Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, blasted Republicans for focusing on keeping transgender athletes out of girls and women's sports.
Delaware, the state where McBride won election to serve as the representative of its at-large district, does not have laws restricting trans athletes from participating in sports that do not align with their gender at birth.
"I've had conversations with colleagues about many of the bills that are coming before us and certainly have heard from some colleagues who, like me, are mystified that this is a priority for a Republican conference that is entering a Republican trifecta, that this is an issue that they prioritize," she told The Independent recently.
"And it defies understanding, except for the fact that it's a pretty obvious part of a politics of misdirection and distraction."
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., reintroduced a measure earlier this week to prevent biological male participation in women's and girls sports in the Republican-led Senate. With the approval of leadership, it's expected to get a floor vote.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has been a years-long crusade for the Alabama Republican, who originally introduced it in 2023.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
Twenty-eight states have limitations on trans athletes participating in sports that align with their gender identity.
Since McBride's election, there has been a battle on Capitol Hill about whether McBride should be allowed to use women's restrooms.
Tuberville's legislation would ban federal funding from going to athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls sports.
President-elect Trump has said he would "ban" transgender athletes born male from participating in girls and women's sports.
President Biden recently dropped potential protections for transgender athletes.
"President Trump ran on the issue of saving women’s sports and won in a landslide," Tuberville, a former college football coach, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Seventy percent of Americans agree — men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. I have said many times that I think Title IX is one of the best things to come out of Washington. But in the last few years, it has been destroyed.
"While I’m glad that the Biden administration ultimately rescinded the proposed rule, Congress has to ensure this never happens again. I am welcoming my first granddaughter this spring and won’t stop fighting until her rights to fairly compete are protected. I hope every one of my colleagues will join me in standing up for our daughters, nieces and granddaughters by voting for this critical bill."
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, is accusing Democrats of "delaying and obstructing" top energy nominees for President-elect Trump's incoming administration.
"Senate Democrats are once again showing that delaying and obstructing the incoming Trump administration are their top priorities," Lee told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.
"Both Gov. Doug Burgum and Chris Wright's paperwork has been submitted to the Office of Government Ethics from their respective agencies. The confirmation process is moving forward as it should, and good progress has been made to ensure these nominees are thoroughly vetted and ready to serve. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee has followed every rule in noticing their confirmation hearings.
"This is the same party that, in 2009, went ahead with hearings for President Obama’s nominees under near identical circumstances. While Democrats drag their feet, Republicans are moving forward and doing the work the American people expect us to do. It's time for Senate Democrats to meet the moment with the seriousness it demands."
The Utah Republican was responding to claims from his Democratic counterpart on the committee, ranking member Martin Heinrich, who suggested that his scheduling of confirmation hearings for CEO and founder of Liberty Energy Chris Wright, Trump's pick for secretary of energy, and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump's choice for secretary of the interior, breached protocol.
This week, Heinrich responded to "a breach of decades-long Senate protocol and precedent" when he said Lee set Burgum's hearing without the consent of the committee's minority.
"I am extremely disappointed that Chairman Lee has scheduled the first Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing over my objection and before basic information has been given to the committee. This is a breach of protocol and precedent, established over decades by chairs of both parties," Heinrich said in a statement Wednesday after Burgum's confirmation hearing was officially set by Lee for Jan. 14.
He issued a second statement Thursday in response to Wright's Jan. 15 confirmation hearing being officially scheduled.
"I am extremely disappointed that Chairman Lee has noticed a second nomination hearing without having received information from nominees required by law and in adherence to committee rules, including a completed FBI background check and financial report," the senator said.
Heinrich said, "The documents that the Energy and Natural Resources Democrats do not have are not just paperwork. These are the documents, disclosures and (an) ethics agreement that are required by our committee rules and the law."
But, according to Lee, who assumed the role of chairman after Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., was elected to serve as Senate majority whip, his actions are in line with precedent in the committee.
He further maintained that he is "in full compliance" with all rules when it comes to setting up confirmation hearings for Trump's picks for key energy roles.
While Heinrich accused Lee of going against precedent, a similar scenario played out in 2009 in former President Obama's administration. Steven Chu and Ken Salazar, the former secretaries of Energy and the Interior, respectively, had their confirmation hearings announced by former energy Chairman Jeff Bingaman before all documents were received.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for committee Democrats said these are the only instances of this timeline of events "despite dozens and dozens of nominees being considered by the committee.
"Further, unlike the hearings Chairman Lee has noticed, the committee did receive Dr. Chu and Mr. Salazar’s disclosures only one day after the notice was issued. Days have passed since Chairman Lee noticed these hearings. But the committee has yet to receive the required documents and has no assurance that it will receive them by the time the hearings occur."
Lee's take on the criticisms from Heinrich was that Democrats "want to conflate notice with requirements that apply generally to nominations."
"Rest assured, Republicans will continue to comply with all the committee rules," he said.
Just like House members, senators, and congressional candidates, Trump's nominees are required to file personal financial disclosures before they assume office or are confirmed by the US Senate.
Those disclosure reports, along with their ethics agreements, include details of each person's assets, sources and amounts of recent income, and other details of their personal finances.
