Republican declares ‘bulls—‘ after Musk says it’s ‘hard not to like’ Fetterman who ‘puts country over party’
Business magnate Elon Musk said in a post on X that it is “Hard not to like” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. “He puts country over party,” Musk added. He made the comments in response to footage of Fetterman saying that he admires Musk, who is “involved in very important parts of American society” such as artificial intelligence and SpaceX. Fetterman said that Musk is “on a different team, but that doesn’t make me an enemy.” FETTERMAN SAYS TRUMP CASE IN NEW YORK WAS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, CALLS FOR PARDON ON ‘THE VIEW’ The Democratic senator said that Musk has “made our economy and our nation better.” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., fired back at Musk on X. “Bulls—. It is hard to not like what @SenFettermanPA what he says, it is easy to hate how he really votes. Do not fall for this.” FETTERMAN HITS PARTY’S LOSSES AMONG YOUNG MALE VOTERS: ‘IT’S UNDENIABLE THAT DEMOCRATS HAVE LOST A LOT’ President-elect Donald Trump has tasked Musk and former GOP presidential primary contender Vivek Ramaswamy, who self-identifies as a “small-government crusader,” with working on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The two entrepreneurs aim to place Washington D.C.’s profligate spending in the crosshairs. “If we don’t tackle the exponential growth in national debt, there will be no money for anything, including essential services!” Musk warned in a tweet. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last month, they noted, “We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs.” Ramaswamy and Musk met with lawmakers in D.C. on Thursday. ‘WE’RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH’: REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY “Great discussion today with @elonmusk on his goals for the @DOGE. Looking forward to working together to improve government efficiency and get America back on track,” Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune, R-S.D., said in a Thursday post on X. “Excellent discussion about solving the national debt crisis,” Musk responded.
Scott Walker calls nixing of landmark WI law that led to mass protests in 2011 a ‘brazen political action’
Former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker spoke out after a county judge in Madison struck down major parts of a 2011 law geared toward public employee unions. Dane County Judge Jacob Frost ruled that the provisions of a law known as Act 10, which selectively exempt certain public workers from its restrictions on unionization and collective bargaining, are unconstitutional. The controversial law sought to close a budget deficit by limiting collective bargaining, thereby moderating public workers’ benefits that Walker said at the time helped solve a fiscal situation he was required to address. The original passage in 2011 led to weekslong protests inside the state Capitol, and even saw legislative Democrats flee to neighboring Illinois to prevent Republicans from reaching a quorum to vote on it. Walker later survived a 2012 recall election over the law’s passage and rode his success into a decent showing in the 2016 presidential race, where he eventually bowed out of the primary that ultimately went to Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Walker, who currently leads the conservative-training nonprofit Young America’s Foundation (YAF), said his law simply took power “out of the hands of the big union bosses and put it firmly into the hands of the hardworking taxpayers…” “And what this court decision did as brazen political action was to throw that out and put power back in the hands of those union bosses,” he said in an interview, calling collective bargaining not a right but an “expensive entitlement.” POMPEO CLAIMS TEACHERS’ UNION BOSS IS AMONG THE ‘MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE’ IN US Asked about Frost’s assertion that disparate treatment of collective bargaining rights of certain “public safety” workers and other public workers was unconstitutional, Walker said it was a “bogus political argument.” Frost stripped more than 60 sections of the law from the books. The law was upheld multiple times at the state and federal levels, Walker replied, adding a new issue is that of a potentially-growing “liberal activist majority” on the officially nonpartisan Wisconsin Supreme Court that may hear any appeal of the ruling. Walker said that if appealed, the first place the case will land is in Waukesha court, which he predicted would overturn Frost. But a subsequent appeal by the left would bring it before the state’s high bench. “It’s all the more reason why the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin this spring (2025) is more important than ever,” he said. Walker went on to discuss the roots of Act 10, and how it was his way of abiding by Wisconsin’s balanced-budget requirement. He noted the original name was the “Budget Repair Act” and that a prior Democratic administration instead chose to cut funding for municipalities, which instead resulted in layoffs. Instead of risking job loss or Medicare cuts, Walker opted to require public workers to contribute more to their entitlements in return for keeping their pensions solvent. WALKER SAYS WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS ARE MOTIVATED In addition, Wisconsin Senate President Chris Kapenga echoed Walker’s claim that partisan politics played