Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., declared in a statement that he intends to vote to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to serve as Secretary of State.
"Senator Rubio and I share many similar views on foreign policy and as a result, have worked closely together in the Senate to move forward with legislation regarding human rights around the world, the continued threat of China, and the recent sham election in Venezuela," Durbin said in the statement.
"I believe Senator Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate," the Democrat lawmaker noted.
Rubio's current Senate term runs through early 2029, so if he resigns to serve in the Trump administration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will tap a replacement to represent the Sunshine State in the U.S. Senate until voters select a replacement during a 2026 special election for the seat.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is scheduled to hold a nomination hearing for Rubio on Wednesday.
Pete Hegseth is set to take the hot seat before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday in a hearing that is sure to break out into fireworks.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth to shake up the Pentagon as his defense secretary, but the former Fox News host has been entangled in controversies that Democrats on the committee can be expected to question him about.
"Democrats certainly aren’t going to make this a walk in the park by any means," one Republican aide said.
"You'll see Democrats are pretty organized, they're thinking strategically to make sure everything is covered, and it's not a hearing that gets overly repetitive," one senior Democrat aide told Fox News Digital.
"I don't think it's going to be particularly hostile, but I do think it will be very tough. It's going to focus a lot just on what we should expect of a nominee for this job and where he falls short," the aide went on. "There are questions about the things he's done, his character and his leadership."
Hegseth will be the first of Trump’s controversial change agent picks to face questioning from lawmakers.
Republicans can be expected to play defense, framing Hegseth as a decorated combat veteran who will hold the military accountable after years of failed audits and DEI initiatives.
With little hope of winning any Democrat votes, Hegseth will have to woo moderate Republicans who have previously expressed skepticism about his nomination.
Democrats are expected to hammer him over his past conduct and his qualifications to lead the government’s largest agency, which employs 3 million people.
The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is relatively young and inexperienced compared to defense secretaries past, having retired as a major. But Republicans say they don’t want someone who made it to the top brass, who’s become entrenched in the Pentagon establishment.
Hegseth is sure to face questions about a sexual assault accusation from 2017. He’s acknowledged paying his accuser an undisclosed sum to keep quiet at the time for fear of losing his job, but he denies any non-consensual sex took place.
Former employees at veterans’ groups Hegseth used to run have accused him of financial mismanagement and excessive drinking, according to a New Yorker report, and NBC News reported that his drinking "concerned" colleagues at Fox News.
Hegseth denies the accusations and said he would not drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to lead the Defense Department.
The hearing, which kicks off at 9:30 a.m., will be packed with veterans who traveled to Washington, D.C., to support Hegseth in the face of attacks.
For weeks, Hegseth has been visiting Capitol Hill to meet with senators, including those who are skeptical of him. Last Wednesday, he met with the top Armed Services Committee Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and the meeting apparently didn’t go well.
"Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers," Reed said in a statement.
Hegseth must first win a majority in a vote of the Armed Services Committee, made up of 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats, meaning one Republican defection could tank the vote.
He then needs to win a simple majority on the Senate floor, meaning he can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes.
"I think he kind of knows that all he needs is Republican votes to get from now into the job," said a Democrat aide. "His job is to just keep his head down and not say something that would create an opening for these [Republicans], many of whom I really don't think want to vote for him, to have a reason to revisit that. So I expect that he's going to try to say very little and say it very calmly and politely."
In committee, all eyes will be on Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a veteran herself who at first seemed hesitant about Hegseth. After two meetings with the nominee, Ernst said she would support him through the confirmation process and looked forward to a fair hearing. She didn’t commit to voting for him.
Senators will also take a fine-toothed comb to Hegseth’s lengthy record of public comments on TV and across the five books he’s written.
One such belief is that women should not fight in combat roles.
"Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially not in combat units," he wrote in his most recent book, "The War on Warriors," published in 2024.
"Men are, gasp, biologically stronger, faster and bigger. Dare I say, physically superior," Hegseth added.
On a Nov. 7 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast, which aired mere days before Hegseth was tapped to serve as Defense Secretary, the nominee said, "I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles."
