News

The country's top weather and climate monitoring agency has become the latest target of layoffs within the federal government, according to Democratic lawmakers speaking out against the Trump administration. At least 880 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country's national weather service, were fired Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a press release as the Trump administration works to downsize and cut federal costs. "The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires and floods — putting communities in harm’s way," Cantwell added. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a post on X Thursday, seconded Cantwell's claim, writing, "Today, we learned that Trump and Musk are firing HUNDREDS of vital NOAA employees — another blatantly illegal action that must be stopped." ‘FIRED ME ILLEGALLY’: EMOTIONAL EX-USAID EMPLOYEES LEAVE BUILDING WITH BELONGINGS AFTER MASS LAYOFFS Another Democrat, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., also reported "unconscionable" mass firings at the weather agency. ‘IF YOU DON'T ANSWER … YOU'RE FIRED': TRUMP STANDS BEHIND MUSK'S DOGE PRODUCTIVITY EMAIL "Once again, the reckless Trump Administration is inflicting tremendous harm upon the American people. Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason," Meng wrote in a statement. The reported layoffs come just weeks after Van Hollen said he heard reports that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was "targeting" the weather agency in early February. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, wrote the cuts were "profoundly alarming" and affected "meteorologists, data and computer scientists responsible for maintaining and upgrading weather predictive models, and technicians responsible for maintaining the nation's weather instrumentation network. "This is not, in short, an acceptable setting in which to ‘move fast and break things.'" A NOAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters," adding the agency "remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience." Continue reading...

FIRST ON FOX: The only Cuban-born member of Congress hosted Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó and several Venezuelan and Colombian community leaders from the U.S. in a show of support for President Trump’s reversal of a Biden-era oil deal with Caracas’ dictator. "This is personal to me," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who hosted the gathering at a private lounge inside Miami International Airport on Thursday. There, he lambasted Nicolas Maduro and condemned the idea that the U.S. under former President Joe Biden had ever concocted a deal with the dictator in the first place. On Wednesday, Trump canceled a deal that had allowed Chevron to operate inside oil-rich Venezuela, saying the U.S. would "revers[e] concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolas Maduro… on the oil transaction agreement [from] 2022 and also having to do with electoral conditions within Venezuela which have not been met…" TRUMP SAYS HE'S TERMINATING CHEVRON'S VENEZUELA OIL AGREEMENT Trump also noted Maduro was not cooperating with U.S. immigration authorities trying to deport violent illegal aliens. In Miami, Gimenez said in response to a reporter’s question about Tren de Aragua members wreaking havoc in New York City that there is a major difference between Venezuelan civilians fleeing oppression and criminals illegally sneaking into the U.S. that are of a certain descent. Gimenez noted how he and his family "fled for freedom" from a similar dictatorship in Cuba and that therefore any individual or group persecuted by dictatorial governments will "always have a friend in me." "So will [Florida Republican Rep.] Mario [Diaz-Balart], so will [Florida Republican Rep.] Maria [salazar], and so will [sen.] Rick Scott, and so will President Donald J. Trump," Gimenez said before introducing several leaders, including Guaidó. In an exclusive interview afterward with Fox News Digital, Gimenez said Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are "all pretty much tied together" in the fact they are dictatorial regimes repressing their own people, who yearn to be free. "I expect this is just the first step in trying to liberate these countries. The people of Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua deserve freedom," he said. RUBIO: MADURO A ‘HORRIBLE DICTATOR’ Gimenez said the answer should be to convert the "enemy states" into friends of the U.S., noting there is national interest on multiple levels. Cuba, for instance, is less than 90 miles off the maritime border of Gimenez's own district in Key West. "I’m confident that President Trump understands this, and he stands for freedom and he stands for democracy; not only in the United States, but in our hemisphere and around the world," he said. During the gathering, Guaidó also offered remarks in Spanish praising Trump and slamming Central American despots. "[W]e need a strong, prosperous and safe Latin America – and one that will be safe, with democracy and freedom," he said. "I have no doubt in President Trump, and in the message that he is sending directly to the heart of those who financed the coup d'état perpetrated by the dictatorship on July 28, 2024 (the disputed/corrupt re-election of Maduro)…," he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "It is accurate, correct and timely to confront that dictatorship and also [send] a message to those who today usurp [power] in Cuba and Nicaragua that they will not have impunity," Guaidó added. In further remarks to Fox News Digital, Gimenez said he has full faith in his fellow Miamian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his and Foggy Bottom’s ability to confront these regimes that lie within America’s own hemisphere. "I don’t have to speak to the secretary of state about Cuba; we both have Ph.D’s in that," he quipped. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump believes former President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter Biden, left behind the infamous bag of cocaine at the White House in 2023, the 47th president revealed in a recent interview. "So … who actually left the cocaine in the White House?" The Spectator's Ben Domenech asked Trump in an interview at the White House Thursday afternoon. "Well, either Joe or Hunter," Trump responded. "Could be Joe, too." The bag of cocaine was discovered July 2, 2023, in a storage locker near the entrance to the White House's West Wing. The Secret Service discovered the small bag of cocaine and launched an investigation, which turned up inconclusive for a suspect. SECRET SERVICE CLOSES WHITE HOUSE COCAINE INVESTIGATION, SAYS IT IS 'NOT ABLE' TO IDENTIFY SUSPECT "That was such a terrible thing because, you know, those bins are very loaded up with … they’re not clean, and they have hundreds and even thousands of fingerprints," Trump said of the discovery. "And when they went to look at it, it was absolutely stone cold, wiped dry. You know that, right?" Trump added that the lockers typically are covered with fingerprints, but that the locker containing the bag of cocaine "was wiped out with, with the strongest form of alcohol." KARINE JEAN-PIERRE LINED WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT COCAINE FOUND IN WHITE HOUSE "By the way, and I have to tell you, I think I’m going to look into that because it was … bad stuff happened there," Trump added without elaborating. EX-SECRET SERVICE AGENT ASSESSES WHITE HOUSE COCAINE PROBE: 'LIKELY THEY HAVE FAIRLY GOOD IDEA' OF CULPRIT The Biden family, including the former president and his son, Hunter Biden, were not staying at the White House when the cocaine was discovered. Instead, the family was staying at presidential retreat Camp David in Maryland. Hunter Biden has a long and well-documented history with substance abuse, and he detailed his hourly need for crack cocaine in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things." He has since gone through recovery efforts and has been sober since 2019, according to sworn testimony in federal court in 2023. Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was grilled about the cocaine when it was found but stressed the Biden family was not at the White House when it was discovered in a high-traffic area of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. "The Biden family was not here," Jean-Pierre said during a July 2023 press conference when pressed about the cocaine. COCAINE FOUND AT WHITE HOUSE AFTER MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE PROMPTS EVACUATION "They were not here. They were at Camp David," she said. "They were not here Friday. They were not here Saturday or Sunday. They were not even here Monday. They came back on Tuesday. So, to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible, and I’ll just leave it there." Shortly after the Secret Service announced it had discovered the cocaine, the agency announced it had closed its investigation and could not determine a suspect. "There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area," the Secret Service said in a statement announcing an end to the investigation. "Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered." Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office and Hunter Biden's legal team for comment on Trump's remarks but did not immediately receive a reply. Continue reading...

