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‘Waste less, save more’: DOGE caucus member rolls out expansive bill package ahead of Trump inauguration

‘Waste less, save more’: DOGE caucus member rolls out expansive bill package ahead of Trump inauguration

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is rolling out several new bills to help forward the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) mission once President-elect Donald Trump enters office.  The senator’s six bills would target telework for federal employees, require agency guidances to clarify they are not laws and mandate early notice ahead of new major policy proposals from federal agencies, among other measures.  MEET LEADER JOHN THUNE’S ALL-STAR CABINET AS REPUBLICANS TAKE OVER SENATE MAJORITY “The American people gave Washington a mandate in November—waste less, save more. Today I’m introducing a first set of bills to follow through on their mandate by prioritizing streamlined regulations, rule-making, and record keeping. It’s time to put government waste in the doghouse and let DOGE get to work,” Lankford said in a statement to Fox News Digital.  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.  SCHUMER DIRECTS DEMS TO PUT PRESSURE ON TRUMP NOMINEES AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARINGS Several of Lankford’s DOGE bills focus on federal agencies and their perceived shortcomings. The “Improving Federal Financial Management Act” would address agencies’ performances and evaluate how they stack up when weighed against their financial metrics.  The “TRUE Accountability Act” would charge agencies with coming up with plans to operate internally if there is ever a crisis.  SENATE GOP TEES UP CONFIRMATION HEARING BLITZ IN EFFORT TO MEET AMBITIOUS TRUMP TARGETS Additionally, Lankford is including the “ACCESS Act,” which would prohibit minimum education requirements when it comes to government contractor personnel during certain federal contract discussions.  The Oklahoma Republican’s slew of bills are just the latest from senators in the GOP eager to get involved with DOGE.  TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING The Senate DOGE caucus is being led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who has been a vocal critic of federal agencies and their telework policies in particular.  Republicans have sought to introduce many bills ahead of Trump’s inauguration with the hope of getting the process started, so that certain policies can be put in motion shortly after he takes office. 

Biden DHS exempted thousands of immigrants from terror-related entry restrictions in FY 2024

Biden DHS exempted thousands of immigrants from terror-related entry restrictions in FY 2024

