Tidal wave of border security bills hit House as Republicans move fast on DC takeover
The legislative gears are already turning in Congress as Republicans prepare a slew of border security and other conservative policy bills for President-elect Donald Trump two weeks ahead of his inauguration. Friday marked the first day of the 119th Congress, meaning any bills not signed into law by President Biden must already be introduced and passed again, even if they passed one or both chambers in the previous term. Republicans appeared to waste no time in doing that. The most recent Congressional record shows lawmakers re-introduced several bills that Democrats and even some GOP lawmakers dismissed as “messaging” efforts as recently as last year. Among them is the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, which would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE Another bill re-introduced on Friday was the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., which would mandate deportation of migrants found to have committed sex crimes. “Let’s get it passed through both chambers of Congress this go around,” Mace wrote on social media over the weekend. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced that the House would vote this week on the Laken Riley Act, named after an Augusta University nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant early last year. The legislation would require federal immigration authorities to issue detainers and take custody of illegal immigrants who commit theft-related crimes. It passed the House with some Democratic support but was not taken up in the Senate, which was led by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. CHECK OUT WHO TRUMP’S PICKED TO HELP STEER HIS SECOND PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION Now, however, Republicans are poised to control all the levers of power in Washington after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “If the Senate will do its job, President Trump will make it law,” Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who introduced the bill, said in a statement. A fourth bill, among others, was re-introduced by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and aimed at defunding sanctuary cities. Other Republican priorities introduced last year but which never received Biden’s signature were also reintroduced, like Roy’s bill alongside new House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., to levy sanctions on the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel. It is a glimpse into the specifics of how Republicans intend to carry out their promise of securing the border. GOP lawmakers appear to be moving fast to deliver on Trump’s wish for a highly active first 100 days of Congress. Over the weekend, GOP lawmakers began crafting plans for a massive conservative policy overhaul bill, aimed at including elements of border security, energy policy, tax cuts and defense measures.
More than 100 former Justice Dept. officials urge Senate to confirm Pam Bondi as AG
FIRST ON FOX — Dozens of former Justice Department officials sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday urging confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, later this month— praising both her commitment to the rule of law and her track record as Florida’s former attorney general that they said makes her uniquely qualified for the role. The letter, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, was signed by more than 110 senior Justice Department officials who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, and Edwin Meese. Former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker, deputy attorneys general Rod Rosenstein and Jeffrey Rosen, and Randy Grossman, who served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California under the Biden administration, are among the other notable signatories. The DOJ alumni expressed their “strong and enthusiastic support” for Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general, who also spent 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office. “It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials—much less Attorneys General—to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe,” they wrote. TRUMP’S AG PICK HAS ‘HISTORY OF CONSENSUS BUILDING’ “As a career prosecutor, Attorney General Bondi will be ready from the first day on the job to fight on behalf of the American people to reduce crime, tackle the opioid crisis, back the women and men in blue, and restore credibility to the Department of Justice,” they wrote in the letter, sent to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The letter praised Bondi’s work as Florida’s attorney general, where she led an aggressive crackdown on opioid drugs and the many “pill mills” operating in the state when she took office. They also praised what they described as Bondi’s “national reputation” for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state. Officials also emphasized Bondi’s other achievements in Florida, where she secured consumer protection victories and economic relief on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State. After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, the letter said — and in wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi’s lawsuit of BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief. The letter also stressed Bondi’s commitment to the rule of law, and what the former officials touted as her track record of working across the aisle during the more than two decades she spent as a prosecutor. ‘UNLIKELY COALITION’: A CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN A SECOND TRUMP TERM “Some of us have worked directly with Attorney General Bondi during her time in office and can personally attest to her integrity and devotion to the rule of law,” they wrote. “Many more of us know and admire her well-earned reputation from her long and accomplished career in government service in Florida, her litigation and advocacy on the national stage, and her demonstrated courage as a lawyer.” “As former DOJ officials, we know firsthand the challenges she will face as Attorney General, and we also know she is up to the job.” Those close to Bondi have praised her long record as a prosecutor, and her staunch loyalty to the president-elect, alongside whom she has worked since 2020—first, helping to represent him in his first impeachment trial, and more recently in her post as co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) a think tank set up by former Trump staffers. She also served in Trump’s first presidential term as a member of his Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington—this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border. “We firmly believe the Justice Department and the Nation will benefit from Attorney General Bondi’s leadership,” the DOJ officials said in conclusion, adding: “We urge you in the strongest manner possible to confirm her as the next Attorney General of the United States.”
