Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday said he "couldn’t be happier" with President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees, saying he will work to push them through as quickly as possible.
When Paul was asked during an appearance on "Sunday Morning Futures" whether he would support all of Trump’s picks for his inner circle, the senator responded, "I couldn't have picked better."
"The vast majority I will support on day one," the senator said. "We’ll try to get Kristi Noem through Department of Homeland Security, Russ Vought for [Office of Management and Budget]. … I think in the first week you'll have half a dozen of them approved in the first week."
Paul said that he will control one committee in charge of confirming the nominees, adding, "I pledge to get them through as quickly as possible."
Paul has said that he will chair the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with the start of the new Congress in January.
Trump has handpicked an array of establishment and unconventional officials for the 15 top posts in his Cabinet, including Health and Human Services pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director selection Kash Patel and Sen. Marco Rubio as the nominee for Secretary of State.
Some of Trump’s picks proved controversial, such as Patel, Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard.
In late November, Fox News Digital learned that nearly a dozen of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted with "violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them."
Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., delivered a parting shot to the Democratic Party, calling his former party "toxic" as he prepares to retire from office at the end of the congressional term.
Manchin, who was a lifelong Democrat before registering as an Independent earlier this year, blasted the Democratic Party in an interview with CNN’s "Inside Politics with Manu Raju" that aired on Sunday.
"The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it’s just, it’s toxic," Manchin said, adding that he left the party because he no longer considered himself a Democrat "in the form of what Democratic Party has turned itself into."
Manchin blamed progressive lawmakers for shifting the party’s brand away from issues such as ensuring good jobs and good pay for Americans to instead focus more on sensitive social issues like transgender rights and telling Americans what they can or cannot do.
"They have basically expanded upon thinking, ‘Well, we want to protect you there, but we’re going to tell you how you should live your life from that far on,’" Manchin said of the Democratic Party.
He claimed the progressives in Washington, D.C., are out of touch with Americans, stating, "This country is not going left."
But Manchin did not only criticize Democrats, pointing the finger at Republican lawmakers who he claimed are "too extreme" and lack common sense on the issue of guns.
"I’m not going to ban you from buying it," Manchin said of guns, "but you’re going to have to show some responsibility."
"So the Democrats go too far, want to ban," Manchin said. "The Republican says, ‘Oh, let the good times roll. Let anybody have anything they want.’ Just some commonsense things there."
Manchin, who has often been a crucial swing vote, was known for his moderate approach and bipartisan work on national issues in the Senate.
Manchin served 14 years in the Senate. His political career began as a state delegate in the early 1980s, before being elected as a state senator until the late 90s. Manchin served as Secretary of State for four years, and then was elected as governor of West Virginia in 2005.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate," she wrote on X Saturday.
The president-elect has nominated Rubio to be secretary of state.
"I could not have been more honored to serve as RNC co-chair during the most high-stakes election of our lifetime and I’m truly humbled by the unbelievable support shown to me by the people of our country, and here in the great state of Florida," Lara Trump added.
Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, the president-elect’s son, stepped down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee earlier this month.
" I have read so many of your kind messages and I cannot thank you enough," Lara Trump said, adding she has a "big announcement that I’m excited to share in January."
She said she remains "incredibly passionate about public service and (looks) forward to serving our country again sometime in the future. In the meantime, I wish Governor DeSantis the best of luck with this appointment."
The president-elect had previously pressed DeSantis to name Lara as Rubio's replacement, a source in his political orbit told Fox News Digital, but he later told reporters he didn't necessarily expect him to select her.
"Rockin' around the Christmas tree At the Christmas party hop" – Brenda Lee
It’s a yuletide tradition on Capitol Hill.
An annual custom of rockin’ around a congressional Christmas tree, festooned with hundreds of legislative ornaments, Advent appropriations and mistletoe modifications.
A political Polar Express chugs through the halls of Congress nearly every December. It’s always the last piece of legislation huffing out of the congressional station.
"It's another cram down," fumed Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, the morning after congressional leaders released the bill. "Here's what you get. ‘Do this or shut the government down.’ So, it's very disappointing."
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., didn’t gift wrap his criticism.
"It's a total dumpster fire. I think it's garbage," decreed Burlison. "It's shameful that people celebrate DOGE coming, and yet we're going to vote for another billion dollars to be added to the deficit. It's ironic."
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., mocked his colleagues for talking out of both sides of their mouths when it came to spending.
"We keep on saying we want to take the deficit and the debt seriously. But we keep on voting to increase it. You can't have it both ways," he said. "This is irresponsible."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, lamented this was business as usual.
"I mean, the swamp is going to swamp, right?" proffered Roy.
"We have broken the Christmas omni. I have no intention of going back to that terrible tradition. There won’t be a Christmas omnibus," Johnson declared Sept. 24. "We won’t do any ‘buses.’"
So, yours truly pressed Johnson about his promise after frustrated Republicans upbraided him during a House GOP Conference meeting.
"You said back in September there would be no more Christmas omnibuses. You were not doing anymore ‘buses,’" I asked. "But how is this not yet another Christmas tree at the holidays?"
"Well, it's not a Christmas tree. It's not an omnibus," responded Johnson.
Johnson is technically right. In appropriations parlance, it’s not a true omnibus — even though outside observers and many lawmakers themselves might colloquially refer to the massive bill as an "omnibus." An omnibus is where Congress gift wraps all 12 individual spending measures into one package. A "minibus" is where a handful of bills are bundled together.
Even so, I reminded Johnson of the opprobrium directed at this legislation.
"They called this cram down. They said it was garbage. Those are your own members calling it that," I noted.
"Well, they haven't even seen it yet," said Johnson, even though the bill materialized the night before. "I’ve got a couple of friends who will say that about any end-of-year funding measure. This is not an omnibus, OK? This is a small CR (continuing resolution) that we've had to add things to that were out of our control."
The legislation was stocked with a hefty price tag to cover the entire cost of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. A radioactive pay raise for lawmakers. Health care provisions. Language about concert ticket prices. Emergency aid for farmers. And $110 billion to help cover devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
"It was intended to be, and it was until recent days, a very simple, very clean CR stopgap funding measure to get us into next year when we have a unified government," said Johnson. "But a couple of intervening things have occurred. We had, as we say, acts of God. We had these massive hurricanes."
