athena International Global Award."
Trump also announced retired Army Capt. Sam Brown would serve as the next Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Sam is an American HERO, a Purple Heart recipient, and successful businessman from Nevada, who has devoted his life to serving America," Trump said in the announcement. "He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications.
"Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served."
The nominations come as Trump continues to round out picks for his Cabinet as Jan. 20 nears.
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will soon begin holding hearings for Trump's Cabinet nominees.
Republicans will control the Senate with 53 seats to the Democrats' 47 once Senator-elect Jim Justice of West Virginia is sworn in later in January and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appoints a senator to fill Vice President-elect Vance’s seat.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said during an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is "wrong" on the issue of vaccinations.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Kennedy to serve as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.
Cassidy, a gastroenterologist who is currently serving Louisianans in the Senate, is the incoming chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The senator, who noted that he is looking forward to meeting with Kennedy in the coming week, said that he agrees with Kennedy on some issues but disagrees with him on others.
While Cassidy described ultra-processed food as a problem, he said Kennedy is "wrong" about vaccinations.
Fox News Digital inquired about whether Cassidy plans to vote against confirming Kennedy to HHS due to the disagreement on vaccines.
"Cassidy does not discuss his votes prior to meetings with the nominees and the Senate process playing itself out," a Cassidy spokesman said in a statement. "Cassidy explained these are topics he wants to discuss with RFK Jr in his meeting with him this week and he looks forward to having a good dialogue with him."
"Bottom line: I'm not going to take anyone's vaccines away from them. I just want to be sure every American knows the safety profile, the risk profile, and the efficacy of each vaccine. That's it," he declared in a tweet last year.
Fifteen people are confirmed dead after an individual drove a car through a crowd on Bourbon Street early on Wednesday morning. The FBI has identified a suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, and the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
"This is a clear example of why the Senate must get President Trump's national security team in place as quickly as possible," wrote Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the incoming Senate Majority Leader.
While some of Trump's national-security nominees are expected to be easily confirmed by the US Senate, others have faced a variety of controversies.
They include defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, FBI director nominee Kash Patel, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence.
"The U.S. Senate must confirm President Trump's national security team as soon as possible," wrote Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the incoming majority whip. "Lives depend on it."
There is no time to waste. We must confirm these appointees and secure our nation! https://t.co/t4Y7aGvwZl
Hegseth has faced accusations of sexual assault as well as scrutiny of his previous opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military. He has denied those accusations and recently said that he supports women serving in combat roles.
"I asked virtually every question under the sun," Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican, told reporters after meeting with Hegseth last month.
Gabbard, meanwhile, has faced suspicions over her foreign policy positions and her 2017 visit to Syria, where she met with then-President Bashar Al-Assad.
"I've heard that she's not very well prepared," one anonymous GOP senator told The Hill last month.
Patel has faced little public skepticism from Republican senators so far, but has promoted conspiracy theories and has said he would "come after" journalists.
The Senate is expected to consider those nominees, along with the others, in the coming weeks. Hegseth's confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 14.
The Trump-Vance transition did not respond to a request for comment.
Virginia's top legislative Democrat sounded an alarm over President-elect Trump's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) plan to tell a portion of the federal workforce "you're fired" for efficiency's sake.
The state Senate's top Republican responded Thursday by saying the majority party is "asking the wrong question."
Earlier this week, House Speaker Don Scott Jr. wrote a letter to the commonwealth's unemployment agency warning of the fallout from such a plan and a potential uptick in unemployment claims.
"We should all be concerned about what these changes mean for the employees raising their families in Virginia, paying taxes in Virginia and calling Virginia home," Scott wrote to Virginia Employment Commissioner Demetrios Melis in a letter reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"Taking President-elect Trump at his word that he will immediately move to downsize the workforce and relocate agencies, we can safely assume that a large portion of our workforce that resides in the commonwealth will be negatively affected," added Scott, D-Portsmouth.
Scott reportedly said he believes Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area he represents would be hardest-hit.
"I have concerns that, in the coming months, not only will our nation experience a mass increase in unemployment due to the proposed changes to our government. But, more importantly, those changes will have a detrimental effect on Virginians, our commonwealth’s unemployment rate and our economy overall," he told the Times-Dispatch.
However, Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-New Kent, said the concept of DOGE addresses a greater concern for Virginians and U.S. taxpayers when it comes to fiscally responsible governance.
"That's the wrong question," McDougle said in an interview Thursday.
"The question should be whether we are taking dollars that Virginians are earning and paying to the federal government and whether they are being spent wisely.
"If the federal government is paying people to do jobs they shouldn't be doing, then that's spending taxpayer dollars unwisely."
Trump's DOGE co-leader, Vivek Ramaswamy, previously told Fox Business, "We expect mass reductions … [and] certain agencies to be deleted outright."
