President-elect Trump estimated the exact time his administration will be "fully operational" on Jan. 20 in his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

"You just have a few days to wait. We're going to be fully operational, I would say, by about 2:00 on the 20th," Trump said from the AmericaFest stage. 

Trump took the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center Sunday as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the "biggest conservative movement in the country" – where the president took a victory lap for his electoral win last month, and to also preview his administration in the waning days of the transition period. 

"The thing that brings people together is victory. It's winning. And we had that for much of my first year. We had the most – we had the greatest economy in history, in our first term. We can now call it a first term. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country, maybe in the history of any country, frankly. And we had – we did things that nobody could have done. And we're going to do them even better now. We're going to be drilling, as we say, ‘drill, baby, drill.’ We're going to drill, baby drill, but we're going to be doing a lot more than drilling," he said of his win and upcoming administration. 

TRUMP SET TO DELIVER FIRST RALLY-STYLED SPEECH SINCE DECISIVE ELECTION WIN: 'BIGGEST CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT'

On Saturday evening, Trump issued a message on Truth Social, calling for the U.S. to regain control of the Panama Canal. He elaborated during his speech Sunday that "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question."

"A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. commerce and rapid deployment of the Navy from the Atlantic, all the way to the Pacific. It's an incredible thing. And drastically cut shipping times down to U.S. ports by days and even weeks. The United States is the number one user of the Panama Canal, with over 72% of all transits heading to or from U.S. ports. Think of that. So we built it. We're the ones that use it. They gave it away," he said. 

The canal had been under American control since its construction was completed, and it began operations in 1914. It was handed over to Panama during President Jimmy Carter's administration in 1977.

Trump also previewed his upcoming administration, saying that in addition to carrying out the "largest deportation operation in American history," his admin will also roll out an advertising campaign highlighting the evils of drug use, spotlighting fentanyl that flows across the border. 

"We're going to do very big advertising campaigns, just like a campaign for running for president. We spend a lot of money, but it'll be a very small amount of money, relatively. We're going to advertise how bad drugs are for you, how bad they are. They ruin your look. They ruin your face. They ruin your skin. They ruin your teeth. If you want to have horrible teeth, take a lot of fentanyl. If you want to have skin that looks so terrible, take fentanyl," he said. 

Efforts to bolster border security and deport illegal immigrants in the nation, Trump said, will also include efforts to secure the northern border. 

"Canada allows people and drugs to flood in through our northern border. You know, we have a northern border that's not doing so well either. Likewise, people are coming in from Mexico in numbers that have never, ever been seen before. We had 21 million people come in over the past four years," he said. 

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN

Trump's speech on Sunday followed Congress avoiding a prolonged government shutdown early Saturday morning. Members of the House returned to the negotiating table last week after Trump and allies such as Elon Musk slammed a more than 1,500-page bill as "outrageous" and rife with excessive spending. 

Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown. The final bill, however, did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling.

Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, including on Sunday, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill. 

In his speech, Trump again reaffirmed his support for former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense in his second administration, as Hegseth battles allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking while rallying support for his confirmation among senators. Hegseth has denied the allegations and vowed that he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to Trump's Cabinet.

TRUMP NOMINATES TV PRODUCER, CREATOR OF 'THE APPRENTICE,' TO SERVE IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

"To get wokeness out of our military and restore the unquestioned strength and fighting spirit of the American armed forces, I have appointed Pete Hegseth to be our next secretary of the defense. He's going to be great. You know, I've interviewed with him a lot on Fox, and all he ever wanted to talk about was the military," he said. 

Trump also celebrated his other Cabinet picks, including Pam Bondi as attorney general, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

"When you look at, like, autism from 25 years ago, and you look at it now, something's going on. And I nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Think of it. Think of this: 25 years ago, autism, 1 in 10,000 children. Today it's 1 in 36 children. Is something wrong? I think so, and Robert and I, we're going to figure it out," he said. 

TRUMP NOMINATES PAIR TO HELP LEAD DOJ, ANNOUNCES FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION PICK

The former and upcoming president continued in his speech with his typical campaign talking points, vowing to come through on his promises to unleash the energy industry and remove "woke" policies from schools and the military. 

"I will sign day one orders to end all Biden restrictions on energy production. Terminate his insane electric vehicle mandate. Cancel his natural gas export ban, reopen ANWR in Alaska, the biggest site potentially anywhere in the world, and declare a national energy emergency," he said. 

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Adding at another point: "With a stroke of my pen on day one, we're going to stop the transgender lunacy. And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools, and middle schools, and high school. And we will keep men out of women's sports."

Trump also quoted his mother at one point during his speech, citing her use of the word "befuddled" to describe Democrats following the election. 

"If you watch television now, they're all befuddled. They don't know what the hell happened. They're befuddled. To use quite a nice word that my mother used to use years ago, talking about somebody that's a mess. But they did. They've lost their confidence. And hopefully they'll lose it for a long time and then come over to our side because we want to have them," he said. 

AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters "​​all while celebrating the greatest country in the world." The venue has about a 14,000-person capacity, while Turning Point reported about 21,000 tickets were sold for the convention. 

"We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix," Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release ahead of the event. "This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far."

President-elect Trump is set to take the stage in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday to deliver his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

"We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix," Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release. "This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far."

"When I spoke to the president, he said he’d only do it if we called it a ‘Tribute to Arizona,’ so that’s exactly what we’re doing. President Trump knows the people of Arizona have always been with him, they’re loyal to him and they just delivered the largest win for him of all of the swing states, giving him a 5.5% margin of victory."

Trump is expected to take the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center at 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the "biggest conservative movement in the country."

LAWMAKERS REACT TO STOPGAP FUNDING AND AVERTING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Trump’s address at the event comes just a day after Congress avoided a prolonged government shutdown. 

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning – after the midnight deadline had passed and the government briefly shut down – and sent the legislation to President Biden for his signature. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNS STOPGAP FUNDING BILL INTO LAW, NARROWLY AVERTING SHUTDOWN

Last week, lawmakers had reached an agreement on a short-term spending bill that included more than 1,500 pages of text. Conservatives and Trump allies, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, slammed the original and lengthy legislation, as negotiations came down to the wire last week, taking issue with provisions such as increasing lawmakers' cost of living. 

Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown, which has exceeded $36 trillion. The House crafted a new, 116-page bill that included suspending the debt limit for two years until January 2027, roughly $110 billion in disaster relief aid for Americans affected by storms Milton and Helene, as well as a measure to fund rebuilding Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN

That bill failed 174 to 235, before House lawmakers negotiated and passed another version. 

TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING BILL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

The final bill sent to Biden included economic relief for farmers and disaster aid for those affected by recent storms, but it did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump had requested. 

Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill. 

Ahead of Trump’s speech on Sunday, conservative lawmakers and allies, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, upcoming Trump administration "border czar" Tom Homan, comedian Rob Schenider, and Kirk will also take the stage. 

AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters "​​all while celebrating the greatest country in the world."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind, Julia Johnson and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears of Virginia could make history next year as the nation's first Black woman to win election as a governor.

She would also make history as Virginia's first female governor.

But Sears, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital, emphasized that "I'm not really running to make history. I'm just trying to, as I've said before, leave it better than I found it, and I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had."

Sears, who was born in the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. as a six-year-old, served in the Marines and is a former state lawmaker. She made history three years ago when she won election as Virginia's first female lieutenant governor. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR WHEN HE LEAVES OFFICE IN A YEAR

"You've got to remember that my father came to America in ‘63 just 17 days before Dr. King gave his ’I Have a Dream speech,' she said.

Sears noted that her father "saw opportunity here, even though . . . you really couldn't, as a Black person, live where you wanted."

"And yet, here I am, here I am sitting right now as second in command in the former capital of the Confederate States," she said. "With me, we can see once again, there are still opportunities, still opportunities to grow, still opportunities to do even better. We are going to be better, not bitter. We're not going to be victims. We're overcomers."

VIRGINIA'S YOUNGKIN ENDORSES HIS LT. GOVERNOR TO SUCCEED HIM

Sears has a major supporter in popular Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who three years ago became the first Republican in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election in Virginia, a onetime key swing state that had shaded blue in recent cycles.

But Virginia is unique due to its state law preventing governors from serving two consecutive four-year terms, so Youngkin cannot run for re-election next year.

Youngkin told Fox News Digital last month that Sears "is going to be a fabulous governor of Virginia."

"I have to make sure that we have Winsome Sears as our next governor," he emphasized. "I’m going to be campaigning hard."

Making the case that Youngkin as a "successful businessman" has "brought that success to government," Sears highlighted that "we want to continue what he has begun."

"There's still much work to do, still regulations that we've got to get rid of, still educational opportunities that are needing to be taken advantage of, and I am the one to carry that, because I've been part of that," she added.

Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states in the nation to hold gubernatorial elections in the year after a presidential election. Because of that, both contests receive outsized national attention, and Virginia in particular is often seen as a bellwether of the national political climate and how Americans feel about the party in the White House.

Sears was interviewed in Virginia Beach on Thursday, with a month to go until President-elect Trump returns to the White House.

In late 2022, she described Trump as a liability after Republican candidates that the then-former president had backed underperformed in the midterm elections. And she said that she would remain neutral in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

"I supported him in ‘16 and in ’20 why? Because I saw that he was good for our country," Sears noted.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION

But she added that Trump "said some things, and it bothered me. And as I said, I come at this as a Christian. And so I figured, well, let's see if there's somebody else."

Sears pointed to July's attempted assassination of Trump as the moment that changed her mind.

"I was waiting to hear a change, and after he was shot and he was accepting the nomination, I heard him say, ‘miracles are happening every day. I am one of those. God has spared my life. And so, I humbly ask for your vote.’ I was on board right then," she emphasized.

But a top Trump supporter in Virginia, conservative radio host John Fredericks, has continued to criticize Sears.

"She’ll ruin Republicans' chances in Virginia in 2025, and we need a different GOP candidate that REALLY has President Trump’s back," he argued last month on his radio program and in a social media post.

Asked whether she'd like Trump to campaign with her over the next 10 months leading up to the 2025 election, Sears said, "I think he's going to be having a lot to do in, well, in D.C. And if he wants to come here, fine. If he wants to help, fine. I mean, you know, we could use all the help that we can get."

THIS DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER IS RUNNING FOR VIRGINIA GOVERNOR

Sears, who launched her gubernatorial bid in early September, avoided a competitive primary when Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares announced last month that he would seek re-election rather than run for governor.

Three-term Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer, is her party's candidate for governor.

Spanberger announced 13 months ago that she would run for governor in 2025 rather than seek congressional re-election this year. While a Sears-Spanberger general election showdown is expected, recent reports indicate longtime Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott is mulling a gubernatorial run.

"We will see what shakes out on the Democrat side, but I will face whoever comes, because I believe that we have the better policies," Sears said.

She is viewed by political pundits as more socially conservative than Youngkin, who hailed from the GOP's business wing.

Asked whether Sears was too far to the right for Virginia voters, Youngkin pushed back in his Fox News Digital interview, saying, "Not at all. And Winsome is a commonsense conservative leader. We have been partners literally from day one. We campaigned together. We were elected together. We have governed together."

But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), pointing to the criticism from Fredericks, who chaired Trump's Virginia campaign in 2016 and 2020, argued that "Virginia Republicans are kicking off the 2025 election divided and already publicly calling out Winsome Sears."

"This once again confirms that Sears will have to run even further to the right and take deeply harmful and out-of-touch positions to win the GOP nomination," DGA national press secretary Devon Cruz claimed.

Sears, asked about the DGA criticism, which also includes spotlighting her stances on issues such as abortion and IVF, argued that "the Democrats are trying to figure out a way to hit me . . . I don't worry about it. I let them say what they want to say. I am proven, proven to do the right thing."

"I've always said I'm a Christian first and a Republican second. That's always who I am," she added. "So, it must mean that I don't care about politics. I care about serving."

An appearance by Pete Buttigieg on Friday morning on New Hampshire talk radio is fueling ongoing speculation that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in President Biden's administration may be mulling another White House run in 2028.

Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who is considered a potential contender for the next nomination race, has made numerous radio appearances across the country during his four years steering the Department of Transportation, including a bunch in New Hampshire, which prides itself on being the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state.

But with President-elect Trump a month away from returning to the White House, and Democrats scrambling in the wake of November's election setbacks to find a path out of the political wilderness, Buttigieg's latest radio appearance in New Hampshire is grabbing increased attention as the extremely early preseason moves in the party's 2028 presidential primary race will soon start.

And the guest segment by Buttigieg on the statewide morning news-talk radio program "New Hampshire Today" is bound to spark more 2028 speculation.

HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028

"The only thing I'm sure is next is a little vacation," Buttigieg said when asked by host Chris Ryan about his plans once his tenure as transportation secretary sunsets on Jan. 20.

Buttigieg said he and his spouse, Chasten, "are ready to spend a little time together. I'm ready to be around our three-year-old twins a little more, and I'm determined not to make any life decisions too quickly in the new year."

VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT,' BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY ALSO RUN IN 2028 

"But I will find ways to make myself useful, and maybe that's running for office, and maybe that's not. I'll take the next few weeks and months to work through that," Buttigieg shared.

And he emphasized that "I know what I care about. I care about how communities, like the place where I grew up, find a better future. I care about how to make sure technology makes us all better off and not worse off. I care about how the infrastructure issues and opportunities I've worked on can develop. I care about public service. I care about our democracy, and I will find ways to work on that, whatever shape that might take."

Buttigieg, a former naval intelligence officer who deployed to the war in Afghanistan and who served eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was a longshot when he launched his 2020 presidential campaign. 

But his campaign caught fire, and he narrowly edged Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to win the Iowa caucuses before coming in close second to Sanders in the New Hampshire presidential primary. But Buttigieg, along with the rest of the Democratic field, dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden as the former vice president won the South Carolina primary in a landslide, swept the Super Tuesday contests and eventually clinched the nomination before winning the White House.

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During his tenure as Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg has made a handful of official visits to New Hampshire, most recently earlier this year. And two years ago, in a political trip, he headlined the New Hampshire Democratic Party's major autumn fundraising gala.

Asked in the interview whether he'll be returning to the Granite State in the near future, he quipped, "I'm sure I'll turn up before too long."

Buttigieg, in recent years, has also made regular appearances on the Fox News Channel to highlight the Biden administration's efforts. This year, he served as a high-profile surrogate on Fox News and elsewhere across the media landscape for Biden, and later for Vice President Kamala Harris, on the campaign trail.

After his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttiegieg moved from red-state Indiana to neighboring Michigan, which is a key battleground, and now calls Traverse City, Michigan, home.

In recent weeks, Buttigieg has fielded calls by some Michigan Democrats urging him to consider a 2026 run for governor, to succeed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited.

"I haven’t made any decisions about, big decisions about my future," Buttigieg told reporters earlier this month in Detroit, in a line that he would repeat in this week's New Hampshire radio interview.

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. 

PETE HEGSETH SAYS HE HASN'T HEARD FROM WEST POINT SINCE EMPLOYEE 'ERROR' DENYING HIS ACCEPTANCE

"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."

MIKE LEE LOOKS TO HALT WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS GOING ON UNDER BIDEN WITH KEY BUDGET PROCESS

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. 

FARM STATE REPUBLICANS APPEAR SKEPTICAL ABOUT RFK JR AMID HIS QUEST FOR HHS CONFIRMATION

"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. 

RFK JR. SAYS HE PLANS TO ALSO MEET WITH DEMS IN BID TO GET CONFIRMED AS TRUMP HHS HEAD

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. 

The returning head of the House Republican campaign committee says President-elect Trump's convincing 2024 White House victory gives the GOP plenty of home field advantage as the party aims to defend its razor-thin majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

"The battlefield is really laying out to our advantage. There are 14 Democrats who won seats also carried by Donald Trump. There are only three Republicans in seats that were carried by Kamala Harris. So that tells me we're going to be on offense," National Republican Congressional Committee chair Rep. Richard Hudson emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

Trump carried all seven crucial battleground states and, for the first time in three presidential elections, won the national popular vote as he defeated Vice President Harris last month.

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The Republicans also flipped control of the Senate from the Democrats, and even though they had a net loss of two seats in the 435-member House, they'll hold a fragile 220-215 majority when the new Congress convenes next month.

Eight years ago, when Trump first won the White House and the GOP held onto their House majority, Democrats targeted roughly two-dozen Republicans in the 2018 midterms in districts Trump lost in the 2016 election.

The Democrats, in a blue-wave election, were successful in flipping the House majority. 

Fast-forward eight years, and it's a different story, as this time Republicans will be defending seats on friendly turf in districts that the president-elect carried.

"There's a whole lot more opportunity for us to go on offense," Hudson, who's represented a congressional district in central North Carolina for a dozen years, touted.

SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR SPELLS OUT HIS 2026 MISSION

Hudson also made the case that House Republicans who will once again be targeted by the Democrats in the upcoming election cycle are "really battle tested. I mean, they're folks who've been through the fire before. They've gone through several cycles now with millions of dollars spent against them."

"They've been able to succeed because they work very hard in their districts. They've established very strong brands, as you know, people who know how to get things done and how to deliver for their community," he emphasized. "The Republicans who are in tough seats are our best candidates."

The three House Republicans who are in districts that Harris carried last month are Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York.

But there will be a big difference in 2026: Trump, who helped drive low propensity voters to the polls this year, won't be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms. 

"I certainly would rather have him on the ballot because he turns out voters that don't come out for other candidates," Hudson acknowledged.

But he argued, "If you look at the way this race is shaping up, we campaigned on a key set of issues of things that we promised we would deliver. If we deliver those things and have Donald Trump there with us campaigning with our candidates, I believe we can drive out a higher percentage of those voters than we have in midterms in the past."

Hudson said Trump "was a great partner" with House Republicans this year and will be again in the upcoming election cycle.

"[Trump] cares deeply about having a House majority because he understands that a Democrat House majority means his agenda comes to a grinding halt. And so he's been very engaged, was a very good partner for us this last election, and I anticipate that continuing."

Hudson, who is returning for a second straight cycle chairing the NRCC, said that at the top of his committee to-do list are candidate recruitment and fundraising.

"I mean, first thing, we've got to go out and recruit candidates. You know, candidate quality matters. And then we've got to go raise the money. And so I'll be on the road and be out there helping our incumbents. But I'm looking forward to it," he emphasized.

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report

Editors note: Fox News Digital also interviewed Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington. That report will be posted on Friday.

With one month left in office, President Biden's approval rating is hitting a new low.

Biden stands at 34% approval and 66% disapproval in a Marquette Law School national poll conducted Dec. 2-11 and released on Wednesday.

That is down four percentage points from October and the lowest approval for Biden in Marquette Law School polling since the president took over in the White House four years ago.

The president's approval stands in the mid-30s to low-40s in the latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News national poll, where Biden stands at 41% approval.

WHERE TRUMP AND BIDEN STAND IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL 

Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden's much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer, mainly among unvaccinated people.

The plunge in the president’s approval was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border with Mexico. 

TRUMP MOVES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS FORMALLY BECOMING PRESIDENT

President-elect Donald Trump ended his first term in office at 47% approval, according to Fox News polling from four years ago.

The new Marquette survey indicates that 53% of adults nationwide say they approve of the way Trump handled his job during his first term in the White House (2017-2021), a three point increase from their October poll. 

