In an interview with Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump slammed former President Biden’s slew of preemptive pardons for family members and lawmakers involved in litigating the Capitol Riot.
Trump said his critics thought he was going to do the same in 2021 but decided against it.
“I said, I’m not going to pardon anybody. We didn’t do anything wrong. And we had people that suffered. They’re incredible patriots. We had people that suffered. You had [Stephen] Bannon put in jail. You had Peter Navarro put in jail. You had people that suffered and and far worse than that, they’ve lost their fortunes… paying it to lawyers,” Trump said.
“And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing is he didn’t give himself a pardon…”
Trump added the only he and Grover Cleveland have been in the position to serve two non-consecutive terms as president.
He also claimed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tragic pullout from Afghanistan and rampant inflation would never had happened if he had been reelected in 2020.
Watch the full interview at 9PM ET tonight on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, unveiled a 47-page report that he says will serve as a “roadmap” to “Make America Healthy Again.”
Roy’s report, titled “The Case for Healthcare Freedom,” is a “painstakingly researched” summary of “America’s health crisis and how to address it,” according to Roy. Its findings include that U.S. healthcare spending had reached $4.9 trillion in 2023, and suggests the flawed American healthcare system can have far reaching impacts on critical issues like taxes and national defense.
“The Case for Healthcare Freedom lays out a detailed roadmap for how Congressional Republicans can help President Donald Trump deliver on the promise to address America’s health crisis,” Roy said in a statement. “The problem isn’t just health insurance, or Big Pharma, or food additives that are making us unhealthy; it’s the fact that politicians, bureaucrats and corporations are all benefitting from a broken, cronyistic system that lets them put profits over patients with impunity.”
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this excerpted story.
Former Chicago Mayor Rod Blagojevich took to social media Wednesday afternoon to tell people that he is “not eyeing” an ambassadorship in the new Trump administration.
The explanation, Blagojevich said, was in response to a media inquiry from the New York Post on whether he was hoping to be tapped for such a position. Donald Trump previously commuted Blagojevich’s prison sentence that was handed down to him in 2011, as a result of corruption charges stemming from his time as mayor.
“I’m not eyeing it. I’m not asking President Trump for anything,” said Blagojevich. “I’m profoundly grateful to him for commuting my 14 year prison sentence and giving my daughter’s their father back. What I am seeking is justice and for the truth of the corrupt prosecution against me to be exposed. If we are going to save our democracy, lawfare and the weaponization of prosecutors for political purposes must end and those who engage in it must be brought to account.”
Senate Finance Committee member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., expressed reservations Tuesday about the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health & Human Services secretary.
Kennedy, the second son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., has received both bipartisan praise and bipartisan criticism as President Donald Trump’s choice to lead HHS.
“I have serious concerns about RFK Jr.’s dangerous views on vaccine safety, his baseless conspiracies about public health and medicine, and his inconsistent record on reproductive freedom,” Warren said.
“I’m working to get answers.”
Two committees — the Senate Health Committee and Senate Finance Committee — will review Kennedy’s qualifications, according to reports.
Senate Health Committee chairman Dr. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is one of few lawmakers who will sit in on both hearings.
Cassidy told the Shreveport Times that, although he is a proponent of vaccines unlike Kennedy, he is not committed on which way he will vote.
Cassidy’s ranking member is Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt..
The two top lawmakers on the Finance Committee for the hearing are Sens. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
The U.S. State Department has adopted a new policy under the Trump administration that effectively blocks U.S. embassies and outposts from flying Pride and Black Lives Matter flags, a report said Tuesday.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported that it obtained a copy of the “One Flag Policy” order, which permits only the American flag to be flown at U.S. facilities at home and abroad, with two notable exceptions: the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) emblem and the Wrongful Detainees Flag.
“Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content,” the memo states, according to the outlet. “The flag of the United States of America united all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy. These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present.”
Excerpted story by Stephen Sorace.
President Donald Trump took to social media Wednesday to wish his wife, Melania Trump, a happy 20th wedding anniversary.
To honor the occasion, Trump posted a photo of he and the first lady walking down the aisle in 2005. “Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania!” Trump captioned the post.
The pair got hitched at a 350-guest wedding ceremony at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. The couple met in 1998 at a party in New York City.
The luxurious wedding was described at the time as fit for royalty — from the spectacular gown Melania Trump wore to the immaculately decorated reception at Trump’s private club. The future first lady wore a $100,000 Christian Dior wedding gown. It consisted of a 13-foot train and a 16-foot-long veil covered in beading that reportedly took over 500 hours of hand sewing to create, according to published accounts of the event in The Palm Beach Post and The Palm Beach Daily News at the time.
