President-elect Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S. could take control of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal—an unexpected Christmas Day message that has sparked concerns among world leaders in recent days as they scramble to prepare for Trump's second White House term.

In a Wednesday post on the platform Truth Social, Trump wished a "Merry Christmas to all," including to the "wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal," before moving on to take aim at Canada and Greenland as well, which he suggested again could be better off under U.S. governance.

Trump reiterated his claim that U.S. shippers are being forced to pay "ridiculous" and "exorbitant" prices to navigate the Panama Canal—an artificial, 51-mile waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He has suggested, without evidence, that Chinese interests are gaining outsize influence over the waterway, something Panamanian leaders have steadfastly denied.

TRUMP FLOATS IDEA OF US RECLAIMING PANAMA CANAL: 'FOOLISHLY GAVE IT AWAY'

In his Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump also mockingly referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "governor" reiterating his recent suggestion that Canada should be turned into a U.S. state. 

"If Canada was to become our 51st state, their taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the world," Trump said.

Finally, the president-elect turned his attention to Greenland; an autonomous, geographically important Arctic location rife with natural resources, including rare earth minerals.

The U.S., Trump said on Wednesday, "feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity" for reasons of national security and "global freedom.'

Bigger picture

Trump’s lengthy Truth Social post did little to assuage the concerns of some world leaders, who have carefully watched Trump's actions and his statements in recent weeks for clues as to how he might govern in a second term.

The remarks also appear to be at odds with the "America First" policies long espoused by Trump, which seek to prioritize domestic policy rather than expansion or U.S. presence abroad.

Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., echoed Trump's concerns in an interview Thursday, describing China's influence in the Panama Canal, and the higher prices incurred by shippers, as a "shot across the bow." 

"Remember, we have China and Cuba," Zinke said on "Mornings with Maria." "We have Maduro in Venezuela. We have had Russian ships there. And the Panama Canal is critical to our national security. And at present, it is being run by the Chinese Communist Party. So it's a concern—absolutely." 

'AMERICA FIRST' VS. 'AMERICA LAST': WHAT DOES TRUMP'S RETURN MEAN FOR US FOREIGN POLICY?

To be sure, it is not the first time Trump has indicated interest in Greenland, a mineral-rich, geographically important territory.

In 2019, then-President Trump told reporters he was "interested" in purchasing Greenland, which he described at the time as "essentially" a "large real estate deal." The 2019 effort never gained traction, however; and this week, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede immediately poured cold water on the idea that their territory could be sold to the U.S.

"Greenland is ours,"  Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said this week, in response to Trump's suggestion. 

"We are not for sale and will never be for sale," he said. "We must not lose our long struggle for freedom."

Meanwhile, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino also disputed the notion that U.S. vessels have been singled out or paid higher fees to traverse the Panama Canal—as well as the notion that the U.S., which phased out its ownership beginning in the 1970s, has any right to reassert control over the shipping waypoint. 

In a video posted to social media earlier this week, Mulino reassured his country's people that the "sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable."

The Panama Canal is one of the largest and most strategically important commodity shipping waterways in the world. It handles roughly 5% of all global maritime trade and roughly 40% of U.S. container ship traffic. 

Recent higher prices are primarily the result of drought and more competition, which sent water levels plummeting last year to their lowest point on record. Though water levels have since rebounded, operators of the canal were forced to temporarily limit vessel traffic and increase costs for ships using the waypoint.

Other factors have also played a role in higher maritime shipping prices.

A series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea late last year prompted many major commodities shippers, including BP and Equinor, to pause or reroute their shipments away from the Suez Canal. Some opted to reroute supplies via the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks of additional time to their trips.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, incorrectly claimed on social media last week that the Panama Canal cost U.S. taxpayers $15.7 billion. In fact, the higher costs are shouldered by the ships that pass through the waterway, in the form of tolls.  The U.S. government does not subsidize the canal.

'AMERICA FIRST' VS. 'AMERICA LAST': WHAT DOES TRUMP'S RETURN MEAN FOR US FOREIGN POLICY?

Panamanian authorities have stressed that the prices are not the result of "unfair" treatment, or capitulation to China or any other nation-state influence.

"The canal has no direct or indirect control from China, nor the European Union, nor the United States or any other power," Mulino said in his remarks. "As a Panamanian, I reject any manifestation that misrepresents this reality."

Still, Trump does not appear to be backing down on expansion claims.

"The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday. "A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports."

"We’re not going to stand for it," he said. "So, to the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly."

New sanctions on Russia's energy sector could temporarily raise gas prices and shift oil export patterns, according to experts who analyzed the global impact of penalties previously placed against the country's fossil fuels. 

President Joe Biden is reportedly considering imposing new sanctions on Russian energy before he leaves office, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. Sources suggested that such a move could give President-elect Donald Trump more leverage in potential negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If Biden proceeds with the sanction, analysis of U.S. sanctions against Russia at the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine indicate energy sanctions can result in higher gas prices globally.