Ramaswamy's counterpart, Elon Musk, has expressed similar sentiments, including a tweet stating, "Delete CFPB," a reference to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Additionally, Sen. Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican seen as the top DOGE lawmaker in the upper chamber, is spearheading a bill to relocate about one-third of federal workers outside the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia area. The legislation proposed by Ernst has a lengthy acronym, the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act.
Ernst also demanded answers from Biden agency heads about work-from-home policies their staffs enjoy.
In his remarks Thursday, McDougle added that if Democrats were so concerned about the subject, they should have balked at plans to funnel Virginia taxpayer funds to the Washington-area Metro system to "subsidize" the lack of ridership from telework policies criticized by Ernst.
"I didn't feel our Democratic friends were as concerned with the millions of dollars going to fund Metro amid [federal workers not being required to] go into the office and having to subsidize them," McDougle said.
Virginia's 2024 budget included about $144 million in Metro funding. Metro CEO Randy Clarke said in June the transit agency found an additional $50 million in efficiencies for its nearly $5 billion budget, according to multiple reports.
Earlier this month, a top Democrat on the state House Labor Committee, said she was "very disappointed" with a response from representatives for Gov. Glenn Youngkin when she voiced concerns about potential federal workforce cuts.
State Delegate Candi Mundon King, D-Dumfries, noted in November that thousands of federal workers live in the state and in her district and called DOGE's plan "disastrous" after the Virginia Republican Party touted the "streamlin[ing of] government bureaucracy" as "good for all Americans, including Virginians."
Mundon King's district sits in the Washington exurb of Prince William County, which, for many years, was led by high-profile conservative Corey Stewart but has recently swung heavily Democratic.
"No wonder Northern Virginia has lost faith in Virginia Republicans," Mundon King said.
Youngkin, a successful business executive before entering politics, previously said anyone who leaves the private sector to work in government will immediately recognize it needs drastic adjustments.
"Whether it's me coming into state government in Virginia or President Trump coming back into the federal government, [we] know it is inefficient. It does not work with the same efficiency you would expect out of a business," he told The Daily Progress of Charlottesville.
Government efficiency plans "may result in some job losses for the federal government. … The great thing about the Commonwealth of Virginia is we have nearly 300,000 jobs that are unfilled," he added.
Melis similarly told Scott Virginia is "well prepared" to adapt to changes in employment figures and reassured Mundon King earlier this month that some of the concerns voiced were premature, according to The Roanoke Times.
Youngkin earlier this month invited workers in Trump's incoming administration to choose Virginia as their place of residence over Maryland or the District of Columbia, citing, in part, lower taxes and better-ranked schools.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said Virginia's economy was "stagnant" and the unemployment system "in shambles" when the Republican took office after eight years of Democratic governorship.
"Commonsense policies to lower the cost of living and bring real business-like efficiency to government have helped fix both," Martinez said.
"The governor appreciates Speaker Scott’s recent commitments to support further tax relief, which, along with a roaring economy and over 300,000 open jobs, means Virginia is in a great position as the president works to shrink the bloated federal government."
The Reagan-era director of the FBI, and later the CIA, is urging the Senate to reject two of President-elect Trump's selections for top law enforcement and intelligence posts.
In a letter to senators on Thursday reported by Politico, former FBI and CIA director William H. Webster wrote that Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard are unqualified to be FBI director and director of national intelligence, respectively.
Webster, who is 100 years old, is the only person to have led both the FBI and CIA. He warned senators that Patel's personal loyalty to Trump could conflict with the FBI's duty to uphold the rule of law.
"His record of executing the president’s directives suggest [sic] a loyalty to individuals rather than the rule of law — a dangerous precedent for an agency tasked with impartial enforcement of justice," he wrote, according to Politico.
As for Gabbard, Webster criticized her "profound lack" of intelligence experience and said a seasoned leader is needed for the DNI post.
"Effective management of our intelligence community requires unparalleled expertise to navigate the complexities of global threats and to maintain the trust of allied nations," he wrote. "Without that trust, our ability to safeguard sensitive secrets and collaborate internationally is severely diminished."
The Trump transition team defended the president-elect's selection of Patel to lead the FBI.
"Kash Patel is loyal to the Constitution. He’s worked under Presidents Obama and Trump in key national security roles," said Alex Pfeiffer, a Trump transition team spokesman.
Another transition official, Alexa Henning, observed that Webster had supported President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump.
"Lt. Col. Gabbard is an active member of the Army and has served in the military for over two decades and in Congress. As someone who has consumed intelligence at the highest levels, including during wartime, she recognizes the importance of partnerships with allies to ensure close coordination to keep the American people safe," said Henning.
