‘Efficient and accountable’: GOP-led DOGE bill aims to slash outflow of federal dollars
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are eyeing ways to slash the outpouring of federal dollars after President-elect Donald Trump signaled that cutting government red tape would be a major part of his agenda. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., introduced a new bill on Thursday, titled the “Decreasing Overlapping Grants Efficiently (DOGE) Act,” which would establish a system for cutting down on redundant government grants from across multiple departments. It comes after Trump announced the creation of an advisory panel called the Department of Government Efficiency, which he tapped Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to lead. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ “Like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, I’m looking at ways to make the government more efficient and accountable,” Bice told Fox News Digital. “The DOGE Act would create a deconfliction and tracking system for federal grants that not only reduces waste but also builds confidence in how public funds are distributed and managed.” In addition to the tracking system the legislation creates, it also prohibits the government from issuing multiple federal grants to the same applicant for the same or similar purpose. MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT It would also commission a report on the benefits of using artificial intelligence to more efficiently identify duplicative grant applications. One of the bill’s co-sponsors is Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who co-founded the DOGE Caucus in the House earlier this week. It is another sign of Republicans readying to hold all the levers of power in Washington, D.C., next year, when the GOP will take over the Senate and White House in addition to retaining control of the House. MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL When announcing the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said the panel would help his administration “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., recently announced a new subcommittee for the 119th Congress to correspond with the Department of Government Efficiency.
Why a West Texas county is building a new courthouse even after voters rejected the proposal
Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.
Would the US win a war with China over Taiwan? US lawmakers briefed on the potential outcome
House lawmakers were briefed Wednesday about the potential outcome if the U.S. were to find itself at war with China over Taiwan within the next two years, as the global superpower increasingly encroaches on U.S. allies. The Chinese defense industrial base is operating at a “wartime footing,” and now has a shipbuilding capacity 230 times greater than the U.S.’s, making a potential invasion of Taiwan a not-unlikely outcome. U.S. military analysts have projected 2027 as the year by which China would be fully equipped for a military invasion of Taiwan. And the U.S. has long followed a policy of refusing to say whether it would come to the island’s defense under such a scenario. But under war exercises gamed out by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) 25 times and presented to members of the House China Select Committee, the alliance of the U.S., Taiwan and Japan defeated an amphibious invasion by China and maintained an autonomous Taiwan, but not without suffering heavy losses. WOULD THE US DEFEND TAIWAN UNDER TRUMP IF CHINA INVADES? FOX NEWS INVESTIGATES During the simulation, the cost for all sides was high – there were more than 10,000 casualties – and the U.S. lost 10-20 warships, two aircraft carriers, 200-400 warplanes and more than 3,000 troops were killed over the first three weeks of fighting. China loses 90% of its amphibious fleet, 52 major surface warships, and 160 warplanes. “In our tabletop exercise today, we walked through one simulation of what might happen in a worst-case scenario conflict with China and learned ways we can work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that America is prepared to be the arsenal of democracy once more if called upon. No matter where or when, the United States and our allies must have the military means to defeat our adversaries,” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the committee, told Fox News Digital. The report emphasized four key points: 1) Taiwan must “hold the line” of the ground invasion, 2) there is no “Ukraine” model where the U.S. can slowly escalate – it must decide immediately whether it will come to Taiwan’s defense, 3) military operations would need to be conducted through Japan and 4) the U.S. needs to immediately increase its supply of anti-ship missiles. The bottom line of the report is that China chooses “D-Day,” but Taiwan and its defenders must be ready at any moment. The war game assumed a 2026 launch date for China’s invasion. The scenario operates under the assumption that the U.S. under President-elect Trump would come to Taiwan’s defense, though no such promise has been made. It’s unclear what Trump would do under such a scenario – he has mused about Taiwan needing to pay the U.S. for giving it defensive aid. Japan would be the U.S. and Taiwan’s key ally in such a fight because South Korea has not authorized the U.S. to launch combat missions from its territory. CSIS recommends deepening U.S.