Pete Hegseth says he will be ‘standing right here in this fight’ after meeting with senators
Pete Hegseth, the former National Guard officer who President-elect Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Defense, said he’s had “great” conversations with senators amid efforts to shore up his confirmation and was “standing right here in this fight.” On Thursday, Hegseth said he refused to back down from a fight as his nomination remains in limbo amid drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing. “We’ve had great conversations, about who I am and what I believe,” Hegseth said of his meetings with senators. “And, frankly, the man I am today, because of my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ and my wife Jenny right here, I’m a different man than I was years ago.” TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS “And that’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate,” he added. “And I know from fellow vets that I’ve spent time with, they resonate with that as well. You fight, you go through tough things in tough places on behalf of your country. And sometimes that changes you a little bit.” An email was recently leaked from Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, in which she was critical of his past relationships with women. She joined “FOX and Friends” on Wednesday morning to set the record straight, saying she wrote the email in an impassioned moment after her son’s divorce, but apologized hours after sending it. Hegseth’s mother also said she did not believe any of the accusations against him. TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS Multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump is reportedly considering nominating Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as defense secretary in place of Hegseth amid the allegations against him. But Hegseth brushed off the potential replacement, telling reporters that he was prepared to fight. “As long as Donald Trump wants me in this fight, I’m going to be standing right here in this fight, fighting to bring our Pentagon back to what it needs to be,” he said. Hegseth also told reporters that he doesn’t answer to the media, only to Trump, God, his family and the senators slated to vote on his confirmation. On Thursday, Hegseth said the conversations with senators have been “robust, candid at times with great questions on policy and personality.” “So we’re going to earn those votes,” he said. “We’re fighting all the way through the tape. I’m grateful to have the president’s support, because his vision for this Department of Defense is to bring it back to its core capacity of deterring our enemies and, if necessary, defeating those enemies.” Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Republicans shoot down House Dem’s bid to publicize Gaetz ethics report
The House of Representatives rejected a bid by Democrats to force the release of an ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday evening. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., filed a measure known as a “privileged resolution” to make the Gaetz report public, a maneuver that forces House leaders to take up a resolution within two legislative days. It was shot down before a final vote, however, on a margin of 206 to 198. House lawmakers voted to refer Casten’s resolution to the relevant committee for consideration. It’s highly unlikely a GOP-controlled committee would take it up, however, meaning the move essentially defeated the Democrat’s effort. HACKER OBTAINS HOUSE ETHICS TESTIMONY ON MATT GAETZ AS TRUMP MAKES CALLS FOR AG NOMINEE Just one Republican, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., voted with Democrats to table the measure. Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last month in a now-failed bid to be President-elect Donald Trump’s next attorney general. His resignation also came just before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider the release of its report into the Florida Republican. The panel had been conducting a years-long investigation into accusations against Gaetz that involved sex with a minor and illicit drug use. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? But its jurisdiction ended when Gaetz left Congress, and Republicans have shown little appetite to buck tradition and release a report on someone who has departed Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last month that he was against releasing the report. “I do not believe that that is an appropriate thing. It doesn’t follow our rules and traditions and there is a reason for that. That would open up Pandora’s box and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the institution,” he said. Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee has met twice since Gaetz’s resignation and failed to come to an agreement both times on whether to release the report. The most recent meeting occurred hours before Thursday’s vote. Gaetz, for his part, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. A federal investigation into the allegations ended without charges against Gaetz.
Trans rights activists stage ‘bathroom sit-in’ near Mike Johnson’s office amid Capitol Hill restroom ban
Transgender rights activists on Thursday participated in a “bathroom sit-in” in a restroom across from House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in protest of a new policy barring trans people from using bathroom facilities that match their gender identity. Around 15 people were arrested on suspicion of crowding, obstructing or incommoding for illegally protesting inside the Cannon House Office Building, the U.S. Capitol Police told Fox News Digital. The protest was organized by the Gender Liberation Movement, which describes itself as a grassroots organization that focuses on bodily autonomy and gender. NANCY MACE’S EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER DELAWARE DEMOCRAT FROM CAPITOL WOMEN’S RESTROOMS GAINS SUPPORT A video posted on the group’s Instagram account shows protesters holding signs calling for a “Ban on bathroom bigotry,” occupying a restroom and blocking a hallway. The Hill reported that Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower, was one of those being led away by authorities in zip ties. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 after disclosing classified documents and military reports to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The sentence was commuted in 2017 by former President Obama and Manning was released from prison after serving seven years. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, announced the new bathroom policy in November after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., tried to block trans people from Capitol restrooms that don’t match their gender at birth. MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS The move came ahead of the first openly transgender lawmaker, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., joining Congress in January. McBride is a biological male who identifies and presents as a woman. Mace recently introduced a resolution to ban men who identify as female from women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, she posted a video on X of herself standing outside a Capitol Police station. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Using a bullhorn, she read the Miranda rule to the protesters arrested. Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson’s office.