Patel and Gabbard have proven to be two of Trump's more controversial nominees for key positions in his next administration.
Patel was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels who determined that there was never any collusion and the premise of the FBI's original investigation was bogus. He has raised concern among top law enforcement professionals for his outspoken criticism of the FBI and Justice Department, accusing them of partisanship.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and military officer from Hawaii, is likewise under scrutiny after she met with since-toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, who was accused of using chemical weapons on his own citizens during the country's civil war. Gabbard refused to call him a war criminal during her 2020 presidential campaign and said she was skeptical that his government had perpetrated a chemical weapons attack earlier that year that had killed dozens of Syrians. However, she later called Assad a brutal dictator.
Webster was appointed to direct the FBI by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and he remained atop the bureau under President Ronald Reagan's two terms in office. In 1988, Webster became director of the CIA under President George H.W. Bush and served through 1991.
"I urge you to weigh the critical importance of nonpartisan leadership and experience," Webster wrote. "The safety of the American people — and your own families — depends on it."
President-elect Trump picked Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama.
Calling the Miami-Dade County Commissioner a "fierce fighter," Trump said that he would advance the "MAGA agenda" to the Central American country.
"Kevin is a fierce fighter for America First principles. As a Miami-Dade County Commissioner, and Vice Chairman of the International Trade Consortium, he has been instrumental in driving Economic growth, and fostering International partnerships," Trump wrote in the Wednesday announcement. "In 2020, Kevin did an incredible job as my Florida State Director and, this year, advanced our MAGA Agenda as a Member of the RNC Platform Committee."
"Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin - He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!" he said.
The announcement came after Trump said that Panama was "a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams."
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump also accused Chinese soldiers of illegally operating the canal and "always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in 'repair' money but will have absolutely nothing to say about 'anything.'"
Several prominent California Democrats are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve a grant application for $536 million in federal funds to move forward with the state’s long-awaited high-speed rail network.
The monies would come from funds already allocated in general to "federal-state partnership[s] for intercity passenger rail grants" through the 2021 "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law" and made available via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
Democrats urged Secretary Pete Buttigieg to approve the funds, saying progress on the "California Phase I Corridor" is "essential to enhancing our nation’s and California’s strategic transportation network investments."
"The Phase 1 Corridor aims to address climate concerns, promote health, improve access and connectivity, and boost economic vitality, while addressing current highway and rail capacity constraints," a letter to the outgoing Cabinet member read.
Drafted by Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, Sen. Alex Padilla, and California Democratic Reps. Jim Costa, Zoe Lofgren and Pete Aguilar, the letter calls for the funds to go to two projects in particular: tunneling through the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California and through the Pacheco Pass of the Diablo Mountains in Northern California.
"These investments will continue to support living wage jobs, provide small business opportunities, and equitably enhance the mobility of communities in need – including disadvantaged agricultural communities – all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Schiff and the other lawmakers wrote.
"Please consider the enormous value and meaningful impact that FSP-National grant funding will provide to advancing CAHSR beyond the Central Valley," they told Buttigieg.
The bores are needed, the lawmakers said, to connect with other intercity passenger rail systems including the Brightline West, CalTrain, Metrolink and Altamont Commuter Express.
According to California Republicans, the overall high-speed rail project is nearly $100 billion over budget and decades behind schedule.
Trump’s DOGE duo of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy aren’t keen on the idea of continuing to fund what many Republicans consider a costly and unfruitful endeavor.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said as much earlier this month in remarks on the House floor.
"I am very happy to report that the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency has honed-in on perhaps the single greatest example of government waste in United States history – and that is California’s high-speed-rail boondoggle," Kiley said.
The official DOGE X account also described both California’s high-speed rail expenditures and requested funding in a November tweet.
Earlier this month, Ramaswamy also called the plans a "wasteful vanity project" that burned "billions in taxpayer cash with little prospect of completion in the next decade."
He said Trump "correctly" rescinded $1 billion in federal funding for the project in 2019 and lamented President Biden’s reversal of that move.
"Time to end the waste," Ramaswamy said.
California’s top state Senate Republican echoed the DOGE leaders’ concerns.
"California's 'train to nowhere' has already wasted billions of taxpayer dollars – now Biden wants all Americans to fund this boondoggle," State Sen. Brian W. Jones of San Diego told Fox News Digital.
"When President Trump returns to office in a few weeks, he must defund the high-speed rail. This wasteful government experiment must end once and for all," he added.
If approved, the federal funds will be bolstered by $134 million in state monies from California’s "cap & trade" program, according to the Sacramento Bee.
At a 2013 conference, Musk floated the idea of a "hyperloop" which was also presented in a white paper. Though it has not yet come to fruition, Musk said at the time he had thought whether there is a better way to get from Los Angeles to San Francisco than what California has proposed.
