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Year: 2024

Blinken questioned for State Department hosting in-house therapy sessions after Trump win

Blinken questioned for State Department hosting in-house therapy sessions after Trump win

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., took aim at Secretary of State Antony Blinken after it was reported that the State Department held therapy sessions for employees who were upset by President-elect Trump’s election victory. “I am concerned that the Department is catering to federal employees who are personally devastated by the normal functioning of American democracy through the provision of government-funded mental health counseling because Kamala Harris was not elected President of the United States,” Issa said in a letter to Blinken last week. The letter comes after a Free Beacon report earlier this month that detailed two alleged therapy sessions that were held at the State Department after Trump’s victory, with sources telling the outlet that one such instance amounted to an information “cry session.” TRUMP BRINGS BACK FORMER AIDE SEBASTIAN GORKA, EX-STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ALEX WONG TO SERVE IN ADMIN In another instance, an email went out to agency employees and touted a separate  “insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times” after Trump’s victory, according to the report. “Change is a constant in our lives, but it can often bring about stress and uncertainty,” the email said. “Join us for an insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times. This session will provide tips and practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining your well being.” In his letter to Blinken, Issa argued that the reported sessions were “disturbing” and that “nonpartisan government officials” should not be suffering a “personal meltdown over the result of a free and fair election.” MATT GAETZ SAYS HE WILL NOT SERVE IN THE UPCOMING SESSION OF CONGRESS While the Republican lawmaker acknowledged that the mental health of the agency’s employees was important, he questioned the use of taxpayer dollars to counsel those upset about the election, demanding answers on how many sessions have been conducted, how many more are planned, and how much the sessions are costing the department. Issa also raised fears that the sessions could also call into question the willingness of some of the State Department’s employees to carry out Trump’s new vision for the agency. “The mere fact that the Department is hosting these sessions raises significant questions about the willingness of its personnel to implement the lawful policy priorities that the American people elected President Trump to pursue and implement,” the letter said. “The Trump Administration has a mandate for wholesale change in the foreign policy arena, and if foreign service officers cannot follow through on the American people’s preferences, they should resign and seek a political appointment in the next Democrat administration.” The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Harris disappears from spotlight, vacations in Hawaii after election loss

Harris disappears from spotlight, vacations in Hawaii after election loss

Vice President Kamala Harris has kept a low profile since losing the election to President-elect Trump, vacationing in Hawaii with second gentleman Doug Emhoff since last week. Harris arrived in Kalaoa, Hawaii, on Tuesday for what is expected to be a weeklong trip, a break from the rigorous campaign schedule she kept over the last couple of months but also from her duties as vice president, where she retains her tie-breaking vote as president of the Senate during the last few months of President Biden’s administration. The timing of the vice president’s trip has generated questions, with some noting that many DNC staffers are uncertain about their futures while others had been surprised by sudden layoffs. PRESIDENT BIDEN ADMITS PRESSURE FROM DEMOCRATS CONTRIBUTED TO DECISION TO DROP OUT White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the Harris vacation during a Thursday briefing, arguing there was nothing “wrong” with the vice president taking a vacation. “The vice president has taken time off to go spend time with her family. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think she deserves some time to be with her family and to have some downtime. She has worked very hard over – for the last four years, and her taking a couple of days to be with her family, good for her. Good for her,” Jean-Pierre said. Harris is still expected to play a critical role in helping Biden push through several judges as Democrats race against the clock to top the 234 that were confirmed during Trump’s first term, according to an NBC News report last week. With the Democrats holding such a slim majority in the upper chamber, Harris broke the record last year for casting the most decisive votes of any vice president in history, the report notes, with Democrats expected to lean on the vice president once again in the coming weeks. DEMOCRATS’ FUROR OVER ‘UNQUALIFIED’ TRUMP NOMINEES PUTS BIDEN’S STAFFING DECISIONS BACK IN SPOTLIGHT  “This is something they want to clear the decks on,” a senior Harris aide told NBC News. “She will definitely be available for any tie votes,” a second senior aide said. “It is a big focus,” a third source told the outlet. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also said Tuesday that she was given notice that Harris would be available, though the senator had not personally talked to Harris, according to the report. “The goal is to fill every judicial nomination that we can,” Warren said. Meanwhile, a senior Harris aide told NBC News that the vice president had already delayed her trip in case she was needed in the Senate, though now many of those votes are expected to take place in December when Harris is back in Washington. The Harris campaign and White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Fetterman admits Dems ‘sort of lost ourselves’ on key election issue

