Days away from his upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post that the incoming administration had already hired more than 1,000 people to work for the U.S. government.
He also indicated that individuals who have worked with or been backed by "people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome," are not desirable job candidates.
Trump named former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and others, noting that those who have worked with or been endorsed by those individuals should not be floated as job candidates.
"As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people for The United States Government. They are outstanding in every way, and you will see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly!" the incoming commander-in-chief said in the post.
"In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), "Dumb as a Rock" John Bolton, ‘Birdbrain’ Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he added.
Haley and Pence each mounted bids for the GOP presidential nomination during the recent election cycle, but both ultimately dropped out. While Haley endorsed Trump, Pence did not.
Cheney, who was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, has been a vociferous Trump critic over the years. Last year she backed Vice President Kamala Harris, and campaigned with the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
Ryan, a former House Speaker, told Yahoo Finance last year that he would not vote for Trump, but planned to write in a Republican, as he had done the last time.
Romney was one of the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump after the 2021 House impeachment. In 2020, Romney voted to convict on one of the two impeachment articles levied against Trump. Romney, who has indicated that he did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, declared last year that he would not vote for Trump in 2024.
Bolton, an outspoken Trump detractor, said last year on BBC's "HARDtalk" that he did not think the candidates were fit to serve as president, and he would not vote for either one.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is hardening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting safety concerns and just days before President-elect Trump is sworn into office.
Healey, a Democrat, is proposing drastic changes to how the state houses migrants by proposing that all families staying in emergency shelters be in the country legally, with rare exceptions. The move would effectively prevent new migrants from staying in state shelters.
The change, which comes after a review of the state’s right-to-shelter law, would see all shelter applicants be required to show that they are either a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or are here "under the color of law." Exceptions are made for households that include children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The governor is also looking to strengthen background checks for anyone staying at a shelter by requiring them to disclose criminal convictions in the state and elsewhere.
Her proposal would require applicants to verify their identity, residency and immigration status before being housed. Currently, shelter applicants are allowed to be housed before providing any documentation.
It would also limit those qualifying due to evictions to the state, not anywhere in the country. For instance, this would eliminate a scenario where a migrant is evicted in another state and then comes to Massachusetts and gets shelter benefits.
"I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law," Healey said in a statement. "In addition, these proposed changes will allow us to continue to ensure the safety of our system, support cities and towns in addressing the needs of unhoused families in their communities and put us on the path toward a more fiscally sustainable shelter system."
The moves come amid safety concerns at the state’s shelters and various crimes being linked to illegal migrants in the state. Records from the state indicate there have been hundreds of serious incidents at the shelters, including rapes.
Last month, an illegal immigrant was allegedly caught with an AR-15 and about $1 million worth of fentanyl in a state-subsidized hotel room. An El Salvadoran illegal immigrant was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child while Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seen a recent spike in illegal immigrants arrested for sex crimes in the Boston area and throughout Massachusetts.
Healey said in November that her state police will "absolutely not" be cooperating with the expected mass deportation effort by the incoming Trump administration, warning that she will use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect" residents in the blue state.
Healey’s new proposals about after a review of the state’s right to shelter law, "continued inaction by Congress and no assistance from the federal government."
The proposals need to be approved by the legislature, and Healey outlined her recommendations in a letter to the Senate President, Speaker, and House and Senate Ways and Means Chairs, urging the changes to be in the Emergency Assistance (EA) Supplemental Budget.
She recently announced that the administration will phase out the use of hotels and motels as shelters by the end of 2025.
Massachusetts adopted its Right to Shelter law 40 years ago, which was designed to provide housing for families in need, specifically pregnant women and children experiencing homelessness.
In recent years, migrants have sought shelter under this law which has overwhelmed its shelter system. Last year, Healey declared a state of emergency in the state due to the surge and called for federal action. She also acknowledged that the state’s policies may be a draw for migrants.
Migrants were even sleeping on the floors of Boston's Logan International Airport as the shelter system became overcrowded.
About 50,000 migrants have come to the state since 2021, according to. July report by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the new proposal is in line with what lawmakers have been trying to do.
"From the outset of the shelter system crisis, the House has consistently led the effort to ensure that the Commonwealth’s emergency assistance program could remain financially viable in the long-term, resulting in reforms that capped the maximum length of stay, and that required job training for individuals in the shelter system," he said in a statement, per the Associated Press.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr also welcomed the proposal.
"With the growing consensus not only on Beacon Hill, but throughout the Commonwealth, that major changes are needed urgently, we have the opportunity to at last take actions that will make the system safer, more accountable and transparent, and more sustainable," Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said in a statement.
Massachusetts' Republican Party in August accused Healey of quietly having spent over $1 billion on the state’s migrant crisis.
"The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark," Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement at the time.
"They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMTs. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public."
President Biden warned in his farewell speech of an "ultra-wealthy" "oligarchy" posing a threat to America as big tech CEOS have been warming up to President-elect Trump in recent months.
Biden spoke Wednesday as reports emerged this week that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg – the three most wealthy people in the world who collectively are worth more than $850 billion, according to Forbes – will be seated next to Trump’s cabinet picks and elected officials next Monday at his inauguration.
"I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed. That's why in my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And that's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few, ultra-wealthy people. And the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked," Biden said from the Oval Office.
"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden continued. "We see the consequences all across America, and we've seen it before, more than a century ago. But the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trust. They didn't punish the wealthy, they just made the wealthy play by the rules everybody else had to."
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, have all met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida following his election victory in November.
