Nancy Mace’s effort to ban transgender Delaware Democrat from Capitol women’s restrooms gains support
Delaware set off a firestorm this month after it elected the first transgender woman to Congress, leading some Republicans to demand the new lawmaker be barred from women’s bathrooms. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, currently a Democrat state senator for President Biden’s hometown of Claymont, Delaware, defeated retired Delaware State Trooper John Whalen III, 58%-42%. McBride succeeds Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, D-Del., who won the retiring Tom Carper’s open U.S. Senate seat. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., led the charge against allowing McBride from using the women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological male who identifies and presents as a woman. Mace said Tuesday she is now receiving death threats, adding that she is the one being “unfairly targeted.” Mace drafted resolution H.R. 1579 on Monday which would prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex. MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS As of Tuesday afternoon, it had been referred to the House Administration Committee currently chaired by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., but did not appear to have come to a vote yet. The bill would direct House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland to enforce the new provision. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told reporters she supports Mace’s resolution and called McBride “mentally ill.” “Sarah McBride, as he calls himself, formerly Tim McBride, is a biological man, and he should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol and those in our office buildings,” Greene said. “Nancy Mace’s resolution doesn’t go far enough. Her resolution is just a statement by Congress saying that Congress disagrees with something. We need something more binding.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., a noted social conservative, said he’s “not going to get into this.” “We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, that we will. And I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this.” Johnson added that the issue of gender identity in locker rooms and bathrooms is not something Congress has had to address before and thus deserves honest deliberation and “member consensus.” “And we will accommodate the needs of every single person,” the speaker added. Greene said the situation reminds her of how student-athletes were forced to compete against biological males who are physiologically stronger as a baseline. “There is a volleyball player that has brain damage today because of a biological male spiking a ball into her head.” In that regard, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete against a transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, slammed McBride’s pointed response to criticisms. “And even after his temper tantrum, he’s still a man,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Gaines is an OutKick.com contributor and the host of the “Gaines for Girls” podcast. In a 2015 story in American’s college magazine, McBride said, “My father said to me that he was not losing a son but gaining a daughter. That was one of the most profound moments in my transition. It was a major relief when it was clear that both my parents saw me as who I am.” In earlier comments about her resolution, Mace said she is a rape survivor and still has PTSD from her abuse at the hands of a man. Later Tuesday, Mace said the issue is protecting women and girls and making sure Congress acts in accordance. “[McBride] doesn’t get a say. This is about real women and women’s rights and the far-left radical left. They want to erase women and women’s rights, and I’m not going to let them,” she said. “Here’s the deal: Biological men shouldn’t be in women’s private spaces, period, end of story,” she said. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., defended McBride on Tuesday, telling reporters he was “sick to his stomach” by Mace’s resolution. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a statement, McBride called the situation “a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.” “Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.” Fox News Digital reached out to McBride’s campaign and Dover office for additional comment on the new criticisms and was provided with an initial statement. Fox News’ Daniel Scully, Tyler Olson and Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.