-Japan diplomatic relations immediately. XI JINPING WARNS TRUMP US WOULD ‘LOSE FROM CONFRONTATION’ WITH CHINA AS RENEWED TRADE WAR LOOMS “It certainly would be very helpful if South Korea stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us,” said Matthew Cancian, researcher at the Naval War College and lead author of the project. The U.S. would likely move two of the four squadrons it has stationed in South Korea to help with the fight against China over Taiwan. But, as the presenters warned, North Korea may try to take advantage of the situation and invade the south, especially after gaining operational experience from their fight with Russia against Ukraine. The exercise also claimed that unlike U.S. aid to Ukraine, which passes over NATO territory to arrive there, the U.S. would not be able to arm Taiwan without sending in U.S. forces – China’s anti-tank or anti-air missiles would threaten any shipments making their way to the island. “U.S. forces would have to be directly involved,” said Cancian. “There is no way to achieve denying a takeover of Taiwan while also keeping U.S. forces safe.” And if the U.S. were to come to Taiwan’s defense, there would be no time to waste since China is much closer geographically than U.S. forces. “If the U.S. were not to join the fight for two weeks [after an invasion], it would be too late. Chian would already have too strong a footing,” said Cancian. Chinese land attack missiles and anti-ship missiles would pose the greatest threat in the theater. Harpoons and coastal defense cruise missiles would be “absolutely critical” to Taiwan’s defense, according to the wargame exercise. China is outproducing the U.S. on airplanes, ships and missiles, the exercise found, and in order to deter them from provoking war over Taiwan, the U.S. needs to immediately ramp up its production of key munitions, per the war games. The U.S.’s current stockpile of anti-ship missiles, around 440, would run out in less than seven days in a war with China. China would not be keen to give up easily, as a loss in Taiwan could be “very destabilizing” to the government’s legitimacy back at home. The war games also underscored the need for the Taiwanese defense budget to stop focusing on expensive, large ships that China will easily destroy and focus on smaller, more survivable ships and submarines. The U.S., too, must focus on arming Taiwan with smaller ships and cheaper munitions, with most iterations of the war games finding the U.S. losing two aircraft carriers and 10 to 20 large surface combatants. “We need to make them fire their exquisite stuff at our non-exquisite stuff,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “They’re going to out-produce us… we need to wake up.” The U.S. and Taiwan must not attack the Chinese mainland, both to avoid risking escalation with a nuclear power and because Chinese air defense on the mainland is “too strong.” Ultimately, such an invasion could happen sooner, or not at all. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) head, Adm. Samuel Paparo, said recently he believes the
Delhi records coldest night of the season, temp drops to…
Delhi recorded its coldest night of the season with foggy conditions and chilly winds continuing, as temperatures steadily drop.
FBI director, Homeland Security secretary refuse to publicly testify, Senate chairman says
Top members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee rebuked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray for skipping an end-of-year public hearing on Thursday. Committee Chairman Gary Peters said Mayorkas and Wray’s refusal to appear is a “shocking departure” from the 15-year tradition of holding the annual hearing on worldwide threats. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI argued that Wray and other officials have already “testified extensively” in public about threats facing the U.S., and that the bureau “has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.” “FBI leaders…believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting,” the FBI said in a statement. A DHS spokesperson offered a similar explanation when contacted by Fox Digital, noting that the DHS would prefer a classified briefing saying saying Mayorkas has “testified 30 times during his tenure.” SENATE GOP INITIATES THUNE-ENGINEERED SLOWDOWN AS SCHUMER LOOKS TO STACK JUDICIAL VOTES Peters rejected that explanation in a public statement, however, arguing that the lack of a public hearing “robs the American people of critical information.” “Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face. Secretary Mayorkas and Director Wray’s refusal to speak publicly about their department’s work will only increase the concerns that many Americans have about our nation’s security at a challenging time, flout the Committee’s efforts to conduct responsible oversight, and will deal a serious blow to trust in our government. Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit,” Peters wrote. SPRINT TO CONFIRM TRUMP NOMINEES KICKS OFF IN JANUARY Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the ranking member of the committee, also bashed the officials, saying their refusal to testify publicly was “unacceptable.” The postponed Senate hearing came just one day after a similar hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee was pushed back on Wednesday. Mayorkas and Wray were both scheduled to testify in that hearing as well. SCHUMER NOW PLEADS FOR BI-PARTISANSHIP HAVING PROMISED TO RAILROAD DEMOCRAT AGENDA THROUGH Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who chairs the House committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning. A source with the House Homeland Security Committee told Fox Digital that the committee had been planning a classified hearing “since early last week.” Those plans fell through, however, and Wednesday’s public hearing was tentatively scheduled instead. “A few days ago, after further negotiation, we came to an agreement to postpone until December and to hold the hearing in a classified setting then,” the source said. The pair of hearings would have been the first time Mayorkas and Wray have appeared before the House and Senate since President-elect Trump won re-election earlier this month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump has vowed to push extensive changes at both the DHS and the FBI.
