DNC gave ex-Harris booster ‘no choice’ but to leave, she says, as Dems cry turncoat
EXCLUSIVE: A former Democrat fundraiser and political strategist is responding to questions about her leaving the party, saying she “didn’t plan” on making the exit and “had no choice but to leave the cult.” “I’m the only one from the campaign telling the truth,” Lindy Li, who fundraised for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “DNC leadership responded to my questions with deeply personal attacks. I had no choice but to leave the cult and am finally free to return to my roots as a conservative.” Piers Morgan said in a post on X he was “confused” by one of Li’s posts during the campaign, where she is pictured with presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and said that she “already voted” for her in Pennsylvania. “I’m confused. On Monday, you told me you didn’t vote for Kamala in the 2024 election. But you posted this on your X account on October 3. Though oddly, you have now deleted it overnight. What’s going on?” Morgan wrote Wednesday. ‘WOKE IS THEIR GOD’: EX-DEM FUNDRAISER SAYS PARTY ‘IN SHAMBLES’ AFTER 2024 ELECTION LOSSES Li, responding to the question, said that as a surrogate of the Harris campaign, she “didn’t want to hurt Harris by disclosing I didn’t vote for her” and felt a “responsibility” to “see the campaign through,” despite personal objections. DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES FREAKED OUT THAT THE PARTY WON’T HAVE ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT AFTER TRUMP WIN: NYT “As a public-facing surrogate of the campaign and a member of the team, I had a responsibility to see the campaign through, despite my personal objections — supporting Harris through Election Day was the right thing to do,” Li told Fox News Digital. “I didn’t leave the DNC. They pushed me out for simply asking for accountability for how the billions of dollars were spent.” Li was a well-known fundraiser for the Democrats’ 2024 presidential campaign before announcing her exit from the party in December after she said she was ostracized for criticizing then-Democrat presidential nominee Harris. The former Democrat said her decision to leave the party “wasn’t easy” but was the “result of a decade-long progression.” “It took a while for me to get here over the course of the past year. I just realized that the values of the Democratic Party are so incongruous to mine,” Li told Fox. “It just contradicts everything I believe, everything from open borders to woke and DEI insanity. It’s just not my party anymore.” “No one is contradicting me on the facts, they are coming after me as a person,” Li said, telling Fox that she is already working on fundraising for the GOP for the 2026 midterms. Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment.
MAHA caucus member pledges hearings into ‘corruption’ of a public health sector ‘captured by Big Pharma’
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a member of the newly created Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) senatorial caucus, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that one of the first hearings he wants to hold as chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations would focus on “the corruption of science” within the public health system. Johnson said he hopes the MAHA caucus will “restore integrity” to the scientific community while adhering to recently confirmed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s other agenda items. “That’s just foundational, we have to do that first,” Johnson said. “I think we need to give the … COVID injection injured a fair hearing.” EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT MAHA Created in December by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas – who is also a physician – the MAHA caucus “will focus on nutrition, access to affordable, high-quality-nutrient-dense foods, improving primary care, and addressing the root causes of chronic diseases,” acting as a congressional arm for implementing RFK Jr.’s agenda. So far, the only other members of the caucus are Republicans, but Johnson said the MAHA movement is largely nonpartisan. Other issues Johnson hopes the coalition will explore are the childhood vaccine schedule and potential theories behind the cause of autism. “We haven’t even been allowed to ask these questions,” Johnson said. “I’d like to hold a hearing on what questions remain unanswered, what science needs to be conducted with integrity to start answering these questions.” SLEEP SPECIALIST BACKING RFK JR’S MAHA MOVEMENT PUSHES TO CHANGE SCHOOL START TIMES IN AMERICA “We can certainly reveal the fact that there are legitimate questions that are outstanding that the American people want answers to in a completely nonpartisan way,” he said. Johnson said the HHS and scientific community were “captured by Big Pharma” and Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci is currently facing the ire of Republicans for unanswered questions about taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research. He said MAHA’s goal is “to end that corporate