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Former ESPN personality Sage Steele denies Trump press secretary rumors

Former ESPN personality Sage Steele denies Trump press secretary rumors

Sage Steele, the veteran sportscaster best known for her decade-plus career at ESPN, has shot down swirling rumors she wants to be press secretary in the new Trump administration, labeling the murmurings as “fake news.” President-elect Donald Trump has been quickly filling his incoming Cabinet since he stormed to election victory last week, but he has yet to name someone to be his top public spokesperson at the White House. Axios reported Wednesday that Steele along with CNN contributor and Bush White House official Scott Jennings, as well as Republican National Committee spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko are all “vying” for the much-coveted role. Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt and former Trump administration official Monica Crowley are also “in the mix,” according to Axios. SAGE STEELE IS OFF THE SIDELINES AND SPEAKING HER MIND Trump attorney Alina Habba said Thursday that she is not considering the role of press secretary. Steele, 51, has been a public supporter of the president-elect and stumped for him on the campaign trail, appearing at an event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, last month.  However, she took to X on Thursday to deny she was interested in the press secretary role.  “Not sure how these rumors began about me ‘vying’ to be Press Secretary, but it’s definitely fake news! I haven’t had a single conversation with anyone about that job, and have no desire to do so!” Steele wrote. SAGE STEELE UNLEASHES ON ‘TERRIBLE’ BIDEN, SAYS HE ‘TRAILED OFF’ DURING CHAT BEFORE TAPING ESPN INTERVIEW “Honestly, it was the honor of a lifetime to be a small part of @TeamTrump during the campaign – something I NEVER imagined – but I wholeheartedly believe in @realDonaldTrump @JDVance & am excited to find ways to continue to serve. It took me years to not be afraid to speak up. That fear is gone forever, and I hope others are beginning to feel the same. LFG!” In 2023, Steele left ESPN after 15 years at the network where she hosted its flagship program “SportsCenter as well as “NBA Countdown,” among other roles.  In April 2022, Steele filed a lawsuit against ESPN alleging the network violated her free speech rights after she was punished in 2021 for speaking out against parent company Disney’s COVID vaccine mandate and knocked former President Barack Obama for identifying as Black instead of biracial.  They settled the lawsuit, and she left the network last August. “Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele wrote last August. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!” In March, Steele was named the first podcast host on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios podcast network. Karoline Leavitt appears to be the leading name for press secretary after she worked as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary throughout the high-stakes election cycle.  Alina Habba, Trump’s legal spokesperson and adviser, was also viewed as a frontrunner for the position but said Thursday she would “be better served in other capacities.” Other names being floated include Trump adviser and ally Jason Miller, campaign spokesperson and adviser Steven Cheung and former Trump administration official Monica Crowley. Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Lara Trump says she’d ‘love to consider’ filling Rubio’s Senate seat if asked by DeSantis

Lara Trump says she’d ‘love to consider’ filling Rubio’s Senate seat if asked by DeSantis

Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that she would “seriously consider” serving in the U.S. Senate if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asks her to fill the vacancy that will arise when Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., resigns to serve as secretary of state. She told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that she “would love to serve the people of Florida” and “would love to consider” filling the seat if asked. President-elect Donald Trump tapped Rubio to fill the Cabinet-level role, and if Rubio is confirmed by his colleagues and resigns from the Senate, DeSantis will have the opportunity to select a temporary replacement to fill the seat until a special election is held. FETTERMAN HAILS RUBIO AS ‘STRONG CHOICE’ FOR SECRETARY OF STATE, SAYS HE WILL VOTE TO CONFIRM HIM Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on “Hannity” that he “would be like over-the-top excited” and that Republicans “could not do better … than Lara Trump.” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who served as the Sunshine State’s governor prior to DeSantis, said he hopes DeSantis chooses Lara Trump, according to Axios.  HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS TO SEN. RUBIO’S SEAT IF HE BECOMES SECRETARY OF STATE AND WHO COULD REPLACE HIM In a post on X, he declared that she “would be a GREAT Senator and represent Floridians well!” Republicans won the Senate and House majorities during the 2024 elections. Rubio has served in the Senate since 2011. TRUMP’S FIRST CABINET PICKS DECIDEDLY NOT ISOLATIONISTS: UKRAINE, ISRAEL BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF “As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda,” the senator said in a post on X, referring to Trump. “Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else. I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20,” he noted.

