Biden White House to send $1.25 billion in weapon aid to Ukraine before Trump transition: report
In a final push ahead of the impending Trump Administration, the Biden White House is set to announce an additional $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. The large package of aid includes a significant number of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defense system. The package will also include Stinger missiles and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds. The officials are expected to make the announcement on Monday, the Associated Press reported. ZELENSKYY FEARS DANGER IF UKRAINE LOSES UNITY, DEFEAT IF US CUTS FUNDS, 1,000 DAYS AFTER WAR BEGAN The recent funding came after Biden earlier this month announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.” “This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previously said during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. “But, from this library, from this podium, I am confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom.” The Biden administration has been committed to giving Ukraine as much aid as possible before Trump takes office in January. During the campaign, President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance heavily criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion. FLORIDA REP CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘ESCALATING’ CONFLICT IN UKRAINE Trump also said he would end the war before even entering office without offering further details. Vance suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected. Since the campaign trial, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while at a ceremony commemorating the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire there in 2019. This latest announcement marks the administration’s 22nd aid package through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Earlier in December, House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a request by the administration for Congress to authorize $24 billion in additional funding. “It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now,” Johnson previously said. “We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that. So, I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
Trump says fate of TikTok should be in his hands when he returns to White House
President-elect Trump says he should be the one to make the decision on whether TikTok can continue operating in the United States due to the unique national security and First Amendment issues raised by this case, he said in an amicus brief Friday. Trump’s argument comes in an amicus brief “supporting neither party,” filed Friday, weeks before the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, 2025 on the law that requires a divestment of TikTok from foreign adversary control. TIKTOK DIVESTMENT COULD BE ‘DEAL OF THE CENTURY’ FOR TRUMP, HOUSE CHINA COMMITTEE CHAIR SAYS TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and connected to the Chinese Communist Party. “Today, President Donald J. Trump has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to extend the deadline that would cause TikTok’s imminent shutdown, and allow President Trump the opportunity to resolve the issue in a way that saves TikTok and preserves American national security once he resumes office as President of the United States on January 20, 2025,” Trump spokesman and incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “President Donald J. Trump (“President Trump”) is the 45th and soon to be the 47th President of the United States of America,” the brief states. “On January 20, 2025, President Trump will assume responsibility for the United States’ national security, foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.” Trump argues that “this case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national-security concerns on the other.” “As the incoming Chief Executive, President Trump has a particularly powerful interest in and responsibility for those national-security and foreign-policy questions, and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means. President Trump also has a unique interest in the First Amendment issues raised in this case,” the brief states. “Through his historic victory on November 5, 2024, President Trump received a powerful electoral mandate from American voters to protect the free-speech rights of all Americans—including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.” “President Trump is uniquely situated to vindicate these interests, because ‘the President and the Vice President of the United States are the only elected officials who represent all the voters in the Nation,’” the brief continues. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Police searching for man who allegedly groped 5-year-old near New York migrant shelter
The New York Police Department Special Victims Unit is searching for a man suspected of groping a 5-year-old girl near a government-funded migrant shelter in Midtown Manhattan. New York local news source 1010 WINS reported the girl and her mother, who have not been identified by authorities, are residents of a migrant shelter funded by the City of New York at the old Roosevelt Hotel. A representative from the New York Police Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information office confirmed the investigation to Fox News Digital. The representative told Fox News Digital the incident occurred about a block away from the Roosevelt Hotel at 5th Avenue and 46th Street at about 7 p.m. Dec. 24. BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS The representative declined to give any information about the identity of the suspect and did not say whether he was also a resident of the Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter. However, according to 1010 WINS, the suspect knows the girl and her mother. The radio station reported that after the alleged groping, the girl was taken to Bellevue, a hospital in Manhattan. Referred to by some as a “modern Ellis Island,” the Roosevelt Hotel was converted into a migrant shelter and processing hub by the City of New York in May 2023 amid a surge in migrants flocking to the city. The hotel has become the epicenter of much of the migrant gang activity in New York City, resulting in violence and crime reportedly spiking in the area. JUVENILE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GANG MEMBERS BEHIND ROBBERY SPREE STAY OUT OF JAIL DUE TO AGE The New York Police Department has not said whether the suspect they are searching for is a member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua or any other gang. Tren de Aragua has had a heavy presence in the hotel’s vicinity. On Dec. 5, a 17-year-old, Yeremi Colino, allegedly a member of the Tren de Aragua-affiliated gang “Diablos de la 42” (Devils of 42nd Street), was stabbed to death during what is believed to have been a confrontation with a rival gang. Another migrant, 18-year-old Alan Magalles Bello, was also stabbed alongside Colino but survived.