a role in the ruling: “[I]t’s proof there is very little justice left in our justice system. Wisconsin’s legislature should be discussing impeachment, as we are the only check on their power,” said Kapenga, R-Oconomowoc. “Believing Dane County judges and the liberal majority in our state Supreme Court are independent jurists is almost as far-fetched as believing the border is secure, inflation’s not a problem, or [President Biden] won’t pardon his son.” “The left keeps telling us, ‘Don’t believe what you see’ — Wisconsinites see right through it,” he said. As for Walker’s current role as president of YAF, he said his organization is preparing for conservative leadership to return to Washington as he brought it to Madison in 2010. Walker said he is thrilled by the prospect of seeing many YAF alumni in the new Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, a top aide to Trump and formerly ex-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Sergio Gor, a longtime aide to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was named Trump’s head of presidential personnel last month. Walker praised Gor’s prior work leading YAF’s George Washington University chapter. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Four years ago, younger voters sided with Biden by 25 points,” Walker said. “This election, that shrunk right down to 5 or 6 points. And most interestingly, young men four years ago went with Biden by 15 points. In this election, they shifted to Trump by 14. What we need to do is lock that in.”
Here’s what Kash Patel’s former colleagues are saying about him
President-elect Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be the next FBI director, a person with an extensive background in national security and intelligence. Patel’s experience ranges from personally carrying out dangerous missions in the Middle East in an effort to bring home U.S. hostages to implementing counterterrorism strategies against America’s most-wanted terrorists. Current and former U.S. national security officials and lawmakers say that when looking at his résumé “objectively,” he is “one of the most experienced people ever to be nominated” to lead the bureau. During the first Trump administration, Patel served as a deputy assistant to Trump and as senior director for counterterrorism. In that role, Patel was involved in presidential missions aimed at decimating Al-Qaeda senior leadership and ISIS command and control. Patel was involved in the planning of the mission to take out Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, among others. WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ Patel also was involved in efforts to bring some of the most-wanted terrorists to the U.S. for prosecution, and worked on Trump administration efforts to return dozens of U.S. hostages back home. “When I was national security adviser, Kash was my senior director for counterterrorism. He was responsible for all interagency actions against ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations,” former White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien told Fox News Digital. “He was also responsible for hostage rescues, and he did a great job on both fronts.” O’Brien recalled Patel’s “tremendous personal bravery” with regard to Austin Tice, a hostage who has been held presumably by the Syrian government for more than 12 years. In 2020, O’Brien said Syrians “finally agreed to let an American come in for negotiations and I asked Kash Patel and Amb. Roger Carstens if they would go.” “I wanted someone from the White House, so it wasn’t just representatives of the State Department. Kash was the White House’s man,” O’Brien said. “They traveled overland from Beirut to Damascus through territory where the Al Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Hezbollah were all present. It was a very complex situation. They drove all the way to Damascus to meet with the head of Assad’s intelligence service.” O’Brien said the “Syrians themselves could easily have taken Kash and Roger hostage.” “I have never heard Kash talk or tell war stories about that mission to try to save a fellow American,” O’Brien said. He added: “I would say to anyone who ignorantly criticizes Kash Patel’s character, tell me the last time you did something dangerous to try to save a stranger.” FBI HAS LONG BEEN ACCUSED OF POLITICIZATION AHEAD OF DEM CONCERN OVER KASH PATEL NOMINATION Not everyone shared O’Brien’s rosy representation of Patel. Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and others have blasted Trump’s pick of Patel, claiming he is unqualified. But O’Brien and others say those attacks “are entirely politically motivated because he supports the president’s America First agenda.” “There was a time when Democrats would have applauded a president for appointing someone with criminal defense experience and who is against the FBI surveilling American citizens — but that was a very different Democrat party,” O’Brien said. Beyond his counterterrorism work, Patel was heavily involved in U.S. strategy to counter Chinese, Russian, Iranian and North Korean efforts against U.S. interests. He also worked on the implementation of multimillion-dollar sanctions against foreign adversaries. Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security adviser to Trump and vice president for national security at the Heritage Foundation, said that Patel was a “strong colleague” at the National Security Council (NSC) and “understands that critical piece of our national security architecture.” “After four years of Biden-Harris mismanagement, he will be the strong hand the FBI needs to keep the American people safe,” Coates said. “Instead of a director who spends all his time testifying to Congress about all the red lights he sees flashing across the dashboard, we will have one who will do something to actually put them out.” Prior to working as a deputy to Trump and in the NSC, Patel worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as the principal deputy to the acting DNI Ric Grenell and helped former Director John Ratcliffe transition into the role. Trump nominated Ratcliffe last month to serve as the director of the CIA. At ODNI, Patel also worked to focus intelligence collection against counter narcotic and transnational threats. “Kash brings a lot of passion to government service because he has seen what corruption is like from the inside,” Grenell said. “He is a first-generation American who knows how elites manipulate the system so they retain power and control over Americans.” “Reforming Washington and its insular ways requires courage,” Grenell continued. “Those of us outside of Washington who want reform have to stop expecting those who live and work in Washington to deliver reform. They are never going to reform themselves.” Prior to joining the Trump administration, Patel served as the national security adviser and senior counsel for counterterrorism to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI ‘FAILED TO UPHOLD’ MISSION OF ‘STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW’ IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE Patel was the chief investigator for the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Throughout his investigation, he led the effort to uncover FISA abuse and exposed the FBI and the DOJ’s unlawful actions before federal court to illegally surveil Americans, including members of the 2016 Trump campaign. “The best thing about Kash is, because of his previous government experience and his key role in uncovering Russiagate, he won’t be bamboozled by the bureaucracy,” said former Trump White House deputy national security adviser KT McFarland. “Intelligence community bureaucrats cover up their mistakes and malfeasance by hiding behind the ‘sources and methods’ excuse. They slow-walk de-classification efforts and internal investigations. Most appointed officials new to intel bureaucracy fall for it — Kash won’t.” McFarland said that critics of Patel claim that he will “seek revenge,” but she declared that those critics “are wrong.” “Remember, government bureaucrats always leave a paper trail of their actions,” she said. “Kash can expose them by declassifying these
Democrat governors spotlight they’re the ‘last line of defense’ against Trump
As they gather for their annual winter meeting, the nation’s Democratic governors say they’re the “best path forward” for a party now out of power in the nation’s capital, and the “last line of defense” as President-elect Trump returns to the White House. The Democrats lost the White House and the Senate majority, and failed to flip the House, in last month’s elections. But Democrats held the line in this year’s gubernatorial elections, and continue to hold 23 of the 50 governors’ offices. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) highlights their governors “represent more than half of the U.S. population, including in five of the seven biggest presidential battlegrounds (AZ, MI, NC, PA and WI) as well as deep red states like Kansas and Kentucky.” DNC CHAIR FRONT-RUNNER OFFERS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ ADVICE TO HIS PARTY “At a time when the Democratic Party is looking for the path back to victory, Democratic governors continue to win by earning the trust of voters by meeting them where they are on their biggest everyday challenges,” DGA executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper highlighted. And she emphasized that “who your governor is has never mattered more – and with Republicans in control of the federal government, there will be even higher stakes and more resources necessary for the 38 gubernatorial elections in 2025 and 2026, including the hard work already underway to flip Virginia and hold New Jersey in 2025.” CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON THE DEMOCRATS Democratic governors and state attorneys general played a high-profile role in pushing back via political and legal battles during Trump’s first term in the White House – and several are ready to reprise that role. Two of the most high-profile Democratic governors, California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, have already begun to “Trump-proof” their solidly blue states. And Pritzker, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, last month launched a group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy, in order to resist the incoming Trump administration. Longtime Democratic strategist Maria Cardona pointed to her party’s governors as a “focus of progress and protection” with Trump returning to the White House. But Cardona, a Democratic National Committee member, said the governors will also “be the ones that are going to show Americans the path forward.” And they will also be some of the early high-profile potential contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Newsom, Pritzker, Polis, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, are among the names often mentioned as possible White House hopefuls in the next presidential election.