Pete Hegseth on the Hill for another day of meetings to rally support: ‘It’s been a wonderful process’
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, spent another day courting support from Republican senators on Capitol Hill and taking a few questions from reporters while he was at it. The military vet turned “Fox & Friends” co-host met with senators Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., Thursday. The meetings followed others Hegseth held earlier in the week with GOP senators, including Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who will be the next chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Hegseth has been facing a mountain of criticism with accusations against him ranging from fiscal mismanagement to alcoholism to sexual misconduct. Nevertheless, Hegseth said Thursday while walking between meetings on Capitol Hill that Trump supports him “fully.” TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS “I’ll tell you why I support him,” Scott told reporters after his meeting Thursday with Hegseth. “I admire people who are willing to put on the uniform and lead troops into battle. … When he goes in the Department of Defense, he will walk in with the mentality that he’s going to take care of our warfighters.” Scott added that he will do “everything” he can to ensure Hegseth is confirmed. “Pete Hegseth won’t back down from the media or the Pentagon bureaucracy,” Banks added after his own one-on-one meeting with the defense nominee. “And he won’t back down from China, Russia or Iran. He will help President Trump make America strong again.” Between meetings on Capitol Hill Thursday, Hegseth was pressed about his meeting a day earlier with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Ernst said earlier Thursday morning she was not yet willing to throw her support behind him. ARE PETE HEGSETH’S TATTOOS SYMBOLS OF ‘CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM’? “Productive meeting. Excellent,” Hegseth said of his meeting with Ernst as he was peppered with questions during his meeting with Rounds. “Constructive, candid. It was great,” Hegseth told a different reporter. When asked if the allegations about him were a topic of his conversation with Ernst, Hegseth declined to comment further, citing the private nature of their conversation. “It’s been a wonderful process,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday. “There’s an incredible amount of knowledge in the U.S. Senate — in the Senate Armed Services Committee — men and women who have studied these issues, have invested their lives in it. And as someone who is hoping to earn their support as the nominee for secretary of defense, I welcome that knowledge, I welcome that advice. And that’s why we’re here in all these meetings.” Hegseth’s meetings Thursday coincided with visits to Capitol Hill by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair convened on Capitol Hill to discuss their new role running President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency with Thune.
‘We’re going to gut the fish’: Republicans give details from closed-door meetings with DOGE’s Musk, Ramaswamy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional Republicans are planning to work closely with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, the pair co-leading Trump’s newly formed spending cuts project, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The DOGE duo made their rounds with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, spending the morning with members of the Senate DOGE Caucus before heading to a meeting with House GOP leaders and House DOGE Caucus representatives. The pair, who will spearhead efforts under President-elect Trump to slash government spending and strengthen government efficiency under the incoming Trump administration, wrapped up their day on Capitol Hill by addressing a joint meeting with Republicans of both chambers. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., incoming chair of the DOGE House subcommittee, revealed that, during the meeting, Musk said there would be a “naughty list” and a “nice list” for lawmakers. GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE FRAMEWORK AMID MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL “There will be a lot more that is expressed in the days ahead,” Johnson said as he left the meeting. “Stay tuned for more to come.” Co-chairs of the DOGE House caucus said there was a “big discussion” during the meeting with Musk and Ramaswamy about education and the redundancy of government workers. “There is so much waste, fraud and abuse. There is so much inefficiency. Where do we begin?” DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said. He suggested there was already “low-hanging fruit” for improving government efficiency that Republicans could agree on that included the issues of education and the federal workforce. “There was a big discussion about education. There was a big discussion about redundancy of government workers as they exist in programs across the country. This was not a ‘pick your program and select it and get agreement.’ This was the idea forum,” said co-chair Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS Sessions also highlighted how the timeframe for DOGE, which is expected to conclude no later than July 4, 2026, on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing, will help ensure agency efficiency. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, walking out of the meeting, told reporters that “we’re going to gut the fish.” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, however, was skeptical of them relying on the new department to cut costs. “It’s a little rich to go, ‘Oh DOGE, save us.’ What, from ourselves?” Roy told reporters. “What I told them is, their best role is to expose the absolute stupidity coming out of this body.” But Rep-elect Mike Haridolopos, R-Fla., argued it was good to have an outside eye looking at how the federal government is run. “The lowest-hanging fruit, one overall thing we need to do is eventually pass a balanced budget amendment,” he said of where Congress could help cut waste. “I think the second one is that people have to show up to work. Everybody else in America, they don’t show up to work, they don’t get paid. And so these government employees need to show up to work.” Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked if he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering “yes.” Musk sat down with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday morning, while Ramaswamy met with the Senate DOGE Caucus to hear from chair Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., who unveiled a 60-page proposal for potential spending cuts.