‘Anti-Trump activist’: Conservative groups rip former Romney adviser’s attempt to influence MAGA agenda
A prominent economist trying to influence the incoming Trump administration’s economic policies is facing criticism from conservative groups over his organization’s liberal donors and past criticism of President-elect Trump’s agenda. Oren Cass, who previously worked on both of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns, is the founder and chief economist of American Compass, a conservative think tank that has made inroads with multiple prominent Republican lawmakers in Congress. Over the past year, Cass’ philosophy has reportedly gained traction in some pro-Trump circles, but several conservatives have taken issue with his increased influence and worry his policies will undermine the Trump agenda based on his past anti-Trump comments. During a May 2021 interview, Cass likened Trump to “an earthquake” because he believed Trump was a “disaster in many ways.” “Self-proclaimed ‘conservative’ Oren Cass and his American Compass is not, and will never be, viewed as a legitimate voice in Republican policy circles. CNBC’s Joe Kernen got it right when he called them ‘bonkers, walking quacking uniparty progressivism.’ And their funding only proves that,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital. TRUMP’S TREASURY SECRETARY PICK: WHO ARE THE CONTENDERS? “As American Compass continues to stay in business thanks to generous donations from radical left-wing organizations like the Hewlett Foundation and the Omidyar Network, Club for Growth is proud to stand with President Trump and the overwhelming majority of Republican voters who support actual conservative policies, like the proposals described in our Foundation’s recent “Freedom Forward Policy Handbook,” including: tax cuts, spending cuts to reduce the deficit, deregulation to boost American manufacturing, American-first energy policies, school choice and worker freedom,” he continued. A significant chunk of American Compass’ funding comes from a handful of foundations tied to liberal causes, including almost $2 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Omidyar Network, which has provided 11% of American Compass’ funding and is led by a founder described as “notable for funding liberal-in-conservative clothing groups that target former president Donald Trump and his supporters.” American Compass is also associated with the “Reimagining Capitalism Partners” fund, which includes the Center for American Progress, Sixteen Thirty Fund-linked Groundwork Action, Progressive Caucus Action Fund, Tides Advocacy and Demos, a socialist think tank. TRUMP NAMING CABINET OFFICIALS AT ‘WARP SPEED,’ FAR HEAD OF FIRST TERM PACE Cass’ group has also received over $200,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation, a multibillion-dollar foundation that has bankrolled several left-wing causes, including radical environmental groups and “Imagining America,” a “coalition of colleges engaged in left-wing curriculum development,” according to the Capital Research Center. The San Francisco Foundation, which has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to far-left groups, gave $100,000 to American Compass. When Fox News Digital pressed Cass on his organization’s funding and criticism from rival conservative groups, he blasted the “anti-tax zealots” criticizing his organization. “American Compass advocates for limited government and a commitment to paying for the government that we have rather than leaving the bill to our children,” Cass told Fox News Digital. “Anti-tax zealots can lobby for larger deficits if they want, but conservatives are under no obligation to follow them into the fiscal ditch.” In addition to the money that American Compass has received from left-wing groups, its advisory board includes multiple Democrats, including Ganesh Sitaraman, who served as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and has been a longtime adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., dating back to her 2012 Senate campaign. Matt Stoller, the research director at the American Economic Liberties Project, which received at least $500,000 from George Soros’ Foundation to Promote Open Society and at least $230,000 from the Omidyar Network Fund, is also on the advisory board and has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats. Tom Hebert, the director of competition and regulatory policy at Americans for Tax Reform, blasted Cass as an “anti-Trump activist” in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The American people returned Donald Trump to the White House with a strong economic mandate: cut taxes, slash job-killing regulations and promote worker freedom. Oren Cass founded American Compass as a ‘post-Trump’ organization and opposes the Trump economic agenda at every level, even calling the landmark Trump tax cuts an ‘expensive failure,’” Hebert said. “Cass is not a conservative. He’s an anti-Trump activist that MSNBC has on speed dial to undermine Trump’s second-term agenda.” In addition to Hebert’s quote, Americans for Tax Reform published a piece in July with the headline, “Who Said It, Oren or Warren?” The piece pointed to the tax plans of Sen. Warren and Cass’ American Compass, which were both published a month earlier and include