EXCLUSIVE: Congressional Republicans are pushing back against President Biden's regulations on appliances with a resolution that seeks to circumvent new green energy standards for freezers.
In December 2024, Biden's Department of Energy (DOE) announced a final rule setting more stringent climate standards for walk-in coolers and freezers. The new regulation is currently set to go into effect in February, but could soon be impeded by Republican lawmakers seeking to overturn the rule.
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oka., introduced a joint resolution of disapproval against the DOE standards for coolers and freezers on Thursday, shared exclusively with Fox News Digital. Joint resolutions of disapproval are used by lawmakers to invalidate a final rule enacted by a federal agency, meaning that if passed, the Republican-led Congress can overturn Biden's new green energy standard for appliances.
"The Biden administration has done everything it can to regulate all aspects of our homes and businesses. Walk-in coolers and freezers are used everywhere; from pharmacies, convenience stores, food processing facilities, food banks, restaurants, and more," Bice told Fox News Digital.
According to the DOE's final rule, the amended freezer standards would "result in significant conservation of energy and are technologically feasible and economically justified," but Bice suggests that such regulations are an overreach of the federal government into consumers' lives.
"These rules continue to add unnecessary burdens on everyday Americans and ultimately suppress consumer choice," Bice said. "This is a direct overreach of power that my colleagues and I are fighting back against." The joint resolution is being cosponsored by GOP Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama.
The bill comes as Republicans, who have a trifecta of leadership in Washington, are teeing up legislation and resolutions to push back on Biden’s green energy regulations on several household appliances.
The Department of Energy recently announced a new rule banning non-condensing, natural gas-fired water heaters by 2029. However, on Wednesday, Palmer introduced a resolution to block the ban on water heaters, which was announced first by Fox News Digital.
President-elect Trump has said that when he assumes office, he intends to overturn many environmental regulations enacted as part of Biden's climate agenda.
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Trump's nominee for interior secretary, was pressed by the Senate on his environmental agenda and whether his mission aligns with that of Trump, who plans to overturn many environmental rules and regulations enacted under the Biden administration.
A confirmation hearing was held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday for Burgum, a 2024 presidential candidate who was tapped to lead the department that manages public land, wildlife and natural resources.
"This is a guy who really fits this job," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said as he introduced Burgum, who grew up in Arthur, North Dakota.
Democrats focused their questioning on whether Burgum aligns with Trump's stance on wind farming and electric vehicles, while Republicans asked about his commitment to forest management, increasing energy production and resurrecting interest in nuclear energy.
"When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn't reduce demand. It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don't care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies," Burgum said in his opening statement.
"President Trump's energy dominance vision will end those wars abroad and will make life more affordable for every family in America by driving down inflation.
"And President Trump will achieve those goals while championing clean air, clean water and protecting our beautiful lands."
The Biden administration has enacted recent policies keeping animals on the endangered species list and blocking coal mining and liquefied natural gas exports (LNG). Republicans asked Burgum about his approach to these specific Biden-era policies, which he agreed are policies that should be reevaluated.
Burgum told lawmakers that, if confirmed, his agenda would be anchored by two issues — national security and the economy.
Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, using a phrase coined by the incoming president, asked the interior nominee if he is going to "drill, baby, drill" after claiming Trump wants to drill in national parks.
"As part of my sworn duty, I'll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that," Burgum responded. "And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people."
President-elect Trump recently suggested his administration could introduce policy to block all new wind energy projects, a topic raised by Democratic Sen. Angus King of Maine, who applauded Burgum for having "all of the above energy strategy" during the hearing.
Asked if he will commit to current wind projects, Burgum said, "I'm not familiar with every project that the interior has underway, but I'll certainly be taking a look at all of those."
"President Trump's been very clear in his statements that he's concerned about the significant amount of tax incentives that have gone towards some forms of energy, that have helped exacerbate this imbalance that we're seeing right now," Burgum said in reference to Trump raising the issue of subsidies for wind energy projects.
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada asked if Burgum would support repealing credits for electric vehicles, which could reportedly be axed by Trump during his upcoming term.
"I support economics and markets," Burgum responded, highlighting the costs of EVs compared to liquid fuel with zero carbon.
Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, the former secretary of interior during Trump's first term, told Fox News he is "very confident" Burgum will be confirmed for the top administration post.
Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Justice, was involved in a sharp clash with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Wednesday as the California senator quizzed Bondi over whether she would prosecute Trump's political opponents.
Schiff, a vocal critic of the president-elect, asked Bondi about whether she would investigate former Special Counsel Jack Smith and also former Rep. Liz Cheney.
"I'm asking you sitting here today whether you are aware of a factual predicate to investigate Liz Cheney," he said.
"Senator, no one asked me to investigate Liz Cheney, that is a hypothetical," she said.
She then turned the tables on Schiff, noting the crime rate in California.
"You know what we should be worried about? The crime rate in California is through the roof. Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average," she said. "That's what I want to focus on, senator."
Schiff said that Bondi's answers suggested she doesn’t have the independence to say "no" to the president. He then asked her if she would tell Trump he lost the 2020 election. Bondi accused Schiff of "playing politics" and of leaking former Rep. Devin Nunes' memo.
"What I can tell you is I will never play politics, you're trying to engage me in a gotcha," she said.
Schiff shot back, asking her if she would advise against blanket pardons by President-elect Trump and suggesting she would not be able to look at every file on day one.
"You'll be able to review hundreds of cases on day one. … Of course you won't," Schiff said.
Bondi was furious at Schiff's comments.
"I’m not going to mislead this body or you, you were censured by Congress, senator, for comments just like this that are so reckless," she said.
Schiff was censured in 2023 for promoting claims that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia, a vote that made Schiff just the third member of the House to be censured since the turn of the century.
The incident was one of a number of sharp exchanges that the former Florida AG had with Democrat lawmakers. She was asked by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., about the weaponization of the DOJ.
"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?"
Bondi responded by highlighting the federal government’s investigations into Trump.
"Senator, I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last four years and what's been happening to Donald Trump," Bondi said.
FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is introducing a bill that aims to redirect funding from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to fund the hiring of more Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill, titled the "Diverting IRS Resources to the Exigent Crisis Today Act" or the "DIRECT Act," aims to "rescind certain balances made available to the Internal Revenue Service and redirect them to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection."
Specifically, the proposal seeks to have "unobligated balances" appropriated or otherwise made available to the IRS for "enforcement activities" under federal law instead go to the CBP "for the salaries and expenses of new agents and officers hired for the security of the southern border of the United States," according to the bill's language. Tenney is reintroducing the 2023 bill to the newly sworn-in 119th Congress.
"The Biden-Harris administration has overseen the entry of over 10 million illegal immigrants into our country," Tenney said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Yet, instead of prioritizing border security and supporting CBP agents, they focused on sending the IRS to harass middle-class families. The DIRECT Act stops Biden's IRS army from launching audits of middle-class families and reinvests those funds to hiring additional Customs and Border Protection agents to secure the Southern Border."
The congresswoman added: "As we transition to the new administration, it is vital to provide CBP agents with the additional resources needed to secure our borders and deport illegal immigrants, ensuring they can effectively support President Trump's and Border Czar Homan's agenda."
Congress passed Biden's Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 without any support from Republicans. The package allocated about $80 billion to the IRS, green-lighting the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents by 2035, including enforcement agents.
That stipulation became a flash-point issue for Republicans, including Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who accused the Biden IRS of trying to "harass hard-working Americans."
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the newly developed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The nongovernmental task force will be responsible for finding ways to slash the federal workforce, and ax programs and federal regulations, as part of Trump's "Save America" agenda for a second term.
Trump announced on Wednesday he would establish another new agency, the External Revenue Service, to collect tariffs and other funding owed to the U.S. by foreign entities.
Incoming border czar Tom Homan, who like Tenney is a native New Yorker, is tasked with delivering on Trump's promise of mass deportations of criminal illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.
Tenney, who co-chaired the House Election Integrity Caucus amid the 2024 race that ended in Trump's victory, also recently re-introduced a bill that aims to rip federal funds from states that allow illegal immigrants to hold driver's licenses.
Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin sat for his confirmation hearing to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, and was grilled by Democrats on his views of climate change.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse questioned Zeldin on the effects of carbon dioxide and pollutants on the atmosphere.