"This is Trump’s highest approval rating since March, when this question of retrospective approval was first asked in the Marquette Law School Poll’s national surveys," the survey's release highlights.

The survey also indicates the public's divided on Trump's Cabinet appointments for his second administration, some of which have sparked controversy.

Forty-nine percent of respondents approved of Trump's handling of cabinet appointments, with 51% disapproving.

According to the Fox News poll, which was conducted Dec. 6-9, 47% approved of the job Trump is doing on picking his cabinet, with 50% giving a thumbs down.

Trump's favorable rating stands at 49% favorable and 50% unfavorable in the Marquette survey, his highest in his post-first administration period.

The president stands at 37% favorable and 62% unfavorable.

Vice President Kamala Harris has a favorable rating of 41% and an unfavorable rating of 57% in the new poll. That is a decline from 45% favorable and 51% unfavorable in the October poll, when Harris was the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance has 35% favorable and 47% unfavorable rating in the new survey.

The Marquette Law School poll has an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

President-elect Donald Trump has a new game plan for Herschel Walker, his longtime friend, ally and former football star.

Three years after Trump handpicked Walker to run for the Senate in his home state of Georgia in a crucial, combative, expensive and high-profile Senate race, the president-elect is now selecting his friend to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Caribbean nation of the Bahamas.

"Herschel has spent decades serving as an ambassador to our nation’s youth, our men and women in the military, and athletes at home and abroad," Trump said in a statement Tuesday night on social media, as he pointed to Walker's resume, which includes serving as co-chair of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition during Trump's first term in the White House.

HERSCHEL WALKER PROVES THAT IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

Walker is a former professional and college football star running back who won a Heisman Trophy and helped propel the University of Georgia to a national championship.

His friendship with the former and future president goes back to his days playing for the Trump-owned New Jersey Generals USFL football team in the 1980s. Walker also was a major Trump supporter and surrogate in the 2020 presidential election.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION

In August 2021, Walker launched a Republican Senate campaign in Georgia after months of support and encouragement from Trump to run for office.

Walker, a first-time politician, was dogged during his Senate run by controversial statements and damaging revelations about his personal life and business career.

The race between Walker and Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock ended up being one of the most closely watched Senate battles in the 2022 midterms. The contest went into overtime, with Walker ending up narrowly losing to Warnock in a runoff election in December of that year.

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This year, Walker joined Trump on the campaign trail in Georgia days before Election Day, as the former president carried the key southeastern battleground state after narrowly losing it to President Biden four years ago.

Walker becomes the third Republican who lost a recent Senate race in Georgia to be nominated by Trump for a post in his second administration.

Former Sen. David Perdue, who lost his seat to Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in the 2020 cycle, was selected by Trump to serve as ambassador to China, and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who lost to Warnock in the 2020 cycle, was picked by Trump to run the Small Business Administration.

Trump's naming of Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas is the second time this month the former football star made headlines.

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This past weekend, Walker graduated from the University of Georgia, 42 years after he last attended the school.

A top contender in the race to become the next Democratic National Committee chair acknowledged after last month's elections that "we're getting our butts kicked right now."

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Ken Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, says the marching order for his party is "win the U.S. House back, win the Senate back and, of course, win the presidency in ’28."

But Martin, considered a DNC frontrunner, emphasized that equally important is "making sure that we are growing our party and contesting in every public policy arena throughout this nation, from school boards to the mayorships, to country boards, to city councils to state legislative races."

Democrats suffered major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections  as former President Trump recaptured the White House and the GOP flipped the Senate and held onto its fragile majority in the House. 

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The aggressive strategy of President-elect Trump's campaign and Republicans up and down the ballot of appearances on podcasts and other non-traditional media is credited, in part, for the gains they made in winning the support of working class, minority, younger and low-propensity voters.

Current DNC chair Jaime Harrison is not seeking another four-year term steering the national party committee. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet Feb. 1 at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC's winter meeting.

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Another top contender is Ben Wikler, who has steered the state Democratic Party in battleground Wisconsin since 2019 and, like Martin, is well known by the voting members.

Also considered competitive is Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration the past year, 

Also running are James Skoufis, a New York state senator who launched his long shot bid last month, and former Department of Homeland Security official Nate Snyder, who announced his uphill climb for chair last week.

Fox News Digital interviewed Martin, Wikler and O'Malley ahead of last week's meeting of the DNC's executive committee, which was the first time the panel had gathered since November's election.

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Martin said if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is "figure out a plan to win. And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood. How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together, that’s the biggest thing.

"We don’t have a lot of time," Martin emphasized. "There’s elections bearing down on us in New Jersey and Virginia in just 10 months, so we’ve got a lot of work to do."

Martin has repeatedly pledged he'll "contest every race in every zip code."

"It absolutely is realistic," he told Fox News Digital. "I’m not going to take a scarcity mindset when we just spent close to $2 billion on a presidential election. … There’s enough resources around for the DNC to actually start contesting races up and down the ballot."

Even though he says he's won commitments of support from nearly half the voting members he needs to become the chair, Martin said, "I’m not taking anything for granted. I certainly am proud of the support I’ve seen so far. But I’ve got a long ways to go."

But, he added, "I’m clearly ahead right now. I like where we’re at."

Wikler, in his interview, highlighted that "the goal for the Democratic Party should not be to win 47 seats or 51 seats in the Senate. We should be aiming bigger because we know the values of the Democratic Party around a country that works for working people and around freedom and dignity and respect for everyone. Those are deeply shared values across the country.

"I think a lot of change is needed in order to grow stronger, get our message to everyone and enlist support from everyone who thinks that this country should work for folks who have to work to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table."

Wikler said the party needs to show voters "that we're fighting for them against those who would try to rig the economy for those at the very top and deliver that message in places where people aren't paying attention to politics much, but they know what they're struggling with in their own lives.

"That means communicating in clear language in a way that shows people that we see them. And with our actions showing that we're fighting for them to bring costs down and make sure that working people have a fair shot in this country," he added.

Wikler pointed to the success of Democrats in his home state, a crucial battleground, as a reason he'll be competitive in the chair race.

He said the party is "united in its desire to win elections. And, in Wisconsin, we have some of the most closely fought, intense elections. We've had to learn to deal with everything that Republican candidates and campaigns throw our way. And I think the energy around it, figuring out how to get stronger and bigger and reach more people in more places, will give me a path to winning the DNC chair's race and then working to unite this party to fight and win up and down the ballot."