multiple quotes from Warren and Cass, asking readers to identify the source of each quote. “Warren’s plan calls on Democrats to reject extending the Trump tax cuts,” the piece says. “The proposed budget released by Oren Cass’ American Compass, which describes itself as ‘the flagship for a healthier and more responsive post-Trump conservative movement,’ calls for the full expiration of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, would increase the corporate rate to the Biden-preferred level of 28%, and backs Warren’s call for a financial transaction tax.” Americans for Tax Reform went on to call American Compass “left-wing” and said Cass was the “leader of the tax-hiking American Compass” in a separate post from earlier this year due to his opposition to Trump’s tax cuts. Cass was mocked earlier this year after he went on CNBC and suggested that lowering taxes and the corporate tax rate is not “conservative,” adding, “There is nothing conservative about that … absolute radical nonsensical notion.” The clip prompted Richard Stern, who serves as the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, to sound off on Cass, saying, “[Cass on] CNBC this morning defending the uniparty’s attempt to steal your money and put it in their hands — and to stop capital from flowing to new and small businesses. With ‘friends’ like this, who needs socialists.” During a C-SPAN interview over the weekend, Cass praised some
Fox News Politics: Trump case may be on hold until 2029
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – GOP lawmaker launches caucus to help Elon Musk take on ‘Crazytown’ – Massive groups of illegal immigrants caught at border amid fears of pre-Trump border surge – Size of slim Republican House majority hangs on 5 uncalled races New York prosecutors are requesting a stay until at least 2029 in New York v. Trump, as the president’s defense attorneys prepare to move to dismiss the case entirely. Prosecutors wrote a letter to Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday, who agreed last week to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the conviction proceedings against Trump in the final months before he takes office. Merchan granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president. Prosecutors had asked for the pause in proceedings, which they said would allow them to better evaluate the impact of Trump’s new status as president-elect…Read more DEFYING DEATH: Pro-Trump prison warden asks Biden to commute all death sentences before leaving…Read more ‘LOGISTICAL ISSUES’: Biden misses G-20 family photo, White House blames ‘logistical’ issues…Read more ‘BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE’: Biden Interior Dept puts together handbook to apply ‘indigenous knowledge’ into agency practices…Read more ‘CHAMPION FOR CONSERVATION’: Environmental groups present differing opinions of Trump’s energy and environment appointees…Read more QUICKER CABINET: Trump naming Cabinet officials at ‘warp speed,’ far head of first term pace…Read more LOYALTY MATTERS: Why Trump is sticking with Gaetz, Hegseth despite new accusations – and his ‘Morning Joe’ meeting…Read more REPORT CARD: House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday after postponing Gaetz investigation meeting…Read more FACT CHECK: Are Pete Hegseth’s tattoos symbols of ‘Christian nationalism’?…Read more ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’: Former Trump education secretary lays out ‘unfinished business’ for new admin on school reforms…Read more BUREAU STONEWALLING: Trump assassination attempt task force subpoenas 2 ATF employees, alleging stonewalling…Read more WON’T BACK DOWN: Mace faces backlash over resolution to keep new transgender member of Congress out of women’s bathrooms…Read more NOT ENOUGH: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants men banned from women’s spaces in ‘all taxpayer-funded facilities’…Read more SENATE PROTEST: Anti-Israel protesters arrested in Senate office building…Read more EYE OF THE STORM: House Republicans eye FEMA fund overhaul ahead of high-stakes hearing on Helene recovery…Read more SENATE STAND OFF: Senate GOP initiates Thune-engineered slow down as Schumer looks to stack judicial votes…Read more FISCAL FIGHT: Speaker Johnson’s government funding play hits the rocks within House GOP…Read more DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: Growing field in race to chair the DNC…Read more ‘RULE OF LAW MATTERS’: Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro side with state supreme court ruling not to count certain mail-in ballots…Read more HEALTH CARE DECISIONS: Wyoming judge strikes down state abortion laws, ruling them unconstitutional…Read more HOMELESS RIGHTS: Washington state Democrat pushes to make homelessness a civil right…Read more SQUATTERS BEWARE: Squatters meet resistance with red state push to protect homeowners…Read more TO FREE OR NOT TO FREE: Gov. Newsom announces decision in Menendez brothers case…Read more WINDY CITY WORRY: Proposed Chicago police resource cuts could land city in court, top officials warn…Read more ‘NO MORALS’: College plan to use ‘creative ideas’ to pay undocumented students blasted by GOP leader…Read more BORDER BATTLE: Border state governor vows to defy Trump’s ‘misguided’ mass deportation push…Read more HOME