Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is calling a special legislative session to address his school choice bill, as well as other prioritizes of President-elect Trump's incoming administration, such as immigration law and disaster relief in the Volunteer State. 

Lee announced that he would call for the Tennessee General Assembly to convene a special session on Monday, Jan. 27, to pass the Education Freedom Act. The governor said he will introduce a disaster relief legislative package addressing recovery needs for Hurricane Helene, as well as future natural disasters, and that the session will also tackle public safety measures regarding immigration, "as the incoming Trump Administration has called on states to prepare for policy implementation."

The announcement from Tennessee came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday that he was calling a special session of his own to help coordinate Trump's planned illegal immigration crackdown in the Sunshine State.

Lee issued a joint statement with Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, state House Speaker Cameron Sexton, state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, and state House Majority Leader William Lamberth. 

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR BACKS TRUMP PLAN TO NIX DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, SEES BELLWETHER ON NEW SCHOOL CHOICE BILL

"We believe the state has a responsibility to act quickly on issues that matter most to Tennesseans, and there is widespread support in the General Assembly and across Tennessee for a special session on the most pressing legislative priorities: the unified Education Freedom Act and a comprehensive relief package for Hurricane Helene and other disaster recovery efforts," they said. "The majority of Tennesseans, regardless of political affiliation, have made it clear that they support empowering parents with school choice, and the best thing we can do for Tennessee students is deliver choices and public school resources without delay."

The statement added: "Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented disaster across rural, at-risk, and distressed communities that cannot shoulder the local cost share of federal relief funds on their own. The state has an opportunity and obligation to partner with these impacted counties and develop innovative solutions for natural disasters going forward." 

"Finally, the American people elected President Trump with a mandate to enforce immigration laws and protect our communities, and Tennessee must have the resources ready to support the Administration on Day One," they said. 

"Last year, Gov. Lee directed key state agencies to begin preparing for federal immigration policy implementation," Lee's press secretary, Elizabeth Lane Johnson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "In this special session, we will ensure the state is best positioned to coordinate with federal, state, and local law enforcement to implement the Trump Administration's plan to enforce the federal immigration laws on the books."

"President Trump has made it clear that states will play a major role in partnering with his Administration to make our communities safer. Tennessee is heeding the call," she added. 

Lee, whose initial school choice proposal failed in the state legislature earlier last year, spoke to Fox News Digital in November upon introducing a second package aimed at increasing parental rights. 

After Trump's decisive election win, the governor argued that the political environment on the ground in Tennessee is not what it was months before when the first school choice proposal failed. 

The election saw a wave of pro-school choice candidates win at the state level, and Trump succeeded in his bid for the White House. Lee told Fox News Digital that he agreed with Trump's promise to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, echoing the president-elect's concern over the federal bureaucracy becoming entrenched with gender and race ideology rather than learning.

FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT 'UNFINISHED BUSINESS' FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS

"In this case, states certainly know best. We know best in Tennessee what our children need and how best to educate our kids. The parents of this state should be given a greater influence on how their kids are educated, and that will happen if the federal Department of Education is dismantled and those funds are delivered to states to be used in a more efficient and more effective way," Lee said at the time. "President Trump has long believed that school choice is important for the people of this country and that education freedom is something that all Americans could have. He's talked about it. He campaigned on it." 

Lee's new school choice bill, titled the Education Freedom Act of 2025, would draw from funding already approved by the state legislature to allow the state Department of Education to award up to 20,000 scholarships – valued at about $7,000 each – for the next school year to be spent on tuition, tutoring, technology and examination expenses. The first 10,000 scholarships would be set aside for low-income students whose parents might not otherwise afford to send their children to institutions other than the public schools in their districts. 

In addition to establishing Education Freedom Scholarships, Lee's office said the bill "further invests in public schools and teachers by delivering teacher bonuses to recognize their unwavering commitment to student success, increasing K-12 facilities funding, and ensuring state funding to school districts will never decrease due to disenrollment." The governor and the General Assembly "will maintain their commitment to public schools by further investing hundreds of millions of state dollars in the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula, and raising starting teacher pay," Lee's office said. 

The governor is also planning to invest more than $450 million in direct disaster relief.

Hurricane Helene "was an unprecedented disaster that primarily impacted at-risk and distressed counties, with eligible damage-related costs estimated at $1.2 billion," Lee's office said. 

The Disaster Relief Grants (DRG) Fund allocates $240 million "to bolster Tennessee’s existing disaster relief fund, as well as reduce the local cost-share burden from 12.5% to 5% and fund the state match requirement in order to access federal funds and cover administrative costs." Lee's package also establishes the Hurricane Helene Interest Payment Fund, which allocates $110 million to "help local governments manage loan interest for recovery costs by covering interest costs at 5% per year for three years on loans for recovery expenses."

Finally, the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund allocates $100 million "to create a new program inspired by the HEAL Program that will provide flexible financial resources for future emergencies, including agricultural recovery, unemployment assistance, and business recovery efforts." The package also sets aside $20 million for the rebuilding of Hampton High School in Carter County, which was destroyed in Hurricane Helene.

Conservatives erupted on social media Tuesday following an exchange between Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth and freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy regarding gender identity. 

"How many genders are there?" the Montana senator asked Hegseth on Tuesday. "Tough one."

Hegseth responded, "Senator, there are two genders."

"I know that well, I’m a Sheehy, so I’m on board," Sheehy responded, referencing the "she" and "he" that make up his last name.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM PETE HEGSETH'S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING

After Hegseth laughed at the freshman senator's joke, Sheehy then went on to ask Hegseth, a fellow combat veteran, the diameter of a round fired out of a M4A1 rifle and how many pushups he could do.

The line of questioning, particularly the exchange on gender which Sheehy previously joked about on the campaign trail, immediately drew a response from conservatives. 

"Right on," GOP Congressman Darrell Issa posted on X.

'CLEAR VISION': CONSERVATIVES RALLY AROUND HEGSETH AFTER 'CRUSHING' FIERY CONFIRMATION HEARING

"QUESTION OF THE DAY," conservative influencer Benny Johnson posted on X.

"Legitimately the best joke every [ever] told in Congress," conservative commentator Ian Haworth posted on X.

"BEST EVER!" radio host Steve Gruber posted on X.

"Well, it looks like the new senator from Montana is a huge upgrade," RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway posted on X in reference to former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who Sheehy defeated in November.

"Montana knew what they were doing when they put @TimSheehyMT in the Senate," conservative commentator and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted on X.

"A-freakin’-MEN!" Wendy Rogers, Republican state senator from Arizona, posted on X.