‘Most damning evidence’: Hunter Biden’s full pardon resurfaces decade of controversies, ‘influence-peddling’
Hunter Biden’s pardon from President Biden on Sunday doesn’t only apply to his tax and gun charges but gives him sweeping immunity from prosecution dating back ten years to the time Biden served as Vice-President. Hunter Biden’s pardon applies to offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024 which encapsulates several controversies surrounding the president’s son and his overseas business dealings. BURISMA Hunter Biden earned millions of dollars serving on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma after joining the company as legal counsel in the spring of 2014 before being elevated to the Board of Directors later that year. Biden has claimed he “didn’t stand to gain anything” from the position, which he was appointed to without any experience in the industry, but Republicans have long alleged that Hunter and his father engaged in influence pedaling through Burisma. HUNTER BIDEN PARDON WILL UNDERMINE PARTY’S ‘SELF-PROCLAIMED AUTHORITY’ ON RULE OF LAW: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST The Bidens were accused by Republicans of having “coerced” Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired during the Obama administration. “Why 2014?” Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy wrote on FoxNews.com this week. “Well, the most damning evidence of the Biden family influence-peddling business occurred in the last years of Joe Biden’s term as vice president – specifically, 2014 through 2016. That, of course, is when the Burisma hijinks began. Indeed, Hunter’s board seat on the corrupt energy company’s board was so manifestly tied to his father’s political influence that, as soon as Biden left office in 2017, Burisma slashed Hunter’s compensation in half.” In addition to the more than $50,000 a month then-Vice President Joe Biden’s son received while serving on Burisma’s board from April 2014 to April 2019, he was also apparently receiving lavish gifts from the company’s founder, according to emails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that have been verified by Fox News Digital. CHINA BUSINESS DEALINGS The pardon from President Biden also encapsulates the timeline of Hunter Biden’s controversial business dealings in China which Republicans have suggested also embodies part of the alleged influence pedaling scheme that was part of the failed effort to impeach President Biden. HUNTER BIDEN’S CONFIDENT DEMEANOR IN UNEARTHED VIDEO RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT DAD’S PARDON PLANS The Biden family netted several million dollars from business dealings in China which began in the 2014-2016 years as part of Hunter Biden’s relationship with two Chinese companies, Bohai Harvest RST investment enterprise and CEFC. The House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital earlier this year that it can “now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son, including Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Romanian oligarch Kenes Rakishev, Burisma’s corporate secretary Vadym Pozharsky, Jonathan Li of BHR, and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming.” Biden attended dinners at Washington D.C. restaurant Cafe Milano in Georgtown with Baturina, Rakishev and Pozharsky in 2014 and 2015. Biden also met with Li of BHR in China in 2013. Biden met with Ye at the meeting in 2017, according to testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-business partners Rob Walker and Devon Archer. The Biden’s connections with Chinese companies continued into 2017. Joe Biden, on May 3, 2017, spoke at the conference, hosting “A Conversation with the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden.” Just days after the May 2, 2017, meeting, the now-infamous May 13, 2017, email, which included a discussion of “remuneration packages” for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Biden as “Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC,” in a reference to now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co. WHO ELSE MIGHT BIDEN PARDON AFTER HE SPARED HUNTER FROM SENTENCING? The email includes a note that “Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate.” A proposed equity split references “20” for “H” and “10 held by H for the big guy?” with no further details. Tony Bobulinski, who worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC, and said he met with Joe Biden in 2017, provided “unshakeable” testimony behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees earlier this year and claimed that President Biden was the “big guy” referenced in the messages. Additionally, Hunter Biden demanded $10 million from a Chinese business associate to “further the interest” of his joint-venture with CEFC in 2017, saying that the “Bidens are the best I know at doing exactly” what the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party-linked firm wanted, according to a WhatsApp message House Oversight Committee. FARA Hunter Biden’s overseas ties have also sparked speculation that he violated public