Xi Jinping warns Trump US would ‘lose from confrontation’ with China as renewed trade war looms
President Xi Jinping called President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his election win, and warned the U.S. would “gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation” with China. The message comes as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must prepare for deeper tensions as Trump has vowed to bring back the trade war of his last presidency with blanket tariffs. “Xi Jinping noted that history tells us that both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. A China-U.S. relationship with stable, healthy and sustainable development serves the common interests of the two countries,” China’s foreign ministry said in a readout of the conversation. “It is hoped that the two sides will, in the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along with each other in the new era to the benefit of the two countries and the world.” This week, Republicans captured control of the Senate and have favorable prospects in the undecided race for power in the House. With both chambers in Congress and the presidency, little would stand in Trump’s way of a steep sanctions regime. BIDEN FINALIZES CRACKDOWN ON US MILITARY TECH INVESTMENTS IN CHINA WITH ONE WEEK TO LAME DUCK SESSION In recent years, U.S.-China relations have worsened not only on trade – China has been threatening U.S. allies like the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan in the South China Sea. They’ve been accused of sending Chinese nationals to spy on U.S. military bases and sent what was believed to be a surveillance balloon across the U.S. While Trump ushered in an era of steep trade competition and increased support for Taiwan, President Biden did not necessarily warm the relationship. Trump increased duties by at least 10% during his first term on over $300 billion worth of goods. Biden did not lift those tariffs. That was on top of export controls on a variety of items that started under Trump and furthered under Biden. On the campaign trail this year, Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and 60% on Chinese-made products. CHINA EXERTS NEW RESTRICTIONS ON EXPORTS OF MINERALS CRITICAL TO US WEAPONS MAKING If Trump successfully raises tariffs to 60%, it could reduce China’s exports by $200 billion and cause a one percentage point drag on GDP, said Zhu Baoliang, a former chief economist at China’s economic planning agency, at a Citigroup conference. Last year, China exported about $500 billion worth of goods to the U.S., about 15% of all of its exports. Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks fell Wednesday as it became clear Trump would win the election. China’s exports grew 12.7% year-on-year, hitting a 27-month high in October, in anticipation of the potential for a Trump victory, as Chinese vendors likely rushed out products that could be hit by tariffs next year. Beijing is expected to unveil a bold stimulus package on Friday to aid its ailing economy, amid lackluster consumer spending and deflation. The U.S. and Europe both increased tariffs on electric vehicles recently, darkening trade outlook for a market where China has long dominated. China has been taking key steps to buoy its markets, and has an arsenal in response to U.S. tariffs that could include imposing duties on U.S. agricultural imports, export controls on critical minerals essential for U.S. defense and targeting U.S. companies with interests in China.
Trump-backed incumbent Rep. Scott Perry wins re-election in Pennsylvania
Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry is projected to win his re-election effort against Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson in the state’s 10th Congressional District. With 99% reporting, Perry led with 50.8% of the vote, to Stelson’s 49.2%. President-elect Donald Trump is projected to win Pennsylvania on the presidential level. The victory puts the GOP one seat closer to the 218 seats needed to secure the House majority. As of Thursday afternoon, the balance of power there is still undecided, with the Republicans leading 209 seats to the Democrats’ 195. Perry has served as a Pennsylvania congressman since 2013, and currently represents the state’s 10th District, which includes the state’s capital, Harrisburg, as well as Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York Counties. The race for the district’s seat heated up recently even as most attention has been on the Keystone State’s presidential and Senate races. CONGRESSMAN, ARMY VET SAYS BIDEN BEING ‘USED,’ FEARS OTHERS ARE MAKING DECISIONS: ‘IT’S ABUSIVE’ Perry, who has repeatedly been endorsed by former President Trump throughout his career, is the former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and campaigned on issues such as cracking down on illegal immigration following the “Biden-Harris Administration’s reprehensible, dangerous, and failed border policies,” American energy independence, protecting women’s sports and reeling in inflation following the “the radical Left’s spending increases.” PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE RACE: 5 