How to cut federal spending – and by how much – consumes Congressional Republicans right now.Firestorms are scorching Southern California. But a political firestorm is about to singe Capitol Hill.The natural disaster dynamic has morphed into a regular fiscal nightmare in Congress. And frankly, the way lawmakers address natural disasters creates a hyper obstacle to making a serious dent in the deficit and national debt.Expect staggering costs.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and President-elect Trump met on Saturday and discussed the “mutual importance” of a U.S.-Canadian energy relationship and the hundreds of thousands of American jobs supported through Albertan exports.”Over the last 24 hours I had the opportunity to meet President [Trump] at Mar-a-Lago last night and at his golf club this morning,” Smith wrote in a post on X.

President-elect Donald Trump is giving Republicans his blessing to negotiate on a key tax that could prove critical to the GOP’s negotiations for a massive conservative policy overhaul next year.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan claimed in an interview Sunday that Russia, China and Iran are “weaker” and the United States is “safer” after four years under President Biden’s leadership. “Our alliances are stronger than where we found them four years ago,” Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to President-elect Trump’s first term. “They’re stronger than they’ve been in decades.

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his handling of the raging fires in the Los Angeles area with a new website intended to combat “misinformation” that also links to Democratic Party fundraising giant ActBlue, Fox News Digital found. Fires have been raging in the Los Angeles area since Tuesday, destroying thousands of acres and homes and leaving more than a dozen people dead in its wake.

Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed his brief exchange with President-elect Trump, which was caught on camera at former President Carter’s state funeral.The pair have not been seen publicly together since leaving the White House in disagreement over the 2020 election results. At the service at the National Cathedral, Pence stood up to shake Trump’s hand, and they appeared to exchange pleasantries.

As fires wreak havoc in California, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., claimed in a post on X the catastrophe is “what a climate emergency looks like.” In another tweet, he took aim at President-elect Trump, asserting the incoming president has been bought off by the oil industry.”Trump has been bought for $1 billion by Big Oil. Just a payoff to kill the IRA and the Green New Deal. We know what will happen. More fires, more climate disasters, more death.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom invited President-elect Trump to visit the Golden State to witness the destruction wildfires have wrought, meet with victims and thank first responders.The governor’s message to Trump Friday came as fires continued ravaging parts of California.Newsom urged against politicizing “human tragedy” and disseminating “disinformation.

Special counsel Jack Smith resigned from his position at the Department of Justice Friday, Fox News has learned.The resignation, which had already been expected since President-elect Trump was elected in November, was quietly announced in the footnote of a court filing Saturday. “The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” the note said.

President-elect Trump announced incoming deputies for several key Cabinet positions in a series of social media posts Saturday as his inauguration date gets closer.Trump, who takes office in less than 10 days, made the announcement on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. He began by naming Katharine MacGregor as the next deputy secretary of the interior, a position she held in Trump’s first administration.