But then Elon Musk torched the bill. President-elect Trump demanded an immediate debt ceiling increase. Debt limit deals are one of the most complex and contentious issues in Congress. They require weeks if not months of painstaking negotiations.
This wasn’t as simple as presenting Santa at the mall a wish list of items for Christmas morning.
The bill began bleeding support just hours before the House planned a vote.
But to paraphrase Charles Dickens’ opening line in "A Christmas Carol" about Jacob Marley, "That bill was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever, about that."
Democrats were flabbergasted at outside last-minute ultimatums. Especially since Johnson attended the Army-Navy football game last week with Trump. How could they not have discussed the contours of this bill?
"It was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., scoffed about the bill. "So, who is our leader, (House Minority Leader) Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., supposed to negotiate with? Is it Mike Johnson? Is he the speaker of the House? Or is it Donald Trump? Or is it Elon Musk. Or is it somebody else?"
Johnson and company then prepped a svelte 116-page bill to fund the government. But bipartisan lawmakers roasted that measure faster than chestnuts by an open fire.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., mocked Republicans for insisting that they adhere to their internal "three-day rule." That allows lawmakers to ponder bills for three days before a vote. Yet Republicans were now racing the new bill to the floor faster than shoppers rushing home with their treasures.
"Have you printed it? How many pages is it? What happened to the 72-hour rule?" mocked Moskowitz.
The bill plummeted to an embarrassing defeat on the House floor. It only scored 174 yeas, punctuated by an eye-popping 38 Republican nays.
"The Democrats just voted to shut down the government," Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the vice president-elect, claimed. "They've asked for a shutdown, and I think that's exactly what they're going to get."
By Friday, there was a third bill. And despite grousing, lawmakers finally passed the legislation. There was no need to go to "Plan Z," popularized in "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie." The House approved the bill in the early evening. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hit the Senate floor late Friday night.
"Democrats and Republicans have just reached an agreement that will allow us to pass the CR tonight before the midnight deadline," said Schumer.
Critics of the third bill might characterize the entire process as a "railroad." But it was an actual railroad that prevented the Senate from passing the bill on time. An unnamed Republican senator placed a hold on nominees to Amtrak's board. But once senators resolved that problem, the Senate finally aligned with the House to prevent the shutdown around 12:45 a.m. ET Saturday, 45 minutes after the midnight deadline.
The slenderized bill included disaster aid and emergency assistance for farmers. But when it came to appropriations, the legislation simply renewed all current funding at present levels. It was definitely not a "Christmas tree." It just kept the government running through March 14. So no holiday crisis.
As the dust settles on Congress frantically passing a stopgap bill at the eleventh hour to avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers are having their say on a chaotic week on Capitol Hill.
President Biden signed the 118-page bill into law on Saturday, extending government funding into March, the White House announced. The bill provides over $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the U.S. Southeast earlier this year. It also includes a $10 billion provision for economic assistance to farmers.
President Biden has not yet publicly commented on the passage of the legislation, nor has President-elect Trump, although sources tell Fox that the incoming president is not that happy about the bill, because it does not suspend the debt ceiling.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for his handling of the negotiations, said after the House vote that the result was "a good outcome for the country." He said he had spoken with Trump and that the president-elect "was certainly happy about this outcome, as well."
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., considered the legislation a win for his party.
"The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation," Jeffries said, referring to Trump’s "Make America Great Again" slogan.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised Democrats, including Jeffries and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., for "their unity and courage withstanding the Trump-Musk irresponsibility."
"Democrats will always fight to protect the needs of America’s working families, veterans, seniors, farmers and first responders against the GOP’s agenda for billionaires and special interests."
A bulging 1,547-page continuing resolution was thrown into disarray earlier in the week following objections by Elon Musk and President-elect Trump. A slimmed-down version was then rejected by House members on Thursday before the House approved Speaker Mike Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly on Friday by 366 votes to 34.
The Senate worked into early Saturday morning to pass the bill 85-11, just after the deadline.
"There will be no government shutdown right before Christmas," Schumer wrote on X. "We will keep the government open with a bipartisan bill that funds the government, helps Americans affected by hurricanes and natural disasters, helps our farmers and avoids harmful cuts."
Meanwhile, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said the revised funding package keeps government funded at current levels, delivers aid to Americans suffering from natural disasters and protects agricultural supply chains.
"Not only is this straightforward bill much more palatable to me, but it respects the taxpayers we represent, unlike the previous backroom boondoggle I opposed that was over 1,500 pages long and gave unnecessary and costly giveaways to the Democrats," Malliotakis wrote on X.
"Passing this legislation today gives us what we need until President Trump is sworn in and settled so our Republican trifecta can deliver the results the American people voted for."
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., questioned why President Biden appeared to play a limited role in negotiations.
"People fail to recognize that even though the focus has been on President Trump, Joe Biden is actually still the president, which is really mind-boggling, because nobody's heard from him in weeks," Lawler told Fox & Friends Weekend on Saturday, adding that the debt ceiling has been used as a "political piñata for decades."
"The party in the minority uses it as leverage in a negotiation, and I think what President Trump is trying to avoid is giving Democrats a loaded gun to hold to his head here."
Elsewhere, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., applauded the Senate for approving the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, which he had introduced and helped pass in the House.
The bill would give the District of Columbia control of the 174-acre RFK campus and revive potential plans for a new Washington Commanders stadium.
The surprising move came after a provision in the initial continuing resolution (CR) -- to transfer control of the RFK campus from the federal government to the District -- was eliminated from Thursday's slimmed down version of the bill.
"The Senate’s passage of the D.C. RFK Stadium Campus Revitalization Act is a historic moment for our nation’s capital. If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain," Comer said.
"Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city, and I am proud to have partnered with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the President’s desk. This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come," he added.
The White House has announced that President Biden signed a stopgap funding bill into law on Saturday, extending government funding into March and avoiding a shutdown.
The bill provides over $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the U.S. Southeast earlier this year. There was also a $10 billion provision for economic assistance to farmers in the bill.
