Trump calls Biden ‘worst president’ during Iowa victory speech, says Jimmy Carter ‘brilliant by comparison’
Former President Trump took a swipe at President Biden after winning the Iowa caucuses on Monday evening, saying the Democrat was the “worst president” ever. “I don’t want to be overly rough on the president, but I have to say that he is the worst president that we’ve had in the history of our country, he’s destroying our country,” Trump said of Biden after the Republican won 51% of the vote in Iowa. Trump went on to claim that former President Carter – who is widely criticized for his poor handling of the economy, resulting in high inflation and high unemployment, as well as the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis – was “brilliant by comparison.” He added: “You know, my wife attended the funeral two months ago of Rosalynn Carter and it was beautiful. And Jimmy Carter was there. And I thought to myself, Jimmy Carter is happy now because he will go down as being a brilliant president by comparison to Joe Biden. He’ll be a brilliant president,” Trump continued. “He’s going to be known as brilliant by comparison.” BIDEN DECLARES TRUMP THE ‘CLEAR FRONT RUNNER’ IN GOP RACE AFTER IOWA TROUNCING The comment came after Trump led Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Gov. Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and the other 2024 Republican hopefuls in the country’s first nominating contest. The victory secured Trump the first 20 delegates in the race to become the Republican nominee. During his speech, the former president also said he would emphasize securing the border. The issue was ranked number one among Iowan voters, even above the economy, which was second. BIDEN APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO 15-YEAR LOW, POLL FINDS “We’re going to seal up the border because right now we have an invasion and we have an invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming into our country. I can’t imagine why they think that’s a good thing. It’s a very bad thing,” he said. Trump then claimed “hundreds and hundreds of terrorists” were coming from over the southern border into the U.S. “Nobody knows where they are. This is not a good thing. And we’re going to have to deport them,” the Republican said. “We’re going to have a deportation level that we haven’t seen in this country for a long time, since Dwight Eisenhower actually.” “We have to stop the invasion,” he added. Trump will now head to New Hampshire, where he will look to continue his success toward securing the Republican nomination. “So it’s now off to New Hampshire, a great place,” he said Monday. “We won it last time and we wanted it both times and we love it. The people in our country are great. They are great. They only want to see one thing: they want our country to come back. They’re embarrassed by what’s going on. Our country is left out all over the world. They’re laughing at us, and they want our country to come back.” He won the state in 2016 and is looking to become just the second Republican ever to win both Iowa and New Hampshire and go on to win the presidency. Ted Cruz narrowly beat Trump in Iowa in 2016, denying him from winning both early states.
Trump gets visibly emotional during Iowa Caucus victory speech when recognizing Melania’s late mother
Former President Trump led all fellow 2024 Republican presidential candidates in the Iowa Caucus on Monday evening and got visibly emotional during his victory speech. After winning the contest, he began recognizing members of his family and mentioned Amalija Knavs, Melania Trump’s mother who passed away last week. “I think most importantly, I want to thank my incredible wife, first lady, I’ll say former and maybe future, but more important than Melania, I want to thank her incredible, beautiful mother who passed away a few days ago,” Trump said, with a visible shift in his countenance. He added, “And she’s up there, way up there. She’s looking down and she’s so proud of us. And I just want to say to Amalia, you are special, one of the most special people I’ve ever known. And that was a tough period of time for the family. But she’s amazing. She was amazing. So I just want to thank what she’s done for our family and her husband.” Knavs passed away on Jan. 9, 2024. She was 78. DESANTIS EDGES HALEY FOR SECOND-PLACE FINISH IN IOWA, BEHIND TRUMP’S HISTORIC CAUCUS WIN Knavs is survived by her husband, Victor, who the former president also briefly mentioned. “They’re great people, great, great parents to all of us, really great parents.” Trump also shared the impact his mother-in-law had on his youngest son, Barron. “Boy, did she take care of Barron. That’s how he got so tall. He only ate her food.” Early in his remarks, Trump recognized the other 2024 Republican hopefuls, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy — who suspended his campaign after placing fourth in the contest. NIKKI HALEY RAISES EYEBROWS BY SAYING HER THIRD-PLACE FINISH MAKES PRIMARY A 2-PERSON RACE He then thanked his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, as well as his campaign officials for the decisive victory. “I want to thank my family. Generally, they’ve worked so hard and they’ve taken so much abuse for being good people. I mean, good people. But Eric and Don, it really did. These two have been working so hard and they you know, they have another job also. So they have to do it all,” he said. The former president, who has a reputation for often being divisive, struck a rare reconciliatory tone throughout his remarks. TRUMP