INSPECTION: FEMA director vows to request IG investigation into order to avoid Trump supporters’ houses…Read more ‘CANADIAN PROMISE’: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada ‘could have acted quicker’ on reining in immigration…Read more END FAVORED NATION STATUS: Bipartisan panel urges Congress to toss out decades of trade policy they say China has been exploiting…Read more 1,000 DAYS: Ukraine war hits milestone as tensions rise over potential Russian escalation…Read more ‘GO IT ALONE’: Netanyahu says he ignored Biden’s war counsel — and threats that Israel would be ‘left alone’ without US help…Read more MISSILE BARRAGE: Ukraine fires first barrage of US-made long-range missiles into Russia, Kremlin says…Read more RUSSIA’S ‘HYBRID’ WARFARE?: US allies accuse Russia of ‘escalating hybrid activities’ against NATO, EU nations after data cables severed…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
FEMA must be ‘completely revamped,’ House Republican from hurricane-battered district tells agency chief
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., took aim at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), arguing that its recent response to multiple deadly storms shows the agency needs to be “completely revamped.” “The No. 1 thing that hurts FEMA’s reputation is the fact that so many citizens are denied when they apply the first time they come through the FEMA portal. And if they have to go through congressional offices to get help… if that is going to be the protocol for our citizens to get help, from the emergency management agency, then it needs to be completely revamped,” Donalds said during a House Oversight Committee hearing on FEMA Tuesday. Donalds’ comments came during questioning of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who was peppered by Republican members of the Oversight Committee to provide answers on FEMA’s response to recent storms and accusations that the agency discriminated against supporters of President-elect Trump. HOUSE REPUBLICANS EYE FEMA FUND OVERHAUL AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES HEARING ON HELENE RECOVERY FEMA has been under fire over the agency’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which earlier this year made landfall in the southeastern U.S. and caused widespread destruction across multiple states. While the agency’s overall performance during the response to the two storms has been the center of controversy, members of the Oversight Committee repeatedly asked Criswell to answer to potential “systemic bias” against Trump supporters in its response. The questions come after now-fired FEMA employee Marn’i Washington told relief workers to skip houses that had signs supporting Trump during the agency’s cleanup and recovery effort after Hurricane Milton, an incident Criswell insisted was isolated in multiple responses during the hearing. FEMA OFFICIAL SAID TO AVOID HOMES WITH TRUMP SIGNS: ‘TO SAY I WAS SURPRISED WOULD BE A LIE’ “There is nothing in any of our policies, our training, or our information sent out to field workers, to avoid any home for whatever reason, especially not because of a political affiliation,” Criswell said in response to questioning from Donalds. “The actions of this one individual are not representative of the work that we do at FEMA.” But Donalds, whose district was hit hard by Milton, said he had “an issue” with the answer, pointing to a New York Post report that featured an anonymous FEMA employee who claimed that such discrimination on the basis of political affiliation is an “open secret” at FEMA. Criswell argued that the incident in question was investigated by FEMA and that an investigation into if such issues are more widespread is still ongoing, prompting even more fierce pushback from Donalds. “You told me at the beginning of this questioning that there is nothing in your policies that would dictate that this is to occur, yet you have one official who was fired, who said it does occur. You have another official under your purview… talking to the press, that it does occur, but you can’t verify to this committee that these practices do or do not occur,” Donalds said. FEMA did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
British farmers protest against ‘tractor tax’ on inheritance
Farmers say the tax will destroy family farms and threaten food production, while the gov’t says it’s needed to raise funds. British farmers have descended on London to call on the government to scrap inheritance tax rules on land ownership, which they say will destroy family-run farms. On Tuesday, protesters held placards reading “no farmer, no food, no future” and “[Prime Minister Keir] Starmer the farmer harmer” around Parliament Square. The measure, referred to by critics as the “tractor tax”, was announced last month as part of the new Labour government’s budget to raise funds. However, the tax has caused backlash from farming communities, who say the government does not understand rural communities. Before the announcement of the new budget, passing down farms through generations was tax-free. However, from 2026, a 20 percent tax will be paid on the value of a farm above one million British pounds ($1.27 million). Farmers, however, say that while their land and machinery are highly valued, their farms have low