The Senate worked into early Saturday morning to pass the bill 85-11, just after the deadline following a chaotic week on Capitol Hill.
President Biden has not yet publicly commented on the passage of the legislation.
"H.R. 10545, the ‘American Relief Act, 2025,’ which provides fiscal year 2025 appropriations to Federal agencies through March 14, 2025, for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government; provides disaster relief appropriations and economic assistance to farmers; extends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018; and extends several expiring authorities," a White House statement reads.
President-elect Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage either, although sources tell Fox that the incoming president is not that happy about the bill because it does not suspend the debt ceiling.
Trump had called on Republicans to act on the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown, a demand that dozens of conservative GOP lawmakers bristled at given their concerns about the national debt — which has exceeded $36 trillion.
A bulging 1,547-page continuing resolution (CR) was thrown into disarray earlier in the week following objections by Elon Musk and President-elect Trump. A slimmed-down version was then rejected by House members on Thursday before the House approved Speaker Mike Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly by 366 votes to 34 on Friday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre warned on Friday that a shutdown could have disrupted the incoming administration's presidential transition process.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the passage of the funding legislation early Saturday.
"There will be no government shutdown right before Christmas," Schumer wrote on X. "We will keep the government open with a bipartisan bill that funds the government, helps Americans affected by hurricanes and natural disasters, helps our farmers and avoids harmful cuts.
Fox News' Julia Johnson and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
One of the leading candidates to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance's Ohio Senate seat recently traveled to President-elect Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence as a decision from the state's governor draws closer.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine traveled to Trump's Florida home with fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who is believed to be a top candidate to replace Vance, in recent days, although the specifics of any conversation are unclear, News 5 Cleveland first reported, and Fox News Digital has confirmed.
State law dictates that DeWine will select a Republican to take Vance’s spot in the Senate until a special election is held in November 2026 to determine who will serve the rest of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028. The winner of that special election could then run again in 2028 in order to start a new six-year term.
Multiple sources told Fox News Digital that a final decision on the Senate appointment is expected in the next few weeks as the new Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 3.
DeWine's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Governor's spokesperson, Dan Tierney, told Fox News Digital last month that DeWine will be looking for a "workhorse" who is "qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term."
Fox News Digital previously reported that DeWine is considering, along with Husted, several candidates for Senate, including attorney Mehek Cooke, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken, Rep. Mike Carey and others.
"Governor DeWine has a crucial decision ahead in selecting Ohio's next Senator," Cooke told Fox News Digital on Friday night. "If Jon is the workhorse he picks, he is the right choice."
"He’s battle-tested, with decades of experience fighting for Ohioans and securing a stronger future for our state. If Jon is the pick, I’m 100% behind him—there’s too much at stake, and we need someone who will put Ohio first. It was an honor to interview with the Governor, and he knows my commitment is to always put Ohio’s interests first."
An endorsement from Trump and Vance will be critical for any DeWine appointment, given that both are popular in the Buckeye State, where their ticket won by 11 points in November.
Husted has served as Ohio's lieutenant governor since 2019 after serving eight years as Secretary of State and a member of both the state Senate and Ohio House of Representatives before that.
Husted has widely been expected to run for governor to replace DeWine, and his team has recently taken steps to allocate resources to that race. Sources tell Fox News Digital that former presidential candidate Vivek Ramawamy's interest in running for governor has caused some potential gubernatorial candidates to re-evaluate their options, given Ramaswamy's deep pockets.
Husted has remained tight-lipped about the potential Senate appointment other than to say, "I will continue serving this state as long as the people of Ohio will have me. As for the future, I intend to make my plans known early next year."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans are demanding answers on whether confidential human sources from Justice Department agencies beyond the FBI were used on Jan. 6, 2021, while also questioning whether Inspector General Michael Horowitz thoroughly reviewed classified and unclassified communications between handlers and their sources, warning that without that review, there may be a "major blind spot" in his findings.
Horowitz last week released his highly anticipated report that there were more than two dozen FBI confidential human sources in the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but only three were assigned by the bureau to be present for the event. Horowitz said none of the sources were authorized or directed by the FBI to "break the law" or "encourage others to commit illegal acts."
But now, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are demanding further information from Horowitz, writing to him in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital that it is "unclear" if his office reviewed the use of confidential human sources by other DOJ components during the Capitol riot.
"This IG report was a step in the right direction, but Senator Johnson and I still have questions the Justice Department needs to account for," Grassley told Fox News Digital. "The American people deserve a full picture of whether Justice Department sources from its component agencies, in addition to the FBI, were present on January 6, what their role was, and whether DOJ had knowledge of their attendance."
Grassley told Fox News Digital that Horowitz and his team "must redouble its efforts to make sure it has reviewed all relevant information and provide a sufficient response to our inquiry."
Johnson told Fox News Digital he believes the report made public last week "may have only provided a fraction of the story regarding the presence and activities of confidential human sources or undercover federal agents in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021."
"I urge the Inspector General’s office to be fully transparent about their work to ensure that Congress and the public have an accurate and complete understanding about what it actually reviewed," Johnson said.
In their letter to Horowitz, Grassley and Johnson noted that the inspector general’s office received more than 500,000 documents from the Justice Department and its components as part of its investigation.
"According to the report, your office obtained: CHS reporting, thousands of tips provided to the FBI, investigative and intelligence records from the FBI case management system, emails, instant messages, and phone records; contemporaneous notes of meetings and telephone calls; chronologies concerning the lead-up of events to January 6; after-action assessments; training materials and policy guides; and preparatory materials for press conferences or congressional testimony as well as talking points," they wrote.
Grassley and Johnson told Horowitz "it is vital" that his office "more precisely explain what records it sought and received from all DOJ component agencies."
Grassley and Johnson are demanding answers on whether Horowitz obtained evidence on whether other DOJ component agencies had tasked or untasked undercover confidential human sources in the Washington, D.C., area or at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
They are also asking if all communications were obtained between DOJ component agency handlers and confidential human sources or undercover agents present in the D.C. area, and whether he has received classified and unclassified non-email communication platforms used by the FBI.
Grassley and Johnson are also demanding Horowitz share all FD-1023 forms, or confidential human source reporting documents, used in the investigation with them.