Arizona attorney general warns Trump deporting Dreamers would be a ‘bright red line’
Arizona’s top law enforcement officer said in a recent interview she is unafraid to stand up to President-elect Trump on immigration enforcement. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes told the U.K.’s Guardian any plans to construct deportation centers, which she previously called “concentration camps,” in the Grand Canyon State would be a nonstarter. Mayes defended Dreamers, beneficiaries of the Obama-era DACA program, saying any federal attempts to send them to their home countries would be “a bright red line for me.” “I will not stand for an attempt to deport them or undermine them,” Mayes said. “I will do everything I can legally to fight [family separation or construction of deportation camps]. MD MAYOR PUSHING IMMIGRANT LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND TO REBUFF TRUMP AGENDA “Not on our soil.” The Dreamer moniker originates from the DREAM Act — Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. It was first proposed by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2001 and has been reintroduced in several succeeding sessions of Congress by Durbin but has never become law. Most recently, it was proposed in 2023 by Durbin and his Republican counterpart in Senate Judiciary Committee leadership, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Former President Obama borrowed pieces of the legislation when he instituted DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump previously tried to get rid of DACA but was stopped by the Supreme Court in DHS v. University of California. MARYLAND GOVERNOR DEFENDS $190K TRUMP-CENTRIC CONSULTANT CONTRACT AS PRESIDENT-ELECT MOVES IN NEXT DOOR “I think the Supreme Court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them,” Mayes said of Dreamers. “We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition.” In previous comments reported by the Arizona Mirror, Mayes said the issue with mass deportation proposals from people like Trump and “border czar”-designate Tom Homan is that they can lead to abuses of the system. Mayes has said she wants to see violent criminal offenders and drug cartel members removed from the U.S. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In the Guardian interview, Mayes credited near-complete border-state cooperation on the matter of immigration. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Mayes are “united,” she said, adding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the one border state lawman who is not. “[W]e are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she said of herself, Torrez and Bonta. Mayes also acknowledged the fentanyl crisis and a porous border, saying Arizonans rightly want it rectified. She reportedly said more federal resources should be spent on additional Border Patrol and prosecutions of cartel-connected people, as opposed to Trump’s idea of using the National Guard to help deport illegal immigrants. “[W]hen Arizonans voted for Donald Trump, they did not vote to shred the Arizona and U.S. Constitution [and] I strongly believe that,” she told the Guardian. Fox News Digital reached out to Team Trump and some members of Arizona’s Republican congressional delegation for comment on Mayes’ Guardian interview but did not receive a response by press time.
Georgia lawmakers can can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to Trump case, court rules
A Georgia judge has ruled that state lawmakers can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into whether she engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. In his Dec. 23 order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram gave Willis until Jan. 13 to file a list of claimed privileges and objections to anything that has been subpoenaed. Willis plans to appeal the decision. “We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal,” former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis in the case, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. GEORGIA APPEALS COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Earlier this month, an appeals court removed Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The panel also cited the romantic relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. “This is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the court said. At the time, Trump called the case a “disgrace to justice.” “It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.” In August, the Republican-led Senate committee sent subpoenas to Willis seeking to compel her to testify in September. She skipped a hearing that month when lawmakers hoped to question her. The committee was formed to examine misconduct allegations against Willis during her prosecution of Trump over efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. FANI WILLIS WAS ‘TERRIFIED’ BECAUSE HER CASE AGAINST TRUMP WAS ‘WEAK,’ ATTORNEY SAYS Barnes, Willis’ attorney, argued the subpoenas were overly broad and not related to a legitimate legislative need and that the Senate committee didn’t have the power to subpoena her in the first place. One issue raised is that the Georgia legislative term will end when lawmakers are sworn in for their new term on Jan. 13. Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal said last week that he plans to file legislation to re-establish the committee at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session. “The law is clear, and the ruling confirms what we knew all along,” Dolezal wrote in a text Friday. “Judge Ingram rejected every argument made by Willis in her attempt to dodge providing testimony to the committee under oath. I look forward to D.A. Willis honoring the subpoena and providing documents and testimony to our committee.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Manchin calls Biden’s clemency for two killers ‘horribly misguided and insulting’
