Dem senator quizzes Noem on how she will work with Homan: ‘Who is in charge?’
Kristi Noem, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was questioned Friday about how she would work with “border czar” Tom Homan and who is in charge of securing the U.S. border. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked Noem at her Senate confirmation hearing who is “going to be in charge of the border,” saying he was uncertain about how her role relates to Homan’s. “Well, the president will be in charge of the border. It’s a national security issue. And the president is in charge of this country and has made a promise to the American people, and we will fulfill his agenda,” Noem replied. TRUMP DHS PICK NOEM PLEDGES TO END CONTROVERSIAL APP USED BY MIGRANTS ON ‘DAY ONE’ Kim said it was a “good answer” but sought clarification, asking what the division is between her and Homan. “I’m trying to get a better sense of who is in charge,” he said. Noem called Homan “an incredible human being.” NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF “He is an adviser to the president, the border czar. I obviously will be, if nominated and confirmed, and put into the position of being the Department of Homeland Security secretary and responsible for the authorities that we have in the actions that we take,” she said. Kim pushed back by quoting remarks by Homan saying he would be making decisions on border security and deportations. “So, I just raise that as a concern of mine, because not only is that about the function of our executive branch, but also the capabilities of this committee to be able to properly do our constitutional duties for oversight, the ability for us to be able to have that conversation, we can talk to you, engage with you,” he said. “If he is going to be making decisions, then he should come before this committee as well.” Noem responded by saying that she and Homan “work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we’ll be working together on a daily basis when we’re in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there’s no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I’m in the role.”
Noem optimistic Laken Riley would still be alive if she were DHS secretary, as freshman senator rips Mayorkas
Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first hearing in the Senate as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sat in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “Just to be clear, Laken Riley would be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?” Moreno asked Noem during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday. “Senator, my hope is that that would be true, yes,” Noem responded, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate with the aim of preventing crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, who was sentenced to life without parole. During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about the Mayorkas immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch. ‘DEEPLY DISGUSTED’: GOP SENATOR SHREDS BIDEN ADMIN IN SCATHING LETTER ON NEW IMMIGRANT DEPORTATION SHIELD “So, I think sometimes, in D.C., we tend to complicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “There is a current secretary of Homeland Security, so why don’t we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you some questions, and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terror watch list to come into this country illegally. If you were confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?” Noem responded that she would “work every single day” to make sure the number is “zero.” “When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in, and the policies continue, is shocking and needs to be changed immediately,” Noem said. “Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you target to let into this country?” Moreno asked. TRUMP, CHINA’S XI SPEAK ON PHONE AHEAD OF INAUGURATION “My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country,” Noem said. “Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you target to let in?” Moreno continued. “I would work to make sure there was none let into this country,” Noem answered. Moreno continued by asking Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions let in by Mayorkas, and she responded by saying that any migrants with criminal convictions would be “immediately removed.” Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would halt under her tenure. “And how many illegals will you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan, at a cost of $6,000 per month?” Moreno asked. “Clearly, senator, during this election, the American people said they did not support that and that that would not be a part of this new administration,” Noem said. “I’m going to end my time with a startling statistic and actually a challenge to the Democrat Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration immigration policy that she would halt. “When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, chairman, we could do that Monday, because we cannot wait one single day without you being in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. This will be the litmus test in my mind as to whether we have a Democrat Party that’s actually serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens.”