Sydney Borchers contributed to this report. Click here to see photos from the pair’s 2005 wedding.
President Donald Trump is quickly showcasing his accessibility to reporters days after returning to the White House, a stark contrast to his Democratic predecessor who frequently ducked questions and took scripted questions from reporters.
“We’ll take a few questions,” the president said on Tuesday, after announcing what’s said to be a half-trillion dollar investment by top tech companies to vastly expand the nation’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Trump then took questions for half an hour from reporters gathered at the White House. It was the second straight day the new president held an informal, off-the-cuff and freewheeling news conference with reporters.
Excerpted story by Paul Steinhauser.
After taking the oath of office on Monday, the new president signed an order revoking former President Joe Biden’s order known as Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform, which was signed in 2021.
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to reinstate the ban on transgender troops he imposed during his first term. In his inauguration speech, he said he would formally recognize that there are only two genders: male and female.
There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender service members.
The new executive order was part of a rapid-fire succession of moves Trump has taken to undo Biden’s policies. In a statement, the White House called out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government that “has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.”
Excerpted story by Fox News’ Morgan Phillips.
The director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has resigned from her position, while a Biden-era executive order that sought to phase out the use of private prisons has been repealed amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to implement drastic reforms to the Justice Department.
Colette Peters, who has led the BOP since August 2022, is out as director of the beleaguered agency, and she has been replaced by William Lothrop, who had been serving as deputy director of the BOP.Peters was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 and touted as a reform-minded outsider tasked with rebuilding an agency plagued for years by staff shortages, widespread corruption, misconduct and abuse.
Excerpted story by Michael Dorgan.
The top Democrat on the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Tuesday that he has “grave concerns” about President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel.
“The person who is in charge of our nation’s leading law enforcement organization, the FBI, should be someone who is non-partisan, solid, reliable, with a demonstrated skill in law enforcement,” Durbin said during comments from the Senate floor. “After meeting with Kash Patel I have grave concerns about his fitness for the role of FBI director. Mr. Patel has neither the experience, the temperament or the judgment to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Durbin described Patel as a “staunch political loyalist” and accused him of repeatedly pushing “false conspiracy theories” and having an agenda to go after his political opponents.
Durbin cited Patel’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol, alleging that Patel said Jan. 6 was a planned event coordinated by the FBI and referred to law enforcement protecting the Capitol that day as “cowards.”
Durbin also referred to Patel’s fierce criticism of current and former government officials, pointing to what he described as an “enemies list” that Patel created for a book he wrote about “The Deep State.”
“Mr. Patel’s political grievances make him a favorite of the MAGA world but they have not prepared him to work night and day to keep America safe,” Durbin said Tuesday from the Senate floor. “Mr. Patel’s endless list of political grievances, and well documented threats of retribution, are disqualifying.”
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Sean Duffy, President Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Transportation, to advance for consideration before the full Senate.
Committee chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., both expressed their support to advance Duffy’s nomination shortly before voting commenced.
Cantwell thanked Republicans on the committee for waiting to vote on advancing Duffy’s nomination until his FBI background check had been completed. Though noting that she had lingering concerns about Project 2025 language concerning transportation and the new Trump administration’s “war against electric vehicles,” she said she supported Duffy’s nomination advancing to the full Senate.
The final committee vote tallied in at 28 votes in favor and none against.
President Trump has been an open book with the media in the first two days of his second term. The 47th President has demonstrated a level of accessibility that stands in stark contrast to his predecessor.
Today he will sit for his first one one interview with Fox News.
Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity will present an interview with Donald Trump from the Oval Office on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
A White House pool reporter Wednesday noted that Hannity walked through the briefing room and mentioned to reporters there that his interview with Trump was “amazing.”
“He is focused and he’s happy and he has a big agenda. He’s dialed in,” Hannity added of Trump, according to the pool report.
Hannity said of POTUS: “He is focused and he’s happy and he has a big agenda. He’s dialed in.”
The “Hannity” exclusive sit-down will be Trump’s first Oval Office interview since returning to the White House. Trump will discuss the executive orders he’s signed thus far, his plans for his first 100 days in office and more. Trump has signed dozens of executive orders since he was sworn into office on Monday, advancing his administration’s goals on issues from illegal immigration to withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation has begun. Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) gaveled in at just after 2 p.m. after the committee had postponed the session from its original time at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The committee is set to vote on whether to advance Duffy’s nomination for consideration before the full Senate. Duffy must receive a majority of votes from the committee for his nomination to be considered.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier discussed the possibility of President Donald Trump using Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to adjourn Congress and push through his Cabinet appointments on Wednesday, as Democrats fight to delay their confirmations.