The documents are likely to reveal information like Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's salary at Fox News, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi's compensation for lobbying, and the sprawling assets of the billionaires working for the administration.
As of Friday, January 10, only one of these disclosures has been made public. This story will be updated as more become available.
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Russell Vought is Trump's nominee to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a role he served during the second half of Trump's first administration.
His financial disclosure shows that he brought in more than $542,000 in both salary and bonuses from the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank, and its affiliated advocacy group, Citizens for Renewing America. Vought serves as the president for both organizations.
He's made thousands in extra income on the side, including $15,000 from the Republican National Committee for helping to prepare the policy platform for the party's convention.
He also received a $4,000 honorarium from Hillsdale College on September 19, the date that he appeared on a panel during the conservative institute's Constitution Day celebration in McLean, Virginia.
His assets include various mutual and index funds, along with between $1,000 and $15,000 in Bitcoin, which generated more than $1,000 in income last year. As part of his ethics agreement, Vought agreed to sell off that Bitcoin within 90 days of his confirmation.
EXCLUSIVE: The nation's Republican governors are making clear their "overwhelming support" for President-elect Trump's planned "Department of Government Efficiency," better known by its acronym DOGE.
In a letter to Congressional leaders that was shared first with Fox News on Friday, the governors said they fully support DOGE and emphasized the importance of balancing the federal budget.
"As chief executives for our states, we know a thing or two about streamlining government, removing unnecessary bureaucracy, and bringing efficient, result-driven solutions to state government. We stand by President Trump as he works to do the same with the federal government," the governors said.
Days after his presidential election victory in November, Trump tapped Elon Musk, the world's richest person, and former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to steer DOGE.
The House of Representatives has set up an oversight subcommittee and the Senate has formed a DOGE caucus to work with Musk and Ramaswamy.
The governors highlighted that "our states are successful because we live within our means. We balance our budgets, lower taxes, leverage surpluses, pay down debt, improve the efficiency of state governments, and create an environment where our constituents can build a prosperous future for themselves, their family, and their community."
And they emphasized that "it is past time for Washington to live within its means too. We support President Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and agree with their assertion that the federal government needs to be cut down to size. We stand ready to help."
Led by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) policy chair Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, the letter was also signed by RGA chair Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and 24 other GOP governors.
They are Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Sarah Sanders of Arkansas, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brad Little of Idaho, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Greg Abbott of Texas, Spencer Cox of Utah, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Jim Justice of West Virginia, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.
The only one of the 27 Republican governors who didn't sign the letter was Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont. While a longstanding member of the RGA, Scott has a history of not attaching his name to many of their letters.
The letter was sent the day after many of the GOP governors dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Two Democrats in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy did not cast votes this week in Congress on the Laken Riley Act, leading them to be lambasted by gubernatorial candidates from both parties.
The House Clerk’s office recorded Reps. Mikie Sherrill of Essex and Josh Gottheimer of Bergen County recorded as "not voting" on the landmark bill, which would require illegal immigrants convicted of theft-related crimes be detained by municipal and state authorities.
The bill takes its name from a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia who had been previously arrested and released on lesser charges.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop exclaimed, "This is cowardly," in an X post.
"We lose elections when we don’t have any core convictions… when we can’t explain why we have a view and why we believe in it. Hiding is not an answer that wins elections," the Democrat said.
"Mikie and Josh are the same again – If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor?" Fulop added.
Meanwhile, former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli slammed the two lawmakers from their right.
"Shame on [Josh and Mikie] for gutlessly ducking a vote on the Laken Riley Act today," said Ciattarelli.
On X, Ciattarelli said Riley "fought till her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base."
Ciattarelli ran against Murphy in 2021 and nearly defeated him by Garden State standards, losing by less than three points. In November, President-elect Trump only lost the state by four points, leading the GOP to signal their optimism about flipping Trenton red this fall.
When the bill last came up for a vote, Gottheimer voted "yea," and a spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would have supported the bill this week if he had voted.
New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen – Reps. Christopher Smith, Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. – all voted for the Laken Riley Act.
Democratic Reps. Nellie Pou, Frank Pallone, Herbert Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross and Rob Menendez Jr. all voted against it.
Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – who is not running for governor – torched the pair on Wednesday with a quip:
"The Road to Drumthwacket is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision," she said, referring to the historic governor’s mansion near Princeton.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a lawmaker’s first responsibility is to their constituents, not their next campaign.
"I think you have to have campaign activities come secondary to your responsibility," Bramnick said when asked about Gottheimer’s and Sherrill’s non-votes.
"The key question is – if you’re going to run – campaign activities must be secondary to your voting," adding that systemically it seems "the more [someone] campaigns the less they vote."
Bramnick, who is also an attorney in Plainfield, added that he couldn’t assume what was on the two Democrats’ minds in terms of their vote, but that immigration is a hot issue and often difficult to navigate.
With the Laken Riley Act scoring 48 Democratic "yea’s," Bramnick said immigration is a bipartisan issue.
If elected governor, he said he would "follow the law" when asked how he would approach President-elect Trump or border czar-designate Tom Homan.