The price of natural gas began to rise amid tensions in Russia in 2022 but reached a record high in the U.S. after the country invaded and sparked a yearslong war with its neighboring country, Ukraine. 

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"Western sanctions on the Russian energy sector have reduced Russian revenues, but have also created costs for the sanctioning nations," the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis wrote in a review of the impact of energy sanctions on Russia.

Biden and Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy after the country invaded Ukraine, resulting in rising diesel prices worldwide because there "simply weren’t enough refineries to meet diesel demand, especially after the U.S. and other countries stopped purchasing energy exports from Russia," according to an analysis from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).

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According to FRED, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for diesel in June 2022 was approximately 109% higher than in June 2021. However, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that prices have decreased considerably since.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a public policy think tank, says that sanctions can have varying effects, such as a "significant shift in oil export patterns, rerouting trade flows in an economically inefficient manner and forcing sanctioned countries such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela to sell crude at below-market prices."

While the move could increase oil costs, one advocate of the idea suggested that the election being over could be a reason for Biden to move forward with the penalty.

"The Biden administration has been worried about increasing gas prices and worsening inflation. That was the main constraint on their Russia sanctions policy, the domestic ramifications," said Edward Fishman, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, the Washington Post reported. "But the election is over, and inflation is under control. The reasons to be this cautious on sanctions don’t apply anymore."

The report comes just days after the U.S. issued fresh sanctions against several Russian-linked entities and individuals involved in the building of Nord Stream 2, the massive undersea gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany.

Fox News' Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

ICE officials in Washington, D.C., deported a former high-ranking Somalian military officer who they say carried out torture, terror and other human rights abuses on civilians.

The officer, 71-year-old Yusuf Abdi Ali – also known as "Tukeh" – was removed from the U.S. by ICE officials on Dec. 20. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Somali National Army and commander of the Fifth Brigade in northwest Somalia during the dictatorship of Siad Barre from 1987 to 1989.

As a high-ranking officer in the Somali National Army, Ali allegedly oversaw terror activities against the Isaaq clan in northwestern Somalia. He is believed to have carried out an array of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention.

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According to a Dec. 23 statement by ICE, the Somali National Army committed numerous human rights violations against civilians in those years, including the execution of suspected political opponents, the burning of entire towns, the unlawful use of landmines and the destruction of water reservoirs to target civilian populations.

In February 2024, a Department of Justice immigration judge issued a 65-page decision determining that Ali personally engaged in torture while in leadership in the Somali National Army. According to the decision, Ali ordered soldiers under his command to detain, torture and assist in extrajudicial killings. The judge ordered him removed to Somalia.

The U.S.-based law firm the Center for Justice & Accountability, which has represented one of Ali’s alleged victims, Farhan Warfaa, calls him "one of the most ruthless commanders" of the Barre Somalian dictatorship. Warfaa was abducted as a teenager by soldiers under Ali’s command, held for months, repeatedly beaten and eventually shot and left for dead.

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Warfaa ended up surviving, and in 2019 a federal civil court in Alexandria, Virginia, found Ali liable for his torture.  

Ali was living as a permanent resident in Springfield, Virginia, until Homeland Security Investigations arrested him in November 2022.

"The United States will not be a safe haven for those who commit human rights violations, and we will persist in our efforts to pursue justice for the victims of these crimes," said Russell Hott, acting executive associate director for Washington, D.C., ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Hott said that "though justice was delayed in this case, it ultimately prevailed."

Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's "border czar," floated the idea of putting the children of illegal immigrants in halfway homes as part of the incoming administration's mass deportation plan. 

"As far as U.S. children — children, that’s going to be a difficult situation, because we’re not going to detain your U.S. citizen children, which means, you know, they’re going to be put in a halfway house," Homan told NewsNation on Thursday, The Hill reported

.CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM'S TEAM CONSIDERING WAYS TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF SECOND TRUMP ADMIN: REPORT

"They can — or they can stay at home and wait for the officers to get the travel arrangements and come back to get the family," he added.

As part of his plan to address the border crisis, Trump has said he plans to deport large numbers of illegal immigrants.

One of the administration's priorities will be to find the hundreds of thousands of migrant children unaccounted for in the United States.  

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"We're going to ask the American people to take notice: see something, say something and contact us," Holman told Kellyanne Conway on "Hannity." "If one phone call out of a thousand saves a child from sex trafficking or forced labor, then that's one life saved."

Homan acknowledged it would be a "daunting task," but "we're going to give it everything we've got."

During his interview with NewsNation, Homan said giving birth to children born in the U.S. won't spare illegal immigrants from being deported. 

"Having a U.S. citizen child does not make you immune to our laws, and that’s not the message we want to send to the whole world, that you can have a child and you’re immune to the laws of this country," Homan said. 