"The high-speed rail that’s being proposed would actually be the slowest bullet train in the world and the most expensive per-mile," he said. "Isn’t there something better that we can come up with?"
The world’s richest man described Hyperloop at the time as a combination of a Concorde, a rail gun and an air-hockey table.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday said he "couldn’t be happier" with President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees, saying he will work to push them through as quickly as possible.
When Paul was asked during an appearance on "Sunday Morning Futures" whether he would support all of Trump’s picks for his inner circle, the senator responded, "I couldn't have picked better."
"The vast majority I will support on day one," the senator said. "We’ll try to get Kristi Noem through Department of Homeland Security, Russ Vought for [Office of Management and Budget]. … I think in the first week you'll have half a dozen of them approved in the first week."
Paul said that he will control one committee in charge of confirming the nominees, adding, "I pledge to get them through as quickly as possible."
Paul has said that he will chair the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with the start of the new Congress in January.
Trump has handpicked an array of establishment and unconventional officials for the 15 top posts in his Cabinet, including Health and Human Services pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director selection Kash Patel and Sen. Marco Rubio as the nominee for Secretary of State.
Some of Trump’s picks proved controversial, such as Patel, Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard.
In late November, Fox News Digital learned that nearly a dozen of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted with "violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them."
Just five days before Christmas, President-elect Donald Trump announced he is appointing outspoken conservative and president of CatholicVote Brian Burch to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.
The Vatican, also known as the "Holy See," is the center of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by Pope Francis. There are roughly 52 million Catholics in the U.S.
Burch, a father of nine, is an outspoken supporter of the president-elect. His organization, CatholicVote, a conservative activist group, issued its first presidential endorsement in Trump’s favor this year.
Catholic voters across the country swung massively toward Trump in the 2024 election, contributing to his surprise blowout victory on election night.
In his post announcing the nomination, Trump credited Burch for his significant gains among Catholic voters in November, saying that Burch "represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History!"
"I am pleased to announce that Brian Burch will serve as the next United States Ambassador to the Holy See," said Trump. "Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote. He has received numerous awards, and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the Country."
"Brian loves his Church and the United States - He will make us all proud," the president-elect said. "Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!"
Burch responded to his nomination by posting on X: "To God be the glory."
"Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination," said Burch. "I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See."
He thanked his family, the CatholicVote team and gave special credit to his recently deceased father who, he said, "taught me to love the Church and the blessings and responsibilities of being a citizen of the U.S."
"The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance," said Burch. "I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the new Administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good. I look forward to the confirmation process and the opportunity to continue to serve my country and the Church."
CatholicVote also responded to the announcement, saying the group is "immensely proud" of Burch and that his nomination "is a testament to the importance of Catholics to the United States."
"Under Brian's leadership, CatholicVote has launched influential campaigns exposing violence against Catholic churches and uncovering government overreach targeting Catholics and pro-life advocates," the group said. "Beyond his professional work, Brian is a devoted husband and father of nine children. His commitment to family life informs his passion for building a culture that upholds the dignity of every human person and supports the central role of families in society."
The new Trump administration will have several Catholics in high-ranking positions, including Vice-president JD Vance, Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and border czar Tom Homan.
The position of ambassador to the Holy See requires Senate confirmation.
The Senate’s top DOGE Republican will send 24 letters – one to each major federal agency head – demanding a halt to last-minute work-from-home negotiations before President Biden returns to Delaware.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee, made the demand days after crafting legislation for 2025 that would "decentralize" and relocate one-third of the federal workforce outside Washington, D.C.
Ernst said that not a single government agency’s office space is half-occupied two-plus years on from the COVID-19 pandemic, and she previously called for the Biden administration to sell off unused real estate for taxpayers’ benefit.
In her letters, Ernst laid out that 90% of telework-eligible federal employees are still working from home and only 6% report they are working on a "full-time basis."
Additionally, she wrote that public-sector unions are purportedly "dictating personnel policy" without regard to federal directives from the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), which is running up a massive tab and leading to wastes of time, space and money.
"The union bosses are rushing to lock in last minute, lavish long-term deals with the lame-duck Biden administration—extending beyond President Trump’s next term in office—guaranteeing that bureaucrats can stay at home for another four years or longer," Ernst wrote in one letter prepped for Office of Personnel Management director Robert Shriver III.
"Apparently, protecting telework perks for public employees is a higher priority than showing up to serve American taxpayers," she wrote, calling Biden’s submission to union demands "shocking and unacceptable."
She noted it was a similarly liberal president who vociferously opposed unionization of public employees in the first place, as Democrat Franklin Roosevelt wrote in a letter to a union steward declining a 1937 invitation to a national federal employee union convention.