During the election cycle, Musk gave at least $277 million in donations to help get Trump and other Republicans elected, according to The Washington Post, which cited filings from the Federal Election Commission.
Tech giants including Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google and Microsoft are reported to have donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Musk has been tasked with heading up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will examine issues of government spending, waste, efficiency and operations.
In order to do that, Musk may occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building right next to the West Wing that houses the bulk of office space for White House staffers, the New York Times reported.
Biden also said in his farewell speech that American leadership and technology is an "unparalleled source of innovation that can transform lives," but "we see the same dangers, the concentration of technology, power and wealth."
"You know, in his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military industrial complex. He warned us then about, and I quote, the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power, end of quote. Six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country, as well," Biden added.
"Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit," the president continued. "We must hold the social platform accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.
"Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time. Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy and our security, our society, for humanity. Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work and how we protect our nation. We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind," Biden said.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., isn’t playing around when it comes to bringing federal employees back to the office. In the committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress, Comer delivered remarks slamming the Biden administration’s "failure" to get federal employees back to the office.
"When President Trump’s team enters federal agency headquarters in and around DC, they’ll find them to be mostly empty. That’s due to the Biden administration’s failure to end telework and to bring federal employees back to the office," Comer said.
While there are still a few days left in President Biden’s term, Washington is preparing itself for a shift ahead of President-elect Trump’s return to DC. According to the Oversight Committee’s report, which cites "the Biden-Harris Administration’s own data," as of May 2024, 1,057,000 telework-eligible federal employees were in-office three times a week, and another 228,000 remote employees "never come to the office at all."
The report, titled "The lights are on, but everyone is at home: Why the new administration will enter largely vacant federal agency offices," is 41 pages and was prepared by Republicans on the committee. In its report, the committee makes the case that telework policies have been "detrimental" to government agencies.
In the hearing, Comer pointed the finger at Democrats, in particular, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-Ny. He slammed Schumer for allegedly letting the Show Up Act "collect dust." The legislation would bring federal employees’ telework back to "pre-pandemic levels."
"The Government Accountability Office found that 17 of the largest 24 federal agency headquarters in the DC area were less than 25% occupied, some much less than 25% occupied. A separate study by the Public Buildings Reform Board found that occupancy rates were just half that at 12%, 12% occupancy," Comer said at the hearing. "Taxpayer money is being wasted to lease and maintain all that expensive, empty office space."
The committee writes in its report that Trump is inheriting "a largely absentee workforce," blaming it on the telework policies "entrenched" by the Biden administration.
Comer also noted that the telework policy for federal workers has resulted in a "lack of foot traffic" that is "economically devastating" for DC, something Mayor Muriel Bowser has also pointed out. Bowser has been "imploring the White House to change" the telework policy for nearly two years.
In fact, the Democrat lawmaker met with President-elect Trump to discuss what could be done with the "underutilized federal buildings" around the city.
Bowser expressed optimism after the Dec. 30 meeting, saying both she and Trump "want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation."
The committee’s report acknowledges that Trump "invoked massive telework and remote work" at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and adds that he "quickly sought to return federal employees to their offices to deliver for the American people when it became clear that widespread, indiscriminate lockdowns were not the right societal answer to the pandemic."
FIRST ON FOX: The conservative House Freedom Caucus is preparing to release a proposal for Republicans' planned conservative policy overhaul that would raise the debt limit by two years or roughly $4 trillion, Fox News Digital is told.
Congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.
But there has been some disagreement over whether to pass all of their goals – touching on border security, defense, spending cuts, tax cuts, and energy – in one single bill to not risk any items falling behind, or split the priorities into two separate pieces of legislation to ensure early victory on at least some measures.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he favors the one-bill approach, but would be open to two. He also tasked Republicans with raising or suspending the debt limit, with the U.S. Treasury projected to run out of funds to pay its debts by mid-June.
Freedom Caucus members are among the Republicans calling for two separate bills. The plan being unveiled on Thursday would call for border security, defense, and steep spending cuts to be included in the first bill.
Those cuts would then be used to offset tax breaks being extended in the second bill, Fox News Digital was told.
The conservative lawmakers presented the plan to Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday, but it's unclear how he responded.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously backed a two-bill approach in public comments.
Opponents of that plan, which include Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee, have warned that leaving Trump's tax cuts for a second bill would all but guarantee that provisions he passed during his previous term would expire by the end of the year, raising taxes for millions of Americans.
Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., previously pointed out to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that two reconciliation bills have not been passed in one term since the 1990s.
But GOP negotiators have not decided whether to include action on the debt limit in their reconciliation bill, with both measures known to require difficult political maneuvering.
The Freedom Caucus' expected plan is a way for fiscal hawks who have traditionally scorned action on the debt limit to agree to do so.
That same group is also concerned that putting all the agenda items into a single bill will not result in sufficient cuts to offset the added spending.
With two House Republicans departing for the Trump administration on Jan. 20, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have to navigate a razor-thin majority until special elections are expected in April.
Until then, just one Republican "no" vote will be enough to derail any piece of legislation that does not get Democratic support.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team and the House Freedom Caucus for comment.
House Judiciary Democrats penned a letter Wednesday asking outgoing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case.
They want Trump's valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to walk from the charges so that Garland can release the second volume, which is related to the classified documents case, of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report. Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday. Garland said he will not release the second volume because both men still face prosecution.
The Democrats believe that Trump will pardon both men, so Garland should drop the charges now or the report will not come out.