In addition to mass deportations, Trump has threatened to go after birthright citizenship, which automatically grants American citizenship to those born in the country. 

Congressional Democrats are pushing for federal policies mandating that gyms and fitness centers in the U.S. be accessible for Americans with disabilities. 

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., introduced a bill "to promote the provision of exercise machines and equipment, and exercise and fitness classes and instruction, that are accessible to individuals with disabilities" earlier this week, the Congressional Record shows.

It appears to be a companion bill to the "Exercise and Fitness For All Act" introduced in the upper chamber by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., earlier this year.

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The legislation would direct the U.S. Access Board, a federal agency regulating accessibility for people with disabilities, to create new rules for fitness facilities across the country.

It would mandate "that exercise or fitness instruction offered by the exercise or fitness service provider are accessible to individuals with disabilities," and that at least one employee trained in working with people with disabilities be on the clock during all operating hours.

If implemented, it would be a significant step forward for accessibility advocates in the U.S., and a significant change for potentially hundreds of U.S. businesses.

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Duckworth told Forbes in July of this year that part of her inspiration for the bill came from her own struggles to find adequate gym equipment. Duckworth, a retired lieutenant colonel, lost both of her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was co-piloting in Iraq in 2004.

She and DeSaulnier were both part of a prior push in the 117th Congress to introduce the bill, alongside late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.

"[F]ar too many Americans are still excluded from basic access to exercise equipment and fitness classes due to outdated equipment and services, inaccessible to individuals with disabilities," DeSaulnier said in a statement at the time. 

"It is unacceptable that these barriers still exist that make it more difficult for individuals with disabilities to get the exercise they need to live healthy lives."

His re-introduction of the bill on Tuesday appears to be largely symbolic, considering there are no more legislative days in the 118th Congress’ calendar.

Fox News Digital reached out to DeSaulnier’s office for further comment.

Former presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson announced a bid to become the next Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair.

In a letter addressed to DNC members posted to her Transform with Marianne Williamson site, she pledged that as chair she would seek to "reinvent the party." 

She also warned that President-elect Trump's political accomplishments should not be underestimated.

"President Trump has ushered in an age of political theatre – a collective adrenaline rush that has enabled him to not only move masses of people into his camp but also masses of people away from ours. It does not serve us to underestimate the historic nature of what he has achieved," Williamson said.

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"In fact, it’s important that we recognize the psychological and emotional dimensions of Trump’s appeal. We need to understand it to create the energy to counter it. MAGA is a distinctly 21st century political movement, and it will not be defeated by a 20th century tool kit. Data analysis, fundraising, field organizing, and beefed-up technology – while all are important - will not be enough to prepare the way for Democratic victory in 2024 and beyond," she asserted.

"We will create a surge of patriotic fervor, and a connectedness of the American heart to the great historical legacy of this country. Our ultimate success will be creating in people’s minds a sense that in order to further that legacy, your smartest move is to vote for Democrats," she contended.

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Williamson, an author who says she has "worked as a spiritual/political activist" over the course of her career, pursued the Democratic presidential nomination during the last two presidential election cycles but failed to gain traction in both cases.

In early 2020 she dropped out before the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucus, took place. In 2024, she suspended her campaign in February but unsuspended it later that same month.

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Other figures have also announced bids for the DNC chair role, including former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who recently served as Social Security Administration commissioner.

The problem has been percolating for a while. 

It’s been subterranean. Lurking underneath the surface. Not necessarily perceptible.

Except to those who follow Congress closely.

But the issue has gurgled to the top since the House stumbled badly trying to avert a government shutdown last week.

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To wit: 

Congress spasmed between a staggering, 1,500-page spending bill. Then defeated a narrow, 116-page bill – which President-elect Trump endorsed. Things got worse when the House only commandeered a scant 174 yeas for the Trump-supported bill and 38 Republicans voted nay. Circumstances grew even more dire when the House actually voted to avert a holiday government shutdown – but passed the bill with more Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four GOPers voted nay.

It was long likely that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., might face a problem winning the speaker’s gavel immediately when the new Congress convenes at noon ET on Jan. 3. Congressional experts knew that Johnson could be in trouble once the contours of the reed-thin House majority came into focus weeks after the November election. This could blossom into a full-blown crisis for Johnson – and House Republicans –when the speaker’s vote commences a little after 1 p.m. ET next Friday. 

Johnson emerges bruised from last week’s government funding donnybrook. Anywhere from four to 10 Republicans could oppose Johnson in the speaker’s race. 

DONALD TRUMP SAYS MIKE JOHNSON WILL ‘EASILY REMAIN SPEAKER’ IF HE ACTS ‘DECISIVELY AND TOUGH’ ON SPENDING BILL

Here’s the math:

The House clocks in at 434 members with one vacancy. That’s thanks to former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. He resigned his position for this Congress a few weeks ago. Even though Gaetz won re-election in November, his resignation letter – read on the floor of the House – signaled he did not plan to serve in the new Congress, which begins in January.