Heritage launching $1M campaign targeting senators who could ‘make or break’ Trump Cabinet confirmations
FIRST ON FOX: The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America are launching a $1 million public education campaign to advocate for the “prompt confirmation” of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointees and will target the home states of key senators who could “make or break” the confirmation process, Fox News Digital has learned. The campaign will also educate the American public on presidential authority on Cabinet appointments. TRUMP TEAM ‘CONFIDENT’ SENATE REPUBLICANS WILL APPROVE CABINET SELECTIONS “Taking down the deep state isn’t just a priority for President Trump — it’s the mandate the American people gave him,” president of the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America Dr. Kevin Roberts told Fox News Digital. “If he succeeds, it will cement his legacy as the president who confronted Washington’s unaccountable bureaucracy and restored power to the people.” Roberts said Trump’s Cabinet choices “reflect a commitment to this mission, and now is the time for every conservative to quickly unite behind his nominees and get to work saving this great republic.” Heritage officials, like Executive Vice President Ryan Walker, said the organization and its “millions of grassroots conservatives stand ready to support President Trump and his slate of nominees through a swift Senate confirmation process.” Walker told Fox News Digital that it is imperative for the new Senate GOP majority to “unite to deliver on the promises made to the American people to implement the America First agenda as soon as possible.” Walker said the organization plans to use “all advocacy tools” at their disposal to ensure Trump’s Cabinet nominees receive “timely advice-and-consent consideration in the Senate as envisioned by the founders.” Meanwhile, the former general counsel to the U.S. Department of Transportation under Trump, now a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Steve Bradbury, told Fox News Digital that Trump “is right to demand a return to the regular constitutional order for appointments in which the Senate gives his nominees expedited consideration and a prompt confirmation vote.” TRUMP PICKING CABINET AT BREAKNECK SPEED COMPARED TO 2016 “The advice and consent function of the Senate is critical to our constitutional system of separated powers, but it should not be used to obstruct the president’s ability to put qualified appointees in place,” Bradbury said. “The president is also right to demand an end to the Senate’s dubious practice of using pro forma sessions to prevent recess appointments.” Bradbury noted that until recent history, presidents have exercised their authority under the Constitution to fill vacancies during recesses of the Senate with temporary appointments. “This power is an important check on the Senate’s advice and consent function, and President Trump is right to reserve his authority to make use of his recess appointment power if the Senate refuses to give his nominees fair and prompt consideration,” he said. Trump has already tapped the majority of key Cabinet officials and is “confident” that Senate Republicans “will hold the line and respect the will of the American people by approving his cabinet nominees.” A Trump transition official told Fox News Digital that the president-elect is “very happy” with Vice President-elect JD Vance, who has been “laser focused on already getting the ball rolling on his highly-qualified nominees.” LOYALTY MATTERS: TRUMP PICKS ALLIES AND SUPPORTERS TO FILL OUT HIS ADMINISTRATION Trump’s nominees and administration picks during his second administration are being publicly announced at a much faster pace than during his first administration in 2016, which the transition team attributed to Trump’s commitment to putting “America first.” “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, and his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First. President Trump will continue to appoint highly qualified men and women who have the talent, experience and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt previously told Fox News Digital when asked about Trump’s speedy rollout of Cabinet picks.