"While we understand your honorable and steadfast adherence to Mr. Nauta’s and Mr. De Oliveira’s due process rights as criminal defendants, the practical effect of this position is that Volume 2 will almost certainly remain concealed for at least four more years if you do not release it before President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20," the letter obtained by Fox News says.
"The public interest, however, now demands that the President-elect must not escape accountability to the American people," they added. "Accordingly, to the extent the tangential charges against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira stand in the way of the overriding imperative of transparency and truth, the interests of justice demand that their cases be dismissed now so that the entirety of Special Counsel Smith’s report can be released to the American people."
The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as well as Democratic committee members Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York; Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, J. Luis Correa, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Zoe Lofgren of California; Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath of Georgia; Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Joseph Neguse of Colorado; Deborah Ross of North Carolina; Becca Balint of Vermont; Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia of Illinois; and Jasmine Crockett of Missouri.
"We obviously do not condone the sycophantic, delinquent, and criminal behavior that Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are charged with," the letter says. "However, Donald Trump was plainly the mastermind of this deception operation to conceal and abuse classified material, a fact made clear by his being charged with 32 counts of willfully retaining these classified documents, while his co-defendants were charged with lesser offenses related to obstructing the investigation, largely at Mr. Trump’s direction. By virtue of DOJ policy prohibiting the indictment or prosecution of a sitting president, Mr. Trump has dodged any criminal accountability for his own wrongdoing. Mr. Trump’s 2024 victory saved him from a public trial and robbed the American people of the opportunity to learn the meaning and details of his unpatriotic, reckless, and intentional abuse of national security information."
Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments over Volume 2 in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Thursday. Garland released Volume 1, focused on the election interference case, earlier this week.
Attorneys for Nauta and De Oliveira earlier this month asked Cannon to keep the special counsel report out of the public eye.
Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira all pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump's keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence.
It is customary for a special counsel to release a final report when his or her work is done, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached as a result of the probe. It's up to Garland whether to release it publicly. In Smith's case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump's status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.
Garland is expected to give his farewell address to the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. and Mexican law enforcement worked together to locate and shut down a man-made cross-border tunnel used by cartels to smuggle cargo into the U.S. across the southern border -- complete with lighting and ventilation.
Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, discovered the tunnel on Thursday. In a statement, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they discovered a man-made tunnel that breaches into the public storm drain.
The six-foot tall, four-foot wide tunnel was covered by a 36-by-36 inch entry hole. It was sophisticated and equipped with lighting, a ventilation system, and was supported by wooden beams throughout.
CBP said it worked with local and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the El Paso Police Dept and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
It also worked with the Mexican government to uncover the tunnel.
"We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations," El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good said in a statement. "Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector. With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all perpetrators to justice —those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways to entering the United States."
FBI Special Agent in Charge John Maroles said the discovery underscores the vital importance of coordination and collaboration among our law enforcement agencies.
"This successful binational operation exemplifies the strong partnerships between agencies in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, working together to secure our shared border and protect our communities. These partnerships are critical in ensuring the safety and security of our communities and our nation as a whole," he said.
The Border Patrol has discovered a number of tunnels used by smugglers to bring in humans and drugs across the southern border over the years, including in 2020 when authorities thwarted a tunnel with a fully developed ventilation system in Arizona.
The discovery comes days before the Trump administration takes office, with border security and a crackdown against illegal immigration at the top of the agenda.
The Biden administration was hit by a multiyear historic border crisis, although numbers subsided considerably in 2024. The administration touted a number of operations that it conducted in coordination with the Mexican government to stop smugglers crossing the border.
On Wednesday, Pam Bondi -- President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice -- said she would be in favor of designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The field of contenders to become the next Democratic National Committee chair has narrowed after a long-shot candidate dropped out and endorsed Ken Martin, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair.
Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, has been considered a frontrunner for the DNC job.
Martin received a boost after New York state Sen. James Skoufis dropped out of the race and endorsed him, Politico reported Thursday morning.
Skoufis told the outlet in a statement that Martin "will re-center what is most important for our party: expanding the map and rebuilding our once-big Democratic tent by taking power outside of the DC Beltway and kicking the out-of-touch consultant class to the curb."
Democrats suffered major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections as former President Trump recaptured the White House and the GOP flipped the Senate and held onto its fragile majority in the House.
Martin told Fox News Digital last month that if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is "figure out a plan to win."
"And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood," he said. "How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together, that’s the biggest thing."
Two other top contenders in the DNC race are Ben Wikler, who has steered the state Democratic Party in battleground Wisconsin since 2019, and Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration the past year.
Current DNC chair Jaime Harrison is not seeking another four-year term steering the national party committee. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet Feb. 1 at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC's winter meeting.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, has vowed to head up a Justice Department free from political influence and mismanagement if confirmed – using her confirmation hearing Wednesday to assuage concerns that she might use the role to go after Trump's so-called "enemies" or otherwise weaponize the Department of Justice.
For weeks, Bondi has done the same behind closed doors – meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan charm offensive designed to head off any unexpected encounters and ensure an easy path to confirmation.
As of Wednesday, the careful strategy seems to have paid off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida AG in light of their earlier in light of their earlier one-on-one meetings in private.
"I had a good meeting with her," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told Politico Wednesday following the hearing.
Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the start of her confirmation Wednesday, Bondi highlighted her early dreams of becoming a prosecutor – a dream she said was realized almost immediately after beginning law school.
"From the moment I interned at the State Attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor," Bondi said, noting that she had four jury trials while in law school. "I lost most of them," she laughed, but still "never wanted to do anything else."