Baier noted that while it seems unlikely the House or Senate will formally adjourn, Trump could step in if one chamber does and the other does not.
“You’re talking about a lot, a lot of big jobs,” Baier said. “So where is the anger and how does it build, and is there pressure from President Trump on the House to formally adjourn and then do … these recess appointments? I think it’s something to watch. It’s not there yet, but it is definitely something to watch.”
Bret Baier noted that of Trump’s 112 nominations awaiting confirmation, delays for approving just under 70 nominees could be pushed for approval into late March.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, poked fun at certain Democratic policy suggestions geared toward assisting illegal immigrants before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday.
Moreno’s remarks came as he questioned President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Budget and Management, Russell Vought. Specifically, Moreno asked if providing illegal immigrants with gender reassignment surgery would help working-class Americans.
“When you give sex-change operations to illegal immigrants, does that help working-class Americans?” Moreno said.
Moreno also asked if policies that would spend thousands of dollars on hotel rooms to house illegal immigrants, or provide them free health care would benefit working-class Americans.
Vought answered no to all Moreno’s questions.
In 2019, former Vice President Kamala Harris said she supported federally funded gender reassignment surgeries for detained immigrants and federal prisoners in an American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire, CNN previously reported.
Russell Vought previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in his first term, and founded the Center for Renewing America in 2021. The organization claims its mission is to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God,” according to its website.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting birthright citizenship, calling it a “breathtaking assault on the Constitution” during a Wednesday hearing in the House Judiciary Subcommittee.
Nadler argued the order would lead to widespread confusion and place burdensome demands on Americans to prove their citizenship.
“With the stroke of a pen, he has revived the harsh and inhumane policies of his previous administration,” Nadler said, referencing Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
“Right now, if both parents of H-1B status, a child is born abroad, but who has lived in the United States for nearly their entire lives must leave the country when they turn 21, unless they have their own immigration status,” Nadler said. “That’s bad enough.”
Trump signed the executive order on Monday ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants — one of a slew of border-related orders he is signing to overhaul U.S. immigration policy and border security.
“The privilege of United States citizenship is a priceless and profound gift,” Trump says in the order.
The order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” will almost certainly face an immediate legal challenge from civil rights and immigration activist groups, who argue such an order is unconstitutional.
A U.S. official also told Fox News on Wednesday the Pentagon will be sending 1,500 U.S. active-duty troops to the southern border by the end of the month.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
A U.S. official tells Fox News the Pentagon will be sending 1,500 U.S. active-duty troops to the southern border by the end of the month. The Trump administration is expected to formally announce this afternoon. There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. They were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under title 10 authorities and were approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be in place until end of FY2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson.
These 1,500 service members will arrive at different locations along the southern border by the end of the month, the U.S. official said. They will be in the same roles as the service members already there, providing aerial reconnaissance, data entry, training, vehicle maintenance, detection and monitoring, and some other logistical support roles.
It is not clear what specific units are being sent yet.
This is the third announcement sending U.S. troops to the border in the last two years. In May 2023 former President Joe Biden and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request from former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to send an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border for 90-days to assist with the influx of migrants after pandemic era health restrictions ended in May 2023.
And in March 2024 former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved another DHS request for 2,500 service members including national guardsmen under Title 10 duty status.
Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this post.
The Trump administration is significantly expanding its powers to quickly deport illegal immigrants, one of a number of rapid-fire moves made by the administration to fulfill its promise to launch a mass deportation operation.
A Department of Homeland Security notice, issued Tuesday, removes limits put on the power of expedited removal put in place in March 2022 during the Biden administration. Until the new memo, officials were limited in their use of the power to 100 miles of the border or recent arrivals.
Expedited removal allows for the rapid removal of illegal immigrants who have failed to meet the standard for asylum or have not requested asylum. The new power takes off the 2022 limits, allowing agents to remove those who are unable to prove they have lived in the U.S. for at least two years.
Excerpted story by Adam Shaw.
Russia’s foreign ministry has called on President Donald Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama.
Alexander Shchetinin, the director of Russia’s foreign ministry’s Latin American department, told Russian news outlet TASS that he expects Trump “will respect the current international legal regime” of the canal as laid out in two 1977 treaties between the U.S. and Panama.