"Is carbon dioxide a pollutant?" the Rhode Island Democrat asked.
"As far as the carbon dioxide emitted by you during that question – no," Zeldin replied, adding that in larger masses, the EPA should indeed focus on carbon dioxide output.
Whitehouse also produced a topographic map of the Ocean State, showing colored ranges he said are at danger of becoming underwater due to climate change.
He said Zeldin likely understands the issue with sealevels – as his former congressional district is diagonally across Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean from Westerly.
Later, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, told Zeldin that 2024 was the "hottest year in recorded history."
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, added the past decade has also been the hottest on record and cited "unprecedented wildfires in the West Coast and Canada as well as "unprecedented flooding in China" and drought in South America and Africa.
He said Trump has called climate change a "hoax; time and time again."
"What we’re seeing right now in L.A. right now is apocalyptic… Montpelier was underwater recently in a way we have not seen."
He pressed Zeldin to disclose whether he believes climate change is an existential threat.
By contrast, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, praised Zeldin for his measured belief in climate change.
"There's a lot that should unite us…as it relates to the environment," he said.
Around that time, a cell phone near Zeldin rang loudly.
"That was the fossil fuel industry," Sanders quipped.
Later, Green New Deal co-sponsor Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts questioned Zeldin on comments from a 2016 congressional debate where he said it is the U.S.’ job to "reduce reliance on fossil fuels."
"I support all of the above energy," Zeldin replied before Markey cut in.
"Considering all factors, in an ideal world, we would be able to pursue always the cleanest, greenest energy sources possible," Zeldin later continued, leading Markey to suggest present-day Lee Zeldin doesn’t agree with 2016 Lee Zeldin.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., brought up constituents ravaged by wildfires.
Zeldin asked to visit California to bring assistance, and Schiff accepted.
"Your response will not depend on whether disaster strikes a red state or a blue state…?" Schiff later asked.
Zeldin assured him that would not be the case.
In his opening statement at the start of the hearing, Zeldin pledged to uphold the EPA's core mission, which he described as protecting human health and the environment.
"We must do everything in our power to harness the greatness of American innovation with the greatness of American conservation and environmental stewardship. We must ensure we are protecting our environment, while also protecting our economy," he said.
"The American people need leaders who can find common ground to solve the urgent issues we face. I want my daughters, your loved ones, and every child across our country to thrive in a world with clean air, clean water, and boundless opportunity," Zeldin went on.
If confirmed, Zeldin pledged to "foster a collaborative culture within the agency, supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come."
Zeldin earned a 14% lifetime environmental voting score from the League of Conservation Voters, but while in office he also battled efforts to improve the air and water quality in and around New York.
He pushed back against efforts to dump dredge-waste in Long Island Sound, tripled funding for the EPA’s Long Island Sound Program.
Trump said in a previous statement that Zeldin will ensure fair deregulation decisions and enact them in "a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet."
Vice President-elect JD Vance, in a role that he’s likely to repeat with frequency in the years ahead, hosted a top-dollar fundraiser that attracted some of the leading figures and donors in President-elect Trump’s political orbit.
The $250,000-a-plate fundraiser, which was confirmed to Fox News by a source familiar with the details, was held Wednesday at Le Bilboquet, a French restaurant in Palm Beach, Florida, located just a few miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, which has long served as the former and future president’s political headquarters.
Among those in attendance was the president-elect’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a top friend and political ally of Vance, and who pushed hard last summer for the elder Trump to name Vance, then the junior senator from Ohio, as his running mate on the 2024 Republican Party’s national ticket.
A number of Trump mega donors, including billionaire investor John Paulson and tech entrepreneur David Sacks, as well as tech and cryptocurrency titans, also attended, according to the source.
The money hauled in at the fundraiser, which will likely top seven figures, will go toward MAGA Inc., the top super PAC that supported Trump during his two-year campaign to win back the White House in 2024.
With Trump term-limited and prevented from running again for re-election in 2028, Vance is seen as the heir-apparent to the president-elect’s America First movement and MAGA world of devout supporters. He will likely be considered the frontrunner when the next GOP presidential nomination race formally kicks off following the 2026 midterm elections.