"If confirmed," Bondi continued, her tone turned serious, "I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components."
She also vowed to collaborate closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on earlier relationships developed with Senate offices in the run-up to Wednesday's hearing.
Trump’s Democratic detractors wasted little time in the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi’s confirmation and her ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect; many of them confronted her directly with the names of her would-be predecessors who tried and failed to do the same.
They questioned her willingness to go after political "enemies" and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump's FBI nominee.
But Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of Wednesday's hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break.
She highlighted her record on fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, and human trafficking as Florida's top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.
If confirmed, Bondi's former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.
Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen.
Those who have worked with Bondi in her decades-long prosecutorial career have described her in both a series of interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner.
Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar – a role where they would go on to work in tandem to crack down on the state's opioid crisis – some of the office's most important and lasting work.
He credited her in an interview as the "most responsible for ridding the state of Florida of destructive pill mills," citing her push for statewide legislation, and her work in enforcing Florida's "Statewide Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Road Map" to coordinate federal, state and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis, among other actions.
At the time, the Sunshine State was at the epicenter of the U.S. opioid crisis, with an abundance of "pill mills," cash-only clinics, and lack of statewide prescribing laws that allowed for the purchase of addictive medications largely without restrictions.
When Bondi took office, opioids were killing around seven people each day, Aronberg said in an interview. There were also "more pain clinics than McDonald's locations" in Florida at the time, he said, illustrating the magnitude of the problem. If confirmed as U.S. attorney general, Bondi has made clear she plans to remain focused on cracking down on illicit drugs – albeit on a national scale.
Other parts of her record in Florida were also highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and economic relief secured by then-Florida attorney general Bondi on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State.
After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi's lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief.
These issues are likely to take center stage in Thursday's hearing – the second day of Bondi's two-day confirmation – which will focus on testimony of others who have worked with her over the years.
National praise
In the weeks ahead of Bondi's hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former top Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi, praising both her experience for the role and commitment to the rule of law.
The letter from the former Justice Department officials was signed by top officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations, and by former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, who noted: "It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials – much less Attorneys General – to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe."
The letter also praised what the officials described as Bondi's "national reputation" for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.
More recently, Bondi also earned the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included both Democrats and Republican attorneys general, who touted what they described as Bondi’s wealth of prosecutorial experience – including in her role as Florida's top prosecutor – that they said makes her especially qualified for the role.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to reconvene Thursday at 10:15 a.m. to hear from a panel of outside witnesses relating to Bondi's qualifications for attorney general.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, a top Democrat who served on the congressional committee investigating President-elect Donald Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, isn't expecting any favors from the outgoing commander-in-chief.
He said he thinks a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden, protecting him from Trump's potential retaliation, is unnecessary because the Jan. 6 committee "didn't do anything wrong."
"I don’t think a pardon is necessary. I stand by the work that we did," on the committee, Aguilar told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday.
The California Democrat also said that he has "not sought a pardon," nor has he spoken to anyone at the White House about one. Fox News Digital reached out to Aguilar to inquire whether he would accept one, if it were granted to him, but did not hear back.
Lawmakers who served on the House committee investigating Jan. 6 have been split about the importance of a preemptive pardon. Some fear it will set a bad precedent for future presidents and assert that the Constitution's speech and debate clause provides adequate protection against criminal prosecutions, or civil lawsuits, over their legislative work. Others, meanwhile, have welcomed the idea of a pardon, fearing "retribution" from Trump.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the former Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump, said he spoke with the White House last month about the potential of issuing pardons for lawmakers who served on the committee, and said he would accept a pardon from Biden if it were granted to him.
"I believe Donald Trump when he says he’s going to inflict retribution on this," Thompson said this week. "I believe when he says my name and Liz Cheney and the others. I believe him."
Other than Thompson, no other members of the committee have indicated they will accept a pardon granted to them by Biden. However, they have stopped short of saying whether they would decline one.
"I’ve not been in touch with the White House. I’ve not sought one," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who served on the committee, said Tuesday.
"It would be the wrong precedent to set. I don’t want to see each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons," Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who also served on the committee, said in an interview with CNN earlier this month. Former GOP Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger made the same argument as Schiff, but went a step further, saying that he did not want one.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said during a live event this week hosted by Politico that he wasn't sure what the right call for Biden was.
"Different people have different feelings about the whole pardon thing because there are these outrageous threats that are being leveled against people just for doing their jobs, like Jan. 6 prosecutors at the Department of Justice," Raskin said. He added that "in a just world" there would be no need for a pardon because the committee did nothing wrong.
"I'm glad we've got a wise president with wise people around him who will be able to figure that out," Raskin said.
During Biden's final interview as president with a print publication last week, he indicated that preemptive pardons for Trump's political foes were still under consideration. Biden also noted in the interview that he had personally urged Trump not to "try to settle scores" when he met with the president-elect at the White House following his November election victory.
Trump has referred to Thompson and other members on the Jan. 6 committee as "thugs" and "creeps." During an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press" last month, Trump accused the members on the committee of destroying evidence, adding that "everybody on that committee … should go to jail."
"They lied. And what did they do? They deleted and destroyed a whole year and a half worth of testimony. Do you know that I can’t get — I think those people committed a major crime," Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department released a 137-page report outlining the details of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Due to Trump's election victory, prosecutors were forced to drop the case, but the report, according to Smith, shows how Trump allegedly used "lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process."