As for his initial report, Horowitz "determined that none of these FBI CHSs was authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or a restricted area or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6."
The report revealed that the FBI had a minor supporting role in responding on Jan. 6, 2021 – largely because the event was not deemed at the highest security level by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Horowitz, though, said the FBI took significant and appropriate steps to prepare for that role.
According to the report, there were a total of 26 confidential human sources in the crowd that day, but only three of them were assigned by the bureau to be there.
One of the three confidential human sources tasked by the FBI to attend the rally entered the Capitol building, while the other two entered the restricted area around the Capitol.
If a confidential human source is directed to be at a certain event, they are paid by the FBI for their time.
Senators voted to pass a new version of a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning after the midnight deadline for a partial government shutdown came and went.
The Senate advanced the third version of a short-term spending bill by 85 to 11, and it will now head to President Biden's desk, who has already signaled that he will sign it.
An original agreement on a short-term spending bill was released earlier in the week, totaling 1,547-pages and including a number of policy provisions and disaster aid.
But soon after its release, billionaire Elon Musk and other conservative critics publicly blasted the measure, ultimately resulting in it being condemned by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
"Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief," Trump and Vance said in a lengthy statement opposing the bill on Wednesday afternoon.
The initial spending measure would have extended government funding levels for fiscal year 2024 through March 14 and provide over $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the U.S. Southeast earlier this year. There was also a $10 billion provision for economic assistance to farmers in the bill.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and was continuing to climb rapidly.
The size of the bill, along with several of its other provisions, including a cost of living raise for lawmakers, prompted the public reaction from Musk and others.
"Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!" he wrote on X.
After heading back to the drawing board, House Republicans emerged on Thursday with a new proposal. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels for three months and included a debt limit suspension for two years, per the request of Trump.
Additionally, it had economic relief for farmers and about $110 billion in disaster aid.
But the bill failed on the House floor Thursday night as Democrats united against it and a significant group of Republicans opted to oppose it as well.
"Old bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $0 increase in the national credit card. New bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $4 TRILLION+ debt ceiling increase with $0 in structural reforms for cuts. Time to read the bill: 1.5 hours. I will vote no," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X ahead of the vote.
Roy was one of 38 House Republicans that opposed the stopgap bill.
By Friday morning, there appeared to be no agreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together on a new bill. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the government would go into a partial shutdown at midnight if Republicans did not return to the original stopgap bill.
"I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government," Murray said in a statement.
Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor that the original bill would pass in the House if Speaker Mike Johnson brought it to the floor for a vote.
The third measure, which ultimately passed the House and Senate, was similar to the one that failed the night prior. The bill included economic relief for farmers and disaster aid for those affected by recent storms. However, the final stopgap bill did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump had requested himself.
The House passed the short-term spending bill with 366 yes votes, surpassing the necessary two-thirds.
Senate Democrats labeled billionaire Elon Musk "co-president" and "shadow speaker" among other titles as they reacted to the original stopgap spending deal's implosion on Wednesday after he and ultimately President-elect Trump came out against it.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Musk "seems to be the guy in charge of the country now," reacting to his apparent ability to influence the bill's prompt failure despite it having been agreed upon by bipartisan leaders in Congress.
If a measure to provide funding for the government is not passed by Congress and signed by President Biden by midnight on Saturday morning, a partial government shutdown will go into effect.
As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and continues to climb rapidly.
After a 1,547-page short-term spending bill was debuted this week. Musk quickly took to X to trash it, pointing out various seemingly irrelevant provisions as well as its cost and length.
He was soon joined by other critics, and Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued their own statement opposing the bill.
This led to significant criticism from Democrats unhappy with Musk's apparent ability to influence Trump and the Republicans in Congress.
"He's the one who seems to be calling the shots," Warren told reporters.
"Elon Musk is the one evidently in charge of the Republican Party and has blown that deal up. So I don't know how the Republicans are planning to recover from that," she said.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., suggested that Musk is "already the shadow speaker of the House," in a slight against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
"I think he's unelected, and he's created a whole lot of damage," said Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
He claimed Republicans in Congress were "busy listening to Co-President Musk and co-President Trump."
"I'm listening to the people of Georgia, especially the farmers who are struggling to get disaster relief. And, we need to make sure that we get that over the finish line," said Warnock.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., reiterated that Musk is not an elected official. "He doesn't have any official government job," he said.
"We had a deal with Republicans in the House and now, because of him, the president-elect is on the verge of people losing their jobs and not getting paid over the holidays," Kelly said of a potential partial shutdown if a bill is not passed by a deadline of midnight on Saturday morning.
Despite their Democratic colleagues' claims, Republicans pushed back on the idea that Trump was being influenced by Musk. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., noted that there are "lots of people around President Trump," adding that he doesn't think Musk has control over what the president-elect does.
Musk was tapped by Trump, along with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead what is called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a proposed advisory board tasked with eliminating government waste.
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans are making an effort to ensure military members are paid during a potential partial government shutdown as Congress inches closer to the midnight deadline on Saturday morning.
Three Senate sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is leading an attempt to "hotline" a bill to make sure all armed service branches are paid in the event of a partial government shutdown.
A hotline is a procedure used by senators usually to pass procedural motions or relatively noncontroversial measures. The practice allows bills or motions to pass with often very little or no public debate at all.
Sullivan will take the Senate floor to make a live request for unanimous consent to consider the measure at 6 p.m.
The bill is entitled the Pay Our Troops Act. It is cosponsored by Republican Sens. Lisa Murskowski of Alaska, Ted Budd and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Steve Daines of Montana, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and JD Vance of Ohio.
A spokesperson for Murkowski told Fox News Digital in a statement, "Senator Murkowski is adamant that our Armed Forces should not worry about their paycheck or their mission to keep Americans safe because of Congressional politics. This is non-negotiable for her."
The effort is extending to the House side again as well, where Fox News Digital was told that Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., is pressing for a vote on the version she introduced in the House.
"We’re obviously pushing to keep the government open, but as a backup plan, we need to be providing reassurance to our military," Kiggans said, adding she has spoken with House GOP leaders about getting a vote on her bill.
One Republican source told Fox News Digital that they expect Senate Democrats to object to the request, noting that they have done so in the past.