ON POTENTIAL 2024 VP PICK: ‘I KNOW WHO IT’S GOING TO BE’ “I want to thank everybody. This has been some period of time. And most importantly, we want to thank the great people of Iowa. Thank you. We love you all. What a turnout. What a crowd. And I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together. We want to come together, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat or liberal or conservative,” Trump said. He continued, “If it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing, that’s practically never been like this. It’s just so important. And I want to make that a very big part of our message. We’re going to come together. It’s going to happen soon too.” The next primary contest between Trump, DeSantis, Haley and the other remaining Republican contenders will be in New Hampshire on Jan 23. According to a poll earlier this month, Trump holds a lead in the Granite State with 39%, with Haley in second at 32%. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has since dropped from the race, had 12%. Ramaswamy had 8% in the poll while DeSantis was fifth with 5%. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump leads Biden in Georgia poll amid Dem’s ‘dismal’ numbers with independents
Former President Trump leads President Biden in a potential head-to-head rematch among Georgia voters, according to a new poll. A poll published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) found the Republican challenger holds a 45% to 37% lead over his successor. Just 7% of Georgia voters were unwilling to support either candidate, 6% said they were unsure of who they would ultimately support and 6% said they would not vote. The poll comes the day after Trump won his first 20 delegates in the race for the Republican nomination after securing 51% of the vote in the Iowa Caucus, leading all other Republicans in the contest, including Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson. Biden trails Trump in part due to his historically low approval ratings and his “dismal” support among independent voters, AJC’s Greg Bluestein and Michelle Baruchman wrote. Only 37% approved of the job he was doing in the White House. BIDEN APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO 15-YEAR LOW, POLL FINDS As the Republican primary is officially underway, Trump’s support has swelled over recent months while Biden continues to falter in a state that helped dictate the results of their 2020 contest. Nearly three-quarters of registered voters said they believed the U.S. was headed down the “wrong track” and most disapproved of Biden serving at the helm. BIDEN DECLARES TRUMP THE ‘CLEAR FRONT RUNNER’ IN GOP RACE AFTER IOWA TROUNCING In the new AJC poll, about 62% of registered voters disapproved of the president’s job performance. Among independents, Biden fared only slightly better, with a majority (54%) still disapproving of his performance. In contrast, these same registered voters approve of their Republican governor, Brian Kemp. “About 57% of Georgia voters approve of his job performance, down slightly from this time last year. He has high marks among fellow Republicans (74%) and independents (52%). And, surprisingly, about 40% of Democrats and about 40% of Black voters view him positively,” AFC Politics reported. Trump’s current 8-point lead comes as he and Biden were virtually tied in the same poll conducted in November. At the time, Trump was at 45% to Biden’s 44%. In 2020, Biden narrowly won Georgia over Trump by less than 12,000 votes. The result was the opposite outcome of the 2016 presidential contest when Trump carried the state over Hillary Clinton. The AJC poll was conducted Jan. 3-11 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs and involved 1,007 registered voters. Its margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
Nikki Haley says she will refuse to debate anyone but Trump or Biden
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she will only agree to further presidential debates if former President Trump or President Biden attend. Haley made the declaration after coming in third place in the Iowa caucuses, trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump. “We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Nikki Haley said. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.” DeSantis was quick to capitalize on Haley’s announcement, arguing she “is running to be Trump’s VP.” WATCH: MSNBC’S MADDOW DEFENDS NETWORK NOT AIRING TRUMP’S IOWA SPEECH “Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina,” DeSantis wrote on X. “The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP.” “I won’t snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week,” he added. DESANTIS EDGES HALEY FOR SECOND PLACE FINISH IN IOWA Haley secured 19% of the vote in Iowa’s caucuses Monday night, closely following DeSantis, who had 21%. Trump was far ahead of the pack with 51%. Trump issued a blanket refusal to participate in any Republican primary debate early on in the process, citing his massive lead over the other candidates. It is unclear whether Trump would agree to debating Biden if he secures the GOP nomination. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Haley’s campaign vowed to continue for the long haul Monday night, despite the disappointing results in Iowa. “The Iowa results and the New Hampshire polls show Donald Trump is more vulnerable than commonly believed. He is the polarizing figure he has long been,” campaign manager Betsy Ankeny wrote in a statement. “Trump and Biden are the two most disliked politicians in America.”