Hegseth later told Fox News in December that women are some of the U.S.’ "greatest warriors."
"I also want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued, that I somehow don't support women in the military; some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women," he said.
Female service members "love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe. I'm not presuming anything," he added.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is unveiling a new set of bills that could have child sexual predators facing the death penalty.
"If you are raping someone, if you're molesting someone, you are essentially murdering their soul. Those people never actually fully recover. I've actually sat on a committee with a very prominent [female House Democrat] who actually talked about the fact that she was molested as a child. And so you can see that it impacts and really hurts people," Luna said.
Two of her three bills, all of which are being introduced in the 119th Congress on Tuesday, would require sentences of death or at least life imprisonment for those charged with a wide range of crimes related to children.
A third bill would require guilty verdicts of rape and sexual abuse against adults to carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
Luna told Fox News Digital she broached the topic with President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend, who she suggested was enthusiastic about the idea.
"I got the impression that he absolutely is supportive of anything in this sector," Luna said.
The Florida congresswoman was among the members of the House Freedom Caucus who met with Trump over the weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
She said they also discussed Trump potentially signing an executive order levying the death penalty for pedophilia-related crimes but that it would likely be impossible to accomplish that way.
"He would be willing to sign an [executive order]. But the fact is, is that it has to go through Congress first. So it would have to come to his desk that way," she said.
Luna first introduced the bills in the last Congress when Democrats controlled half of Congress as well as the White House. They failed to get much traction, however, and ultimately never saw a House-wide vote.
She suggested that the death penalty aspect could have put some people off of an issue that otherwise could get wide bipartisan support, but she argued that child predators "cannot be rehabilitated."
"If you are going to continue to push forward in a moral society, [then] you need to ensure that people like this, that are predators, are taken off the streets permanently," Luna said.
A Planned Parenthood chapter in Florida allegedly violated its tax-exempt status by providing workspace for the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, according to an IRS complaint filed by a pro-life organization.
40 Days for Life, one of the country's leading pro-life organizations, filed the IRS complaint in December. It claims to have information about "potentially prohibited political activities that may impact the tax-exempt status" of Planned Parenthood Florida.
"This is one of the many violations we've seen Planned Parenthood do, because we're physically at these abortion facilities, holding peaceful vigils and offering medical alternatives to abortion. And so because we're out there, you know, at over 1700 locations, we see a lot of things that Planned Parenthood does," 40 Days for Life CEO Shawn Carney told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out several times to Planned Parenthood Florida, but did not hear back by the publication deadline.
"This was clearly noticeable. They were giving out flyers that said Tim Walz Tuesdays, which doesn't sound like the greatest time in the world, but nevertheless, they were promoting all these events of hosting Walt Harris campaign events and providing their space to do that, which, of course, they did not do for the Republicans. And you just can't do that as a 501c3. This is very, very basic."
Last summer, Carney's group filed a separate complaint about Planned Parenthood's mobile abortion bus that was operating a few miles from where the Democratic National Convention was taking place. On day one of the DNC, abortion took center stage. Several speakers spoke at length about it being one of the central issues of the Democratic Party's 2024 platform.
"The pro-abortion angle of running on celebrating abortion was a dismal failure for the Harris-Waltz campaign, but when we filed that, we did get a response that they had received it, and we are hoping and pushing the Trump administration to take up that investigation, because now we have two violations, both of which were obviously against the Trump administration and were heavily politically partisan towards the Democrats, which, of course, as nonprofits, you just can't do," Carney said.
The 42-page IRS complaint also alleges "Planned Parenthood’s activities, in this case, are starkly different from permissible lobbying."
"The provision of office space juxtaposes its tax-exempt privilege against a politically charged environment, serving as a clear indicator of political endorsement or opposition of particular candidates and parties," the complaint reads.
Included in the complaint are photographs of campaign staffers walking inside what appears to be the Planned Parenthood office in Sarasota, Florida.
The Justice Department made public Volume I of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his now-closed investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, days before he is set to be sworn into office.
Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume, which focuses on the election case against Trump, of Smith’s report on Tuesday at midnight after back-and-forth in the federal court system.
An opening letter from Smith, who resigned last week, to Garland said that it is "laughable" that Trump believes the Biden administration, or other political actors, influenced or directed his decisions as a prosecutor, stating that he was guided by the Principles of Federal Prosecution.
"Trump's cases represented ones ‘in which the offense [was] the most flagrant, the public harm the greatest, and the proof the most certain,’" Smith said, referencing the principles.
In the lengthy report, Smith said his office fully stands behind the decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he "resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power" after he lost the 2020 election.
Smith said in his conclusion that the parties were determining whether any material in the "superseding indictment was subject to presidential immunity" when it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election. The department then determined the case must be dismissed before he takes office because of how it interprets the Constitution.
"The Department's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind," the report stated.
In an early Tuesday morning post on Truth Social, Trump called Smith "desperate" and "deranged" for releasing his "fake findings" in the middle of the night.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ's public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.
Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.
The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
This month, though, Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report. A federal appeals court reversed her ruling, allowing the Justice Department to make Smith’s report public.
In the classified records probe, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal counts including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty.
Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.
In the 2020 election case, Smith charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; violation of an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Trump pleaded not guilty.
The cases brought by Smith against Trump never made it to trial in either jurisdiction.
Despite efforts by Trump attorneys to prevent the report’s release, Attorney General Merrick Garland had maintained that he would make at least one volume of Smith’s report public.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Special Counsel David Weiss' final report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden determined the first son's drug abuse could not explain away not paying taxes on millions of dollars of income earned off of his "last name and connections."
"As a well-educated lawyer and businessman, Mr. Biden consciously and willfully chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over a four-year period. From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Biden received more than $7 million in total gross income, including approximately $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019 and $188,000 from January through October 15, 2020," Weiss wrote in his final report, which was released Monday.
"Mr. Biden made this money by using his last name and connections to secure lucrative business opportunities, such as a board seat at a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate, Burisma Holdings Limited, and a joint venture with individuals associated with a Chinese energy conglomerate. He negotiated and executed contracts and agreements that paid him millions of dollars for limited work," Weiss continued.
Hunter Biden, 54, had a busy year in court last year, when he was convicted of two separate federal cases prosecuted by Weiss. He kicked off his first trial in Delaware in June, when he faced three felony firearm offenses involving his drug use, before pleading guilty in a separate felony tax case in September.
Hunter Biden's September trial revolved around charges of three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court for the case, however, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea.
Weiss continued in his report that Hunter Biden "spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills," and that he "willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes."
Weiss added that the first son's previous drug abuse could not explain his failure to pay the taxes.
"These are not 'inconsequential' or ‘technical’ tax code violations," Weiss wrote. "Nor can Mr. Biden's conduct be explained away by his drug use-most glaringly, Mr. Biden filed his false 2018 return, in which he deliberately underreported his income to lower his tax liability, in February 2020, approximately eight months after he had regained his sobriety. Therefore, the prosecution of Mr. Biden was warranted given the nature and seriousness of his tax crimes."
Hunter has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things." The book walked readers through his previous addiction to crack cocaine, before getting sober in 2019. The memoir featured extensively in his separate firearms case in June, when a jury found him guilty of three felony charges related to his purchase of a gun while addicted to substances.
"The evidence demonstrated that as Mr. Biden held high-paying positions earning him millions of dollars, he chose to keep funding his extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his taxes. He then chose to lie to his accountants in claiming false business deductions when, in fact, he knew they were personal expenses. He did this on his own, and his tax return preparers relied on him, because, among other reasons, only he understood the true nature of his deductions and he failed to give them records that might have revealed that the deductions were bogus," Weiss continued.
The tax case charges carried up to 17 years behind bars, but the first son would likely have faced a much shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but he was pardoned by his father, President Biden, earlier that month.
Hunter Biden's blanket pardon encompassed a decade-period applying to any offenses he "has committed or may have committed" on a federal level.