"All government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service," Roosevelt said.
"It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with government employee organizations."
"The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress."
Ernst suggested federal workers and their union representatives have forgotten Roosevelt’s warning, citing the last-minute push to ratify collective bargaining agreements and telework privilege pacts before President-elect Donald Trump can begin his oversight endeavors through DOGE.
The lawmaker told Fox News Digital on Thursday that her report cited in the letters "exposed that telework abuse is so rampant in Washington that there are more reindeer on Santa’s sleigh than employees showing up at the Department of Energy headquarters."
"As if that was not bad enough, President Biden is working hand in hand with unions to help ink more last-minute contracts allowing for telework privileges for years. Bureaucrats have forgotten their job is to serve the public, and I am happy to remind them with a little Christmas cheer."
In the letter, Ernst pointed out situations she said show union bosses and career agency management have the "government wrapped around their finger."
In the letters, she embedded a photo of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley while he was serving as Biden’s Social Security Administration chief and who was wearing a Captain America T-shirt alongside a purported union official at a party.
Ernst cited news reports of O’Malley going to Florida to party with union members before endorsing a contract preventing easy reduction of work-from-home ability.
She said O’Malley spent the trip "crooning" Irish ballads on his guitar and drinking alcohol.
"This buddy-buddy relationship between the Social Security Commissioner and the union bosses representing his workforce during what is supposed to be a negotiation resulted in a contract unbelievably slanted towards the union and against the interests of taxpayers and the mission of the agency," she said.
In another case, she pointed to Housing & Urban Development employees who may not have deserved the TFUT or "taxpayer-funded union time" they filed for.
One such worker successfully claimed compensation while in jail.
Ernst demanded the agencies report data on TFUT claims and payouts, unused or underused real estate holdings designated for use through collective bargaining, and any cases of each agency permitting unions or their employees to use department property at a discount or for free.
"Giving bureaucrats another four-year vacation from the office is unacceptable. Bureaucrats have had enough gap years—it’s time to get them back to work," she said.
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has suggested that it is his duty to meet with President-elect Donald Trump's nominees, noting that his decision about whether to vote to confirm the candidates will stem from an open mind and informed perspective.
"I believe that it’s appropriate and the responsibility of a U.S. Senator to have a conversation with President-elect Trump's nominees. That’s why I met with Elise Stefanik and Pete Hegseth, just wrapped with Tulsi Gabbard, and look forward to my meetings with others soon," Fetterman declared in a post on X.
"My votes will come from an open-mind and an informed opinion after having a conversation with them. That’s not controversial, it's my job," he continued.
Trump has tapped Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Hegseth to serve as secretary of defense, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the role of director of national intelligence.
While Fetterman has previously noted that he plans to support Stefanik, it is unclear whether he will ultimately back Hegseth and Gabbard for confirmation.
Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from the senator, but a spokesperson did not provide any additional insight into Fetterman's voting plans regarding Hegseth and Gabbard.
Fetterman has been unflinching in his staunch support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against the U.S. ally.
"Always was a hard YES for @EliseStefanik but it was a pleasure to have a conversation. I support defunding UNRWA for its documented Hamas infiltration and fully look forward to her holding the @UN accountable for its endemic antisemitism and blatant anti-Israel views," Fetterman declared in a post earlier this month.
He has also pledged to support Sen. Marco Rubio's confirmation to serve as secretary of state.
"Unsurprisingly, the other team’s pick will have political differences than my own," Fetterman noted in a post on X last month. "That being said, my colleague @SenMarcoRubio is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation."
EXCLUSIVE – Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia will make her first visit to Capitol Hill since President-elect Trump nominated her to steer the Small Business Administration (SBA) in his second term in the White House.
Fox News has learned that Loeffler will meet on Tuesday with roughly a dozen Republican senators. Among those she'll huddle with are Sen. John Barasso of Wyoming, who ranks third in GOP Senate leadership and is the incoming Majority Whip, and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, the incoming chair of the Senate Small Business Committee.
Loeffler, who hails from a family of small business owners and entrepreneurs, was raised working on the family farm in Illinois. After becoming the first in her family to graduate college, she spent nearly three decades working her way up in the private sector.
Along with her husband Jeff, Loeffler built a Fortune 500 financial services and technology company from 100 employees to 15,000.
"As an entrepreneur and business leader who founded startups and helped build a Fortune 500 company, Senator Loeffler looks forward to meeting with her former colleagues this week to discuss empowering America’s job creators," Loeffler spokesperson Caitlin O'Dea told Fox News in a statement. "She is honored to be President Trump’s choice to lead the SBA, and, if confirmed, looks forward to advancing his agenda to make the small business economy great again."
