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General involved in Afghanistan withdrawal has promotion confirmed by Senate

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue – who was seen in the viral, night vision photo showing the final American soldier out of Kabul, Afghanistan – was quietly confirmed by the Senate on Monday to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa. Donahue, who headed the 82nd Airborne Division during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, was tapped by President Biden for the promotion to four-star general, but the confirmation was left out of a series of a hundred other military promotions green-lighted by the Senate before Thanksgiving recess. The delay was caused by one senator holding Donahue’s confirmation, according to Politico. Several outlets reported that Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., was responsible for the procedural hold. MAJ. GEN. CHRIS DONAHUE: WHO IS THE LAST AMERICAN SOLDIER TO HAVE LEFT AFGHANISTAN? Mullin has been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the botched withdrawal mired by the killing of 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate. Donahue was responsible for the 82nd Airborne as it was tasked with securing the airfield at the Kabul airport during evacuations before the country fell to the Taliban. The senator called out Donahue, as well as other officials, in an Aug. 24, 2024, statement on the three-year anniversary of the suicide bombing attack. “Three years later, not one person has been held accountable for the disaster–not Gen. Milley, Gen. McKenzie, Gen. Donahue, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pommersheim, or anyone at the State Department,” Mullin said at the time. “To this day, no one has testified before Congress as to who gave this directive. No one has been held accountable for the 13 brave American heroes who died at Abbey Gate, or the countless Americans who lost their lives trying to escape Kabul.” President-elect Trump’s former defense secretary turned Trump critic, Mark Esper, had defended Donahue’s nomination, and urged last month for the hold to be lifted. “Responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept, and certainly not with the uniformed leaders who faithfully executed Pres Biden’s misbegotten decisions,” Esper wrote on X. ARMY UNIT POSTS PHOTO OF LAST US SOLDIER TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN Trump had promised on the campaign trail to fire senior officers involved in the withdrawal, though not Donahue specifically. One U.S. official told NBC News last month that the Trump transition team was compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers to be potentially court-martialed over the pullout. The Senate ultimately confirmed Donahue’s promotion to be the commander of US Army Europe-Africa by unanimous consent on Monday, as the hold was dropped. Mullin had not publicly commented about the hold. Donahue has headed the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, since 2022. He has also been leader of the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan and served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism.

Colorado Republicans sound off on impact of migrant surge on citizens: ‘Their souls are crushed’

