Trump allies turn up the heat on GOP Senate holdouts in nomination battles
As President-elect Trump and his transition team steer his cabinet nominees through the landmines of the Senate confirmation process, top MAGA allies are joining the fight by putting pressure on GOP lawmakers who aren’t fully on board. “There will be no resource that we won’t use to go after those U.S. senators that vote against Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks or his other nominees,” longtime Trump outside adviser Corey Lewandowski told Fox News this week. Fueled by grassroots support for Trump and his nominees, the president-elect’s political team and allies are cranking up the volume. Exhibit A: Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa. NEW POLLS REVEAL WHAT AMERICANS THINK OF THE TRUMP TRANSITION Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate, is considered a pivotal vote in the confirmation battle over Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary. Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who until last month was a longtime Fox News host, has been the focus of a slew of media reports spotlighting a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations, as well as a report alleging he mismanaged a veterans nonprofit organization that he once led. FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE GOP MILITARY VETS ON NEW MISSION — BACKING HEGSETH Hegseth has denied allegations that he mistreated women, but did reach a financial settlement with an accuser from a 2017 incident to avoid a lawsuit. He has vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed as defense secretary. Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee, which will hold Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, took plenty of incoming fire after last week publicly expressing hesitance over Hegseth’s nomination. While Trump publicly praised Hegseth late last week, as the nomination appeared to be teetering, top allies of the president-elect took aim at Ernst, who is up for re-election in 2026 in red-state Iowa. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s oldest son and MAGA powerhouse, took to social media to target Ernst and other potentially wavering Republican senators. “If you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin [President Biden’s defense secretary], but criticize @PeteHegseth, then maybe you’re in the wrong political party!” he posted. Top MAGA ally Charlie Kirk quickly took aim at Ernst with talk of supporting a primary challenger to her. “This is the red line. This is not a joke.… The funding is already being put together. Donors are calling like crazy. Primaries are going to be launched,” said Kirk, an influential conservative activist and radio and TV host who co-founded and steers Turning Point USA. Kirk, on his radio program, warned that “if you support the president’s agenda, you’re good. You’re marked safe from a primary. You go up against Pete Hegseth, the president, repeatedly, then don’t be surprised, Joni Ernst, if all of a sudden you have a primary challenge in Iowa.” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a top Trump supporter in last January’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, wrote a column on Breitbart urging Hegseth’s confirmation. While she didn’t mention Ernst by name, Bird took aim at “D.C. politicians” who “think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years.” HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FROM FOX NEWS ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION And longtime Iowa-based conservative commentator and media personality Steve Deace took to social media and used his radio program to highlight that he would consider launching a primary challenge against Ernst. Ernst, who stayed neutral in the Iowa caucuses before endorsing Trump later in the GOP presidential primary calendar, may have gotten the message. After meeting earlier this week for a second time with Hegseth, Ernst said in a statement that her meeting was “encouraging” and that she would “support Pete through this process.” But Ernst’s office told Fox News that “the senator has consistently followed the process, which she has said since the beginning, and doing her job as a United States senator.” It’s not just Ernst who has faced the fire from Trump allies and MAGA world. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of four remaining GOP senators who voted in the 2021 Trump impeachment trial to convict him, is also up for re-election in 2026 in a reliably red state. Cassidy is now facing a formal primary challenge from Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a senior adviser in the first Trump administration. Sen. Mike Rounds, another Republican up for re-election in two years in GOP-dominated South Dakota, has also been blasted by Kirk, as well as by top Trump ally and billionaire Elon Musk. And staunch Trump supporter Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama had a warning for Republican Senate colleagues who may oppose the president-elect’s nominees. “Republicans: If you’re not on the team, get out of the way,” he told FOX Business. Whether these early threats from Trump allies turn into actual primary challenges in the next midterm elections remains to be seen. And ousting a senator is no easy feat. It’s been a dozen years since an incumbent senator was defeated during a primary challenge. But Trump’s team and allies are playing hardball in the wake of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the president-elect’s first attorney general nominee, ending his confirmation bid amid controversy. There has been a full-court press by Trump’s political orbit to bolster Hegseth — in order to protect him and some of the president-elect’s other controversial Cabinet picks. “If Trump world allowed a couple of establishment senators to veto a second nominee, it would have led to a feeding frenzy on Trump’s other nominees, and so the thinking in Trump world was we have to defend Pete not just for the sake of defending Pete, but also for the sake of defending our other nominees,” a longtime Trump world adviser, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News. Fox News’ Emma Colton, Cameron Cawthorne,