Fetterman admits Dems ‘sort of lost ourselves’ on key election issue

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., acknowledged that Democrats had a major problem when it came to border security, resulting in Republicans securing control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. Fetterman did not pull punches in reflecting on his party during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “Well, one area where we kind of lost ourselves was the border,” the Democratic senator stated. “And I’ve been on this network, you know, months, months ago saying, ‘Hey, you know, it can’t be controversial for our party to have pro-immigration, but we need a secure border.’ And when we ask or demand people to not believe what they see, and see those kind of numbers, that that’s not a problem. It’s like, well, then you lose about that 100%,”  “I’ve tried to describe – you have up to 300,000 people – encounters – per month. And I put that in perspective with Pennsylvania. I’m like, that’s the size of Pittsburgh showing up in one month,” Fetterman told host Gillian Turner. “It’s like, what’s going to happen for those folks? If we want them [to have] the American Dream for those people, how can we possibly deliver that? Where do they go? And we can’t pretend that that’s not a significant issue. And we got to address that.”  Democrats have traditionally defined themselves as the anti-war party, but Fetterman seemed to suggest it lost its footing when progressives grew critical of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists following the Oct. 7 attacks. Fetterman said Israel’s effort against Hamas and Ukraine’s fight against Russia are two “just” wars that remain ongoing. FETTERMAN SAYS ‘F— THAT’ AMID BIPARTISAN BACKLASH OVER ARREST WARRANTS TARGETING ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU, GALLANT In regard to Israel, Fetterman said he “never supported a cease-fire, and that was the right thing.”  “I said I was going to follow Israel. And since they refused to have that cease-fire, they have eliminated and broken Hamas, and Hezbollah, Hezbollah was supposed to be like the ultimate bada– in the Middle East, and now they were a bunch of Keystone Cops, and Iran has just been exposed, as you know, they really can’t fight about anything. So that’s been a significant development here,” Fetterman said.  “And with respect to Ukraine, Ukraine was invaded, and for me, for me, it’s about standing on the side of democracy,” he continued. “And I was very supportive about that aid. And I don’t understand if the other side would stop delivering that kind of aid. That’s a disagreement, but I’ve been very, very clear supporting Israel and Ukraine.”  STEFANIK MEETS WITH SENATORS AS TRUMP’S UN AMBASSADOR NOMINEE, TOUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH’ Turner noted that President-elect Trump’s transition team has touted their foreign policy and national security team as the most pro-Israel in American history. That includes Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tapped to become secretary of state, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., nominated for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Huckabee, chosen as U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., as national security adviser.   “In terms of the incoming administration, I actually like what I see in terms of being very, very strong pro-Israel,” Fetterman said, adding that Israel has made “magnificent kinds of progress… generating longer term peace by destroying Hamas, Hezbollah, and demonstrating that Iran, really, doesn’t have the kind of capability to deliver any kinds of damage.”  He indicated he would support Rubio, and potentially Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Fetterman defeated during a contentious Senate race.  Fetterman said on Sunday that he knows “it got kinda ugly” in his race against Oz, but he “doesn’t have any kind of bitterness” and “is open to dialogue,” adding, “I’m not sure why that’s controversial.”   “I’m not going to pre-hate. I’m not going to pre-hate a lot of these things, and I’m not going to pre-hate this,” Fetterman said. “I’m going to have an open conversation for anyone, that I’m open to having part of that conversation.”