Weiss' report also took issue with the president's pardoning of Hunter Biden, specifically with how President Biden characterized prosecutions of Hunter Biden as "selective" and "unfair."
"This statement is gratuitous and wrong," Weiss wrote in his report. "Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations."
"Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public's confidence in our criminal justice system," Weiss wrote in another section of the report. "The President's statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith."
The DOJ sent Weiss' report to Congress Monday evening, officially bringing the years-long investigation into the first son to a close.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, laying out a bevy of accusations and about 100 questions that she expects him to answer at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, penned the 33-page letter last week to Hegseth. It describes why she thinks he is "unfit" to serve, referring to him at one point in the letter as "an insider threat" due to a tattoo Hegseth has that Warren claims is tied to "right-wing extremism."
"Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespect a diverse array of servicemembers who are willing to sacrifice for our country," Warren writes in the letter. "I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense."
The letter starts off with accusations against Hegseth that include claims of financial mismanagement during his work operating two nonprofits, and accusations of heavy drinking and sexual assault.
The Massachusetts Democrat accused Hegseth of "gross mismanagement" in running up debt and using business funds at the nonprofits he ran for personal expenses. She cited past colleagues of Hegseth's who claimed to be privy to what took place. Warren also claimed in her letter that some of Hegseth's past colleagues had shared he may potentially have a drinking problem, citing "at least 11 separate incidents in which [Hegseth has] been described as drinking excessively or inappropriately in public." Warren asks in the letter if Hegseth would resign if he were to be caught drinking again.
Warren also went after Hegseth's policy positions in the letter, several of which were made during media appearances and in books.
Warren slammed Hegseth for previous comments about women in the military, including remarks he made that only men should be allowed in combat roles. Warren questioned Hegseth about other aspects of women in the military as well, including whether he thinks single women in the military should have access to birth control.
Hegseth, an advocate for getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military, was slammed by Warren in her letter for calling for the firing of "any general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI woke s--t," during a podcast interview in November.
Warren added that in addition to potentially firing Defense Department officials promoting DEI, she also detailed fears about Hegseth's willingness to help aid Trump in going after his political opponents. In one of Warren's questions, she requested that Hegseth share his thoughts on the 2020 election and whether he believes Trump won, or lost fairly.
At one point in the letter, Warren highlighted that Hegseth had been removed from President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021 because of concerns he was "an insider threat" following reports that his tattoo with the words "Deus Vult," was allegedly a "Christian expression associated with right-wing extremism."
Other sections seek to harp on Hegseth's alleged unwillingness to work with allies, including those within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Warren suggested Hegseth will not adequately support considering his "skepticism" over aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Warren devoted an entire line of questioning to whether Hegseth will "undermine" veterans' benefits, and questioned what Hegseth might do to the Department of Defense Education Activity, the part of the agency that educates troops' children.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump Transition spokesperson Bran Hughes said that Hegseth "looks forward to answering Senators' questions and detailing his many qualifications at his hearing tomorrow."
"Senator Warren’s letter to Pete Hegseth is exactly what the American voters rejected on November 5," Hughes said. "Instead of focusing on ‘woke’ policies that have weakened our national defense, the voters gave a mandate to rebuild our military, and that’s exactly what a reform-minded Secretary of Defense like Pete Hegseth will do. Senator Warren’s letter proves why ideologically driven college professors have no place driving their social agenda at the Department of Defense."
Efforts to reach Warren for comment for purposes of this story were unsuccessful.
"Lone actors" pose the greatest threat to safety during the upcoming presidential inauguration events, according to U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.
He referenced two incidents last week on Capitol Hill where people sought to "disrupt" congressional proceedings with potentially violent tactics.
An estimated 250,000 ticketed guests will attend the formal inauguration on Jan. 20, according to law enforcement.
That will be supplemented by another 25,000, who law enforcement expect will attend various demonstrations going on around the Capitol on Inauguration Day. The inauguration and its accompanying events have been designated a "National Special Security Event," the highest federal protective status an event can receive, authorities said.