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden administration gave nearly 7,000 exemptions, mostly to refugees, for foreign nationals who otherwise could be ineligible for admission into the U.S. due to terrorism-related entry restrictions — a significantly higher number than in recent years. Fox News Digital reviewed a draft of the agency’s FY 2024 report to Congress on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary’s application of his power to exempt foreign nationals from terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG). Foreign nationals who seek entry to the U.S. can be deemed inadmissible from entry and for immigration benefits if they have associated with, supported or worked with terrorist organizations.  However, the DHS secretary can exempt certain foreign nationals from that inadmissibility, including if they have provided support under duress, if they have provided medical care, and they meet other standards for exemptions. SENATORS SOUND ALARM ON TERROR-RELATED EXEMPTIONS TO US ENTRY FOR AFGHANS, WARN OF ‘OPEN-ENDED AUTHORITY  According to the draft report, there were 6,848 TRIG exemptions in FY 2024. The majority (6,653) were for refugees, but the report does not break down the number by country. The Biden administration has significantly increased the refugee cap to 125,000, up substantially from the 18,000 set in the last year of the Trump administration. The 6,848 number is significantly higher than the 2,085 waivers issued in FY 2023, which in turn was higher than previous years. There were 603 waivers distributed in FY 2022, 191 in FY 2021 and 361 in FY 2020, according to DHS reports. In 2022, DHS announced an exemption for Afghan evacuees who worked as civil servants or individuals who provided “insignificant or certain limited material support” to a designated terror group. DHS said that could apply to many occupations, including teachers, doctors and engineers, and those who used their position to mitigate Taliban repression. That exemption came amid a mass evacuation effort of nationals from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. The FY24 report said that 29 waivers were provided for Afghan allies who supported U.S. interests in Afghanistan, and 374 were for civil servants. Meanwhile, 3,134 were for those who provided certain limited support or insignificant material support to a Tier I or Tier II terror organization, under the 2022 exemption announced by DHS. Most of the remaining exemptions (2,946) were given under a 2007 exercise of authority for support given under duress. DHS ANNOUNCES TERROR BAR EXEMPTIONS FOR AFGHAN EVACUAEES WHO WORKED FOR TALIBAN-ERA CIVIL SERVICE Of those who received exemptions who are not refugees, 155 were for asylum applicants, 22 were for green card holders and four were applicants for Temporary Protected Status, The increase in TRIG exemptions comes ahead of a Trump administration that is expected to significantly reduce refugee admissions, while also increasing deportations of illegal immigrants and increasing security at the southern border. Republicans and former Trump administration officials have frequently criticized the Biden administration for its expansion of immigration pathways and release of migrants into the interior, in part over concerns about the potential risk of terrorism.  “Joe Biden and his administration have viciously targeted parents at school board meetings, pro-life Americans, Catholics, and Trump supporters—designating some as ‘domestic terrorists’—instead of catching actual terrorists and keeping them out of the country.” Michael Bars, a former Trump DHS deputy assistant secretary and White House senior communications adviser, told Fox News Digital. “In fact they’ve been helping potential threats move in, waiving national security safeguards to admit individuals who’ve provided varying degrees of material support to Islamic terrorist organizations in extraordinary numbers. “Islamic terrorism is not ‘homegrown’—it’s been imported to the U.S. through our broken immigration system and open border. The Biden administration has not only failed its duty to address this rising threat, but precipitated it,” he said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE DHS did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital, but the report stresses that all applicants are subject to a thorough and “rigorous” security vetting process. “All applicants considered for exemptions were subject to a thorough and rigorous security vetting process,” the report says. “[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] procedures require that the biographic and biometric data of all applicants be screened against a broad array of law enforcement and intelligence community databases that contain information about individuals known to be security threats, including the terrorist watchlist. In addition to rigorous background vetting, the Secretary’s discretionary authority is applied only on a case-by case basis after careful review of all factors and after all security checks have cleared.” “These exemptions will allow eligible individuals who pose no national security or public safety risk to receive asylum, refugee status, or other legal immigration status, demonstrating the United States’ continued commitment to our Afghan allies and their family members,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in 2022.  The Biden administration has also previously noted prior usage of TRIG exemptions, including in 2019, to apply to those involved in the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990. The USCIS website also says that the definition of terrorism-related activity “is relatively broad and may apply to individuals and activities not commonly thought to be associated with terrorism.” The use of TRIG exemptions has proven controversial with Republicans. In August 2022, a coalition of senators sounded the alarm on the 2022 exemptions, saying the exemption of those providing insignificant or limited support could permit was written in a way that isn’t limited to Afghans alone. “Indeed, it is not limited to certain conflicts, terrorist organizations, geographic regions, or time periods at all,” they said.

Most Americans rate Biden as ‘failed’ or ‘fair’ president: new poll

Most Americans rate Biden as ‘failed’ or ‘fair’ president: new poll

With less than a week left until President Biden’s tenure in the White House sunsets, a new national poll indicates many Americans do not think history will be kind to him. According to a USA Today/Suffolk University survey released on Tuesday, 44% of voters nationwide say history will assess Biden as a failed president, with another 27% saying he will be judged as a fair president. Twenty-one percent of those questioned said history will view Biden as a good president, with only 5% saying he will be seen as a great president. The president’s single term in the White House ends next Monday, Jan. 20, as President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated as Biden’s successor. A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY THIS IS HOW THEY’LL VIEW BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY However, according to the poll, 44% also say that Trump will be seen by history as a failed president.  One in five say that Trump, who begins his second term next week, will be viewed as a great president, with 19% saying good and 27% saying he would be judged a fair president. Trump ended his first term in office with approval ratings in negative territory, including 47% approval in Fox News polling from four years ago. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING RESULTS However, opinions about Trump’s first term have risen in polling conducted since his convincing victory in November’s presidential election over Vice President Kamala Harris. The vice president succeeded Biden in July as the Democrats’ 2024 standard-bearer after the president dropped out of the race following a disastrous debate performance against Trump. According to the USA Today/Suffolk poll, 52% of those surveyed say they approve of the job Trump did during his first term in office, with 45% giving him a thumbs down. Suffolk University Political Research Center director David Paleologos noted that the change over the past four years was particularly significant among independent voters. “Donald Trump essentially wiped out his overwhelming negative personal popularity between December 2020 and today among independents,” Paleologos said. “Trump went from a whopping minus 22 (35% favorable ‒ 57% unfavorable) to a negligible minus 5 (42% favorable ‒ 47% unfavorable)” among the group that typically swings elections. WHERE BIDEN STANDS IN THE MOST RECENT FOX NEWS NATIONAL SURVEY Looking ahead, 31% said they were excited Trump was returning to the White House, with 18% saying they were satisfied. However, 12% said they were depressed and 31% are afraid of a second Trump presidency. According to the poll, 43% say they approve of the job Biden’s done as president as he leaves office, with 54% disapproving. Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden’s much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer, mainly among unvaccinated people. The plunge in the president’s approval was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border with Mexico.  Biden’s approval ratings slipped underwater in the autumn of 2021 and never reemerged into positive territory. According to the USA Today/Suffolk University poll, nearly a quarter of respondents were undecided when asked to name Biden’s biggest achievement as president. Nineteen percent said investing in infrastructure. Ten percent said fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the top health and economic concern among Americans when Biden took office four years ago. As for his biggest failure as president, just over three in ten pointed to Biden’s handing of immigration, with 20% offering the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. The poll questioned 1,000 registered voters nationwide by phone. It was conducted Jan. 7-1, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Trump calls Jack Smith ‘desperate’ after special counsel report is released after midnight