This is the breakdown when the Congress starts: 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats.

Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., remains in the House for now. So does Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. Trump tapped her to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. That’s pending Senate confirmation – perhaps in late January or early February. Once Waltz and Stefanik resign, the GOP majority dwindles to 217-214.

But the speaker’s election on Jan. 3 poses a special challenge. Here’s the bar for Johnson – or anyone else: The speaker of the House must win an outright majority of all members casting ballots for someone by name. In other words, the person with the most votes does not win. That’s what happened repeatedly to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., when he routinely outpolled House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for speaker to begin this Congress in January 2023. But it took days for McCarthy to cross the proper threshold.

More on that in a moment. 

So let’s crunch the math for Mike Johnson. If there are 219 Republicans and four voted for someone besides him – and all Democrats cast ballots for Jeffries, the tally is 215-214. But there’s no speaker. No one attained an outright majority of all members casting ballots for someone by name. The magic number is 218 if all 434 members vote. 

By rule, this paralyzes the House. The House absolutely, unequivocally, cannot do anything until it elects a speaker. Period. 

The House can’t swear in members. Technically, they’re still representatives-elect. Only after the House chooses its speaker does he or she in turn swear in the membership. 

The House certainly can’t pass legislation. It can’t form committees. It’s frozen in a parliamentary paralysis until it elects a speaker.

Now, I hope you’re sitting down for the next part.

This also means that the House cannot certify the results of the Electoral College, making Trump the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 6.

The failure to elect a speaker compels the House to vote over and over…

And over... and... over…

Until it finally taps someone. 

McCarthy’s election incinerated 15 ballots over five days two years ago.

The House settled into a congressional cryogenic freeze for three weeks after members ousted McCarthy in October 2023. It burned through two speaker candidates off the floor – House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. – and one candidate on the floor: Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. 

So you see the problem.

Consider for a moment that prior to last year, the House never went to a second ballot to select a speaker since Speaker Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., in 1923. 

It took 63 ballots before the House finally settled on Speaker Howell Cobb, D-Ga., in 1849.

But that’s nothing. The longest speaker’s election consumed two months before the House elected Speaker Nathaniel Banks, R-Mass., in 1856 – on the 133rd ballot.

So anything which elongates this into a collision with Jan. 6 - the statutory day to certify the election results and now one of the most ignominious days in American history – is dangerous.

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To be clear: there is no dispute that Trump won the election. There is no anticipation of a repeat of a riot at the Capitol like four years ago. But a failure to certify the Electoral College on the day it’s supposed to be completed – especially after the 2021 experience – is playing with fire. Such a scenario would again reveal another, never-before-considered vulnerability in the fragile American political system.

On Jan. 6, the House and Senate are supposed to meet in a joint session of Congress to tabulate and certify the electoral votes. Any disputes over a state’s slate of electoral votes compels the House and Senate to then debate and vote separately on those results. The election is not final until the joint session concludes and the vice president – in this case Kamala Harris – in her capacity as president of the Senate, announces a victor.

Congress is not required to certify the Electoral College on the calendar day of Jan. 6. There is actually some leeway to wrap things up. In 2021, the Electoral College wasn’t certified until around 3:52 a.m. on Jan. 7. It only becomes a major problem if this drags on through noon on Jan. 20. That’s when the Constitution prescribes that the president-elect take the oath of office. 

What happens if the Electoral College isn’t sorted out by Jan. 20? Well, President Biden is done. So he’s gone. The same with Harris. Next in the presidential line of succession is the speaker of the House. Well, there’s no speaker. So who becomes president? 

Well, there is at that moment a president pro tempore of the Senate, the most senior member of the majority party. He or she is fourth in line to the presidency. At this moment, the president pro tempore is Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. But Republicans claim control of the chamber in early January. And unlike the House, if it’s stymied over a speaker, the Senate is functioning. That means 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, becomes Senate president pro tempore. Grassley has served in the Senate since 1981. 

If the House is still frittering away time, trying to elect a speaker on Jan. 20, Grassley likely becomes "acting president."

I write "likely" because this gets into some serious, extra-constitutional turf. These are unprecedented scenarios. Strange lands never visited in the American political experience. 

And it all hinges on Mike Johnson – or frankly, someone else – wrapping up the speaker’s vote with dispatch on Jan. 3. Any interregnum like the past two speaker elections begins to establish challenging historical precedents. 

But frankly, it’s unclear if the House can avoid such contretemps. 

It’s about the math. And once again, balancing that parliamentary equation is tenuous at best.

A Texas man is being charged with attempting to smuggle over 100 illegal immigrants into the U.S. in a locked tractor trailer.

Juan Manuel Aguirre, 49, is facing a three-count indictment of conspiracy to transport an undocumented alien within the United States and the transportation of an undocumented alien within the United States for financial gain, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas on Monday.