Following President Biden’s move to commute the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row, Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., called the clemency granted to two of the individuals “horribly misguided and insulting.” In the 37 cases, Biden commuted the sentences to life sentences without the potential for parole. Manchin — a Democrat-turned-independent senator who will soon leave office — said he felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the parents of Samantha Burns, who was slain in 2002 at the age of 19, according to reports. TRUMP PLEDGES TO BRING BACK FEDERAL EXECUTIONS AFTER BIDEN COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES FOR 37 INMATES “After speaking to Samantha Burns’ parents, I believe it is my duty to speak on their behalf and say President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences for the two men convicted in her brutal murder is horribly misguided and insulting,” the lawmaker declared in a statement posted on X. “Particularly since Samantha’s family wrote letters to President Biden & the Department of Justice, pleading for them not to do this, but their concerns were unheard. I can’t imagine the grief that Kandi and John Burns are reliving and dealing with during the holiday season,” Manchin continued. “As their U.S. Senator and a father, I want to express my deepest sympathy for their continued suffering. Please know that Samantha will forever be in our prayers.” The two men connected with the young woman’s death escaped lockup and went on a crime spree in 2002, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. “On November 4, 2002, cellmates Chadrick Fulks and Brandon Basham escaped from a county detention facility in Kentucky” and “unleashed a criminal rampage that lasted seventeen days and zigzagged across several states,” according to the court, which noted that the men “admitted to killing Burns and pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in death in the Southern District of West Virginia.” TRUMP HAS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO ‘RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS,’ TELLS INMATES BIDEN GRANTED CLEMENCY TO ‘GO TO HELL!’ In a fiery Christmas Day post on Truth Social, President-elect Trump told the 37 individuals who escaped capital punishment to “GO TO HELL!” In a statement about the commutations, President Biden said, “I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss.” OUTGOING SEN. JOE MANCHIN PUSHES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FOR SUPREME COURT TERM LIMITS But he also said that he was “more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” Biden said.
Police group praises bill to give public sector retirees full Social Security benefits: ‘deserved and earned’
A law passed last week as Congress narrowly averted a partial government shutdown to address cuts in Social Security for some public sector workers was praised by law enforcement groups, despite criticism from opponents who said the cost would speed up the program’s insolvency. The Senate on Saturday overwhelmingly approved the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to repeal two little-understood rules: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The legislation effectively revokes 1980 rules that reduced benefits for public employees receiving state pensions. The bill was sent to President Biden. In the House, 327 members, and 76 Senators voted to stand with around 3 million retired firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public sector workers who also receive pension payments, Mick McHale, president of the National Association of Police Organizations, told Fox News Digital. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, AUGUST 14, 1935, SOCIAL SECURITY IS SIGNED INTO LAW BY FDR “For over 40 years, the men and women, especially in the area of public safety… have been penalized as a result of the pension system that they belong to,” McHale said. Firefighters, police officers, postal workers, teachers, and others with a public pension have collected decreased Social Security benefits for jobs they held in the private sector because of WEP, which was designed to prevent so-called double-dipping from a government pension and Social Security. The GPO ensures spousal benefits are adjusted to reflect income from public pensions in an effort to prevent Social Security overpayments. “This is a victory for thousands of teachers, first responders, and public servants in Maine who, through service to their communities, have been forced to forego their earned retirement benefits,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., the lead sponsor of the measure. BEWARE OF THIS SOCIAL SECURITY SCAM BY CROOKS TRYING TO TRICK YOU Critics of the bill argued it would cause more problems for Social Security moving forward. The legislation will add $196 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., called the bill “fundamentally unfair,” saying it would impact millions who have paid into Social Security. “This bill would force those workers, 96% of them in America, to subsidize overly generous benefits for the 4% of the workforce, those who have not participated in Social Security and instead contribute to non-covered pensions,” Lee said on the Senate floor. Despite some criticism, Congress overwhelmingly favored changing the system, McHale said, “The men and women that are in Congress clearly recognized the unfairness that was being applied when it comes to a Social Security benefit, which was richly deserved and earned,” he said. He acknowledged that many retirees sometimes continue to work in other areas that pay into Social Security. “However, that time period that we were in the law enforcement profession is where the penalty is applied when we reach the golden years and we should be enjoying the benefits of our efforts,” he said.