Trump likely to avoid inaugural crowd size controversy with swearing-in moved indoors
Debates over President-elect Trump’s inaugural crowd size notably generated controversy back in 2017, with the White House insisting the media underreported Trump’s numbers. With his swearing-in now being moved indoors because of harsh winter weather, Trump is likely to avoid any questions about attendance this time around. Fox News on Friday learned that Trump’s inauguration would be moved indoors because of icy temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C. on Monday. Trump announced that he had ordered his inaugural address and other ceremonial prayers and speeches be held in the United States Capitol Rotunda to protect people from harm. “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on Truth Social. TRUMP TO BE INAUGURATED INSIDE: LAST CEREMONY HELD INDOORS WAS REAGAN’S IN 1985 “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” he continued. Trump also said the Capital One Arena will be open Monday for live viewing of his inauguration “and to host the Presidential Parade.” “I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing in,” Trump wrote. RNC CHAIR WHATLEY VOWS TO BE ‘TIP OF THE SPEAR’ TO PROTECT TRUMP AFTER COASTING TO RE-ELECTION VICTORY The Inaugural Committee confirmed Trump’s statements, saying the ceremony would be moved inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda, a committee spokesperson said. With attendees no longer being able to gather outside in the cold, any photo op for Trump and a record crowd is likely out of the picture, and so is any chance for people to dispute Trump’s claimed crowd size like in 2017. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer lambasted the press shortly after Trump’s first inauguration, accusing media outlets of inaccurate reporting on the crowd size. The day after the inauguration, Spicer said “photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way, in one particular tweet, to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall.” ELON MUSK SLATED TO SPEAK AT TRUMP PRE-INAUGURATION RALLY: REPORT He also said at the time that “Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted. No one had numbers, because the National Park Service, which controls the National Mall, does not put any out.” “These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong,” Spicer said. The Washington Post reported at the time that Trump had called the acting director of the National Park Service on his first day in office to dispute the photos circulating online of his inaugural crowd size. President Biden also faced crowd-size barriers during his inauguration in 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions in place. His ceremony was sparsely attended and included former presidents and first ladies. Attendees wore face masks and many failed to abide by social distancing guidelines, with several seen high-fiving and hugging. The last inauguration ceremony to be moved indoors was President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in January 1985. Reagan took the oath of office at the White House the day before the ceremony, while public events the following day were held inside due to temperatures hitting 7 degrees with a windchill of -40. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Peter Doocy, Chad Pergram and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools
In 2023, Texas passed a DEI ban at the state’s public universities. Now Abbott wants the state to stop funding diversity programs in K-12 schools.
Texas wildflower big red sage proposed for endangered species protection
Only seven native populations remain in Texas, all in the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas.
DOGE caucus plans for biggest impact, eyeing key tools to expedite cutting waste
FIRST ON FOX: At the second Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus meeting, Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led discussions on how they can most effectively and quickly begin cutting waste across the government. The new 18-member caucus convened on Thursday morning and strategized on how to avoid some of the pitfalls other similar efforts have run into. “The Senate DOGE Caucus is hitting the ground running on day one of the Trump administration to downsize government,” Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Biden’s bloat has created a target-rich environment for finding ways to eliminate waste and make the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and after today, I feel confident that we have plans in place to serve as the action arm in Congress to deliver for taxpayers.” OHIO GOV DEWINE PICKS LT GOV TO FILL VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JD VANCE’S VACANT SEAT For years, Ernst has been taking inventory of government waste, which has given the caucus a list of places to begin eliminating excess bureaucracy and making the government run more efficiently. Some specific targets for the caucus are federal telework, IRS agents with unpaid taxes and U.S. funding going to foreign laboratories with little accountability. Caucus members mapped out how they can address these items in a way that ensures they can get “multiple bites at the apple,” per Ernst’s office. DESANTIS ANNOUNCES CHOICE FOR SENATE APPOINTMENT AFTER RUBIO’S EXPECTED RESIGNATION To do this, the Republican members plan on taking advantage of tools such as the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which can be used to overturn rules put in place by federal agencies, and budget reconciliation. The budget reconciliation process is already expected as a key vehicle for Republican tax and immigration policy objectives, and the party has further signaled it could pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator even suggested they could do three such bills during the 119th Congress. The benefit of passing legislation through budget reconciliation is that it requires a simple majority and is not subject to the 60-vote threshold of the legislative filibuster. The CRA is similarly not beholden to the filibuster. CONFIRMATION DELAYS STACK UP FOR TRUMP NOMINEES AS PAPERWORK LAGS IN FEDERAL OFFICES The caucus is also planning to work with President-elect Trump on executive orders aimed at government waste. The 18 members of the caucus serve on a number of different Senate committees, giving them a well-rounded idea of where the most waste exists. DEM SENATOR WHO BASHED HEGSETH’S QUALIFICATIONS STANDS BY DOD SEC WHO OVERSAW BOTCHED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL Last year, Ernst took the opportunity to lay out a plan that cuts $2 trillion of what she says is waste. In it, she recommends selling empty government buildings, auditing the IRS and firing agents that owe taxes, and slashing seemingly random or “silly” studies conducted by the government, among other things. DOGE was previously announced by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new advisory board looking to cut government waste.