‘Land of Laws’: Former House candidate reveals how Trump will conquer Dem resistance with immigration mandate
President-elect Trump was given a mandate by the American people to implement his full immigration agenda and needs to use leadership, relationship building and fidelity to the rule of law to accomplish the goals he has outlined, former House candidate Orlando Sonza told Fox News Digital. “The American people, they delivered a mandate to the next president of the United States, and to President Trump the mandate is that this illegal immigration problem is something that needs to be fixed, that it needs to be fixed now,” Sonza, an attorney and former Republican candidate in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, said. He explained that one of the “biggest challenges” Trump will face in order to deliver that immigration mandate is public officials “continuing to defy the law” in liberal jurisdictions. “What we’ve seen is clear leadership in President Trump that he’s not going to go for it,” Sonza said. “The sanctuary cities and sanctuary jurisdictions that are trying to now protect illegal immigrants, many of them criminals that have broken our laws, not just on the southern border, but here within our border as well, tried to harbor them within their jurisdiction. No — that is what undermines our national security and our safety in our community. And in President Trump, holding those cities and jurisdictions accountable is exactly, again, what we need in order to go back to a land of laws, and so this comes down to leadership.” NEW YORK VOTERS WANT STATE TO SUPPORT TRUMP DEPORTATIONS, POLL FINDS Democrats across the country have announced their intentions to attempt to defy Trump’s plan to enforce immigration laws and deport criminals by pushing sanctuary policies or trying to “Trump-proof” their jurisdictions. Sonza told Fox News Digital that deportation is not only a useful tool, but a necessary one as well. “At the end of the day, it comes back to righting a wrong that we’ve seen in the last four years, going back to the way immigration should be, and that is the legal way when it comes to deportation,” Sonza said. “President Trump has been very clear on his strategy. There are priorities in terms of the prosecution and the deportation of dangerous individuals, including human traffickers, drug cartels, violent gangs like MS 13. They don’t belong in our country, and they certainly have tried to exploit the immigration loopholes that they’ve found on the southern border, smuggling people, drugs, weapons, inflicting devastating harm on our communities. They absolutely, first and foremost, have to be deported.” TRUMP’S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN WELCOMED BY BORDER TOWN POLICE STRAINED BY BIDEN POLICIES “The next are those that have really tried to take advantage of the system, prosecuting individuals who have reentered the United States illegally after deportation. You know, many having criminal records themselves, blatantly disregarding U.S. sovereignty, posing ongoing threats to public safety. Look at visa overstays accounting for nearly 40% of illegal immigration. That is the very thing that President Trump in his plan is targeting by addressing violent criminals, addressing criminals that have broken laws within our community and then addressing overstays and fraudulent documentation. What President Trump is looking to do is to protect the integrity of lawful immigration, to ensure fairness for those that actually follow the rules,” he said. Sonza told Fox News Digital that Trump will be able to overcome those who try to ignore federal immigration law not only by withholding federal funding to sanctuary cities, but also by “promoting accountability and a strong cooperation with law enforcement.” “President Trump’s plan of fostering that strong cooperation between federal and local law enforcement is exactly what we need in order to ensure that communities are protected while upholding the rule of law,” he said. “So I think what we’re actually going to see is there is going to be, I think, much smoother cooperation than what a lot of people are expecting, because I think this plan of President Trump is shared by many, in that it’s going to fix a lot of the problems that we see regarding illegal immigration in our country.” Trump’s critics have cited concerns about the cost of mass deportations, which Sonza, a West Point graduate and former officer in the U.S. Army, said was a concern he also once shared until he looked into it more deeply. “It actually took research on my part and research of many Americans to realize the reality, and that is the long-term burden of keeping illegal immigrants in the United States costs taxpayers an exorbitant amount of money,” Sonza said. “Conservative estimates show that illegal immigration costs us taxpayers $151 billion annually.” Sonza, the son of legal immigrants, told Fox News Digital that the “overwhelming number of Americans” who voted for Trump believe, as he does, that “illegal immigration poses one of the most pressing challenges to our country today.” Sonza told Fox News Digital that voters resoundingly voted to “go back to law and order” by voting for Trump and that he is confident Trump’s leadership, coupled with aggressive implementation of his deportation plan, will yield results. “The illegal way of doing immigration has cost Americans,” Sonza told Fox News Digital. “It has put Americans in a less safe position. It has undermined our national security. It has forced the drugs like fentanyl, the opioid epidemic like we see here in southwest Ohio, to now continue to just exacerbate as a problem in our community.” “We want to go back to a country of laws and one that keeps the American people safe and one that looks at the best interests, really of all people, whether it’s those that tried to come into the United States or are already here as citizens, their best interests in mind by upholding the rule of law and when it comes to immigration, doing it the legal way,” he said.