Sanctuary states, cities should explain to DOGE why they deserve federal money: MTG

Sanctuary states, cities should explain to DOGE why they deserve federal money: MTG

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Sunday said leaders of sanctuary states and cities should have to explain why they deserve federal dollars to a new congressional subcommittee bent on cutting government waste. Greene, who was tapped to lead a subcommittee working with the Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), laid out how she hopes to cut government spending during an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures.” One area Greene said she wants the subcommittee to investigate is tied to the immigration crisis. “I’d like to talk to the governors of sanctuary states and the mayors of sanctuary cities and have them come before our committee and explain why they deserve federal dollars if they’re going to harbor illegal criminal aliens in their states and their cities,” she said. ‘WOULD LOVE TO’: REPUBLICANS JOSTLE FOR OPEN SPOTS ON MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE-LED DOGE PANEL Greene specifically noted the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus in Athens in February. Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant, was convicted in her murder. Ibarra had been granted a “humanitarian flight” from New York City to Atlanta in September 2023. Greene also laid out a slew of other areas that could face the chopping block under the subcommittee’s plan to cut government spending. “The way to do that is to cut programs, contracts, employees, grant programs, you name it, that are failing the American people and not serving the American people’s interests,” Greene said. The congresswoman said government-funded media programs like NPR, which she claimed “spread nothing but Democrat propaganda,” will be under the subcommittee’s microscope. ‘EFFICIENT AND ACCOUNTABLE’ GOP-LED DOGE BILL AIMS TO SLASH OUTFLOW OF FEDERAL DOLLARS She also said it will investigate active government contracts and programs to see if they still “make sense” or if “their purpose has expired.” Greene mentioned government workers who have been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic – which forced many across the workforce, both in the government and private sectors, to work from home. “We’re also looking at many – we have thousands – of buildings that the federal government owns and pays for with over $15 billion a year, but yet those government buildings stood empty and these government employees stay at home.” Greene called these points “failures” in the government’s service to the American people. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “And we don’t care about people’s feelings,” Green said. “We’re going to be searching for the facts and we’re going to be verifying if this is worth spending the… American people’s hard-earned tax dollars on.”

Unearthed footage of Barron Trump speaking with mom’s accent spreads like wildfire after dad’s massive win

Unearthed footage of Barron Trump speaking with mom’s accent spreads like wildfire after dad’s massive win