Obama wishes wife Michelle happy birthday as she stays away from key public events
Former President Obama wished his wife Michelle Obama a happy birthday on Friday, calling her “the love of my life.” The former first lady has turned 61, but has largely avoided being out in public in recent weeks. She will not attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Monday, and was not seen at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral last week. To commemorate her birthday, the former president shared a tribute to his wife on Instagram, writing, “You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!” MICHELLE OBAMA SKIPPING TRUMP INAUGURATION TO AVOID HAVING TO ‘PRETEND FOR PROTOCOL’S SAKE’: REPORTS Michelle later shared the post on X and captioned it, “Love you, honey!” followed with a heart emoji and an emoji of a face blowing a kiss. Sources reportedly close to Michelle told People that the former first lady intends to skip Trump’s inauguration because she cannot contain her disdain for the Republican president-elect. MICHELLE OBAMA TO SKIP TRUMP INAUGURATION, 11 DAYS AFTER MISSING CARTER FUNERAL The former first lady repeatedly took jabs at Trump while on the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris and during her speeches at the Democratic National Convention in August. In one speech at the DNC, she accused Trump of spreading “racist lies” and opposing her husband’s political career because of his race. Though she is often floated as a choice of Democratic candidate for president, the source emphasized that the former first lady also has no interest in being a public figure now that her public service has ended. JENNIFER ANISTON RESPONDS TO TABLOID ROMANTICALLY LINKING HER AND BARACK OBAMA While she will not be in attendance at Trump’s inauguration, the former president is scheduled to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration event along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and their spouses. JENNIFER ANISTON RESPONDS TO TABLOID ROMANTICALLY LINKING HER AND BARACK OBAMA Unconfirmed rumors swirled late last year that the Obamas’ marriage was on the rocks and that Barack Obama had been involved in a romantic affair with actress Jennifer Aniston. Aniston emphatically denied the rumors, telling late night host Jimmy Kimmel, “That is absolutely untrue. … I know Michelle more than him.” When reached for comment at the time, an Obama representative told Fox News Digital, “Stop.”