GOP AG predicts which side has advantage in historic SCOTUS transgender case with ‘divided’ justices
In oral aruments, Supreme Court justices discussed the high-profile, first-of-its-kind case involving transgender medical treatment for children. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the lawmaker at the center of the suit against the Biden administration, told Fox News Digital that over the next few months, the justices will be “thinking a lot about the case.” When asked whether he ever foresaw himself in such a high-profile legal matter, he said, “not remotely.” “I do think the fact that there’s so much disagreement weighs in favor of our side,” Skrmetti said in a phone interview. “This is an area where the court really shouldn’t come in and pick a winner. The data is still very underdeveloped.” SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS “All the research that both sides point to is unresolved,” Skrmetti said. “This is an unsettled area of science, and in situations like that, the best way to resolve it is through the democratic process. Our legislators appropriate people to deal with that uncertainty and make the call for each individual state.” The justices appeared divided on Wednesday after oral arguments, and the three appointed by former President Trump could be the key to deciding the socially divisive question. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, and Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon public session. For its part, the Supreme Court is considering whether the Equal Protection Clause, which ensures equal treatment under the law for similarly situated individuals, bars states from prohibiting medical providers from administering puberty blockers and hormones to help minors transition to a different gender. The case is U.S. v. Skrmetti and is challenging Tennessee’s state law which bans medical procedures for minors. Outside the court, hundreds of demonstrators rallied both for and against gender transition treatments for children. One of those rally-goers, detransitioner and activist Chloe Cole, told Fox News Digital in an interview that if the justices oppose the ban on trans medical treatments, “it’s going to make things a lot more difficult on legislative fronts in terms of protecting our children and our youth.” ‘THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING’: EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE AMID ORAL ARGUMENTS “If we want to create a precedent for other states, for first this law, to be upheld in courts and for other states to be upheld as well, we have to do this now,” Cole said. Cole, who detransitioned at the age of 16, told Fox News Digital that doctors had done an “incredible disservice” to her at a young age by helping her transition in the first place. “I’m never going to even have a chance at nursing my children with what God gave me,” Cole said. “An incredible disservice has been done to me by these irresponsible doctors who knew better. They knew better than to do this to a child. They still chose to do it. But they messed with the wrong kid, and I am going to make sure there is never another child in America who is abused in the same way I was ever again.” The court’s decision could have sweeping implications, potentially shaping future legal battles over transgender issues, such as access to bathrooms and school sports participation. A decision is expected by July 2025. “So if the court puts a thumb on the scale and says that the courts could be second-guessing state governments on these issues, I think you’re going to see an inhibited debate, and we’ve seen this happen before in other contexts where democracy is subverted by judges who step a little too far into the policy arena, and that ultimately hurts the country,” Skrmetti said. “It de-legitimates the government,” he added. “It makes people feel alienated from the political process. The alternative is it stays open to our democratic system of resolving disagreements, and you’ll see a lot of debate, and different states will go in different directions, and over time, we’ll have better research, and people will have a chance to debate this extensively, and that’s just the better way to come to a resolution on such a hot button issue where the Constitution is silent.” The Justices’ decision may also influence broader debates about whether sexual orientation and gender identity qualify as protected classes under civil rights laws, akin to protections for race and national origin. SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENTS IN LANDMARK CASE When asked whether Skrmetti believes the incoming Trump administration could persuade the justices one way in the case, he said, “It’s ultimately up to the court how they want to handle that.” Trump promised during his campaign he would outlaw transgender medical procedures for minors and open the doorway to allowing individuals to sue medical providers for conducting them. “But there is a path there for them to continue this, and I think it’s important that we get clarity soon, because there are so many cases involving these issues, and the lower courts have not been consistent and are looking for guidance, and it would do everyone good to have a more clear answer to the state of the law,” he said. Fox News Digital’s Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Another major blue city doubles down on vow to obstruct Trump’s mass deportations plan