Videos of future first son Barron Trump speaking in a Slovenian accent as a young boy are spreading like wildfire on social media after his father’s massive electoral win earlier this month.  “I like my suitcase,” a 4-year-old Barron Trump said with an apparent Slovene accent in 2010 during a Larry King segment. The video shows Barron Trump in his father’s office with both of his parents as he grabs a brown suitcase and asks his mom about going to school.  “I have to go to school now?” Barron Trump asks, again with an accent.  MELANIA TRUMP POSTS PHOTO OF SON BARRON, 18, VOTING FOR THE 1ST TIME IN ELECTION WITH FATHER AT TOP OF TICKET “You have lunch, and then you go to school,” Melania Trump responds.  “Now I’m gonna go?” Barron Trump asks again, speaking with the same accent as his mom.  “First you will have lunch, then you will go to school,” Melania tells her young son as he holds his brown briefcase.  Clips of the video have spread like wildfire across social media, most notably on TikTok, where users have filmed their own videos imitating Barron Trump, accompanied by the tag “sootcase,” as a play on how Barron Trump pronounced “suitcase.”  Social media users have reacted with shock over learning the eventual first son had a slight accent as a young boy, with many calling it “adorable,” “cute” and lauding Melania Trump for her close relationship with her young son. The videos had long floated on social media, but are only going viral after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election this month.  One user on TikTok said, “i can’t help but giggle every time i hear or see this video his Slovenian accent is so cuteness,” and another said, “he was adorable,” and another saying Melania Trump “seems like an amazingly sweet mom.”  MELANIA TRUMP REVEALS HOW SHE STAYS CALM, COOL, FOCUSED AND HEALTHY: ‘GUIDING PRINCIPLE’ Dozens of videos on TikTok have racked up hundreds of thousands of views each, and have even led to social media users creating song remixes of Barron Trump’s accent and social media commenters noting they never knew the first son had an accent as a young boy.  Melania Trump, who had a successful modeling career before she became first lady, was born in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia – now Slovenia – and explained in the interview with Larry King in 2010 that her son has an accent because he spent the majority of time with his mom.  “He has an accent,” King noted in a live interview with Trump and his wife after footage of Barron speaking in an accent was aired.  TRUMP TAPS INTO GEN Z’S PULSE WITH HELP FROM SON BARRON, WHO TELLS HIM ABOUT HOTTEST TRENDS “He spends most of the time with me,” Melania Trump responded, before King asked the eventual president, “what do you think of that?” “I think it’s great,” Donald Trump responded. “Anything he does is OK with me.” “He speaks three languages, actually,” Melania Trump added.  “Smart one,” Donald Trump said.  In another clip, Donald Trump is seen telling his son to avoid drugs, alcohol and tattoos when he grows up.  “I want all As,” Donald Trump said in the clip. “And when you get older, no drugs. No alcohol. No cigarettes. And, you know what else? No tattoos. I don’t ever want to see tattoos on you.” Footage of Barron Trump in 2009 is also going viral, showing the roughly 3-year-old boy with his mom attending a charity event where Entertainment Tonight held a short interview with the pair. Barron Trump declared his love of playing the drums while again pronouncing his words similar to his mom’s Slovene accent.  “I like to play drums,” he said, adding he wants drums “like on the television” for his birthday.  Barron Trump is now 18-years-old and attends New York University. The first son overwhelmingly stays out of the public spotlight when compared to his older siblings, such as Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who frequently conduct media interviews and joined their father on the campaign trail.  BARRON TRUMP ‘DOING GREAT’ AT NYU, LOVES HIS CLASSES, HIS MOM MELANIA TRUMP SAYS Barron Trump, who notably stands at about 6-foot-9 and towers over his parents, was seen on stage when his father delivered his victory speech earlier this month after his massive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump wrapped up the election with 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226, and won the popular vote.  “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you. And with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America. That’s what we have to have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” Trump said in his victory speech, flanked by his family and other high-profile supporters such as tech billionaire Elon Musk and UFC CEO Dana White. 