Energy expert weighs in on 23 state attorneys general suing EPA over new methane emissions fee
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading 22 other attorneys general in suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a new rule that would fine the oil and natural gas sector for methane emissions that exceed a certain level. The GOP states are alleging the new rule, which was established in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, is “arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of discretion.” The complaint against the EPA is scant on details, other than asserting the new rule is “unlawful” because “the final rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority.” While the Supreme Court has articulated a very narrow authority on how Congress can delegate its legislative power, Steve Milloy, former Trump administration EPA transition adviser and senior fellow at the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute, said it is unclear to him how the EPA’s rule circumvents Congress. ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING “The IRA clearly says EPA is to levy a tax and prescribes the tax rate,” Milloy told Fox News Digital, pointing to the section of the IRA’s “Waste Emissions Charge” that sets a threshold for methane emissions at 25,000 metric tons. “I will be interested to see how the states support their claims.” Nonetheless, Milloy is against the new fee on the oil and gas sector, noting methane is an “irrelevant greenhouse gas.” “The tax is pointless and will accomplish nothing except to make oil and natural gas more expensive,” he said. Milloy suggested the move to sue in the final days of the Biden administration is to start the process for the plaintiffs to settle with the Trump administration. According to him, this is a tactic that has been used by both sides of the green energy debate. He added that in the past, the Trump administration has sought to get rid of “sue and settle” tactics. “Congress needs to change the law,” Milloy said. “Because, let’s say that they sue and settle, well, the next administration can come back and undo it.” Meanwhile, another forthcoming lawsuit from the Michigan Oil and Gas Association (MOGA) and the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AMFree) has also asserted that the new rule circumvents Congress, but provided details explaining why. NEW NYC ‘CHAR BROIL’ RULE WOULD FORCE RESTAURANTS TO CUT EMISSIONS BY 75% “Under Subpart W, facilities in the natural gas and petroleum supply chains must report greenhouse gas emissions if they emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions each year,” the second lawsuit explains. “For gases other than carbon dioxide, ‘equivalent’ emissions are determined by multiplying emissions by the gas’s ‘global warming potential’ (‘GWP’).” Michael Buschbacher, a partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, which is representing MOGA and AmFree in their lawsuit, agreed with Milloy that it will take legislation to reverse the new methane rule, but said the purpose of their legal filings is “to get the most onerous mandates off the books, so the American energy industry can begin its march back to dominance under the new administration.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The Biden-era environmental regulations aren’t going to magically vanish at 12:01 on Monday. It’s going to take time and legislation to unwind the mess that he has left behind,” Buschbacher said. The EPA declined to comment on the matter, citing the pending nature of the litigation.
Gov. Sanders announces plan to empower parents to sue Big Tech for role in teen mental health crisis
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday she will be addressing her state’s share of the national youth mental health crisis by planning to give parents the power to sue Big Tech companies and “hold bad actors accountable.” Sanders will also be addressing the issue at the World Economic Forum next week in Davos, Switzerland. She will join “The Anxious Generation” author Jonathan Haidt to discuss the role of smartphones and social media in causing harm to America’s youth. BIDEN WARNS OF ‘ULTRA-WEALTHY’ OLIGARCHY IN BIG TECH DESPITE ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM MEGADONORS At Davos, Sanders will also join Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for a bipartisan session discussing state priorities and state governments’ role in a presidential transition – as President Biden yields to President-elect Trump. As for the Big Tech issue, Sanders told Fox News Digital that protecting children is paramount to her administration. “In the past decade, across America, anxiety, depression and suicide among teens have skyrocketed, and the culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media,” she said. “Under my leadership, Arkansas will act to empower parents and protect kids.” FLASHBACK: SANDERS GIVE SOTU RESPONSE “I look forward to … Davos to talk about this critical issue and how my administration is stepping up to hold Big Tech accountable.” In terms of addressing Big Tech’s alleged role in accentuating the nationwide youth mental health crisis, Sanders noted that she had previously launched a phone-free-school pilot program in 2024. The program offers schools state funding for phone pouches to prevent use during the school day. Sanders, whose father, Mike Huckabee, previously served as Arkansas governor, said she plans to update the state’s Social Media Safety Act as well. In terms of holding Big Tech responsible in the mental health crisis, Sanders said that “modern threats … require modern solutions.” “Nowhere is that truer than with our kids,” she said in her State of the State. “In the past decade, across America, suicide rates among teens have tripled, self-harm among girls has risen by nearly 200%, and depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media.” She had invited a Centerton, Ark., mother whose 16-year-old son took his own life after going from an active, sports-loving teen to one who spent more and more time watching social media videos on his phone. The boy’s mother tried to take his phone away, and he eventually retreated to his room, where within 13 minutes he had already taken his own life. “Months later, reeling from grief,” Sanders said, “[The boy’s mother] decided to go through [his] phone. She got on his TikTok, and what she saw shocked her: video after video giving step-by-step instructions on how to take his own life.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We will give moms like [her] the right to sue Big Tech companies under state law, so that they can hold bad actors accountable.” In a recent New Yorker interview, Haidt – the author appearing with Sanders at Davos – expressed shock at the difference between the “You’re sitting too close to the television, your eyes will burn out” generation and the new generation being warned about the pitfalls of social media. “The technological environment in the ’90s was miraculous. We loved it. The millennial generation grew up on it. Their mental health was fine. . . . And then in 2012 and 2013: Boom. The graphs go way, way up. Mental health falls off a cliff. It’s incredibly sudden,” Haidt said.