Colorado Republicans are sounding off on “out-of-touch” Democrats after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston vowed to station police to block ICE agents from carrying out deportations and a report showed that the city has spent over $356 million in taxpayer dollars on services for migrants. The sum, which amounts to $7,900 per foreign national in the city and equates to 8% of the city’s total 2025 budget, was revealed by an updated analysis last week by the Common Sense Institute. Rose Pugliese, leader of the Republican caucus in the Colorado State Assembly, told Fox News Digital that the massive influx of migrants in the state has resulted in heavier burdens on both local and state resources. She said the Democrat-controlled legislature has spent an estimated $563 million on illegal immigrants since 2021, with $352 million of that on education spending alone. “Without question, illegal immigration in Colorado has cost the state a significant amount of money that could have been spent supporting our constituents, roads, public safety, and other state services,” she said. CNN HOST VISIBLY STUNNED BY INCOMING BORDER CZAR SAYING HE’LL ‘JAIL’ DENVER MAYOR FOR REFUSING DEPORTATIONS Pugliese called Mayor Johnston “out of touch on this issue,” saying that the results of the 2024 election “mandated illegal immigration as a top concern throughout America.” “Removing and deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes against our citizens is a reasonable position,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is no public estimate by the state regarding illegal immigrants in Colorado. This is due to policy decisions by the majority in the state legislature over the last ten years.” “Preventing an accurate accounting only aggravates the issue for local and state budgets when planning,” she continued, adding that “if you don’t know the numbers, you can never be right.” DENVER MIGRANT ADVOCATES SAY SIX MONTHS OF FREE RENT, FOOD NOT ENOUGH: ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’ AND ‘OFFENSIVE’ Meanwhile, Roger Hudson, a city councilman for Castle Pines, a small town just south of Denver, told Fox News Digital that “there’s nothing kind, there’s nothing hopeful” about what Democrats have done to the city. According to Hudson, Denver has accepted over 45,000 migrants since 2022. He said that these migrants have taken up much of the funding meant for important services in the city, including public schools and parks. “Now they’re not mowing the grass in parks, the fountains are down, rec centers are closed, the homeless problem is completely out of control,” he said. “What they’ve done to Denver is horrific.” He also called out Democrats for shipping migrants to communities around the city, such as Aurora, where members of the Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua” terrorized an entire apartment building. VENEZUELAN MIGRANT GANG TREN DE ARAGUA NOW OPERATING IN 16 STATES: REPORT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “These migrants are preying on each other, they are abusing women, elderly women, elderly individuals, people who are disabled, they are robbing, they are causing a drug problem that wasn’t here before in our state.” “What the Democrats and what our liberals and progressives have done in our state is obscene, and it shows, and our residents are tired of it,” he went on. “In the past, it had been filled with hope. I mean, you have the Rocky Mountains in the background where there’s nothing but hope and aspiration. Now, when you look down, and you look at the streets, they are filled with people begging not for food, but for their next fix or for a bottle of alcohol, and their souls are crushed.” A representative for the Denver City Council declined to comment on the $356 million spent on migrant services. Instead, the representative told Fox News Digital: “The Denver City Council is the legislative branch of the city government and isn’t involved in the day to day operations of these services.”

Denver mayor criticized by hometown paper over vow to resist Trump deportations

Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was scolded by his hometown newspaper for “amping up violent rhetoric” with his vow to resist President-elect Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants. The editorial board at the Denver Post on Monday published an editorial with the headline, “Denver’s mayor was wrong to threaten armed conflict to protect immigrants,” referring to Johnston’s recent suggestion of using the Denver Police to resist federal immigration officials attempting to carry out their job. “We are not surprised Johnston recklessly elevated the rhetoric around protecting Coloradans without legal immigration status. But that doesn’t make it OK,” the editorial said. The newspaper said the mayor “must choose his words carefully” rather than joining “Trump’s arms race of amping up violent rhetoric around illegal immigration.” MD MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR PUSHING IMMIGRANT ‘LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND’ TO REBUFF TRUMP-HOMAN AGENDA “Johnston should keep his remarks far away from violent conflict and focus on peaceful resistance,” the editorial said. Johnston said during a recent interview with Denverite that he was prepared to protest against anything he believes is “illegal or immoral or un-American” in the city – predicting the use of city police against federal officers and a “Tiananmen Square moment.” The mayor was then asked if he was prepared to go to jail for standing in the way of policies enacted by the administration. NYC HOME TO NEARLY 60K ‘CRIMINAL’ MIGRANTS: REPORT “Yeah, I’m not afraid of that, and I’m also not seeking that,” Johnston said. “I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people [on] how to solve hard problems.” Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar” designate, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week that he would jail Johnston if he broke the law in shielding illegal migrants. “All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S., and he would see he’s breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

McConnell criticizes federal judges for reversing retirement decisions as ‘open partisanship’