profit margins, meaning their children would have to sell their land to cover the tax bill. One protesting farmer, Olly Harrison, told Al Jazeera, “We’re not tax dodgers. If we were making profits, tax our profits. But if we’re not making profits, we can’t pay inheritance tax.” “We do have these huge land resources that have a value on paper, but in reality when you’re farming it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. ‘Disastrous human impacts’ Emma Robinson, 44, a farmer who joined the protests, told the Reuters news agency that her farm in northwest England has been in her family for 500 years and she plans to pass it down to her children. “[Now] it’s being taken out of my hands by someone that’s been in Parliament for literally days,” she said. The government has said the tax change would affect about 500 farms a year, based on the number of inherited farms in 2021-22, with the tax rate payable in instalments over 10 years. Demonstrators listen to speakers during a farmers’ protest against changes to inheritance tax rules for land ownership, outside of Downing Street, on Whitehall in central London [Justin Tallis/AFP] However, farmers say the number of farms affected could be much higher, with the Country Land and Business Association estimating that 70,000 farms are worth more than one million pounds and could be affected. National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said the latest protests would continue for as long as necessary, telling Sky News that the government “cannot have a policy in place which has such disastrous human impacts and think we’re going to go quiet.” However, the government has reiterated that the actual threshold before paying inheritance tax could be as much as three million pounds ($3.8m) once exemptions for each partner in a couple and for the farm property are considered. Starmer said on Monday that “the vast majority of farms” will not be affected. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump picks pro-tariff billionaire Howard Lutnick for US commerce secretary
US president-elect nominates Lutnick, a Wall Street investment firm CEO, to lead his ‘tariff and trade agenda’. United States President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick, a billionaire and head of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, as the next US secretary of commerce. In a statement on Tuesday, Trump hailed Lutnick – who has served as co-chair of the Republican’s transition team – as “a dynamic force on Wall Street for more than 30 years”. “He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said. The nomination is the latest from Trump, who has named a growing list of Republican allies and other loyalists to cabinet posts since he won the November 5 presidential election over Democrat Kamala Harris. As commerce secretary, Lutnick would be in charge of a sprawling cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Under President Joe Biden, the Commerce Department stepped up export controls on critical technologies like quantum computing and semiconductor manufacturing goods, taking aim at access by adversaries like Beijing. Trump’s incoming administration could harden this stance. The Republican has promised to slap 10- to 20-percent tariffs on all imports as well as a 60-percent tariff on goods coming specifically from China, which the US views as one of its top geopolitical rivals. Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics said in August that a 20-percent tariff across the board alongside a 60-percent tariff on China “would cost a typical US household in the middle of the income distribution more than $2,600 a year”. But Trump and his allies have portrayed the tariffs policy as a key plank of his “America First” foreign policy agenda. Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use – we need to protect the American worker”. A native of New York City’s Long Island suburbs with a background in trading and real estate, Lutnick has been one of Trump’s top Wall Street advocates, hosting fundraisers and touting his policies in the media. Speaking at a Trump campaign rally last month at Madison Square Garden in New York City, he said the US has been “letting the rest of the world eat our lunch”. “And it is time to Make America Great Again,” he shouted. Earlier in his speech, Lutnick said the first reason to re-elect Trump, however, was “because we must crush jihad”. Before Tuesday’s nomination, Lutnick had been considered for secretary of the US Treasury, a role that has been at the centre of high-profile jockeying within the Trump world. Billionaire Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit had called on the president-elect to dump the previous frontrunner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favour of Lutnick. “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas [Lutnick] will actually enact change,” Musk wrote in a social media post on Saturday. Trump has yet to name a treasury secretary, but on Tuesday he also named the television doctor and former Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania Mehmet Oz as the administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr Oz, as he is popularly known, is a Turkish American medical doctor who had a daytime talk show from 2009 to 2022. Adblock test (Why?)