Maryland Gov. Moore restores $150 million to transportation budget after proposed cuts
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced Tuesday he is restoring $150 million in previously proposed transportation cuts. The money will restore funding in the state’s transportation budget for one year. The administration initially proposed a $3.3 billion cut to the state’s six-year spending plan for transportation. HALEY ENDORSED BY EX-MARYLAND GOV. HOGAN, WHO WON’T RUN ON THIRD-PARTY TICKET Part of the $150 million that is being allocated will include $52 million to fully restore state transportation funds to local governments known as Highway User Revenue. Another $26 million will fully restore locally operated transit system operating grants. In addition, the administration is restoring $28 million in Maryland Transit Administration commuter bus funding to maintain service on the highest ridership routes. Other areas of restored funding include: — $15 million for critical repair needs at the Maryland Transit Administration to meet required funding levels under the Transit Safety and Investment Act. — $10 million in State Highway Administration highway mowing and litter removal funding to maintain roadways and communities. — $8 million in MARC Brunswick Line operating resources to maintain the frequency of commuter rail to West Virginia and to launch a new midday service pilot. “These resources will benefit Marylanders in rural, urban, and suburban areas, making sure that MDOT is able to provide for the residents who depend on these programs the most,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement.
DHS threatens Texas with legal action over seizure of park along Rio Grande: ‘Cease and desist’
The Department of Homeland Security is threatening Texas with legal action if it doesn’t end its seizure of a park along the Rio Grande River – claiming the move is unconstitutional and impedes Border Patrol operations along the border. “Texas’s actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal government’s operations. We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area,” the letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, says. Texas took control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, an area that had previously served as a staging area for processing during migrant surges in the busy crossing area, on Wednesday. DHS CLAIMS BORDER PATROL BLOCKED BY TEXAS FROM ENTERING AREA TO RESCUE MIGRANTS WHO LATER DROWNED The Texas Military Department said the move was to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to stop organizations that “perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area.” It marked a rapid escalation in already high tensions between Texas and the federal government over border security. There are currently a number of ongoing lawsuits between the two sides. In its letter, DHS says Texas is blocking Border Patrol from approximately 2.5 miles of the border and that some of the barriers deployed by Texas are on federal land. “While Texas has claimed that it has re-opened the use of Shelby Park to the public, it continues to prevent Border Patrol from entering, and from using the area under the adjacent port of entry where Border Patrol has certain property stored for use when migrants are apprehended,” it said. The letter cites a 2012 Supreme Court case, Arizona v U.S., that found the federal government has broad power over immigration and border enforcement. The letter also highlights a recent incident in which three migrants, including two children, drowned in the area after it says Border Patrol was blocked from accessing it. Texas has said clams that it prevented Border Patrol from saving lives of migrants are “wholly inaccurate” and that bodies were already being recovered by Mexican authorities when agents requested access to the area. WHITE HOUSE ACCUSES ABBOTT OF TRYING TO ‘POLITICIZE THE BORDER’ AFTER TEXAS SEIZES PARK ALONG RIO GRANDE The letter says that if it has not heard by end of day Wednesday from Texas that it will cease and desist efforts to block access and will remove barriers, “we will refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate action and consider all other options available to restore Border Patrol’s access to the border.” The Biden administration has already complained to the Supreme Court about the matter, as part of ongoing litigation over the Biden administration’s cutting of razor wire set up by Texas to stop illegal crossings. The administration has sued separately over the setting up of buoys in the Rio Grande and a recent anti-illegal immigration law signed into law by Abbott that allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, there were over 302,000 migrant encounters in December alone after a record-setting 2.4 million encounters in FY 23. The White House recently accused Abbott of trying to “politicize the border” with his actions. DOJ RENEWS SCOTUS PUSH TO ACT AFTER TEXAS SEIZES BORDER AREAS, BLOCKS BORDER PATROL FROM ENTERING “Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border,” the White House statement said. “The President has been clear that we need adequate resources and policy changes, and that our immigration system is broken. That is why on his first day in office he presented Congress with a comprehensive immigration reform plan, and that is why he is working to find a bipartisan agreement with Congress that includes funding and meaningful reforms,” they added. Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. But Abbott indicated that he intends to continue with his approach. “Biden is doing everything possible to eliminate strategies that actually prevent illegal immigrants from entering our country,” Abbott said on Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Texas will continue to use every tool possible to block illegal immigration.”