Alaska outraged at federal oil lease sale setup being ‘fitting finale’ for fossil fuel-averse presidency
Multiple top Alaskan officials are expressing outrage at the way the Biden administration is orchestrating its final congressionally mandated leasing of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Section 1002 land for fossil fuel exploration. Both of Alaska’s U.S. senators, the state’s governor and local officials in the remote communities nearest the North Slope refuge collectively expressed that the Department of Interior’s planned January sale was set up in bad faith. “These leases should be executed in good faith along the established historical processes. And obviously, the Biden administration in the past four years has just been brutal on Alaska,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “And, you know, they’re in the twilight of their term here. But nonetheless, they’re going to continue to double-down on denying Alaska opportunities, denying our people opportunities, denying America the opportunity to potentially get some more oil [exploration] going to the future.” AK GOV: BIDEN IS SEARCHING FOR OIL EVERYWHERE BUT AT HOME Dunleavy added that, despite his top perch in Juneau, he remained unclear on exactly what the Biden administration sought to gain by treating Alaska as alleged while buying energy from America’s rivals and working to shepherd in alternative fuels. “I think when we look back on this over time, there’s going to be a lot of head-scratching as to what was the purpose of all this?” he said. “I keep telling people the idea that nobody’s going to want oil if you don’t allow drilling in Alaska: it makes no sense.” For his part, Dunleavy has expressed an openness to pursuing alternative fuels, including the idea of harnessing tides in the Kenai Peninsula’s Cook Inlet — the second-strongest in the world — to produce energy. The governor said that just as the Biden administration cancelled leases in ANWR-1002, President-elect Trump could nix those moves. ALASKA GOV SAYS INLET TIDES THE NEXT RENEWABLE RESOURCE “They defied the spirit of the law itself,” he said. “So I look forward to January 20th.” Meanwhile, leaders in the Inupiat village of Kaktovik — the only community within ANWR-1002 — slammed the structure of the lease sale. Green interests have long claimed local residents and Native communities oppose development on their lands, but in a statement to Fox News Digital, Inupiat leaders disagreed. “The release of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has left the community of Kaktovik, Alaska… frustrated and discontented,” a community representative said. “The lands under question are the traditional lands of the Kaktovikmiut. However, it is apparent once again that outside, well-funded environmental groups have had the preferential voice during the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process.” Local leaders accused the administration of siding with outside interests, rather than hearing from locals who may not see it their way. “Kaktovik does not support this outcome nor condone the process by which it was reached,” community leaders jointly said of the lease sale structure. Edward Rexford, the Native village president, called it a “predetermined outcome,” and that as a small tribal entity, they were not afforded adequate opportunity to participate in the impact statement process. WESTERN NATIONS HAVE BOUGHT $2B IN RUSSIAN OIL THIS YEAR THROUGH SANCTIONS WORKAROUNDS “The City of Kaktovik is outraged by this result,” said Mayor Nathan Gordon, Jr. Officials at the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority (AIDEA) concurred, adding their analysis found the Biden administration’s record-of-decision blocked “nearly all development of even a small part” of ANWR-1002. “Sadly, the Biden administration continues to take illegal actions to stop all natural resource development in Alaska,” said AIDEA executive director Randy Ruaro. “Jobs from developing ANWR would offer high wages to Alaskans at a level that can keep families in-state.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a statement, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the sale is an “eleventh-hour” decision and “yet another charade aimed at subverting the will of Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.” The Trump-era law was the policy that set the timeline and compelled the Biden administration to conduct the sale. “It’s a fitting finale for an administration that has routinely allowed Iran, Venezuela and other adversaries to produce their resources, regardless of the consequences, while attempting to shut everything down in Alaska,” added Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of the Interior and the White House for response to the collective criticism, but did not receive a response by press time.