The agreement relinquished American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guaranteed its neutrality.
“We expect that during the expected discussions between the leadership of Panama and President Trump on issues of control over the Panama Canal, which certainly falls within the sphere of their bilateral relations, the parties will respect the current international legal regime of this key waterway,” Shchetinin said.
He said that 40 countries also joined a protocol agreement, of which Russia is one, to recognize the canal’s neutrality and to keep it “safe and open.”
The canal’s administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, said this month that China is not in control of the canal and that all nations are treated equally under a neutrality treaty.
Excerpted from earlier reporting by Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Caitlin McFall as well as The Associated Press.
The letter that former President Joe Biden wrote to President Donald Trump upon leaving office on Monday has been exclusively obtained by Fox News.
The letter, which Trump found inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with a little help from Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, is addressed “Dear President Trump” and reads as follows:
“As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
“May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.”
The letter was signed “Joe Biden” and dated Jan. 20, 2025.
Story by Fox News’ Peter Doocy and Stephen Sorace.
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Budget and Management is the “godfather of the ultra-right,” according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Trump’s nominee Russell Vought previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in his first term, and founded the Center for Renewing America in 2021. The organization claims its mission is to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God,” according to its website.
“I walked into my meeting with Mr. Vought, of course, skeptical,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “Then I walked out of the meeting even more deeply troubled. Of all the extremists President Trump could have picked for OMB, he picked the godfather of the ultra-right.”
Vought also previously served as the vice president of Heritage Action for America, and authored a chapter of Project 2025, a political initiative The Heritage Foundation released in 2023 that called for policy changes including eliminating the Department of Education, cutting DEI programs, and cutting funding for Medicare and Medicaid.
A Republican lawmaker suggested U.S. military intervention in Mexico if America’s southern neighbor cannot clean up cartel smuggling, after President Donald Trump designated the cartels as FTOs or Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez told Fox Business on Thursday he has been pressing the executive branch for many years to designate cartels as FTOs.
“We need to go after them and destroy them — they’ve been killing tens of thousands of Americans every single year,” he said.
Trump directed the State Department — led by Gimenez’ fellow Miamiam Marco Rubio — to designate cartels as such.
Fox Business host Stuart Varney asked Gimenez to clarify if he meant “go after them” inside Mexico.
“Oh yeah,” Gimenez replied. “I would give Mexico two weeks to do the job and they can’t do the job. And we’ve got to do the job. We’ve got to protect American citizens, Stuart.”
He said America should be ready for that “radical change” in posture, especially given the fact the U.S. spent 15 years pursuing Al Qaeda and other Mideast terrorists after 3,000 Americans were killed on 9/11/01.
Gimenez added the cartels are being aided by another U.S. rival — China — which he said provides the elements needed to manufacture the drugs flowing across the border and killing Americans.
The Washington, D.C., pastor who delivered a liberal sermon during a church service attended by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance is facing fierce backlash from fellow pastors, as well as critics on social media for “weaponizing” the pulpit instead of promoting unity.
“Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She’s the first woman to hold the position. She was given a great honor today, a chance to unify America around a Christian message at the dawn of a new administration. Instead, she disgraced herself with a lecture you’d hear on CNN or an episode of The View. What an embarrassment,” Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk posted to X.
Catholic Vote, a conservative nonprofit, added on X, “Liberal Protestant Pastor Mariann Edgar Budde blindsides Trump and Vance, weaponizing her sermon to attack them in front of their families by saying they should ‘have mercy’ on gay, lesbian, and transgender children. Unbelievable.”
Excerpted story by Emma Colton.
Tech mogul Elon Musk casts doubt on President Donald Trump’s Stargate AI project, which is operated by OpenAI, on X.
Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, described a potential normalization deal in the region to Fox News’ Dana Perino on Wednesday morning. Speaking about the ongoing ceasefire efforts, Witkoff said normalization represents “the beginning of the end of war.”
He noted that with normalization, “banks do not have to underwrite whether the Houthis, Hezbollah, or Hamas is going to fire a missile and take down a hyper scale data center.” Witkoff also called normalization “huge for the State of Israel” and “huge for the region,” expressing optimism that it will materialize.
“My own opinion is that a condition precedent to normalization was a ceasefire,” he said.
“We have to make sure that the implementation goes well, because if it goes well, we’ll get into phase two, and we’re going to get a lot more live bodies out,” he said, refefrring to the hostages still being held by Hamas. He added that this effort aligns directly with President Donald Trump’s directive, saying, “That’s his directive, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., questioned President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Budget and Management, Russell Vought, on whether health care is a “human right.”