"Unfortunately, the Congress hasn’t done anything to [create] a path to citizenship for people who may have an opportunity to stay here," he said, discussing those who have lived in the U.S. for many years as otherwise law-abiding members of their communities.
"If America doesn’t like the law, change it, but state-by-state shouldn’t change the law based on how they feel on the issue."
Sherrill and Gottheimer did not immediately respond to inquiries made via their campaigns.
Another Democrat in the race, Ras Baraka – mayor of the state’s largest city, Newark – also did not respond.
Baraka, however, separately indicated he would have voted against the Laken Riley Act if he were in Congress.
The Laken Riley Act defeated the legislative filibuster during a procedural vote on Thursday, amassing more than 60 votes to advance it to a final vote.
The measure sailed past the filibuster by a margin of 84-9. Democrats who voted against it were Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Andy Kim, D-N.J., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The immigration bill was quickly re-introduced in the new Congress by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., in the Senate and Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in the House once the new Congress began.
"Today’s vote on the Laken Riley Act is an important step forward in making our country safer, but there’s still more work to be done to get this commonsense legislation across the finish line," Britt said in a statement after the vote.
"Laken’s horrific murder should never have happened. While we cannot bring Laken back, Congress can and must pass the Laken Riley Act to save American lives and prevent this tragedy from repeating itself. Congress has an obligation to Laken, her family, and to Americans in every corner of our country to get this bill passed and signed into law."
The bill was named for a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was found dead on the University of Georgia's campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty of 10 total counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty but was ultimately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November.
Britt and Collins' bill would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest and detain illegal immigrants that have committed theft, burglary or shoplifting until they are deported. States would also be granted standing under the legislation to take civil action against members of the federal government that do not enforce immigration laws.
The measure was blessed by new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who teed it up to be the first major vote in the upper chamber.
With all Senate Republicans on board, it was initially unclear whether they would be able to get enough Democrats to advance the bill and beat the filibuster's 60-vote threshold. However, Democratic support began to snowball after Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the first to say he would vote in favor of it. He and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., both opted to become co-sponsors of the bill.
Fox News had confirmed as of Thursday morning that at least 13 Democrats said they would vote to advance the bill.
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Gallego, Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Angus King, I-Maine, Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Fetterman, each said they would vote yes on the procedural hurdle.
On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed he would also be voting to advance the bill. He explained that he would vote in favor of the cloture motion in order to have the opportunity for debate and for Democrats to offer amendments. The Democrat leader further said he believed there are enough votes for the measure to beat the filibuster.
However, some Democrats maintained their resistance to the bill. "The idea of stopping violent criminals in our country who threaten our safety is something I support fully," Booker told reporters. "But there are so many flaws in this bill."
In addition, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he would likely support advancing the bill.
This isn't a guarantee that the Democrats will all vote on final passage of the bill. However, the final vote only requires a simple majority to pass, whereas the cloture vote needed 60.
The successful filibuster defeat effectively ensures that the GOP's priority immigration bill will be sent to President-elect Trump's desk and ultimately become law.
A handful of the Democrats that helped the measure advance are up for re-election in potentially competitive states come 2026. They include Ossoff, Shaheen, Peters and Hickenlooper.
So it should be of little surprise that their initial legislative action of 2025 focused on illegal immigration and tightening up the border.
One can argue about whether Congressional Republicans appropriated the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley for political gain. The 22-year-old Riley went for a run last February and never returned. Jose Antonio Ibarra murdered Riley. He entered the country illegally from Venezuela.
"He bashed her head in with a rock. This is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. People need to know what this animal did to her," said Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., the main sponsor of the immigration bill.
Republicans seized on the episode. To the right, the Laken Riley case symbolized everything which was wrong about the border and the Biden Administration. Days after Riley’s death last year, the House approved the Laken Riley Act. The bill requires federal detention for anyone in the country illegally who is arrested for shoplifting or theft. Republicans argued that Riley would be with us today had such a policy been in place to pick up Ibarra.
It will take months for Congressional Republicans to get on the same page when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump’s demand for a combined "big, beautiful bill" on tax policy, federal spending and immigration. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says the aim is to pass that reconciliation package in early April.
Approving a border security package by itself would be challenging enough – and that’s to say nothing of the cost. So Congressional Republicans are targeting low-hanging fruit. Hence, the GOP turned to an old standby as their primary legislative effort for the new year: The Laken Riley Act.
Progressive Democrats pounced, accusing Republicans of race-baiting.
"It is simply an attempt to score cheap political points off of a tragic death," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., during the floor debate. "This is the Republican playbook over and over again. Scare people about immigrants."
"Their bill today is an empty and opportunistic measure," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. "Pick a crime. Paste into it a template immigration law covering convicted criminals and then require detention or deportation of certain persons merely accused of committing the crime or arrested for committing the crime."
"It's very clear that House Republicans are going to push an anti-immigrant agenda," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. "I personally voted against it because this would open a path for individuals with DACA, to be deported, even if they are just around someone who committed a crime."
Republicans clapped back.
"To my Democratic colleagues, I ask you how many more laws with names attached to them do we need to pass before you take this crisis seriously?" asked Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., during a debate on the House floor.
The majority of Democratic criticisms emanated from the left-wing of the party and progressives.