Guatemala ready for more deportations under Trump, report says: ‘We know it’s coming’
Guatemala may accept more foreign nationals deported from the United States by the incoming Trump administration in an effort to strengthen ties to the U.S., according to a report. Officials who spoke to Reuters said Guatemala is willing to receive deported citizens of other Central American countries – such as Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti – which have strained relationships with the U.S. and have not accepted deportees in the past. “There has to be a regional response,” one Guatemalan official told Reuters. “And we want to be part of the solution.” The expectation is that Trump will keep his campaign promise to begin the largest mass deportation of illegal immigrants in American history, and Guatemala wants to be in the president’s favor throughout that process. The officials are bracing for deportations to increase in the fall, reasoning that it will take time for the Trump administration ramp up its operations, according to Reuters. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS COULD BE PUT IN HALFWAY HOMES “We aren’t ready for it, but we know it’s coming,” a second Guatemalan government official told the outlet. Guatemala currently receives 14 deportation flights per week under President Biden’s administration. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Trump’s team has reportedly reached out to other Central and South American countries to gauge their appetite for accepting deportations from the U.S. Several governments, including Mexico and the Bahamas, have said they do not want to take in foreign nationals from third countries. ILLEGAL MIGRANT INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES AFTER WOMAN IS BURNED TO DEATH ON SUBWAY In 2022, more than 40% of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. came from Mexico, amounting to 4.8 million of 11 million overall, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report. That was followed by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which together accounted for over one-fifth of the total. Guatemala has reportedly been proactive in courting the incoming Trump administration, relative to neighbors El Salvador and Honduras, according to Reuters. Trump transition team members have met with Guatemalan officials, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., before he was nominated to serve as secretary of state, along with several employees from the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank who specialize in immigration, border security, drug trafficking and policy towards China. Guatemala would prioritize Guatemalans for re-integration, the second official said, adding that every country should take responsibility for its citizens, but also highlighting a regional pact among Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador that allows free movement. The hope is that deportees from the U.S. would put skills learned in the states to work in Guatemala’s private sector. MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED IMMIGRATION AND AMERICAN ‘MEDIOCRITY’ “These are people who have worked in construction, in the service industry, in various sectors, and many speak English. We want to harness that,” the official said. Officials who spoke to Reuters also noted that more deportations could put pressure on Guatemala’s economy. Remittances, or money sent home by Guatemalan workers in the U.S., account for about 20% of the country’s GDP. In 2023, remittances made up 24% of El Salvador’s gross domestic product and nearly 30% of Honduras’ GDP. Officials told Reuters they were not immediately worried about the economic impact of a decline in remittances, but shared concerns over Trump’s proposed tariff hikes or increased taxes on remittances. “We don’t have a financial plan yet, there are just too many unknowns,” said the second official.
Russian government says it is willing to improve ties—but onus is on Trump to make first move
Russia is willing to work with President-elect Donald Trump to help improve relations with Ukraine so long as the U.S. makes the first move, Kremlin officials said this week, adding fresh momentum for the possibility of peace talks as its war in Ukraine threatens to stretch into a third year. Speaking to reporters Thursday in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia could be ready to come to the negotiating table regarding its “special military operation” in Ukraine— echoing the phrasing used by the Kremlin to describe its war in Ukraine — so long as the U.S. acted first. “If the signals that are coming from the new team in Washington to restore the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of a special military operation [the war in Ukraine] are serious, of course, we will respond to them,” Lavrov said in Moscow. But he stressed that the U.S. should move first, telling reporters that “the Americans broke the dialogue, so they should make the first move.” US SLAPS SANCTIONS ON COMPANIES TIED TO NORD STREAM 2 IN BID TO SQUEEZE RUSSIA His remarks come after Trump’s pick for Ukraine envoy, retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, told Fox News in an interview this month that both Russia and Ukraine appear to be willing to negotiate an end to the war — citing heavy casualties, damage to critical infrastructure, and a general sense of exhaustion that has permeated both countries as the war drags well past the thousand-day mark. “I think both sides are ready,” Kellogg said in the interview. “After a thousand days of war, with 350,000, 400,000 Russian [soldiers] down, and 150,000 Ukrainian dead, or numbers like that — both sides are saying, ‘okay, maybe this is the time, and we need to step back.’” To date, Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. As of this fall, an average of 1,200 soldiers were killed or injured per day, according to U.S. estimates. In Ukraine, the country’s energy infrastructure has seen extreme damage as the result of a protracted Russian bombing campaign, designed to collapse portions of the power grid, plunge the country into darkness, and ultimately, wear down the resolve of the Ukrainian people. PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA READY TO COMPROMISE WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE WAR Most recently, Russia launched a Christmas Day bombardment against Ukraine’s power grid, directing some 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and 100 strike drones to hit critical energy infrastructure in the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Christmas Day timing was a “deliberate” choice by Putin. “What could be more inhuman?” he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military has lost around 40% of the land it seized in Russia’s Kursk region — a loss that could further erode morale. UKRAINE TO SEEK NATO INVITATION IN BRUSSELS NEXT WEEK Lavrov’s remarks also come as Kellogg prepares to travel to Ukraine in January for what he described to Fox News as an information-gathering trip. He declined to elaborate further on what he will aim to accomplish during the visit, saying only that he believes both countries are ready to end the protracted war — and that incoming President Trump could serve as the “referee.” “Think of a cage fight. You’ve got two fighters, and both want to tap out. You need a referee to kind of separate them.” Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is open to having the peace talks in the third country of Slovakia, citing an offer made by the country’s prime minister during a visit to the Kremlin earlier this week. It is unclear whether Ukraine would be willing to have the talks held in Slovakia, a country whose leaders have been vehemently opposed to sending more EU military aid to Ukraine. Ukraine did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the peace talks, or whether it would be open to Slovakia’s offer to host.
