Days away from his upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post that the incoming administration had already hired more than 1,000 people to work for the U.S. government.
He also indicated that individuals who have worked with or been backed by "people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome," are not desirable job candidates.
Trump named former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and others, noting that those who have worked with or been endorsed by those individuals should not be floated as job candidates.
"As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people for The United States Government. They are outstanding in every way, and you will see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly!" the incoming commander-in-chief said in the post.
"In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), "Dumb as a Rock" John Bolton, ‘Birdbrain’ Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he added.
Haley and Pence each mounted bids for the GOP presidential nomination during the recent election cycle, but both ultimately dropped out. While Haley endorsed Trump, Pence did not.
Cheney, who was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, has been a vociferous Trump critic over the years. Last year she backed Vice President Kamala Harris, and campaigned with the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
Ryan, a former House Speaker, told Yahoo Finance last year that he would not vote for Trump, but planned to write in a Republican, as he had done the last time.
Romney was one of the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump after the 2021 House impeachment. In 2020, Romney voted to convict on one of the two impeachment articles levied against Trump. Romney, who has indicated that he did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, declared last year that he would not vote for Trump in 2024.
Bolton, an outspoken Trump detractor, said last year on BBC's "HARDtalk" that he did not think the candidates were fit to serve as president, and he would not vote for either one.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is hardening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting safety concerns and just days before President-elect Trump is sworn into office.
Healey, a Democrat, is proposing drastic changes to how the state houses migrants by proposing that all families staying in emergency shelters be in the country legally, with rare exceptions. The move would effectively prevent new migrants from staying in state shelters.
The change, which comes after a review of the state’s right-to-shelter law, would see all shelter applicants be required to show that they are either a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or are here "under the color of law." Exceptions are made for households that include children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The governor is also looking to strengthen background checks for anyone staying at a shelter by requiring them to disclose criminal convictions in the state and elsewhere.
Her proposal would require applicants to verify their identity, residency and immigration status before being housed. Currently, shelter applicants are allowed to be housed before providing any documentation.
It would also limit those qualifying due to evictions to the state, not anywhere in the country. For instance, this would eliminate a scenario where a migrant is evicted in another state and then comes to Massachusetts and gets shelter benefits.
"I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law," Healey said in a statement. "In addition, these proposed changes will allow us to continue to ensure the safety of our system, support cities and towns in addressing the needs of unhoused families in their communities and put us on the path toward a more fiscally sustainable shelter system."
The moves come amid safety concerns at the state’s shelters and various crimes being linked to illegal migrants in the state. Records from the state indicate there have been hundreds of serious incidents at the shelters, including rapes.
Last month, an illegal immigrant was allegedly caught with an AR-15 and about $1 million worth of fentanyl in a state-subsidized hotel room. An El Salvadoran illegal immigrant was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child while Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seen a recent spike in illegal immigrants arrested for sex crimes in the Boston area and throughout Massachusetts.
Healey said in November that her state police will "absolutely not" be cooperating with the expected mass deportation effort by the incoming Trump administration, warning that she will use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect" residents in the blue state.
Healey’s new proposals about after a review of the state’s right to shelter law, "continued inaction by Congress and no assistance from the federal government."
The proposals need to be approved by the legislature, and Healey outlined her recommendations in a letter to the Senate President, Speaker, and House and Senate Ways and Means Chairs, urging the changes to be in the Emergency Assistance (EA) Supplemental Budget.
She recently announced that the administration will phase out the use of hotels and motels as shelters by the end of 2025.
Massachusetts adopted its Right to Shelter law 40 years ago, which was designed to provide housing for families in need, specifically pregnant women and children experiencing homelessness.
In recent years, migrants have sought shelter under this law which has overwhelmed its shelter system. Last year, Healey declared a state of emergency in the state due to the surge and called for federal action. She also acknowledged that the state’s policies may be a draw for migrants.