disclose laws under the Foreign Agents Registration Act by not registering as a foreign agent. The Justice Department indirectly revealed that Hunter Biden was still under investigation for a potential violation of FARA during his first court appearance in July of last year, in which his “sweetheart” plea deal collapsed. When asked by federal Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware whether the government could bring a charge against Hunter Biden related to FARA, the DOJ prosecutor replied, “Yes.” “Look for Jim Biden to be pardoned next,” author Peter Schweizer posted on X this week. “Remember: the family was still under investigation under FARA as the pardon comes down. Might have implicated Joe.” ROMANIA The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has scrutinized the Biden family’s alleged business dealings in Romania dating back to 2015. “On September 28, 2015, Vice President Biden welcomed Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the White House,” the House Oversight Committee’s website state’s. “Within five weeks of this meeting, a Romanian businessman involved with a high-profile corruption prosecution in Romania, Gabriel Popoviciu, began depositing a Biden associate’s bank account, which ultimately made their way into Biden family accounts. Popoviciu made sixteen of the seventeen payments, totaling over $3 million, to the Biden associate account while Joe Biden
Trump continues round of appointments with 3 new picks to top homeland security, immigration
President-elect Donald Trump has been aggressively rolling out his picks to serve in his Cabinet and other top roles. Thursday was no different as he focused on picks that would work hard to secure the border and carry out a mass deportation operation. Trump added nominees for homeland security and immigration, naming Rodney Scott as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Tony Salisbury to be Deputy Homeland Security Advisor (White House Homeland Security Council). RODNEY SCOTT Scott is a former Border Patrol chief who served as chief from 2020 until he was ousted by the Biden administration in mid-2021. Since then, he has been a fierce critic of the Biden administration’s immigration policies and its handling of the crisis at the southern border. Before being chief, he had led the San Diego Sector, one of the most challenging sectors in the country. He has been highly critical of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and recently accused him of having “intentionally” opened the southern border. TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’ “Rodney served nearly three decades in the Border Patrol, building vast experience and knowledge in Law Enforcement and Border Security. Rodney served as the 24th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, where he implemented Remain-in-Mexico, Title 42, Safe Third Agreements, and achieved record low levels of illegal immigration,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social. “He began his career with the Border Patrol in 1992 at the Imperial Beach Station, San Diego Sector. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, he served as an Anti-Terrorism Advisor to the CBP Commissioner, and later, as Deputy Executive Director of the CBP, Office of Anti-Terrorism.” CALEB VITELLO Vitello has served at the White House National Security Council as the Director for Interior Enforcement as well as serving as Unit Chief and Deputy Assistant Director of the National Fugitive Operations Program within ERO’s Enforcement Division. “A member of the Senior Executive Service, with over 23 years of service to ICE, Caleb currently serves as Assistant Director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs, where he oversees Agency-wide training, equipment, and policy to ensure Officer and Public Safety,” Trump said in a statement said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday. DEMOCRATS’ FUROR OVER ‘UNQUALIFIED’ TRUMP NOMINEES PUTS BIDEN’S STAFFING DECISIONS BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT “Caleb led the Fugitive Operations Academy, served as Deputy Assistant Director, and directed the National Fugitive Operations Program, providing policy guidance, strategic planning, and operational oversight for efforts to locate, arrest, and remove at-large, dangerous criminals and illegal aliens from the U.S. As Chief of Staff for Enforcement and Removal Operations, he managed daily operations for an organization with a $4.7 Billion Dollar budget and 8,000 employees. At the White House National Security Council, Caleb led initiatives focused on child safety and national security threats.” TONY SALISBURY Salisbury currently serves as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. He has served as the Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director (EAD) for the entire ICE/HSI workforce and previously held key leadership, field and headquarters assignments for ICE/HIS. Trump noted he was particularly successful at “all of HSI’s complex Federal Law Enforcement investigative programs related to National Security and smuggling violations, including counter-proliferation, financial crimes, commercial fraud, human trafficking, human smuggling, narcotics smuggling, transnational gangs, cyber-crimes, child exploitation, worksite enforcement and document and benefit fraud.” “Tony will bring his vast Law Enforcement, counter-narcotics, and counter-cartel experience to the White House where he will serve under Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump taps former Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China