The Jan. 6 committee concluded its work after roughly a year and a half of investigations with a final report that determined Trump played a central role in the events that led to the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and that there was enough evidence for federal prosecutors to convict him. The report included several criminal referrals that the committee ultimately passed on to the Department of Justice.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom will temporarily raise the American Flag at the state Capitol to full height on Inauguration Day next week, joining a handful of GOP governors and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in the decision.
Newsom's press office confirmed the decision to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night.
Following tradition, flags at the U.S. Capitol and state buildings across the country are flying at half-staff because of the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, 2024.
Flags temporarily raised to full height will return to half-staff on Jan. 21 for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period, which ends on Jan. 28 – eight days after President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office.
As of Thursday morning, Newsom is the only Democratic governor to issue the directive, which comes as Southern California is ravaged by catastrophic wildfires.
Similar decisions were recently made by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – all of whom are Republicans.
Trump has criticized the potential for flags to be displayed at half-staff for his inauguration following Carter's death.
"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. "They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don't love our Country, they only think about themselves."
"Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years - It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast," he continued. "Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Flags were flown at half-staff when former President Nixon was sworn-in for his second term in 1973 after Nixon ordered the flags to be lowered following the death of former President Truman.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.
President Biden is ending his tenure in the White House on a "sad" note after "lying to the nation" and taking credit for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas during his farewell address on Wednesday evening, a Trump transition official said.
"Joe Biden is going out sad. Lying to the nation trying to take credit for a deal that all parties credit President Trump for making happen. Biden has had well over a year to secure the release of these hostages and peace. He failed. Trump succeeded," a Trump transition official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.
War has raged in the Middle East since October of 2023, with Israel and Hamas coming to a cease-fire agreement on Wednesday that also ensured the release of hostages.
Biden delivered his final address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he took a victory lap for the cease fire in his opening remarks.
"My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year," Biden said.
"This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that's how it should be, working together as Americans," he continued.
Credit for reaching the agreement, however, was bolstered by the incoming Trump administration, according to sources who told Fox Digital that a recent meeting between Trump's incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly played a pivotal role in the deal.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump on Wednesday for "his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages."
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families," the official Prime Minister of Israel X account posted.
"The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism."
The X account added later: "Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal."
When asked who the history books would remember for championing the cease-fire deal earlier Wednesday, Biden balked at the suggestion Trump and his team spearheaded the effort.
"Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?" Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon's White House news conference.
"Is that a joke?" the president responded.
"Oh. Thank you," Biden responded when Heinrich said it was not a joke, and then walked away.
Reactions from social media came pouring in on Wednesday night as President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to the country ending his career in politics that spanned over half a century.
"Joe Biden discussing democracy, a free press, institutions and the abuse of power in his final farewell speech is rich," GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X.
"What an embarrassing and pathetic end to an embarrassing and pathetic term," Fox News host Greg Gutfeld posted on X.
"Joe Biden can’t even read. Every time he speaks it gets worse," conservative commentator and radio host Clay Travis posted on X. "Trying to run him in 2024 is the most reckless and indefensible presidential decision in any of our lives."
"My thoughts on President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address: It was underwhelming and divisive," Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, posted on X.
"I’m relieved his four-year term is coming to an end. Mr. Biden failed to bring Americans together and pushed terrible "whole of government" policies that weakened us on many fronts: energy, national security, economics/small business, foreign affairs, and general freedoms. History won’t look kindly on Biden’s tenure. He’s now the most unpopular U.S. President in history."
"Joe Biden mentions climate hysteria ahead of actual priorities, like border security, lowering costs, and peace through strength," GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X. "They never learn."
"I'm stunned," former Democrat adviser Dan Turrentine posted on X. "I'm no historian, but, I don't recall a more dark Presidential farewell address? It's more a cry to the DNC than accentuating the positive to the country. This is sad."
"Biden ends his presidency by using rhetoric that would be right at home in a third-world communist dictatorship," Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. "This may be the worst farewell speech in presidential history."
Democrats, however, generally had a decidedly different take.
"Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right," former President Barack Obama posted on X.
"That’s what Joe Biden did. At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new jobs, historic wage gains, and lower health care costs. He passed landmark legislation to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and address the threat of climate change. I’m grateful to Joe for his leadership, his friendship, and his lifetime of service to this country we love."
Liberal commentator Harry Sisson posted on X, "President Biden just gave the best speech of his presidency."
"His farewell address was incredibly moving. I will always be thankful for President Biden and his talented administration. Thank you to everyone who served and gave America an amazing four years."
Biden's speech comes as he has four days left in his presidency until Monday's inauguration when President-elect Trump will be sworn into office.
"My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration -- a cease fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year," Biden said in his opening remarks, taking credit for the recent announcement that a cease fire deal had been reached in Israel.
"This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that's how it should be, working together as Americans," he continued.
Biden's speech also focused on the American dream and the "most powerful idea" that "all of us are created equal."
"The very idea of America was so big we felt the entire world needed to see. The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our civil war. Like the very idea of America. It was built not by one person, but by many people, from every background and from around the world. Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She's on the march and she literally moves," he said.
"A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force. A nation of immigrants came to build a better life, a nation holding a torch. The most powerful idea ever in the history of the world that all of us, all of us are created equal. All of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice and fairness. That democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible. Our rights, our freedoms, our dreams," he said.
A Native American tribe in South Dakota lifted its banishment on Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in a letter Wednesday, offering its endorsement of her nomination to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, Fox News Digital has learned.
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider wrote a letter to Noem Wednesday informing her the tribe's executive committee voted to "remove the banishment" it placed on Noem in May and congratulated her for her nomination to serve in President-elect Trump's cabinet.