Loeffler and her husband have long been major donors to Republican causes and and candidates, including Trump. Loeffler serves as co-chair of the president-elect's inaugural committee.
Trump called Loeffler, a longtime ally, "tremendous fighter" as he announced her nomination as SBA administrator.
And Ernst, in a statement, said that "as a successful business owner, Kelly knows what it takes to innovate and create jobs that support American families, and I am confident that she will fight to get Washington bureaucrats off the backs of our nation's small businesses."
While successful in the business world, Loeffler was not well known until becoming a politician.
After GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned from the Senate at the end of 2019 due to his deteriorating health, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia appointed Loeffler to fill Isakson's unexpired term until the next regular election.
Loeffler narrowly lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff election in January 2021, after no candidate topped 50% of the vote in a crowded field of contenders in the November 2020 Senate election.
President-elect Trump says he doesn't think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will name his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate.
"No, I don’t. I probably don't. But I don’t know," Trump said Monday as he took questions from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "Ron’s doing a good job. That’s his choice – nothing to do with me."
Trump last month announced that he would nominate Rubio, the three-term senator from Florida and a senior Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, to serve as secretary of state in his incoming administration.
Since then, the president-elect and some top Trump allies have recommended that Lara Trump, who from March until a week ago served as Republican National Committee co-chair, fill the next two years of Rubio's term in the Senate.
DeSantis has said he'll make a decision on the Rubio Senate replacement by early next month.
Trump on Monday praised his daughter-in-law, saying, "Lara's unbelievable. She was incredible. The job she did at the RNC…. she is so highly respected."
And he added that Lara Trump is highly sought after.
"I also know that Lara got so many other things. I mean she's got so many other things. People want her to be on television. They want to give her contracts," Trump said. "She's got so many other things that she's talking about."
The president-elect also praised Rubio, but added, "He leaves a vacancy in Florida and Ron's going to have to make that decision. And he'll make the right decision."
Sources have confirmed to Fox News that Trump told DeSantis that he would like to see his daughter-in-law succeed Rubio. But Republican sources in Florida suggest that DeSantis is more likely to name someone who's held public office in the Sunshine State.
And Lara Trump, in interviews with Fox News and the AP, has said she would "seriously consider" serving Florida in the Senate.
DeSantis, a one-time Trump ally who clashed with the former president last year and early this year during a very contentious 2024 GOP presidential nomination race, mended relations a bit with the former president after the primary season, as he endorsed Trump and helped raise money for the Republican nominee's general election campaign.
"Florida deserves a senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results," DeSantis said last month.
And he noted at the time that "we have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting. More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January."
The formal confirmation process for Rubio by his fellow senators won’t kick off until after Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
President-elect Trump named a couple of key first-term allies to roles in his second administration, including Richard Grenell.
Grenell was the incoming president's pick as presidential envoy for special missions, a post that will likely drive the administration's policies in some of the most contentious regions of the world.
"Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," Trump said in the announcement Saturday evening.
Grenell was Trump's intelligence chief during the president's first administration.
"In my First Term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations," Trump said. "Previously, he spent eight years inside the United Nations Security Council, working with North Korea, and developments in numerous other Countries."
Trump also announced Edward Sharp Walsh as his pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
"Edward is the President of the Walsh Company, a very successful nationwide construction and real estate firm. He is a great philanthropist in his local community, and previously served as the Chairman of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority Board," Trump announced.
The picks are the latest in a string of nominations the president-elect hopes the Senate will approve.
President-elect Trump nominated a few more candidates Saturday to serve in various positions during his second term.
Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes was picked as the chairperson of Trump's Intelligence Advisory Board (IAB). IBM executive Troy Edgar was tapped as deputy secretary of Homeland Security. And Bill White was chosen as the ambassador to Belgium.
Nunes, if confirmed, will lead the IAB, which advises the president on the legality of foreign intelligence activities.
"While continuing his leadership of Trump Media & Technology Group, Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s activities," Trump said in the announcement.
Trump also named Edgar as his pick for deputy secretary of Homeland Security.
"Troy served for me previously as the Chief Financial Officer and Associate Deputy Under Secretary of Management for Homeland Security, where he did an outstanding job managing their $90 Billion Dollar budget, resourcing critical immigration policy, and funding Wall construction," Trump said.
"Troy is currently an executive at IBM. He holds an M.B.A. and B.S. of Business Administration from the University of Southern California," Trump said. "He was previously the Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, where he helped me lead the City and County revolt against Sanctuary Cities in 2018."
If the two are confirmed, Edgar will serve alongside South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was tapped as Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Secretary.
Also on Saturday afternoon, Trump announced that businessperson and major political donor White would serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium.
White is the founder and CEO of Constellations Group, a Manhattan-based consulting firm, and previously served as president of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York.