Senate showdown: GOP secures deal with Schumer to save coveted appellate judges for Trump
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Democrats and Republicans struck a late-night deal on judicial votes and confirmations on Wednesday, securing the ability for President-elect Donald Trump to appoint four crucial appellate court judges in his second administration. As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attempts to push through as many President Biden judicial picks as possible, Republicans in the upper chamber have worked to delay the process by using procedural floor maneuvers, causing several late nights. Around midnight on Wednesday, the parties came to an agreement which would allow Democrats to hold votes on four district court judges in exchange for pulling four higher tier circuit court judicial nominees, a senior Senate source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital. SENATE GOP INITIATES THUNE-ENGINEERED SLOWDOWN AS SCHUMER LOOKS TO STACK JUDICIAL VOTES These four vacancies will now be Trump’s to fill, per the deal. “The Senate has reached a time agreement to invoke cloture on four judicial nominations tonight and have three more votes tomorrow,” Schumer’s office said around 11 p.m. The senior source told Fox News Digital that Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., were both key figures in securing the near-midnight deal. Schumer’s office and the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. SPRINT TO CONFIRM TRUMP NOMINEES KICKS OFF IN JANUARY The deal was primarily motivated by a Senate slowdown initiated by Republicans through procedural maneuvers on Monday night, which was spearheaded by Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who was recently elected as the next Republican Senate leader. The delay tactic plan came in response to Schumer’s efforts to stack additional judicial confirmation votes on the calendar ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. “If Sen. Schumer thought Senate Republicans would just roll over and allow him to quickly confirm multiple Biden-appointed judges to lifetime jobs in the final weeks of the Democrat majority, he thought wrong,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement at the time. By objecting to Democrats’ unanimous consent requests in order to file cloture on the Biden nominees, Republicans were adding additional votes to the schedule, taking up a substantial amount of time and forcing senators to spend all night at the Capitol. The source noted to Fox News Digital that the new deal did not mean Republicans were going to allow the Biden district judges to sail through without opposition. GOP senators are still expected to fight and vote against the Democrat-nominated judges as they have done throughout Biden’s term. SCHUMER NOW PLEADS FOR BI-PARTISANSHIP HAVING PROMISED TO RAILROAD DEMOCRAT AGENDA THROUGH Ahead of Trump taking office and a new congressional term starting in January with Republicans in the Senate majority, Democrats are in a race to the finish line to push through as many of President Biden’s judicial nominations as possible. As of Wednesday night, Biden’s judicial confirmation count went up to 220 — still trailing behind Trump’s 234 confirmed Article III judges during his first term. Schumer’s effort to push through Biden judges quickly during the lame duck session has already drawn the ire of Trump. He recently took to social media to call for a halt to judicial confirmations for the remainder of the session, writing on social media on Wednesday, “The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door. Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “In his first term, President Trump appointed constitutionalist judges who interpret the law as written. He will do so again,” Brian Hughes, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, told Fox News Digital in a statement last week.
Transgender women are ‘every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women,’ bisexual, trans state lawmaker claims
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — a Democrat who identifies as a “progressive, bisexual trans woman” — claimed that transgender women are “every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women.” “I literally just got out of meetings with members of Congress & used the bathroom on my way out. Trans women are women—full stop,” Zephyr declared in a post on X. “We’re every bit as “biologically female” as cis women & @SpeakerJohnson’s statement doesn’t change the fact that women’s spaces include trans women,” Zephyr added. Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to Zephyr for comment on Thursday. SPEAKER JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW CAPITOL BATHROOM POLICY IN RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY OVER TRANS HOUSE MEMBER Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement issued on Wednesday that single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings are for members of the corresponding biological sex. “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” he said in the statement. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson added. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.” U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democratic Delaware state senator, will become the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress after being sworn in to office next year. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them,” McBride said in a statement. MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has referred to McBride as a “biological male,” said in a post on X, “Sarah McBride’s promise to abide by Speaker Johnson’s policy is a step toward acknowledging the rights of women everywhere—something we’ll continue to demand without compromise.” Mace had proposed a resolution to prohibit House members and others from frequenting single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not align with their biological sex. “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of such individual,” the text of her resolution read, noting that the House sergeant-at-arms would be tasked with enforcement. JOHNSON DECLINES TO SAY IF TRANSGENDER REP-ELECT IS MAN OR WOMAN, SAYS HOUSE TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH ‘RESPECT’ Johnson initially declined to answer on Tuesday when asked whether McBride is a man or a woman, but the speaker later made a statement in which he said he had rejected the question’s “premise because the answer is … so obvious.” “A man is a man. And a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman,” Johnson declared. “But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity.” AFTER DECLINING TO STATE WHETHER TRANS REP-ELECT IS A MAN OR WOMAN, JOHNSON SAYS ‘A MAN CANNOT BECOME A WOMAN’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Mace, who has declared on X that “A trans woman is still a man,” has announced a bill that would stipulate that people may only enter single-sex facilities on federal property that match their biological sex. The proposal provides exceptions for medical workers responding to an emergency and for law enforcement officers chasing a suspect or conducting an investigation. “Oh you thought threatening me would silence me? No. I just doubled down and filed a new bill to protect women and girls across the entire country on all federal property everywhere,” Mace declared in a post on X.