capture of federal health agencies” and “reinstall in federal agencies their real mission, which is on behalf of the American public.” And a new bill he said he may introduce could address that by restoring “doctors to the top of the treatment pyramid” instead of having their hands tied by associations and health groups. “We should have a bill, and I would call it ‘Right to Treat,’” Johnson said. “Right now, they’re being crushed at the bottom of the pyramid, and the pyramid starts with people like Anthony Fauci, basically non-practicing physicians, telling doctors how to take care of their patients. That’s completely backwards. We need to re-establish doctors at the top of the treatment pyramid.” TRUMP AND A HEALTHIER AMERICA WELCOMED BY DOCTORS: ‘NEW GOLDEN AGE’ RFK Jr. was confirmed by the Senate last week in a 52-48 vote, nearly entirely along party lines. Kennedy’s controversial hearings focused on his previous public statements about vaccines. Kennedy has been critical of “Big Pharma” and “Big Food” on the campaign trail during his own independent bid for the presidency and continues in the MAHA movement under Trump’s administration. “Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong,” Kennedy said of the increase in chronic illnesses. “And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic.” Since RFK Jr.’s swearing-in, Trump has issued sweeping firings across several federal departments, including HHS, leading to a protest led by federal employees outside HHS in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Trump signs executive order ending use of taxpayer money to ‘incentivize or support’ illegal immigration
President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Wednesday night ending the use of taxpayer money for federal resources supporting illegal immigration and illegal aliens. The Trump administration said the goal of the executive order is to ensure “taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Under the order, federal departments and agencies must identify and end all federally funded programs providing financial benefits to illegal aliens. It also aims to ensure federal funds are not being used to support “sanctuary” policies. “My Administration will uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” the order states. “President Trump is committed to safeguarding Federal public benefits for American citizens who are truly in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” a White House fact sheet on the executive order said. TRUMP EXPECTED TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER TERMINATING ALL FEDERAL TAXPAYER BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS The surge in illegal immigration over the past four years has come at a high price, costing American taxpayers an estimated $451 billion to care for illegal aliens and gotaways in the U.S. unlawfully since January 2021, according to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee. The executive order cited calculations from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which stated that American taxpayers have spent at least $182 billion annually to cover the costs of 20 million illegal aliens and their children. While that number includes $66.5 billion in federal expenses, an additional $115.6 billion has come from state and local expenses. The Center for Immigration Studies also estimated that one million illegal aliens could cost American taxpayers $3 billion annually through welfare programs, which are not supposed to be available to those unlawfully in the U.S. per the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Though, illegal aliens granted parole become classified as “qualified aliens” when it comes to welfare programs, allowing them to become eligible for various benefits with full eligibility granted within five years. TOP FEDERAL AGENCY EXPOSED FOR SPENDING BILLIONS ON MIGRANTS IN A SINGLE YEAR The Trump administration also called out former President Joe Biden and his administration for its “enabling” of illegal immigration and allocation of funds to support the crime. The executive order stated that federal and state taxpayers paid more than $16.2 billion to provide Medicaid-funded emergency services to illegal aliens through Biden’s open borders agenda – an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. “The Biden Administration gave billions in taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups that facilitated mass illegal migration and provided legal services to challenge deportation orders,” the fact sheet continued. It was also shared that FEMA has allocated more than $1 billion to illegal aliens since 2021. The move comes in accordance with promises made by Trump during his presidential campaign to secure the borders and put America first. “President Trump has delivered on his promise to secure the border and prioritize the needs of American citizens, taking immediate action to put an end to the previous Administration’s border crisis,” the fact sheet stated before listing other immigration-related moves made by Trump since he took office on Jan. 20.