Aguirre, a resident of the South Texas city of Laredo, was observed by law enforcement loading a large group of migrants into a white trailer in a warehouse parking lot on Dec. 2. After it departed, authorities conducted a traffic stop on the white truck hauling the trailer and allegedly found 101 undocumented immigrants, including 12 unaccompanied children, crammed in.

CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM'S TEAM CONSIDERING WAYS TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF SECOND TRUMP ADMIN: REPORT

The Justice Department statement said two of the migrants reported having difficulty breathing and feared for their lives due to the conditions in the trailer.

Aguirre is facing 10 years in prison for each of the three counts and fines of up to $250,000.

The number of individuals sentenced for alien smuggling offenses in the U.S. has steadily risen under the Biden administration, reaching 4,731 in fiscal year 2023, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

MIGRANT CRIME WAVE DURING BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN UNDER SCRUTINY AMID SERIES OF ASSAULTS, MURDERS: A TIMELINE

The top five districts for human smuggling are all along the southern border. With Texas accounting for over 60% of the U.S. border with Mexico, the top two districts for human smuggling were both in Texas.

There were 64,124 alien smuggling offense cases reported in 2023. About 10% of alien smuggling cases involve unaccompanied minors.

In October, local news source KGNS reported a concerning rise in human smuggling incidents in Laredo, resulting in high-risk vehicle pursuits and other dangerous situations.

THESE ARE TRUMP'S THREE PRIORITIES FOR BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN | FOX NEWS VIDEO

Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched a new billboard ad campaign in Mexico and Central America to warn potential illegal migrants of the dangers of attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally.

"We’re here to expose the truth to immigrants who are thinking about coming here, the truth about the traffickers who assault so many of the women and children along the way," the governor said. "The message is: Do not risk a dangerous trip just to be arrested and deported."

The State Department’s foreign disinformation center, accused by conservatives of censoring U.S. citizens, shut its doors due to lack of funding this week. 

Elon Musk had deemed the Global Engagement Center (GEC), established in 2016, the "worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation," and its funding was stripped as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon’s yearly policy bill. 

"The Global Engagement Center will terminate by operation of law [by the end of the day] on December 23, 2024," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. "The Department of State has consulted with Congress regarding next steps."

Lawmakers had originally included funding for the GEC in its continuing resolution (CR), or bill to fund the government beyond a Friday deadline. But conservatives balked at that iteration of the funding bill, and it was rewritten without money for the GEC and other funding riders.

The agency had a budget of around $61 million and 120 people on staff. 

At a time when adversaries like Iran and Russia sow disinformation throughout the world, Republicans saw little value in the agency’s work, arguing that much of its disinformation analysis is already offered by the private sector. 

The GEC, according to reporter Matt Taibbi, "funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneer an insidious — and idiotic — new form of blacklisting" during the pandemic. 

Taibbi wrote last year when exposing the Twitter Files that the GEC "flagged accounts as ‘Russian personas and proxies’ based on criteria like, ‘Describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon,’ blaming ‘research conducted at the Wuhan institute,’ and ‘attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA.’" 

"State also flagged accounts that retweeted news that Twitter banned the popular U.S. website ZeroHedge, claiming that it 'led to another flurry of disinformation narratives.'" ZeroHedge had made reports speculating that the virus had a lab origin.

The GEC is part of the State Department but also partners with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Special Operations Command and the Department of Homeland Security. The GEC also funds the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).

SPENDING BILL TO FUND STATE DEPARTMENT AGENCY ACCUSED OF CENSORING, BLACKLISTING AMERICANS

DFRLab Director Graham Brookie previously denied the claim that they use tax money to track Americans, saying its GEC grants have "an exclusively international focus."

A 2024 report from the Republican-led House Small Business Committee criticized the GEC for awarding grants to organizations whose work includes tracking domestic as well as foreign misinformation and rating the credibility of U.S.-based publishers, according to the Washington Post. 

The lawsuit was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, The Daily Wire and The Federalist, who sued the State Department, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other government officials earlier this month for "engaging in a conspiracy to censor, deplatform and demonetize American media outlets disfavored by the federal government."

The lawsuit stated that the GEC was used as a tool for the defendants to carry out its censorship. 

​​"Congress authorized the creation of the Global Engagement Center expressly to counter foreign propaganda and misinformation," the Texas Attorney General’s Office said in a press release. "Instead, the agency weaponized this authority to violate the First Amendment and suppress Americans’ constitutionally-protected speech. 

STATE DEPARTMENT FUNDS ‘DISINFORMATION’ INDEX TARGETING NON-LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE NEWS OUTLETS: REPORT

The complaint describes the State Department’s project as "one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation.’"

The lawsuit argued that The Daily Wire, The Federalist and other conservative news organizations were branded "unreliable" or "risky" by the agency, "starving them of advertising revenue and reducing the circulation of their reporting and speech — all as a direct result of [the State Department’s] unlawful censorship scheme."