But there’s an evolution underway in the Democratic Party. A practicality when it comes to border security, immigration and how the party mostly ignored the issue in the last election. And likely paid the price.
Thirty-seven House Democrats voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act when the House approved the initial version of the bill last year. That figure ballooned to 48 Democratic yeas this week when the House approved the 2025 Laken Riley Act in its first legislative vote of 2025.
An examination of the vote matrix demonstrates how dozens of moderate Democrats or those representing swing districts voted yes. Six Democrats who voted nay last year flipped their vote to yea this time.
That includes Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., Val Hoyle, D-Ore., Lucy McBath, D-Ga., Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Terri Sewell, D-Ala.
"I'm concerned about what happened to Miss Riley." said Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee. "I want to make sure it doesn't happen to other people."
Other yeas came from longtime conservative Democrats like Rep. Henry Cueller, D-Tex. He represents a border district. When asked why he voted aye, Cueller responded, "That’s an easy one. We won’t welcome people that break the law."
Other moderates representing swing districts who voted yes included Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., Don Davis, D-N.C., Jared Golden, D-Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.
So were Democrats getting religion after the election?
"There was criticism that Democrats didn't take immigration seriously," yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. "Was there regret and that's why some of these votes changed?"
Jeffries attributed it to new members joining the Democratic Caucus.
"It’s my understanding that there were approximately eight to ten additional Democratic votes this year as compared to last year. There are 30 new members of the House Democratic Caucus," said Jeffries.
But even though the bill passed the House, there’s always the Senate. And the Senate never considered the Laken Riley Act last year.
"The Senate," lamented Collins. "[The bill] got bogged down and never showed up anywhere. It fell into the black hole of the Senate. Like much of our legislation that we sent over there."
But Republicans now control the Senate. Not the Democrats. New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made sure his body also made the Laken Riley Act its primary focus for early 2025.
"Senate Democrats uniformly opposed (the Laken Riley Act) last year, despite the bill receiving bipartisan support in the House of Representatives," said Thune. "We'll see what they do when the new Senate majority brings it up for a vote."
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who often bucks his party, quickly signed on to the Laken Riley Act.
"It's not xenophobic to want a secure border," said Fetterman. "It's not xenophobic if you don't want people with criminal records and that are actively breaking the law to remain here in the nation."
Fetterman brushed off liberal concerns about violating the civil rights of undocumented persons who may be detained.
"If they’re here," said Fetterman, "Technically, they're already breaking the law."
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a freshman who represents a battleground border state, was among them. He argues that Democrats fouled up the border security issue in the election.
"There was inaction all together. It certainly cost the Democratic Party. And I'd say potentially, the White House," said Gallego. "I think we have to take the lessons from that."
The Senate voted 84-9 Thursday to break a filibuster to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act. It will be set for passage next week after clearing that procedural hurdle.
Republicans will offer other border security/immigration bills in the next few months. Watch to see if Democrats join them. The lesson culled from the Laken Riley Act is that Democrats who represent competitive turf believe the party messed up when it came to border security. They’re seeking to inoculate themselves on that issue. And even if it’s not all Democrats, this marks a different approach from the party on the border compared to last year.
FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is holding its first hearing of the new Congress next week focused on prolonged pandemic-era telework for federal employees, with Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., telling Fox News Digital that his priority is to bring federal workers back into office.
The hearing, titled the "Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Administration Legacy," is scheduled to take place next Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration; Rachel Greszler of the Economic Policy Innovation Center; and president of the board of the Federal City Council Tom Davis are set to testify.
O’Malley, before the end of his tenure, locked in telework agreements for 42,000 Social Security employees until 2029.
"President Donald Trump and his incoming Administration is set to be greeted by largely vacant federal government office buildings because the federal workforce is still taking advantage of the Biden Administration’s outdated and detrimental pandemic-era telework policies," Comer told Fox News Digital. "Not only do these telework policies jeopardize the ability of agencies to deliver vital services to the American people, but reports indicate the Biden Administration is now working with federal employee unions to cement long-term guarantees of telework."
Comer told Fox News Digital that President-elect Trump’s "agenda and critical services provided by the federal government should not be hindered or prevented because of unchecked federal workforce unions that are striking deals with the Biden Administration to stay at home."
"It’s past time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people," he said. "The House Oversight Committee remains committed to ensuring federal employees show up for the American people they serve."
According to a Senate report authored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the federal government currently owns more than 7,000 vacant buildings and nearly 2,500 buildings that are partially empty.
The report states that government buildings currently average an occupancy rate of 12%.
During the hearing, the committee plans to examine how the Biden-Harris administration "failed to return federal workers to the office," and said that failure could "hinder" the incoming Trump administration’s ability to bring them back, due to long-term guarantees of telework in deals signed with federal employee unions.
Hardline conservative Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., have introduced legislation that would abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The one-page bill would eliminate the law enforcement agency, which regulates firearms and prosecutes federal gun crimes, in addition to crimes involving explosives, acts of arson, bombings, acts of terrorism and illegal activity related to alcohol and tobacco products.
In statements, the Republican lawmakers argue ATF regulations violate the Second Amendment rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.
