President Biden is ending his tenure in the White House on a "sad" note after "lying to the nation" and taking credit for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas during his farewell address on Wednesday evening, a Trump transition official said.
"Joe Biden is going out sad. Lying to the nation trying to take credit for a deal that all parties credit President Trump for making happen. Biden has had well over a year to secure the release of these hostages and peace. He failed. Trump succeeded," a Trump transition official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.
War has raged in the Middle East since October of 2023, with Israel and Hamas coming to a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday that also ensured the release of hostages.
Biden delivered his final address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he took a victory lap for the cease fire in his opening remarks.
"My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year," Biden said.
"This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that's how it should be, working together as Americans," he continued.
Credit for reaching the agreement, however, was bolstered by the incoming Trump administration, according to sources who told Fox Digital that a recent meeting between Trump's incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly played a pivotal role in the deal.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump on Wednesday for "his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages."
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families," the official Prime Minister of Israel X account posted.
"The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism."
The X account added later: "Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal."
When asked who the history books would remember for championing the ceasefire deal earlier Wednesday, Biden balked at the suggestion Trump and his team spearheaded the effort.
"Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?" Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon's White House news conference.
"Is that a joke?" the president responded.
"Oh. Thank you," Biden responded when Heinrich said it was not a joke, and then walked away.
Reactions from social media came pouring in on Wednesday night as President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to the country ending his career in politics that spanned over half a century.
"Joe Biden discussing democracy, a free press, institutions and the abuse of power in his final farewell speech is rich," GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X.
"What an embarrassing and pathetic end to an embarrassing and pathetic term," Fox News host Greg Gutfeld posted on X.
"Joe Biden can’t even read. Every time he speaks it gets worse," conservative commentator and radio host Clay Travis posted on X. "Trying to run him in 2024 is the most reckless and indefensible presidential decision in any of our lives."
"My thoughts on President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address: It was underwhelming and divisive," Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, posted on X.
"I’m relieved his four-year term is coming to an end. Mr. Biden failed to bring Americans together and pushed terrible "whole of government" policies that weakened us on many fronts: energy, national security, economics/small business, foreign affairs, and general freedoms. History won’t look kindly on Biden’s tenure. He’s now the most unpopular U.S. President in history."
"Joe Biden mentions climate hysteria ahead of actual priorities, like border security, lowering costs, and peace through strength," GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X. "They never learn."
"I'm stunned," former Democrat adviser Dan Turrentine posted on X. "I'm no historian, but, I don't recall a more dark Presidential farewell address? It's more a cry to the DNC than accentuating the positive to the country. This is sad."
"Biden ends his presidency by using rhetoric that would be right at home in a third-world communist dictatorship," Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. "This may be the worst farewell speech in presidential history."
Democrats, however, generally had a decidedly different take.
"Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right," former President Barack Obama posted on X.
"That’s what Joe Biden did. At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new jobs, historic wage gains, and lower health care costs. He passed landmark legislation to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and address the threat of climate change. I’m grateful to Joe for his leadership, his friendship, and his lifetime of service to this country we love."
Liberal commentator Harry Sisson posted on X, "President Biden just gave the best speech of his presidency."
"His farewell address was incredibly moving. I will always be thankful for President Biden and his talented administration. Thank you to everyone who served and gave America an amazing four years."
Biden's speech comes as he has four days left in his presidency until Monday's inauguration when President-elect Trump will be sworn into office.
"My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration -- a cease fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year," Biden said in his opening remarks, taking credit for the recent announcement that a cease fire deal had been reached in Israel.
"This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that's how it should be, working together as Americans," he continued.
Biden's speech also focused on the American dream and the "most powerful idea" that "all of us are created equal."
"The very idea of America was so big we felt the entire world needed to see. The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our civil war. Like the very idea of America. It was built not by one person, but by many people, from every background and from around the world. Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She's on the march and she literally moves," he said.
"A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force. A nation of immigrants came to build a better life, a nation holding a torch. The most powerful idea ever in the history of the world that all of us, all of us are created equal. All of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice and fairness. That democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible. Our rights, our freedoms, our dreams," he said.
A Native American tribe in South Dakota lifted its banishment on Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in a letter Wednesday, offering its endorsement of her nomination to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, Fox News Digital has learned.
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider wrote a letter to Noem Wednesday informing her the tribe's executive committee voted to "remove the banishment" it placed on Noem in May and congratulated her for her nomination to serve in President-elect Trump's cabinet.
The letter comes just days before Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing.
"I commend you on your nomination by President Elect Donald Trump to the position of Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and hereby support your nomination. I wish you the best of luck during the Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2025, and believe that your dedication to the safety and security of the United States will benefit us all," Reider's letter states, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.
All nine native tribes in South Dakota banned Noem from their reservations last year after outrage over her suggestion that tribal leaders benefit from cartels and the immigration crisis and comments regarding native children's futures. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe was the last tribe to ban her.
"Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better," Noem said last year in a comment that drew criticism from tribes.
Reider addressed the issue in his letter to Noem Wednesday, explaining that the governor has apologized for her previous remarks and explained her commentary.
"One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some. In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated," Reider wrote.
Trump announced Noem as his pick to lead DHS shortly after his decisive win over Kamala Harris, citing the Republican governor's efforts to secure the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by illegal crossings under the Biden administration.