Sheehy told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that Hegseth is going to do a "great job" and "we support him."

"That's why my questions were directed the way they were," Sheehy said. " I wanted to remind people what this job is really about and it's supporting the war fighter and protecting America."

The Senate will likely have a few Cabinet nominees who are relatively non-controversial. In the interest of time, senators could agree to expedite the process and confirm an individual nominee or several nominees by voice vote or unanimous consent.

As long as there are no objections among all 100 (currently 99) senators.

This speeds things up in the Senate, where floor time is at a premium.

However, there’s a good reason why some Democrats may oppose a streamlined process for this.

It’s not because they’re trying to clog up the Senate plumbing. Democrats may demand a roll call vote on nominees they support in order to show that they voted in a bipartisan fashion to confirm some of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees.

Democrats are likely to reject the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Defense secretary. However, other relatively easy to confirm nominees like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., picked to serve as secretary of state, or Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary, could require roll call votes.

As a result, Democrats can then argue that they voted in favor of "X" number of Mr. Trump’s nominees – and argue they operated in a bipartisan fashion.

The Biden administration's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a significant new step on Wednesday that would effectively ban cigarettes currently on the market in favor of those with lower levels of nicotine.

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products. If finalized, the United States would be the first country globally to take such a bold, life-saving action to prevent and reduce smoking-related disease and death," the FDA said in a statement on Wednesday. 

"The FDA first announced its intent to propose such a rule in 2018, and today’s announcement is an important next step in the rulemaking processExternal Link Disclaimer. The agency intends to seek input on the proposal, including through public comment and the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee," it added. 

The "Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Certain Tobacco Products" cleared a regulatory hurdle earlier this month. The rule is not yet published or finalized. 

BIDEN ADMIN WORKING TO EFFECTIVELY BAN CIGARETTES IN 11TH HOUR PROPOSAL A 'GIFT' TO CARTELS, EXPERT SAYS 

"Multiple administrations have acknowledged the immense opportunity that a proposal of this kind offers to address the burden of tobacco-related disease," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. "Today’s proposal envisions a future where it would be less likely for young people to use cigarettes and more individuals who currently smoke could quit or switch to less harmful products. This action, if finalized, could save many lives and dramatically reduce the burden of severe illness and disability, while also saving huge amounts of money. I hope we can all agree that significantly reducing the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. is an admirable goal we should all work toward."

The FDA's press release states that "the proposed rule would not ban cigarettes or any other tobacco products," and instead "cap the nicotine level at 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco in cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products, which is significantly lower than the average concentration in these products on the market today."

Fox News Digital reported earlier this month, when the rule cleared an FDA regulatory review, that if nicotine levels in cigarettes are lowered under federal regulation, experts say cartels running black market sales of cigarettes will likely benefit.

"Biden's ban is a gift with a bow and balloons to organized crime cartels with it, whether it's cartels, Chinese organized crime, or Russian mafia. It's going to keep America smoking, and it's going to make the streets more violent," Rich Marianos, former assistant director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the current chair of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, told Fox News Digital earlier this month. 

Marianos said that criminal groups would likely quickly catch on to the proposal if it takes effect and subsequently amplify their tobacco operations – which he says will serve as an economic boon for the criminals. 

Americans who want to purchase cigarettes with higher levels of nicotine would then need to go through the illicit channels to obtain them, similar to buying "loosie" cigarettes on the streets of New York, putting average Americans at further criminal risk while also offering them cigarettes that are not regulated and originating from foreign nations. 

BIDEN ADMIN FACING CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OVER PROPOSED BAN ON MENTHOL CIGARETTES

The Biden administration pushing the cigarette rule at the 11th hour of his administration comes after its previous effort to ban menthol cigarettes ​​in what was described as a "critical" piece of President Biden's Cancer Moonshot initiative. The administration announced last year, however, it was abruptly delaying such regulations as the public decried the move. A handful of groups argued that banning menthol unfairly targeted minority communities, while others argued the ban would open the floodgates to illicit menthol sales.

"This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at the time. "It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time."

POPULAR ITALIAN CITY OFFICIALLY BANS CIGARETTE SMOKING OUTDOORS

The state of Massachusetts banned menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco in 2020, with local police since uncovering illegal menthol cigarette sales in the state, including just this month when a man was busted with 700 packs of unstamped menthol cigarettes, as well as 38 bags of crack cocaine, the Boston Herald reported. 

"Mass. banned menthols and dangerous criminals stepped right in to create an illegal supply chain and make millions in the underground market," Marianos' Tobacco Law Enforcement Network posted to X this week about the bust. 

Former President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009, which granted the FDA the power to regulate tobacco products. In the years since, the agency has worked to lower nicotine levels, including in July 2017 under the Trump administration, when then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced it would seek to require tobacco companies to drastically cut nicotine in cigarettes in an effort to help adult smokers quit.

BIDEN ADMIN ABRUPTLY DELAYS PLAN TO BAN MENTHOL CIGARETTES AMID WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION

The FDA announced in 2022 plans for the proposed rule that would lower levels of nicotine so they are less addictive or non-addictive.

"Lowering nicotine levels to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels would decrease the likelihood that future generations of young people become addicted to cigarettes and help more currently addicted smokers to quit," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said at the time. 

EXCLUSIVE: A new, GOP-introduced congressional resolution could block President Biden's recent ban on natural gas water heaters, Fox News Digital has learned.

In the waning days of the Biden administration, the Department of Energy announced a new rule banning non-condensing, natural gas-fired water heaters by 2029 in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Republicans in Congress, however, are seeking to intervene.

On Wednesday, Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to overturn rules enacted by federal agencies to circumvent the administration's appliance crackdown, shared first with Fox News Digital.

"It's a radical ban on water heaters. Another example of government overreach under the Biden administration on their way out the door. They care nothing about consumers," Palmer told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

NEW BIDEN WATER HEATER BAN WILL DRIVE UP ENERGY PRICES FOR POOR, SENIORS: EXPERT

Proponents of Biden's regulation, such as the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, suggest it will eliminate 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years. 

However, Palmer said it will have serious economic implications on working Americans given the amount a household would have to pay out of pocket for a new water heater that complies with the rule.

The Alabama congressman expressed confidence that the CRA is going to pass in the House, as several other Republican lawmakers have signed on as sponsors.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., one of the cosponsors of the CRA, told Fox News that "Joe Biden's last-ditch effort to ban gas water heaters in his final days in office is nothing short of another green energy scam."

"This latest assault on American consumers isn't about saving the planet; it's about control, higher costs, and forcing an unsustainable, radical agenda on every household," Burlison said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "It's time we stand up against this tyranny of regulations and protect the freedoms and choices of the American people." 