FORMER HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY DON’T SUPPORT REP SCOTT PERRY Perry faced Stelson, a former broadcast journalist for decades in the Harrisburg area. Just days ahead of the election, the Democratic challenger racked up endorsements from former Republican House members who worked with Perry. Former Reps. Barbara Comstock, Adam Kinzinger, Denver Riggleman, Dave Trott and Joe Walsh threw their support behind Stelson last week and launched a “Republicans for Janelle” group. HARRIS HECKLED AT PENNSYLVANIA CHURCH, SAYS VOTING FOR HER FULFILLS GOD’S EXPECTATION ‘FOR US TO HELP HIM’ Stelson campaigned on issues such as protecting abortion access following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, hiring more border agents to better secure the border, and lowering the cost of living for Pennsylvanians. The pair traded barbs during a debate last month, with Perry touting legislation he supported under Trump’s administration when the cost of living was cheaper for voters. “I voted for the largest tax cut in history, giving people in this district and across the country, in Pennsylvania, more money in their pocket,” he said. “When I was in Congress four years ago, when President Trump was there, wages were the highest they have ever been since the Carter administration.” IT’S CLEAR THE KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN IS IN ‘FREE FALL’, SAYS REP. SCOTT PERRY Meanwhile, Stelson focused on raising the minimum wage. ”Pennsylvania has a $7.25 an hour minimum wage,” she said. “Every state around us, has almost double. West Virginia has a higher rate than that, and the cost of living is far less.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Political eyes have been locked on Pennsylvania as Keystone State voters are championed as the ones who will likely determine the outcome of the federal election. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 when he successfully campaigned against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but lost the state in 2020 against President Biden. The Senate race between longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick has also attracted a greater focus in the state as the GOP looked to flip that seat red.
Where does Trump’s New York sentencing stand after massive election win?
Following his massive election victory, President-elect Trump is still scheduled for sentencing in his Manhattan criminal case later this month, with presiding Judge Juan Merchan first ruling whether to dismiss the charges altogether after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling earlier this year. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records following his Manhattan criminal trial in May. District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified the 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. Trump is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 26, which is already a four-month delay from the original date of July 11. Trump’s lawyers had asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict in New York v. Trump after the Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, but not for unofficial acts. Merchan is expected to rule by Nov. 12 as to where the charges stand. “A normal judge would dismiss this case, and then the DA would have to decide, what — if anything – remains, so that we could consider re-bringing the case. But Judge Merchan has shown himself to be nothing but an ordinary judge. And so the catch-22 here is, if he was normal, he would dismiss it, but because he’s not normal, he’ll probably deny it. But because it’s an immunity claim, that gives the Trump defense team the right, the legal right, to immediately appeal his denial,” Cully Stimson, deputy director of the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told Fox News Digital. TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS Stimson said that even if Merchan denies Trump’s claim of immunity, the Trump team appeals the decision and an appellate court also denies Trump’s claim, the president-elect would not face incarceration. “For all intents and purposes, no matter what happens if [Merchan] denies it, and the appeals court… follow the judge, and then the judge gets to sentence him. Even then the Justice Department will come in and say, ‘Look, under the Supremacy Clause, you cannot impose a criminal sentence, especially one of incarceration on a sitting president.’ And so that case will be on ice until after Trump gets out of office. But as a practical matter, this case and the Fanni Willis case are over,” he said. Trump pleaded not guilty in the case and denied any such affair with Daniels. The now-president-elect had railed against the trial as a “sham,” while calling Merchan “corrupt” and “conflicted,” appearing to refer to the judge’s familial ties to the Democratic Party. Trump also lambasted the case as “lawfare” promoted by the Biden-Harris administration to hurt his chances of succeeding in the 2024 presidential election. Trump cannot pardon himself upon his inauguration, as it was a state case. Stimson continued that, considering the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity, it would be impossible to take a scalpel to the case and remove the evidence connected to Trump’s first White House administration and “official acts” in the position from the evidence connected to his life before he was president. TRUMP LAWYERS REQUEST TO MOVE NEW YORK CRIMINAL CASE TO FEDERAL COURT, CITING SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING “[Merchan] is not your traditional judge, but he’s not going to say there’s no immunity for Trump because… the highest court in the land has said that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for their official acts, and so he’s going to have to recognize that the question is whether he has the temperament and the judgment — which he has proven not to, at least so far — to apply that in a fair and impartial manner and dismiss the charges,” Stimson told Fox News Digital. “By dismissing the charges, that just puts the ball back in Alvin Bragg’s court. If Alvin Bragg wants to double down on stupid, which he’s done a lot, he can [reopen the case]. But he’s not going to get anywhere with that, because by then, the president will have assumed office. And the Justice Department will move under the Supremacy Clause that you cannot bring your case, your criminal case, against a sitting president while he’s the president,” he continued. JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS TRUMP SENTENCING UNTIL AFTER ELECTION Fox contributor and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy also wrote in an op-ed for Fox Digital this week that Trump would not face prison time in the case. “Understand, Trump is not going to prison even if Merchan metes out an incarceration sentence. Though the charges are felonies, they are not sufficiently serious under New York law to merit immediate detention; Trump will get bail pending appeal,” he wrote. “Given that Trump is not going to be sent to Rikers Island by a Manhattan judge in any event, it would be prudent to postpone the sentence and allow Trump to pursue his immunity appeal. That would avoid the unseemliness of subjecting the next president of the United States to a criminal conviction and sentence when he is about to take office,” he continued. “Lawfare was terrible for the country. The resounding win Americans have given Trump should be its death knell,” McCarthy added later in his piece.
Rick Scott sees red wave as ‘best case scenario’ for Senate leader bid as he lobbies Trump for support
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is coming off the highs of a better-than-expected re-election margin in Florida and getting right into campaign mode for the Republican Senate leader race next week. His first project: Get President-elect Donald Trump’s support. The Florida Republican is actively lobbying his ally, who is now both the former and future president, for his endorsement ahead of the GOP leader race to determine who will succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a senior Scott source told Fox News Digital. In fact, the election presented Trump with a mandate, and “that’s the best case scenario for Rick Scott,” they said. CHUCK SCHUMER PREPS FOR RETURN TO SENATE MINORITY AFTER GOP VICTORY Trump has not endorsed anyone in the leader race, which currently includes candidates Scott, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. He also has not said whether he will ultimately weigh in. Scott spoke to Trump following their electoral wins, telling FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow that they are “texting back and forth.” He expressed hope that Trump would back him in the race, which is rapidly heating up. ELECTION NIGHT WINNERS AND LOSERS: 2024 EDITION Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., made his own endorsement of Scott, and urged Trump to do the same on “The Jesse Kelly Show” on Thursday. He told host Jesse Kelly to ask the president-elect to “come out publicly” in support of Scott, if he has any influence with Trump. A source familiar also shared with Fox News Digital that Thune had connected with both Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance after the election. However, the South Dakota Republican is of a different perspective than Scott and suggested Trump should not get involved in the Senate GOP leader race. MITCH MCCONNELL SINGS TRUMP CAMPAIGN PRAISES: ‘SHARPER OPERATION THIS TIME’ “It’s probably in his best interest to stay out of that,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. “Obviously, if he wants to, he could exert a considerable amount of influence on that,” Thune acknowledged. He noted it’s his preference that Trump doesn’t publicly endorse. Thune and Trump had a previously fractured relationship, which they have been repairing in recent months. The senator first endorsed Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the Republican presidential primary before ultimately backing Trump. FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PROJECTS GOP TAKES BACK SENATE MAJORITY IN DEVASTATING BLOW TO DEMS Cornyn has been adamant about keeping the race out of the press. His office did not say whether he had spoken with Trump since the election but referred Fox News Digital to his interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto last week. Asked about potential friction with Trump, which McConnell dealt with, Cornyn said, “My experience with President Trump is you can tell him the truth in private, and he is willing to listen. And sometimes he’s willing to do what you suggest. Other times he may disagree, and that’s his prerogative. But I’ve had a very successful four years working with President Trump during his first term.” The leader election will be conducted through a secret ballot among the Republican conference on Nov. 13. McConnell does not plan to endorse in the race. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