In the months since her nomination, Noem has picked up endorsements from at least eight police groups or unions, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents.
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also called on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to swiftly confirm Noem after a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans on New Year's Day.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, a large, historically Democratic firefighter union, also recently endorsed Noem, arguing during the raging wildfires in Los Angeles she "understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made."
The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.
Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress.
Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
"We’regoing to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people," Sessions told Fox News Digital.
Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it "DOGE Days."
"We're going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we're on them," Bean said. "We're going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum."
They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of.
During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.
And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants.
"Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That's ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit," Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills.
Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste.
The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation.
The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails.
Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm.
Sessions added, "I've gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I'd like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also."
Florida's Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, all but assuring he will assume the role of top diplomat under the new Trump administration later this month.
Rubio’s confirmation hearing — a process usually full of verbal diatribes, strong political agendas and illusive answers — was full of pleasantries, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers applauding his work in the Senate and his in-depth knowledge of complex issues across the globe.
While Rubio may have been welcomed by his Senate colleagues, his hearing wasn’t entirely contention-free.
The secretary of state-hopeful’s opening remarks were interrupted by several protesters affiliated with a group known as Code Pink, who were protesting the Israel-Hamas war and wore pink shirts that read "stop killing the children of Gaza."
Two of the demonstrators forced to leave the chamber were male, before a female protester also stood up and yelled out in Spanish.
She was quickly escorted from the room and the hearing promptly restarted.
"I get bilingual protesters," Rubio said to the panel of senators with a grin before resuming his remarks.
Rubio’s quip about the protesters appeared to set the tone for his hearing.
Though Rubio faced tough questions about detailed geopolitical issues on nearly every continent, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also joked around with their Senate colleague.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced Rubio at the top of the hearing and quipped that "finally" he will get to be the senior senator of Florida after the duo have served together in the upper chamber since 2019.
Sen. Cory Booker , D-N.J., drew chuckles when he said, "Sen. Rubio, the President [elect] made a great decision in choosing you. You’re a thought leader in foreign policy. I, however, don’t think most Americans know how great of a thought leader you are in NCAA, NFL and high school football, and I’m a little disappointed that you’re not going to the head of the NCAA right now."
To which Rubio replied, "Not yet," garnering laughs from the room.
In another bipartisan moment rarely seen during Cabinet nomination hearings, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told a touching story from one of her first encounters with Rubio — a stark contrast to her questioning of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth the day prior.
In 2018, not only was Duckworth relatively new to the upper chamber, but the soon-to-be new mom was also pushing the congressional body to change its rules and allow new parents to bring their infant onto the Senate floor during a vote.
Duckworth, who is physically disabled after surviving a 2004 RPG attack on her helicopter in Iraq, described rolling across the Senate floor in her wheelchair when she heard someone call out her name.
"And you came running down from the top back of the Senate chambers to tell me, ‘I’m with you. I will support you’," she said. "And I just want to thank you for that kindness… It was a moment of true bipartisanship."
Rubio responded and said, "I think what I exactly said is, ‘What’s the big deal? This place is already full of babies,'" once again drawing laughs.
The five-hour hearing wasn’t all fun and levity, as Rubio was pressed on issues with major security implications like the war in Ukraine, China, NATO and Artic security.
Rubio surprised no one with his tough-on-China approach and his commitment to remaining a strong ally of NATO’s.
However, one area senators may have hoped Rubio would have come out more definitively was over what continued support for Ukraine may look like and how the incoming Trump administration will handle the question of Ukraine becoming a NATO member.
Both Ukraine and Russia have signaled they are open to negotiating a cease-fire. But securing a lasting peace deal could be difficult as Ukraine entering the NATO alliance has been deemed a non-negotiable by both Kyiv — who wants the alliance’s security — and Moscow — which has fervently opposed Ukrainian NATO membership.
"The truth of the matter is that in this conflict there is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are too brave, and fight too hard, and the country is too big," Rubio said.
But he added that "there’s no way Ukraine is also pushing these people [Russians] all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion."
Rubio pointed out that Ukraine will not be able to keep up with the sheer number of bodies that Russia can throw in to the war.
"It's important for everyone to be realistic. There will have to be concessions," he said. "This is not going to be easy. "[It's] going to require a lot of hard diplomacy."
The security threats surrounding China came up in nearly every issue Rubio was asked to address, including its growing presence in Africa and Latin America, its oppressive practices in the South China Sea, concerns over trade, human rights abuses, tech and its growing relationships with other adversarial nations.
"This is something that's existed now for at least a decade in my service," he said, referring to a 2017 trip he took to Panama. "Chinese companies control port facilities at both ends of the canal — the east and the west. And the concerns among military officials and security officials, including in Panama, at that point, [was] that could one day be used as a choke point to impede commerce in a moment of conflict."
"This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted," Rubio added.
The issue of Chinese control over the major waterway resurfaced earlier this month when Trump refused to say whether he would rule out military intervention in the Panama Canal.
Rubio was pressed on the subject multiple times, though he was clear that he was not yet at a point where he knew enough about the legal parameters of U.S. intervention in Panama to give a thorough response.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., applauded Rubio for being "extremely well-prepared" for his confirmation hearing as the next secretary of state — a stark contrast to his tense engagement with Hegseth during the hearing a day prior.