Democratic Pennsylvania election official apologizes for controversial comments as Senate recount begins
A Democratic Pennsylvania election official apologized on Wednesday for controversially claiming that court precedent “doesn’t matter in this country,” as the recount in the U.S. Senate race begins in the state. In a meeting last week, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, voted to count provisional ballots that were missing one of two required voter signatures. She did so after being told by a county attorney that the state Supreme Court had already ruled that such ballots cannot be counted. “We all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country and people violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said in a clip that has since gone viral on social media. “So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it. There is nothing more important than counting votes.” Facing a packed meeting before an outraged public, Ellis-Marseglia read out her apology on Wednesday – in between jeering and calls for her to resign. “Last Thursday, when I spoke at the meeting that you’re all here about, the passion in my heart got the best of me, and I apologize again for that,” she said. “That was a hearing, and we were talking about provisional ballots. We were specifically talking about the fact that there were certain provisional ballots where a judge of elections did not sign and did not make sure that a voter signed on the outside envelope. To me, it was frustrating and unconscionable that we would have to take away somebody’s vote not because they made a mistake, but because an employee, one of our members … one of the judges of elections didn’t know what to do or forgot or made a mistake. That issue that I spoke on has now gone viral from my comments. It was genuinely not the best words. I would do it all again. I feel terrible about it. I should have been more clear, please, I will be more clear in the future.” DEMS SUE PA ELECTION BOARD OVER UNCOUNTED PROVISIONAL BALLOTS AMID SENATE RECOUNT IN CASEY LOSS Ellis-Marseglia claimed her reference to court precedent related to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade – an assertion that drew loud groans from the crowd. “I remind you all that we all say things that are out of turn, we all made mistakes. I made a mistake! And because I am an election official, I am held to a far higher standard than everybody else,” she said. “When I inartfully spoke and used the word precedent when I was talking about provisional ballots, I was referring to the United States Supreme Court, and the precedent that has been lost on many issues including Roe v. Wade.” The audience erupted in boos and groans, as Ellis-Marseglia pounded her gavel and responded, “If you would just bear with me for one more minute!” REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT “Unfortunately, I took my frustration out on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, many of whom are friends of mine who I respect, and whose decisions are complicated and difficult and important,” she said. “We are all going to learn lessons from this new media landscape. And most of all, I am. I am a small fish in this big pond. I do not have a megaphone on Twitter or CNN, or I am not a secretary of state, I don’t run a presidential campaign. This is the only opportunity that I have had to set the record straight.” Ellis-Marseglia said she received messages from hundreds of people, and “all of them involved horrible, horrible expletives,” and many of them included death threats against her and her family. The initial clip of the comment by Ellis-Marseglia garnered widespread condemnation by conservatives on social media. “This is a BLATANT violation of the law and we intend to fight it every step of the way,” Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, wrote in a post on X that received 1.2 million views. Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court on Monday weighed in on a flashpoint amid ongoing vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, ordering counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. Casey has refused to concede the race, which The Associated Press called in favor of McCormick earlier this month. In a statement, Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said a lack of legal clarity had surrounded the ballots, putting county officials in a position where they were “damned if they did and damned if they didn’t — likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting.” McCormick currently leads by .24% as of Thursday morning, according to Pennsylvania’s election results website. A recount is triggered under state law by a margin of .5% or lower. The statewide recount began Wednesday morning. It must conclude by Nov. 26. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff’s lobbying interest come under scrutiny