Trump says Ric Grenell will be ‘high up’ in administration after report says ex-intel chief will be Iran envoy
President-elect Donald Trump described Richard “Ric” Grenell, his former acting director of National Intelligence, as a “fabulous person” and “A STAR” in response to a news report about him potentially serving as a special envoy for Iran. Reuters reported that Trump is considering appointing Grenell to the position, citing “two people familiar with the transition plans.” “He’s definitely in the running,” a person familiar with deliberations told the outlet under conditions of anonymity. Grenell, however, said the report is “made up.” Trump shared the Reuters report on Truth Social Wednesday night. While he did not confirm or deny the information in the article, he wrote, “Richard Grenell is a fabulous person, A STAR. He will be someplace, high up!” TRUMP ANNOUNCES MORE NOMINATIONS, INCLUDING KARI LAKE AS DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCAST Grenell shared a link to the Reuters article on his X account on Wednesday evening and denied the information presented. “Wrong. Again,” he wrote. “I hope there’s an actual editor somewhere at @Reuters who is doing journalism. This is made up.” Grenell was previously rumored to be a candidate for various spots in Trump’s second term, including Secretary of State before Sen. Marco Rubio was appointed and special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict before retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg was selected. GET TO KNOW TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS BEEN PICKED SO FAR? Whoever is chosen for the Iran position would be responsible for “developing, coordinating, and implementing the State Department’s Iran policy,” per the job description. The person would report directly to Rubio – assuming the Senate approves his nomination. Grenell has been a loyal ally to Trump since his first presidential term and often appeared on the 2024 campaign trail to show his support for the now president-elect. Fox News Digital has reached out to Reuters for comment.
House passes nearly $1 trillion defense spending bill, adding to US debt of $36 trillion
The House voted to pass its yearly defense bill Wednesday, adding about another $1 trillion to the $36 trillion national debt. The 1,800-page bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent. On Wednesday, the bill passed 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting no. Only 81 Democrats voted yes, while 124 voted no. The legislation now heads to the Senate for passage before heading to President Biden’s desk for his signature. 124 DEMS OPPOSE HISTORICALLY BIPARTISAN DEFENSE BILL OVER RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS FOR MINORS The bill’s passage comes as the U.S. national debt continues to climb at a rapid pace and shows no signs of slowing down. As of Dec. 11, the national debt, which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors, fell to $36,163,442,396,226.61, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Treasury Department. The debt represents a decrease of $8.8 billion from the figure released the previous day. By comparison, 40 years ago, the national debt hovered at about $907 billion. PENTAGON ANNOUNCES NEW COUNTER-DRONE STRATEGY AS UNMANNED ATTACKS ON US INTERESTS SKYROCKET The latest findings from the Congressional Budget Office indicate the national debt will grow to an astonishing $54 trillion in the next decade, the result of an aging population and rising federal health care costs. Higher interest rates are also compounding the pain of higher debt. Should that debt materialize, it could risk America’s economic standing in the world. The spike in the national debt follows a burst of spending by President Biden and Democratic lawmakers. As of September 2022, Biden had already approved roughly $4.8 trillion in borrowing, including $1.85 trillion for a COVID relief measure dubbed the American Rescue Plan and $370 billion for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a group that advocates for reducing the deficit. HERE IS WHO IS VYING FOR POWER IN SYRIA AFTER THE FALL OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD While that is about half of the $7.5 trillion that President-elect Trump added to the deficit while he was in office, it’s far more than the $2.5 trillion Trump approved at that same point during his first term. Biden has repeatedly defended the spending by his administration and boasted about cutting the deficit by $1.7 trillion. “I might note parenthetically: In my first two years, I reduced the debt by $1.7 trillion. No president has ever done that,” Biden said recently. That figure, though, refers to a reduction in the national deficit between fiscal years 2020 and 2022. The deficit certainly shrank during that period, though it was largely because emergency measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic had expired. Despite adding to the national debt, the NDAA was strongly bipartisan, but some Democratic lawmakers were against the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members if such treatment could result in sterilization. The bill also included a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others as key to improving the quality of life for those serving in the military. The defense act also includes measures to strengthen deterrence against China and calls for an investment of $15.6 billion to bolster military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The Biden administration had only requested about $10 billion. Fox News’ Eric Revell and Morgan Phillips, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
Kari Lake nominated as Trump’s pick for director of Voice of America broadcast
President-elect Trump tapped Kari Lake as the next director of the Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. government broadcaster. “I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote in a release on Wednesday night. Lake was a longtime Arizona broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for public office in 2022 and 2024. Voice of America is an influential broadcast channel that serves news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. The broadcaster serves in over 40 languages.