The Boston City Council unanimously voted this week to double down on a measure designed to obstruct President-elect Trump’s plans for mass deportations. According to the Boston Herald, Boston council member Gabriela Coletta said the measure is an important step “as we brace for [the] impact” of a second Trump presidency. Titled the “Trust Act,” the law was first passed in 2014 and was amended during Trump’s first term in 2019. It seeks to protect immigrant communities from “unjust enforcement actions” and restricts Boston police’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bans police from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant. TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP REVEALS ROADMAP TO REBUILD NEW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM ‘FROM THE ASHES’ The resolution adopted by the council states that “proposals for mass deportations represent a direct attack on Boston’s immigrant families, and threaten to tear communities apart.” “In the face of changing federal leadership, the City of Boston must reaffirm our support for the Boston Trust Act to protect our immigrant residents,” the resolution goes on. “The City of Boston shall continue to monitor and respond to federal immigration policies that may impact its residents, reaffirming its commitment to protect immigrant communities from unjust enforcement actions and to uphold the Trust Act, recognizing that protecting the rights and dignity of all residents, regardless of immigration status, is essential for a safe and welcoming city for all.” According to the Boston Globe, all 13 council members voted to reaffirm the Trust Act on Wednesday. Per the Boston Globe, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said that “as the national climate grows increasingly hostile towards immigrant communities, we must reaffirm who we are as a city.” FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 HOMAN SENDS FIERY WARNING TO DEMS: ‘GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY’ “As a city built on the strength of its diverse communities,” she went on, “Boston remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the rights [and] dignity of all its residents, regardless of status.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, has also vowed the city would not cooperate with Trump and his incoming border czar Tom Homan’s plans for mass deportations. “The federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and cities, no individual city, can reverse or override some parts of that,” Wu said during a local news interview. “But what we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact.” This comes after the Boston area has seen several ICE arrests of illegal immigrants who have been charged with crimes, including child sex offenses, released back onto the streets. ICE announced in November that it apprehended a Colombian illegal immigrant, who had been arrested on charges of enticing a child under 16, distribution of obscene matter, and lascivious posing and exhibiting a child in the nude. ICE had filed a detainer against him, but it was ignored, according to the agency. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has similarly said she is prepared to use “every tool in the toolbox” to protect residents, vowing that state police would “absolutely not” assist Trump in the mass deportations operation. Several other Democratic leaders have also pledged resistance to Trump’s deportation plans, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Johnston got into a spat with Homan after he vowed to have Denver police physically block ICE officials from carrying out deportations and predicted a “Tiananmen Square moment.” In response, Homan has warned resisters to “get the hell out of the way” and cautioned he is “not afraid” to jail those who illegally obstruct ICE enforcement.
Nevada Dems say ‘working-class’ states need to be prioritized in 2028 primary schedule
The Nevada Democratic Party is imploring its national party leaders to focus more on “diverse, working-class states” when it considers how to “rebuild” after this year’s election. A Thursday press release from the state-level party in Nevada called on national party leaders and potential candidates under consideration to be the next Democratic National Committee Chair to “elevate” working-class states to the front of the presidential primary calendar for 2028. The press release cited a process that has typically started with states that are “overwhelmingly college-educated, white, or less competitive.” DNC CHAIR FIRES BACK AFTER BERNIE SANDERS CLAIMS DEMS LOST WORKING CLASS IN ELECTION: ‘STRAIGHT UP BS’ “If Democrats want to win back working class voters and rebuild our broad coalition of voters of color, we should elevate the most working class and most diverse battleground state in the nation to be the first presidential preference primary for the 2028 cycle,” Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno said. Selecting the Democratic Party’s calendar for presidential primaries is a main responsibility of the Democratic National Committee. Nevada has historically been a caucus state, but in 2008, the state’s Democratic Party ushered in a new era of state-run primaries, which the group said in its press release led to increased voter turnout. NEVADA GOV SPEAKS OUT AGAINST TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS AHEAD OF CONTROVERSIAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT Nevada has historically been among the first few states to hold either a presidential primary or caucus during the last several elections, according to Federal Elections Commission data, but it has been preceded by states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Last month, after it became apparent that Democrats would not come out of the election with the upper hand, Democratic lawmakers, labor leaders, students and political pundits all came out with their own forensic analysis of what happened, with many suggesting the party needed to refocus on winning back working-class voters. CENTRIST DEMS TURN ON FAR LEFT AFTER THE ELECTION: ‘IDENTITY POLITICS’ IS ‘ABSOLUTELY KILLING US’ “There is more to lose than there is to gain politically from pandering to a far left that is more representative of Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok than it is of the real world,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said following the election. “The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling.” Meanwhile, Brent Booker, the general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, said that the party has not “fully embraced, and hasn’t for decades, really, working-class people.” “We have to deconstruct and reconstruct the Democratic Party if they’re going to be the party of working people,” Booker added. In response to similar claims from progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., arguing that Democrats have lost the working class, former Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison called the idea “straight-up BS.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment on this story but did not hear back in time for publication.