Ukraine lost hundreds of troops on the battlefield on the same day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a fiery fallout with President Donald Trump in the White House – underlining the high-stakes nature of the tense negotiations. The Ukrainian army lost over 220 troops in the Kursk Region in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, per the Russian news agency Tass. The Kursk region, also known as Kursk Oblast, is located in western Russia and borders the northeastern part of Ukraine. The troops were killed as 11 armored combat vehicles, 12 motor vehicles and seven artillery pieces were destroyed by the Russian army. ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP 'BAD FOR BOTH SIDES' An infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier, seven drone control points and an ammunition depot were also "wiped out," the statement reads. The heavy losses come as talks between Trump and Zelenskyy publicly fell apart on Friday, in a discussion where Vice President JD Vance highlighted Ukraine’s struggles to recruit troops. "During the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have a nice ocean and don't feel [it] now, but you will feel it in the future," Zelenskyy said. That comment irked Trump and drew him into the clash which ultimately led to the talks falling apart, a canceled press conference and a minerals deal off the table. Exact numbers of war casualties are hard to quantify due to conflicting reports and limited access to reliable data. TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE Trump has previously said that "millions" of troops have perished, but Zelenskyy reported earlier this month that around 45,100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed with an additional 390,000 wounded. A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimates that a minimum of 172,000 Russian troops have been killed and 611,000 wounded, of which at least 376,000 are severely wounded. Trump accused Zelenskyy of "disrespecting" the U.S. during their meeting Friday and said the Ukrainian leader was not ready to secure peace for his country. "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday. "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace." Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighboring nation. Trump had repeatedly said while on the campaign trail that if he had been president in 2022, the war would not have broken out — vowing to end it if re-elected. Fox News’ Diane Stancy and Emma Colton contributed to this report. Continue reading...