The letter comes just days before Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing.
"I commend you on your nomination by President Elect Donald Trump to the position of Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and hereby support your nomination. I wish you the best of luck during the Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2025, and believe that your dedication to the safety and security of the United States will benefit us all," Reider's letter states, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.
All nine native tribes in South Dakota banned Noem from their reservations last year after outrage over her suggestion that tribal leaders benefit from cartels and the immigration crisis and comments regarding native children's futures. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe was the last tribe to ban her.
"Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better," Noem said last year in a comment that drew criticism from tribes.
Reider addressed the issue in his letter to Noem Wednesday, explaining that the governor has apologized for her previous remarks and explained her commentary.
"One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some. In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated," Reider wrote.
Trump announced Noem as his pick to lead DHS shortly after his decisive win over Kamala Harris, citing the Republican governor's efforts to secure the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by illegal crossings under the Biden administration.
In the months since her nomination, Noem has picked up endorsements from at least eight police groups or unions, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents.
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also called on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to swiftly confirm Noem after a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans on New Year's Day.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, a large, historically Democratic firefighter union, also recently endorsed Noem, arguing during the raging wildfires in Los Angeles she "understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made."
The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.
Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress.
Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
"We’regoing to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people," Sessions told Fox News Digital.
Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it "DOGE Days."
"We're going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we're on them," Bean said. "We're going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum."
They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of.
During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.
And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants.
"Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That's ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit," Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills.
Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste.
The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation.
The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails.
Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm.
Sessions added, "I've gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I'd like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also."
Florida's Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, all but assuring he will assume the role of top diplomat under the new Trump administration later this month.
Rubio’s confirmation hearing — a process usually full of verbal diatribes, strong political agendas and illusive answers — was full of pleasantries, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers applauding his work in the Senate and his in-depth knowledge of complex issues across the globe.
While Rubio may have been welcomed by his Senate colleagues, his hearing wasn’t entirely contention-free.
The secretary of state-hopeful’s opening remarks were interrupted by several protesters affiliated with a group known as Code Pink, who were protesting the Israel-Hamas war and wore pink shirts that read "stop killing the children of Gaza."
Two of the demonstrators forced to leave the chamber were male, before a female protester also stood up and yelled out in Spanish.
She was quickly escorted from the room and the hearing promptly restarted.
"I get bilingual protesters," Rubio said to the panel of senators with a grin before resuming his remarks.
Rubio’s quip about the protesters appeared to set the tone for his hearing.
Though Rubio faced tough questions about detailed geopolitical issues on nearly every continent, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also joked around with their Senate colleague.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced Rubio at the top of the hearing and quipped that "finally" he will get to be the senior senator of Florida after the duo have served together in the upper chamber since 2019.
Sen. Cory Booker , D-N.J., drew chuckles when he said, "Sen. Rubio, the President [elect] made a great decision in choosing you. You’re a thought leader in foreign policy. I, however, don’t think most Americans know how great of a thought leader you are in NCAA, NFL and high school football, and I’m a little disappointed that you’re not going to the head of the NCAA right now."
To which Rubio replied, "Not yet," garnering laughs from the room.
In another bipartisan moment rarely seen during Cabinet nomination hearings, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told a touching story from one of her first encounters with Rubio — a stark contrast to her questioning of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth the day prior.
In 2018, not only was Duckworth relatively new to the upper chamber, but the soon-to-be new mom was also pushing the congressional body to change its rules and allow new parents to bring their infant onto the Senate floor during a vote.
Duckworth, who is physically disabled after surviving a 2004 RPG attack on her helicopter in Iraq, described rolling across the Senate floor in her wheelchair when she heard someone call out her name.
"And you came running down from the top back of the Senate chambers to tell me, ‘I’m with you. I will support you’," she said. "And I just want to thank you for that kindness… It was a moment of true bipartisanship."
Rubio responded and said, "I think what I exactly said is, ‘What’s the big deal? This place is already full of babies,'" once again drawing laughs.
The five-hour hearing wasn’t all fun and levity, as Rubio was pressed on issues with major security implications like the war in Ukraine, China, NATO and Artic security.
Rubio surprised no one with his tough-on-China approach and his commitment to remaining a strong ally of NATO’s.
However, one area senators may have hoped Rubio would have come out more definitively was over what continued support for Ukraine may look like and how the incoming Trump administration will handle the question of Ukraine becoming a NATO member.
Both Ukraine and Russia have signaled they are open to negotiating a cease-fire. But securing a lasting peace deal could be difficult as Ukraine entering the NATO alliance has been deemed a non-negotiable by both Kyiv — who wants the alliance’s security — and Moscow — which has fervently opposed Ukrainian NATO membership.
"The truth of the matter is that in this conflict there is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are too brave, and fight too hard, and the country is too big," Rubio said.
But he added that "there’s no way Ukraine is also pushing these people [Russians] all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion."
Rubio pointed out that Ukraine will not be able to keep up with the sheer number of bodies that Russia can throw in to the war.
"It's important for everyone to be realistic. There will have to be concessions," he said. "This is not going to be easy. "[It's] going to require a lot of hard diplomacy."
The security threats surrounding China came up in nearly every issue Rubio was asked to address, including its growing presence in Africa and Latin America, its oppressive practices in the South China Sea, concerns over trade, human rights abuses, tech and its growing relationships with other adversarial nations.