O'Malley, who turns 62 next month, is the oldest of the candidates running for chair.

He said he's running for DNC chair "because I love my country, and the only way we're going to save the Republic is if the Democratic Party gets itself battle ready as quickly as possible."

"I have had the honor to prove my chops as an operational turnaround leader at every level of government, including recently at Social Security for the president," he touted. 

Pointing to his past steering the Democratic Governors Association, he noted, "I'm the only candidate that's actually chaired a national committee — the Democratic governors — and I'm the only candidate that's actually run for office and been elected to office, city council, mayor, governor. And we need to recruit people all across the ballot in order to bring our party back."

O'Malley said that job No. 1 if he's elected chair "is to bring us together and to understand what we did well and what we did poorly the last time. But, most importantly, we've got to focus on registering more people as Democrats. We've got to return to the economic message that has always been the core of this party, that we've veered away from in many people's eyes in this last election. And we need to defend voting rights everywhere, not just in swing states."

Asked if he's got a shot against Martin and Wikler, who sit on the committee and are much better known by the voting members, O'Malley said, "I believe I do. I've found a whole lot of people that realize this is no longer a kind of caretaker election for DNC chair, but it's a change maker. And, for that reason, I'm finding doors blowing open all across the country."

An environmental group is calling out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's climate leadership in a six-figure battleground state ad buy which claims his policies in California have "significantly undermined climate progress."

While running for governor in 2018, Newsom said he would shut down the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in California – the location of the largest methane leak in U.S. history. "I'm fully committed to doing that," Newsom told a reporter when asked if he would shut down the facility. "The question is how quickly can we do that, but my commitment is to make that happen. We need to be more aggressive than we have been."

Newsom added that he was "unequivocally" committed to shutting it down, but environmental groups are calling out the governor after allowing the facility to remain open six years later. 

Food & Water Action, the political and lobbying arm of Food & Water Watch advocating against climate change, announced on Monday a $100,000 ad buy against Newsom across four battleground states – Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Michigan.

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The ad buy specifically targets Newsom's leadership on the climate, specifically for not following through on his campaign promise regarding the Aliso Canyon facility.

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"Americans are looking for leadership to resist Trump’s assault on our climate. Someone who follows through and won’t back down," the ad says. "Gov. Newsom promised to shut down Aliso Canyon, the site of the largest gas blowout in U.S. history. A public health disaster. But his public utilities commission is considering keeping it open indefinitely – just like the oil and gas industry wants. Climate leadership? We’re looking for it." 

However, in a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Daniel Villaseñor, spokesperson for Newsom, said that "the Governor’s energy policy is ambitious, not reckless." 

"We are committed to safely closing Aliso Canyon without harming working families with skyrocketing utility bills," the spokesperson said. "No governor has done more to accelerate our transition to clean and renewable energy, but it would be irresponsible to close Aliso Canyon before demand for natural gas declines. That’s a recipe for precisely the same price spikes we've seen in the gasoline market."

Villaseñor added that Newsom "wants to see Aliso Canyon phased out, but not at the cost of enormous price increases for working families and our ability to keep the lights on." The California Public Utilities Commission is planning to meet on Dec. 19 to discuss the future of the facility.

The environmental group claims that Newsom is trying to appear as a climate change champion, but that his record in California suggests otherwise.

"Governor Newsom wants to position himself as a national leader on climate and in opposing Trump, but he can’t be a credible national leader if his own house is not in order," Mitch Jones, deputy director of Food & Water Action, said in a press release. 

"While Newsom has taken some important steps on oil drilling, other policies have significantly undermined climate progress. These include undermining rooftop solar, embracing industry-backed plans like dirty biogas and carbon capture, and failing so far to keep his promise to close Aliso Canyon," Jones added.

While there is still a push from environmental groups to shut down the facility, it remains California’s largest underground natural gas storage facility and its operation has helped the state avoid potential energy price increases, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The ads were notably launched in battleground states amid months of speculation that Newsom could potentially launch a presidential bid in 2028.

Newsom was a top surrogate for President Biden during his re-election bid, and was floated as a leading candidate to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket before the president dropped out of the race. 

The governor's second term in Sacramento will finish at the end of next year, right around the time the 2028 presidential election will start to heat up.

CONCORD, N.H. – Presidential electors are gathering at state capitals across the country on Tuesday to cast their electoral votes in the 2024 election, a key step in formalizing President-elect Trump’s White House victory last month over Vice President Kamala Harris.

At the New Hampshire Statehouse, the state’s four electors cast ballots on behalf of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, in a largely ceremonial vote. 

Harris edged Trump by roughly three percentage points to carry New Hampshire, the only swing state in New England.

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"This is the formal vote for President and Vice President of the United States," New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan, who presided over the procedure, said. "Every state in the country right now is going through this process."

New Hampshire was one of four states, along with Indiana, Tennessee and Vermont, to lead off Tuesday's Electoral College voting.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS RESULTS FROM THE 2024 ELECTIONS

When Americans cast their ballots in a White House election, they’re technically voting for state electors committed to supporting their choice for president and vice president. The electors are expected to vote in accordance with the outcome of the popular vote in their state. 

The electoral votes from the states will be certified on Jan. 6 during a joint session of Congress. And Trump will be inaugurated as president two weeks later, on Jan. 20.

The political parties in each state choose their slate of electors ahead of the general election. 

Trump convincingly won the presidential election, winning the popular vote for the first time in three tries, and carrying all seven of the crucial battleground states that were heavily contested. 

The former and future president ended up winning the electoral vote, 312 to 226, over Harris.

Several Senate Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a presidential election system where the winner of the popular vote wins the White House contest.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the proposed amendment, according to a press release.

"In 2000, before the general election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and abolish the Electoral College. I still believe today that it is time to retire this 18th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans," Durbin said, according to the release. "The American people deserve to choose all their leaders, and I am proud to support this effort with Senators Schatz and Welch to empower voters."

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"In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple," Schatz stated. "No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it."

Welch claimed that "right now our elections aren't as representative as they should be because of the outdated and flawed electoral college."

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah slammed the proposal, calling it "a phenomenally bad idea," in a post on X. "So naturally, Democrats are pushing it," he added.

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Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., responded to the proposal by accusing the Senate Democrats of wanting "to trample the Constitution."

President-elect Donald Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

But there have been elections in U.S. history in which the winner of the Electoral College did not win the popular vote.

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The most recent example was Trump's 2016 victory where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote but lost the Electoral College.

As Democrats hope to retain the governor’s seat in the swing state of Michigan with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term-limited, a top Democratic figure has launched an independent bid, leading to a search on the left for an alternative standard-bearer.