Hosting and headlining top dollar fundraisers that attract the leading donors in Trump’s political orbit will likely enhance Vance’s position as the politician best equipped to carry on the president-elect’s legacy in 2028.
Politico was first to report news of the Vance fundraiser.
House Republicans are eyeing new limits on food stamps driven by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s mission to "Make America Healthy Again."
Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., is leading "The Healthy SNAP Act" to bar most junk foods from being eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), he first told Fox News Digital.
"President Trump has been given a mandate by the majority of Americans to Make America Healthy Again, and those in his administration, like RFK Jr. and Senator Marco Rubio, have directly advocated for eliminating junk food purchases with SNAP," Brecheen told Fox News Digital.
"If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that’s up to them. But what we’re saying is, don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences."
Brecheen's bill would bar the use of food stamps to buy "soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products," according to legislative text obtained by Fox News Digital.
Seven Republicans have backed the legislation as co-sponsors.
As the Oklahoma Republican referenced, Secretary of State nominee Rubio did back efforts to reform SNAP last year.
He unveiled a bipartisan bill with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., to enable the federal government to collect more data on SNAP purchases and "add improving nutrition security and diet quality to Congress’ declaration of policy for SNAP."
Rubio had also called for a crackdown on SNAP funds going toward junk food in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last year.
Brecheen said of his bill, "In addition to the obvious health improvements, this bill will also result in significant savings in taxpayer funds for such programs as Medicaid, where approximately 1 in 4 Americans (79 million total) are currently enrolled."
"Federally funded healthcare for obesity and obesity-related diseases has reached $400 billion per year, according to the Senate Joint Economic Committee (JEC) 2023 report. We can’t afford to go down this road any longer as a nation," he said.
Republicans embracing a focus on nutrition and health is a notable shift from even a decade ago, when conservatives pushed back on former first lady Michelle Obama's effort to get more nutritional meals in schools.
Kennedy, who was a self-described Democrat before running for president as an Independent candidate, has driven a significant shift in the national dialogue on the issue since forging a relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump tapped Kennedy to be his secretary of Health and Human Services – though his history of vaccine skepticism may make his confirmation an uphill battle.
FIRST ON FOX - The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative government research nonprofit, assembled a "watch-list" of top bureaucrats at the Department of Education who it recommends President-elect Donald Trump should fire.
The nonprofit, which is funded by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, published the list on its website. The AAF assembled 19 "dossiers" naming "America's Most Subversive Education Bureaucrats."
AAF President Tom Jones, a former Republican congressional staffer, told Fox News Digital that the "public-facing" list was not compiled at the behest of the Trump transition team, but rather because the conservative organization believes it's important that the American people "understand that there's a lot of civil servants within the federal government, and particularly within the Department of Education, who are not impartial technicians executing on the agenda of the president, but rather are ideologues who have an agenda that they're willing to implement despite the clear direction from the voters in November."
"At the end of the day, it's fundamentally undemocratic. What you get is a group of people who don't reflect the will of the American people implementing their agenda over that of what the American people said was their will in November. At the end of the day, what it means is you get a left-wing approach to education, particularly higher education," Jones told Fox News Digital. "Thehigher education system in America is broken. I think the events of last summer, where you saw left-wing pro-terrorist groups take over American campuses, and the faculty and administration support them, really should have been a wake-up call for all Americans. And I think this could be a wake-up call for this administration."
Jones said those on the list include individuals who are "serial donors" to Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and President Biden, as well as other "hard core ideologues" who will prioritize their own progressive agendas, such as promoting Biden’s student loan "bailouts," increasing regulations on successful online class partnerships, and conducting a "witch hunt" against Christian and career colleges through the Student Financial Aid Office of Enforcement.
Jones identified one individual at the Office of Enforcement who "had spent his career at the Maryland Attorney General's Office investigating career colleges and Christian colleges." He pointed to another person who stated that he would work to turn the DOE into a "mini-CFPB," a reference to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Jones described as "essentially just a witch hunt factory that's used to investigate organizations of people that the administration doesn't like." The nonprofit described one general attorney for the DOE included on the list as "a leading legal advocate for transgender rights in the debate over religious exemptions for certain universities."