"This is something that's existed now for at least a decade in my service," he said, referring to a 2017 trip he took to Panama. "Chinese companies control port facilities at both ends of the canal — the east and the west. And the concerns among military officials and security officials, including in Panama, at that point, [was] that could one day be used as a choke point to impede commerce in a moment of conflict."
"This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted," Rubio added.
The issue of Chinese control over the major waterway resurfaced earlier this month when Trump refused to say whether he would rule out military intervention in the Panama Canal.
Rubio was pressed on the subject multiple times, though he was clear that he was not yet at a point where he knew enough about the legal parameters of U.S. intervention in Panama to give a thorough response.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., applauded Rubio for being "extremely well-prepared" for his confirmation hearing as the next secretary of state — a stark contrast to his tense engagement with Hegseth during the hearing a day prior.
"We're used to seeing nominees who know a lot about a couple of things, and sometimes, who know very little about virtually everything," he said. "But I think you've seen a hearing with a nominee who — agree or disagree with the points he's made — he's not talking out of a briefing book.
"He's not having a thumb through a binder to decide how to answer a particular question," Kaine continued. "I've always been struck by working with Sen. Rubio on this committee, since I came to the Senate in January 2013, that he has a very well-developed sense of the world and a passion in all corners of it."
Kaine's sentiment appeared to be shared by the entirety of the committee, and many of the senators expressed confidence that Rubio will be unanimously confirmed for the top job.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalizations "unnecessarily" increased America’s national security risk, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The Pentagon watchdog’s scathing 188-page review scrutinizes the secretary’s hospitalizations in December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024 and puts the blame on Austin’s team for communication lapses and failures to transfer authority.
OIG noted the main role Austin’s "strong desire for privacy about his medical condition" played in the breakdown of communications within the Pentagon, as well as between Defense Department and the White House and Congress.
Neither Austin’s chief of staff nor Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks knew of his cancer diagnosis or the procedure he underwent in December 2023. In fact, OIG notes that "nearly all of his staff" were unaware of Austin’s medical condition and treatments.
Evidence also allegedly indicates that, on Jan. 1, 2024, when he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "severe" pain, Austin requested the ambulance not use lights or sirens. Additionally, according to the report, Austin told his personal security officer not to notify anyone about the incident.
"No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the seriousness of his condition, including when his condition became worse and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit on January 2," OIG noted in its report.
On Jan. 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, texted the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In her message, Magsamen urged the secretary to be more forthcoming about his condition.
"I wish [Secretary Austin] were a normal person but he’s the [Secretary of Defense]. We have a big institutional responsibility. He can’t just go totally dark on his staff. … Please pass to him that we can’t keep his hospitalization a secret forever. It’s kind of big deal for him to be in the [SICU]. And I’m worried sick," Magsamen wrote, according to the OIG report.
The OIG also found that on Feb. 11, 2024, when Austin was once again unexpectedly hospitalized, his authorities were not transferred "until several hours later." In reference to this incident, the OIG noted that "given the seriousness of his condition," Austin’s authorities should have been transferred "hours earlier than ultimately occurred."
After its review, the OIG gave the DOD 20 recommendations to "improve processes" and advised the department to act on them promptly.
Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement that "while the DoD has taken some important steps to address these concerns, additional improvements are required to ensure the DoD’s readiness, transparency, and the fulfillment of its mission. These improvements are not just an administrative necessity; they are an operational and national security imperative."
Ultimately, the report found that the Department of Defense lacked a "comprehensive" plan for handing off duties in the event of the secretary’s absence.
After the report’s release, a senior defense official admitted to reporters that Austin "made a mistake," insisting "there was no scandal" and "there was no cover up." The official also noted that "at every moment, either the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense was fully prepared to support the president."
Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings in a February 2024 press conference shortly after the hospitalizations became public.
"I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right," Austin said at the time regarding his previous hospitalization. "I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people."
Speaker Mike Johnson is replacing Rep. Mike Turner as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after a debacle that started with a warning about Russian space nuclear technology last year, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Johnson, R-La., was unhappy with Turner, R-Ohio, after a seemingly unexpected warning he issued about the need to declassify information about Russian anti-satellite technology.
A hawk by nature, Turner sometimes went up against the Trumpist wing of his Republican Party on matters like support for Ukraine aid and Section 702 of FISA.
The decision to replace Turner took many by surprise. Though Johnson had not officially named him as chairman, Turner attended a dinner of House GOP committee chairs with President-elect Trump over the weekend.
Rep. Jim Himes, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters the removal of Turner as chairman "sends a shiver down my spine," adding that Turner was not the kind to "bend the knee" to Trump.
Last February, Turner warned of a "serious national security threat" that he was urging President Biden to declassify information on.
"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat," he added.
Johnson was then left to quell the public alarm.
Johnson said he "saw Chairman Turner's statement on the issue, and I want to assure the American people there's no need for public alarm."
"I'm not at liberty to disclose classified information and really can't say much of that, but we just want to assure everyone, steady hands are at the wheel, we're working on it. There's no need for alarm."
In the days that followed, details of the Russian threat soon began to filter through to the press, painting a picture of an adversary capable of disabling U.S. military satellites and other critical space-based infrastructure.
Turner has at times throughout the years been unafraid to stand up to Trump - in September, he criticized the rumors about Haitian migrants eating pets that were amplified by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
"This is incredibly tragic and completely untrue. This should not have happened, it’s been tearing the community apart," Turner told Jake Tapper at the time.
A pair of voting advocacy groups founded by failed Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams were hit with a historic fine by the Georgia Ethics Commission for violating campaign finance laws to bolster Abram's 2018 election.