"I cannot imagine under any circumstance or administration where the ATF serves as an ally to the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearm owners across America," said Boebert.
"The ATF is emblematic of the deep-state bureaucracy that believes it can infringe on constitutional liberties without consequence," added Burlison. "If this agency cannot uphold its duty to serve the people within the framework of the Constitution, it has no place in our government."
The bill to abolish ATF has seven co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, including Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Mike Collins, R-Ga., Bob Onder, R-Mo., Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., Mary Miller, R-Ill., Keith Self, R-Texas and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.
ATF did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Burlison argued that the law enforcement responsibilities handled by ATF would be better left to the states.
"There's very few ATF officials," he said, accusing the agency of "co-opting or commandeering [local] law enforcement to enforce laws" which state lawmakers did not pass.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said, "ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day."
Burlison also said the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be abolished.
FIRST ON FOX: New Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana laced into Democrats over what he said are attempts to delay confirmation hearings for Trump nominees, in particular that of the Department of Defense pick Pete Hegseth.
Banks urged Senate Committee on Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to move forward with Hegseth's scheduled confirmation hearing on Jan. 14 as planned and not to be swayed by Democrats' requests.
"As you are aware, Senators who are going to oppose the Hegseth nomination no matter what are seeking to delay and deny President Trump his Secretary of Defense being confirmed quickly. If they are successful, this will harm America’s national security during the crucial transition of power later this month," he wrote to Wicker on Wednesday.
The Republican's letter comes after fellow committee member, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent his own correspondence to Wicker, arguing the committee needs more information and documentation from the nominee to properly consider him.
"I am deeply concerned that the Senate Armed Services Committee is considering the nomination of Pete Hegseth for this critically significant position without full information regarding his capacity and experience to lead our military and steward a budget of nearly $850 billion," Blumenthal said, referencing allegations that Hegseth mismanaged finances while leading a veterans' nonprofit.
The Connecticut Democrat added, "I do not see how this committee can, in good conscience, consider Mr. Hegseth's nomination without a full review of his conduct while leading these organizations - the only civilian management experience of his career."
Blumenthal said he requested additional documents of Hegseth's be reviewed, "including credit card transactions and other uses of resources."
Additionally, the Democrat claimed Hegseth "refuses to make himself available to meet with me and my Democratic colleagues in advance of his nomination hearing."
However, a source familiar told Fox News Digital that Hegseth reached out to Democrats in early to mid-December to meet. The only Democrat who was willing to was Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who sat down with him last month.
The others, the source said, waited until days before the scheduled Jan. 14 hearing to respond. As is the case for these types of nominees, Hegseth is scheduled to be in hearing preparation in the days leading up to it.
In his letter to Wicker, Banks blasted Blumenthal's request. "Senator Blumenthal’s letter to you and the rest of the Committee is the latest attempt to accomplish their goal. In his letter, he raises unsubstantiated and anonymous accusations against Mr. Hegseth about his time as a leader of two organizations that advocated for America’s veterans. Senator Blumenthal’s letter purposely omits the fact that veterans who have worked with Mr. Hegseth professionally are on the record supporting his nomination," he wrote.
The Republican acknowledged that Blumenthal has the right to question Hegseth on the floor and ultimately oppose his confirmation. But, "He does not have the right to delay the Armed Services Committee’s important work for the national security of the United States," Banks said.
An Armed Services committee aide told Fox News Digital they intend to have the Jan. 14 hearing as scheduled.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is leading the charge for a national ban on trans athletes in college sports.
Tuberville previously told Fox News Digital he will be re-introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to Congress after the new House rules package passed last week, which would punish schools financially if they allow trans athletes to compete against girls and women.
For the Republican, who has been a longtime advocate for the bill, certain decisions that have been made over the last four years under the Biden administration are the driving force behind his urgency on this issue.
"It's just a shame what's happened here over the last four years. It's been an attack on gender, it's been really an attack on women, all women," Tuberville said during an interview on OutKick's "Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich."
"They don't like women," he said. "They like everybody to think when they're born, ‘you’re not a woman, you're actually a man in women's clothing.'"
The Biden administration, alongside other Democrats, has taken sweeping actions over the last four years to enable trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation."
This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."
Biden issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions," in April. The administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility. However, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Multiple states filed lawsuits and enacted their own laws to address this issue, and then the Supreme Court then voted 5-4 in August to reject an emergency request by the Biden administration to enforce its sweeping changes in those states.
Democrats have proposed other federal legislation that would allow for more transgender inclusion in women's sports. These include the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has seen revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams."
In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."
Multiple national scandals erupted as a result of these laws, and other Democratic laws at the state level, in 2024 alone. The issue became one of the strongest attack points by the Trump campaign and other Republicans as they re-took control of the White House and both houses of Congress in November, as many Democrats have withdrawn from their past support for trans-inclusion amid insurmountable backlash. Biden's department of education was even forced to withdraw a proposed rule that would outlaw states from banning trans inclusion in December.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms," as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
Now, Tuberville's bill will be their first step toward making good on their election-season stance on the issue.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
The bill would also ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls' sports.