Manchin slams ‘17 educated idiots’ that were advising Biden during COVID

Manchin slams ‘17 educated idiots’ that were advising Biden during COVID

Outgoing Independent West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin slammed some of the advice President Biden received during his time in office, arguing that the guidance created blindspots for the president on inflation, immigration and Afghanistan. Appearing on CBS’s “The Takeout” podcast on Friday, Manchin recounted how he tried to convince Biden to work across the aisle on the American Rescue Plan and how he warned about the dangers of inflation if Democrats went through with plans to extend unemployment benefits through October 2021, but was ignored thanks to the advice of 17 Nobel laureates. “I warned of that, and I got criticized, as you recall, they told me they had 17 Nobel laureates,” Manchin said, later arguing that they were “17 educated idiots” that were telling Biden “what you want to hear because you paid them.” Manchin, who in the early days of Biden’s administration was still part of the Democratic Party, played a critical role in determining how much of the new president’s agenda would make its way through the Senate.  JOE MANCHIN: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE PICKED TRUMP. NOW IS THE TIME TO DELIVER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYONE Democrats held a slim majority in the upper chamber throughout Biden’s term and depended on the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris to pass the administration’s agenda, meaning the moderate West Virginia senator’s cooperation was key in getting many items passed. Manchin would eventually decide not to run for re-election and leave the Democratic Party altogether after a decades-long political career in the party, arguing that he had to be “true” to himself. “To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority,” Manchin said in a May 2024 announcement. IN ELECTION VICTORY, TRUMP’S GAINS WENT BEYOND THE BATTLEGROUNDS During his interview with CBS, Manchin noted that Congress had worked in a bipartisan manner with the Trump administration to send out stimulus checks in the early days of pandemic shutdowns, arguing that lawmakers had “erred” on the side of action but later came to realize that pumping so much money into the economy “was a mistake.” Nevertheless, Manchin recalled that Biden went immediately to the budget reconciliation process to attempt to pass the American Rescue Plan through the Senate, something the then-Democratic senator resisted. “Remember when I stopped and it shut down for about eight or 10 hours? That’s because they were extending unemployment benefits and we had a vaccine that worked. And I told him then, I said, ‘You’ve got a vaccine that’s working, you’ve got people that have got money because we sent a check to everybody,’” Manchin said, adding that he warned that after months of lockdowns and several rounds of stimulus, American spending was likely to inflate the economy. “You’ve got inflation coming at you hard when you do this, and now you’re still keeping people out of the workforce because you’re going to give them an extension clear up until October 2021 of unemployment benefits, and they can’t go back and can’t be threatened to lose their unemployment benefits,” Manchin said. “You’ve got a perfect storm hitting you.”

First openly trans rep-elect claims GOP spotlighting transgender issues an ‘attempt to distract’ voters

First openly trans rep-elect claims GOP spotlighting transgender issues an ‘attempt to distract’ voters

The first openly transgender politician elected to the U.S. House, Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, claimed Sunday that the GOP’s focus on transgender issues is an “attempt to distract” voters. “I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect. Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract,” McBride, who was elected to represent Delaware earlier this month, said Sunday morning on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”  “It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word ‘trans,’ ​​look what they’re doing with their right hand. Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Look what they’re doing, undermining workers,” McBride added.  President-elect Trump, conservative voters and members of Congress have all raised concerns regarding transgender issues, including stretching back years, most notably in the context of barring biological men from competing in women’s and girls’ sports, as well as banning men from women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.  SPEAKER JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW CAPITOL BATHROOM POLICY IN RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY OVER TRANS HOUSE MEMBER On Capitol Hill, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution last week that moves to prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”  Mace, a rape survivor, also introduced another bill that would “ban biological men from using women’s private, protected facilities – such as bathrooms and locker rooms – on all federal property” across the nation.  NANCY MACE FIRES BACK AT AOC, CRITICS OF TRANS BATHROOM BAN: ‘HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY’ Democrats, including McBride, slammed Mace as a “far-right” extremist for the legislation.  “This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars,” McBride posted to X.  House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said later in the week that single-sex facilities on Capitol Hill, including bathrooms, will be used by individuals with the corresponding biological sex.  NANCY MACE’S EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER DELAWARE DEMOCRAT FROM CAPITOL WOMEN’S RESTROOMS GAINS SUPPORT “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings – such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms – are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”  “Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he added.  “Like all policies, it is enforceable,” Johnson later told reporters. “But we have single-sex facilities for a reason, and women deserve women’s only spaces. And we’re not anti anyone. We’re pro-women, and I think it’s an important policy for us to continue. It’s always been the, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it’s in writing.”  MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS McBride continued during her Sunday interview that the GOP’s focus on trans issues distracts Congress from policy issues such as lowering the cost of living.  “Here’s also what we have to be clear about, because I think the last week has been a prime example of this. Every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of the federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. And we have to be clear that there is a real cost for the American worker every time they focus on this,” McBride said.  Mace joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, where she pushed back on Democrats criticizing her for introducing the legislation, notably New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “It’s sad and surprising that in 2024 I have to go on TV and on social media to explain to the radical left that men shouldn’t be allowed in women’s restrooms, that women shouldn’t be forced to undress in front of men.” Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.