Meanwhile, America First Legal, headed up by Stephen Miller, President-elect Trump’s pick for deputy chief of staff for policy, revealed that the GEC had used taxpayer dollars to create a video game called "Cat Park" to "Inoculate Youth Against Disinformation" abroad. 

The game "inoculates players ... by showing how sensational headlines, memes, and manipulated media can be used to advance conspiracy theories and incite real-world violence," according to a memo obtained by America First Legal. 

Mike Benz, executive director at the Foundation for Freedom Online, said the game was "anti-populist" and pushed certain political beliefs instead of protecting Americans from foreign disinformation, according to the Tennessee Star.

A trio of House Democrats in the progressive "Squad" is demanding an end to the U.S.-led investigation into a key ally's anti-Israel arms embargo.

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., wrote to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent agency that oversees maritime trade affecting the U.S., regarding Spain's "decision to deny port entry to ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government and its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

"This investigation is a reckless insult to our allies in Spain, which has only sought to enforce in good faith its sovereign national policies and uphold international law, including its treaty obligations to prevent genocide," the hardline-left lawmakers wrote.

"It is bad enough that the United States is violating these same obligations and its own domestic laws by sending these weapons. We urge you to immediately suspend this obstruction of justice and withdraw this misguided investigation."

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Spain, a longstanding U.S. ally and fellow member of NATO, said it would stop selling weapons to Israel when its war with Hamas broke out in October 2023.

Since then, the Spanish government has been accused in three separate instances of refusing ships from docking in its ports over allegations those ships were carrying weapons meant for Israel.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told state TV channel RTVE of one of the incidents in May, according to the Associated Press. "The Middle East needs peace. That is why this first denial of authorization will start a policy for any boat carrying arms to Israel that wants to dock at a Spanish port."

The FMC opened its probe earlier this month after receiving information that "indicates Spain has refused entry to certain vessels on at least three separate occasions this year," a press release read. "The two most recent instances involved U.S.-flagged vessels."

The agency will now "investigate whether regulations or practices of foreign governments result in conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade of the United States."

But the House Democrats wrote: "Spain's decisions to bar the Maersk Denver and the Maersk Seletar from stopping in transit at its port in Algeciras in early November, as well as its decision to deny port of call to the Marianne Danica at the port of Cartegena in May of this year, are legitimate actions taken by a sovereign state to ensure that it is in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law."

Tlaib, Bush and Lee have been three of Congress' loudest critics of the Israeli government since it launched its invasion in Gaza.

The campaign was launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. Terrorists crossed the border and killed more than 1,200 Israelis who were in their homes, attending a music festival, and other areas.

The responding operation to eradicate Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

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The trio of House Democrats has frequently accused the Biden administration of improperly acquiescing to Israel, the U.S.'s closest ally in the Middle East.

They also argued the U.S. has no standing to investigate Spain's decision, claiming "these actions do nothing to threaten the reliable international ocean transportation supply system that the FMC is tasked with safeguarding."

"No agency of the United States should be in the business of punishing or sanctioning our allies for enforcing the international law that our government has refused to uphold," they wrote.

Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, made the decision to formally recognize Palestinian statehood earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FMC for comment.

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as the "Squad," thinks she will eventually run for political office again.

The outgoing congresswoman took office in 2021 and won re-election in 2022 but lost the Democratic primary in Missouri's 1st Congressional District this year.

"Running for office again is not off the table at all. I did not expect to only be in Congress for four years, and so I do believe at some point I will run again, whether it’s for Congress or something else, I don’t know. I don’t have any plans right now, but it’s not off the table," she said, according to Politico.

"The Squad will keep fighting," she declared. "The numbers will be lower for the 119th Congress, but they will keep fighting for people who have the greatest need. They’re not going to change their priorities and what they believe. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they’ve never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I’m not going far."

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Like Bush, outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., another Squad member who took office in 2021, is departing Congress after losing a Democratic primary this year.

Bowman has indicated that he may seek office again.

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"The liberating aspect of no longer being in Congress formally is now I have an opportunity to be helpful and support my community in a variety of ways. There's many ways to teach and be an educator and lead as it relates to education. There's many ways to impact electoral politics. I plan to be a part of that from a community organizing perspective and a fundraising perspective. And yes, there is a good chance I will run for office again, at some point, depending on the right situation and where that goes," Bowman said, according to City & State.

"I'm going to be hyperlocal initially in my engagement," he noted. "It's time to build that power in places like Yonkers in the Bronx, across the city and state and across the country."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Bush and Bowman offices for comment, but they did not immediately respond. 

Reform UK leader Farage says his party has made history and is now the "real opposition".

Sue Gray will join the House of Lords two months after she left her role as the PM's chief of staff.

President-elect Trump dished out a fiery Christmas message on Wednesday in which he wished a "Merry Christmas" to "Radical Left Lunatics," told the 37 prisoners whose death row sentences were recently commuted by President Biden to "GO TO HELL!" and more.

"Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME. They know that their only chance of survival is getting pardons from a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing," Trump declared on Truth Social.

"Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden. I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky "souls" but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL! We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A. and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!" he added.

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Biden recently announced that he commuted the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row to life sentences without the potential for parole.

"Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss," the president said in a statement, but noted that he is "more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level." 

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In a separate post, Trump declared, "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in 'repair' money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about 'anything.'"

He also discussed Canada, referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the "Governor" of America's northern neighbor, while suggesting that Canadian businesses would boom if the nation became a U.S. state.

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"Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World. Likewise, to the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!" Trump declared.

Walking campaigners welcome the move, which the government says will help prevent paths from being lost.

A constituent accused former Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day of sending unsolicited nude pictures in March 2023.

With former president and now President-elect Trump term-limited and constitutionally unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance is on a glide path to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party's powerful MAGA base.

It was a point driven home by Donald Trump Jr., the former and future president's eldest son and powerful ally of the vice president-elect.

"We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance!" Trump Jr. said on the campaign trail in Ohio a few weeks ahead of November's election.

Plenty of Republican politicians, strategists and pundits agree that Vance, who was elected to the Senate in Ohio just two years ago, will likely be the clear frontrunner in the next Republican presidential nomination race.

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"The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it," longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital. 

Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said Vance "is the guy to beat."

David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, told Fox News that Vance is the frontrunner due to "the size and the scope of last week's victory and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump."

"There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement," Kochel said.

And with Trump's support in a party firmly in the president-elect's grip, the 40-year-old Vance will be extremely hard to knock off. 

However, Kochel noted that "nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is."

Carney added that "there may be other people who challenge him [Vance]… there’s a lot of people who want to be president, but it will be a very hard lane other than the Trump lane."

He added that a possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration would give potential Vance challengers "opportunities."

However, he praised the vice president-elect's messaging and accessibility on the campaign trail and that "he is the guy to beat, regardless of whether it’s a good four years or a rough four years."

Carney also touted that the Republican Party has a "deep bench." 

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, a top Trump ally, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview that he's "very excited about the bench that we have in the Republican Party right now."

Pointing to Trump's remaking of the GOP, Whatley added that "as we go into 2028, we are in a great position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement."

But he also emphasized that regardless of Vance's likely frontrunner status as 2028 nears, the RNC will hold to its traditional role of staying neutral in an open and contested presidential primary.

Here's a look at some of those on the bench that may have national aspirations and ambitions in 2028, or beyond.

The conservative governor of Florida was flying high after a landslide re-election in 2022, but an unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary run and a bruising battle with Trump knocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis down in stature.

However, the term-limited 46-year-old governor, who has two years left in office steering Florida, proved over the past few years his fundraising prowess and retains plenty of supporters across the country.

DeSantis was also able, to a degree, to repair relations with Trump, helped raise money for the GOP ticket during the general election, and earned a prime time speaking slot at July's convention.

It's likely that DeSantis, who sources say Trump has considered as a plan B for Defense secretary if his nominee Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, has his eyes on another White House run.

The popular conservative governor is one of the few in the GOP who can claim he faced Trump's wrath and not only survived, but thrived.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited, has two years left in office and enjoys strong favorable ratings in a crucial battleground state.

Expect to see the 61-year-old Kemp on the campaign trail across the country for fellow Republicans in 2026, as his national profile expands.

With his 2021 gubernatorial victory – the first by a Republican in Virginia in a dozen years – Gov. Glenn Youngkin instantly became a GOP rising star.

In Virginia, governors are limited to one four-year term, which means Youngkin has one year left in office. 

The 58-year-old governor, who hails from the Republican Party's business wing but has been able to thrive in a MAGA-dominated party, likely harbors national ambitions. 

A first step could be a Cabinet post in the second Trump administration after his term as governor ends.

Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up to Trump in the blockbuster 2016 Republican presidential battle.

The controversial conservative firebrand passed on challenging Trump again in 2024, as he ran for what was thought to be another difficult re-election bid, after narrowly surviving his 2018 re-election.

However, the 53-year-old senator ended up winning a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points.

The Army veteran, who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising star in Republican Party politics, was considered to be on the larger list of potential Trump running mates.

The now-47-year-old Sen. Tom Cotton seriously mulled a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of political ambitions. However, he did not rule out a future presidential bid.

Cotton is currently bidding for the GOP conference chair, the number three leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority.

The 44-year-old Sen. Josh Hawley, along with Cotton, is another rising conservative star in the Senate. 

Hawley is also a strong defender of Trump's America First agenda and is thought to have national aspirations.

The former two-term South Carolina governor, who served as U.N. ambassador in Trump's first term, was the first GOP challenger to jump into the race against the former president in the 2024 nomination race. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley outlasted the rest of the field, becoming the final challenger to Trump before ending her White House bid in March.