"The biggest threat, I think, for all of us remains the lone actor," Manger said Monday. "Just in the past week, while President Carter was lying in state, we had two lone actors show up at the Capitol: one trying to bring in knives and a machete; another one who was trying – what I believe – to disrupt the proceedings by setting their car on fire down in the peace circle area."
"Capitol Police were able to interdict these folks before they had a chance to do any harm. But that threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week."
Manger's remarks came during a Monday press conference with federal and local law enforcement officials, including leaders from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police, during which they discussed their preparation for the inauguration.
Representing the FBI was the assistant director in charge of the agency's Washington field office, David Sundberg, who said the FBI was "not currently tracking any specific or credible threats to the inaugural ceremony or to the Capitol complex."
The upcoming week of events will be secured similarly to the two high-profile National Special Security Events from last week, the presidential election certification and the late President Jimmy Carter's funeral, authorities indicated. However, the inauguration will get a little extra support from roughly 4,000 local law enforcement officers who have volunteered to help and an estimated 7,800 National Guard soldiers who will deploy to the nation's capital. In total, according to the Secret Service's special agent in charge of the agency's Washington field office, Matt McCool, a total of about 25,000 law enforcement officers will be on duty.
The inauguration will get extra concrete barriers and more than 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, which is more than has been used for any National Special Security Event in the past.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith said that the district is expecting to see 12 different First Amendment demonstrations during the inauguration. Smith said that while the "MPD will ensure your right to peacefully protest," they "will not tolerate any violence."
"I want to reiterate – as I always have – that violence, destruction and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated," Smith said Monday. "Offenders will face swift and decisive consequences."
When asked by a reporter what the biggest difference was between this inauguration and the last in 2021, McCool said there is a "slightly more robust security plan."
"We've learned," McCool said. "This is our fifth NSSE this year in the Washington field office. We've done 83 NSSEs, each one we take a look at, and if there's areas where we need to improve, we do it. But what I can tell you is that we are 100% confident in the plan that we have put in place for this inauguration that the public and our protectees will be safe."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is meeting with Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Democrats on Monday evening to discuss the confirmation hearing for controversial Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth — just hours before its set to take place.
A Senate Democratic source confirmed the last-minute meeting to Fox News Digital.
Schumer and other Democrats have made their opposition to the former Fox News host clear in the days leading up to the hearing, which is the first to take place of all President-elect Donald Trump's nominees.
The meeting, first reported by Axios, comes after the New York Democrat urged his fellow caucus members to grill Trump's nominees in their upcoming hearings and force them to go on record about controversial Trump agenda items, per a Senate Democratic source.
The source added that Democrats are planning to lay the groundwork to say that they warned about Trump's Cabinet picks early on.
In floor remarks on Monday, Schumer said, "Unfortunately, Mr. Hegseth’s background is deeply troubling, to put it generously. We have all read the reports about his radical views, his alleged excessive drinking, the allegations about sexual assault, and his failures in the financial stewardship of multiple organizations."
Hegseth has denied all allegations, including those suggesting financial mismanagement, sexual assault and alcohol consumption.
The Secretary of Defense nominee's spokesperson did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
Democrats on SASC include Ranking Member Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Angus King, I-Maine, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
Reed and Hegseth met last week for a notably brief discussion. Afterward, the SASC ranking member said in a statement, "Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers."
"As with any nominee for this critical position, Mr. Hegseth must undergo the same high-level of scrutiny as prior Secretary of Defense nominees," he added.
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate are reviving a push to require that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) beds be filled before illegal immigrants are released from custody – a bill named after 12-year-old murder victim Jocelyn Nungaray.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, are re-introducing the "Justice for Jocelyn Act."
The bill would require that every ICE detention bed be filled before any releases of illegal immigrants into the interior. Even if they are filled, the bill would require DHS to exhaust all additional measures before releasing migrants into the interior, including enrolling them in continuous GPS monitoring via ankle bracelets or similar devices.
The bill is named for Nungaray, who was killed last year. Two illegal immigrants face capital murder charges and are accused of luring her under a bridge, tying her up and killing her before throwing her body into a river.