NEW. NYC ‘CHAR BROIL’ RULE WOULD FORCE RESTAURANTS TO CUT EMISSIONS BY 75%

Other Republican co-sponsors include Reps. Julia Letlow of Louisiana, Mike Collins of Georgia, Randy Weber of Texas, Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, Barry Moore of Alabama, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Claudia Tenney of New York, Russ Fulcher of Idaho, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Jim Baird of Indiana.

The National Propane Gas Association also supports overturning the ban, telling Fox News that it "threatens to eliminate the non-condensing instantaneous gas water heaters market."

"This rule would compel families to replace their existing equipment with unnecessary expensive retrofits, imposing an undue financial burden for a marginal level of energy savings and questionable economic benefits," Steve Kaminski, president and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association told Fox News Digital.

Biden has introduced regulations on several different household appliances during his term, such as washing machines, gas stoves, and ceiling fans. 

However, the Republican-controlled congress is reportedly going to be "very aggressive in rolling back" some of the regulations that evolved from Biden's climate agenda, Palmer said.

CIA nominee John Ratcliffe is telling senators on Wednesday about how he’ll reshape the intelligence community in what he calls "the most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history." 

Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during President-elect Trump's first term, is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The committee will then vote on his nomination before a full Senate vote to confirm him as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. 

Ratcliffe ticked off the nation’s biggest threats – China, the border, the Russia-Ukraine war and risk of nuclear fallout, Iran, North Korea and "increasing coordination among America’s rivals."

At a time when intelligence and law enforcement agencies have found themselves front and center in the political realm, a source familiar with Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital he’s focused on "depoliticizing" the agency, and "eliminating any distractions" to its core mission of obtaining intelligence. 

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM PETE HEGSETH'S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING

Ratcliffe is also expected to push for more aggressive spying operations, particularly on Beijing, where CCP operatives have been spying on the U.S. for years. 

"With Trump and Ratcliffe, the days of China pillaging American companies, infecting American infrastructure, and otherwise targeting and abusing the American people are over. The jackals can only scavenge in the lion's domain for so long before they get their heads ripped off," the source said. 

Ratcliffe signaled plans in his opening statement to increase the agency’s capacity to obtain human intelligence "in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult."

"We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our product," Ratcliffe will say in his opening statement. 

"We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do. To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work."

RUBIO TO PITCH FOREIGN POLICY CREDENTIALS TO SENATE AS HE VIES TO BECOME AMERICA'S TOP DIPLOMAT

Ratcliffe said he would try to recruit agents that could be described as "a Ph.D. who could win a bar fight," but promised to fully investigate anomalous health incidents like Havana Syndrome. 

Ratcliffe also hopes to increase coordination with the CIA and the private sector – potentially through rotations that allow CIA agents to do a stint in the private sector or allowing private employees at AI and tech companies to join the CIA in mid-career appointments, according to the source. 

Ratcliffe's hearing is expected to have a more policy-heavy focus than some of Trump's more controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth, picked to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth faced senators on the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday where he was questioned on his drinking, sexual assault allegations and reports of financial mismanagement. 

Trump's choice to oversee all intelligence agencies, Tulsi Gabbard, has also been met with skepticism by some in the Senate over her past opposition to U.S. surveillance laws and seeming closeness to U.S. adversaries, in particular a meeting she took with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. She's since walked back her opposition to a surveillance program known as Section 702.

Gabbard's hearing is not yet on the books, neither is Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel. 

Trump's national security nominees are in lockstep on at least one thing – the threat of China – and the need to update technologies and defenses to thwart the CCP's chronic attacks on U.S. infrastructure. 

"We have to stop trying to just play better and better defense," Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser pick, recently told FOX Business. "We need to start going on offense."

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team tapped a former senior health official from Trump's first administration and an ally to top Trump loyalist, Harmeet Dhillon, to be Health and Human Services Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s chief of staff, a new report indicated Monday. 

Heather Flick, a lawyer who previously served in multiple top roles at the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department during the first Trump administration, has been working closely with Kennedy over the last few weeks as an informal chief of staff, according to Politico. The outlet added Monday that she had been tapped by Trump's transition team to fill the role permanently, according to four sources familiar. The announcement has yet to be made public.

Meanwhile, the law firm that currently employs Flick, as well as its founder, congratulated her on the new position this week on their social media accounts. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for confirmation but did not hear back in time for publication. 

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Flick's selection to work in Trump's second administration is just the latest pick among a list of Trump loyalists who have been given jobs in the administration during his second term. When Flick first joined the Trump administration, she was HHS' acting general counsel before becoming its acting secretary for administration and then eventually a senior adviser to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Before joining HHS the first time, Flick was an attorney at Dhillon Law Group, a firm founded by Dhillon, who Trump has tapped this time around to be his assistant attorney general. 

RFK JR. ‘WRONG’ ABOUT VACCINATIONS, GOP SENATOR SAYS

Dhillon has represented clients in big conservative civil rights cases and defended Trump supporters in court. During the pandemic, she challenged Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders, and in 2020, she served as the co-chairwoman of Lawyers For Trump, a conservative group of lawyers supporting Trump throughout the 2020 election. Most recently, Dhillon helped lead Trump's election integrity team in Arizona during the 2024 election.

"Heather Flick is outstanding and will most definitely help soon to be Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said in a post on X after news of Flick's new role.

Flick's appointment comes amid rumblings from some of Kennedy's allies that he could advance an agenda that is not completely in line with the Trump world, but rather more centered around Kennedy's priorities, Politico reported.

The potential HHS secretary has been taking meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill recently in an attempt to shore up support. Democrats and Republicans have both been very critical of the HHS secretary-nominee's opinions about vaccines, while Republicans have also been probing Kennedy during meetings about his past pro-choice views on abortion.

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Critics of Kennedy have questioned his ability to handle major crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and posited that Kennedy pushes conspiracy theories about things like vaccines and antidepressants. Meanwhile, business leaders have suggested there is reason to worry as well, on account of past claims Kennedy has made about the dangers of food additives, pesticides and vaccines.

Flick will be tasked with helping Kennedy clean up some of those criticisms. One former Food and Drug Administration Official, granted anonymity to speak openly, told Politico that depending upon how involved HHS Secretaries are in the agency's work, their chief of staff can end up being "very, very involved."

"On really high-profile things, if she’s an effective chief of staff, she could be super involved," the former official added. "I certainly saw that happen across multiple administrations." 

President Biden is set to deliver his farewell address to the nation Wednesday evening as he closes out four years in the White House.