"We're used to seeing nominees who know a lot about a couple of things, and sometimes, who know very little about virtually everything," he said. "But I think you've seen a hearing with a nominee who — agree or disagree with the points he's made — he's not talking out of a briefing book.
"He's not having a thumb through a binder to decide how to answer a particular question," Kaine continued. "I've always been struck by working with Sen. Rubio on this committee, since I came to the Senate in January 2013, that he has a very well-developed sense of the world and a passion in all corners of it."
Kaine's sentiment appeared to be shared by the entirety of the committee, and many of the senators expressed confidence that Rubio will be unanimously confirmed for the top job.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalizations "unnecessarily" increased America’s national security risk, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The Pentagon watchdog’s scathing 188-page review scrutinizes the secretary’s hospitalizations in December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024 and puts the blame on Austin’s team for communication lapses and failures to transfer authority.
OIG noted the main role Austin’s "strong desire for privacy about his medical condition" played in the breakdown of communications within the Pentagon, as well as between Defense Department and the White House and Congress.
Neither Austin’s chief of staff nor Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks knew of his cancer diagnosis or the procedure he underwent in December 2023. In fact, OIG notes that "nearly all of his staff" were unaware of Austin’s medical condition and treatments.
Evidence also allegedly indicates that, on Jan. 1, 2024, when he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "severe" pain, Austin requested the ambulance not use lights or sirens. Additionally, according to the report, Austin told his personal security officer not to notify anyone about the incident.
"No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the seriousness of his condition, including when his condition became worse and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit on January 2," OIG noted in its report.
On Jan. 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, texted the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In her message, Magsamen urged the secretary to be more forthcoming about his condition.
"I wish [Secretary Austin] were a normal person but he’s the [Secretary of Defense]. We have a big institutional responsibility. He can’t just go totally dark on his staff. … Please pass to him that we can’t keep his hospitalization a secret forever. It’s kind of big deal for him to be in the [SICU]. And I’m worried sick," Magsamen wrote, according to the OIG report.
The OIG also found that on Feb. 11, 2024, when Austin was once again unexpectedly hospitalized, his authorities were not transferred "until several hours later." In reference to this incident, the OIG noted that "given the seriousness of his condition," Austin’s authorities should have been transferred "hours earlier than ultimately occurred."
After its review, the OIG gave the DOD 20 recommendations to "improve processes" and advised the department to act on them promptly.
Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement that "while the DoD has taken some important steps to address these concerns, additional improvements are required to ensure the DoD’s readiness, transparency, and the fulfillment of its mission. These improvements are not just an administrative necessity; they are an operational and national security imperative."
Ultimately, the report found that the Department of Defense lacked a "comprehensive" plan for handing off duties in the event of the secretary’s absence.
After the report’s release, a senior defense official admitted to reporters that Austin "made a mistake," insisting "there was no scandal" and "there was no cover up." The official also noted that "at every moment, either the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense was fully prepared to support the president."
Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings in a February 2024 press conference shortly after the hospitalizations became public.
"I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right," Austin said at the time regarding his previous hospitalization. "I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people."
Speaker Mike Johnson is replacing Rep. Mike Turner as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after a debacle that started with a warning about Russian space nuclear technology last year, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Johnson, R-La., was unhappy with Turner, R-Ohio, after a seemingly unexpected warning he issued about the need to declassify information about Russian anti-satellite technology.
A hawk by nature, Turner sometimes went up against the Trumpist wing of his Republican Party on matters like support for Ukraine aid and Section 702 of FISA.
The decision to replace Turner took many by surprise. Though Johnson had not officially named him as chairman, Turner attended a dinner of House GOP committee chairs with President-elect Trump over the weekend.
Rep. Jim Himes, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters the removal of Turner as chairman "sends a shiver down my spine," adding that Turner was not the kind to "bend the knee" to Trump.
Last February, Turner warned of a "serious national security threat" that he was urging President Biden to declassify information on.
"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat," he added.
Johnson was then left to quell the public alarm.
Johnson said he "saw Chairman Turner's statement on the issue, and I want to assure the American people there's no need for public alarm."
"I'm not at liberty to disclose classified information and really can't say much of that, but we just want to assure everyone, steady hands are at the wheel, we're working on it. There's no need for alarm."
In the days that followed, details of the Russian threat soon began to filter through to the press, painting a picture of an adversary capable of disabling U.S. military satellites and other critical space-based infrastructure.
Turner has at times throughout the years been unafraid to stand up to Trump - in September, he criticized the rumors about Haitian migrants eating pets that were amplified by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
"This is incredibly tragic and completely untrue. This should not have happened, it’s been tearing the community apart," Turner told Jake Tapper at the time.
A pair of voting advocacy groups founded by failed Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams were hit with a historic fine by the Georgia Ethics Commission for violating campaign finance laws to bolster Abram's 2018 election.
"Today the State Ethics Commission entered into a consent agreement with the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund for a total of $300,000," the Georgia State Ethics Commission posted in a statement on Wednesday. "This certainly represents the largest fine imposed in the history of Georgia's Ethics Commission, but it also appears to be the largest ethics fine ever imposed by any state ethics commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case."
Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 as part of an effort to register more minority voters and young voters. The organization was founded as a charity that can accept tax-deductible donations, while the New Georgia Project Action Fund worked as the organization's fundraising arm.
The groups admitted to failing to disclose about $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures that were used during Abram's election efforts in 2018, according to the commission's consent order. The groups were hit with a total of 16 violations, including failing to register as a political committee and failure to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions.
The groups were accused of carrying out similar activity in 2019, when they reportedly failed to disclose $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 while advocating for a ballot initiative.
"This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered, and I believe this sends a clear message to both the public and potential bad actors moving forward that we will hold you accountable," the ethics commission continued in its statement Wednesday.
Abrams stepped down from the group in 2017, with Sen. Raphael Warnock taking the reins as the New Georgia Project’s CEO from 2017 to 2019, the Associated Press reported. Warnock was elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia in 2020.
A spokesperson for Warnock's Senate office told the AP that he was working "as a longtime champion for voting rights" and that he was not aware of campaign violations. The spokesperson added that "compliance decisions were not a part of that work." Fox Digital also reached out to Warnock's office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
Abrams ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022, but lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in both races. Abrams drew national attention after the 2018 race when she refused to concede to the Republican despite losing by 60,000 votes.
Amid the 2018 race, she touted the New Georgia Project on her X account, which was called Twitter at the time.
"When Abrams sees a problem, she doesn’t wait for someone else to step up – she does it herself. So when she saw that 800,000 people of color in Georgia weren't registered to vote, Abrams immediately set out to fix the problem & founded The New GA Project," she tweeted.
The New Georgia Project said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital that they are "glad to finally put this matter behind us" so the group can "fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia."
"While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago," the group continued.
The rare political unity in the Sunshine State was pronounced after Biden certified on Tuesday that Havana's Miguel Diaz-Canel regime has "not provided any support for international terrorism" during the preceding six-month period.
Biden’s declaration also claimed Havana provided Washington with assurances it will not support terrorism in the future, and that the U.S. maintains its "core objective" of "more freedom and democracy" for the Cuban people.
However, Democratic Floridians were up in arms at the development.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, in heavily-blue Broward County, told Axios on Tuesday that the outgoing president is doing lasting political damage.
"This is Joe Biden literally sinking the Democratic Party in the state of Florida," he said. "Big time."
Once the most notable "swing state" — rife with ballot "hanging chads" and the "Brooks Brothers Riot" of the 2000 election — Florida has seen a major rightward lurch in recent years.
State Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated an electoral blowout of Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist in 2022, and President-elect Trump shocked the state by flipping Miami-Dade County red in 2024.
Trump lost Miami-Dade by 30 points in 2020, but won by 11 points in November. The county has a sizable Latino and specifically Cuban-American population — highlighted by its famed "Little Havana" neighborhood along U.S. Highway 41.
"Just as we try to patch the hole in the boat, Biden punches another hole in it," Moskowitz told the outlet.
"Florida is a red state, and Biden just waved the white flag of surrender."
Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said she is "disappointed" at the decision.
"We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba's removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately."
Fried said in a statement that generations of Floridian Cuban-Americans have shared stories of the Castro regime’s oppression, and that Diaz-Canel is Raul Castro’s "hand-picked successor" as the first non-Castro to lead Cuba since Fulgencio Batista was overthrownby the Castro brothers in 1959.
Following the terror-sponsored designation change, Havana officials reportedly pledged to release more than 500 political prisoners — for which the Catholic Church had been negotiating for some time.
As the news fell just ahead of Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing to be Trump’s secretary of state, a spokesperson for Biden told Axios the timing is strictly coincidental.
Rubio is one of several lawmakers — and residents — of South Florida whose parents or grandparents fled the Communist nation.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. — the only Cuban-born member of Congress — called Biden a "pathetic coward" for his decision to drop Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation.
Gimenez added that Rubio will "pulverize the [Castro/Diaz-Canel] regime once and for all."
He told Fox News Digital that Biden’s decision is "morally bankrupt" and geopolitically "treacherous," for a malign regime that sits less than 90 miles from the edge of his own congressional district’s Monroe County boundary.
Gimenez went on to warn that the decision ignores Cuba’s coziness with the Chinese Communist Party, and intelligence sharing with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega.
"The [Cuban] dictatorship must be confronted and isolated — never appeased."
He praised Florida leaders from Biden’s side of the aisle for being willing to speak out at such an important time.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican whose Miami-Dade district abuts Gimenez', said he is "disgusted but not surprised" by what he called Biden's "final acts of betrayal to the security interests of the United States."
As Moskowitz and other Democrats warn of the damage being done to the Democratic Party by moves such as the removal of Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation, several Florida Democrats have fled the party and praised Trump in recent weeks.
Maureen Porras, the vice-mayor of Doral, Florida — the tony Miami suburb where Trump owns a golf club and resort — told The Floridian her now-former party "prioritized minority opinions" and "neglected to… address the real issues affecting our community."
Meanwhile, State Reps. Susan Valdes of Tampa and Hillary Cassel of Hallandale Beach, Florida, recently changed their affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
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Conservatives on social media celebrated President-elect Trump's attorney general nominee Pam Bondi's response to a question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
"It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime?" Whitehouse said during his line of questioning. "It's a prosecutor's job to start with a crime and look for a name. Correct?"