Three-term Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, viewed for some time as very likely to seek the governor’s office, reportedly surprised the state’s body politic by announcing he will do so as an independent.

"I went to Lansing and built relationships with Democrats and Republicans. We took our neighborhoods out of the darkness of burned-out streetlights and we lit the entire city to the national standard… and reduced Detroit's unemployment rate to its lowest rate in more than 30 years," Duggan said in his campaign launch video.

"The current system forces people to choose sides that find solutions. I want to see if I can change that."

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He struck a similar tone in recent remarks to reporters:

Duggan said in his final year as mayor he wants to "establish a working relationship with the Trump administration," and noted he had done so with fellow Motor City native HUD Secretary Ben Carson one term prior.

He also told The Associated Press he views many Americans as being "tired of both parties and tired of the system – and so I want to offer people a choice."

That choice led Democrats to reportedly pivot to a prominent Indiana native who recently moved north to his husband’s home state.

At an event with Detroit autoworkers, one man shouted a question about the Lions – rather than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s home-state Colts – which the AP illustrated as a potential challenge for the Traverse City newcomer to connect with Michiganders if he decides to run.

Another man at the event praised Buttigieg’s willingness to be "one of the few" politicians to speak to both liberal and conservative media audiences.

Buttigieg has said he won’t make any official political decisions on "how to make myself useful" until after his current boss, President Biden, leaves office, but has been contacted by several Michigan Democrats about entering the race.

Duggan’s announcement, however, was met with derision from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, another potential Democratic contender.

"In moments like this, we don't flee from the party, but we stay and fix it," Benson told FOX-2, which reported she is considering tossing her hat in the ring.

Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist in the Great Lakes State, told the AP that people are "shocked and angry" at Duggan for eschewing the Democratic Party label.

"Many view this as a serious situation where Mike Duggan could put the governor’s mansion in the hands of Republicans and roll back years of progress," he said.

While the left wing is divided between Duggan’s independent run and jockeying to fill the Democratic row on the ballot, the Republican race appears wide open.

"You know what, [20]26 is always in the back of my mind, but right now, we’re focused on [20]24," conservative media host Tudor Dixon – the 2022 Republican nominee – said just before the presidential election when asked about running again.

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Other names floated in the Michigan press include businessman Perry Johnson – who briefly ran for president on the GOP line in 2024 – businessman Kevin Rinke, and several sitting GOP lawmakers.

Adding to the electoral uncertainty were Michigan’s 2024 split results, as voters there chose both Republican President-elect Trump and Democratic Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin from the top-tier races. 

As for Whitmer, reports have viewed her as a top contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential contest, along with several other governors, like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, California’s Gavin Newsom, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Maryland’s Wes Moore, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Minnesota’s Tim Walz.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Michigan GOP, Michigan Democrats and Buttigieg’s office for comment.

With former president and now President-elect Donald Trump unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance appears to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party's powerful MAGA base.

But even though the 40-year-old Vance will be considered the front-runner in the next GOP presidential nomination race, the chair of the Republican National Committee says the party will hold to its traditional role of staying neutral in an open and contested presidential primary.

"We will," RNC chair Michael Whatley said in a Fox News Digital interview.

Vance, with Trump's support in a party firmly in the president-elect's grip, will be very hard to knock off in the 2028 Republican presidential primaries.

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"We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance," Donald Trump Jr. said in October on the campaign trail. 

The younger Trump, who's a powerful ally of the vice president-elect, is extremely popular with the MAGA base.

"The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it," longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney recently told Fox News Digital. 

Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said that Vance "is the guy to beat."

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David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, said that Vance is the front-runner due to "the size and the scope" of Trump's Electoral College and popular vote victories last month, "and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump."

"There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement," Kochel said.

However, Kochel noted that "nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is."

Whatley, who was interviewed a week after Trump asked him to continue as RNC chair moving forward, said he's "very excited about the bench that we have in the Republican Party right now."

"You think about all the Republican governors, you think about all the Republican senators, the members of the House that we have, the leaders across the country that have been engaged in this campaign are going to be part of the president's cabinet," he added.

Whatley argued that the president-elect's "America First movement is bigger than Donald Trump. He is the tip of the spear. He is the vanguard of this movement. But. It is a very big movement right now."

The chairman on Thursday also emphasized that "Donald Trump has completely remade the Republican Party. We're now the working-class party. We're now a party that is communicating and working with every single voter, speaking to every single voter about the issues that they care about. So, as we go into 2028, we are in a great position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement."

Unlike the rival Democratic National Committee, which in the 2024 cycle upended the traditional presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.

Asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley said "I've not had any conversations with anybody who wants to change the calendar on our side. I know the Democrats did during the course of this election cycle, not sure that it really helped them all that much."

"We're very comfortable with the calendar as it is. But as we move towards 2028, we'll have those conversations," he added.

EXCLUSIVE – Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia will make her first visit to Capitol Hill since President-elect Trump nominated her to steer the Small Business Administration (SBA) in his second term in the White House.

Fox News has learned that Loeffler will meet on Tuesday with roughly a dozen Republican senators. Among those she'll huddle with are Sen. John Barasso of Wyoming, who ranks third in GOP Senate leadership and is the incoming Majority Whip, and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, the incoming chair of the Senate Small Business Committee.

Loeffler, who hails from a family of small business owners and entrepreneurs, was raised working on the family farm in Illinois. After becoming the first in her family to graduate college, she spent nearly three decades working her way up in the private sector.  

Along with her husband Jeff, Loeffler built a Fortune 500 financial services and technology company from 100 employees to 15,000. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION

Loeffler later launched another company, named Bakkt, as its founding CEO and first employee. She was also a part owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream.

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"As an entrepreneur and business leader who founded startups and helped build a Fortune 500 company, Senator Loeffler looks forward to meeting with her former colleagues this week to discuss empowering America’s job creators," Loeffler spokesperson Caitlin O'Dea told Fox News in a statement. "She is honored to be President Trump’s choice to lead the SBA, and, if confirmed, looks forward to advancing his agenda to make the small business economy great again."

Loeffler and her husband have long been major donors to Republican causes and and candidates, including Trump. Loeffler serves as co-chair of the president-elect's inaugural committee.

Trump called Loeffler, a longtime ally, "tremendous fighter" as he announced her nomination as SBA administrator.

And Ernst, in a statement, said that "as a successful business owner, Kelly knows what it takes to innovate and create jobs that support American families, and I am confident that she will fight to get Washington bureaucrats off the backs of our nation's small businesses."