"Today the State Ethics Commission entered into a consent agreement with the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund for a total of $300,000," the Georgia State Ethics Commission posted in a statement on Wednesday. "This certainly represents the largest fine imposed in the history of Georgia's Ethics Commission, but it also appears to be the largest ethics fine ever imposed by any state ethics commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case."
Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 as part of an effort to register more minority voters and young voters. The organization was founded as a charity that can accept tax-deductible donations, while the New Georgia Project Action Fund worked as the organization's fundraising arm.
The groups admitted to failing to disclose about $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures that were used during Abram's election efforts in 2018, according to the commission's consent order. The groups were hit with a total of 16 violations, including failing to register as a political committee and failure to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions.
The groups were accused of carrying out similar activity in 2019, when they reportedly failed to disclose $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 while advocating for a ballot initiative.
"This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered, and I believe this sends a clear message to both the public and potential bad actors moving forward that we will hold you accountable," the ethics commission continued in its statement Wednesday.
Abrams stepped down from the group in 2017, with Sen. Raphael Warnock taking the reins as the New Georgia Project’s CEO from 2017 to 2019, the Associated Press reported. Warnock was elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia in 2020.
A spokesperson for Warnock's Senate office told the AP that he was working "as a longtime champion for voting rights" and that he was not aware of campaign violations. The spokesperson added that "compliance decisions were not a part of that work." Fox Digital also reached out to Warnock's office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
Abrams ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022, but lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in both races. Abrams drew national attention after the 2018 race when she refused to concede to the Republican despite losing by 60,000 votes.
Amid the 2018 race, she touted the New Georgia Project on her X account, which was called Twitter at the time.
"When Abrams sees a problem, she doesn’t wait for someone else to step up – she does it herself. So when she saw that 800,000 people of color in Georgia weren't registered to vote, Abrams immediately set out to fix the problem & founded The New GA Project," she tweeted.
The New Georgia Project said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital that they are "glad to finally put this matter behind us" so the group can "fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia."
"While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago," the group continued.
The rare political unity in the Sunshine State was pronounced after Biden certified on Tuesday that Havana's Miguel Diaz-Canel regime has "not provided any support for international terrorism" during the preceding six-month period.
Biden’s declaration also claimed Havana provided Washington with assurances it will not support terrorism in the future, and that the U.S. maintains its "core objective" of "more freedom and democracy" for the Cuban people.
However, Democratic Floridians were up in arms at the development.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, in heavily-blue Broward County, told Axios on Tuesday that the outgoing president is doing lasting political damage.
"This is Joe Biden literally sinking the Democratic Party in the state of Florida," he said. "Big time."
Once the most notable "swing state" — rife with ballot "hanging chads" and the "Brooks Brothers Riot" of the 2000 election — Florida has seen a major rightward lurch in recent years.
State Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated an electoral blowout of Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist in 2022, and President-elect Trump shocked the state by flipping Miami-Dade County red in 2024.
Trump lost Miami-Dade by 30 points in 2020, but won by 11 points in November. The county has a sizable Latino and specifically Cuban-American population — highlighted by its famed "Little Havana" neighborhood along U.S. Highway 41.
"Just as we try to patch the hole in the boat, Biden punches another hole in it," Moskowitz told the outlet.
"Florida is a red state, and Biden just waved the white flag of surrender."
Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said she is "disappointed" at the decision.
"We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba's removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately."
Fried said in a statement that generations of Floridian Cuban-Americans have shared stories of the Castro regime’s oppression, and that Diaz-Canel is Raul Castro’s "hand-picked successor" as the first non-Castro to lead Cuba since Fulgencio Batista was overthrownby the Castro brothers in 1959.
Following the terror-sponsored designation change, Havana officials reportedly pledged to release more than 500 political prisoners — for which the Catholic Church had been negotiating for some time.
As the news fell just ahead of Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing to be Trump’s secretary of state, a spokesperson for Biden told Axios the timing is strictly coincidental.
Rubio is one of several lawmakers — and residents — of South Florida whose parents or grandparents fled the Communist nation.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. — the only Cuban-born member of Congress — called Biden a "pathetic coward" for his decision to drop Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation.
Gimenez added that Rubio will "pulverize the [Castro/Diaz-Canel] regime once and for all."
He told Fox News Digital that Biden’s decision is "morally bankrupt" and geopolitically "treacherous," for a malign regime that sits less than 90 miles from the edge of his own congressional district’s Monroe County boundary.
Gimenez went on to warn that the decision ignores Cuba’s coziness with the Chinese Communist Party, and intelligence sharing with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega.
"The [Cuban] dictatorship must be confronted and isolated — never appeased."
He praised Florida leaders from Biden’s side of the aisle for being willing to speak out at such an important time.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican whose Miami-Dade district abuts Gimenez', said he is "disgusted but not surprised" by what he called Biden's "final acts of betrayal to the security interests of the United States."
As Moskowitz and other Democrats warn of the damage being done to the Democratic Party by moves such as the removal of Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation, several Florida Democrats have fled the party and praised Trump in recent weeks.
Maureen Porras, the vice-mayor of Doral, Florida — the tony Miami suburb where Trump owns a golf club and resort — told The Floridian her now-former party "prioritized minority opinions" and "neglected to… address the real issues affecting our community."
Meanwhile, State Reps. Susan Valdes of Tampa and Hillary Cassel of Hallandale Beach, Florida, recently changed their affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