Trump announces more nominations, including Kari Lake as director of Voice of America broadcast
President-elect Donald Trump nominated a few more candidates on Wednesday night to serve in various positions during his second term. He tapped Kari Lake as the next director of the Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. government broadcaster. Lake was a longtime Arizona broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for public office in 2022 and 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote in a release. Voice of America is an influential broadcast channel that serves news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. The broadcaster serves in over 40 languages. TRUMP ANNOUNCES MORE PICKS, NOMINATES KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE TO SERVE AS AMBASSADOR TO GREECE Trump also named Dr. Peter Lamelas, a physician, philanthropist, and businessman, as the next U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Lamelas immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba and founded MD Now Urgent Care in Florida, the state’s largest urgent care system. “As a child, Peter and his family fled communist Cuba and LEGALLY immigrated to the USA, starting with nothing, and achieving the American Dream,” Trump wrote in the announcement on Truth Social. Lamelas was previously appointed to the Department of Justice’s Medal of Valor Review Board during Trump’s first term and has served as a town commissioner in Manalapan, Florida, and on the state’s Board of Medicine. NEW POLL REVEALS WHAT AMERICANS THINK OF TRUMP’S TRANSITION DECISIONS Also on Wednesday evening, Trump announced Daniel Newlin, a law enforcement veteran, as the next U.S. Ambassador to Colombia. In addition to a 28-year career with the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office where he worked as a fugitive detective, Newlin is also a business executive and entrepreneur. “With his Law Enforcement expertise enabling him to navigate complex international issues, and his business insights fostering economic partnerships, Newlin stands as a powerful advocate for U.S. interests, and a Champion for strengthening ties, and making a difference in the World,” Trump wrote. The picks announced Wednesday night are the latest in a long string of nominations the president-elect hopes the Senate will approve.
California reparations bills killed as Newsom sought to avoid appearing ‘too progressive’
Reparations activists in California hope their snubbed bills that were shelved in September will be re-introduced by a legislator during the next special session that Gov. Gavin Newsom called in January. “That is one of the primary demands or commands from the community and reparations leaders is for a legislator, it doesn’t even have to be a black legislator, but a legislator to reintroduce those two bills that failed,” California Reparations Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. The bills, SB 1403 and SB 1331, would have established the California American Freedman’s Affairs Agency to oversee reparations programs and create a dedicated fund for implementing reparations policies, respectively. Both were snubbed after backers said the bills would not move forward and be signed by Newsom. PROTESTS ERUPT AT CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL AFTER PAIR OF REPARATIONS BILLS SHELVED “I think the reason for Newsom was probably political, like, he didn’t think that these reparations would get so serious so fast,” Moore said. “And then this particular election year when Kamala [Harris] was running for president, and you can’t look too progressive in this political environment we’re in.” The two bills, authored by members of the California Legislative Black Caucus, were pivotal for the reparations task force to carry out its atoning for what supporters said was a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, from housing to education to health. The Democrat-led California legislature passed a spate of other bills aimed at remedying past racial injustices, but none of them would provide direct payments to African Americans. “I feel like the caucus and even Newsom were supportive of these bills, and there’s evidence of that. The Black Caucus wrote that letter in June wanting to give $6 million to their friends, the Black freedom Fund, which is problematic,” Moore said. “But the letter also said they wanted to give $6 million to the reparations agency, but then at the last minute, in August, they decided to kill the Reparations Agency Fund bill.” NEWSOM RAILS AGAINST TRUMP’S 25% TARIFF PLAN DURING SOUTHERN BORDER VISIT: ‘IT’S A BETRAYAL’ At the time, then-Sen. Steven Bradford, who is now termed out, said the bills didn’t move forward out of fear they wouldn’t make it past Newsom’s desk. “We’re at the finish line, and we as the Black Caucus owe it to the descendants of chattel slavery, to Black Californians and Black Americans to move this legislation forward,” Bradford said, urging his colleagues to reconsider the bills. When the bills got pulled, a group of protesters were outraged inside the Sacramento