In his first term, President-elect Donald Trump burned through four White House chiefs of staff who tried in vain to police who had access to the president. Now, incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, the “ice maiden,” will be tasked with guarding the president from special interests who seek to abuse the White House for their own personal gain. But progressives are calling out Wiles for her own history as a former corporate lobbyist and are raising concerns that her hire signals Trump does not intend to keep his promise to “drain the Swamp.” “By putting a corporate lobbyist in charge of his administration with his first act as president-elect, Trump is hanging a ‘For Sale’ sign on the front door of the White House,” said Jon Golinger, the democracy advocate for Public Citizen, a non-profit, progressive consumer advocacy group. Public Citizen released a report authored by Golinger on Friday that details WIles’ lobbying disclosures and highlights her work on behalf of various special interests. The report found that Wiles was a registered lobbyist for 42 different clients between November 2017 and April 2024. Some of her more controversial clients, according to Public Citizen, include Republic Services, a waste management company that has yet to clean radioactive nuclear waste from its dump; The Pebble Partnership, a Canadian copper and gold mining company that wants to build a mine opponents say would harm the environment in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska; and Swisher International, a tobacco company that opposed federal regulations of candy-flavored cigars. TRUMP NAMES SUSIE WILES AS FIRST FEMALE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF IN HISTORY “A lobbyist with this record of controversial representation and a minefield of potential conflicts of interest should not go near the Oval Office, much less be White House Chief of Staff,” Golinger said. In a statement to the Associated Press, Trump transition spokesman Brian Hughes defended Wiles from claims that her past work as a lobbyist would impact how Trump runs the White House. “Susie Wiles has an undeniable reputation of the highest integrity and steadfast commitment to service both inside and outside government,” Hughes said. “She will bring this same integrity and commitment as she serves President Trump in the White House, and that is exactly why she was selected.” Wiles, a longtime GOP operative and advisor to Trump, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff in American history. She is the daughter of the late legendary NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall. The 67-year-old veteran political strategist co-led the president-elect’s 2024 campaign and is widely credited with running a far more disciplined operation than his two previous efforts. Trump has praised her as “tough, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected.” A longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020, Wiles’ decades-long political career stretches back to working as former President Reagan’s campaign scheduler for his 1980 presidential bid. Wiles also ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign. WHO IS SUSIE WILES, TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF? 5 THINGS TO KNOW After Trump’s 2016 victory, Wiles became a partner at Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm founded by Brian Ballard. The firm opened an office in Washington, D.C. and quickly became successful, earning more than $70 million in lobbying fees during Trump’s first term in office by representing various corporate clients, federal disclosures show. Some of Wiles’ anodyne clients included General Motors, a trade group for children’s hospitals, home builders, and the City of Jacksonville, Florida. However, she also represented foreign clients, including Globovisión, a Venezuelan TV network owned by Raúl Gorrín, a businessman charged in Miami with money laundering. Gorrín bought the broadcast company in 2013 and immediately softened its anti-government coverage. He hired Ballard to advise on “general government policies and regulations,” lobbying disclosures show. But according to the Associated Press, Gorrín sought to influence the White House to ease ties between the U.S. and the socialist government of Venezuela. While Gorrín was Wiles’ client, he sought to curry Trump’s favor towards Nicolás Maduro’s government. “He was a fraud and as soon as we learned he was a fraud, we fired him,” Ballard told the Associated Press in an interview. “He would ask us to set up a lot of things, in LA and D.C., and then nothing would happen. It was all a fantasy. He just wanted to use our firm.” A few days after Ballard dropped Gorrín in 2018, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against the businessman for allegedly using the U.S. finance system to supply Venezuelan officials with private jets, a yacht and champion show-jumping horses as part of a fake loan scheme perpetrated by insiders to pilfer the state’s coffers. Last month, he was charged a second time, also based in Miami, in another scheme to siphon $1 billion from the state oil company, PDVSA. TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF SUSIE WILES ONCE HELPED NFL BROADCAST LEGEND FATHER PAT SUMMERALL BEAT ALCOHOLISM Ballard told the AP that Wiles did not manage the firm’s relationship with Gorrín and called her a highly organized “straight shooter” who is “tough as nails.” “She’s the type of person who you want in a foxhole,” he said. “She will serve the president well.” Any effort by Venezuela to win over the Trump administration proved unsuccessful. In 2019, Trump ordered crushing oil sanctions against the OPEC Nation, closed the U.S. embassy in Caracas and recognized the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the country’s legitimate head of government. Maduro was then indicted in 2020 by the U.S. Justice Department on federal drug trafficking charges out of New York. Wiles lobbied for other foreign clients. In 2019, she registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent working for one of Nigeria’s main political parties for two months. She also lobbied for an auto dealership owned by international businessman Shafik Gabr, who the