DeSantis floats Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo as candidate for Trump’s HHS secretary
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is advocating for President-elect Donald Trump to tap state surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Retweet if you’d like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the Secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X, which features a photo of Ladapo. The post has earned thousands of retweets and amassed more than 1 million views. DESANTIS CLAIMS VICTORY OVER FLORIDA ABORTION, MARIJUANA AMENDMENTS AS SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE: ‘PRAISE GOD’ Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis was one of the many people who endorsed her husband’s idea by retweeting the post. On the heels of Trump’s decisive 2024 presidential election victory, DeSantis declared Wednesday on X that Trump “not only earned a sweeping electoral victory, he earned a mandate for change.” Ladapo tweeted on Wednesday, “The future of health freedom looks brighter today. Just as in Florida, it’s time to say ‘No’ to trampling on people’s rights, to gaslighting citizens about experimental vaccines that harm instead of help & to muzzling doctors who dissent with orthodoxy. Light triumphs over darkness.” RAND PAUL HITS ‘BIDEN/HARRIS CDC’ OVER COVID-19 VACCINE GUIDANCE FOR 6-MONTH-OLDS Ladapo recommends against using mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Florida Department of Health. “Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the State Surgeon General advises against the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” the department noted in a September press release. “Any provider concerned about the health risks associated with COVID-19 for patients over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment.” Ladapo asserted in a September tweet that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “are gaslighting Americans with their new, unproven COVID-19 boosters, and recommend them for 6 month-old babies!” “We say bring data, acknowledge serious safety concerns & acknowledge the many people who believe they’ve been injured by these vaccines,” Ladapo added. NEW COVID VACCINE PUSH IS ‘ANTI-HUMAN,’ SAYS FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL: ‘MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN’ The CDC’s 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Immunization Schedule advises three doses of the 2024-2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 6 months through 4-years-old. “An 8-week interval between the first and second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine might be optimal for some people, as it might reduce the rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccines,” the CDC notes.
New York Dem Laura Gillen ousts incumbent Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in toss-up House race
One of the first-term Republican lawmakers key to the House GOP winning the majority in the last election is projected to lose his seat. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., a retired NYPD officer, was defeated by former local official Laura Gillen in New York’s 4th Congressional District on suburban Long Island, in the shadow of New York City, The Associated Press said Thursday. Two days after Election Day, the balance of power in the House is still undetermined, with key races yet to be called in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and other states. Democrats and Republicans have now each flipped four seats. The election was a rematch of the November 2022 race, when D’Esposito beat Gillen and flipped the seat from blue to red. FORMER NEW YORK GOV. DAVID PATERSON, STEPSON ATTACKED BY GROUP OF SUSPECTS WHILE WALKING DOG Gillen is a former Hempstead town supervisor and previously worked as an attorney representing victims of domestic violence, according to her campaign website. She was backed by the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, through their “Red to Blue” program – an initiative pouring resources and funding into seats where Democrats saw an opportunity to grow their numbers in the House of Representatives. Gillen was endorsed by sitting New York Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman, Grace Meng and Tom Suozzi, among others. MOST NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS WANT INDICTED MAYOR ERIC ADAMS TO RESIGN: POLL D’Esposito’s election in 2022 came amid a wave of voter backlash against New York City’s progressive crime policies, when Republicans swept key districts in the suburbs of New York and New Jersey. He later helped lead the push to expel former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., after his criminal indictment related to fraud and other charges. However, his campaign was rocked in recent weeks by allegations in a New York Times report that D’Esposito possibly violated ethics rules by previously having his affair partner and his fiancée’s daughter on his payroll. D’Esposito denied all the allegations when asked by reporters on Capitol Hill in late September. “There was nothing done that was unethical,” he said at the time. When asked if he would stay in his race, D’Esposito said, “Absolutely. And win.” Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
House leaders move quickly to consolidate power in show of confidence for Republican majority
The top three House Republican leaders are all running for their roles in the new Congress, a show of confidence that the GOP will prevail in winning full control of the federal government. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., sent letters to fellow House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday night asking for support to remain in those positions. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., made a similar entreaty on Thursday morning. The current House leadership lineup is not expected to face significant challenges if Republicans prove successful in keeping the chamber. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ Each promised to work in support of conservative policies alongside President-elect Trump in separate letters obtained by Fox News Digital. “We can secure our borders, prioritize the needs of Americans above foreigners, promote investment and opportunity through the tax code, return to American energy dominance, dramatically reduce regulations, expand school choice, end the woke agenda, and restore fiscal sanity to Washington – among other pressing items,” Johnson wrote in his letter. “I’m ready to take the field with all of you, and I am humbly asking for your support to continue leading this Conference as your Speaker.” HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA Scalise’s letter was a four-page memo detailing how congressional Republicans would pass significant conservative reforms using a legislative process called “reconciliation.” Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit, and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority. But Scalise signaled Republicans would test those boundaries next year. “Though there are Senate rules limiting what we can fit in budget reconciliation, I want us to be bold and creative so we can include as many reforms in this package as possible,” he said. “Democrats expanded what is traditionally allowed in reconciliation, and we intend to do the same. Now is the time to go big to advance conservative policies that will make our country prosperous and secure again.” Emmer in his letter emphasized his role as whip in convincing Republicans to come together on legislation, even conceding that it was a difficult mission at times during the exceptionally disorderly 118th Congress. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ “We will always have disagreements over policy and strategy. That’s a good thing. Governing is messy and imperfect. But I have always believed that there is more that unites us than divides us,” he wrote. “I’ve witnessed this as your Whip, bringing together members from across our conference to hash out these disagreements and find a path to 218 votes.” “I will always be direct, honest, and transparent. I will never make false promises or try to buy your votes.” Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who is term-limited as chair of the Republican Study Committee, the House GOP’s de facto conservative think tank, has announced a bid for House Republican Policy Committee chair. The role, currently held by Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., is the No. 5 position in the House GOP leadership lineup. In his appeal to Republicans, Hern emphasized his good relationship with Vice President-elect JD Vance from his brief time in the U.S. Senate. The No. 4 House Republican leader, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is also running for her current position again, though Fox News Digital is also told that she is angling for a Trump administration role as ambassador to the United Nations. Her spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. House Republicans are slated to hold their leadership elections on Wednesday next week, their first full day back in Washington since September. The balance of power in the House has not yet been decided – something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has pointed out in multiple public statements – but the speedy consolidation of power is a sign Republicans are feeling good about their chances. The Fox News Decision Desk put odds slightly in favor of the GOP in a Wednesday afternoon update.