President-elect Trump has tapped former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China. In his announcement, Trump said Perdue “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China,” citing his decades-long career in business. TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS “He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders,” Trump said on Truth Social. The appointment comes amid threats by Trump to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop the trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl. BIDEN USCIS NOMINEE CALLED FOR PAUSING BORDER PATROL FUNDING Trump also appointed Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, as ambassador to Chile. “Brandon helped me develop and implement the most effective Border Security policies in our Nation’s History,” Trump said. “I have also watched as Brandon tirelessly and honorably represented the Border Patrol Agents who elected him as their voice in all matters, especially in their efforts to secure our Great Country’s Borders, and keep all Americans safe.” “I am confident Brandon will represent the United States in the same manner as he represented all rank-and-file Border Patrol Agents as the President of the National Border Patrol Council. Brandon will do our Country proud!” Trump added.
Newsom rails against Trump’s 25% tariff plan during southern border visit: ‘It’s a betrayal’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom railed against President-Elect Trump’s proposal to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada during a visit to the southern border to announce plans to finish constructing the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry on Thursday afternoon. Newsom described the tariffs as “one of the biggest tax increases in U.S. history” that would affect Californians’ wallets and small businesses, especially farmers across the Golden State. “Don’t think for a second this won’t impact you,” Newsom said. “90% of these tariffs will impact bottom of our economic chain, meaning lower wage workers that pay over half of these taxes.” NEWSOM PROPOSES $25M FROM STATE LEGISLATURE TO ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ CALIFORNIA “There is no economic growth in America without the success and the vibrancy of this region,” he added. Calling the tariffs a “betrayal” that is “happening in real time,” Newsom said the new legal crossing would promote two-way trade between Mexico and the U.S. “You are being betrayed by these policies,” Newsom said. “And those farmers and ranchers will be impacted disproportionately if these tariffs go into effect,” he said. “And I didn’t even bring up the mass deportation components of it. You know better than I do when you look at farm workers, the last estimate, roughly half are undocumented.” In talking about the Ota Mesa Easy Port of Entry, Newsom said he hopes to have it completed by December 2027, with the help of the incoming Trump administration. CALIFORNIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SYSTEM ‘BROKEN’ WITH $20B OWED TO FEDS IN LOAN DEBT: REPORT “We care about border security, but we also care about economic security, and we care about two way trade, and we care about our partners on the other side of this border that have well-established partnerships.” Newsom also announced a new plan with the California National Guard to strengthen border security by targeting the flow of fentanyl and illegal weapons. Nearly 200,000 illegal migrants cross the border into California daily through ports of entry, according to the San Diego-based Smart Border Coalition in the summer. The move is part of Newsom’s effort to reframe the conversation around illegal immigration flowing into the blue state as he positions himself for a potential showdown with the incoming Trump administration. This week, Newsom spearheaded an emergency special legislative session, urging lawmakers to approve $25 million to bolster the state’s legal defense against potential federal lawsuits lobbed by Trump. PROPOSITION 36 OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOROS-BACKED SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California nearly $60 million in public safety grants. While California filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump lobbed only four major lawsuits against the state. California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be targeted by the Trump administration, especially considering Trump’s mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants. Trump called Newsom’s plan an effort to “Trump-proof” the state in a Truth social post last month.