Supreme Court declines Indiana school’s appeal on transgender bathroom order
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an Indiana public school district’s request to defend a policy that restricted bathroom access by sex. The justices declined to hear an appeal by the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville after a lower court ruled that a middle school’s policy barring transgender students from using facilities like bathrooms or locker rooms aligned with their self-professed gender identity violated students’ constitutional rights and ran afoul of federal anti-discrimination law. Attorneys for the school district had asked the court to “preserve the autonomy of school boards to make decisions.” A 2023 ruling by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the student, identified in court papers as “A.C.,” is protected under a law called Title IX that bars sex discrimination in education and the Constitution’s 14th Amendment requirement that people be protected equally under the law. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT BACKS FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT BLOCKED TRANSGENDER STUDENT FROM USING BOYS BATHROOM The Supreme Court did not issue a comment on its decision. The high court has in recent years mostly dodged controversial cases involving transgender rights. Republicans in several states have pursued various laws affecting transgender people, including policies reinforcing bathroom and locker room segregation by sex, school sports participation, access to sex-reassignment medical procedures for minors and restrictions on what schools teach about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Indiana case concerned a 13-year-old gender dysphoric student whose mother sued the school district and middle school principal after her child was prohibited from using boys’ facilities. FEMALE SWIMMER WHO TIED LIA THOMAS SLAMS TRANSGENDER SPORTS POLICY: TAKING WOMEN ‘BACK TO THE 1970S’ In 2022, U.S. District Judge Tanya Pratt ruled in favor of A.C., ordering the school to allow bathroom access corresponding with the student’s gender identity. The 7th Circuit affirmed Pratt’s ruling, prompting the school’s appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. The school district argued in a court filing that Title IX permits schools to segregate bathrooms by sex and that the equal protection clause does not prohibit schools from protecting the interests of students “in shielding their bodies from exposure to the opposite sex.” Lower courts have issued mixed rulings on school policies affecting transgender students. Last month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a school that required transgender students to use gender-neutral bathrooms or those matching their sex, not their gender identity. INDIANA SCHOOL DISTRICT RENEWS LEGAL FIGHT AFTER COURT BLOCKS RULE SEPARATING BATHROOMS BY BIOLOGICAL SEX Two other federal appeals courts have ruled that transgender students can use bathrooms that accord with their identities. These cases have put pressure on the Supreme Court to resolve the discrepancies, but so far the court has refused multiple opportunities to do so. In 2021, the Supreme Court left in place a 4th Circuit ruling that favored a transgender student who had sued to use the bathrooms associated with their identity. More recently, the Supreme Court in April 2023 refused to permit West Virginia to enforce a state law that banned transgender athletes born as males from participating in female sports in public schools. Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph, Andrew Mark Miller and Reuters contributed to this report.