"These people are not going to say, you know what, 'I hated Trump last week, but on January 22nd, I'm going to be super excited about implementing his education agenda.' Unless these folks are moved out of their positions within the Department of Education, they're going to continue to work behind the scenes to attack alternatives to traditional four-year institutions," Jones said.
Others named on the list include a civilian employee within the DOE Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) who the nonprofit says spearheaded a "$6.1 billion student loan forgiveness scheme to art institute students."
"They call it relief, but it's really a huge giveaway to people who pursue college degrees that are just unaffordable," Jones told Fox News Digital. "And look, that's completely unacceptable to essentially have the federal government repaying the student loans for someone and putting that burden on the back of a plumber or a welder, you know, a teacher who is taking care of their education or who didn't go on to college, they've now got to pay for some guy who's got a feminist studies degree from Columbia and $150,000 in debt. That's just simply, fundamentally unfair and wrong. But look, if you want to go get that degree, you should be prepared to pay for it."
The list includes another DOE employee who the nonprofit says helped the Biden administration "weaponize federal student aid policies against faith-based higher education."
The nonprofit accuses the person of playing a key role in the DOE levying a $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University, the nation’s largest Christian college, for alleged misrepresentation of the cost of its doctoral degree programs, accusing the Biden administration of effectively having "bullied" the college into wiping out student debt for them.
Everyone named on the list is making six figures, Jones said, adding that some are even earning an annual salary of more than $200,000, while the average American teacher's salary sits at around $50,000 to $60,000.
"These woke bureaucrats at the Department of Education are pulling down $200,000 to attack alternatives to education," Jones said. "The Office of Enforcement is attacking things like career colleges and Christian colleges, and they're getting rich doing it. And that's just shameful. So I'm hopeful that the administration says, look, this is, you know, paying people $200,000 a year to attack opportunities for, you know, welders, nurses and folks like that to get a higher education. It's just unacceptable."
"At the end of the day, American people need to understand that the people we're talking about here are not technicians," Jones said. "This isn't plumbing that they're doing. This is policy work. This is fundamentally ideological work. And at the end of the day, these people are just like the political appointees that can be fired at the beginning of the administration."
"I'm hopeful that the administration really takes the opportunity to treat them like political appointees and ask them to move on, because if they don't, they're going to get left-wing political ideology in the administration for the next four years," he added. "And unfortunately, we saw some of that happen in the first administration. I'm cautiously optimistic that the administration learned their lesson the hard way, the first time that they can't let a bunch of unelected bureaucrats run roughshod over their agenda during this administration."
Jones said he supported President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to become Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, who still faces a Senate confirmation process.
"I'm excited that she's going to have the ability and the latitude to do the hard work that it takes to really shake up the Department of Education, because it's, you know, it's a Carter administration agency that's stuck in the 1970s, when the world has moved on to different approaches to education, whether it's in, you know, high schools or whether it's in post-secondary education," Jones said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Education press office, as well as the individual staffers listed, seeking comment.
The AAF assembled a similar "watch-list" of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who it recommended the Trump administration clear out. In response at the time, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas condemned "in the strongest terms any effort to harass or intimidate our public servants."
"What Alejandro Mayorkas did was use the force of the Department of Homeland Security to chill speech by groups like the American Accountability Foundation," Jones told Fox News Digital. "There were no examples of anyone feeling threatened, but what there were examples of was him ordering departments within the Department of Homeland Security to open investigations of AAF. That's, you know, that's the kind of weaponization of the U.S. government that we saw for four years under the Biden administration… So the idea that some folks are feeling targeted is just nonsense and a complete red herring and really a tool for Mayorkas and Biden administration officials to shut down speech that they don't just don't agree with."
President Biden was widely panned by conservatives on social media after warning in his final speech to the nation of an "oligarchy taking shape in America."
"That’s why my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern," Biden said in his farewell speech on Wednesday night. "And this is a dangerous — and that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead."
"We see the consequences all across America. And we’ve seen it before."
Conservatives on social media quickly reacted to that comment with criticism pointing to the billionaires that Biden has associated with over the years, including liberal megadonor George Soros, who he recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Fox News Digital previously reported on several billionaires who donated to President Biden's re-election campaign last year, including Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, and Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.