Trump names David Sacks as White House AI and cryptocurrency czar
President-elect Trump named former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks to be his White House artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency czar. “In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness,” Trump said in his announcement Thursday evening. “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” he said. TRUMP PICKS TWO LONGTIME ALLIS FOR KEY POSITIONS IN HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION Trump said that Sacks would also prioritize “safeguarding” free speech and away from “Big Tech bias and censorship.” TRUMP NOMINATES PAUL ATKINS TO LEAD SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION “He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship,” he said. “He will work on a legal framework, so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S. David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.” Sacks, a former PayPal executive, has angel investments in several major firms, including Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Airbnb and Palantir through his Craft Ventures fund. His enterprise software company, Yammer, was acquired by Microsoft for over $1 billion in 2012.
Fox News Politics: Defining DOGE
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Nevada Dems say ‘working-class’ states need to be prioritized in 2028 primary schedule -Biden aides consider preemptive pardons for Fauci, Schiff and Cheney -Republicans slam Biden migrant parole program: ‘Rife with fraud’ Many Americans don’t trust the federal government, and Elon Musk — an eccentric billionaire business tycoon tasked by President-elect Donald Trump with helping slay the unwieldly bureaucratic leviathan — thinks that’s just the right attitude. “I think we should not trust the government,” Musk has previously declared. Apparently, people are way ahead of him. “As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (21%),” Pew Research Center noted earlier this year…Read more ‘DARK MARK’: Hunter Biden pardon will be ‘dark mark’ on Biden legacy: historian…Read more ‘BRACE FOR IMPACT’: Boston City Council doubles down on obstructing deportations ahead of Trump inauguration…Read more TRUMP HEARING: Trump assassination attempt hearing devolves into screaming match…Read more MORE POLICE SUPPORT TO COME: Massive police org calls on Trump, Rand Paul to swiftly confirm Noem to DHS…Read more DEMS ‘SELLING AMERICAN PEOPLE A LIE’: Selling Americans a ‘lie’: How election integrity attorneys battled left-wing efforts to upend voting laws…Read more WELCOME TO THE HILL: You’ve been elected to Congress. Now what? Freshman Republican reveals what it’s like to enter office…Read more ‘PENDULUM IS SWINGING’: ‘The pendulum is swinging’: Experts weigh in on historic SCOTUS transgender case amid oral arguments…Read more SHAKING UP THE HOUSE: Dem Rep. Nadler steps down from top spot on Judiciary Committee, endorses Raskin…Read more ‘UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE’: Firebrand GOP lawmaker demands Mayorkas preserve border crisis records for Trump admin…Read more ‘FAILED’: Pro-Trump impeachment Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy targeted for ouster of Freedom Caucus founding member…Read more SLIM MARGIN: Former Dem congressman who lost by 109 votes in 2020 confirmed to lifetime judicial seat…Read more ‘MINI ANTIFA WARRIORS’: Former Obama officials who now run popular podcast selling ANTIFA gear for kids: “ANTIFA baby onesie”…Read more ‘YOU’RE WELCOME!!!’: Trump congratulates bitcoiners — El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes victory lap with bitcoin over 100K…Read more ‘HIGHLY CONCERNING ISSUE’: Arizona Republican lawmakers ask for investigation into county recorder’s handling of 2024 election…Read more ‘DISTUBRING & DISGUSTING’: Sexual misconduct at Veterans Affairs facility is ‘disturbing and disgusting,’ House committee chairman says…Read more ‘MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE’: Soros DA ripped by police for ‘war’ on cops after officer sentenced to prison…Read more ALLEGED STONEWALLING?: Iowa sues Biden administration to verify status of 2,000 registered voters who may be noncitizens…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.