Russia to share advanced satellite technology with North Korea, Blinken warns
Russia is planning to share advanced satellite technology with North Korea, according to a warning from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training. Now, we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang,” Blinken said while in Seoul, using North Korea’s official name. Such technology would allow North Korea to identify targets and aim strikes at adversaries across the world, including the U.S. As of last year, North Korea was estimated to have an arsenal of 50 nuclear weapons. The warning comes as North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, expanding its weapons tests in the weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. NORTH KOREA CARRIES OUT FIRST MISSILE LAUNCH TEST SINCE TRUMP’S ELECTION In one of his last moves as head of the State Department, Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies about the North Korean nuclear threat. He’ll also visit with officials in Japan, France, Italy and the Holy See. Supplying North Korea with satellite technology would come after North Korea supplied Russia with troops and arms to fight in its war on Ukraine. Russia “may be close” to accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, reversing decades of commitment to denuclearizing the DPRK. SOUTH KOREA IMPOSES A TRAVEL BAN ON PRESIDENT YOON OVER MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION Russia helped North Korea launch its first successful satellite in 2023. A Russian rocket launched Iranian satellites into orbit in November, ratcheting up the 21st century space race between the U.S. and its foes. Last year, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, issued an ominous warning calling on the Biden administration to declassify information that was later revealed to be about Russia’s anti-satellite capabilities. In May, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb warned that Russia was developing an “indiscriminate” nuclear weapon designed for space, highlighting its potential impacts on communications, commerce and national security. In a year-end political conference, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to implement his “toughest” anti-U.S. policy and condemned the Biden administration for strengthening ties with South Korea and Japan, describing the alliance as a “nuclear military bloc for aggression.” During his administration, President-elect Trump met with Kim three times for talks about nuclear programs. However, emboldened by Russian support and a lessened enforcement of international sanctions, Kim may be less likely to stand down in talks with the U.S. than ever before. It is also unclear if Trump would put the same emphasis on bolstering U.S. alliances in Asia that the Biden administration did. In the past, he has complained about the cost of keeping 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea to deter threats from the north and pushed for Seoul to increase its own defense contributions. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump files motion to stay ‘unlawful sentencing’ in New York case
President-elect Donald Trump filed a motion to stay the Jan. 10 sentencing in the New York v. Trump case, Fox Digital has learned. “Today, President Trump’s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt. The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed,” Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox Digital on Monday morning. NEW YORK JUDGE SETS TRUMP SENTENCING DAYS BEFORE INAUGURATION “The American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all of the remaining Witch Hunts. We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again,” Cheung continued. New York Judge Juan Merchan set Trump’s sentencing date in the case earlier this month, ahead of his inauguration as president on Jan. 20. Trump is set to be sentenced on Friday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly railed against it as an example of lawfare promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November. “Virtually ever legal scholar and pundit says THERE IS NO (ZERO!) CASE AGAINST ME. The Judge fabricated the facts, and the law, no different than the other New York Judicial and Prosecutorial Witch Hunts. That’s why businesses are fleeing New York, taking with them millions of jobs, and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAXES. The legal system is broken, and businesses can’t take a chance in getting caught up in this quicksand. IT’S ALL RIGGED, in this case against a political opponent, ME!!!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday evening of the case.
Harris to oversee certification of her defeat to Trump in presidential election: ‘Sacred obligation’
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to do what only two other vice presidents in recent history have done – preside over her defeat in a White House election. On Monday afternoon, Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress, when lawmakers will certify President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over the current vice president in November’s election. The vice president said her mission is to ensure a peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE Harris, in a recorded video message released ahead of congressional certification of the 2024 Electoral College vote, said it is a “sacred obligation” she will uphold, “guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution and my unwavering faith in the American people.” CHECK OUT WHO TRUMP’S PICKED TO HELP STEER HIS SECOND PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION Pointing to four years ago, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to upend congressional certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Biden, Harris said “as we have seen, our democracy can be fragile.” “It is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles,” the vice president emphasized. The Capitol was attacked hours after Trump, at a large rally on the National Mall near the White House, repeated his unproven claims that the 2020 election was riddled with massive voter fraud and stolen from him. Trump urged then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election results. Harris, in her role of presiding over the Senate, becomes the first vice president to oversee the congressional confirmation of their electoral loss since then-Vice President Al Gore did it in January 2001, following his razor-thin defeat to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the 2000 election, which was decided by a Supreme Court ruling. Four decades earlier, then-Vice President Richard Nixon presided over the certification of his narrow election loss in a 1960 showdown with then-Sen. John F. Kennedy. Biden, in comments Sunday night, joined Harris in emphasizing that he was “determined to do everything in my power to respect the peaceful transfer of power.” The president, pointing to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, told new Democrats in Congress that “now it’s your duty to tell the truth. You remember what happened, and I won’t let January 6th be rewritten or even erased.”