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DOUBLING DOWN: Dem senator who bashed Hegseth's qualifications stands by DOD sec who oversaw botched Afghan withdrawal…Read more
'BILINGUAL PROTESTERS': Rubio brushes off demonstrators who erupted in Senate hearing: 'I get bilingual protesters'…Read more
NEW HIRE: Former Trump HHS official tapped to be RFK Jr's chief of staff…Read more
SMOOTH SAILING: Duffy confirmation hearing marked by bipartisanship, pledge to visit Helene-devastated states…Read more
'POTENTIAL TARGET': Government agencies concerned Trump inauguration 'potential target' for extremists…Read more
'THIS WAS SPECTACULAR': Bondi claps back at Hirono amid questions about political prosecutions: 'Refused to meet with me'…Read more
'EXCUSE ME': Bondi shuts down Dem senator’s questioning attacking another Trump nominee…Read more
RETURN TO WORK: House Oversight report says telework is 'wasting billions' in taxpayer cash ahead of 1st hearing…Read more
'RIGHT ON': Freshman GOP senator sets social media ablaze with 'best' response to Hegseth’s answer on gender question…Read more
'GREEN ENERGY SCAM': House GOP resolution would overturn Biden's gas water heater ban…Read more
'VIBE SHIFT': Tennessee AG optimistic about SCOTUS case after 'radical gender ideology' reversal in lower court…Read more
COLLEGE NIGHTMARE: Family attorney of fraternity pledge left debilitated from hazing cheers new law as good start but not enough…Read more
'UNACCEPTABLE': New GOP bill seeks to hold private elite universities to same tax standard as corporations…Read more
'IS IT FAIR'?: Florida proposal would bar illegal migrants in the US from attending some colleges…Read more
WILL SHE RUN?: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn eyes gubernatorial bid…Read more
FREE TUITION: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveils plan to offer free tuition at city, state colleges…Read more
STOCKPILE: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says state will stockpile abortion pills ahead of Trump's return to White House…Read more
SPECIAL SESSION: Tennessee to call special session fast-tracking Trump agenda on immigration, school choice and disaster relief…Read more
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President-elect Trump's top aide on immigration and the border spoke with House Republicans during a roughly hour-long meeting Wednesday.
Lawmakers who left the room hailed Stephen Miller, who was tapped to be U.S. Homeland Security adviser in the new Trump administration, as a brilliant policy mind.
Two sources present for the discussions told Fox News Digital Miller talked about the need to scale up the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workforce, which is noteworthy given Trump's promise to execute mass deportations when he returns to office.
Miller also discussed ways to cut federal funds going toward sanctuary cities and states, a cash flow that Republicans had previously promised to target if they were to control the levers of power in Washington.
The strategy meeting comes as congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.
The sources told Fox News Digital Miller's portion of the meeting partly focused on what border and immigration policies could go into a reconciliation package and what kind of funding Congress would need to appropriate.
The sources said Miller told Republicans the incoming Trump administration understood the president-elect's border and immigration goals were "probably not going to get a lot" of Democratic votes and that "those more controversial things would need to be in reconciliation." More bipartisan initiatives could be passed during the regular process, the sources added.
A House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital of an understanding that Congress would follow Trump's lead.
"I think we're going to see a slew of executive orders early, and that is going to be helpful to separate from what we have to do legislatively," the lawmaker said.
One source in the room said Miller emphasized the importance of messaging, adding that "nothing matters if we don't get our message out to the American people."
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital Miller discussed "low-hanging fruit" that Trump could tackle by executive order, mentioning "deportation" as a possibility.
"Tax stuff, that's going to take some time," Norman said.
Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., declined to go into specifics about the meeting but told Fox News Digital the discussion focused on "illegal immigration and how that's going to be curbed … to bring commonsense solutions to the program."
"I had a couple of questions about the cost to American taxpayers if we don't repatriate some 12 million illegal aliens who the Biden administration has let into our country," Alford said.
Miller declined to answer reporters' questions when he left the room.
He was invited to address the Republican Study Committee led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the House GOP's largest caucus, which acts as a conservative think tank of sorts for the rest of the House Republican Conference.
House GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were not in attendance, nor were they expected.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the group's previous chairman, said there was "nothing new" said during the meeting, adding it was an opportunity for Trump's aides to address the House GOP.
Trump and his aides have already paid heavy attention to congressional Republicans.
Several of his incoming White House aides are in regular contact with top GOP lawmakers. Trump personally invited several groups of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago last weekend.
After New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the planned opening of a massive, 2,000-bed migrant shelter in the South Bronx, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres slammed the decision, accusing Adams of treating the borough as an immigrant "dumping ground."
The mayor's office announced the new shelter last week while simultaneously claiming that the ongoing migrant crisis in New York City is waning.
This comes as New York is set to close its sprawling tent shelter on Randalls Island and dozens of other shelters in the next few months. New York is a migrant sanctuary city and has a "right to shelter" law that requires the city to accommodate anyone seeking shelter who has no other option. However, in recent months, Adams has taken a different tone toward immigrants in the city and announced the closure of a string of migrant shelters. In last week's statement, Adams said the closures are part of the city’s efforts to find "more opportunities to save taxpayer money and turn the page on this unprecedented humanitarian crisis."