While successful in the business world, Loeffler was not well known until becoming a politician.

After GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned from the Senate at the end of 2019 due to his deteriorating health, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia appointed Loeffler to fill Isakson's unexpired term until the next regular election.

Loeffler narrowly lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff election in January 2021, after no candidate topped 50% of the vote in a crowded field of contenders in the November 2020 Senate election.

President-elect Trump says he doesn't think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will name his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate.

"No, I don’t. I probably don't. But I don’t know," Trump said Monday as he took questions from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "Ron’s doing a good job. That’s his choice – nothing to do with me."

Trump last month announced that he would nominate Rubio, the three-term senator from Florida and a senior Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, to serve as secretary of state in his incoming administration.

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Since then, the president-elect and some top Trump allies have recommended that Lara Trump, who from March until a week ago served as Republican National Committee co-chair, fill the next two years of Rubio's term in the Senate.

DeSantis has said he'll make a decision on the Rubio Senate replacement by early next month.

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Trump on Monday praised his daughter-in-law, saying, "Lara's unbelievable. She was incredible. The job she did at the RNC…. she is so highly respected."

And he added that Lara Trump is highly sought after.

"I also know that Lara got so many other things. I mean she's got so many other things. People want her to be on television. They want to give her contracts," Trump said. "She's got so many other things that she's talking about."

The president-elect also praised Rubio, but added, "He leaves a vacancy in Florida and Ron's going to have to make that decision. And he'll make the right decision."

Sources have confirmed to Fox News that Trump told DeSantis that he would like to see his daughter-in-law succeed Rubio. But Republican sources in Florida suggest that DeSantis is more likely to name someone who's held public office in the Sunshine State.

And Lara Trump, in interviews with Fox News and the AP, has said she would "seriously consider" serving Florida in the Senate.

DeSantis, a one-time Trump ally who clashed with the former president last year and early this year during a very contentious 2024 GOP presidential nomination race, mended relations a bit with the former president after the primary season, as he endorsed Trump and helped raise money for the Republican nominee's general election campaign.

"Florida deserves a senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results," DeSantis said last month.

And he noted at the time that "we have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting. More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January."

The formal confirmation process for Rubio by his fellow senators won’t kick off until after Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20.

New Jersey-based attorney Alina Habba hit the nation’s radar back in 2021, becoming President-elect Trump's fierce legal defender and then spokeswoman as he battled an onslaught of legal cases and criminal charges ahead of his decisive win against Vice President Kamala Harris last month. 

Now, Habba is readying to take on a new role: counselor to the president under Trump's second administration. 

"Alina has been a tireless advocate for Justice, a fierce Defender of the Rule of Law, and an invaluable Advisor to my Campaign and Transition Team," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social last week, announcing her new role. "She has been unwavering in her loyalty, and unmatched in her resolve - standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles, and countless days in court."

Following the once and future president’s announcement, Fox News Digital took a look back at Habba’s legal career and meteoric rise in Trump’s orbit and, now, the White House. 

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Habba is the managing partner of Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, a law firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey, that also practices in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Habba, 40, is a New Jersey native, ​​born to Chaldean Catholic Iraqi immigrant parents. She attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania as an undergraduate before earning her J.D. from Widener University. 

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"As a devout Catholic, a proud first generation Arab American woman, and a feisty Jersey girl who’s fed up with far-left corruption in Washington – President Trump championed my journey, empowering me to become who I am today. His unwavering support not only shaped my career but has inspired other young women with big dreams," Habba declared in her RNC speech in July from Milwaukee. 

Ahead of joining Trump's legal team, Habba litigated cases related to negligent nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also earned recognition on the Super Lawyers Rising Stars List between 2016-2022, as well as a spot on the "Top 100 Lawyers in America" list, and has supported a handful of charity efforts, including a charity that benefits pregnant homeless women, Birth Haven. 

Habba has seen a meteoric rise to national prominence in recent years, after Trump hired her in 2021 to help litigate a barrage of cases leveled at him ahead of the 2024 election, becoming his legal spokesperson and trusted adviser. 

Habba hit the Trump legal scene when she spearheaded a lawsuit against the former and upcoming president’s niece, Mary Trump, and the New York Times for "tortiously breaching and/or interfering with his contractual rights and otherwise maliciously conspiring against him" to obtain and publish his tax records in 2018.

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Habba’s legal successes for Trump include former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos dropping a defamation suit against Trump in 2021 and the dismissal of another case related to New York state-level charges over allegations Trump and the Trump Organization were involved in a fraudulent marketing company. She also notched a win earlier this year when the Supreme Court dismissed ex-lawyer Michael Cohen’s appeal to revive a lawsuit against Trump as he sought monetary damages over his 2020 imprisonment related to lying to Congress and his previous work for Trump.

​​"Michael Cohen has exhausted every avenue of his pathetic attempt to drag my client into court time and time again.  As expected, the Supreme Court has correctly denied Michael Cohen's petition and he must finally abandon his frivolous and desperate claims,"Habba told Fox News Digital in a statement in October. 

Habba’s national name recognition grew as Trump battled the E. Jean Carroll cases. 

Carroll, who previously worked as a columnist for Elle magazine, had filed two lawsuits against Trump since 2019, when she first accused him of raping her in an excerpt in her book "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal." Trump vehemently denied the allegation, saying, "it never happened," ultimately leading Carroll to sue Trump for defamation when he was still president. At the time, she was barred by the statute of limitations from suing him over the underlying rape allegation.

A jury would eventually find Trump had sexually abused Carroll and that, in denying it, defamed her, awarding her $5 million. But while that case was tied up in appeals, and with Trump continuing to deny ever even meeting Carroll, she filed another suit in 2022 alleging both defamation and rape. She was able to do this because earlier that year, New York had passed a law that allowed sex abuse plaintiffs to file a one-time civil case despite the expiration of the statute of limitations. 

ALINA HABBA: BIDEN IS HANDING OUT PARDONS LIKE TIC TACS

Habba joined the Trump legal team for the second case, in which the former president was accused of rape and defamation for social media posts in which Trump denied the allegations and accused Carroll of promoting a "hoax and a lie." 

Trump was never criminally charged with sexual assault, and the initial jury found him liable for sexual abuse – though not rape. The jury specifically said Carroll hadn’t proven that Trump raped her.

The second case sought more than $10 million for damage to her reputation stemming from Trump’s comments in 2019, when he was still president. The jury ultimately awarded her $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages.

"I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state, the state of New York, Attorney General Letitia James and now this. Weeks, weeks. Why? Because President Trump is leading in the polls and now we see what you get in New York," Habba said earlier this year following the verdict. 