“Do you think we should join every other major country on Earth and say, you know what? Whether you’re poor, you’re rich, you’re young, you’re old, health care is a human right,” Sanders said during a Senate Budget Committee confirmation hearing for Vought. “We have the richest country in the history of the world. Do you think we should do what every other major country on Earth does?”
“Senator, I think it’s important to provide legitimate, evidence based outcomes for people within the healthcare system, and to make sure that we tailor all of the dollars that are spent toward that,” Vought said.
Sanders claimed that Vought didn’t answer his question, and Vought replied that Trump ran on “providing good health care outcomes.”
“You’re going to be a key adviser if you are approved,” Sanders said. “Do you think that health care is a human right, that every American should be entitled to it?”
“I believe the role of the Office of Management and Budget director is to take what the president has run on, the things that the president has a policy agenda, and to turn that into policy, to implement that,” Vought said.
Sanders has previously introduced legislation called the Medicare for All Act that would establish a federal, national health insurance program.
In a TruthSocial post Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he is not looking to harm Russia but will institute tariffs if the yearslong invasion of Ukraine doesn’t come to an end.”
I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” he said, referring to allegations from Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and others that he colluded with Moscow to defeat Hillary Clinton.
“We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.
“If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with.”
‘We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”
Key imports from Russia include inorganic chemicals, precious metals, machinery, as well as lime and other fertilizers.
In 2022, the U.S. imported nearly $15 billion worth of good from the proverbial “Bear.”
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., pressed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Budget and Management, Russell Vought, on his views related to abortion policy during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.
“Everyone should understand that abortion abolition means zero abortions under any circumstance whatsoever,” Murray said. “So Mr. Vought, you’ve said that you don’t believe in exception[s] for rape or incest, for life of the mother. Is that your position?”
Vought said the president repeatedly made his views “very clear” on abortion and that he would abide by Trump’s views on the matter.
Trump has previously vowed to ensure that “powerful exceptions” for abortion would remain in place under his administration.
In September, Trump said in a social media post on Truth Social that women “will no longer be thinking about abortion, because it is now where it always had to be, with the states, and a vote of the people—and with powerful exceptions, like those that Ronald Reagan insisted on for rape, incest, and the life of the mother—but not allowing for Democrat demanded late term abortion in the 7th, 8th, or 9th month, or even execution of a baby after birth.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
House Speaker Mike Johnson posted a video to X this morning showing the moment Vice President JD Vance set foot in the Oval Office for the first time.
The video shows the 40-year-old vice-president, flanked by Johnson and President Donald Trump, appearing giddy with a large smile on his face as he walks into the historic office.
“Wow, this is pretty crazy,” said Vance as he entered the room.
“I’ve never been inside this room, this is incredible,” he said smiling.
Commenting on the moment Johnson said that after the inauguration Vance had shared, he had never once visited the Oval Office either as a senator from Ohio or before his time as an elected official.
Johnson said: “I told him and President Trump that I HAD to capture the moment on video.”
“Only in America can a hardworking young man from Appalachia rise from his humble circumstances to enter the Oval for first time as VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,” said Johnson. “What a country!”
An otherwise bustling Chicago neighborhood dubbed “Mexico of the Midwest” has been unusually quiet from the advent of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and still so on Tuesday.
Chicago’s “Little Village,” in the South Lawndale neighborhood is also seeing civilian patrols surveilling for ICE agents who may be afoot in the area preparing a raid, according to Fox Chicago.
Local activist Leo Pargo told the outlet he and other neighbors have been driving around Little Village looking to spot signs of federal activity but that there has not been any as of yet.
Ald. Michael Rodriguez told the Fox affiliate the news of potential raids have triggered a sense of “fear [that] is palpable.”
Rodriguez said residents fear agents sent by Trump and Border Czar Thomas Homan will show up at their homes, workplaces and houses of worship.
South Lawndale, on the city’s western border with Cicero, Ill., was originally home to Bohemian and other Eastern European immigrants but now has a high Mexican-American population.
Famous natives include former “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak and incumbent Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill.
Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., voiced concerns that President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, would impound appropriated funds.
Merkley, the Senate Budget Committee ranking member, said he was concerned with Vought’s views on the Impoundment Control Act, which dictates that Congress may oversee the executive branch’s withholdings of budget authority.
“But you told me in your office that you’re quite comfortable assuming that the law doesn’t matter and that you’ll just treat the money for a program as a ceiling…rather than a required amount,” Merkley said. “Well, the courts have found otherwise, the fact that you’re willing to say this is exactly what you plan to do again.”