"Thanks to the administration’s successful asylum seeker management strategies and federal border policy changes the city advocated for that have continued to drive down the number of people in the city’s care for 27 straight weeks and reduce costs by nearly $2.8 billion over three fiscal years," the mayor's office said.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that it will cost the city between $250,000 and $340,000 to retrofit and prepare a 275,000-square-foot former office building in the Bronx to accommodate the expected thousands of men who will live in the new migrant shelter.
The shelter’s location – 825 E. 141st St. – was renovated in 2017 and is near an infamous section of the Bronx called "the Hub," which is known for having a high volume of open drug use and activity, including the use of heroin and fentanyl. The building is owned by SoBro Local Development Corp., a nonprofit that’s stated mission is to "enhance the quality of life in the South Bronx by strengthening businesses and creating and implementing innovative economic, housing, educational, and career development programs for youth and adults."
Adams’ announcement was not taken well by many Bronx residents. Many of the migrant shelters in the city have earned reputations as centers for violence, crime and gang activity from the likes of the international criminal group Tren de Aragua. The New York Post reported one 21-year-old Bronx resident named Serene Bilal saying: "Wrong move!… You need to work with the people already here. We have issues going on. Why the Bronx? Why pick on the Bronx?
"It’s going to be dangerous," Bilal told the outlet. "We don’t know who these people are. We are not talking about 10 people. We’re talking about thousands. That’s a lot."
"Instead of decisively dismantling open-air drug markets in the Hub, the City is treating the South Bronx as a dumping ground for an endless stream of shelters," Torres told Fox News Digital.
"The Bronx is treated differently from the rest of the city," he went on. "We are treated as the second-class borough of New York City."
Fox News Digital reached out to Adams’ office for comment but did not receive a response.
A Muslim cleric who has praised Iran and refused to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization was reportedly tapped to deliver a benediction at President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
Husham Al-Husainy is a well-known Iraqi-American imam in Michigan, overseeing the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn. Al-Husainy was among a swath of Muslim voters in Michigan who indicated ahead of Election Day that they would support Trump instead of the Democratic Party's ticket in November.
"I lean towards Mr. Trump because I found him closer to the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. Because I support peace, no war," he said back in October, Fox News Digital reported at the time. He added that the country "deserves to have a strong leader where he can bring peace in this world."
Before he indicated support for the former and upcoming president, Al-Husainy reportedly made a series of questionable comments. A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Middle East Media and Research Institute, for example, reported this week that the Muslim cleric praised Iran in a 2022 interview.
"Thank God We Have the Islamic Republic of Iran; Its Light Goes to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and All Over," he said in the interview, the nonprofit posted on X.
The conservative nonprofit The Middle East Forum described the cleric as a "radical antisemitic, pro-Hezbollah Shia imam," who reportedly hosted a 2015 rally in Dearborn where he "wished death upon Saudi Arabia" amid the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.
In 2007, Al-Husainy joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity on the "Hannity & Colmes" program, where he was pressed on whether he considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The cleric joined the program following his invitation to the DNC’s winter meeting that year to deliver the invocation.
"I'll ask you again. Is Hezbollah – this is a yes or no question. Is Hezbollah a terrorist organization? Yes or no?" Hannity asked the imam.
"Now if – I give you a time to ask me a question. Now give me time to answer it, please," Al-Husainy said.
"Yes or no?" Hannity continued.
"First of all – first of all, Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization. And I've got nothing to do with that. But there is a biblical meaning of Hezbollah. It is in Judaism and Christianity and Islam meaning people of God and that means yes," the imam responded.
Later in the segment, Hannity again asked if Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.
"This is – your idea of a political or… you know what Hezbollah means? I support the people of God," Al-Husainy said.
The State Department has recognized Hezbollah as a terrorist organization since 1997.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team regarding the invitation and Al-Husainy’s previous comments, but did not receive a reply.
Matt Foldi, the former congressional candidate and current editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter, shared a photo on X this week reportedly showing the official program of Inauguration Day, including that Al-Husainy, a Catholic priest, the Rev. Frank Mann, Rabbi Ari Berman and a Detroit pastor, Lorenzo Sewell, are slated to deliver benedictions.
Fox News Digital also attempted to reach Al-Husainy via the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Dearborn, Michigan, is home to the proportionally largest Muslim population in the U.S. and became the birthplace of the "Abandon Biden" movement last year as Arab voters spoke out about the administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. The movement morphed into "abandoning" Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race in July, and ultimately endorsed Trump on Election Day.
Muslim voters overall favored Harris by 32 percentage points in the 2024 election. Trump won 32% of their vote, while Harris won 63%. In 2020, Biden had won 64% of the Muslim vote, and Trump had won 35%. Trump faced mixed support from Muslim and Arab American voters, but in swing states like Michigan, their support became especially crucial.
Arab American voters in Dearborn said following the election that they voted for Trump over Harris in protest of her stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
"They didn’t vote for Trump because they believe Trump is the best candidate," Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani told Politico in November. "No, they voted for Trump because they want to punish the Democrats and Harris."