Trump signs late-night executive order abolishing handful of federal advisory boards
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday aimed at eliminating a handful of federal advisory committees. The order targets the Presidio Trust, the Inter-American Foundation, the United States African Development Foundation and the United States Institute of Peace – all of which have received federal funding. It comes as the president has been working along with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to aggressively reduce the size of the federal government and minimize government waste and abuse to reduce inflation. TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE Cutting these governmental entities and federal advisory committees will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending, and streamline government priorities, according to Trump’s administration. The named organizations were given 14 days to submit reports to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director) confirming that they are compliant and to give an explanation if any part of their government entity is required and to what extent. In addition, the Administrator of USAID was asked to terminate the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection will have to terminate the Academic Research Council and the Credit Union Advisory Council. The FDIC Board will be required to terminate the Community Bank Advisory Council. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has been asked to terminate the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID and the Administrator of CMS has to terminate the Health Equity Advisory Committee. DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS The newly signed executive order coincides with one Trump signed Tuesday instructing DOGE to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers. That order instructed DOGE and federal agencies to work together to “significantly” shrink the size of the federal government and limit hiring new employees, according to a White House fact sheet. Specifically, agencies must not hire more than one employee for every four that leave their federal post. Agencies will also be instructed to “undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force” and evaluate ways to eliminate or combine agency functions that aren’t legally required. Trump is also requiring that within 30 days of the order, the President’s assistants for National Security Affairs, Economic Policy, and Domestic Policy identify and submit a list of additional committees and boards for termination. The Trump administration stated that the American people elected President Trump to drain the swamp and end ineffective government programs that empower government without achieving measurable results. Trump also voiced he wants to provide voters what they want – to tackle “all of this “horrible stuff going on” – and told reporters that he hoped the court system would cooperate. “I hope that the court system is going to allow us to do what we have to do,” Trump said, adding that he would always abide by a court’s ruling but will be prepared to appeal.
Trump throws support behind federal government taking over DC
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he supports GOP-led efforts in Congress to put Washington, D.C., back under direct federal control. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump complained about crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital. “I think we should take over Washington, D.C., — make it safe,” Trump said, adding: “I think that we should govern [the] District of Columbia.” NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER Per the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress vets all D.C. laws and can overturn them, but some congressional Republicans want to go further by putting the District under direct federal control, as it was at its founding. Trump said he liked DC Mayor Muriel Bowser personally, but complained about the city’s governance. “They’re not doing the job,” Trump said, arguing that there was “too much crime, too much – too many tents on the lawns – these magnificent lawns.” GOP SENATORS BACK TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR UKRAINE ELECTIONS, BUT WON’T CALL ZELENSKYY ‘DICTATOR’ He argued that he can’t have sights of homelessness when he hosts foreign leaders in Washington. “You just can’t let that happen,” Trump said. “You can’t have tents on all your beautiful — your once magnificent plaza and lawns.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
US Coast Guard expands border patrol efforts to combat illegal immigration
U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered nearly 220 people on Monday, a sharp decline from more than 1,800 on the same day last year. As part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, the Coast Guard has ramped up its operations along the Rio Grande. The U.S. Coast Guard is increasing its presence alongside Border Patrol, bolstering operations with additional boats and personnel. TRUMP RAMPS UP CARTEL SURVEILLANCE EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY “We are augmenting our Border Patrol partners in key areas along the Rio Grande,” said Capt. Torrey Bertheau, sector commander for Corpus Christi. “Our mission is to detect, deter, and interdict illegal migration, drug smuggling—really any kind of illicit activity.” We embedded alongside the Coast Guard for a look at operations and activity along the Rio Grande, when the crew encountered a suspected cartel spotter along the riverbank, a common tactic used by smugglers to monitor law enforcement movements. BORDER STATE OFFICIALS PUT CARTELS ON NOTICE Since Trump took office last month, border crossings have dropped significantly. According to new data from Customs and Border Protection, 61,465 people were apprehended at the southern border during the month of January for illegal crossings. That’s a 36% decline from the previous month and illegal crossings along the southwest border have fallen to their lowest levels in decades. Despite the decline, Bertheau emphasized that smuggling operations continue. “This is still a high-threat area,” he said. “The augmentation mission here is really to assist the Border Patrol in the areas that they need it.” ACTIVISTS IN MEXICO REPORT FLOW OF MIGRANTS HAS ‘ENORMOUSLY DECREASED’ Beyond the river, the Coast Guard is also stepping up patrols along all Texas maritime boundaries. Last week in Port Isabel, guardsmen detained two individuals aboard a fishing boat—one was in the country illegally, and the other was wanted on felony weapons charges. “Whether the surge is happening or not, our goal is to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the United States is protected,” Bertheau said.