Migrants were even sleeping on the floors of Boston's Logan International Airport as the shelter system became overcrowded.
About 50,000 migrants have come to the state since 2021, according to. July report by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the new proposal is in line with what lawmakers have been trying to do.
"From the outset of the shelter system crisis, the House has consistently led the effort to ensure that the Commonwealth’s emergency assistance program could remain financially viable in the long-term, resulting in reforms that capped the maximum length of stay, and that required job training for individuals in the shelter system," he said in a statement, per the Associated Press.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr also welcomed the proposal.
"With the growing consensus not only on Beacon Hill, but throughout the Commonwealth, that major changes are needed urgently, we have the opportunity to at last take actions that will make the system safer, more accountable and transparent, and more sustainable," Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said in a statement.
Massachusetts' Republican Party in August accused Healey of quietly having spent over $1 billion on the state’s migrant crisis.
"The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark," Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement at the time.
"They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMTs. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public."
President Biden warned in his farewell speech of an "ultra-wealthy" "oligarchy" posing a threat to America as big tech CEOS have been warming up to President-elect Trump in recent months.
Biden spoke Wednesday as reports emerged this week that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg – the three most wealthy people in the world who collectively are worth more than $850 billion, according to Forbes – will be seated next to Trump’s cabinet picks and elected officials next Monday at his inauguration.
"I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed. That's why in my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And that's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few, ultra-wealthy people. And the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked," Biden said from the Oval Office.
"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden continued. "We see the consequences all across America, and we've seen it before, more than a century ago. But the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trust. They didn't punish the wealthy, they just made the wealthy play by the rules everybody else had to."
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, have all met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida following his election victory in November.
During the election cycle, Musk gave at least $277 million in donations to help get Trump and other Republicans elected, according to The Washington Post, which cited filings from the Federal Election Commission.
Tech giants including Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google and Microsoft are reported to have donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Musk has been tasked with heading up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will examine issues of government spending, waste, efficiency and operations.
In order to do that, Musk may occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building right next to the West Wing that houses the bulk of office space for White House staffers, the New York Times reported.
Biden also said in his farewell speech that American leadership and technology is an "unparalleled source of innovation that can transform lives," but "we see the same dangers, the concentration of technology, power and wealth."
"You know, in his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military industrial complex. He warned us then about, and I quote, the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power, end of quote. Six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country, as well," Biden added.
"Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit," the president continued. "We must hold the social platform accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.
"Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time. Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy and our security, our society, for humanity. Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work and how we protect our nation. We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind," Biden said.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., isn’t playing around when it comes to bringing federal employees back to the office. In the committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress, Comer delivered remarks slamming the Biden administration’s "failure" to get federal employees back to the office.
"When President Trump’s team enters federal agency headquarters in and around DC, they’ll find them to be mostly empty. That’s due to the Biden administration’s failure to end telework and to bring federal employees back to the office," Comer said.
While there are still a few days left in President Biden’s term, Washington is preparing itself for a shift ahead of President-elect Trump’s return to DC. According to the Oversight Committee’s report, which cites "the Biden-Harris Administration’s own data," as of May 2024, 1,057,000 telework-eligible federal employees were in-office three times a week, and another 228,000 remote employees "never come to the office at all."
The report, titled "The lights are on, but everyone is at home: Why the new administration will enter largely vacant federal agency offices," is 41 pages and was prepared by Republicans on the committee. In its report, the committee makes the case that telework policies have been "detrimental" to government agencies.
In the hearing, Comer pointed the finger at Democrats, in particular, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-Ny. He slammed Schumer for allegedly letting the Show Up Act "collect dust." The legislation would bring federal employees’ telework back to "pre-pandemic levels."
"The Government Accountability Office found that 17 of the largest 24 federal agency headquarters in the DC area were less than 25% occupied, some much less than 25% occupied. A separate study by the Public Buildings Reform Board found that occupancy rates were just half that at 12%, 12% occupancy," Comer said at the hearing. "Taxpayer money is being wasted to lease and maintain all that expensive, empty office space."