Merkely’s comments come after Vought appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he said he believed the Impoundment Control Act was unconstitutional.
“The fact that you continue to advocate for this impoundment strategy that is completely in violation of our Constitution…I’m deeply disturbed that you will not renounce that today,” Merkley said Wednesday.
Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, who urged President Donald Trump to “have mercy” on immigrants and the LGBT community during a sermon at a national prayer service for the incoming president Tuesday morning, called Trump’s response to her sermon “muted” but “respectful.”
Budde, of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, did not shy away from calling out Trump as he sat in the front row during the service, alongside Vice President JD Vance and several members of the Trump family. Amid her comments Trump sat stone faced, but later in the day when he returned to the White House the president responded to reporters’ questions about his thoughts on what took place.
“Not too exciting, was it?” Trump said. “I didn’t think it was a good service, no. They can do much better.”
Budde called Trump’s reaction at the service “muted,” but noted that she did not have any expectations that the response would be positive.
“It was a very muted response,” Budde said of Trump’s reaction in an interview on CNN Tuesday. “I keep my expectations low whenever I preach. I can‘t always measure impact by body language or even what people say afterwards. And so, I have to let all of that go. I speak from what I believe I‘ve been given to say and let it go from there.”
Still, despite her criticisms, Budde described Trump’s reaction as “respectful” even though he may not have liked what she had to say.
“It was a respectful response,” Budde told CNN. “He didn’t like it. He said so. He said we could do better. Some of the other comments I’ve received haven’t been as kind or have been as muted, shall we say. And one of the things I was trying to get across is that we can actually have these conversations in a respectful way.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee said it has pushed back its planned confirmation vote for President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi— a delay that comes amid fresh concerns from Democrats over Trump’s early actions on law enforcement issues since taking office.
Bondi, the former Florida attorney general and longtime prosecutor for the state attorney’s office, spent roughly five hours last week seeking to assuage concerns that she might use the role as AG to go after Trump’s so-called “enemies” or otherwise weaponize the Department of Justice—putting her on what appeared to be a glide path to confirmation in the GOP-controlled chamber.
But Trump’s early actions on law enforcement issues since Monday— including pardoning nearly every individual criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, reassigning top career officials at DOJ’s national security and criminal divisions, and urging U.S. prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who obstruct immigration enforcement— are likely to spark new questions and concerns from Democrats on the committee.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley declined to elaborate on the panel’s reasons for delaying the vote in an email update, citing only Rule I.3 of the Judiciary Committee, which states that any member of the panel may request an item on the agenda be held “over for a minimum of seven days.”
“Holds are common practice in the Senate Judiciary Committee,” the memo said.
Bondi’s hearing will now be held Jan. 29, seven days from its originally scheduled date.
In the first days of the new Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security issued memos to repeal limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents imposed by former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — and order a review of the use of humanitarian parole to admit migrants.
The first memo rescinds a 2021 memo by Mayorkas, which provided an expanded list of areas that are “protected areas” where ICE could not engage in immigration enforcement.
The memo said, “it is not necessary” for the head of ICE to “create bright line rules regarding where our immigration laws are permitted to be enforced.” Instead, the memo said that “going forward, law enforcement officers should continue to use that discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense.”
A separate memo focuses on the use of humanitarian parole, which was used broadly by the Biden administration to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S., including nearly 1.5 million via the CBP One app and parole processes for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV.) The memo directs the heads of (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to compile a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, review them, and formulate a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute.
Excerpted story by Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., announced plans to introduce legislation that would strip federal pensions from individuals pardoned by former President Joe Biden, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Rep. Liz Cheney. Speaking on Fox News Radio Wednesday morning, Burlison criticized the concept of granting pardons to individuals he claims have not demonstrated innocence.
“I think it’s pretty awful. Pretty shameful,” Burlison told Fox News Radio’s Ryan Schmelz. “Look, if you’re innocent, there’s no reason for a pardon, right? If there’s no crime committed, then there’s no need to have a pardon.”
The congressman also expressed outrage over these individuals continuing to receive federal pensions, calling it “disgusting.”
“You have people that are basically admittedly have done something wrong to the level of it being a felony, and yet they’re still collecting a pension on the taxpayer’s dime,” Burlison said.
Burlison pledged to explore ways to end these pensions and continue investigations into the actions of those pardoned. “Let’s get the truth out there so the American people know exactly what Anthony Fauci did, what Elizabeth Cheney did,” he said.