Hegseth orders Pentagon to make plans for major budget cuts to align with Trump DOGE priorities
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the agency to develop plans to slash 8% from the Department of Defense budget in each of the next five years to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities, specifically to achieve peace through strength, officials said. Hegseth is asking for plans in an effort to identify offsets from the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget that could be realigned from low-impact and low-priority Biden-legacy programs, a statement from Pentagon spokesman Robert Salesses said. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Hegseth ordered the proposed cuts to be drawn up by Monday, according to a memo. “The time for preparation is over. We must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth wrote. “Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit.” The Washington Post first reported the memo. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon. Salesses said that the money saved could be used to realign the defense agency towards Trump’s new priorities, including the “Iron Dome for America,” his catchphrase for a missile defense system. DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES “The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars in a way that delivers on President Trump’s defense priorities efficiently and effectively,” he said. “The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars,” he added. “The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities.” The cuts will allow the Defense Department to halt all unnecessary spending that set the military back under the Biden administration through climate change and other “woke” programs, Salesses said. Hegseth has stressed that the U.S. aims to “revive the warrior ethos.” The request for cuts comes amid a separate order from the Trump administration to fire thousands of probationary DOD employees, which is being overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Ninth Circuit rejects Trump’s bid to reinstate birthright citizenship order
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request for emergency relief from an injunction blocking its birthright citizenship executive order, the latest in a string of legal defeats. The judges ruled unanimously that the administration failed to make a strong showing it was “likely to succeed on the merits” of the appeal, prompting them to rule 3-0 against the emergency request. “The emergency motion for a partial stay of the district court’s February 6, 2025 preliminary injunction is denied,” the court wrote. TRUMP ADMIN APPEALS RULING BLOCKING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP The decision was handed down on the same day Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order was slated to come into force. Several district courts across the country previously have blocked the order, prompting the Trump administration to file for emergency relief earlier this month. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Fetterman loses two top staffers as he makes waves by bucking Democratic Party
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is seeing more staff turnover as he fosters his reputation as a sometimes-rebellious Democrat. Two top staffers are leaving Fetterman, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. Both Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director Tré Easton and Communications Director Charlie Hills decided to leave the Pennsylvania senator’s office, as NBC News first reported. SCOOP: TOP GOP SEN. COTTON TO MEET WITH EMBATTLED TRUMP DEFENSE NOMINEE AS DOUBTS SWIRL In a statement, Easton said, “Working for John afforded me the opportunity to build a diligent policy team from scratch,” per NBC News. “Together we created a legislative body of work that I think is a blueprint for how Democrats should be governing when they have power. I’ll forever be grateful,” he continued. Easton and Hills are only the latest departures from the controversial Democrat’s office. In early 2024, three communications staffers for the senator all left within the span of one month. Former Communications Joe Calvello, former Deputy Communication Director Nicholas Gavio and former Digital Aide Emma Mustion each departed, taking on roles with other Democratic lawmakers and with a progressive political party, respectively. BATTLE OF THE CHAMBERS: TRUMP BUDGET TEST VOTE CLEARED IN SENATE AS HOUSE GOP LAGS BEHIND The departures didn’t end there, however. After getting a new communications chief in Carrie Adams, she virtually disappeared from the Senate hallways after publicly disagreeing with Fetterman in an August 2024 conversation with the Free Press. “I don’t agree with him,” the publication quoted Adams as saying about her boss’ stance on Israel and its war with Hamas. Her absence around the Capitol left reporters wondering whether she was still in the senator’s office. It wasn’t reported until last month that Adams had stopped working for Fetterman. MCCONNELL’S MENTAL ACUITY TARGETED BY TRUMP AFTER EX-SENATE LEADER JOINS DEMS AGAINST CABINET NOMINEES Since entering the Senate, Fetterman has made waves due, in part, to his