Officials confirmed they were in the country illegally. One arrived in March and the other in May. Both were released on an order of recognizance pending their immigration court hearings.
"Last year, I began the fight for justice for 12-year-old Jocelyn. The aliens responsible for her murder crossed the southern border illegally and should have been detained by ICE," Cruz told Fox News Digital.
"Democrats’ reckless open-border policies prevented ICE and Border Patrol agents from acting, left thousands of detention center beds empty, and allowed these criminals to go free. Congress should act with urgency to ensure no other American family ever has to endure what Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, has been forced to face," he said. "Standing alongside Alexis in this fight for justice has been an immense privilege, and I will not stop fighting until our communities are safe and justice is served."
"I am proud to join my Texas colleague in the Senate, Senator Ted Cruz, in reintroducing the Justice for Jocelyn Act," Nehls said in a statement. "Jocelyn Nungaray’s death was entirely preventable. The Justice for Jocelyn Act would improve the detention and tracking of illegal aliens released into the United States and would put the safety of the American people first."
"Congress, meaning the House and Senate, must immediately pass this legislation and get it to President Trump’s desk as soon as possible," he said.
The bill is one of a number of bills being introduced in Congress that focuses on cracking down on illegal immigration. Last week, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft-related crimes. It has also advanced in the Senate.
On Monday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, re-introduced "Sarah’s Law," which would require the detention by ICE of illegal immigrants charged with killing another person.
The incoming Trump administration is expected to launch a "historic" mass deportation operation when it enters office next week, and it will have the backing of Republicans in the House and Senate.
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
-Elon Musk, AI and tech titans, venture capitalists invited to pre-inauguration dinner at dawn of Trump era
-These are the 2025 elections to watch as Trump returns to White House
-Senate GOP tees up confirmation hearing blitz in effort to meet ambitious Trump targets
A federal judge cleared the way for the release of the special counsel report on President-elect Trump's election interference case on Monday.
Judge Aileen Cannon approved the release of the first of two volumes of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation in her Monday ruling. Cannon will consider releasing the second volume, which relates to Trump's handling of classified documents, on Friday.
Smith suspended his investigations into Trump after the president-elect secured his return to the White House in November…Read more
CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE: Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Israel's Netanyahu…Read more
'MORE PURPOSEFUL AND BIGGER': Sullivan claims Biden admin leaves Russia, China and Iran 'weaker,' America 'safer' before Trump hand-off…Read more
'DISTRACTING': Trudeau says 51st state is distraction from Trump tariff threat, acknowledges facing 'successful negotiator'…Read more
'MUTUAL IMPORTANCE': Canadian leader meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, discusses energy relationship…Read more
GRASS IS GREENER: Trump's House GOP allies unveil bill to authorize country's purchase…Read more
BANKING BREAKS WITH CLIMATE: Wall Street breaks from net zero climate alliance ahead of Trump term…Read more
TRUMP TAX CUTS: Major push to protect, renew Trump tax cuts launched by powerful conservative group…Read more
'HE IS TRULY EVIL': Trump ally Steve Bannon pledges to 'take... down' Elon Musk…Read more
GLIMMER OF HOPE: Wife of detained American in Afghanistan meets with Trump's national security adviser…Read more
'BATTLE-PROVEN': Hegseth was 'incredibly talented, battle-proven leader,' military evaluations show…Read more
ENDING 'LOOPING': Sen Ernst renews push for bill ending illegal immigration ‘loophole’ as Congress takes action…Read more
FIRESTORM: The political firestorm that's about to singe Capitol Hill…Read more
NOT GOING EASY: Schumer directs Dems to to put pressure on Trump nominees ahead of confirmation hearings…Read more
NEW DAY: Meet Leader John Thune's all-star cabinet as Republicans take over Senate majority…Read more
AN ENDURING DEPARTMENT: The Department of Education through the years: A look at long-term trends of pitiful student performance…Read more
SILENCE IS DEAFENING: Major blue city mayor silent after illegal immigrant uses shelter for criminal activity…Read more
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Trump tasks blue state Republicans with 'homework' as GOP plots massive conservative policy overhaul…Read more
JOB CHANGE: DNC hires former Harris staffers behind @KamalaHQ for social media response to Trump…Read more
ACTBLUE DONATIONS: Newsom defends fire response with fact-check site linking to Dem Party fundraising platform…Read more