WV Gov. Jim Justice to delay US Senate swearing-in, averting brief bedlam in Charleston
West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced that he would delay his U.S. Senate swearing-in, thereby preventing a whirlwind of four governors in a 10-day period due to coinciding changes in Charleston’s legislative leadership. In doing so, it leaves federal Republicans’ Senate majority briefly at two instead of three seats. Justice alluded to such in remarks late Thursday, saying he wants to do what’s best for Mountaineers. “My whole thinking behind all of this is that the continuity of government is essential during transitions. . . . When I took this job, I took this job to serve the people of West Virginia.” Justice said he doesn’t expect much to happen between Jan. 3 – when Congress is sworn in – and Jan. 20 – when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, but that in Charleston, many things might transpire. WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF West Virginia is one of seven states that does not have an independently-appointed or elected lieutenant governor. In Charleston, it is instead a statutory title given to the state Senate leader. So, if Justicewere to join the U.S. Senate on-schedule, current state Senate President Craig Blair would initially assume the role. However, Blair lost the GOP primary for his Martinsburg seat in April, and therefore leaves office on Jan. 8 when the new legislature is sworn in. On Jan. 8, the newly-selected leader, Sen. Randy Smith from Tucker County, would assume the governorship until Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey took office on Jan. 13. “Between January 3rd and when President Trump takes office, there’ll be some things that happen, but there won’t be anything happening [in the U.S. Congress] really until when President Trump takes office,” Justice said Thursday. “I’m in constant contact with President Trump about my feelings about his selections for his appointments, my feelings about where we’re going to go on all kinds of issues like energy and on and on and on and everything,” he added. TRUMP, GOP CELEBRATE JOE MANCHIN RETIREMENT “So, I don’t think that there’s anything there that is going to rise to the level of what could happen here [in my absence].” Republicans also flipped the Senate by a comfortable-enough 53-47 margin that Justice’s absence will still allow a two-member buffer. “I don’t think that West Virginia needs to have four governors in 10 days,” he said. Justice said Thursday he made the decision after speaking about the situation with both the House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader-designate. “Senator Thune is really a good man. He’s going to do a great job as our leader and everything. And we had this discussion, and at the end of the day, I think you’ll find that everyone totally understands the complexities and everything and totally understands [my decision],” Justice said. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Justice’s counterpart next session, said she looks forward to serving with him and working together to advance Trump’s agenda. “I very much respect Governor Justice’s decision to honor his commitment to complete his term as Governor of the State of West Virginia,” she said in a statement. “I believe this with all my soul,” Justice further told reporters. “The people of West Virginia elected me to this office, and they expected me to do right by them always . . . t has been an honor beyond belief being their governor.” A billionaire coal businessman who also owns The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, Justice was originally elected as a Democrat but changed parties during a 2017 rally with Trump in his first term in Charleston – and was re-elected as a Republican. Justice’s turn to the GOP and the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., completes a full shift from the blue state that for decades elected Sen. Robert Byrd and Rep. Nick Joe Rahall to a deep-red state that Democratic presidential candidates since Hillary Clinton have lost by double-digits. Bearing the wait until Jan. 13, Justice reiterated, will be worth it because he loves Trump “with all my soul.” “I think the world of his family and everything. And I’m going to be there [and] super supportive of what he’s doing. And we’re going to try in every way to . . . put this nation back on the right track.” “The people of West Virginia will know exactly where I stand with them.”