The committee writes in its report that Trump is inheriting "a largely absentee workforce," blaming it on the telework policies "entrenched" by the Biden administration.
Comer also noted that the telework policy for federal workers has resulted in a "lack of foot traffic" that is "economically devastating" for DC, something Mayor Muriel Bowser has also pointed out. Bowser has been "imploring the White House to change" the telework policy for nearly two years.
In fact, the Democrat lawmaker met with President-elect Trump to discuss what could be done with the "underutilized federal buildings" around the city.
Bowser expressed optimism after the Dec. 30 meeting, saying both she and Trump "want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation."
The committee’s report acknowledges that Trump "invoked massive telework and remote work" at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and adds that he "quickly sought to return federal employees to their offices to deliver for the American people when it became clear that widespread, indiscriminate lockdowns were not the right societal answer to the pandemic."
FIRST ON FOX: The conservative House Freedom Caucus is preparing to release a proposal for Republicans' planned conservative policy overhaul that would raise the debt limit by two years or roughly $4 trillion, Fox News Digital is told.
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.
But there has been some disagreement over whether to pass all of their goals – touching on border security, defense, spending cuts, tax cuts, and energy – in one single bill to not risk any items falling behind, or split the priorities into two separate pieces of legislation to ensure early victory on at least some measures.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he favors the one-bill approach, but would be open to two. He also tasked Republicans with raising or suspending the debt limit, with the U.S. Treasury projected to run out of funds to pay its debts by mid-June.
Freedom Caucus members are among the Republicans calling for two separate bills. The plan being unveiled on Thursday would call for border security, defense, and steep spending cuts to be included in the first bill.
Those cuts would then be used to offset tax breaks being extended in the second bill, Fox News Digital was told.
The conservative lawmakers presented the plan to Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday, but it's unclear how he responded.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously backed a two-bill approach in public comments.
Opponents of that plan, which include Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee, have warned that leaving Trump's tax cuts for a second bill would all but guarantee that provisions he passed during his previous term would expire by the end of the year, raising taxes for millions of Americans.
Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., previously pointed out to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that two reconciliation bills have not been passed in one term since the 1990s.
But GOP negotiators have not decided whether to include action on the debt limit in their reconciliation bill, with both measures known to require difficult political maneuvering.
The Freedom Caucus' expected plan is a way for fiscal hawks who have traditionally scorned action on the debt limit to agree to do so.
That same group is also concerned that putting all the agenda items into a single bill will not result in sufficient cuts to offset the added spending.
With two House Republicans departing for the Trump administration on Jan. 20, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have to navigate a razor-thin majority until special elections are expected in April.
Until then, just one Republican "no" vote will be enough to derail any piece of legislation that does not get Democratic support.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team and the House Freedom Caucus for comment.
House Judiciary Democrats penned a letter Wednesday asking outgoing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case.
They want Trump's valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to walk from the charges so that Garland can release the second volume, which is related to the classified documents case, of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report. Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday. Garland said he will not release the second volume because both men still face prosecution.
The Democrats believe that Trump will pardon both men, so Garland should drop the charges now or the report will not come out.
"While we understand your honorable and steadfast adherence to Mr. Nauta’s and Mr. De Oliveira’s due process rights as criminal defendants, the practical effect of this position is that Volume 2 will almost certainly remain concealed for at least four more years if you do not release it before President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20," the letter obtained by Fox News says.
"The public interest, however, now demands that the President-elect must not escape accountability to the American people," they added. "Accordingly, to the extent the tangential charges against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira stand in the way of the overriding imperative of transparency and truth, the interests of justice demand that their cases be dismissed now so that the entirety of Special Counsel Smith’s report can be released to the American people."