Musk to launch SpaceX Starship rocket with Trump at his side
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, launched the sixth test of his SpaceX rocket with United States President-elect Donald Trump joining him to watch. Trump and Musk travelled to Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to attend the launch of the giant Starship rocket at SpaceX’s test site in nearby Boca Chica. The rocket lifted off shortly after 5pm (23:00 GMT), about an hour behind schedule. But SpaceX chose to abort a planned attempt to catch the first-state booster of the rocket using the ‘chopstick’ technique, instead allowing it to fall into the ocean. The last Starship test flight in October made headlines after the Super Heavy booster made a stunning return to the launch site where it was captured midair by a pair of giant mechanical “chopstick” arms attached to SpaceX’s launch tower. Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/rSLQ2DDy63 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024 Trump’s attendance is part of a growing bond with Musk – the owner of SpaceX, the electric carmaker Tesla and the social media platform X – who is a strong political supporter, having spent close to $130m to help get the former president re-elected. Trump was expected to be joined by his son Donald Jr and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Starship, the largest rocket ever built, is designed to be a reusable vehicle for flying cargo and people beyond Earth. Musk’s constant presence Trump’s presence at the launch is “another example of Musk’s increasing role in Trump’s orbit”, according to a report by CNN. Since Trump won the US November 5 presidential election, Musk has been a constant presence at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He has counselled Trump on nominees for the new administration and joined the president-elect’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Musk also flew with Trump for a meeting with Republicans from the House of Representatives in Washington, DC last Wednesday, and joined him for the Ultimate Fighting Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday. Trump has recently rewarded Musk for his political support by appointing him, along with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, to advise the newly created Department of Government Efficiency with a mission to slash government spending. “Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending,” Trump said in a statement about the appointment, one of his first after winning the election. Musk’s businesses could benefit personally from his close ties with Trump. SpaceX – which has among its goals to eventually start a colony on Mars – has billions of dollars in government contracts. The billionaire has also battled with US federal regulators over safety concerns involving autonomous driving, which is available in his Tesla electric vehicles. “Trump has the biggest possible regard for people who break the rules and get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told The Associated Press news agency. “Musk has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in doing that.” Not always friends The two have not always been that close, however. Trump used to mock Musk in his election speeches and Musk had once said it was time for Trump to “hang up his hat & sail into the sunset” because he was too old to be president. But that changed after Trump survived an assassination attempt in the lead-up to the election. Musk endorsed Trump and became a central figure on the Republican campaign trail. Trump even started to talk about Musk’s space accomplishments while campaigning. He was intrigued when Starship’s reusable rocket booster returned to the launch tower and was caught by mechanical arms. “Did you see the way that sucker landed today?” Trump asked the crowd at a political rally after that Starship test. So far, there are no indications that the friendship forged during the election is about to cool. Last week, Musk was a guest of honour at a black-tie event held at Mar-a-Lago. Trump, in his remarks that night, said Musk’s IQ was “about as high as they can get” and praised him as “a really good guy.” Musk was then invited to speak to the crowd. “The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear,” Musk said of the election results, sounding more like Trump’s running mate than a buddy. Adblock test (Why?)
‘100% on board’: Border state offers Trump massive plot of land to aid mass deportation operation
EXCLUSIVE: Texas is offering the incoming Trump administration a tract of more than 1,400 acres on which to stage its mass deportation operation when it enters office in January, as the transition team begins to make preparations for the ambitious project. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has written to President-elect Donald Trump offering him the land in Starr County, which the state purchased from a ranch owner in October. The 1,402 acres are in the Rio Grande Valley sector near the border. Her letter to Trump, obtained by Fox News Digital, says her office is “fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.” ‘SHUT IT DOWN’: RED STATE MAKES MASSIVE LAND BUY TO RAMP UP BORDER WALL EFFORTS AMID MIGRANT SURGE “What I care about is that we have safe communities, and there is no doubt that we are losing too many of our children to these violent criminals that are coming across the border,” Buckingham told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday. “I am 100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals.” The Texas General Land Office purchased the land in October to facilitate the construction of additional border wall, a project that the Biden administration stopped. The area, which was a ranch before Texas bought it, had seen drug smuggling and human trafficking, officials said. BATTLEGROUND STATE RANCHER ‘OUTRAGED’ BY BIDEN STOPPING WALL CONSTRUCTION AS MIGRANTS POUR INTO US In light of Trump’s election victory this month, Buckingham said she was brainstorming with her team and decided to make the offer to the incoming administration. “Right now, it’s essentially farmland, so it’s flat, it’s easy to build on. We could very easily put a detention center on there, a holding place as we get these criminals out of our country,” she said. “It’s accessible to international airports as well as a major crossing over the river. And so we’re just happy to get help, do anything we can to get these violent criminals off of our soil.” ‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR VOWS SHE WILL DEFY TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘CAUSING WIDESPREAD FEAR’ Trump repeatedly promised throughout his 2024 presidential campaign to launch a historic mass deportation operation. In the days since the election, those plans have been put into motion, with officials looking at where they could build additional detention space. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Buckingham said the election proves that Trump’s approach to border security and illegal immigration is the one backed by the American people and that the Biden administration’s approach had been rejected. “This election was a resounding referendum on the fact that Americans want safe communities. We want people to immigrate legally and legally only and that the administration’s policies over the last four years have failed every American citizen,” she said. The Trump plan is likely to face opposition in other states, including Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts, where governors have indicated they will oppose deportation efforts by the Trump administration. But that is unlikely to stop the incoming administration from conducting its operation. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
DePaul University student assaulted by anti-Israel agitator seeks legal action: ‘I will never apologize’
After responding to Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, former-Israeli Defense Forces soldier Max Long went to the U.S. to attend DePaul University where he was later assaulted while holding a sign that read, “Come talk about Israel with an IDF Soldier.” Now, Long is working to sue the school so that something like that never happens again. Long was a leading advocate for Israel on DePaul’s Chicago-area campus, where he held discussions about Jewish civil rights and Israel’s work to defend itself from Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7. That day, Long was deployed by the IDF, as he was serving as a reservist with the Israeli military. As a result, Long said he became the target of disgruntled protesters who harassed him and launched threats against his physical safety. Eventually, Long was beaten unconscious by an anti-Israel agitator on campus, leading to a concussion and other injuries. Now, roughly two weeks later, a top Jewish civil rights law firm, The Lawfare Project, indicated Tuesday that Long had retained them to assist him in defending his civil rights and explore potential legal challenges against the school, including but not limited to Title VI, contract and tort claims. They will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon at DePaul’s student center. The firm also defended a Jewish student at Columbia University earlier this year in a Title VI suit, and shortly after they took legal action, Columbia amended its policies related to campus protesting. That case is still ongoing. VETERANS DAY SUPPORTERS COMBAT IVY LEAGUE PROTESTERS WHINING ABOUT ‘ISRAEL-US WAR MACHINE’ “Colleges and universities across the United States are turning into literal battlegrounds where Jewish students are being singled out, discriminated against and beaten for their identity,” said Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of The Lawfare Project. “No student — let alone one like Max who served in the IDF and went on the frontlines to destroy Hamas terrorists — should be subjected to physical, verbal or mental abuse for expressing their Jewish identity. DePaul failed Max and needs to be held accountable for its abject failure to protect Jewish students.” Meanwhile, Long added that he “will never apologize” for standing up for his Jewish identity and hopes no one at DePaul falls victim to the same sort of violence he experienced. “I am in incredible pain with bruises all over my face, but I am grateful for the support I have received from the Jewish community at large and The Lawfare Project, specifically, and will continue to work to enforce my civil rights and against the hatred that has consumed American campuses,” Long said Tuesday. CHICAGO JEWISH MOTHER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST RESPONSE TO ALLEGED HATE CRIME: ‘TERRORISM ON MY PROPERTY’ Anti-Israel campus protests that began last year at Columbia University and spread to campuses across the country have continued this year, with Long’s assault being one of the latest examples. The assault against Long came when he and fellow Jewish student Michael Kaminsky stood on a sidewalk near DePaul’s student union holding a sign that read, “Come talk about Israel with an IDF soldier.” At a certain point, Long began engaging in a conversation with an individual. During the slightly contentious, yet calm back-and-forth, a masked accomplice came from behind and knocked out Long. Kaminsky, who broke his wrist, helped fend off the attack before both suspects fled. ATTACKED JEWISH STUDENTS IN CHICAGO SPEAK OUT ABOUT ‘WAR ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES’ Chicago police ultimately responded and determined what occurred was a hate crime. The suspects remain at-large, however. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In addition to threatening the school with legal action, the Lawfare Project said that it will also work to ensure Long’s attackers are brought to justice and penalized appropriately to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. DePaul University spokesperson Russell Dorn said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the school’s president, Robert L. Manuel, is “outraged this hate crime occurred.” “The university condemns in the strongest possible terms the antisemitic targeting of these two Jewish students, and the lasting fear and anger that the act has inflicted on our Jewish and broader communities,” Dorn added. “First and foremost, our concerns are for the two victims in this situation.” Dorn indicated that DePaul had reached out to Long and Kaminsky “to offer care and resources” and are actively working with Chicago police to help identify their perpetrators.