Republicans previously sought to pass this bill in September 2023, with Sullivan and Cruz requesting it on the floor. However, this effort was blocked by a Democrat objector.
At the time, Sullivan said in a statement, "There is precedent--very strong precedent--on this very bill, this commonsense bill that has historically received the strong support from both sides of the aisle and in both Houses."
"Facing an imminent government shutdown in 2013, which ended up lasting 16 days, this bill, the Pay Our Military Act, was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate and unanimously by the U.S. House and signed by the President. Congress recognized then the importance of uninterrupted military pay for our military members and their families."
After two stopgap spending bills have been scrapped in the House, a partial government shutdown is looking more and more likely, leading some to prepare for the worst.
While Republicans in the lower chamber are searching for a deal that is both approved by President-elect Donald Trump and has the votes to pass the House, Senate Democrats have reiterated that they are only willing to consider the original short-term spending bill that was released earlier in the week before billionaire Elon Musk led a public campaign against it.
Meanwhile, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 as of Thursday and continues to climb rapidly.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Top Senate Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., made clear they only intend to move forward on the original stopgap spending bill plan that Republicans scrapped after pressure from billionaire Elon Musk and President-elect Trump.
Murray said she is prepared for a partial government shutdown and to stay in Washington, D.C., for the Christmas holiday if Republicans do not return to the original short-term spending bill that was released earlier this week and subsequently killed after Musk and others publicly opposed its provisions.
"I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government," she said in a Friday morning statement, hours before the government could be sent into a partial shutdown if a bill is not passed.
As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and continues to climb rapidly.
"Put simply, we should not let an unelected billionaire rip away research for pediatric cancer so he can get a tax cut or tear down policies that help America out-compete China because it could hurt his bottom line. We had a bipartisan deal-we should stick to it," Murray said.
In floor remarks on Friday morning, Schumer said, "if Republicans do not work with Democrats in a bipartisan way very soon, the government will shut down at midnight."
"It's time to go back to the original agreement we had just a few days ago. It's time the House votes on our bipartisan CR. It's the quickest, simplest and easiest way we can make sure the government stays open while delivering critical emergency aid to the American people," he said.
Schumer also said that if House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were to put the original bill on the House floor for a vote, "it would pass, and we could put the threat of a shutdown behind us."
Murray added, "The deal that was already agreed to would responsibly fund the government, offer badly needed disaster relief to communities across America, and deliver some good bipartisan policy reforms. The American people do not want chaos or a costly government shutdown all because an unelected billionaire wants to call the shots — I am ready to work with Republicans and Democrats to pass the bipartisan deal both sides negotiated as soon as possible."
After Musk and conservatives railed against the 1,547-page bill, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance ultimately condemned it as well, killing whatever chance it had left.
Murray's Friday statement came shortly after it was revealed that House Republicans were planning a new continuing resolution vote in the morning on a different proposal. It is unclear whether negotiations are taking place across party lines or bicamerally, however.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told reporters on Friday morning that House Republicans were "very close to a deal" and that a vote could happen in the morning.
However, if that deal is not the original stopgap spending bill, it sounds like Murray and Democrats in the Senate would be prepared to oppose it.
Murray also is not the only one who is saying they are prepared to let the government's funding expire before the holiday. Several Republicans have expressed their willingness to let it shut down if Republicans are not able to get a better deal.
Trump himself wrote on Truth Social Friday morning, "If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’ This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!"
Congress must pass a measure, and it must be signed by President Biden by midnight on Saturday morning in order to avoid a partial shutdown.
The rich can use private-placement life insurance to save tens of millions of dollars.
ViewStock/ Getty Images
The richest of the rich can use life insurance to avoid estate and income taxes.
Private-placement life insurance is perfectly legal — unless a new bill passes.
A financial advisor tells Insider how the insurance saves the wealthy tens of millions of dollars.
Life insurance is probably the least sexy area of financial planning. But for the richest of the rich, policies can slash tens of millions of dollars off their tax bills.
Private-placement life insurance is a little-known tax-avoidance tactic. When structured correctly, PPLI policies can be used to pass on assets from stocks to yachts to heirs without incurring an estate tax.
"In the US, people sell life insurance as a middle-class way of structuring assets," Michael Malloy, a wealth advisor who has specialized in PPLI for 20 years, told Business Insider in 2022. "But PPLI is a completely different animal."
The PPLI industry enables a few thousand ultra-rich American taxpayers to shelter at least $40 billion, according to an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee. The report estimated that the average PPLI policyholder is worth well over $100 million.
PPLI is legal—for now. On December 16, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden released a draft bill to close the loophole. Under the Protecting Proper Life Insurance from Abuse Act, PPLI policies would be treated as investment funds, not life insurance or annuity policies, which would eliminate the tax benefits.
"Life insurance is an essential source of financial security for tens of millions of middle-class families in America, so we cannot have a bunch of ultra-rich tax dodgers abusing its special tax treatment to set up tax-free hedge funds and shelter oodles of cash," Wyden said in a written statement.
While tax savings are the primary draw of PPLI for US clients, those in the Middle East or Latin America are often looking to use trusts to conceal information about specific assets from corrupt governments, Malloy said.
"Clients don't want an organized crime ring bribing an underpaid tax official to get information on their family," he said.
US taxpayers are required to report to the IRS only the cash value of a foreign life-insurance policy, not the assets within the trust.
These offshore life insurers in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda typically require at least $5 million as the upfront premium. Malloy advises that clients have at least $10 million in assets to make PPLI worthwhile. His clients usually hold at least $50 million in assets.
Here is how PPLI works
In short, an attorney sets up a trust for a wealthy client. The trust owns the life-insurance policy that's created offshore.
The PPLI policy premiums are funded with assets. The assets must be diversified — typically with at least five different asset classes — and can include stocks and business interests, as well as tangible assets like yachts and real estate.
Depending on the client's age, nationality, and other factors, the death benefit can, in theory, max out at $100 million, Malloy said.
If structured correctly, the benefit and the assets in the policy are passed to the children without incurring an estate tax. A 40% federal estate tax applies to estate values topping $13.61 million for individuals and $27.22 million for married couples.