The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as well as Democratic committee members Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York; Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, J. Luis Correa, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Zoe Lofgren of California; Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath of Georgia; Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Joseph Neguse of Colorado; Deborah Ross of North Carolina; Becca Balint of Vermont; Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia of Illinois; and Jasmine Crockett of Missouri.
"We obviously do not condone the sycophantic, delinquent, and criminal behavior that Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are charged with," the letter says. "However, Donald Trump was plainly the mastermind of this deception operation to conceal and abuse classified material, a fact made clear by his being charged with 32 counts of willfully retaining these classified documents, while his co-defendants were charged with lesser offenses related to obstructing the investigation, largely at Mr. Trump’s direction. By virtue of DOJ policy prohibiting the indictment or prosecution of a sitting president, Mr. Trump has dodged any criminal accountability for his own wrongdoing. Mr. Trump’s 2024 victory saved him from a public trial and robbed the American people of the opportunity to learn the meaning and details of his unpatriotic, reckless, and intentional abuse of national security information."
Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments over Volume 2 in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Thursday. Garland released Volume 1, focused on the election interference case, earlier this week.
Attorneys for Nauta and De Oliveira earlier this month asked Cannon to keep the special counsel report out of the public eye.
Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira all pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump's keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence.
It is customary for a special counsel to release a final report when his or her work is done, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached as a result of the probe. It's up to Garland whether to release it publicly. In Smith's case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump's status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.
Garland is expected to give his farewell address to the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. and Mexican law enforcement worked together to locate and shut down a man-made cross-border tunnel used by cartels to smuggle cargo into the U.S. across the southern border -- complete with lighting and ventilation.
Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, discovered the tunnel on Thursday. In a statement, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they discovered a man-made tunnel that breaches into the public storm drain.
The six-foot tall, four-foot wide tunnel was covered by a 36-by-36 inch entry hole. It was sophisticated and equipped with lighting, a ventilation system, and was supported by wooden beams throughout.
CBP said it worked with local and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the El Paso Police Dept and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
It also worked with the Mexican government to uncover the tunnel.
"We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations," El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good said in a statement. "Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector. With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all perpetrators to justice —those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways to entering the United States."
FBI Special Agent in Charge John Maroles said the discovery underscores the vital importance of coordination and collaboration among our law enforcement agencies.
"This successful binational operation exemplifies the strong partnerships between agencies in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, working together to secure our shared border and protect our communities. These partnerships are critical in ensuring the safety and security of our communities and our nation as a whole," he said.
The Border Patrol has discovered a number of tunnels used by smugglers to bring in humans and drugs across the southern border over the years, including in 2020 when authorities thwarted a tunnel with a fully developed ventilation system in Arizona.
The discovery comes days before the Trump administration takes office, with border security and a crackdown against illegal immigration at the top of the agenda.
The Biden administration was hit by a multiyear historic border crisis, although numbers subsided considerably in 2024. The administration touted a number of operations that it conducted in coordination with the Mexican government to stop smugglers crossing the border.
On Wednesday, Pam Bondi -- President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice -- said she would be in favor of designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The field of contenders to become the next Democratic National Committee chair has narrowed after a long-shot candidate dropped out and endorsed Ken Martin, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair.
Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, has been considered a frontrunner for the DNC job.
Martin received a boost after New York state Sen. James Skoufis dropped out of the race and endorsed him, Politico reported Thursday morning.
Skoufis told the outlet in a statement that Martin "will re-center what is most important for our party: expanding the map and rebuilding our once-big Democratic tent by taking power outside of the DC Beltway and kicking the out-of-touch consultant class to the curb."
Democrats suffered major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections as former President Trump recaptured the White House and the GOP flipped the Senate and held onto its fragile majority in the House.
Martin told Fox News Digital last month that if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is "figure out a plan to win."
"And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood," he said. "How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together, that’s the biggest thing."