Trump Cabinet picks increase odds Edward Snowden could see life of freedom in the US
If President-elect Donald Trump has his way, Tulsi Gabbard will be at the helm of U.S. intelligence and Matt Gaetz will be leading the Justice Department, giving whistle-blower Edward Snowden his best chance yet at a life of freedom in the U.S. Both Gabbard, a former Hawaii House Democrat, and Gaetz, a former House Republican from Florida, will have to be confirmed by the Senate — an uphill battle that may be made more difficult by their anti-establishment beliefs that Snowden should not be punished for revealing information about classified surveillance programs. As members of Congress, both Gabbard and Gaetz co-sponsored legislation that called on the federal government to drop all charges against Snowden. During her 2020 presidential campaign, Gabbard promised to protect Snowden and people like him, if elected. “If it wasn’t for Snowden, the American people would never have learned the NSA was collecting phone records and spying on Americans,” she said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast at the time. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET “As president, I will protect whistle-blowers who expose threats to our freedom and liberty,” Gabbard added. On Sept. 3, 2020, Gaetz posted to X: “Pardon @Snowden.” In 2013, Snowden was working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency when he traveled to Hong Kong to meet with three journalists and transferred them thousands of pages of classified documents about the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens. He then traveled to Russia and planned to head on to Ecuador, but federal authorities canceled his passport before he could get there — and indicted him for espionage. He attempted to gain asylum elsewhere, but ultimately remained in Russia and became a naturalized citizen in 2022. The documents he made public revealed previously classified intelligence-gathering programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.K.’s intelligence organization, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), that were conducting surveillance on their own citizens. TULSI GABBARD SAYS TRUMP ‘LISTENS’ AND ‘RECOGNIZES’ CHALLENGES AMERICANS FACE In 2019, Snowden told NPR the U.S. government was “collecting [data] on everyone, everywhere, all of the time, just in case, because you never know what’s going to be interesting… And so what happened was every time we wrote an email, every time you typed something into that Google search box, every time your phone moved, you sent a text message, you made a phone call… the boundaries of the Fourth Amendment were being changed.” At the time of the leak, the NSA claimed mass surveillance stopped terrorist attacks. Sue Gordon, deputy director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration, issued a warning about Gabbard’s push for Snowden to be pardoned on CBS this week. “Unauthorized disclosures of intelligence are always bad. Don’t go with the good or bad, any good outcome or whether he was right or wrong. He had no authority, and he had different paths, and he harmed America,” she said. “He not only harmed intelligence, he harmed our allies and partners, and he harmed our businesses by what it allowed China to assume about that. There is nothing justifiable about what he’s done. None. And so if they vacate it, what they’re basically saying is all those rules you follow in order to be able to serve America, they don’t matter anymore.” In 2013, Trump was asked about Snowden. “This guy is a bad guy and there is still a thing called execution!” he said. But on the campaign trail in 2020, he struck a more sympathetic tone, saying he’d “look at” giving Snowden a pardon. Snowden, in 2019, said he is not searching for a pardon, but rather a fair trial in order to return to the U.S. “One of the big topics in Europe right now is — should Germany and France invite me in to get asylum?… And of course, I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal,” he said. “But if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that’s the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense,” the whistleblower said. “I’m not asking for a parade. I’m not asking for a pardon. I’m not asking for a pass. What I’m asking for is a fair trial. And this is the bottom-line that any American should require.”