Trump won’t wait for Senate confirmations to shake up State Department: source
President-elect Donald Trump is planning to immediately shake up the State Department by moving new officials into top roles. A source familiar with the situation tells Fox News that the new Trump administration will immediately move new officials into key operational roles at the State Department to ensure the department is carrying out the Trump foreign policy agenda from day one. Normally, career State Department officials will oversee these key positions while political appointees await Senate confirmation. The Trump team is bringing in dozens of “senior bureau officials” to ensure the career employees have Trump-aligned officials over them. The source says the transition has already identified the senior bureau officials who will be taking over. The source also says this move affects more than 20 additional key roles at State. Reuters reported last week that Trump officials have already asked others to step aside, bringing a total of about 30 senior positions affected by this initiative. They include all of those working as undersecretaries and overseeing key regional, policy and communications bureaus. TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM ASKS 3 STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS TO RESIGN: REPORT Asked to comment, a spokesperson for the transition team told Fox, “It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump’s vision for putting our nation and America’s working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix, and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals.” Trump’s transition team recently asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to a Reuters report. Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz, the career diplomats who were allegedly asked to leave their roles, oversee the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination. All three of the career diplomats named in the report have worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, Reuters noted. Unlike political appointees, diplomats do not typically resign when a president leaves office. Throughout his political career, Trump has gone after the “deep state,” and this move could be seen as part of his efforts to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level. Trump has never hid his disdain for the government agency responsible for foreign relations, dubbing it the “Deep State Department” during his first term, reflecting his belief that career diplomats were working to subvert his agenda. Trump is likely to work in tandem with his Secretary of State nominee, Marco Rubio, who, during his confirmation hearing, said that State employees would need to work towards Trump’s “America first” agenda and pledged to make the agency “relevant again.” SENATE DEMOCRATIC WHIP DECLARES SUPPORT FOR RUBIO CONFIRMATION: ‘MANY SIMILAR VIEWS ON FOREIGN POLICY’ “What has happened over the last 20 years under multiple administrations is the influence of the State Department has declined at the expense of other agencies, and also at the expense of National Security Councils, because it takes so long for the State Department to take action,” said Rubio. “And so, increasingly, you stop getting invited to the meetings, and they stop putting you in charge of things, because it takes too long to get a result.” He said that “the core mission of the department has not been well-defined” in the modern federal bureaucracy, and “it’s our obligation to define that.” “We want the State Department to be relevant again, and it should be because the State Department has a plethora of talented people who are subject-matter experts and who have skills in diplomacy. And it’s not being fully utilized, because, increasingly, on issue after issue, we’ve seen the State Department marginalized because of internal inertia, because of the way the structure works. We have to be at that table when decisions are being made, and the State Department has to be a source of creative ideas and effective implementation,” he added. Rep. Brian Mast, R–Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters that he was looking to root out those at State who had directed the so-called “woke” funding programs at the department. “If you have people that are writing grants nefariously supporting a radical agenda, like doing drag shows abroad and trying to find this vague tie and not tying things to U.S. national security interests, then they should be aware that we’ll be looking for them, and we will be looking for creating authorities to make sure that their existence doesn’t continue in the State Department.”