Two other top contenders in the DNC race are Ben Wikler, who has steered the state Democratic Party in battleground Wisconsin since 2019, and Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration the past year.
Current DNC chair Jaime Harrison is not seeking another four-year term steering the national party committee. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet Feb. 1 at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC's winter meeting.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, has vowed to head up a Justice Department free from political influence and mismanagement if confirmed – using her confirmation hearing Wednesday to assuage concerns that she might use the role to go after Trump's so-called "enemies" or otherwise weaponize the Department of Justice.
For weeks, Bondi has done the same behind closed doors – meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan charm offensive designed to head off any unexpected encounters and ensure an easy path to confirmation.
As of Wednesday, the careful strategy seems to have paid off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida AG in light of their earlier in light of their earlier one-on-one meetings in private.
"I had a good meeting with her," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told Politico Wednesday following the hearing.
Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the start of her confirmation Wednesday, Bondi highlighted her early dreams of becoming a prosecutor – a dream she said was realized almost immediately after beginning law school.
"From the moment I interned at the State Attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor," Bondi said, noting that she had four jury trials while in law school. "I lost most of them," she laughed, but still "never wanted to do anything else."
"If confirmed," Bondi continued, her tone turned serious, "I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components."
She also vowed to collaborate closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on earlier relationships developed with Senate offices in the run-up to Wednesday's hearing.
Trump’s Democratic detractors wasted little time in the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi’s confirmation and her ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect; many of them confronted her directly with the names of her would-be predecessors who tried and failed to do the same.
They questioned her willingness to go after political "enemies" and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump's FBI nominee.
But Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of Wednesday's hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break.
She highlighted her record on fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, and human trafficking as Florida's top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.
If confirmed, Bondi's former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.
Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen.
Those who have worked with Bondi in her decades-long prosecutorial career have described her in both a series of interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner.
Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar – a role where they would go on to work in tandem to crack down on the state's opioid crisis – some of the office's most important and lasting work.
He credited her in an interview as the "most responsible for ridding the state of Florida of destructive pill mills," citing her push for statewide legislation, and her work in enforcing Florida's "Statewide Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Road Map" to coordinate federal, state and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis, among other actions.
At the time, the Sunshine State was at the epicenter of the U.S. opioid crisis, with an abundance of "pill mills," cash-only clinics, and lack of statewide prescribing laws that allowed for the purchase of addictive medications largely without restrictions.
When Bondi took office, opioids were killing around seven people each day, Aronberg said in an interview. There were also "more pain clinics than McDonald's locations" in Florida at the time, he said, illustrating the magnitude of the problem. If confirmed as U.S. attorney general, Bondi has made clear she plans to remain focused on cracking down on illicit drugs – albeit on a national scale.
Other parts of her record in Florida were also highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and economic relief secured by then-Florida attorney general Bondi on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State.
After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi's lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief.
These issues are likely to take center stage in Thursday's hearing – the second day of Bondi's two-day confirmation – which will focus on testimony of others who have worked with her over the years.
National praise
In the weeks ahead of Bondi's hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former top Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi, praising both her experience for the role and commitment to the rule of law.
The letter from the former Justice Department officials was signed by top officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations, and by former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, who noted: "It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials – much less Attorneys General – to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe."
The letter also praised what the officials described as Bondi's "national reputation" for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.
More recently, Bondi also earned the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included both Democrats and Republican attorneys general, who touted what they described as Bondi’s wealth of prosecutorial experience – including in her role as Florida's top prosecutor – that they said makes her especially qualified for the role.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to reconvene Thursday at 10:15 a.m. to hear from a panel of outside witnesses relating to Bondi's qualifications for attorney general.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, a top Democrat who served on the congressional committee investigating President-elect Donald Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, isn't expecting any favors from the outgoing commander-in-chief.
He said he thinks a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden, protecting him from Trump's potential retaliation, is unnecessary because the Jan. 6 committee "didn't do anything wrong."