The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has already granted Tuberville's bill the proper blessing to move forward, and a vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer challenged Trump to address the cost of living for Americans, saying that if he did so, Democrats would back renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he's fine with renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Only, though, if Trump works with them to lower costs for Americans, he said.
Schumer said it "may be a zany new idea" but it won't "help people save money at the grocery store."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that Democrats were open to President-elect Donald Trump's idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."
However, he noted that he'd only do so if Trump works with Democrats on "an actual plan to lower costs for Americans."
"That is what the American people want us to focus on first, not on renaming bodies of water," Schumer said in a floor speech, adding that his party's priorities "are so much more closely aligned with the concerns of the American people than Donald Trump's seem to be."
Trump floated the idea at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, where he also refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of Greenland or the Panama Canal.
The Democratic leader's comments essentially amount to a challenge to Trump to focus on the economic issues that helped him regain the presidency, rather than merely changing names.
Over the next several years, Democrats will be making the case that their economic agenda is more beneficial for the working class than Trump's.
"Renaming the Gulf of Mexico may be a zany new idea, but it isn't going to help people save money at the grocery store. It's not going to make trips to the pharmacy more affordable," Schumer said. "If Donald Trump wants to rename a gulf to sound more patriotic, I'd say we will help him on one condition and only one condition: let's come up with a real plan first — not a concept of a plan — to lower prices for Americans."
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., became the second Democrat to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act, which will get a vote on the Senate floor Friday after passing the House on Tuesday.
The measure would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and detain illegal immigrants that have committed theft, burglary or shoplifting until they are deported. Under the bill, states would also have standing to take civil action against members of the federal government who do not enforce immigration law.
"Arizonans know the real-life consequences of today’s border crisis," Gallego told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We must give law enforcement the means to take action when illegal immigrants break the law, to prevent situations like what occurred to Laken Riley."
"I will continue to fight for the safety of Arizonans by pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and increased border security."
The bill was re-introduced in the 119th Congress by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in the House and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., in the Senate. It was named for the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was found dead on the University of Georgia campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty on 10 total counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty.
He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November.
The House passed the bill, 264 to 159, on Tuesday, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans.
"I’d like to thank Senator Gallego for cosponsoring the bipartisan Laken Riley Act. This commonsense legislation would keep American families safe, and every single senator should support it," Britt said in a statement after Gallego joined the bill.
The Alabama senator reintroduced the bill in the Senate on Tuesday after first debuting it last year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., quickly teed the measure up for a floor vote on Friday.
Britt's bill has the full backing of every Republican in the Senate and is now co-sponsored by Democrat Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Gallego.
Gallego notably voted in favor of the bill in the House last year, one of a few dozen Democrats to do so.
The Arizona Democrat won the swing state's Senate race in November, taking over the seat vacated by former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who did not run for re-election. Gallego defeated Trump ally Kari Lake in the election, despite President-elect Donald Trump carrying the battleground state.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., revealed to Fox News Digital he would be voting in favor of the measure. The Democrat is up for re-election in Michigan in 2026, another state won by Trump.
Republicans will ultimately have a 53-seat majority in the Senate. However, because Sen.-elect Jim Justice of West Virginia delayed his swearing-in, the conference only has a 52-seat majority.
To overcome the legislative filibuster, the bill needs 60 votes. The measure's fate is thus expected to come down to the votes of a handful of Democrats.
In particular, the vote will put a spotlight on the Georgia Senate delegation, as Riley was a constituent of theirs. All eyes will be on Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who has his own re-election battle in 2026 in yet another Trump-won state.
Ossoff did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has meetings with over a dozen senators over the next two days, including top progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in addition to others in the Democratic caucus.
President-elect Donald Trump announced last year that RFK Jr. was his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in his second administration. Since the news broke, Kennedy has been on Capitol Hill meeting with various senators.
Up until this point, he had only met with Republicans in the upper chamber. But on Wednesday, Kennedy begins his sit-downs with a handful of Democrats, who could be crucial to his getting confirmed.
Kennedy, a former Democrat and independent presidential candidate, will attend meetings with Democratic caucus members, Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark Warner of Virginia, Warren and Sanders.
The one-on-ones with Democrats are coming as several in the party have expressed openness to some of Kennedy's positions, particularly as it relates to agriculture and food production.
But some of those same policy stances pose a potential problem for his support among Republicans in the Senate.
He will also be joining Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Susan Collins, R-Maine, John Cornyn, R-Texas and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for meetings on the hill this week.
Grassley is one of a handful of Republicans that have flagged concerns regarding Kennedy's positions on agriculture and how they could affect farmers.
"They've got to be able to use modern farming techniques, and that involves a lot of things, not only really sophisticated equipment, but also fertilizers and pesticides. So, we have to have that conversation," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., recently told reporters.
Grassley previously emphasized the need for genetic engineering to keep up with food demand and feed the country.
However, others have expressed confidence that Kennedy will make the right calls for farmers. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he warned Kennedy not to go "overboard" with agriculture regulations during their meeting last year.
He added that Trump's HHS pick was "very on board" and "understands our farmers are in trouble, and we want to make sure that we have farmers that can make a living."
After Kennedy endorsed Trump ahead of the 2024 election, the two debuted their campaign to "Make America Healthy Again."