GRANITE SPLIT: NH bill would divide presidential electors by district: 'We want voters to feel their vote counts'…Read more
'LOUD AND CLEAR': State conservatives demand action on noncitizen voting: ‘Time for Congress to listen’…Read more
'HARM AND DISTRESS': ACLU Colorado warns law enforcement to not cooperate with ICE…Read more
POLLUTION SOLUTION?: Cap-and-trade returns: NY plans to force big oil to ‘invest’ in ‘green’ by paying for emissions…Read more
'WITHOUT ROADBLOCKS': Newsom suspends CA environmental law to eliminate 'roadblocks' for wildfire victims rebuilding homes…Read more
BORDER TO BLAZE: Man arrested near LA fires with possible blowtorch is an illegal immigrant: ICE sources…Read more
ACTBLUE DONATIONS: Newsom defends fire response with fact-check site linking to Dem Party fundraising platform…Read more
HALF-BAKED IDEA: New NYC 'char broil' rule would force restaurants to cut emissions by 75%…Read more
APPEAL SHOT DOWN: Supreme Court makes decision on gun law challenges in Delaware, Maryland…Read more
Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com
Democratic lawmakers are claiming the severity of the Los Angeles wildfires was a result of climate change, despite reports that the city's fire hydrants ran out of water and the fire department's budget was slashed just weeks before the Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 15,000 acres.
Several fires broke out across the Southern California mountains in early January, quickly spreading to coastal residential areas and destroying more than 10,000 homes and structures.
As the fires gained national attention, Democratic lawmakers across the country began to claim it was climate change rather than state policies that caused the disastrous fire damage.
"And what has happened is that climate change has dried out our foliage, our flora. And coupled with these massive winds, these 50 to 100 miles an hour winds that happen every year around this time, a little ember can turn into a massive fire," Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., who represents a district not far from the raging fires, told NewsNation’s "The Hill Sunday."
"Climate change has wreaked havoc on us," Min said.
After the fires engulfed the Los Angeles mountains, it was reported that local fire hydrants were not producing water and that the firefighter funding had recently been cut by millions.
Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged these reports, and demanded an independent investigation be conducted into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) regarding the lack of water in the middle of the crisis, but Democratic lawmakers shifted the blame away from state leaders.
"The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not 'a hoax.' Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a social media post on Wednesday morning.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said that the state leaders who don't acknowledge climate change as a crisis, who are commonly Republican, are at fault.
"I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country & the world & elected ‘leaders’ are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing, which is to acknowledge that climate change is real & start to solve it," Crockett wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Jan. 8.
Another Democratic lawmaker, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, said in January that he was "glad to be working with Gov. Newsom and helping CA, ravaged repeatedly by the effects of climate change."
Months before the fires broke out, Los Angeles city officials cut the fire department budget by $17.6 million, while hundreds of thousands of dollars were being allocated to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the state.
Celebrities immediately began pointing fingers at city leadership for investing in programs such as a "syringe exchange" program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts, instead of more funding for fire prevention efforts.
"We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," actress Sara Foster wrote in a post on X.
On the same platform, Khloé Kardashian called out the city's Democratic mayor, writing, "Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!"
Rick Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, suggested that forest management could have mitigated the fires.
"We knew the winds were coming. We knew that there was brush that needed to be cleared 20 years ago," Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, told the LA Times. "This fire could have been mitigated — maybe not prevented."
FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss said his highly-anticipated report outlines his decisions to charge Hunter Biden, but stressed that due to President Biden's pardon of his son, it was "inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges are warranted," Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Weiss's final report after his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden.
The Justice Department transmitted the report to Congress on Monday evening.