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s nominee for attorney general, engaged in a tense exchange with Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday that resulted in praise from conservatives on social media.
"You have an incoming president who said, ‘I have the absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,’ and in fact, President-elect Trump considers the DOJ to be his law firm," the Hawaii senator said to Bondi on Wednesday. "I ask you this: If President-elect Trump asks, suggests or hints that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?"
"Sen. Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to –" Bondi began to respond.
Hirono then interrupted by saying, "I am listening to you now, could you please respond to the question?"
"You were the only one who refused to meet with me but what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the attorney general," Bondie said before being interrupted by Hirono again.
"I'm very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Miss Bondi," Hirono said.
"So I think it's really important to us that the attorney general be independent of the White House, and you have a president-elect who considers the AG’s office his law firm. I would like to know whether if the president suggests, hints, asks, that you, as attorney general, should investigate one of his perceived enemies."
Bondi responded, "I certainly have not heard the president say that. But what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and its statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith."
Conservatives on social media praised Bondi for her handling of Hirono’s questions.
"Pam Bondi CLAPS BACK," Abigail Jackson, communications director for GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X.
"Pam Bondi isn't playing with these far-left Senators," the Media Research Center posted on X.
"Pam Bondi obliterates Sen. Mazie Hirono for refusing to meet with her," conservative commentator Paul Szypula posted on X. "This was spectacular."
"Common @PamBondi W," the Trump War Room posted on X.
"Imagine thinking Maxie Hirono is qualified to be a U.S. Senator but Pam Bondi isn't qualified to be U.S. Attorney General lol," conservative commentator and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted on X.
Bondi is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, and some have speculated that she will earn some votes from Democrats.
President Biden balked at a question posed by Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Wednesday, about whether President-elect Trump deserves credit for the recent Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal.
The deal comes during Biden's final days in office, less than a week before Trump's second term starts on Jan. 20. A recent meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was reportedly an integral part of the deal, sources told Fox News Digital.
"Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?" Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon's White House news conference.
When Heinrich denied that her question was in jest, Biden responded, "Oh. Thank you," and walked away.
Minutes earlier, Biden explained that the cease-fire would consist of two phases. The first phase, which will last around six weeks, "includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded."
"And I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release and phase one as well," Biden said. "And the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home."
Israel has also released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Biden said, and Palestinians "can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin." The second phase of the cease-fire will begin after Israel negotiates "the necessary arrangements," which Biden said would mark "a permanent end of the war."
"There are a number of details to negotiate the move from phase one to phase two," the president continued. "But the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the cease-fire will continue as long as the negotiations continue."
Weeks ago, Trump warned that there would be "hell to pay" if there were no significant developments with a hostage deal by the time he took office.
"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump added.
Shortly after Biden announced the deal, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller acknowledged the role that Trump's team played in the negotiations and thanked them.
"I don't know if it's unprecedented to have envoys from an outgoing and an incoming administration sitting at the same table negotiating a cease-fire agreement of this kind," Miller said on Wednesday. "But if it's not unprecedented, it's certainly unusual."
"And, we of course, thank the Trump team for working with this on this cease-fire agreement. We think it's important that they were at the table."
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace, Greg Norman, Trey Yingst, Brooke Curto, Efrat Lachter and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
Lawmakers questioned President-elect Trump's energy secretary on climate change, the Los Angeles wildfires, and the Biden administration's green energy agenda during his nomination hearing, which saw disruptions from several climate protesters.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing for Chris Wright, Liberty Energy Inc. CEO and Trump's pick to head the Energy Department, on Wednesday, which was also his birthday.
The Trump nominee was introduced by a Democratic senator, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who described him as having "an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels." Wright focused his responses on energy dominance, saying that climate change is a "real issue," global energy demand, and his focus on growing energy resources.
"America has an historic opportunity to secure our energy systems, deliver leadership in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles and meet Cold War legacy waste commitments," Wright said in his opening statement.
Wright said that he has identified three "immediate tasks" where he will focus his attention, if nominated: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs and increasing production in America.
"President Trump shares my passion for energy, and if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy," Wright told the committee.
Republicans, such as Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, positioned their questioning on Biden administration policies, such as a ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, regulations on household appliances, and most recently blocking drilling along the coast.
Multiple Democratic senators claimed committee chairman Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, scheduled the confirmation hearing before all required paperwork on Wright was provided to the members of the committee. Other Democrats used their time at the mic to claim the Los Angeles fires were caused by "climate change."
"Despite the misinformation that's circulating here in the Capitol, into California, and everywhere in between, it's clear that these fires only reach the size and the scale that they have because of unseasonably dry vegetation and extremely high winds, both of which are a direct result of climate change," Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said during the hearing.
Asked about the issue of climate change, Wright said he believes it's a "real issue"
"I've studied and followed the data and the evolution of climate change for at least 20 years now. It is a global issue. It is a real issue. It's a challenging issue," Wright said, adding that he believes the solution to climate change "is to evolve our energy system."
Fox News Digital captured footage of several climate change protesters who disrupted Wright's hearing on Wednesday.
One protester stood up while Wright was being questioned and asked if his policies would "put out the fires in LA."
"Are you gonna ask any questions or just softball on the climate this entire time," said another protester who was removed from the hearing room.