Unlike with policies from US insurers, clients can cancel their policies without paying a massive surrender fee. The assets also grow within the trust tax-free. The cash value of the PPLI policy assets is held in a separate account, and this cash can be disbursed to the policy holder or invested. Investing in hedge funds is a popular use of PPLI assets.
But there's a catch. Policyholders have limited control over investment decisions. They cannot give directives to the asset manager to buy a certain number of shares in Apple, for instance.
It also requires a small army of professionals, including trust and estate attorneys, asset managers, custodians, and tax advisors. Since PPLI is relevant only to the ultrawealthy, few in wealth management or law are familiar with it.
"There's no questions on the CPA exam or the bar exam about PPLI, and asset managers are kind of skeptical," he said. "They think you're going to take assets away. Actually, the assets become stickier and get more alpha because the client pays less tax."
How the proposed bill would endanger PPLI
Under Wyden's proposed legislation, most PPLI policies would be classified as "private placement contracts" (PPCs) rather than life insurance policies. As such, any accumulated earnings and death benefits would be taxed.
The bill would apply to future and existing PPLI policies, giving policyholders 180 days to liquify the assets or transfer them. Insurers who dare to issue or reinsure the policies will no longer have the benefit of secrecy. To better enable the IRS to enforce the bill, insurers will have to report all PPCs or face a $1 million fine for each 30-day period that they fail to do so.
The bill faces steep odds of passing with Donald Trump's reelection and a Republican House and Senate. The insurance industry is counting on it.
"This legislation is an attack on all forms of permanent life insurance and, by extension, an attack on holistic financial planning," said Marc Cadin, CEO of trade group Finseca, in a statement. "We look forward to working with the new Congress and the Trump administration to advance policies to move our country forward rather than raising taxes on life insurance."
FIRST ON FOX: The senior staff for the new National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that will help incoming Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., in his quest to expand the GOP majority in 2026 were revealed on Thursday, and they include veterans of President-elect Donald Trump, Scott himself and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Scott, who was chosen to lead the NRSC in the upcoming cycle, will be assisted by a slate of veteran GOP operatives.
Jennifer DeCasper, Scott's longtime chief of staff and top adviser, will be the next NRSC executive director. Stephen DeMaura will join her as deputy executive director. He served as Pence's 2024 presidential campaign manager and has an extensive history of working with campaigns and outside groups to win elections.
"Two years of complete Republican control is good, but four years of a Trump agenda is even better," Scott said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Defending the majority, going on offense, and advancing President Trump’s agenda requires an elite team to execute at the highest levels. I'm excited about the organization we are building, the wins we will put on the board, and the results we will deliver for the American people."
"Jennifer DeCasper is an outstanding choice to lead the NRSC as Executive Director," current NRSC Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., said in a statement. "As a trusted advisor to Senator Tim Scott, she’s proven to be a master at navigating both politics and policy. Her strategic insight, relentless drive, and commitment to conservative principles make her uniquely equipped to help us keep and grow our hard-fought Senate majority."
Cara Mason, a Trump alum, will serve as finance director. Nathan Brand is joining the NRSC team as Scott's senior adviser. The committee's next political director will be Brendan Jaspers, who previously served as director of campaigns at the Club for Growth.
The NRSC's next communications director will be Joanna Rodriguez, who is currently running communications for Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. Ricketts will be taking on the role of vice chair at the NRSC for the 2026 cycle as well.
Additionally, veteran Senate staffer Brennen Britton will be the NRSC's director of external affairs and the committee's senior finance adviser will be Brittney Godoy, who has led Scott's fundraising efforts in the past.
"It will take a team of seasoned, conservative operatives to ensure President Trump has a Senate majority for his entire term, and that’s exactly who Senator Scott has lined up," said Ricketts in a statement. "I’m especially excited to see a member of my senior staff, Joanna Rodriguez, join the team. She will share her experience crafting winning, conservative messages with incumbents and challengers across the map. As an NRSC Vice Chair and in-cycle Senator, I’m confident this team will do whatever it takes to win races and champion President Trump’s agenda of prosperity and security."
The NRSC noted the value added by the wide range of political experience that each member of the team brings to the table, which they believe will help to maintain and grow a GOP Senate majority to work with Trump.
In 2026, there are several races expected to be competitive, including those for the seats of Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has made an aggressive case to her fellow Democrats to let her take on the role of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairwoman during the same cycle. Central to her pitch has been her ability to speak effectively to voters in purple areas, which she says Democrats must do.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is launching a new caucus in the Senate on Thursday, named the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) caucus, to support the joint mission of President-elect Donald Trump and his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Marshall, a medical doctor who has practiced for more than 25 years, will lead the caucus as it works to promote healthy food, address widespread chronic diseases, encourage safer agricultural practices and work on expanding healthcare access.
"The MAHA caucus is committed to improving health outcomes by prioritizing nutrition, providing access to affordable, nutrient-dense foods, and focusing on primary care availability to tackle the root causes of chronic diseases," the Kansas Republican said in a statement. "With our 'Food is Medicine' approach, support from RFK Jr., and a shared goal to Make America Healthy Again, we aim to foster transparency, innovation, and a transformative agenda that builds a healthier, stronger nation."
Marshall is being joined in the new caucus by founding members Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
According to the senator's office, the MAHA caucus' purpose will be to work alongside Kennedy, assuming that he is confirmed in the new Congress, and use legislation to ensure that Trump and Kennedy's plan can be swiftly executed.
The caucus will foster partnerships with stakeholders at the local, state and federal level in order to facilitate key MAHA initiatives, while also mobilizing support for its priorities and creating educational campaigns to spread nutritional awareness.
After Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign earlier this year and subsequently endorsed Trump, the two announced that together they would work to "make America healthy again." Following his election last month, Trump revealed his choice to nominate Kennedy to lead HHS and pursue that goal.
The caucus' creation comes as Kennedy continues to make the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting with senators to shore up his confirmation support. Marshall, Tuberville and Scott were among those who met with him this week.
While many Republicans in the Senate have expressed support for Trump's nominees across the board, including Kennedy, there are questions among some about his stance on vaccines, agriculture and abortion.
Despite this, he has managed to address the concerns of some of the GOP lawmakers he has already met with. For example, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Kennedy promised to restore certain pro-life policies at HHS.