"Bill is a highly respected businessman, philanthropist, author, and advocate for our Nation’s Military, Veterans, and First Responders. He is the CEO of Constellations Group, and former President of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum," Trump said.
"Bill has worked tirelessly to support Great American Patriots who have given everything for our Country by raising over $1.5 Billion Dollars for our fallen heroes, catastrophically wounded, and severely burned Service Members. He is a twice recipient of the Meritorious Public Service Award for extraordinary service from the U.S. Coast Guard, and for outstanding support from the U.S. Navy."
White was a major Trump donor and surrogate for his 2024 campaign, though the millionaire investor backed former President Obama and Hillary Clinton in past races.
The picks are the latest in a long string of nominations the president-elect hopes the Senate will approve.
A top conservative grassroots group is launching a six-figure ad campaign to support the swift confirmation of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
The $150,000 static digital ad campaign will target nine states with a "soft appeal" to voters who might, in turn, contact their senators and express how Trump "has a mandate from the American people," Heritage Action for America Vice President Ryan Walker said Thursday.
Walker said the $150,000 is the first tranche of $1 million the group has allocated through Inauguration Day to push for Americans to ask their senators to support the nominees.
The first ad of the campaign sought to bolster Defense Secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth, and the overall initial ad buy will last through Dec. 31.
Other ads have or will highlight former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, Kash Patel and former Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi – all of whom are Trump Cabinet nominees.
This initial buy, Walker said, focuses on Alaska, Maine, Louisiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Utah, South Dakota and Washington, D.C.
While most similar advertising campaigns may seek to appeal to voters in "swing states" or in a particular region of the country, the states included here have a unique link, Walker said.
Some of the states included in the first ad buy are home to senators who either appear on the fence or have not stated a solid commitment for or against nominees like Hegseth, Gabbard and Patel.
Alaska and Maine are represented by two high-profile moderate Republicans – Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, respectively.
Both women voted to impeach Trump, but both also were supportive of some of the president-elect’s policies as well.
"[Trump has] really about 18 months to get a substantial amount of his agenda through before the midterms. And time is of the essence in getting these folks, these Cabinet nominees, in a timely manner," Walker said.
"Uniting the Republican conference around them is what we're trying to accomplish here."
Walker said Heritage Action is focusing on public commentary from senators in the target states, and also is very much in tune with which nominees are in the news or spending time on Capitol Hill on certain days.
Last week and this week, Hegseth made the rounds seeking support for his confirmation, so the campaign began with the former Fox News host, Walker suggested.
Next week, Health and Human Services Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to visit Washington for the same purpose, and the advertising campaign is ready to pivot to focus on the Democratic Party scion if necessary.
"We want to remain flexible in this campaign to be able to highlight in different states… or different nominees, depending on what the conversation is in the Senate," Walker said, adding a direct-text-message campaign will also follow this initial advertising endeavor.
While a majority of American voters questioned in a new Fox News poll say they are hopeful about the re-election of President-elect Donald Trump, they are divided when it comes to the president-elect's top nominees who will likely serve in his upcoming second administration.
Fifty-four percent of respondents in the survey, which was conducted Dec. 6-9 and released on Wednesday, said Trump's election victory last month in the White House race over Vice President Kamala Harris made them hopeful.
However, when asked about the president-elect's cabinet selections, which include some unconventional nominees, 47% of those polled said they approved, with 50% disapproving.
It was the same response when asked about billionaire Elon Musk serving as a close adviser to the president-elect during the transition from President Biden's administration to the Trump administration, with 47% approving and 50% disapproving.
Two other polls also conducted in recent days and released on Wednesday shed additional light on how Americans feel about the incoming administration and how Trump's handling the process of building out his government.
According to a CNN poll, 54% of Americans say they expect Trump to do a good job as president once he takes over the White House.
Additionally, 55% said they largely approve of how the president-elect is handling the transition.
That is a higher percentage compared to eight years ago, when Trump first won the White House, but it is still well behind other recent presidents, according to CNN polling.
Meanwhile, 47% of people questioned in a Marist Poll gave the former and future president a thumbs up when it comes to how he is handling the transition, with 39% disapproving and 14% unsure.
Not surprisingly, the polls point to a massive partisan divide on the question. In the Marist survey, 86% of Republicans approved of how the GOP president-elect is handling the transition. However, 72% of Democrats disapproved. Among independents, 43% disapproved and 38% approved.
"Although more people support Trump’s transition than oppose it, more independents are taking a wait-and-see position than more partisan voters," Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff said.
Miringoff added that "a note of caution for President-elect Trump is that fewer voters approve of the transition than gave a thumbs up to either Biden or Obama at this point."
The release of the polls came as Trump's cabinet picks continued to meet with senators on Capitol Hill ahead of confirmation hearings starting next month.