Biden will deliver the address at 8 p.m. ET from the Oval Office, having earlier Wednesday published a farewell letter to the country. 

"Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. 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," Biden wrote.

 "But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure."

PRESIDENT BIDEN RELEASES FAREWELL LETTER, SAYS IT’S BEEN ‘PRIVILEGE OF MY LIFE TO SERVE THIS NATION'

Biden will officially exit the Oval Office on Jan. 20, when President-elect Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president around noon that day. 

BIDEN SAYS HE'S BEEN CARRYING OUT ‘MOST AGGRESSIVE CLIMATE AGENDA’ IN HISTORY AS HE DESIGNATES CALIFORNIA MONUMENTS

Biden has spent more than 50 years in public office, making his mark on the national map in 1972, President Richard Nixon's landslide re-election year, when he beat a Republican incumbent in a long-shot Senate race in Delaware at the age of 29.

"I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case," he added in his farewell letter. 

BIDEN STILL REGRETS DROPPING OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, BELIEVES HE COULD HAVE BEATEN TRUMP: REPORT

"America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now."

Biden served 36 years in the U.S. Senate, one of the longest Senate careers in the chamber’s history, before joining former President Barack Obama’s ticket during the 2008 election and serving as vice president for eight years. 

DONALD TRUMP ELECTED AS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The 46th president defeated Trump during the 2020 election, and was set to square up against him again last year, but abruptly dropped out of the presidential race as concerns surrounding his mental acuity mounted. Vice President Kamala Harris was soon quickly endorsed by Biden and other high-profile Democrats to take up the mantle as the party’s presidential nominee, but lost the election as Trump swept all seven battleground states. 

Biden has been an outspoken and repeated critic of Trump’s, calling him a "genuine threat to this nation," but vowed to ensure a peaceful transfer of power and that "of course" he will attend Trump’s inauguration.

Ahead of his final address to America, Biden also delivered a foreign policy-focused farewell address at the State Department on Monday.  

"The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago," Biden said in his final foreign policy speech Monday. 

"America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker," he added. 

More than half of Americans say that President Biden will be remembered as a below-average or one of the worst presidents in the nation's history, according to a new national poll.

Just over a third of adults nationwide questioned in a Marist poll released on Wednesday said Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, with another 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 an above average or one of the best presidents in the nation's history.

The poll was released just hours before the president delivers his 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.

WILL HISTORY BE KIND OR UNKIND TO PRESIDENT BIDEN?

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."

But the Marist poll is the second straight national survey to indicate history will likely not view Biden kindly.

According to a USA Today/Suffolk University survey released on Tuesday, 44% of voters nationwide said history will assess Biden as a failed president, with another 27% saying he will be judged as a fair president.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING RESULTS

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.

The president's single term in the White House ends next 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 that 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.

A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY THIS IS HOW THEY'LL VIEW BIDEN'S PRESIDENCY

Biden stands at 42% approval and 50% disapproval in Marist's new survey, as the president departs the White House. He stood at 43%-54% approval/disapproval in the USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

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.

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 highlights.

The survey also indicates 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.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is cautiously optimistic about the future success of his Supreme Court gender case after he secured another legal win in Kentucky that will reverse the Biden administration's Title IX rewrite nationwide.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday.

Skrmetti told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday interview, "Every win we get is another break in the wall of ensuring that the law means what the people who voted for it thought it meant." 

GOP AG PREDICTS WHICH SIDE HAS ADVANTAGE IN HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE WITH 'DIVIDED' JUSTICES

The ruling came months after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that would have included protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX.

The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covered discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions."

The rule took effect Aug. 1, 2024, and the law stated, for the first time, that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity.

"The Title IX rule was the height of overreach, administrative overreach by the Biden administration, and we were very happy to be able to stop that," Skrmetti said on Tuesday. 

SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL 'TREATMENTS' TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS

Now, he is looking ahead to the court's highly anticipated decision in the United States v. Skrmetti case, which is expected by June. 

The Supreme Court is weighing whether the equal protection clause, which guarantees equal treatment under the law for individuals in similar circumstances, prevents states from banning medical providers from offering puberty blockers and hormone treatments to children seeking transgender surgical procedures. 

The lawsuit against Tennessee's law banning transgender treatment for minors was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of several transgender minors and their parents. The families argue the law infringes on parental rights to make medical decisions for their kids and forces them to go out-of-state to receive transgender procedures.

"It seems like the momentum has really shifted almost culturally on these issues," Skrmetti said. "And when you see people trying to rewrite laws through creative judging, through creative regulating, that alienates the people from the laws that bind them, and it's bad for America."

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN BIDEN ADMIN'S TITLE IX REWRITE

Skrmetti described the recent developments as part of a broader "vibe shift" in the country, noting that they reflect a "great data point" indicating a decline in efforts to reshape American law through "non-democratic" processes.

"We'll know what the Supreme Court does when the Supreme Court does it," he said.

Fox News Digital's Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report. 

Chris Wright, President-elect Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, is planning to tell senators in charge of his confirmation that he will focus on restoring American "energy dominance" at home and abroad. 

Wright, a fossil fuel executive who in the past has been critical of the media blaming climate change for repeated wildfires, is expected to deliver his opening statement before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday morning. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the statement in advance ahead of the hearing scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET.

"I am humbled by the great responsibility this position holds," Wright is expected to say in his opening statement. "America has a 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." 

Describing himself as a "science geek, turned tech nerd, turned lifelong energy entrepreneur," Wright will tell the committee how his "fascination with energy started at a young age in Denver, Colorado." His opening statement discusses how he enrolled at MIT "specifically to work on fusion energy" and later started graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley where he worked "on solar energy as well as power electronics."

TRUMP EYES AN END TO NEW WINDMILL PRODUCTION UNDER SECOND TERM, SAYS THEY ARE 'DRIVING THE WHALES CRAZY'

"Energy is the essential agent of change that enables everything that we do. A low energy society is poor. A highly energized society can bring health, wealth, and opportunity for all," Wright will say. "The stated mission of the company that I founded – Liberty Energy – is to better human lives through energy. Liberty works directly in oil, natural gas, next generation geothermal and has partnerships in next-generation nuclear energy and new battery technology." 

"Energy has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I have never been shy about that fact," Wright plans to tell the committee. "Then again, I have never been shy about much. 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."

On Tuesday, committee Democrats led by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico called for Wright's confirmation hearing to be delayed by at least a week, citing how they had not yet received "the standard financial disclosure report, ethics agreement, or the opinions from the designated agency ethics officer and the Office of Government Ethics stating that the nominee is in compliance with the ethics laws." 

Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, has already pushed back the confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum, Trump's pick for interior secretary, by two days until Thursday due to an OGE paperwork delay, but Wright's remained on the schedule Wednesday. 

If approved as secretary, Wright would manage energy policy and production in the United States, as well as the nation's nuclear weapon stockpile. He would also work with Burgum on the National Energy Council, where they would develop Trump's energy dominance policy involving increased production of U.S. oil and gas.

Wright has indicated that he plans to resign as CEO and chairman of his fracking company, Liberty Energy, if approved.

DEMS BLAME LA FIRE ON 'CLIMATE CHANGE' DESPITE CITY CUTTING FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET

In his opening statement, Wright identifies three "immediate" tasks that he would focus his attention on if confirmed.

"The first is to unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance," Wright will say. "The security of our nation begins with energy. Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is. To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquified natural gas, and cut the cost of energy." 

"Second, we must lead the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs," the statement continues. "Throughout my lifetime, technology and innovation have immeasurably enhanced the human condition. We must protect and accelerate the work of the Department’s national laboratory network to secure America’s competitive edge and its security. I commit to working with Congress on the important missions of the national laboratories." 

"Third, we must build things in America again and remove barriers to progress," Wright will say. "Federal policies today make it too easy to stop projects and very hard to start and complete projects. This makes energy more expensive and less reliable. President Trump is committed to lowering energy costs and to do so, we must prioritize cutting red tape, enabling private sector investments, and building the infrastructure we need to make energy more affordable for families and businesses." 

EXCLUSIVE: A GOP lawmaker is seeking to significantly raise taxes on endowment profits being banked by private universities to align their levy with the current corporate tax rate.

Many private universities have invested funds for operational use that acquire interest each year, known as an endowment. In 2017, the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted a 1.4% tax on the interest private universities were receiving from these endowments. 

However, a new Republican bill would raise that tax to hold elite educational institutions to the same tax standard as corporations, which currently see a 21% corporate tax.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, is expected to introduce legislation on Wednesday, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, to raise the excise tax on annual private university endowment investment returns by nearly 20 percentage points, from 1.4% to 21%.

SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE BRACE FOR TRUMP, INCLUDING MEASURES COMPELLING TEACHERS NOT TO COOPERATE WITH ICE

The GOP-backed bill would then require the revenue to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, a fund managing the government's budget, to be used to reduce the national deficit. 

Nehls tells Fox News Digital he introduced the bill because elite universities should not have "far lower" taxes than working Americans.

CONFIDENCE IN COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES REACHES ALL-TIME LOW, NEW POLL INDICATES

"Elite private universities have accumulated and sit on massive university endowments and pay a tax less than 2% on the investment earnings of their endowments, which is far lower than what most hardworking Americans pay in taxes. Meanwhile, these universities have significantly increased tuition for America’s youth, which has overwhelmingly surpassed the average annual inflation rate," he said.

The tax would apply to private colleges and universities that meet certain requirements, such as institutions that have 500 or more students.

Additionally, universities that would be taxed are those that aggregate fair market value of assets of at least $500,000 per student and that have more than 50% of its student body located in the United States, according to the bill. 

Endowments subject to the tax, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia, reportedly hold a combined $270 billion of assets under management.

"This is unacceptable," Nehls told Fox. "My bill would put elite universities with massive endowments on notice by holding them to the same tax standard as corporations."

If passed, the tax would begin effective immediately after the date of the bill's enactment.

President Biden’s 11th-hour executive action banning new drilling and further oil and natural gas development in coastal waters in the name of protecting the environment could end up causing harm to the environment, according to experts who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Earlier this month, Biden announced the ban will affect more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters while invoking the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which could mean President-elect Donald Trump will be limited in his ability to revoke the action without Congress.

Biden released a statement defending his action, arguing that the "relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling."

Experts who spoke to Fox News Digital suggested that the environment could ultimately end up being harmed, not helped, by Biden’s decision. 

TRUMP REPORTEDLY PLANS TO UNLEASH AROUND 100 EXECUTIVE ORDERS AFTER TAKING OFFICE

"President Biden's offshore oil and gas ban is not only harmful to our economy and national security, but also jeopardizes the future of conservation in America," Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, told Fox News Digital. 

Hoffman pointed to, among other concerns, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded in large part by $900 million in royalties from oil and gas companies.

"It was a simple idea: use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource - offshore oil and gas - to support the conservation of another precious resource - our land and water," the fund’s website states. That fund will presumably lose out on those royalties as a result of Biden’s decision, Hoffman warned. 

ALASKA SUES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR 'IRRATIONAL' RESTRICTIONS ON TRUMP-ERA OIL AND GAS DRILLING MANDATE

"President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law in 2020 to permanently fund the LWCF," Hoffman said. "Biden's recent actions will weaken this law and set back true conservation efforts by decades."

The Western Energy Alliance, a nonprofit trade association, issued a press release earlier this month warning that conservation funding will take a hit as a result of Biden’s drilling ban. 

"By attempting to restrict offshore access before walking out the door, President Biden also threatens treasured outdoor spaces across the country. The president completely ignores the fact that the Land and Water Conservation Fund is exclusively funded by offshore oil and natural gas leasing and production," Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, said in the press release. 

"Nearly every community nationwide has a park or outdoor recreation facility that has received funding from the LWCF. National parks that have struggled with dilapidation and damages from overcrowding similarly benefit from offshore revenues. These funds help protect water ways, support wildlife, and build trails and playgrounds. President Biden put the future of these projects at risk with his Executive Order."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, who oversees the LWCF, said, "There would be no effect to any existing leases (or royalties derived from them for the U.S. treasury), nor the LWCF."

The spokesperson added, "The Central and Western Gulf, where funding from LCWF comes from, is not impacted by the President’s withdrawal."

Hoffman told Fox News Digital that Biden's directive, "won't impact LWCF in the short-term, with Trump-era leasing grandfathered in, the long-term impact could put $2.8B of conservation funding- including $900M from offshore royalties - at risk."

Additionally, cutting oil drilling in the United States is likely to drive the United States to become more dependent on foreign sources of oil, often in countries with less environmental protections than those that exist in the United States. 

"Biden's anti-oil and gas decree could undermine president-elect Trump's 'drill baby drill' agenda and make us more dependent on imports from foreign countries that don't respect the environment," Hoffman told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP CAN POWER THE US INTO THE FUTURE WITH A MUSCULAR NUCLEAR ENERGY POLICY

Power The Future founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner echoed the concerns about the environment as well as human rights to Fox News Digital. 