Courtesy of Fox News Radio.
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, is slated to appear before the Senate Budget Committee Wednesday.
The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.
Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget in his first term, founded the Center for Renewing America in 2021. The organization claims its mission is to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God,” according to its website.
Vought also served as the vice president of Heritage Action for America, and authored a chapter of Project 2025, a political initiative The Heritage Foundation released in 2023 that called for policy changes including eliminating the Department of Education, cutting DEI programs, and cutting funding for Medicare and Medicaid.
Vought appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week, where he sparred with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., over the constitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act.
The law, passed in 1974, dictates that Congress may oversee the executive branch’s withholdings of budget authority. Congress also has the power to authorize the federal government’s spending.
But Vought told Blumenthal he didn’t believe the act was constitutional.
“I am astonished and aghast,” Blumenthal said, citing the Supreme Court ruling Train v. New York.
The court determined the Environmental Protection Agency must use full funding included in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, even though then-President Richard Nixon issued orders to not use all the funding.
“I think our colleagues should be equally aghast, because this issue goes beyond Republican or Democrat,” Blumenthal said. “It’s bigger than one administration or another. It’s whether the law of the land should prevail, or maybe it’s up for grabs, depending on what the president thinks.”
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee postponed its business meeting to consider the nomination of Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Transportation. Originally slated to begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the committee, which is chaired by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, did not announce the reason for the delay.
Duffy needs a majority approval vote in the committee before his nomination can proceed to a vote by the full Senate.
Duffy’s confirmation hearing in front of the Commerce Committee last week went smoothly with both Democrats and Republicans signaling openness to his confirmation. During the hearing Duffy pledged to make his first official trip as secretary be to visit the states impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Charlie Creitz contributed to this report.
The Justice Department wants federal prosecutors across the country to investigate state or local officials who obstruct immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s new administration, according to a new memo obtained by Fox News.
“The Justice Department must, and will, work to eradicate these threats,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Trump’s former defense attorney, wrote in the memo. “Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution and, accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement.”
Excerpted breaking news story by Danielle Wallace, David Spunt and Jake Gibson.
On Tuesday evening Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas put Democrats on notice when he posted to X, “My message to obstructionist Democrats: Don’t make plans this weekend. We’re going to get President Trump’s nominees confirmed the easy collegial way, or apparently the hard way.”
Cotton is the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee which voted 14-3 on Monday to send Donald Trump’s CIA Director nominee, John Ratcliffe, to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
A vote had been planned for Tuesday but Cotton said from the Senate floor that Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., blew up the agreement on the timing of the vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune South Dakota backed up Cotton’s social media threat saying from the Senate floor, “This is about America’s national security interests. And we’re stalling. So that’s not going to happen. We’re going to file cloture on them. You can force us to stay here staying around here. And we can vote on these things Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But we’re going to vote on them.”
President Donald Trump will sit down for his first Oval Office interview of his second term Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m.
The exclusive interview will be conducted by Fox News primetime anchor Sean Hannity and is expected to cover topics including the president’s recent executive order and what Trump is planning for his first 100 days in office.
Trump has signed dozens of executive orders since he was sworn into office on Monday, advancing his administration’s goals on issues from illegal immigration to withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
Hannity has been the top-rated program in his time slot for the past 15 years and is the longest-running cable news host in history.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report
President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday pleaded with sanctuary cities to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into their jails.
“These sanctuary cities, for God’s sake, let us into your jails,” Homan told Fox & Friends, explaining that it’s much safer for communities if federal agents can apprehend illegal immigrants already in custody. Therefore, illegal immigrants who have been arrested on criminal offenses are not repeatedly released back onto the streets.
But if the sanctuary cities do not cooperate, Homan warned them, “Game on.” He said more federal agents will then have to infiltrate communities and, therefore, make more arrests of people running in the same circles as the criminal illegal immigrants.
The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all diversity, equity and inclusion offices by the end of the day Wednesday and place government workers in those offices on paid leave, Fox News Digital has learned.
Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Charles Ezell sent a memo to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on Tuesday evening directing them that by no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, they are to: Send an agency-wide notice to employees informing them of the closure and asking employees if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language; Send a notification to all employees of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs; Take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) of DEIA offices; Withdraw any final or pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans issued by the agency in response to the now-repealed Executive Order 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (June 25, 2021); and Cancel any DEIA-related trainings and terminate any DEIA-related contractors.
Excerpted from earlier reporting by Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Landon Mion.