Biden concludes foreign diplomacy in region where US influence overshadowed by China

Biden concludes foreign diplomacy in region where US influence overshadowed by China

In what could potentially be President Biden’s last foreign diplomacy trip, he will soon head to South America to meet with global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden will first travel to Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where he is slated to meet with Xi, possibly their final encounter as heads of state, according to a senior administration official. Biden’s attendance at the summit is expected to be followed by a stop in Brazil early next week, where the Group of 20 summit, a gathering of the nation’s foremost economic powers, is being held. While in Brazil, Biden will also become the first sitting U.S. president to make a visit to spots in the Amazon rainforest. Biden’s foreign diplomacy curtain call in South America comes as the U.S.’s influence in the region has been getting overshadowed by China’s, experts have argued. GOP REP SOUNDS ALARM ON GROWING CHINESE INFLUENCE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA The U.S.’s contemporary policy toward the region has shifted over the last century, from focusing on issues related to the political stability of the region to now on issues of illegal immigration and narcotics and how they impact the country domestically. Meanwhile, China has been taking advantage of the holes left open by the U.S. due to this shift in priorities. For example, South American countries have turned to China when the U.S. has failed to establish trade agreements with them, the Wall Street Journal reported. Near the start of the Biden administration, Uruguay and Ecuador’s attempts to develop free-trade agreements with the U.S. were stymied, so they turned to China. While Ecuador’s priority is to establish a trade agreement with the U.S., its ambassador said the country is “prioritizing alternatives” while the U.S. transitions to the Trump administration.  The U.S. still holds more trade agreements in South America than China, but the communist nation has expanded its influence in other ways. Beijing has invested in parts of South America with projects like ports in places such as Peru that trade in Chinese currency, and satellites in Las Lajas, Argentina. China has also established mineral and foodstuff purchases in the region, seen potentially as an effort to fortify resources ahead of any conflict in the South China Sea in light of the increased global tensions surrounding Taiwan. TAIWAN EYES $15B MILITARY PACKAGE IN SIGNAL TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IT IS ‘SERIOUS’ ON DEFENSE: REPORT Meanwhile, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., a federal agency that directs investments in developing countries, invested $30 million in funding for a critical mineral mine in Brazil. However, under the investment’s current mandate, all Latin American countries, except Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, are considered to be too wealthy to benefit from the investment. Under President-elect Donald Trump, relations with South America could continue to worsen as his threats of tariffs have create concern among global trade leaders. Biden and Xi’s meeting while in Peru will be the pair’s third in-person meeting since Biden took office.  According to a senior administration official, the two are expected to discuss a range of issues covering military-to-military communications, human rights, fentanyl, artifical intelligence, climate change, cybersecurity, Taiwan and the incoming Trump administration. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Tennessee governor backs Trump plan to nix Department of Education, sees bellwether on new school choice bill

Tennessee governor backs Trump plan to nix Department of Education, sees bellwether on new school choice bill