"We are driving responsible, ethical, environmentally sensitive resource development out of America and into developing nations, often managed by communist China, where pollution and slave labor are unchecked and accepted," Turner said. "In fact, oftentimes those conditions help with profit margins, and we say ‘these goods are cheaper made in China.’ They are cheaper because of what China does, and our standards must force us to choose."

Turner continued, "Saudi Arabia and Kuwait flare methane. In most of America, this is illegal. Coal is mined by children in China and Indonesia and across Southeast Asia. Rare Earths are mined by slaves in Africa, and green activists ensure this continues by preventing such mining to occur ethically and responsibly in America."

Turner questioned how the Biden administration can argue that "oil produced irresponsibly in foreign countries and landed on tankers burning millions of gallons of diesel" is considered "green."

"If we truly want to be green, we will do everything we can to produce all our energy and mine all our raw materials here in America," Turner said. "It is not only greener, it is better for our economy and our national security."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response. 

Trump has said he plans to immediately reverse the drilling ban along most of the U.S. coastline, but he faces major roadblocks under a 70-year, irrevocable law.

"This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill," Trump's spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement. 

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has been placing calls and informing people that she is likely to mount a gubernatorial bid, Axios reported, citing D.C. and Tennessee sources.

State and federal elected figures have been placing calls in support of Blackburn's potential run, a source noted, according to the outlet.

Fox News Digital emailed Blackburn's campaign on Wednesday to request a comment from the lawmaker, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

GOP SENATOR ANNOUNCES ‘DOGE ACTS’ TO BACK MUSK, RAMASWAMY GOVERNMENT COST-CUTTING OBJECTIVES

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs indicated in a post on X that he will back Blackburn for the role if she runs.

"Senator Blackburn has done an outstanding job as a state senator, U.S. congresswoman, and U.S. Senator. She would do an equally outstanding job as Governor and would have my full support if that’s what she decides," Jacobs noted.

TENNESSEE MAYOR GLENN JACOBS, EX-WWE STAR, SAYS HE WOULD ADVISE DWAYNE JOHNSON AGAINST GOING INTO POLITICS

Blackburn, who has served in the Senate since early 2019, just won re-election to another six-year term in 2024 — her current term ends in early 2031.

"The 2025 Tennessee Legislative Session kicked off day ONE today!" Blackburn declared in a tweet on Tuesday. "It’s time to get to work, protect our state’s conservative values, and fight for all Tennesseans."

‘WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE’: TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR

Current Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican who has been in office since early 2019, cannot run in the 2026 contest, which leaves the field wide open for other GOP figures interested in vying for the job.

President Biden released a farewell letter Wednesday saying that "It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years." 

"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," he added ahead of a speech tonight from the Oval Office. 

Biden began his letter by writing that four years ago when he took office, "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.  

"But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure," he said. 

BIDEN SAYS HE'S BEEN CARRYING OUT ‘MOST AGGRESSIVE CLIMATE AGENDA’ IN HISTORY AS HE DESIGNATES CALIFORNIA MONUMENTS

While touting economic growth, Biden said "We’re rebuilding our entire nation -- urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities.  

"Manufacturing is coming back to America. We’re leading the world again in science and innovation, including the semiconductor industry. And we finally beat Big Pharma to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors," he continued. "More people have health insurance today in America than ever before." 

Biden said he "ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. 

"The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case. America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean," he declared. 

WHITE HOUSE REMOVE'S CUBA'S STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM DESIGNATION, REVERSING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVE

Biden is now set to leave office next week with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House for a second term. 

"It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States," Biden wrote. "I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. 

At one point in the letter, Biden wrote that "Vice President Harris and I asked our staff to prepare a detailed summary of the progress we’ve made together throughout the last four years."

The White House released an accompanying fact sheet titled "The Biden-Harris Administration Record," which is nearly 26,000 words in length.

It mentioned accomplishments including "Ending the COVID-19 Pandemic," "Catalyzing a Small Business Boom," protecting Americans "from Terrorism and Wrongful Detention" and "Advancing the Most Ambitious Environmental Justice Agenda in History."

Biden concluded his letter by saying that history, power and "the idea of America" is in the hands of its citizens. 

"We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together," he said. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has ordered flags at state buildings to be raised to full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

This comes despite the official order by President Biden after the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29 that flags at all government and public buildings and grounds across the country fly at half-staff for a 30-day mourning period, which just happens to include Inauguration Day.

It is a tradition when a former president dies to order a 30-day mourning period and order flags at half-staff.

Biden said the U.S. flag "should be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions."

ABBOTT ORDERS FLAGS AT FULL-STAFF FOR TRUMP'S INAUGURATION DESPITE ONE MONTH ORDER TO HONOR CARTER

Governors across the country issued their own orders regarding how to fly flags in their respective states on Inauguration Day.

DeSantis joins other Republican governors who will break tradition and fly flags at full-staff before the mourning period ends Jan. 28. He ordered that all flags at the Florida Capitol and across all state buildings, installations and grounds to be raised to full height on Jan. 20.

"On this unique occasion, where we simultaneously celebrate the service of an incoming president and commend the service of a former president, our nation's flag will be prominently displayed at full-staff to honor the tradition of our founding fathers and the sacrifices made by those who have served to ensure the torch of liberty continues to bum strong," DeSantis said in his order.

"The following day, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, all flags at state buildings, installations, and grounds across the State of Florida will once again be lowered to half-staff to honor President Carter's service," the governor said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day.

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."

HONORING TRUMP: SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS FLAGS TO FLY AT FULL-STAFF AT US CAPITOL BUILDING DURING PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

"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.

A Florida state lawmaker has introduced a bill to ban illegal migrants from being admitted to some public colleges and universities.

Republican state Sen. Randy Fine proposed the legislation the day after GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session to help push President-elect Trump's immigration agenda.

"Is it fair to allow an illegal immigrant to take a spot that could be taken by a Floridian or an American? I would argue no," Fine said.

Fine’s bill would ban public colleges and universities with an acceptance rate under 85% from admitting students who are in the country illegally, which would include the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of Central Florida and Florida International University.

FLORIDA LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL TO REQUIRE DACA STUDENTS TO PAY OUT-OF-STATE TUITION

There are an estimated 1.2 million illegal migrants living in Florida, according to the Pew Research Center.

Migrant students in the U.S. illegally can currently qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Fine also recently proposed a bill that would require high school graduates with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status to pay out-of-state tuition.

During the 2023-2024 school year, about 6,500 migrant students who were in the U.S. illegally qualified for a waiver from paying out-of-state tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities, according to the nonprofit Florida Policy Institute.

Three states prohibit students in the U.S. illegally from enrolling in at least some colleges, while half of states allow these students to qualify for in-state tuition, according to the National Immigration Law Center.