"Joe Biden didn’t call out Iran, China, or the wars he helped create in his farewell speech—but he attacked American citizens, calling them ‘oligarchs’ and ‘a threat to democracy,’" GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X. "A fitting end to a presidency defined by blame and failure."
Mace added in another post, "Joe Biden discussing democracy, a free press, institutions and the abuse of power in his final farewell speech is rich."
"Joe Biden, who just awarded the Medal of Freedom to George Soros and gave his own son a free pass for any and all federal crimes he committed over the course of a decade, now wants you to know that oligarchies are bad," conservative commentator Matt Walsh posted on X.
"Yes, Biden, opponent of the wealthy and powerful…who just gave the nation’s highest civilian honor to…George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Ralph Lauren (net worth $11 billion), and Magic Johnson (net worth $1.6 billion)" American Compass managing editor Drew Holden posted on X.
"Biden’s oligarchy warning, while with merit, rings hollow from the leader of a party fueled by billionaires," former White House correspondent Ron Fournier posted on X. "Truth is, the monied class rules both halves of the corrupt duopoly."
"INCREDIBLY RICH for Biden to warn about ‘power concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy people’ when their entire political apparatus has been fueled by Arabella Advisors and George Soros for decades," Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
According to Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the state’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and Tren de Aragua (TdA) migrant gang activity have reduced illegal crossings by nearly 90% and resulted in close to 50,000 criminal arrests.
Abbott’s office said that the Texas-led campaign called "Operation Lonestar," which was first launched in March 2021 and has seen the participation of over a dozen other Republican states, has led to 530,400 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 49,900 criminal arrests, with more than 42,900 felony charges.
During this operation, Texas also became the first state to build a border wall on its own, continuing border wall construction at strategic points despite President Biden putting a stop to it in the early days of his administration.
"Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua," Abbott said on X. "We will not allow this gang to operate or gain a foothold in Texas."
The governor’s office also said that during Operation Lonestar, Texas law enforcement seized over 620 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which they said is "enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, Mexico, and Canada combined."
The office noted that Abbott designated TdA, whose violent crime has been sweeping across the nation, a foreign terrorist organization and launched a strike team to target, identify and arrest members of the group.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested four TdA members crossing the border on New Year's Eve, one of whom was identified as a possible high-ranking member of the gang.
The statement also said that Texas has transported a total of 119,400 migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles, all of which have migrant sanctuary policies in place.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, told Fox News Digital that Operation Lone Star has cost Texas more than $11 billion, all of which was spent on efforts to secure the border, including deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers, transporting migrants to sanctuary cities, installing strategic barriers, cracking down against violent gangs like TdA, and building new border wall.
"Because of these efforts, Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 87%," said Mahaleris. "Texas has held the line against the Biden-Harris border crisis for the past four years, and Governor Abbott looks forward to continuing to work closely with President Trump and his incoming administration to protect our state and the nation."
Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending Florida attorney general Ashley Moody from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C. to fill Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
Rubio is in the midst of the confirmation process to serve as President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state.
A 49-year-old mother of two, Moody has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2019, having previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and a circuit court judge.
The Republican state attorney general has supported lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and pushed against restoring voting rights for felons and marijuana legalization.
Her husband, Justin Duralia, serves as the deputy chief of the Plant City Police Department in Hillsborough County.
As senator, Moody promised to work to undo regulations instituted by government agencies and shrink the federal budget.
"The only way to return this country to the people, the people who govern it, is to make sure we have a strong Congress doing its job, passing laws and actually approving the regulations that these unelected bureaucrats are trying to cram down on the American people," she said.
"I've got the backs of the American people," Moody went on. "I am driven by many things in life. I will bring the influence of many things, in my life, my experiences certainly, but I am driven by my faith in God. First and foremost. I am driven by the fact that I am a mother and I still have a kid in school … I'm a trained accountant, so I can shrink the bloat of the federal government."
Initially, Trump and Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., endorsed Trump's daughter-in-law and former RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump to succeed Rubio. But last month, she said she withdrew her name from consideration.
Moody will have to run to keep the seat in a 2026 special election, and House Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., has already said he will run for the seat.
Moody has worked in tandem with DeSantis to promote his agenda. Most recently she filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice for what she claimed was a federal government effort to block Florida’s investigation into the second Trump assassination attempt, which occurred at his Mar-a-Lago golf course.