This slogan has been adopted by a caucus formed by some Senate Republicans who are supporting Kennedy for the HHS role and hope to facilitate his and Trump's policies to promote health in the country.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's newly unveiled freedom of speech policies signal a major shift in the Facebook social media platform's content moderation strategy, following years of congressional clashes over alleged "censorship" and the regulation of political information.
"We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms," Zuckerberg said in a video posted Tuesday morning. "More specifically, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S."
Zuckerberg's shift in content moderation comes amid a history of being grilled by politicians on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill.
In January 2024, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., confronted Zuckerberg during a heated exchange about the harmful impact of social media on users, particularly young girls. The questioning followed revelations from internal Meta studies that indicated a significant number of teenage girls were exposed to harmful content, including unwanted nudity, sexual advances, and material promoting self-harm, within just one week.
"So, you didn’t take any action, you didn’t fire anybody, you haven’t compensated a single victim. Let me ask you this. There are families of victims here today. Have you apologized to the victims? Would you like to apologize now?" Hawley said, drawing applause from the audience.
In response, Zuckerberg rose from his seat and addressed the crowd directly, saying, "I’m sorry for everything you’ve all been through. No one should have to go through the things that your families suffered."
Zuckerberg added, "This is why we’ve invested so much… and will continue through industry-leading efforts to make sure that no [one has] to go through what your families have had to suffer."
In that same hearing, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a scathing rebuke of the tech giant CEO.
"Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us. I know you don't mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands," Graham said. "You have a product that's killing people."
Graham's remark came in light of South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey suing Instagram following the suicide of his 17-year-old son, Gavin. Gavin took his own life after falling victim to an extortion scheme run by a group operating through the Meta-owned app.
In 2018, then-House lawmakers grilled Zuckerberg over the site’s failure to protect the personal information of 87 million users. Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook in 2004 from his Harvard dorm room, said in a Facebook post at the time, "Looking back, it’s clear we were too slow identifying election interference in 2016, and we need to do better in future elections."
In November 2020, then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Zuckerberg both faced the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing titled "Breaking the News: Censorship, Suppression, and the 2020 Election." The session put the spotlight on the tech giants' controversial content moderation decisions, including the suppression of the New York Post story about Hunter Biden just weeks before the presidential election.
Testifying remotely, both CEOs acknowledged missteps and outlined how they'd handle similar challenges in the future. Zuckerberg highlighted Facebook's expansive voting initiatives, which he called "the largest voting information campaign in American history." According to his testimony, over 140 million users visited the Voting Information Center on Facebook and Instagram, with 33 million accessing it on Election Day alone. The campaign reportedly helped 4.5 million people register to vote.
To combat misinformation and voter suppression, Zuckerberg detailed measures like partnerships with election officials, the removal of false claims, and warnings applied to over 150 million pieces of content reviewed by independent fact-checkers. Facebook also implemented "policies prohibiting explicit or implicit misrepresentations about how or when to vote as well as attempts to use threats related to COVID-19 to scare people into not voting," according to Zuckerberg’s testimony.
Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was put in place after the 2016 election and had been used to "manage content" and misinformation on its platforms, largely due to "political pressure," executives said, but admitted the system has "gone too far."
Last year, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, in which he admitted that he felt pressure from the Biden administration, particularly with regard to COVID-19 content, and even subjects like satire and humor.
"The thing is, as American companies, when other governments around the world that don’t have our tradition or our First Amendment, when they see the United States government pressuring U.S. companies to take down content, it is just open season then for those governments to put more pressure [on their companies]," explained Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan. "We do think it is a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and to work on free expression at home."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Liz Huston, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson said, "President Trump has always been a champion of free speech, and his landslide victory put an end to the Biden era of oppressive censorship."
'President Trump's return to the White House is a signal to Americans that their fundamental right to free speech is once again safe," she added.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Adonis Hoffman contributed to this report.
President-elect Trump will meet with Republicans in the Senate on Wednesday as he prepares to take office again at the end of the month and hit the ground running on his agenda.
The Trump transition team confirmed the meeting with the Senate GOP, who are now in control of the upper chamber, to Fox News Digital.
The president-elect is being hosted for the huddle by the chairwoman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., her office said.
Trump will be in Washington, D.C., this week for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away this month at 100 years old after being in hospice care.
The meeting, which will include Senate Republican leadership, among others, will be held in the Mansfield room of the Capitol at 6 p.m. The room is used for weekly Senate caucus lunches and other large meetings.
The group will address plans for a budget reconciliation bill, or two, in the coming months. Trump has said he wants "one powerful Bill," as opposed to the proposal initially put forth by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., for two different reconciliation bills, one addressing the border and another to tackle taxes.
The reason this process is so integral to Republicans' work in this Congress is that it allows them to bypass the Senate's legislative filibuster, lowering the 60-vote threshold. This way, the GOP can push through legislation with the support of their conference alone.
"Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before. We must Secure our Border, [Unleash] American Energy, and Renew the Trump Tax Cuts, which were the largest in History, but we will make it even better - NO TAX ON TIPS. IT WILL ALL BE MADE UP WITH TARIFFS, AND MUCH MORE, FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE U.S. FOR YEARS. Republicans must unite, and quickly deliver these Historic Victories for the American People. Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social this week.