While the 52-year-old Haley ended up backing Trump in the general election, her earlier clashes with the now president-elect during the primaries left their mark. Even though she addressed the GOP faithful at the convention, her political future in a party dominated by Trump is uncertain.

The first-term conservative governor of Arkansas is a well-known figure in MAGA world, thanks to her tenure as Trump's longest-serving White House press secretary during his first administration.

The 42-year-old Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor and former two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has also grabbed national attention for delivering the GOP's response to President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address.

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur, anti-woke crusader and first-time candidate was one of the biggest surprises during the GOP presidential nomination race.

The now 39-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, who touted during his campaign that he and Trump were the only two "America First candidates" in the large field of contenders, eventually dropped out of the race and became a major backer and surrogate for the former president.

He's now teaming up with billionaire Trump supporter and pal Elon Musk to steer DOGE, the new presidential advisory commission that will look to make massive cuts in the federal budget.

Others to keep your eyes on include Sen. Marco Rubio, who ran for the 2016 nomination and was nominated to serve as secretary of state in the second Trump administration; Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 nomination but remains very popular; and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who both mulled but decided against presidential runs this past cycle.

Also, not to be ignored – top Trump supporters Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, whom Trump picked to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was named to head the Department of Homeland Security

Then there is Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son and MAGA warrior. However, the younger Trump is very close to Vance, which would likely prevent him from making any White House bid in the next cycle.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Oregon’s top law enforcement officer rolled out what she called bilingual "Sanctuary Promise Community Toolkit" to help residents refresh their knowledge of the Beaver State’s relevant laws.

"Every person has the right to live, work, play, and learn safely in Oregon, period," Oregon Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement announcing the toolkit.

In 1987, Oregon lawmakers passed then-Rep. Rocky Barilla’s HB 2314 in response to several raids by INS – the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, which transformed into USCIS, DHS and ICE in 2003.

The law is largely considered the first "sanctuary state" policy in the country.

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Rosenblum explicitly acknowledged Oregon’s place in that regard, noting the law prohibits state and local law enforcement resources from being used to apprehend suspects charged solely with being present in the U.S. without papers.

A press release from the attorney general’s office noted Barilla’s bill passed "nearly unanimously" in 1987 but that by 2024, sanctuary laws have become an "intensely partisan issue."

"I asked my Civil Rights Unit here at the Oregon DOJ to do whatever we could to provide the people, businesses, and local governments of our state with easy-to-read materials to help them know their rights and educate others, and I’m so pleased with what they’ve put together," Rosenblum said in her statement.

In the toolkit, documents relating to the 1987 law’s passage are available for easy public consumption, along with a "conversation" with figures involved in getting the law passed.

The toolkit includes several FAQs, including "how do I prepare myself and my family for encounters with ICE or other federal immigration authorities?" – "Is there a place I can call to report ICE or other federal immigration authorities active right now in my community?" and "After an encounter with ICE or other federal immigration authorities, what information should I write down?"

Oregon also hosts a statewide "hotline" to report sanctuary law violations.

There are also links to press coverage, as well as a separate "law enforcement bias response" toolkit.

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Rosenblum said she also recommends Oregonians discuss the issue with family in the next few weeks to "know your rights… and make a plan for what to do if immigration officials come to your home or place of business."

"Knowing your rights in advance is essential," she said.

President-elect Trump tapped former ICE Director Thomas Homan as his "border czar" – succeeding Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Homan has pledged a no-holds-barred crackdown on immigration law violators and illegal immigrants.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek for comment.

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.

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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.'"

In a statement on X, Cabrera thanked Trump for the nomination.

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"I’m humbled and honored by your nomination to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Panama," he wrote. "Let’s get to work!"

Cabrera won his county election two years ago following an endorsement by Trump. 

He also served as the Florida state director for Trump’s 2020 campaign and was a member of the RNC Platform Committee.

As a change in presidential administrations approaches, President-elect Trump and President Biden both marked the Christmas holiday, with Biden acknowledging that it would be his last time as president to wish the nation a merry Christmas.

Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, exclaimed in a post on Truth Social, "MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!" In another post he shared a photo of himself and his wife Melania — the photo bore the message "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

In a post on the @POTUS presidential X account, Biden said: "For the last time as your president, it's my honor to wish all of America a very Merry Christmas. My hope for our nation, today and always, is that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency. May God bless you all."

A post on the @JoeBiden X account that features a photo of the president and first lady Jill Biden reads, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

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Trump — who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election — made history this year by becoming the second president ever to win election to two non-consecutive terms. The first was Grover Cleveland in the 19th century. While the new year will mark a new chapter in Trump's political career, it also marks the end of Biden's decades-long stint at the top levels of Washington politics. 

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Biden, the oldest president in U.S. history, bowed out of the 2024 presidential contest earlier this year in the face of tremendous pressure from within his party after a widely panned debate performance against Trump.