DeSantis scheduled the special session to begin the week after Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration to fund efforts to address illegal immigration, including for detention and relocation. The governor has said the state must work to support Trump's promises to tackle illegal immigration and ensure that "we don’t have any lingering incentives for people to come into our state illegally."

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, thanked DeSantis for calling a special session, saying "hopefully other Governors will follow!"

But the governor has faced criticism from the legislature's Republican leaders, who described his call for a special session as "premature" and "irresponsible."

GOP REVIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DETENTION BILL NAMED AFTER 12-YEAR-OLD MURDER VICTIM: 'JUSTICE FOR JOCELYN'

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Fine is among the Republican lawmakers who have vowed to support Trump and his agenda but have criticized the governor's push for a special session as rushed.

"This was not accompanied with a robust bill package for us to consider," Fine told reporters. "You want to call a special session? Give me the bills you want me to vote for."

Fine, who joined the state Senate in November, is resigning from the legislature, effective March 31, so he can run for the U.S. House seat that is expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was nominated by Trump to be his national security advisor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee found that prolonged pandemic-era telework has been "detrimental" to government agencies and new employee training, and it laid out in a new report proposed recommendations for the Trump administration to bring federal workers back to unused and vacant federal office buildings. 

Fox News Digital obtained the House Oversight Committee’s report on the Biden-Harris administration’s policy of keeping federal workers in a telework, work-from-home format, even after COVID restrictions were lifted across the country and private-sector workers returned to in-person work settings.

'GET BACK TO WORK': HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

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.

During the last Congress, the committee investigated the extent of federal telework and remote work, the degree of oversight over its use and its impact on mission outcomes. The committee found that American taxpayers wasted "billions to pay for owned and leased federal office space that remains largely vacant." 

The report states that "physical and anecdotal evidence suggests the [Biden] Administration’s self-reported telework data exaggerates in-office attendance." 

"But even the self-reported data is striking: of the 2.28 million federal civilian employees, approximately 228,000 are never required to show up to the office, and nearly all of the other 1.1 million employees technically-eligible for telework are engaged in telework," the report states. "Further, telework-eligible employees at several agencies collectively spend less than half their work hours in the office—below the Administration’s own RTO target." 

The report added, "American taxpayers are wasting billions to pay for owned and leased federal office space that remain largely vacant. The Biden-Harris Administration did little to reduce the federal footprint despite maintaining massive telework levels."

The committee also found that the Biden-Harris administration worked with federal labor unions and their allies to maintain "unsupportable high telework levels," which investigators say undermine the ability of the incoming Trump administration to reduce them. 

"The lights may be on in federal buildings, but too many federal bureaucrats continue to work from home," House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The House Oversight Committee’s investigation into prolonged pandemic-era telework reveals the Biden-Harris Administration has ceded too much authority to the federal union bosses, allowing their preference to work from home to take precedence over fulfilling agencies’ missions and serving the American people." 

Comer also told Fox News Digital that President Trump "was elected in a landslide to bring accountability to Washington." 

"Our report not only identifies the many problems with massive federal telework but also proposes solutions to get federal employees back to their offices, dispose of unused and vacant federal property, and prioritize the needs of the American people over the wants of federal bureaucrats," Comer said. "We look forward to working with President Trump and his administration to ensure the federal bureaucracy is fully accountable to the American people."

Comer and committee investigators said the Trump administration should base telework and remote work policies "on achievement of mission outcomes, not employee preferences or union demands." 

They also recommended establishing automated systems for tracking the use of telework and creating "clear, measurable metrics to evaluate its costs and benefits." 

Comer also recommends the Trump administration impose "more frequent and timely reporting requirements on agency-level telework" to better inform executive branch officials and members of Congress. 

Meanwhile, Comer also recommends using the White House and central management agencies to implement an enterprise-wide approach to telework that prioritizes the public interest. He said the administration should "not permit a telework bidding war among agencies looking to attract federal workers that transfer between them based on which will let them stay home the most." 

SENATE DOGE LEADER ERNST TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK ABUSE AT FIRST MEETING WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY

The House Oversight Committee’s report comes just hours before it holds its first hearing of the new Congress. 

The hearing, titled "Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Administration Legacy," is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m.

Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley, Federal City Council Board of Directors President Tom Davis and Rachel Greszler of the Economic Policy Innovation Center are set to testify.

O’Malley, before the end of his tenure, locked in telework agreements for 42,000 Social Security employees until 2029. 

"It’s past time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people," Comer told Fox News Digital last week, upon announcing the hearing. "The House Oversight Committee remains committed to ensuring federal employees show up for the American people they serve."

NATION'S LARGEST LABOR UNION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES REBUKES GOP'S EFFORTS TO END TELEWORK

According to a Senate report authored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the federal government owns more than 7,000 vacant buildings and nearly 2,500 buildings that are partially empty. 

The report also states that government buildings average an occupancy rate of 12%. 

During the hearing, the committee plans to examine how the Biden-Harris administration "failed to return federal workers to the office" and that failure could "hinder" the incoming Trump administration’s ability to bring them back due to long-term guarantees of telework in deals signed with federal employee unions.

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is bracing himself for the hot seat as he prepares to sit through the often-arduous confirmation hearing process on Wednesday with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as he vies to lead the State Department under the next Trump administration. 

Though Rubio is not expected to get off easy in front of the panel of his colleagues posed to pressure him on everything ranging from the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and a trade war with China, which Trump has threatened to drastically increase, he is expected to pass through more smoothly than other candidates Trump has slated for his Cabinet.

In an excerpt of Rubio's remarks obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of his address to the Senate body, he highlights the security threats that have emerged following the end of the Cold War and the belief that democracy could succeed across the globe and international free trade was the way of the future.

"While America far too often continued to prioritize the ‘global order’ above our core national interests, other nations continued to act the way countries always have and always will, in what they perceive to be in their best interest," the remarks read. "And instead of folding into the post-Cold War global order, they have manipulated it to serve their interest at the expense of ours."

"The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us," he added. 

Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois already threw his support behind his Republican peer and on Monday said, "Sen. Rubio and I share many similar views on foreign policy and, as a result, have worked closely together in the Senate to move forward with legislation regarding human rights around the world."

SENATE DEMOCRATIC WHIP DECLARES SUPPORT FOR RUBIO CONFIRMATION: 'MANY SIMILAR VIEWS ON FOREIGN POLICY'

"I believe Senator Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate," Durbin said in a statement after a meeting in which they discussed security issues involving Russia’s threat in the Baltic Sea and the NATO alliance. 