House Democrat says the party needs to get past ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’
A House Democrat is arguing that their party needs to get past “this idea they call ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’” as President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for another term in the White House. The lawmaker, speaking to Axios about how Democrats should approach Trump’s second term, suggested they ought to “pick and choose” their battles this time around. “Democrats just literally attacked everything he did. We could never agree with anything, never give him credit for anything, could never say, ‘Well actually securing the border is a good idea, I just disagree with how he’s doing it,’” the House Democrat was quoted as saying in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss. The discussion about Democrats reworking their strategy for Trump comes as they have been weighing in on what they believe went wrong for Harris, ranging from her choice of Tim Walz as running mate to select comments she made on national television while campaigning. LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP, ALLIES EYE TRANSITION PROCESS TO WHITE HOUSE Mark Penn, a former Clinton adviser who is a Fox News contributor, wrote among his “lessons of the election” that “America is a center right country at heart.” “Only 25 percent are liberal and the other 75 percent won’t be ruled by the 25,” he posted on X early Thursday. “Campaigns are about issues and serious proposals and positions and you can’t avoid having them.” TOP PHILADELPHIA DEMOCRAT TORCHES HARRIS CAMP AS DEMOCRAT BLAME GAME INTENSIFIES “Voters don’t listen to Hollywood celebrities when it comes to voting,” Penn continued. “Most voters see Hollywood as great for entertaining but as far removed from their concerns when it comes to voting.” In the waning days of Harris’ campaign, she had brought out celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen and Eminem in an attempt to appeal to swing state voters. “Identity politics is ultimately losing politics as voters care more about issues not identity when living their lives,” Penn also said. “And finally, Joe Biden should never have run for re-election.”
ACLU vows to oppose Trump policies on LGBT issues, abortion and deportations
The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union pledged “to combat” the forthcoming Trump administration’s proposed policies on critical issues such as abortion, border security and LGBTQ rights. “We know that a second Trump administration will be even more aggressive and effective than it was before,” Anthony Romero, the group’s executive director, said in an open letter published on the ACLU’s website. “The Trump administration’s anti-liberty and fundamentally anti-American policies will be met with the full firepower of the ACLU.” The left-wing civil liberties organization launched 434 legal challenges against President Trump during his first term, and these challenges will continue during his second term, according to Romero’s open letter. They plan, for example, to use the courts to “invalidate Trump administration policies” impacting the gay and transgender communities, such as actions that keep biological males out of women’s bathrooms or that prevent them from playing on women’s sports teams. The ACLU also plans to hone in on challenges to Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants residing in the U.S., and any attempts by the new president to restrict abortion. BIDEN JUDGE RULES IOWA CAN CHECK BALLOTS OF POTENTIAL NONCITIZENS IN BLOW TO ACLU During Trump’s first term, the ACLU spearheaded efforts to block Trump’s travel ban on several countries in the Middle East. While initially successful, the Supreme Court eventually upheld the ban. Other challenges from the ACLU against Trump included going after his administration for restricting abortion care for immigration detainees, combating Trump’s efforts to implement asylum restrictions for migrants and his push to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. In his second term, Trump, according to Romero, will effectuate “dragnet raids” against immigrants, target his political foes, “spy on private citizens, promote discrimination against marginalized communities, and control what we can and can’t do with our bodies.” “Despair and resignation are not a strategy,” Romero said. “At the ACLU, we’re choosing to channel our fear into action.” MEGAN RAPINOE DEMANDS PROTECTION FOR TRANS PEOPLE AFTER SOUNDING ALARM ON HOW ELECTION WILL ‘AFFECT EVERYBODY’ In addition to utilizing the courts, the ACLU also said it intends to leverage its ties to federal and state lawmakers to push for oversight and investigations into Trump’s “restrictive executive branch policies.” “The Trump administration’s anti-liberty and fundamentally anti-American policies will be met with the full firepower of the ACLU, the might of our allies, and the commitment of the American people,” Romero wrote. The ACLU declined to comment to Fox News, but an official did point to a June “roadmap” the group published outlining its plan “to protect civil rights” in the next administration and analyzing the policies of both Trump and President Biden, who, at the time, was the Democrats’ nominee for president prior to dropping out. “This November, freedom is on the ballot,” the roadmap’s introduction stated.
Amid heavy pollution in Delhi, these 12 Indian cities enjoy fresh, clean air
The primary pollutants in Delhi are particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.