Trump named his nominees for his cabinet and his choices for other top administration officials at a faster pace than he did eight years ago after his first White House victory.
However, his transition has already faced some setbacks, including his first attorney general nominee, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, ending his bid for confirmation amid controversy over allegations he paid for sex with underage girls.
Trump last weekend made his first international trip since winning last month's election, and he was courted by world leaders during a stop in Paris.
Trump will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
Fox News' Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
As President-elect Trump and his transition team steer his cabinet nominees through the landmines of the Senate confirmation process, top MAGA allies are joining the fight by putting pressure on GOP lawmakers who aren't fully on board.
"There will be no resource that we won’t use to go after those U.S. senators that vote against Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks or his other nominees," longtime Trump outside adviser Corey Lewandowski told Fox News this week.
Fueled by grassroots support for Trump and his nominees, the president-elect's political team and allies are cranking up the volume.
Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate, is considered a pivotal vote in the confirmation battle over Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for defense secretary.
Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who until last month was a longtime Fox News host, has been the focus of a slew of media reports spotlighting a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations, as well as a report alleging he mismanaged a veterans nonprofit organization that he once led.
Hegseth has denied allegations that he mistreated women, but did reach a financial settlement with an accuser from a 2017 incident to avoid a lawsuit. He has vowed that he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed as defense secretary.
Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee, which will hold Hegseth's confirmation hearings, took plenty of incoming fire after last week publicly expressing hesitance over Hegseth's nomination.
While Trump publicly praised Hegseth late last week, as the nomination appeared to be teetering, top allies of the president-elect took aim at Ernst, who is up for re-election in 2026 in red-state Iowa.
Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's oldest son and MAGA powerhouse, took to social media to target Ernst and other potentially wavering Republican senators.
"If you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin [President Biden's defense secretary], but criticize @PeteHegseth, then maybe you’re in the wrong political party!" he posted.
Top MAGA ally Charlie Kirk quickly took aim at Ernst with talk of supporting a primary challenger to her.
"This is the red line. This is not a joke.… The funding is already being put together. Donors are calling like crazy. Primaries are going to be launched," said Kirk, an influential conservative activist and radio and TV host who co-founded and steers Turning Point USA.
Kirk, on his radio program, warned that "if you support the president’s agenda, you’re good. You’re marked safe from a primary. You go up against Pete Hegseth, the president, repeatedly, then don’t be surprised, Joni Ernst, if all of a sudden you have a primary challenge in Iowa."
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a top Trump supporter in last January's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, wrote a column on Breitbart urging Hegseth's confirmation.
While she didn't mention Ernst by name, Bird took aim at "D.C. politicians" who "think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years."
And longtime Iowa-based conservative commentator and media personality Steve Deace took to social media and used his radio program to highlight that he would consider launching a primary challenge against Ernst.
Ernst, who stayed neutral in the Iowa caucuses before endorsing Trump later in the GOP presidential primary calendar, may have gotten the message.
After meeting earlier this week for a second time with Hegseth, Ernst said in a statement that her meeting was "encouraging" and that she would "support Pete through this process."
But Ernst's office told Fox News that "the senator has consistently followed the process, which she has said since the beginning, and doing her job as a United States senator."
It's not just Ernst who has faced the fire from Trump allies and MAGA world.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of four remaining GOP senators who voted in the 2021 Trump impeachment trial to convict him, is also up for re-election in 2026 in a reliably red state. Cassidy is now facing a formal primary challenge from Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a senior adviser in the first Trump administration.
Sen. Mike Rounds, another Republican up for re-election in two years in GOP-dominated South Dakota, has also been blasted by Kirk, as well as by top Trump ally and billionaire Elon Musk.
And staunch Trump supporter Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama had a warning for Republican Senate colleagues who may oppose the president-elect's nominees.
"Republicans: If you’re not on the team, get out of the way," he told FOX Business.
Whether these early threats from Trump allies turn into actual primary challenges in the next midterm elections remains to be seen. And ousting a senator is no easy feat. It's been a dozen years since an incumbent senator was defeated during a primary challenge.
But Trump's team and allies are playing hardball in the wake of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the president-elect's first attorney general nominee, ending his confirmation bid amid controversy.
There has been a full-court press by Trump's political orbit to bolster Hegseth — in order to protect him and some of the president-elect's other controversial Cabinet picks.
"If Trump world allowed a couple of establishment senators to veto a second nominee, it would have led to a feeding frenzy on Trump's other nominees, and so the thinking in Trump world was we have to defend Pete not just for the sake of defending Pete, but also for the sake of defending our other nominees," a longtime Trump world adviser, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News.
Fox News' Emma Colton, Cameron Cawthorne, Julia Johnson, Tyler Olson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