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told Fox News Digital that he believes President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory signals success for a second school choice bill introduced to the state legislature this week after his first proposal failed this year.  Lee said he agreed with Trump’s promises to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, echoing the president-elect’s concern over the federal bureaucracy becoming entrenched with gender and race ideology rather than learning. “I think it is a great idea to dismantle the Department of Education federally. And I’m a strong believer that policy at the state level should be handled by states, that states know best,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “In this case, states certainly know best. We know best in Tennessee what our children need and how best to educate our kids. The parents of this state should be given a greater influence on how their kids are educated, and that will happen if the federal Department of Education is dismantled and those funds are delivered to states to be used in a more efficient and more effective way.” Lee said the political environment on the ground in the state is not what it was months ago when the first school choice proposal failed in the state legislature. Since then, the election saw a wave of pro-school choice candidates win at the state-level, and Trump succeeded in his bid for the White House. TRUMP PLANS TO SHIFT SCHOOL FUNDING CONTROL TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES, HAS YET TO PICK DOE SECRETARY “President Trump has long believed that school choice is important for the people of this country and that education freedom is something that all Americans could have. He’s talked about it. He campaigned on it,” Lee said. “One thing is very evident about what happened last week. And President Trump is very clear about what his policies are, and Americans were very clear about their acceptance of those policies last week. They, with a strong mandate, said we like what we hear. We want him to execute on those things and that President Trump has a significant understanding and a clear understanding and is the leader, frankly, on the issue of school choice. All of those things benefit us as we move into this next session.” Lee’s new school choice bill, titled the Education Freedom Act of 2025, was jointly introduced to the state House and Senate on Wednesday. Drawing from funding already approved by the state legislature, the bill would allow the state Department of Education to award up to 20,000 scholarships – valued at about $7,000 each – for the next school year to be spent on tuition, tutoring, technology and examination expenses. The first 10,000 scholarships would be set aside for low-income students whose parents might not otherwise afford to send their children to institutions other than the public schools in their districts.  Democrats have painted school choice as disenfranchising low-income students, but Lee said he feels the opposite. “Every kid is unique. Every kid has different learning styles. Every kid has a different life situation. And every family ought to have the opportunity to choose the best path for their kid,” the governor said. “In particular, I don’t think that only the wealthy families that can afford a private option, that those families should be the only ones and those children should be the only ones that have that option for choice.” “Oftentimes, opponents will say that school choice initiatives hurt public schools. I think that’s just the opposite,” Lee said. “This legislation that we’re actually bringing forth is an education policy initiative. It’s not just an Education Freedom Scholarship bill. It includes historic funding for public schools, bonuses for teachers, for public school teachers. We will include alongside with this legislation a teacher pay raise plan that will put us in the top 15 states for teacher pay raise in the country.” BETSY DEVOS JOINS TRUMP’S CALL TO ‘DISBAND’ THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND ‘RE-EMPOWER’ FAMILIES Lee noted that about 30 states already have school choice, 12 of which have universal school choice, and several of those states have passed their initiatives in recent years.  “Americans are in growing numbers, and now the majority of Americans, as evidenced by the past elections, have come to believe that school choice is the way of the future,” Lee said. “It is the answer to challenging the status quo. It is the way that we take America’s rankings and educational outcomes that used to be the top in the world from way down the list as it relates to other countries back up into the outcomes that we hope for this country.” “This is a way to challenge and change and bring innovation into an education system that’s grown stale and bloated and bureaucratic,” Lee said. “And we see it happening all across America. We believe it’s going to happen in Tennessee. It is an incredibly important moment in our country for parental rights and for the future of children and their education.”  Lee said his schooling growing up in Tennessee happened before the U.S. Department of Education was established in 1979.  “We knew how to do it then. We know how to do it now,” Lee said, explaining that Tennessee created a funding formula that “uniquely recognizes the needs of children with disabilities, with dyslexia and with English as a second language. “We know how to fund education for Tennessee children. We know much better than they do in a bureaucratic institution like the federal Department of Education. I think President Trump is exactly right. I think it’s a great idea.” “As a governor, I would welcome the partnership with President Trump in allowing states to choose and determine how best to spend education dollars for their kids,” he added. If Trump goes through with eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, experts expect the process could take several years.  With Cabinet nominations underway, Fox News Digital asked Lee who he would like to see as Trump’s