The Senate GOP leader on Monday slammed decisions by two federal judges to reverse their announced retirements after Republican former President Trump won re-election in November. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the pair of “partisan Democrat district judges” after they announced plans to “unretire” after “the American people voted to fire Democrats last month.” “Looking to history, only two judges have ever unretired after a presidential election. One Democrat in 2004 and one Republican in 2009. But now, in just a matter of weeks, Democrats have already met that all-time record. It’s hard to conclude that this is anything other than open partisanship,” McConnell said in remarks delivered on the Senate floor. In mid-November, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley of Ohio informed President Biden of his intention to stay on the bench after Biden had failed to nominate a replacement for him. DEMOCRATS ADVANCE 5 MORE BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEES Marbley, who was appointed by President Clinton, said that because a successor had not been confirmed, “I have therefore decided to remain on active status and carry out the full duties and obligations of the office.” Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn of North Carolina, who was appointed by President Obama, has also withdrawn plans to retire, Reuters reported. Both Marbley and Cogburn had announced plans to take senior status before the election, which would have allowed them to take reduced caseloads until the president appoints a successor. McConnell said their decisions to rescind their retirements after Trump won points to “a political finger on the scale.” He urged the incoming Trump administration to “explore all available recusal options with these judges.” FEDERAL JUDGE IN OHIO RESCINDS RETIREMENT AFTER TRUMP VICTORY, WITH BIDEN YET TO NOMINATE A SUCCESSOR He also warned two sitting circuit court judges, who have announced retirements and have vacancies currently pending before the senate, against making similar decisions to “unretire.” “Never before has a circuit judge unretired after a presidential election. It’s literally unprecedented. And to create such a precedent would fly in the face of a rare bipartisan compromise on the disposition of these vacancies,” McConnell said. He was referring to a bipartisan agreement on judicial nominations last month that secured Trump’s ability to appoint four crucial appellate court judges after he assumes office in January. JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR FACES PRESSURE TO RETIRE AHEAD OF TRUMP TAKING OFFICE: REPORT Republicans agreed to halt procedural delay tactics and permit Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to vote on cloture on nine of Biden’s district court judges before Thanksgiving and vote to confirm them when they return after the holiday. In exchange, Democrats would pull four circuit court nominees who lack the votes to get confirmed, allowing Trump to fill those vacancies next year. However, a Democratic source familiar told Fox News Digital that only two of the circuit court vacancies are certain, and the other two may ultimately decide against taking senior judge status. McConnell threatened that “significant ethics complaints” would follow swiftly if any retiring judge reversed their decision to take senior status because Trump won. “As I repeatedly warned the judiciary in other matters, if you play political games, expect political prizes. So let’s hope these judges do the right thing and enjoy their well-earned retirement and leave the politics to the political branches.” Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

House Democrat staff member fired following Capitol Police arrest

A House Democratic staff member has lost his job after allegedly trying to bring ammunition into the Cannon House Office Building this week. Michael Hopkins, the 38-year-old communications director for Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., was arrested Monday morning by the U.S. Capitol Police. “In response to this morning’s incident, Mr. Hopkins is no longer employed by Representative Morelle’s office effective immediately,” Jo Stiles, Chief of Staff to Rep. Morelle, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. Capitol Police told Fox News on Monday that “At approximately 8:45 a.m., a House staffer entered the Cannon House Office Building and put his bag through screening. USCP officers noticed what appeared to be ammunition on the x-ray screen.” US CAPITOL POLICE ARREST HOUSE DEMOCRAT STAFF MEMBER AFTER FINDING AMMUNITION “After a hand search of the bag, officers found four ammunition magazines and eleven rounds of ammunition. The staffer told the officers that he forgot the ammunition was in the bag,” the statement continued. MORE CANDIDATES JUMP INTO WIDE-OPEN RACE FOR DNC CHAIR Capitol Police say Hopkins is now facing charges for unlawful possession of ammunition, including one charge for possession of a high-capacity magazine. Morelle’s office said prior to the announcement of Hopkins’ firing that it was gathering more information about the arrest. “As Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, Congressman Morelle is devoted to ensuring a safe and secure workplace for all,” it said in a statement. Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Outgoing DNC chair defends party, says 2024 could have been worse for Democrats

Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison defended his party’s performance in the 2024 elections this weekend, arguing they were up against a “global” pushback against parties in power. Harrison, who will not seek another term when Democrats vote on new leadership next year, admitted that his party had trouble connecting with the working class. He nevertheless argued that the outcome of the 2024 elections could have been much worse for the party. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that Kamala Harris is not going to be the next president of the United States,” Harrison said. “Although Democrats did not achieve what we set out to do, Trump wasn’t able to capture the support of more than 50% of the electorate and Democrats beat back global headwinds that could’ve turned this squeaker into a landslide.” A slew of Democrats are competing to replace Harrison now that he will not seek another term. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet at the beginning of February at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC’s winter meeting. WHO ELSE IS MULLING A BID TO STEER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY The long list of candidates seeking to replace Harrison includes former Chicago mayor and current U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, as well as Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor. Ben Wikler, who has led the Democratic Party in Wisconsin for five years, has also thrown his hat in the ring. Other candidates include former New York State assembly member Michael Blake, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who describes himself as “non-college-educated Mexican redneck.” Democrats across the country have speculated as to why the American electorate sided so strongly against them in the 2024 elections. Moderates like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., argued in an interview with the New York Times that the party lost the support of male voters by being “insulting” and condescending. “Telling them that ‘I know better than you do,’ that’s not helpful,” Fetterman said, characterizing the party’s message to male voters. Fetterman recalled a 2016 event where he noted Trump’s resonance with male voters and what he deemed a poor party response. “I was doing an event with the steelworkers across the street where I live, and I was noticing [a] different kind of energy with this, with Trump. It was clear at that time that people were voting for Trump. And the Democrats’ response was, ‘Aren’t they smart enough to realize they’re voting against their interests?’” he said. “And that’s insulting, and that’s, I mean, that’s, that’s just not helpful. It’s condescending. And if anything, that reinforces that kind of stereotype,” he added. TRUMP VICTORY PROVES IMPORTANCE OF CANDID, LONGFORM PODCASTS AS PLATFORM SHOWED ‘HUMAN SIDE’ OF ONE CANDIDATE Trump secured a strong majority of the male vote in the 2024 election cycle, making notable strides with Blacks, Latinos and younger male voters in particular. Throughout the presidential campaign, Democratic Party polling showed support among men flagging, but efforts to reach them with running mate Tim Walz and celebrity surrogates faltered. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, Gabriel Hays and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

John Bolton declares hiking US defense budget the ‘most important priority in foreign affairs today’

Former national security advisor John Bolton described raising the U.S. defense budget as the top foreign affairs priority. “The single most important priority in foreign affairs today is to increase the American defense budget. I think Congress would support a major increase if Trump proposed it. I hope that’s what he does,” Bolton declared in a post on X. Bolton said last month during an appearance on CNN that he hopes Pete Hegseth, who Trump nominated to serve as Defense Secretary, secures “a massive increase in the Defense Department budget,” noting that if domestic spending could be slashed so the deficit does not increase, “that would be important too.” PENTAGON FAILS 7TH AUDIT IN A ROW, UNABLE TO FULLY ACCOUNT FOR $824B BUDGET Bolton has asserted that the Senate should oppose Trump’s pick of Kash Patel to serve as FBI director. “John Bolton has been wrong about everything so I guess Kash must be pretty awesome,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said in a post on X. Bolton previously suggested that the Senate should reject Trump’s nomination of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the role of director of national intelligence, and of Matt Gaetz for attorney general. JOHN BOLTON COMPARES KASH PATEL TO STALIN’S RIGHT-HAND MAN AFTER TRUMP’S FBI NOMINATION After former Rep. Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the role last month, Bolton tweeted, “One down, more to follow.” Business magnate Elon Musk called Bolton “a staggeringly dumb warmonger” in a tweet last month. In a July post, Musk called Bolton “a belligerent idiot.” ELON MUSK BLASTS JOHN BOLTON AS ‘STAGGERINGLY DUMB WARMONGER’ AFTER CRITICISM OF TRUMP AG PICK MATT GAETZ Bolton, who served as national security advisor during a portion of Trump’s first term, previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during a portion of President George W. Bush’s White House tenure.

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