Gavin Newsom solicits donations for DNC after Trump’s Iowa landslide victory: ‘Terrifying’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom solicited donations for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) following former President Trump’s landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, calling the prospects of him returning to power “terrifying.” “A short while ago, Donald Trump won the Iowa Caucus,” Newsom wrote in a campaign email. “He is now one step closer to becoming the Republican nominee and having a chance to return to the White House.” “Terrifying,” he added. TRUMP DELIVERS UNIFYING MESSAGE AFTER LANDSLIDE CAUCUS VICTORY, RECEIVES BIPARTISAN PRAISE “I want you to think about the way you felt the morning after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016? Do you remember it?” “Now think about the relief you felt when it was clear Joe Biden won in 2020,” he said while expressing that everyone has a role to play to ensure “we are feeling that relief once again.” Trump won the Iowa caucuses with 51% of the vote, more than doubling the 20% Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis garnered. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley finished third after receiving 19% of the vote, while biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished fourth with 7%, leading to him dropping out of the race. THIS 2024 GOP CANDIDATE WAS TARGETED BY WAY MORE ATTACK ADS THAN ANY OTHER HEADING INTO THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS Newsom was not the only prominent Democrat to use Trump’s landslide victory to pull in contributions. On Monday night, President Biden called Trump the clear frontrunner before requesting donations for his campaign. “Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa,” Biden wrote on X shortly after 11 pm. “He’s the clear front runner on the other side at this point.” “But here’s the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it’ll be true tomorrow,” he said, adding a donation link. Following his win, Trump told Fox News Digital he felt “invigorated” and “greatly honored.” “We have to get our country back,” he added. “Our country has gone through so many bad things over the last three years, and it is continuing to go through bad things.”
Polish truckers agree to suspend border protest until March
Truck drivers had blocked border since November, demanding restrictions be reintroduced for Ukrainian hauliers. Polish truckers have agreed to suspend a protest that had blocked some border crossings with Ukraine since November, the infrastructure minister says. The hauliers confirmed the suspension until March but warned they would return to the border if their demands are not met. “We’ve signed an agreement. The outcome of the agreement will be the discontinuation of protests at road border crossings in three towns: Korczowa, Hrebenne, Dorohusk,” Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said on Tuesday. He said that while drivers have agreed to stop protesting for nearly two months, talks were still ongoing. Truckers are demanding that the European Union reinstate a system for Ukrainian companies requiring a permit to operate in the bloc. The truckers also want empty trucks from the EU to be excluded from an electronic queueing system in Ukraine. The bloc waived the permit system after Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Polish hauliers said the move created unfair competition from Ukraine and took a toll on their earnings. Their protests created kilometres-long lines of trucks at the border as they tried to cross from Poland to Ukraine. Protest co-organiser Rafal Mekler confirmed the agreement to suspend the border protest. “The government is undertaking several commitments within the specific timeframe that are intended to fulfil the protest demands,” he said on X, formerly Twitter. “If we don’t manage to reach a solution, we will return to the border. … This is not capitulation but a strategic pause.” The agreement, which Mekler posted on X, sets out several actions the government committed to, including launching talks with the European Commission towards securing financial support for Polish hauliers. Another one of the organisers in Dorohusk, Edyta Ozygala, also warned that the action could be renewed at any time. “If the effects are unsatisfactory, we will come back,” she said. Ukrainian trucks are parked near the Poland-Ukraine border near the Polish village of Korczowa in November 2023 [File: Yan Dobronosov/Reuters] Ukraine says the protests have caused the country economic losses and affected its war efforts. It said cross-border transportation has increased because of the war and because its main export and import routes across the Black Sea have been blocked. “The key reason for the growth in the number of transportations by Ukrainian hauliers is the response to the consequences of the Russian armed aggression,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media on Monday. “Transportations of fuel, humanitarian and military cargo take up about 20% of total traffic.” The main points of the agreement include monitoring of solutions worked out jointly by Poland and Ukraine to ease the situation of EU-registered drivers in Ukraine, talks with the EU on its agreement with Ukraine and talks with the European Commission on financial support for Polish haulage companies. The deal will provide more road checks to stop Ukrainian truckers from providing services not offered under the EU-Ukraine agreement. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s new $15bn war budget: What’s it for and what gets cut?