"I don’t think a pardon is necessary. I stand by the work that we did," on the committee, Aguilar told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday.
The California Democrat also said that he has "not sought a pardon," nor has he spoken to anyone at the White House about one. Fox News Digital reached out to Aguilar to inquire whether he would accept one, if it were granted to him, but did not hear back.
Lawmakers who served on the House committee investigating Jan. 6 have been split about the importance of a preemptive pardon. Some fear it will set a bad precedent for future presidents and assert that the Constitution's speech and debate clause provides adequate protection against criminal prosecutions, or civil lawsuits, over their legislative work. Others, meanwhile, have welcomed the idea of a pardon, fearing "retribution" from Trump.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the former Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump, said he spoke with the White House last month about the potential of issuing pardons for lawmakers who served on the committee, and said he would accept a pardon from Biden if it were granted to him.
"I believe Donald Trump when he says he’s going to inflict retribution on this," Thompson said this week. "I believe when he says my name and Liz Cheney and the others. I believe him."
Other than Thompson, no other members of the committee have indicated they will accept a pardon granted to them by Biden. However, they have stopped short of saying whether they would decline one.
"I’ve not been in touch with the White House. I’ve not sought one," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who served on the committee, said Tuesday.
"It would be the wrong precedent to set. I don’t want to see each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons," Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who also served on the committee, said in an interview with CNN earlier this month. Former GOP Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger made the same argument as Schiff, but went a step further, saying that he did not want one.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said during a live event this week hosted by Politico that he wasn't sure what the right call for Biden was.
"Different people have different feelings about the whole pardon thing because there are these outrageous threats that are being leveled against people just for doing their jobs, like Jan. 6 prosecutors at the Department of Justice," Raskin said. He added that "in a just world" there would be no need for a pardon because the committee did nothing wrong.
"I'm glad we've got a wise president with wise people around him who will be able to figure that out," Raskin said.
During Biden's final interview as president with a print publication last week, he indicated that preemptive pardons for Trump's political foes were still under consideration. Biden also noted in the interview that he had personally urged Trump not to "try to settle scores" when he met with the president-elect at the White House following his November election victory.
Trump has referred to Thompson and other members on the Jan. 6 committee as "thugs" and "creeps." During an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press" last month, Trump accused the members on the committee of destroying evidence, adding that "everybody on that committee … should go to jail."
"They lied. And what did they do? They deleted and destroyed a whole year and a half worth of testimony. Do you know that I can’t get — I think those people committed a major crime," Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department released a 137-page report outlining the details of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Due to Trump's election victory, prosecutors were forced to drop the case, but the report, according to Smith, shows how Trump allegedly used "lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process."
The Jan. 6 committee concluded its work after roughly a year and a half of investigations with a final report that determined Trump played a central role in the events that led to the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and that there was enough evidence for federal prosecutors to convict him. The report included several criminal referrals that the committee ultimately passed on to the Department of Justice.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom will temporarily raise the American Flag at the state Capitol to full height on Inauguration Day next week, joining a handful of GOP governors and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in the decision.
Newsom's press office confirmed the decision to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night.
Following tradition, flags at the U.S. Capitol and state buildings across the country are flying at half-staff because of the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, 2024.
Flags temporarily raised to full height will return to half-staff on Jan. 21 for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period, which ends on Jan. 28 – eight days after President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office.
As of Thursday morning, Newsom is the only Democratic governor to issue the directive, which comes as Southern California is ravaged by catastrophic wildfires.
Similar decisions were recently made by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – all of whom are Republicans.
Trump has criticized the potential for flags to be displayed at half-staff for his inauguration following Carter's death.
"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. "They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don't love our Country, they only think about themselves."
"Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years - It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast," he continued. "Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Flags were flown at half-staff when former President Nixon was sworn-in for his second term in 1973 after Nixon ordered the flags to be lowered following the death of former President Truman.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.