However, Trump has not ruled anything out, including the two-bill strategy, he told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
All Republican conference members were invited to attend the meeting, but it's unclear exactly who will be going on Wednesday night.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is planning being there, according to his office.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., will also attend the discussion, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that he was "[l]ooking forward to meeting with President Trump tomorrow. It’s important that we work together to pass a conservative, Pro-American agenda."
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is taking the opportunity to renew two key bills aligned with the incoming advisory board known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now that the GOP controls the Senate.
DOGE was previously announced by President-elect Donald Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the charge in eliminating government waste.
The ERASER Act would target regulations by requiring agencies to repeal three rules before issuing any new major rule and ensure that the new rule does not exceed the cost of the repealed rules. The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA) would address the Administrative Procedure Act by ending the standards of executive deference and allowing courts to weigh arguments without affording deference to either party.
"Reining in an out-of-control administrative state has long been one of my top priorities, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with the incoming Trump Administration to [accomplish] the shared goal of gutting the administrative state and clawing power out of the hands of nameless, faceless bureaucrats and returning it back to the people," Schmitt told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"The ERASER Act would require agencies who wish to enact a new regulation to pull three regulations off the books. And, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act would put a stop to courts’ deference to agency interpretation on regulations and enact a much stricter review, putting power back in the hands of the people, where it belongs … This is a critical, one-two punch to the bloated administrative state."
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is a co-sponsor of the ERASER Act. SOPRA is also backed by co-sponsors Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Ted Budd, R-N.C., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
The bills were debuted by Schmitt in the last Congress but never received consideration on the floor due to Democratic leadership in the Senate.
However, with Republicans leading the upper chamber, and an increased emphasis on government efficiency, it's much more likely the measures will get voted on. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is already expected to tee up votes on a couple other re-introduced GOP bills that never got floor time.
President-elect Trump addressed the nation for the first time since the certification of his November election victory on Tuesday.
Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home just one day after Congress and Vice President Kamala Harris certified his electoral college victory. Trump took the opportunity to announce $20 billion in new data centers across the country.
Trump says the $20 billion will come over a "short period of time" from DAMAC Properties. The company's owner, Hussain Sajwani, detailed that the investment will center around Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana and other Midwestern states.
FIRST ON FOX:Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is reintroducing a measure to prevent biological male participation in women's and girls' sports in the newly Republican-led Senate, and with the approval of leadership, it's expected to get a floor vote.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has been a yearslong crusade for the Alabama Republican, who originally introduced it in 2023.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
Tuberville's legislation would ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls' sports.
This would apply to biological men and boys who identify as transgender and seek to participate in events and leagues for women and girls.
"President Trump ran on the issue of saving women’s sports and won in a landslide," the senator said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "70% of Americans agree—men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. I have said many times that I think Title IX is one of the best things to come out of Washington. But in the last few years, it has been destroyed."
"While I’m glad that the Biden administration ultimately rescinded the proposed rule, Congress has to ensure this never happens again. I am welcoming my first granddaughter this spring and won’t stop fighting until her rights to fairly compete are protected. I hope every one of my colleagues will join me in standing up for our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters by voting for this critical bill."
The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
According to Tuberville's office, he is working closely with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure there is fair competition under his administration.
With the new Senate under the authority of Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuberville's bill has gotten the proper blessing to move forward. A vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
Democrats will be forced to put themselves on record about the transgender issue, which managed to rear its head during the 2024 presidential election and get pushback from Americans at the ballot box. One of the most memorable ads from the Trump campaign claimed, "Kamala is for they-them; President Trump is for you."
Last month, the Biden administration withdrew a proposed Title IX rule change in a lame-duck move after a long fight to adjust the policy.
During his term, the administration sought to expand the definition of sex discrimination to include both sexual orientation and gender identity in order to protect LGBTQ students.
The proposal received inordinate levels of resistance and delayed plans to implement the new rule.
Additionally, Biden's effort was tied up in legal challenges. His rule change was struck down in several states by a U.S. district judge over the summer.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said it was "particularly admirable" that Vice President Kamala Harris oversaw certification of the 2024 presidential election, which she lost to President-elect Donald Trump.
"The peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of our democracy and today, members of both parties in the House and Senate along with the vice president certified the election of our new president and vice president without controversy or objection," Pence declared Monday in a post on X.
He congratulated Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on their victory, and hailed the "return of order and civility" to the certification process.
"I also commend the members of the House, Senate and the Vice President who did their duty under the Constitution of the United States, it being particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost," Pence noted.
After Trump and Pence lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, then-Vice President Pence presided over the certification during a joint session of Congress in 2021 that was temporarily interrupted due to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Pence, who mounted then later dropped a GOP presidential primary bid in 2023, did not endorse Trump in 2024.
The last time a sitting vice president who lost a presidential bid presided over the certification of their own presidential election loss was in 2001, after outgoing Democratic Vice President Al Gore lost to Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 White House contest.
Pence congratulated House Speaker Mike Johnson last week after the congressman won the speakership again.
