Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.Here’s what’s happening…-RNC files two lawsuits in Pennsylvania amid Sen Bob Casey refusing to concede race-Who are Trump’s top contenders to lead comms team, interact with the media?-Democrat senator reacts to Gaetz nomination: ‘Red alert moment’Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D.
Actor and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone introduced President-elect Donald Trump at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) Gala on Thursday with a short and sweet speech in which he called Trump the “second George Washington.”The “Rocky” actor was the final speaker of the night – only talking for about two minutes – before the president-elect took the stage at Mar-a-Lago.
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis praised President-elect Trump for nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.In a lengthy social media post on Thursday, Polis praised Kennedy for helping Colorado “defeat vaccine mandates” in 2019 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA,” he wrote.
President-elect Trump teased a “big” announcement Thursday night, sharing that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will lead the Department of the Interior.”He’s going to be announced [Friday]…I look forward to doing the formal announcement, although this is a pretty big announcement right now, actually,” Trump said during his speech at the Americans For Prosperity Gala at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday.
President-elect Donald Trump named his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general.”I am pleased to announce that Todd Blanche will serve as Deputy Attorney General in my Administration. Todd is an excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long,” Trump announced in a news release Thursday evening.
The law never had anything to do with inflation.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., will keep his seat in Arizona after fending off a challenge from Democrat Kirsten Engel, according to The Associated Press’ race call Wednesday night.The race for the 6th Arizona Congressional District seat was tight, with Ciscomani receiving 49.6% of the vote compared to Engel’s 47.9%. Unofficial election results on the state’s website show he only leads Engel by 7,020 votes.
The Fox News Decision Desk can project that Republicans will keep their majority in the House of Representatives.The number of seats the party will hold depends on the outcome in a handful of remaining districts.There are nine races yet to be called. They are: Alaska’s at-large district, California’s 9th, 13th, 21st, and 45th districts, Iowa’s 1st district, Maine’s 2nd district, Ohio’s 9th district and Oregon’s 5th district.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., described President-elect Trump’s choice of Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as his next attorney general as a “God tier kind of trolling.” Speaking with reporters, Fetterman acknowledged some of Trump’s picks were good but stopped short of putting Gaetz in that category. “It’s just kind of like a God tier kind of trolling just to trigger a meltdown,” he said.
The new Republican leader can get a lot accomplished, but it won’t be an easy task.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced.Gaetz gave House GOP leaders his resignation notice on the same day President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be his attorney general, Johnson said.”I think out of deference to us, he issued his resignation letter effective immediately,” Johnson said. “That caught us by surprise a little bit.
Special counsel Jack Smith is asking an appeals court to halt his appeal against President-elect Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified and top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.The motion was filed by Smith in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and comes months after U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon in July dismissed the case against Trump, which centered on his handling of allegedly classified documents after leaving the White House in 2020.
Elon Musk, who was selected by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, shared some insight on X on Tuesday into how the department will operate.Musk said that the department will take suggestions and concerns from everyday Americans regarding how the government spends money.
Tensions were high among House Republicans on Tuesday with a group of GOP hardliners threatening to protest Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership during the next day’s House GOP Conference leadership elections.Three sources told Fox News Digital that members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus were exploring ways to show their discontent with House GOP leaders during the closed-door races to decide who will likely lead the majority next year.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., earned two more endorsements following what Republican senators described as a wide-ranging discussion with the three candidates to succeed outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.According to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who held the leader candidate forum, the issues that Scott, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen.
Incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao won re-election to the U.S. House in California’s 22nd Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. The highly contested race was considered to be a tossup.Republican Gabe Evans was also declared the winner in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District on Tuesday night. Valadao and Evans’ victories now put the GOP two wins away from a majority in the House. The breakdown currently stands at: 216 Republicans to 206 Democrats.
Senator-elect Jim Justice’s team is clearing the air after it was reported earlier Tuesday that his famous pooch Babydog was banned from the Senate floor.”Even though I wasn’t in D.C. today, I got the most headlines,” said Babydog and her team in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “However, I hope that we really focus on bringing the things to this nation to fix our problems.
The Pennsylvania Senate race is over.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has won the race for Arizona’s open Senate seat, beating out Republican Kari Lake, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, according to The Associated Press Monday night.Gallego has served in the House of Representatives since 2015, representing the 7th and 3rd congressional districts in Arizona.
President-elect Trump is expected to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as Secretary of State, a source familiar tells Fox News.The source noted that while Trump could still change his mind at the last minute, as of now he’s planning on offering the job to Rubio, the three-term senator whom the former president considered as his running mate this summer before naming Sen. JD Vance as the GOP vice presidential nominee.
President-elect Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter shared a vlog of her experience on election night on Monday, capturing her thoughts and emotions as her grandfather clinched the presidency.Kai Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump, Jr., posted the video on YouTube Monday afternoon. The vlog – which is short for a video blog – begins with the teenage girl getting her makeup professionally done and expressing her thoughts about the election.
A portion of donations to a fundraising committee associated with the Harris-Walz campaign will be directed toward a recount effort.Those who want to donate on ActBlue, a nonprofit fundraising platform, will see a fine print that warns them that the campaign could launch a recount effort.The push to beef up the “recount account” comes as the Harris campaign is reportedly $20 million in debt.
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to appoint Thomas Homan as the next “border czar.”Trump made the announcement on his social media platform Truth Social.”I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom.
Republican Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., has withstood a strong Democratic challenge for a seat Democrats had hoped to flip in one of the most closely watched states in the country, the Associated Press projects.Arizona’s 1st Congressional District was expected to be a close race after Rep. David Schweikert narrowly won re-election in 2022 by less than 1%. He had secured the Republican nomination earlier this year after outraising his opponents.
There was some shock at the outcome of last week’s election.But when it comes to control of the House and Senate, things generally landed in the range anticipated by many learned observers.There was a high probability of a Republican Senate – with the GOP likely having a seat or two to cushion a majority.The House of Representatives was expected to be close. The forecast was that the House breakdown would probably reflect the split between the majority and minority today.
A video clip making the rounds online shows President Biden appearing to struggle while walking on the beach with first lady Jill Biden.The video shows the outgoing president and his wife padding across the sands of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend, as Secret Service members stand by. Biden, 81, can be seen visibly struggling to trudge through the sand, looking as if he is on the verge of toppling over.
President Biden will urge President-elect Trump to not abandon Ukraine when the two meet on Wednesday, among other domestic and foreign policies, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.On Tuesday, Trump defeated Vice President Harris in the presidential election, and he will take office on Jan. 20, 2025.
President-elect Trump has been winding down from the recent election on the golf course, pictures show.Kai Trump, the 17-year-old daughter of Donald Trump, Jr., made an Instagram post sharing recent pictures with her grandfather at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Sunday, a few miles west of the Mar-a-Lago resort.”Sundays with Grandpa,” the proud granddaughter captioned the post, adding a heart.
Nikki Haley, a Republican who ran against President-elect Trump months ago, responded after he publicly announced that she would not be joining his administration.Responding in an equally public format, Haley wrote that she wishes him “great success.””I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations,” she wrote in a X post Saturday.
President-elect Trump has officially won Arizona, avenging his 2020 election loss in the crucial swing state.The race in Arizona was called by the Associated Press on Saturday evening. With Arizona, Trump has secured 11 more electoral votes, and has won 312 electoral votes in total. His opponent, Vice President Harris, only garnered 226 electoral votes.Trump’s Arizona pick-up ends the battle for swing states in the 2024 presidential election.