Waging war is a costly business for any state – and raising the funds required to fight one can be laden with political controversy. But when that state’s cabinet is volatile, mistrustful and deeply divided, then the stakes can be higher still. Indeed, the 37th government of Israel has rarely enjoyed much harmony since it took office about a year ago. Three months into its war on Gaza, it was clear the funds assigned to the war efforts were not enough despite an emergency injection in December of nearly 30 billion shekels ($7.85bn), mostly funded through increased borrowing. On Monday, Netanyahu’s cabinet approved an increased budget for 2024, which allocates an additional 55 billion shekels ($15bn) for the war as well as increased funding for other departments despite fraught deliberations that caused the education minister, Yoav Kisch, to storm out in a rage when proposals to cut funding to his department were put forward. In the end, after an all-night meeting, Kisch’s concern was allayed when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an increase in the education budget as well as the health budget. Why did Israel’s budget need to be amended? The Israeli cabinet first met on Sunday to augment the two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, originally amounting to $270bn, which it had approved in May. Netanyahu, who has become a deeply unpopular figure in Israeli society, began by stating the government’s budget aims. “What is required now is, first of all, to cover the expenses of the war and to allow us to conduct the war in the coming year and complete it, including eliminating Hamas, returning our hostages and restoring security and the sense of security in both the north and the south so that the residents can return there,” he told his cabinet. It’s one thing to make bold wartime declarations but quite another to pay for them, not least in the face of shocking statistics. Israel’s war on Gaza – which has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, with thousands more lost under the rubble and presumed dead, and has injured tens of thousands more – has cost the country about $269m each day since it began on October 7. The Bank of Israel estimated that war-related costs for 2023 to 2025 could amount to $55.6bn. This makes troubling reading for a country that, feeling the financial pinch that often comes with waging a war, posted a budget deficit of 4.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, compared with a 0.6 percent surplus the year before. As a result of this new budget, the deficit for 2024 has widened to 6.6 percent of Israel’s GDP. What is in the amended budget? The new, 582-billion-shekel ($155bn) budget for 2024 has been reached by cutting funding for government departments by an average of 3 percent and increasing spending by $18.6bn. After the cabinet agreed on the budget, Netanyahu hailed the “increases to … the internal security budget, but most importantly, the defence budget, which is simply essential for victory and for our future”. The fractious Israeli coalition government – which includes the political parties Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religious Zionism Party, Otzma Yehudit, Noam and National Unity – is the most right-wing in the country’s history. However, National Unity, led by Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz, voted against Monday’s financial plan after its bid to push for more cuts, including from the $2.15bn pot given over to so-called coalition funding in 2022, was rejected. These funds include money to fund the ongoing construction of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, which, despite being illegal under international law, continue to expand. Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at London’s Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that the coalition funding deal struck between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox members of his government is still much-wanted by ministers. “They still want the coalition agreement that allocates money to their causes,” Mekelberg said. In the end, this fund saw only a small cut of $663.5m. The additional money will buy military hardware for starters as well as pay Israel’s 360,000 army reservists . Also included are funds to support the more than 100,000 Israelis evacuated from communities bordering Gaza and neighbouring Lebanon, where Israeli forces are clashing with Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance group. “We changed the priorities so that every reservist and every fighter and his family knows that there is a government that stands behind him and fully takes care of him,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said after the budget was approved. As a country at war, safeguarding Israel’s internal security was a crucial consideration too. The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who himself lives in an illegal settlement in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, had previously threatened to withdraw his support from any budget that stripped money away from his ministry. Ben-Gvir is leader of the Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, party, which espouses anti-Palestinian policies. His department duly received an extra $534m in the new budget. Could Israel run out of money for its war? Funds probably will not dry up in the short term. Whatever the pressures on Israel’s finances as a result of its war on Gaza and raids on the West Bank, the Israeli state can likely rely on unwavering United States military and financial support. In November, the US House of Representatives greenlit legislation to provide $14.5bn of military aid to Israel in addition to the $3.8bn given to the country each year. It has yet to pass the Senate. Israel’s new budget also faces legislative scrutiny. It will now be referred to the Knesset, where three votes are required for it to become law. In the longer term, and despite current strains on the country’s finances, Mekelberg said the “Israeli economy can recover – and recover relatively quickly” but only if Israel finds a way to end the war. This will require real leadership, he added. With the war on Gaza now more than