The three tech CEOs who have joined forces in President Donald Trump’s multi-billion dollar artificial intelligence infrastructure project defended the venture as an investment that “impacts all of humanity.”
“This is a very large investment that affects all of humanity,” Oracle founder Larry Ellison told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier on “Special Report” on Tuesday.
President Trump unveiled a massive AI infrastructure project from the private sector on the first full day of his second term in office on Tuesday.
During a speech at the White House, Trump announced that Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle have joined forces for a project called Stargate to build data centers in the U.S. for powering AI.
Ellison emphasized the Stargate investment could bring a “revolution” in healthcare and other industries.
A White House official told FOX Business that post-election, Trump has now secured $1 trillion in private investment for the U.S. in various projects.
Excerpted from earlier reporting by Fox News Digital’s Madeline Coggins and Breck Dumas
The Senate Budget Committee will meet at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday to examine the nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Also at 10 a.m. EST, the Senate Commerce Business Committee will meet to consider the nomination of former Wisconsin congressman and former Fox News contributor and FOX Business co-host Sean Duffy to be Secretary of Transportation.
Just hours after President Trump’s inauguration Monday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 to advance Vought’s nomination.
“Throughout the confirmation process, Russell Vought has demonstrated he knows the challenge ahead of him and President Trump and will not be distracted by partisan attacks or distortions of President Trump’s agenda,” Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement. “I commend the Committee for advancing his nomination to the Senate floor, and I am confident that he will be confirmed quickly.”
Though Vought’s nomination cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee along party lines, the Senate Budget Committee also has jurisdiction over the OMB director role and must convene a confirmation hearing and vote of its own.
Last week, Duffy earned praised from senators on both sides of the aisle during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, and a full committee mark-up was subsequently scheduled for Wednesday, Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said.
Duffy was introduced by fellow Wisconsinites Sens. Ron Johnson, a Republican, and Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat. Baldwin recalled how she and Duffy worked together across party lines to replace an 80-year-old bridge across the St. Croix River more than a decade ago.
“It was not a matter of right or left, just what was good for our constituents, our economy, and our state,” Baldwin said. “Today, the St. Croix Crossing, which opened in 2017, has shortened travel times, reduced traffic congestion, and, most importantly, improved safety.”
“But at the end of the day, I am confident that Sean is the right person for this job in this coming, upcoming administration,” she added. “I believe he will help deliver for Wisconsin families, businesses, and workers, and I expect that he will work through this committee and both sides of the aisle to improve our infrastructure and address the challenges that arise in the years ahead. I am proud to join you today to introduce Sean Duffy to this committee.”
President Trump will soon sign his first bill into law: The Laken Riley Act.
The House of Representatives will vote Wednesday to sync up with the Senate on the bill. At least four dozen Democrats will vote yes. Then the measure goes to the Resolute Desk for Trump to sign.
But it may take months for congressional Republicans to get other parts of the president’s agenda together. This is where things get serious. Campaigning plus talks about tax cuts and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is done. Voters expect results. Fast.
Top Republican leaders huddled with the new president at the White House on Tuesday. Asked if there was agreement on reconciliation strategy, GOP Whip Rep. John Barrasso, R-Wy., said, “Party unity is the consensus on the reconciliation strategy.”
Republicans are more aligned with Trump than they were eight years ago and that narrow majority could force more party discipline. The real challenge could come in March when lawmakers may wrestle with the debt ceiling and try to avert a government shutdown.
The three tech CEOs who have joined forces in President Donald Trump’s multi-billion dollar artificial intelligence infrastructure project defended the venture as an investment that “impacts all of humanity.”
“This is a very large investment that affects all of humanity,” Oracle founder Larry Ellison told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier on “Special Report” on Tuesday.
President Trump unveiled a massive AI infrastructure project from the private sector on the first full day of his second term in office on Tuesday.
During a speech at the White House, Trump announced that Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle have joined forces for a project called Stargate to build data centers in the U.S. for powering AI.
Ellison emphasized the Stargate investment could bring a “revolution” in healthcare and other industries.
“It’s really a revolution in medicine. But it’s a revolution in many other industries as well. Medicine just touches us all,” he said. “Yes, it takes a huge investment, but the result of the investment will be vaccines that prevent cancers, personalized medicine where we never again run into a problem like COVID-19 before because we get an early warning. We know when COVID starts, when there are a handful of patients, rather than having to wait until it’s become an epidemic and very difficult to control.”
The initial investment for the project will be $100 billion, with plans to expand to $500 billion over the next four years. The first data center built under the initiative will be in Texas, and it will eventually expand to other states.