Several other climate protesters were also stationed outside the hearing room, with shirts that read, "I won't let my future burn."
A new national poll indicates that President Biden's approval ratings remain well underwater as the nation's 46th president is only days from leaving office.
Just 36% of Americans approve of the job Biden's doing in the White House, according to the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with 64% saying they disapprove. The approval rating matches the president's previous low mark in the cable news network's polling during Biden's single term in office.
The poll was released on Wednesday, just hours before the president delivers his prime-time farewell address to the nation, with just days left before Biden's term ends and he is succeeded by President-elect Trump in the White House.
Biden's approval rating stands at 43% – slightly higher but still in negative territory – in national polls by USA Today/Suffolk University and Marist College which, along with the CNN survey, were conducted earlier this month.
The trio of polls also indicates that many Americans view Biden's presidency as a failure.
Sixty-one percent of those questioned in the CNN survey said they see Biden’s presidency overall as a failure, with 38% viewing it as a success.
According to the USA Today/Suffolk University survey, which was released on Tuesday, 44% of registered voters said history will assess Biden as a failed president, with 27% saying he will be judged as a fair president. Twenty-one percent of those questioned said history will view Biden as a good president, with only 5% saying he will be seen as a great president.
Just over a third of adults nationwide questioned in the Marist poll, which was released on Wednesday, said Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, with 19% saying he will be considered a below-average president.
Twenty-eight percent of participants offered that Biden's legacy will be considered average, with 19% saying he would be regarded as above average or one of the best presidents in the nation's history.
In his Oval Office speech, Biden will likely aim to cement his legacy as a president who pushed to stabilize politics at home while bolstering America's leadership abroad, and as a leader who steered the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic and made historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy while lowering prescription drug prices.
Biden, in a letter to Americans released early Wednesday morning, emphasized that when he took office four years ago "we were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War."
And he touted that "today, we have the strongest economy in the world and have created a record 16.6 million new jobs. Wages are up. Inflation continues to come down. The racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years."
Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden's much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer that was mainly among unvaccinated people.
The plunge in the president’s approval rating was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border.
Biden's approval ratings slipped underwater in the autumn of 2021 and never reemerged into positive territory.
The president's single term in the White House ends Monday, Jan. 20, as Trump is inaugurated as Biden's successor.
However, according to the USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 44% also said that Trump will be seen by history as a failed president.
One in five said Trump would be viewed as a great president, with 19% saying good and 27% saying he would be judged a fair president.
Trump ended his first term in office with approval ratings in negative territory, including 47% approval in Fox News polling from four years ago.
In Marist polling four years ago, as Trump finished his first term, 47% thought he would be remembered as one of the nation's worst presidents.
As Trump gets ready to once again assume the presidency, the Marist poll indicates opinions of him remain low, with 44% of Americans viewing him favorably and 49% holding an unfavorable opinion of the incoming president.
However, opinions about Trump's first term have risen in numerous polls conducted since his convincing victory in November's presidential election over Vice President Kamala Harris. The vice president succeeded Biden in July as the Democrats' 2024 standard-bearer after the president dropped out of the race following a disastrous debate performance against Trump.
The poll also indicates that Americans have high expectations for Trump when it comes to the economy.
"While many Americans feel the current economy is not working well for them, residents nationally have grown more optimistic about the future of their own finances," the poll's release highlighted.
The survey also indicated Americans are divided about Trump’s proposed mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
According to the poll, more than six in 10 disapprove of Trump's pledge to pardon his supporters who were convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The Marist poll was conducted Jan. 7-9, with 1,387 adults nationwide questioned. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
The CNN poll was conducted Jan. 9-12, with 1,205 adults nationwide questioned. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Government agencies are cautioning that President-elect Trump’s inauguration may attract violent extremists – especially those harboring "election-related grievances," according to a new report.
While no specific credible threats have been identified, agencies like the FBI, Secret Service and Capitol Police authored a threat assessment asserting that extremists may view the inauguration as "their last opportunity to influence the election results through violence," Politico reports.
The threat assessment identified foreign terrorists, domestic extremists or lone wolves who could pull off violent acts, including vehicle-ramming attacks, bomb hoaxes or swatting calls.
Likewise, law enforcement cited concerns about protests breaking into chaos, especially since certain groups who’ve faced arrests in previous protests have applied for demonstration permits.
"Past protests by some of these individuals have involved traffic blockades, trespassing, property destruction, and resisting arrest," the threat assessment said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger cautioned Monday that "lone actors" are the most serious threat to inauguration festivities, during a press conference with federal and local law enforcement officials about the inauguration.
"The biggest threat, I think, for all of us remains the lone actor," Manger said. "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," Manger said. "But that threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week."
As a result, the inauguration will feature a beefed up law enforcement presence. Approximately 4,000 local law enforcement officers have volunteered to assist, and 7,800 National Guard soldiers will also be deployed.
Matt McCool, the Secret Service’s special agent in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, said that altogether roughly 25,000 law enforcement officers will be working. McCool said this year’s inauguration plan features a "slightly more robust security plan," in comparison to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
"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," McCool said.
Additionally, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said it is bracing for 12 separate First Amendment demonstrations at the inauguration, noting that they will have a right to peacefully protest. Still, she said violence won’t be permitted.
"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."
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