Trump presses GOP to swiftly send ‘one powerful Bill’ for his signature ASAP
President-elect Donald Trump is urging congressional Republicans to send him “one powerful Bill” as swiftly as possible once he takes office later this month. Republicans hold the majority in both chambers of Congress and later this month will regain the White House when Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. “Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before. We must Secure our Border, Unleash American Energy, and Renew the Trump Tax Cuts, which were the largest in History, but we will make it even better – NO TAX ON TIPS,” Trump declared in a post on Truth Social. SPEAKER JOHNSON REVEALS HOW TRUMP WANTS CONGRESS TO HANDLE BUSINESS DURING THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS “IT WILL ALL BE MADE UP WITH TARIFFS, AND MUCH MORE, FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE U.S. FOR YEARS. Republicans must unite, and quickly deliver these Historic Victories for the American People. Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible,” Trump urged. House Speaker Mike Johnson had noted during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he thinks Trump will “prefer, as he likes to say, one big, beautiful bill.” Johnson, who described it as “One big up or down vote which can save the country,” noted that he thinks the measure, which will tackle various issues, will also address the debt ceiling. MIKE JOHNSON RE-ELECTED HOUSE SPEAKER AS GOP MUTINY THREAT DISSOLVES He indicated that lawmakers are aiming to hold the House vote during the first week of April — the lawmaker said it could potentially clear the chamber as soon as April 3, then head to the Senate, and eventually arrive on Trump’s desk by the end of April, or by Memorial Day in a “worst case scenario.” Johnson retained the speaker’s gavel last week after Trump backed him. House Republicans, with the exception of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted for Johnson to remain in the role he has occupied since late October 2023. Two Republicans who initially did not vote for Johnson, ultimately switched their votes to Johnson, handing him the win. GOP REBELS SWITCH VOTE TO JOHNSON AFTER TRUMP’S 11TH HOUR CALLS, PUSHING HIM OVER THE FINISH LINE Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has warned that the U.S. “Senate will be one of the biggest barriers to cutting spending and shrinking government,” and “will need public pressure.” He added the hashtag “#DOGE,” referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, an outside of government effort to advocate for decreased government spending, which is being spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Democrats’ new Senate campaign committee chair reveals keys to winning back majority
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she will apply the lessons learned from the 2024 elections and other recent cycles as she works to win back the Senate majority for the Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. “If we’ve learned anything in the last few cycles, if you’re not in the field early, talking to voters about what they’re worried about, what’s their kitchen table issues, and then coming up with legislative solutions to help them, they’re not going to feel that you have their back. And so it’s about a relationship with your voters,” the new chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. Gillibrand, the longtime senator from New York who was re-elected in November, was named on Monday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow New Yorker, to steer the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee in the 2026 cycle. “Electing more Democrats to the Senate in 2026 is the most important thing we can do to limit the damage of Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans and do more for working families,” Schumer argued in a statement. “I have worked side by side with Kirsten Gillibrand for nearly two decades and I know she will be an outstanding DSCC Chair. With her hard work, tenacity, and discipline, Sen. Gillibrand is the right person to lead our campaign to victory in 2026.” MEET THE REPUBLICAN SENATOR TASKED WITH DEFENDING THE GOP’S SENATE MAJORITY IN 2026 Gillibrand pledged in a statement to “work my hardest to support our Democratic incumbents, recruit the strongest possible candidates, and ensure they have every resource needed to win. I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and look to expand our efforts into some unexpected states.” The senator, as she looked ahead to her new mission to win back the Senate majority or at the least, cut into the GOP’s newly won 53-47 control of the chamber, pointed in her Fox News Digital interview to her own re-election and her efforts to help House Democrats flip Republican-controlled seats in the 2024 cycle. “I made sure that for my race and for the House races in New York that our candidates were in the community talking to voters two years before the election, talking to them about what mattered to them. People were concerned about crime; they were concerned about immigration. They were concerned about fentanyl and gun trafficking. They were also concerned about the economy and the cost of food, the cost of housing,” she said. GILLIBRAND ARGUES DEMOCRATS SHOULD HAVE PUT IMMIGRATION ON THE TABLE TWO YEARS AGO Gillibrand emphasized that “we really did the outreach and engagement that you really need to do in this day and age to make sure you’re talking about the things that voters want you to be working on.” Additionally, she said that Democrats can learn from President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 White House victory. “President-elect Trump is a formidable candidate. He showed in this last election that he was able to win over voters in states across this country, not just red states,” Gillibrand noted. “I think it’s important to learn the lessons of last cycle.” Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult map in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. An early read of the 2026 map shows they will continue to play defense in some states, but also offers opportunities to go on offense. Among them is the southeastern battleground state of North Carolina. “There’s a number of places where Democrats can win if they have the right candidate in the community early enough talking about the issues that voters care about. A state like North Carolina might be one where we got very close last time.,” Gillibrand said. There is plenty of speculation that former Gov. Roy Cooper, who just finished steering the state for two terms, may make a bid for the Senate against Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis. “There are some really remarkably good candidates in North Carolina, considering the former governor would be one of them. That’s the kind of state I’m going to be looking at around the country, states where Democrats have won in the past, where they might be able to win again if they have a candidate that really resonates and does the hard work of engaging voters early,” Gillibrand said. FORMER TRUMP AMBASSADOR EYES SENATE RETURN, POTENTIALLY SETTING UP 2026 REMATCH IN KEY SWING STATE Another potential pickup opportunity for Gillibrand may be blue-leaning Maine, where moderate Republican Susan Collins is up for re-election in 2026. “Susan is quite tough to beat,” Gillibrand acknowledged. But she added that “if we get a great candidate there, that’s a race where we will be competitive.” The 2026 map also gives Republicans opportunities to flip Democrat-controlled seats. In swing state New Hampshire, longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who’s taking over as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is up for re-election. Sen. Gary Peters, who steered the DSCC in the 2022 and 2024 cycles, is up for re-election in battleground Michigan. So is first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff in swing state Georgia. “The great thing about Jean Shaheen is she is in her community every week, talking to people about the things she works on, on their behalf. She’s common sense, she’s bipartisan, and so I’m optimistic we will hold her seat,” Gillibrand said. “I’m also optimistic about making sure Gary Peters holds his seat in Michigan. Again, he’s extremely bipartisan. He’s constantly working on behalf of the voters of Michigan to make sure they understand that he fights for them. The same is true, I’d say for Jon Ossoff. He hit the ground running as a new senator last term, and I think he really does resonate with Georgia voters.”
Chhattisgarh: 8 policemen, 1 driver dead after naxals blow up their vehicle with IED in Bijapur
Eight jawans of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle with a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district
Nithari killings: SC to hear pleas against Surendra Koli’s acquittal on…
The CBI had registered 16 cases against Koli and Pandher over the rape and killing of girls that had shocked the nation.
Biden issues sweeping offshore oil, gas drilling ban in 625M acres of federal waters ahead of Trump transition
President Biden announced an 11th-hour executive action on Monday that bans new drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters. Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing. He invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, meaning President-elect Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the action. Congress might need to intervene to grant Trump authority to place federal waters back into development. “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement. “It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.” The move garnered quick condemnation from Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. TRUMP PLANNING TO LIFT BIDEN’S LNG PAUSE, INCREASE OIL DRILLING DURING 1ST DAYS IN OFFICE: REPORT “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” Leavitt wrote on X. Biden patted himself on the back for what he categorized as a legacy move in the fight against climate change. “From Day One, I have delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in our country’s history. And over the last four years, I have conserved more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters, more than any other president in history,” Biden said. “Our country’s remarkable conservation and restoration progress has been locally led by Tribes, farmers and ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts across the country. Together, our ‘America the Beautiful’ initiative put the United States on track to meet my ambitious goal to conserve at least 30 percent of our Nation’s lands and waters by 2030.” BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION “We do not need to choose between protecting the environment and growing our economy, or between keeping our ocean healthy, our coastlines resilient, and the food they produce secure and keeping energy prices low,” the statement added. “Those are false choices. Protecting America’s coasts and ocean is the right thing to do, and will help communities and the economy to flourish for generations to come.” Ron Neal, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America Offshore Committee, also slammed Biden’s last-ditch offshore drilling ban as “significant and catastrophic.” “While it may not directly affect the currently active production areas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and adjoining coastal areas, it represents a major attack on the oil and natural gas industry. This should be seen as the ‘elephant’s nose under the tent.’ The ban severely limits potential for exploration and development in new areas therefore chocking the long-term survivability of the industry,” Neal, also the President of Houston Energy LP and CEO of HEQ Deepwater, said in a statement. “This move is a first step towards more extensive restrictions all across our industry in all U.S. basins including the onshore. If the activists come for anything, they are coming for everything. The policy is catastrophic for the development of new areas for oil and natural gas but, the environmentalists will eventually look to also shut down offshore wind farms for most of the same reasons. President Biden and his allies continue to push anti-energy policies that will hurt Americans.” Trump, during his 2024 campaign, promised to deliver American “energy dominance” on the world stage as he looked toward bolstering U.S. oil and gas drilling, as well as distance from Biden’s prioritization of climate change initiatives.