Tuberville told reporters prior to his meeting that he planned to discuss food production and agricultural policy with Kennedy. Following their discussion, he said Kennedy was aligned with Trump on protecting farmers and not over-regulating their livelihoods.
Kennedy is expected to conduct more meetings with senators on both sides of the aisle and will still need to address concerns, specifically those about his past comments on vaccine efficacy and how they will factor into his leadership at HHS.
The former independent presidential candidate has long been a prominent vaccine skeptic. But, the HHS nominee said he wouldn't do anything to take vaccines away from people.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the leader of the Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, is hoping to take on the centralization of the federal workforce in the Washington, D.C., area with a new bill that would relocate nearly a third of workers.
Ernst is leading a bill, titled the "Decentralizing and Re-organizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide To Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration, and Management Practices Act," or DRAIN THE SWAMP.
The measure would authorize the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to relocate 30% of federal agency staff to places other than the metropolitan area surrounding Washington, D.C.
"My investigations have exposed how bureaucrats have been doing just about everything besides their job during the workday," Ernst said in a statement. "Federal employees have shown they don’t want to work in Washington, and in the Christmas spirit, I am making their wish come true. Instead of keeping them bogged down in the swamp, I’m working to get bureaucrats beyond the D.C. beltway to remind public servants who they work for."
"In addition to improving government service for all Americans, we can give taxpayers an extra Christmas gift by selling off unused and expensive office buildings."
Ernst has long been investigating federal government agencies and programs and what she deems as waste. With Donald Trump's announcement of DOGE ahead of his second administration, the Iowa Republican appears ready to hit the ground running with specific ideas already laid out for the president-elect.
Companion legislation is being introduced in the House by Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who is a co-leader of the lower chamber's DOGE caucus.
"The swamp is thick and deep here in Crazy Town, and I’m here to drain it. It is time to remind Washington that our duty is to serve the American people. I’m proud to join Senator Ernst to ensure the government works for the people, not the other way around," he said in a statement.
In November, Trump announced that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead DOGE, a proposed advisory board tasked with eliminating government waste.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement," he wrote in a statement at the time.
Afterward, caucuses were formed in both the House and Senate, led by Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Ernst and Blake Moore, R-Utah, respectively.
Republicans in both chambers have already started rolling out a slate of bills aimed at fulfilling the mission of DOGE.
The 1,547-page interim spending bill to avoid a government shutdown is effectively dead. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has all but yanked the plan off the floor after President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect Vance and Elon Musk torched the package to avoid a government shutdown this weekend and fund the government through March 14.
Had House Republicans had the votes to pass the bill – without leaning too heavily on Democrats – Republicans may have been able to pass the bill late Wednesday afternoon before the intervention of Mssrs. Trump and Vance. But there was just too much grassroots pressure, sparked by Musk on X and elsewhere.
The stopgap spending package proved unpopular due to its size, and various legislative ornaments festooned on the bill like a Christmas tree. Conservatives were expecting Johnson to handle the spending plan differently this year at the holidays. But it backfired. Badly.
It’s notable that Mr. Trump did not weigh in until the 11th hour. He also demanded a debt ceiling increase. That’s something which faced the President-elect in the first quarter of the year and threatened to derail any legislative agenda or potentially spook the markets.
Johnson’s decision to veer off course – despite touting the bill heartily on Fox this morning – underscores several things.
This is a sign of things to come once President-elect Trump is in office. And that could present problems for Johnson as he may be at the whim of decisions by the new President?
Why did Johnson pull the bill?
It was wildy unpopular with his rank and file. But it devolved further once Musk and the President-elect got infused themselves.
In many respects, Johnson’s decision to pull the bill was all about January 3. That’s the day of the Speaker’s vote. With 434 members to start the new Congress, Johnson needs 218 votes. Otherwise, he lacks a majority and cannot become Speaker. The House must vote repeatedly – as it did in January 2023 - before electing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) five days later in what was the longest Speaker’s race since the 1850s.
Johnson tried to salvage himself in the Speaker’s vote by adding emergency agriculture spending to the bill. But Johnson is now trying to salvage himself by coming up with a new bill.
The irony is that Johnson did not want to create drama before Christmas with a spending package. But drama is exactly what he got in what quickly became the worst Congressional holiday standoff since the fiscal cliff in 2012 or a government shutdown threat in 2014.
So here’s the $64,000 Question: What play does Johnson call next?
Does he do a clean CR to fund the government with nothing attached? Is it a bill that just re-ups current funding coupled with disaster aid? Do they attach a debt ceiling suspension as President-elect Trump has requested?
And then the biggest question of all: can ANYTHING pass at all? Especially without votes from the Democrats?
Johnson has a tranche of conservatives who won’t vote for any CR at all. Many of them would also not vote for a debt ceiling increase, either.
And even if there is a new bill, do conservatives insist on waiting three days to ponder that bill? That triggers a government shutdown right there.
The deadline is 11:59:59 pm ET on Friday.
So this is going to require someone to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
President-elect Trump’s maneuver today is reminiscent of a similar move he made in December 2019, which sparked the longest government shutdown in history.
Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), then-Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and others thought they had a deal to fund the government and avoid a Christmas-time shutdown.
The Senate voted for the bill. Senators even sat in the back of the chamber and sang Christmas carols during the vote.
Mr. Trump then balked at the last minute. House Republicans followed suit. The government shut down for more than a month.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked a Senate bill Wednesday that would have authorized resources for state and local authorities to track drones that have mystified residents across New Jersey and the Northeast in recent weeks.
Paul objected to the passage of the bill, citing his long-standing concerns over expanding governmental powers.
"This body must not rush to grant sweeping surveillance powers without proper consideration and debate by the committees of jurisdiction," he said.
Paul said the bill would "expand federal authority to intercept communications and disrupt drone activity – powers that raise serious concerns for Americans' privacy, civil liberties, and Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sought to speed a bipartisan bill through the Senate by seeking unanimous consent on the floor before it was blocked by Paul.
"The people in New York and New Jersey have a lot of questions, and they’re not getting good enough answers," said Schumer. "The utter confusion surrounding these drone sightings shows that the feds can’t respond all on their own."