Last year, she sued the Biden administration for a rule she argued would force doctors to provide gender transition care.
In 2024, she also petitioned the Supreme Court to disqualify a Florida ballot measure to expand abortion access by arguing its language could mislead voters.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, plans to skip President-elect Trump's inauguration next week, her office told ABC News on Thursday.
Pelosi has attended 11 inauguration ceremonies, including Trump's first in 2017. Her office has not provided an explanation for her absence, but she has a history of dramatic displays of opposition to the president-elect.
Trump has also made no attempts to play nice with the former speaker, frequently calling her out as an "enemy" at his campaign rallies.
"She's a crooked person. She's a bad person, evil. She's an evil, sick, crazy," Trump said before appearing to mouth the word "b*tch," at a campaign rally in Michigan. "Oh no. It starts with a B– but I won't say it. I want to say it. I want to say it."
Former first lady Michelle Obama also plans to skip Trump's inauguration, though her husband, the former president, plans to attend. Michelle was also absent from the funeral for President Jimmy Carter last week, where Trump was also present.
Former presidents Trump, Bush and Clinton and their spouses all attended Carter's funeral on Jan. 9 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as did former President Barack Obama. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband also attended, along with former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife.
Former President Bill Clinton will attend next week’s swearing-in ceremony, a person familiar with the former president’s schedule confirmed to the AP. Former first lady Hillary Clinton will also attend, a spokesperson said. The Office of George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush are attending.
All three former presidents and their wives attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, including Hillary Clinton, after she lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump. Carter also attended.
President-elect Trump and former first lady Melania Trump did not attend President Biden's inauguration in 2021.
Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is urging the Senate to act fast on confirming President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees amid dramatic hearings and some recent delays in the process.
"As elected officials, Congress is tasked with reflecting the will of the American people. The results of last November make clear that the country wants to see a departure from the past four years of failed Biden-Harris leadership," the letter said.
"We all have a role to play, and for this reason I respectfully urge my Senate colleagues to proceed swiftly with the confirmation of President Trump's executive branch nominees."
The letter is led by Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and signed by at least 16 House Republican lawmakers, though more may join.
It comes after former Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth clashed with Democrat senators during a hearing on his nomination to be defense secretary on Tuesday. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and others grilled Hegseth on allegations of infidelity and sexual misconduct, which he emphatically denied.
The following day, multiple Senate confirmation hearings were interrupted by protesters.
Hearings for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be Homeland Security secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary and former Rep. Doug Collins to be Veterans Affairs secretary were all delayed, reportedly for various procedural reasons.
"President Trump has selected these nominees based on their shared, strong, and demonstrated commitment to restoring American values and pursuing the best interests of the nation," Fallon's letter read. "When it comes to President Trump's slate of nominees, the sum of the whole is even greater than its parts – we need a united executive branch if we are to right the ship."
"Thank you for the strong support that many of you have already espoused for President Trump's nominees. We cannot falter nor rebuke the mandate of the American people as we turn the page on the past four years of failed executive leadership."
The letter closed by urging Senate Republicans to give Trump's nominees their "full and unwavering support."
As Fallon's letter noted, the majority of Senate Republicans are expected to fall in line behind Trump's choices. But with just a 53-seat majority, they can afford little dissent to still get the nominees over the line.
First-term Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said Wednesday that he intends to support Hegseth's confirmation after hearing his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. But at a Politico event on Tuesday, he raised doubts about Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
Hegseth, meanwhile, managed to clear a key hurdle on Tuesday when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said on local Iowa radio station WHO News Radio 1040 that she would support his nomination after previously signaling she had some concerns.
Trump’s transition team has reportedly asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to Reuters. Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz, the career diplomats who were allegedly asked to leave their roles, oversee the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination. This request could signal the Trump team’s desire to implement major changes within the department.
"There's a little bit of a concern that this might be setting the stage for something worse," a U.S. official familiar with the matter told Reuters.
All three of the career diplomats named in the report have worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, Reuters noted. Unlike political appointees, diplomats do not typically resign when a president leaves office.
Throughout his political career, Trump has gone after the "deep state," and this move could be seen as part of his efforts to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level.