Musk, Ramaswamy huddle with lawmakers in quest to downsize widely-distrusted federal government with DOGE
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. GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE FRAMEWORK AMID MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL Trump tapped Musk and self-identified “small-government crusader” Vivek Ramaswamy to helm the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort that puts Washington D.C.’s profligate spending in the crosshairs. “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,” the dynamic duo declared in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last month. Ramaswamy appears to share similar views to Musk on public trust in government. “The reason the people don’t trust the government is that the government doesn’t trust the people. In God we trust and government we distrust,” Ramaswamy declared in a post on X last year. MUSK, RAMASWAMY VISIT CAPITOL HILL TO DISCUSS TRUMP’S DOGE VISION FOR CUTTING GOVERNMENT WASTE But in order to realize their cost-cutting ambitions, Musk and Ramaswamy will need to get government figures on board with their plans. Lawmakers met with the two entrepreneurs in D.C. on Thursday. THIS WAS A CHANGE ELECTION, DOGE ADDS TO IT: SEN. CORNYN “Under President Trump, we will take a blowtorch to the administrative state and reduce the size and scope of government. House and Senate Republicans look forward to hosting Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy tomorrow to discuss how the Department of Government Efficiency can help us get it done,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a Wednesday post on X.
Biden team reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Fauci, Schiff, other Trump ‘targets’
President Biden’s White House is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. White House counsel Ed Siskel is arranging discussions about the potential pardons with several other senior Biden aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, Politico reported, citing senior Democrats familiar with the talks. The president, who granted a sweeping pardon to his son, Hunter, for the past 11 years of crimes or potential crimes earlier this week, reportedly has not been roped in on the deliberations, according to Politico. The conversations included whether Fauci, Schiff or Cheney would even accept a preemptive pardon, which could suggest wrongdoing and exacerbate criticisms brought by President-elect Trump’s team. “I would urge the president not to do that,” Schiff told Politico. “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.” WHO ELSE MIGHT BIDEN PARDON AFTER HE SPARED HUNTER FROM SENTENCING? Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. Trump’s appointment of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director reportedly drove the talks of preemptive pardons amid concern of possible forthcoming inquiries or indictments once the new administration takes over in January. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who hosted Biden in battleground Pennsylvania before the election, called on the president to issue blanket pardons when Patel’s nomination was announced – though he did not specify the intended recipients. “By choosing Kash Patel as his FBI Director, Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on settling personal scores than on protecting the American people or upholding the rule of law. Patel has openly published an ‘enemies list’ in his book, naming individuals he and Trump plan to investigate and prosecute – targeting those who stood up to Trump’s lies, abuses of power, and baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is no hypothetical threat,” Boyle said in a statement. “The people they’re targeting include law enforcement officers, military personnel, and others who have spent their lives protecting this country. These patriots shouldn’t have to live in fear of political retribution for doing what’s right. That’s why I’m urging President Biden to issue a blanket pardon for anyone unjustly targeted by this vindictive scheme.” NY TIMES WARNS HUNTER BIDEN PARDON COULD GIVE TRUMP AMMO FOR JAN. 6 PARDONS, WILL ‘TARNISH’ BIDEN’S RECORD Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also spoke in favor of preemptive pardons last week, noting how former President Gerald Ford granted one to Richard Nixon. “If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,” Markey told WGBH. Schiff and Cheney both led the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol riot. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is under renewed scrutiny this week in light of the over 500-page final report dropped by the House subcommittee that has been investigating government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report – which found that COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China – supported how Fauci “played a critical role in disparaging the lab-leak theory” among top scientific circles early in 2020 and later to the public. His congressional testimony to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the report states, misled the public regarding National Institute of Health (NIH) funding of gain-of-function research at coronavirus labs. It goes on to cite how Fauci testified that the six-foot social distancing rule imposed on Americans “sort of just appeared” and did not support quality scientific standards, when he was grilled on what studies he and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reviewed before announcing the policy. He also gave similarly vague testimony when asked what science supported K-12 public school mask mandates.