Trump announced his nomination of Rubio for the top diplomatic job in November, which the senior member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said was not only a "tremendous honor" but a "tremendous responsibility."

"The job of the secretary of state is to execute on the foreign policy set by the elected president of the United States. And I hope to have the opportunity to do it, if my current colleagues here in the U.S. Senate confirm me so," he told reporters on the Hill. 

But Rubio's commitment to execute the wishes of the executive office could also prove to be his most difficult hurdle, not only during Senate questioning but also in taking up the job should he be approved by the upper chamber. 

Trump has repeatedly made clear he expects unwavering loyalty from Cabinet members, advisers in the White House and even military leaders, and reports this week suggest the incoming administration may be planning on clearing house in the National Security Council to ensure the president is only surrounded by those who support his agenda, according to an Associated Press report. 

While Rubio and Trump see eye-to-eye on issues like U.S. support for Israel, remaining tough on China and opposing dictatorial powers in Latin America – all of which are unlikely to garner much opposition from Democrats in the Senate – there are issues that could prove tricky for the three-term senator to navigate.

TRUMP NOMINEE PETE HEGSETH FENDS OFF DEMOCRATIC ATTACKS AT FIERY CONFIRMATION HEARING

Rubio and Trump have a history of exchanging barbs, particularly during the 2016 presidential race.

The duo have long patched up their hostilities in large part because Rubio has more closely aligned himself behind Trump, a move that has meant he is no novice when it comes to walking the political tightrope between appeasing Trump and pursing issues important to him.

This balancing act became evident on the campaign trail when Rubio was asked about controversial comments made by the Trump camp when it came to U.S. support for Ukraine and how to end the now three-year war.

"I’m not on Russia’s side, but unfortunately the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement," Rubio said in a September interview with NBC’s "Meet the Press." 

Rubio dodged questions on whether he backed comments made by Vice President-elect JD Vance when he suggested Ukraine cede land to Russia and agree to a demilitarized zone along the current front lines.

Instead, he said, "I would be comfortable with a deal that ends these hostilities and that, I think, is favorable to Ukraine, meaning that they have their own sovereignty, that they don’t become a satellite state or a puppet state."

Rubio also backed Trump after concern mounted over the now-president-elect’s position on NATO when he said he would encourage any nation, including Russia, to "do whatever the hell they want" to any NATO nation not fulfilling their defense spending commitments.

"Donald Trump is not a member of the Council on Foreign Relations," Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper in February. "He doesn’t talk like a traditional politician, and we’ve already been through this. You would think people would’ve figured it out by now."

That said, Rubio in 2019 also helped reintroduce bipartisan legislation that would prohibit any president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval, a move that Trump threatened during his first term and which remained a top concern that was echoed by Trump's former NSC adviser, John Bolton, during the latest presidential race. 

Rubio’s unwavering outward loyalty to the incoming president could be tested if he is questioned about the president-elect’s expansionist rhetoric, like acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal through the use of the U.S. military. 

Fox News Digital could not reach Rubio’s office for comment on where he stands on U.S. intervention in Greenland, which is technically under the protection of NATO so long as it remains a territory of Denmark, as well as the Panama Canal, which the U.S. gave back to Panama in 1999 but which Trump has accused China of taking over.

FIRST ON FOX: A Democrat senator admitted Tuesday that he would support Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's confirmation again if the vote was held today despite Austin's many controversial actions and repeatedly grilling Trump's SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth over his qualifications earlier in the day.

"Would you vote for Lloyd Austin if there were a vote on him today?" Fox News Digital asked Blumenthal on Tuesday. 

"I would support General Austin as Secretary of Defense," Blumenthal responded. "I did when he was nominated. I would support Secretary Mattis that was nominated by President Trump during his first term. I would not support this nominee because [Hegseth] lacks the financial management skills, the character and confidence, as well as the moral compass."

During the hearing, Blumenthal told Hegseth, "I don't believe that you can tell this committee, or the people of America that you are qualified to lead them. I would support you as the spokesperson for the Pentagon. I don't dispute your communication skills, but I believe that we are entitled to the facts here."

TRUMP TEAM FIRES BACK AFTER DEM SENATOR DECLARES 'THE FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING'

Austin has been widely criticized by conservatives, as well as some Democrats, for presiding over the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as several other perceived missteps during his tenure, including a situation where he was forced to directly apologize to President Biden for not informing him that he was hospitalized. 

"Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin oversaw the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, let the Chinese make rapid advancements to catch up to our defense capabilities, went MIA for days leaving the Pentagon without a leader, prioritized DEI policies over defense needs, and allowed Biden’s policy of appeasement," GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X on Tuesday. "We need a DECISIVE leader who can focus the Department of Defense on its mission of protecting America. We need Pete Hegseth."

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., an Army veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, unsuccessfully handed Austin articles of impeachment in 2023, blaming him for a "25,000-plus recruitment shortage" and saying there were "8,400 people who were unconstitutionally purged from the military … you've got pronouns and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] being taught at our military academies when we need to be focusing on what the next threat is and how we mitigate it."

"Not only do I believe that you should have resigned ... I myself perceive this as a dereliction of duty, and I take that very seriously," Mills told Austin during the hearing before recounting what he believed were Austin's failures during the Afghanistan withdrawal. "Political optics was placed above the true military strategy, where we should have held Bagram Air Base, held the detention center … not shut down and entrap Americans by taking over HKIA (Hamid Karazai International Airport), the commercial airspace and abandoning thousands of Americans."

BIDEN'S 'POLITICAL' AFGHANISTAN STRATEGY GUTTED US CREDIBILITY, ARMY VET CONGRESSMAN SAYS AS HEARINGS BEGIN

Conservatives on social media also brought up a controversy from 2010 when Blumenthal was first running for Senate, where he suggested on multiple occasions he had served in Vietnam when he had not. Blumenthal, who received several draft deferments before serving in the Marine Corps. Reserve,  ultimately acknowledged that he had "misspoken" about his record but described those instances as few and far between.

"Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, who lied about serving in Vietnam to get elected, berating combat vet Pete Hegseth is a bit hard to take," Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X on Tuesday.

"Reminder: Sen. Blumenthal lied for his entire adult life about fighting in a war that he did not," Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Blumenthal made the case that Tuesday’s hearing was about Hegseth’s record and not his. 

"The people of Connecticut have always been clear about my record of military service, which is why they overwhelmingly elected me three times to the United States Senate," Blumenthal said. "This hearing was about Pete Hegseth’s record of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement that showed him to be unqualified and unprepared to command 3.4 million Americans who protect our nation’s security."

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed reporting.