colorful vocabulary and also his willingness to cross the aisle and side with Republicans, particularly when it comes to supporting Israel. The Democrat notably expressed openness to President Donald Trump’s proposal to annex Gaza, bringing it under U.S. control. “It’s a provocative part of the conversation, but it’s part of the conversation, and that’s where we are,” he told Jewish Insider. Fetterman has also been willing to buck his party on illegal immigration. He signed onto Republicans’ Laken Riley Act recently, an immigration bill deemed too harsh and too broad by most Democrats. He was the first Democrat to co-sponsor the bill. DEMS TORCHED OVER DOGE SECURITY CLAIMS AFTER ALLOWING ‘WIDE-OPEN’ BORDER, ‘EMPOWERING IRAN’ “Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence. Immigration is what makes our country great. I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system,” the senator said in a statement at the time. The Pennsylvania senator has further crossed the ideological threshold on multiple occasions to back Trump cabinet nominees, in some cases being the only Democratic supporter. Fetterman’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
Trump and Zelenskyy war of words heats up even as US looks to wind down war in Ukraine
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exchanged terse insults on Wednesday, following meetings between the U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia Tuesday without representatives from Ukraine. Trump repeatedly has said that he is the only one who can bring an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was in contact with Zelenskyy and was working to ensure “that all parties are heard” during the peace talks. Yet Ukraine’s absence from the negotiations Tuesday appears to have exacerbated a wedge between Washington and Kyiv. While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian “disinformation” on Wednesday, Trump clapped back and labeled Zelenskky a “dictator” who has failed his country. “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do,” Trump said in a social media post Wednesday. “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died,” Trump said. RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS Trump’s post included a series of inaccurate statements, including that Zelenskyy “talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start.” Meanwhile, Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump’s comments build on statements he delivered Tuesday at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, where he said that Russia wasn’t the only one exerting pressure to force Ukraine to hold an election. One of Russia’s conditions for signing a peace deal includes Ukraine holding an election, nearly a year after Zelenskyy’s five-year term was slated to end. But Zelenskyy has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution bars holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. Additionally, Trump chastised Ukraine on Tuesday for not ending the war sooner, and also appeared to suggest that Ukraine started the conflict, even though Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. ‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS “I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well. But today I heard, ‘Oh, we weren’t invited,’” Trump said Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago. “Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years (ago). You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” In response, Zelensky delivered his own jabs toward Trump, and said the U.S. president lived in a “disinformation space” peddling inaccurate information that originated from Russia. “We have seen this disinformation,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference Wednesday before meeting with retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellog, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. “We understand that it is coming from Russia.” “I think Putin and the Russians are very happy, because questions are discussed with them,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy has stressed in recent days that Ukraine must be involved in negotiations for a peace deal with Russia, and said Sunday that Ukraine wouldn’t accept a peace deal if his country was absent from negotiations. He also announced Tuesday he would postpone a scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia until March, after revealing during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdoğan that Ukraine wasn’t invited to the U.S.-Russia discussions in Riyadh. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met in Riyadh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. TOP RUSSIAN, US OFFICIALS MEET IN SAUDI ARABIA TO BEGIN TALKS ON UKRAINE WAR WITHOUT OFFICIALS FROM KYIV The first action the U.S. plans to take after the meetings with Russian officials is to “reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow,” Rubio told reporters from the Associated Press and CNN. “For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally,” Rubio said, according to a State Department transcript. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again. The Associated Press contributed to this report.