In addition to giving local authorities the ability to track drones, the proposed legislation would expand some federal agencies’ authority to start a pilot program to allow states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.
The drone sightings across the Northeast have worried some local and state officials, but the Biden administration has said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat.
However, they have not determined who is responsible for them.
President-elect Trump last week called for the administration to release information on the drones or shoot them down. Paul, who has often called for limiting governmental powers, said he objected to the bill because it wasn't clear that urgent action was needed.
"We're being told that this legislation is urgent, that it is needed to address an imminent drone threat," he said. "Yet the government itself admits no such threat exists."
The Senate voted to pass the $895 billion annual defense policy bill that includes a pay raise for U.S. servicemembers and a provision that restricts transgender care.
The bill passed 85 to 14, and now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
The legislation scored a more bipartisan vote in the Senate than it did in the House, where more Democrats voted no on the legislation in protest of the transgender provisions.
The bill prohibits military health care provider Tricare from paying for transgender care "that could result in sterilization" for children under 18.
The legislation passed the House last week 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting "no." Only 81 Democrats voted yes – 124 voting no – a much larger margin than in years passed when the legislation typically enjoyed bipartisan support.
The 1,800-page bill details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent. It will be voted on more than two months after the start of the fiscal year.
The $895.2 billion represents a 1% increase over last year’s budget, a smaller number than some defense hawks would have liked.
Additionally, while the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) outlines policy, a separate spending bill will actually fund the programs it lays out. That spending legislation will be voted on in the next Congress, when Republicans will have a narrow majority in both chambers.
A significant portion of the legislation focused on quality-of-life improvements for servicemembers amid record recruitment issues, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the last year. That includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers and increasing access to child care for servicemembers while also providing job support to military spouses.
The measure authorizes a 4.5% across-the-board pay raise for all servicemembers starting Jan. 1 and a 2% increase for civilian personnel within the Department of Defense.
It also puts more restrictions on Chinese-made drones, fearing their use in the U.S. could be for foreign surveillance. It specifically targets China-based DJI and Autel Robotoics.
The NDAA mandates that a national security agency must determine within one year if drones from DJI or Autel Robotics pose unacceptable national security risks. If no agency completes the study, the companies would automatically be added to the Federal Communications Commission’s "covered lists," preventing them from operating in the U.S.
DJI is the world’s largest drone manufacturer and sells more than half of all U.S. commercial drones.
The bill recommends a $20 million increase in counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Advanced Development budget and requires the Defense secretary to establish a "C-UAS task force" within 30 days and provide a report to congressional defense committees on the military’s latest counter-drone training efforts within four months.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., led a group of 21 Democratic senators demanding an amendment to remove the transgender care restrictions from the NDAA. That amendment was not included as it would have forced the bill back to the House. Congressional leaders spent months conferencing to find agreement between the chambers and the parties on the yearly must-pass legislation.
"Let’s be clear: we’re talking about parents who are in uniform serving our country who have earned the right to make the best decisions for their families," Baldwin said in a statement. "I trust our servicemembers and their doctors to make the best health care decisions for their kids, not politicians."
The amendment will affect care for 7,000 children, according to Baldwin, who said she would support the NDAA if not for the provision.
Other Democrats said they had objections to the provision, but the bill's provisions to strengthen U.S. defenses against China, raise pay for servicemembers, invest in new military technologies and replenish weapons stockpiles.
"Of course, the NDAA is not perfect. It doesn’t have everything either side would like … But of course, you need bipartisanship to get this through the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Tuesday he shares his colleagues' "frustration" with House Speaker Mike Johnson's "extreme, misguided provision," but he said Democrats during the negotiation process were able to strip out "the vast majority of very far right provisions that had passed in the House bill."
Provisions like a blanket ban on funding for gender transition surgeries for adults did not make their way into the bill. Neither did a ban on requiring masks to prevent the spread of diseases.
The bill also supports deploying the National Guard to the southern border to help with illegal immigrant apprehensions and drug flow.
Another provision opens the door to allowing airmen and Space Force personnel to grow facial hair. It directs the secretary of the Air Force to brief lawmakers on "the feasibility and advisability" of establishing a pilot program to test out allowing beards.
Democrats are also upset the bill did not include a provision expanding access to IVF for servicemembers. Currently, military health care only covers IVF for servicemembers whose infertility is linked to service-related illness or injury.
However, the bill did not include an amendment to walk back a provision allowing the Pentagon to reimburse servicemembers who have to travel out of state to get an abortion.
The bill extends a hiring freeze on DEI-related roles and stops all such recruitment until "an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs" can be completed.
Johnson, meanwhile, touted $31 billion in savings in the legislation that would come from cutting "inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy."
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has suggested that it is his duty to meet with President-elect Donald Trump's nominees, noting that his decision about whether to vote to confirm the candidates will stem from an open mind and informed perspective.
"I believe that it’s appropriate and the responsibility of a U.S. Senator to have a conversation with President-elect Trump's nominees. That’s why I met with Elise Stefanik and Pete Hegseth, just wrapped with Tulsi Gabbard, and look forward to my meetings with others soon," Fetterman declared in a post on X.
"My votes will come from an open-mind and an informed opinion after having a conversation with them. That’s not controversial, it's my job," he continued.
Trump has tapped Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Hegseth to serve as secretary of defense, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the role of director of national intelligence.
While Fetterman has previously noted that he plans to support Stefanik, it is unclear whether he will ultimately back Hegseth and Gabbard for confirmation.
Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from the senator, but a spokesperson did not provide any additional insight into Fetterman's voting plans regarding Hegseth and Gabbard.
Fetterman has been unflinching in his staunch support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against the U.S. ally.
"Always was a hard YES for @EliseStefanik but it was a pleasure to have a conversation. I support defunding UNRWA for its documented Hamas infiltration and fully look forward to her holding the @UN accountable for its endemic antisemitism and blatant anti-Israel views," Fetterman declared in a post earlier this month.
He has also pledged to support Sen. Marco Rubio's confirmation to serve as secretary of state.
"Unsurprisingly, the other team’s pick will have political differences than my own," Fetterman noted in a post on X last month. "That being said, my colleague @SenMarcoRubio is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation."