"So don’t get it twisted," she continued, calling the case evidence of the "violation of our justice system." "I am so proud to stand with President Trump. But I am not proud to stand with what I saw in that courtroom."

ALINA HABBA TAKES ON MAJOR ROLE IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN, DISHES ON HIS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RNC SPEECH

Habba also battled New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud suit – one of Trump’s most high-profile cases that the AG has refused to dismiss after Trump’s electoral win. 

TRUMP ADVISER ALINA HABBA HITS CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO ATTRACT ARAB AMERICAN SUPPORT IN SWING STATE MICHIGAN

James announced an investigation into the Trump Organization, claiming there was evidence indicating that the president and his company had falsely valued assets to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions. 

Both inside the courtroom, during press conferences and in media interviews, Habba defended Trump against James’ case. 

"​​Letitia James is putting her nose into private companies and private individuals' work, which is not what is meant to happen and the law that she’s using is a consumer fraud law. So that she can establish some way to have control, to not have a jury to do certain things in this case that are nonsensical and shouldn’t be happening and we have been fighting it all along the way. The problem we have is the judge is the one that’s going make those decisions and he’s proven himself to be quite motivated by the other side," Habba said on "Sunday Morning Futures" with host Maria Bartiromo last year. 

ALINA HABBA: WE'VE DONE SOMETHING 'STRATEGICALLY DIFFERENT' TO TARGET VOTERS

Trump and his legal team charged that James had conducted a "witch hunt" against him after she explicitly campaigned on a platform to prosecute the president. Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. 

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September of last year in the non-jury trial that Trump and his organization had deceived lenders by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth. Trump’s team called on James to drop the case following his election last month, which she rejected on Dec. 10. 

Following the announcement that Habba will serve as counselor to the president, conservatives and supporters of Trump have touted Habba’s fiery defense of him over the last few years. 

"I have sat with President Trump for years now while he has been targeted with lies and with judges, AGs, and DAs who have specifically run in this city and others on getting Trump," Habba said during a press conference in January following the Carroll verdict, rounding up the bevy of court cases Trump faced following his first administration. 

ALINA HABBA CALLS ON JUDGE MERCHAN TO 'DISMISS' TRUMP CASE

"The Trump administration will fix this problem. We will stop Kamala Harris's regime – because she was there, let's not forget that, and she still is – of using officials from the White House, putting them in DAs' offices and AGs' offices, and attacking your political opponent," she continued. 

Habba also delivered a powerful speech at the RNC in July – following Trump’s first assassination attempt – that has been revived this month for her emotional tone when she described her tight relationship with Trump. 

"To my husband, whose family survived the Holocaust, [Trump] is a champion of the Jewish faith. To my Iraqi parents, he is a mentor to their daughter," she said from the RNC. 

"But to me, he is my friend."

In Trump’s first administration, the counselor to the president role was filled by Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway. The role entails advising the president on all legal matters related to the office of the president and the White House. 

Habba joined Fox News’ Martha MacCallum last week, where she previewed that her new role will focus on "all things that we need to do to fix this country."

"First and foremost, anybody asked to serve this country in such an honorable role or any role, frankly, it's a responsibility that I take very seriously, but an honor. I told the president, I am there to do whatever it is you need me to do, and that's the truth. But I will say what a great privilege I will be there to advise. I will be there to help with policies that are important. I know that for me, obviously lawfare and all of the things that Pam Bondi is going to focus on are top of mind because of what we've lived for the last three and a half years. But I will tell you I'm ready to get to work, and that's on all things that we need to do to fix this country," Habba said. 

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Brooke Singman and Greg Wehner contributed to this report. 

• Vermont, home to Sen. Bernie Sanders, has long been known for its progressive politics.
• But in the November general election, Republicans made key inroads in state legislative races.
• Many voters, who generally back Democrats on the federal level, sided with the GOP on local issues.

In recent decades, Vermont has become known for its progressive politics, with figures like independent Sen. Bernie Sanders dominating the New England state's political landscape.

On the federal level, the Democratic edge is clear. Vice President Kamala Harris defeated President-elect Donald Trump by over 31 points in Vermont, one of her top showings in the country.

The popular Republican governor, Phil Scott, even voted for Harris, declaring he "put country over party."

But further down-ballot, Republicans made some key gains in Vermont, breaking Democratic supermajorities as voters concerned about affordability boosted the GOP in a series of pivotal races.

Before the November general election, Democrats held 107 out of 150 seats in the Vermont House of Representatives, and the GOP held 37 seats. But when the state House reconvenes in January, Democrats and Progressives will have 91 seats, compared to 56 for the GOP; independents will hold three seats. And in the Vermont Senate, the previous 21 to 7 Democratic advantage over the GOP will shrink to a 16 to 13 Democratic majority (in addition to one Progressive member).

While Democrats will continue to hold majorities in both chambers, they'll lack the numbers to override any vetoes from Scott, who in November was reelected in a nearly 52-point landslide on a platform of stabilizing the school budget process and staving off significant property tax increases. The governor has also sought to tackle the housing shortage in Vermont, where affordability has been a major issue for lawmakers in recent years.

A June 2024 assessment taken for the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development found that the state will need to boost the pace of homebuilding to produce the 24,000 to 36,000 new year-round homes from 2025 through 2029 needed to address demand and replace homes impacted by flooding.

"The goal is to get them to come to the table … and to get enough support to work toward more affordability," Scott's policy director, Jason Maulucci, told The New York Times, referring to Democratic state lawmakers.

Trump made critical electoral gains across the country as many voters dissatisfied with the economy opted for him instead of Harris. During President Joe Biden's term in office, inflation drove blocs of traditionally Democratic-leaning constituencies, like Latino voters and young voters, into the GOP's fold.

After Biden stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in July, Harris took on the party's messaging on the economy. But despite some polls showing her having made inroads against Trump on the issue, she ultimately fell short in critical swing states.

Vermont's form of Republicanism has traditionally been more moderate than the socially conservative brand that defines the national GOP. However, the state is still dominated by rural areas, where the party was ripe for gains. Democrats, who for years have been the driving force in the state capital of Montpelier, faced the ire of many voters who wanted to see the legislature curb tax hikes in the state.

"Voters have been telling us for years that they're sick of rising costs, rising rents, rising property taxes and grocery bills, and they feel like they can't get ahead," consultant Lachlan Francis told the Times. "They have felt that way for a long time, as the Legislature followed an agenda that was perceived as inflationary, and there was a price to pay for that."