Weiss, in his report, chided President Biden for his Dec. 1, 2024 decision to grant his son a "Full and Unconditional Pardon" covering nearly eleven years of conduct, including conduct related to both convictions the special counsel obtained.
Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea.
The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but his father, President Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December.
Weiss, in the report, blasted the president's decision to pardon but also the press release that was sent out to the public that "criticized the prosecution of his son as ‘selective,’ ‘unfair,’ ‘infected’ by ‘raw politics,’ and a ‘miscarriage of justice.'"
"This statement is gratuitous and wrong," Weiss wrote in his report. "Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations."
Weiss also pointed to a comment made by Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who said: "The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history."
"These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics," Weiss wrote in his report. "Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives."
Weiss added: "Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law."
In another section of the report, Weiss notes that, in light of the presidential pardon, he "cannot make any additional charging decisions" and said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss "whether additional charges are warranted."
"Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public's confidence in our criminal justice system," Weiss wrote. "The President's statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith."
Weiss added: "The President's characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong."
The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in November 2018.
But it wasn't until 2023 that whistleblowers from the IRS, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of politicization in the federal probe of Hunter Biden to Congress.
The two alleged that political influence had infected prosecutorial decisions in the federal probe, which was led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who they said had requested to become a special counsel.
After Shapley and Ziegler testified publicly, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to continue his investigation of the first son and, ultimately, bring federal charges against him in two separate jurisdictions — Delaware and California.
Justice Department regulations require Weiss to transmit any final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has pledged to release as much as possible to the public.
The Justice Department and Special Counsel Weiss’ office declined to comment.
Meanwhile, President Biden's pardon of his son came after months of vowing to the American people that he would not do so.
But last month, the president announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," Biden said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."
Biden added, "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision."
A Washington state Democrat is floating a policy to help protect unemployed illegal immigrants who are unable to receive unemployment benefits.
The news comes as President-elect Trump and his border czar-designate Thomas Homan signal a crackdown on illegal immigration and talk of "mass deportation" plans in a reversal of the Biden-era status quo.
State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is introducing a bill that would ensure Washington residents legally ineligible to work in the U.S. – a group for which illegal immigrants compose the vast majority – have access to assistance.
Saldaña, of Seattle, declined to comment further on her bill to Fox News Digital, but a representative for the lawmaker noted she had previously highlighted "undocumented workers' … substantial contributions to Washington’s economy."
That group collectively paid almost $400 million in unemployment taxes over the past 10 years, and the bill will aim to ensure those who pay into the system are able to rely on it when they need to, her office said.
The representative said Saldaña has reintroduced similar legislation during both Democrat and Republican administrations in the past because the "inequities in our immigration system" are systemic and longstanding.
Saldaña has previously argued that providing unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who qualify will help stabilize the workforce and prevent future cases of poverty and homelessness due to job loss.
It will therefore have lasting positive effects on the Evergreen State’s economy, her office said.
Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he had not seen the text of the bill as of Monday afternoon but was aware of the proposal itself.
"We have a lot of work to do on immigration, both on undocumented immigrants and on legal immigration in our state. That's largely a federal issue," Braun said.
"I look for the folks in D.C. to handle [the immigration issue] and for us [in state government] to stay clear."
Under federal law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation. Neither are individuals with expired work authorizations and dependents of people living in the U.S. under several visa classifications.
The excluded visa classes include O – "extraordinary ability"; R – Religious worker; and F – student visas.
According to a 1985 memo from the Department of Labor, "an alien must be legally authorized to work in the United States to be considered ‘available for work’ – Therefore, an alien without current, valid authorization to work from the INS is not legally ‘available for work’ and not eligible for benefits."
The memo referred to the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor entity to today’s Department of Homeland Security.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the Colorado Office of New Americans allows undocumented workers to access a "Benefit Recovery Fund" to help those who have been "separated from employment through no fault of their own" and meet several other specifications.
In California, however, Democrat lawmakers sought to offer assistance similar to that Saldaña is seeking but were blocked by fellow liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom vetoed that legislation in September and also blocked a proposal that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.