Capitol after being promised the bills would receive time. State Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli accused Democrats in a post on X of going “into hiding” and refusing to bring the bills up for a vote when it came time to pass them despite “promising to pay direct cash reparations to Americans who have been harmed by slavery” for years. Essayli talked to supporters in the Capitol that day and clarified that he did not support California taxpayers paying for the wrongs of slave states but “believed there should be a debate and a recorded vote on the issue.” He then urged the legislature to bring the bills for a floor debate. “I don’t think you can constitutionally justify cash payments based on race,” Essayli told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. “[President-elect] Trump created opportunity zones, which resulted in direct investments into minority communities, so I think there’s other [ways] we can get resources and investments to those who have been harmed by racist policies and slavery long ago.” CALIFORNIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SYSTEM ‘BROKEN’ WITH $20B OWED TO FEDS IN LOAN DEBT: REPORT There are two new reparations bills on the California docket that were introduced during the Dec. 2 special session. AB 7, introduced by Democrat Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan and Tina McKinnor, proposes allowing California’s higher education institutions, including the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and private postsecondary institutions, to consider giving admissions preference to applicants who are descendants of American slavery. AB 57, introduced by McKinnor, seeks to allot a portion of California’s Home Purchase Assistance Program funds for descendants of slaves. Newsom has remained silent on most reparations bills introduced this year but approved a nearly $300 billion budget in June, which included up to $12 million for reparations. The budget did not detail which proposals the funds would support, and his administration has expressed opposition to some of the measures. However, he signed some reparations-related bills, including a “formal apology for California’s historical role in the perpetuation of slavery and its enduring legacy.” “The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as its enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities,” Newsom said in a statement in September. “Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past – and making amends for the harms caused.” Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Conservatives tout victory after stopping last-minute Schumer push to confirm key agency head: ‘Outstanding’
Republicans and conservatives on social media are taking a victory lap after Senate Democrats failed in a last-minute attempt to keep control of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday after narrowly losing a vote to end debate on re-appointing the board’s chair, Lauren McFerran. Outgoing Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had hoped to confirm McFerran, a President Biden pick, to a new five-year term that would have given Democrats control of the influential agency until at least 2026, but the vote failed, 50-49, with independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voting against it. The vote, which conservatives had railed against for days by arguing that President-elect Trump should decide the pick after his November election victory, was celebrated by conservatives. “Working Americans just delivered a massive victory for President Trump and his pro-worker polices, so why on earth would we let Biden choose more NLRB nominees?” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I’m glad we didn’t, and I look forward to working with President Trump to support policies and nominees that are good for working families and all Americans.” PROGRESSIVE DEMS RAGE AT BIDEN FOR GIVING TRUMP THE SPOTLIGHT DURING FINAL WEEKS IN OFFICE “Lauren McFerran’s abysmal record running the Biden-Harris NLRB includes undermining freelancers, crushing businesses of all sizes, and greenlighting vulgar union harassment of American workers,” Tom Hebert, director of competition and regulatory policy for Americans for Tax Reform, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Chuck Schumer tried to put the Trump-Vance NLRB under Democrat control by sneaking McFerran’s renomination through the Senate, anticipating Republican absences. Fortunately for American workers and businesses, Republicans showed up and blocked Schumer’s scheme, ensuring the Trump-Vance NLRB is controlled by pro-worker Republicans instead of anti-worker Democrats.” BIDEN, DEMOCRATS BACK AWAY FROM BILL THAT WOULD GIVE TRUMP MORE FEDERAL JUDGES TO APPOINT “I am glad the Senate rejected Democrats’ partisan attempt to deny President Trump the opportunity to choose his own NLRB nominees and enact a pro-America, pro-worker agenda with the mandate he has from the American people,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., posted on X. “Outstanding work @SenateGOP and free thinkers @SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin!” Independent Women’s Voice senior policy analyst Carrie Sheffield posted on X. “Another antagonist of @elonmusk and free speech collapses. Paving the way for @realDonaldTrump to fix harmful policies. Great work.” A point of frustration for Republicans was the fact that Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders denied a request from Cassidy to hold a public hearing on McFerran before advancing her. McFerran’s nomination has been waiting for consideration since August. In 2021, McFerran’s NLRB ordered Tesla to direct Musk to delete a tweet they said was damaging to a unionization effort at Tesla in a move that was eventually overturned by the U.S. Appeals Court. “The current administration is doing everything possible to prevent government efficiency, but @DOGE is inevitable,” Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X before the vote in response to a post lamenting the Democrat push to advance McFerran. Unlike most similar agencies, members of the NLRB cannot be removed by the president at will simply based on policy goals or changing administrations. “Any member of the Board may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause,” the NLRB website states. In response to the McFerran vote, Democrats pulled the cloture vote for Republican NLRB nominee Joshua Ditelberg, giving Trump the opportunity to fill two seats if nothing changes before inauguration day. Schumer filed cloture on McFerran’s nomination on Monday, setting up a vote on Wednesday. In floor remarks, the New York Democrat did not acknowledge the lame-duck nature of the vote, telling his colleagues, “If you truly care about working families, if you care about fixing income inequality in America, then you should be in favor of advancing today’s NLRB nominees. You can’t say you are for working families, then go and vote ‘no’ today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job and from overreaching employers.” In a statement after the vote, Schumer said, “It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee – with a proven track record of protecting worker rights – did not have the votes.” Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Garland lauds ‘principled’ Wray for ‘integrity and skill’ after resignation announcement
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland praised FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday as a leader who served the U.S. “honorably and with integrity” for two decades in the hours after Wray announced his plans to step down at the end of Biden’s presidency. In a statement Wednesday, Garland lauded Wray’s multi-decade career as a civil servant and U.S. prosecutor, including as U.S. assistant attorney general and the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Chris Wray has served our country honorably and with integrity for decades, including for seven years as the Director of the FBI under presidents of both parties,” Garland wrote Wednesday. PATEL ‘READY TO SERVE’ AS FBI DIRECTOR, SEEKS ‘SMOOTH TRANSITION’ AFTER WRAY RESIGNATION NEWS “In a heightened threat environment, Director Wray has worked tirelessly to protect the American people and to lead an agency of 38,000 dedicated public servants, many of whom put their lives on the line every day to serve their communities,” Garland wrote, praising his role in working to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission “to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.” “He has led the FBI’s efforts to aggressively confront the broad range of threats facing our country — from nation-state adversaries and foreign and domestic terrorism to violent crime, cybercrime, and financial crime,” Garland said. “There are few leadership positions more central to keeping the American people safe than the Director of the FBI.” The statement came shortly after Wray announced his plans to resign at Wednesday’s FBI town hall in Washington, D.C., which was attended by thousands of FBI employees virtually and in person. President-elect Donald Trump announced shortly after his election victory last month his nomination of Kash Patel to succeed Wray, giving Wray the option to either exit on his own or be fired after Trump takes office. Patel told Fox News on Wednesday that he’s seeking a “smooth transition” to replace Wray. “After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray told employees during the town hall. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission, the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ In his statement, Garland emphasized the role the FBI director plays in protecting the agency’s independence from what he described as “inappropriate influence in its criminal investigations. … That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and to protecting the freedoms we as Americans hold dear.” “Director Wray has done that job with integrity and skill,” Garland wrote Wednesday. “He has my gratitude, the gratitude of the FBI agents and employees whose respect and admiration he has earned, and the gratitude of the American people.”