"It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump's vision for putting our nation and America's working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals," Trump’s team told Reuters in response to a request for comment.
This report comes as the world sees itself in the middle of a chaotic period with wars between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Hamas raging.
While there are those who are skeptical at best when it comes to Trump’s foreign policy plans, others see shifts on the world stage as early signs of success.
One of the hallmark foreign policy moves of Trump’s first term was the Abraham Accords, which saw peace break out in the Middle East. After more than a year of fighting, Israel and Hamas have come close to ending their war. In fact, Biden White House national security communications adviser John Kirby recognized Trump’s incoming Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff as a key figure in brokering the potential deal.
"The president made it clear to us on the national security team that we needed to make sure that the Trump team, in particular Mr. Witkoff, were part and parcel and fully invested in everything we were doing because they were going to own it when we left office," Kirby told "Your World" on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
More than 140 Democrats voted against a House bill to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes on Thursday.
The legislation passed along bipartisan lines in a 274 to 145 vote. All present Republicans supported the bill, while the opposition was all made up of Democratic lawmakers.
The bill was first introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in the 118th Congress but was not taken up by the formerly Democrat-controlled Senate. At the time, 158 Democrats voted against the bill.
"Our country has been ravaged by a horror of illegal immigrants…violently raping American women and girls," Mace said during debate on the bill. "I know the lifelong scars, the irreversible scars, these heinous crimes leave behind."
Elon Musk has notably been among the bill’s most ardent supporters, even calling for lawmakers who voted against it to lose their House seats.
"There is no excuse. Please post the list of people who opposed this law and want to keep illegals who are convicted sex offenders in America," Musk wrote on X in response to a conservative influencer discussing the bill. "They all need to be voted out of office. Every one of them."
In addition to deporting immigrants convicted of sex crimes, the legislation would also deem illegal immigrants who admit to domestic violence or sex-related charges — or are convicted of them — to be inadmissible in the U.S.
However, Democrats argued the bill would harm domestic abuse victims who fight back against their partners and broaden the definition of domestic violence to the detriment of survivors.
During debate on the bill Thursday morning, progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the bill "does absolutely nothing to address the needs of the American people" and "widens the highway to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans."
Jayapal said it would "create a chilling effect for reporting future crimes" and "empower abusers to go after immigrant women and children."
Mace wrote on X during debate on the bill, "The Left justifying why they are against deporting r*pists, p*deophiles, and m*rderers who are here ILLEGALLY, never ceases to amaze me."
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House Republican, also criticized Democrats who voted against the bill.
"House Democrats' votes against H.R. 30 should be seen for what they are: Prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants over the safety and well-being of their constituents. It's unconscionable that we have to pass legislation like this, much less have members oppose it," Emmer told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, one of the Republicans who voted for the bill, argued the Biden administration’s border policies made the bill necessary and said the legislation would "ensure that any illegal immigrant who commits a sex crime or domestic violence offense is swiftly detained and deported."
President-elect Trump is seeking to "save" the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to his transition team – even if the Supreme Court looks to enforce a federal law that could essentially outlaw it in the U.S.
When questioned on Wednesday about a Washington Post report claiming that Trump might issue an executive order to prevent TikTok from being banned, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for national security adviser, suggested that Trump could consider the move.
"If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear. First, TikTok is a widely used platform by many Americans and has been instrumental in his campaign and in spreading his message," Waltz told Fox News' Bret Baier. "But number two, he’s going to protect their data. He’s a dealmaker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place."
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, echoed that sentiment on Thursday.
"President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there’s no better dealmaker than Donald Trump," Leavitt told Fox News Digital.
A recent law giving the company nine months to either divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be removed from U.S.-based app stores and hosting services was the subject of oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court in January.
Trump's attorneys filed an amicus brief in the case in December, urging the Supreme Court to delay a potential ban until Trump takes office.
The Supreme Court's decision on the fast-tracked case will determine whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – a law signed by President Biden that passed Congress in April with bipartisan approval – would be enforced and restrict U.S. access to the app.
There are roughly 170 million active American users on the social media app, data shows.
While Trump tried to ban the app from U.S. access during his first administration, he credited TikTok for reaching young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Fox News Digital reached out to TikTok for comment and did not receive a response by time of publication.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