Trump calls Jack Smith ‘desperate’ after special counsel report is released after midnight

President-elect Trump took one more dig at Jack Smith after the Justice Department released the former special counsel’s report early Tuesday.  Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume, which focuses on the election case against Trump, of Smith’s report on Tuesday at midnight after back-and-forth in the federal court system. The report was released at midnight because that was when the original hold on Volume One expired. Nevertheless, the timing provoked a heated response from Trump. “To show you how desperate Deranged Jack Smith is, he released his Fake findings at 1:00 A.M. in the morning. Did he say that the Unselect Committee illegally destroyed and deleted all of the evidence,” Trump posted on Truth Social. In another post, Trump dismissed Smith’s report, claiming it was based on information gathered by the House Jan. 6 select committee, which was formed in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by Trump supporters who rioted ahead of President Biden taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House and all of its members were appointed by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.  DOJ RELEASEES FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S REPORT ON INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Trump also repeated his claim that Smith, who resigned last week, acted on orders from President Biden to prosecute the president’s political opponents.  “Jack is a lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the Election, which I won in a landslide,” Trump wrote. In a letter to Garland last week, Smith called it “laughable” that Trump believes the Biden administration, or other political actors, influenced or directed his decisions as a prosecutor, stating that he was guided by the Principles of Federal Prosecution. “Trump’s cases represented ones ‘in which the offense [was] the most flagrant, the public harm the greatest, and the proof the most certain,’” Smith said, referencing the principles. APPEALS COURT WILL NOT BLOCK PARTIAL RELEASE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TRUMP REPORT In the lengthy report, Smith said his office fully stands behind the decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he “resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power” after he lost the 2020 election. Smith said in his conclusion that the parties were determining whether any material in the “superseding indictment was subject to presidential immunity” when it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election. The department then determined the case must be dismissed before he takes office because of how it interprets the Constitution. “The Department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind,” the report stated. Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special counsel in November 2022.  SPECIAL COUNSEL WEISS BLASTS BIDEN IN FINAL HUNTER PROSECUTION REPORT Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ’s public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter.  Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty. The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Senate Democratic Whip declares support for Rubio confirmation: ‘Many similar views on foreign policy’

Senate Democratic Whip declares support for Rubio confirmation: ‘Many similar views on foreign policy’

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., declared in a statement that he intends to vote to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to serve as Secretary of State. “Senator Rubio and I share many similar views on foreign policy and as a result, have worked closely together in the Senate to move forward with legislation regarding human rights around the world, the continued threat of China, and the recent sham election in Venezuela,” Durbin said in the statement.  “I believe Senator Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate,” the Democrat lawmaker noted. DURBIN FACES BACKLASH FOR REMARK ON TRANS INCLUSION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS President-elect Donald Trump — who is slated to be inaugurated on Monday — announced Rubio as his pick for the cabinet post back in November. Rubio is likely to sail through confirmation on a bipartisan basis.  Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., previously called Rubio “a strong choice,” and indicated that he will support confirmation. TRUMP NOMINATES MARCO RUBIO TO SERVE AS SECRETARY OF STATE Rubio’s current Senate term runs through early 2029, so if he resigns to serve in the Trump administration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will tap a replacement to represent the Sunshine State in the U.S. Senate until voters select a replacement during a 2026 special election for the seat. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is scheduled to hold a nomination hearing for Rubio on Wednesday. HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS TO SEN. RUBIO’S SEAT IF HE BECOMES SECRETARY OF STATE AND WHO COULD REPLACE HIM Rubio has served in the U.S. Senate since early 2011.