As the prospect of a mid-March government shutdown looms, President Donald Trump endorsed the idea of a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of September. "As usual, Sleepy Joe Biden left us a total MESS. The Budget from last YEAR is still not done. We are working very hard with the House and Senate to pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill ("CR") to the end of September. Let’s get it done!" he declared in a Thursday night Truth Social post. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement on Friday that he will back Trump's request. "I will support President Trump's request for a clean CR to hold spending flat while DOGE continues to identify cuts, the administration re-programs those funds, and Congress readies a strong FY26 appropriation package that cuts waste and reflects DOGE and common sense," the congressman noted in the statement. House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated that "anomalies" can be inserted into a CR to increase or decrease spending, noting that language could be added to reflect spending changes like cuts associated with USAID. CHIP ROY LEADS HOUSE REPUBLICANS IN EFFORT TO REPEAL LAW USED BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO PROSECUTE PRO-LIFERS Johnson made the comments during a Wednesday appearance on CNN after Kaitlan Collins asked him if passing a CR would "refund" programs Elon Musk has been seeking to slash. Johnson said he thinks a continuing resolution would largely be a "clean CR," with changes to account for the "new realities" of "less government" and "more efficiency." "I would have a real hard time voting for a clean [continuing resolution] after everything that we’ve seen out of DOGE," Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said, according to The Hill. Fox News Digital reached out to Crane's office on Friday to request a comment from the congressman. "I have little confidence that Congress will be able to keep up with President Trump," Crane said in a statement emailed over by a staffer who explained the lawmaker was referring to the prospect of Congress making the Trump administration's actions permanent via legislation. "Why are we even having DOGE if we’re not gonna solidify and put it in the CR?" Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., asked, according to The Hill. DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN Fox News Digital reached out to Norman's office on Friday, but the office did not provide a comment from the congressman. CQ Roll Call reported that it obtained a list of anomalies that the White House budget office sent to lawmakers this week. The document titled "FY 2025 FULL-YEAR CONTINUING RESOLUTION ASSUMPTIONS," includes some proposed anomalies to increase spending but others to decrease spending. ‘FIRED ME ILLEGALLY’: EMOTIONAL EX-USAID EMPLOYEES LEAVE BUILDING WITH BELONGINGS AFTER MASS LAYOFFS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP For example, one entry on the list notes, "An anomaly is needed to provide the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program with an additional $3,654 million in order to maintain current services for 2.3 million low-income families in 2025." The document states that, "At the full year CR level, approximately 230,000 households could lose assistance." But another item goes the other direction, declaring, "An anomaly is needed to include a recurring rescission for the Enforcement account of the Internal Revenue Service in the Department of the Treasury in the amount of $20.2 billion. This anomaly would rescind funding that was enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act," the document notes. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Friday to request comment on the CR situation and seek confirmation of the document obtained by CQ Roll Call, but did not receive a response. Continue reading...

Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump and his administration’s foreign policy agenda Friday during a tense exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — inserting himself into a spotlight rarely seen by vice presidents. Trump and Vance sparred in the Oval Office Friday with Zelenskyy amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine — an exchange that ultimately prompted Trump to announce an end to peace negotiations and request that the Ukrainian leader leave the White House. A source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital that there was no expectation of the meeting leading to a combative exchange, and that Trump and Vance were both caught off guard by Zelenskyy’s behavior. While vice presidents traditionally remain in the wings while the president takes center stage, Friday's encounter with Zelenskyy exposed the weight Vance carries directing and advancing the Trump administration's America First agenda — both at home and abroad. The Oval Office encounter with Zelenskyy also comes on the heels of Vance's Feb. 14 appearance at the Munich Security Conference — an event that left a lasting impression on European nations and their relationships with the U.S. Specifically, Vance said Russia and China don't pose as great a threat to European nations as the "threat from within," in reference to issues like censorship and illegal immigration. "To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election," Vance said. The remarks prompted backlash from European leaders, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said he interpreted the remarks as a comparison to "conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes." Tensions escalated in the Oval Office Friday after Zelenskyy pushed back on Vance’s statements that the path forward was through diplomacy, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken other agreements in the past. WHERE ZELENSKYY IS HEADED FOLLOWING TENSE WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE WITH TRUMP, VANCE "What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?" Zelenskyy said. "What do you mean?" In response, Vance said, "I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country." "Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance told Zelenskyy. "Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country." Zelenskyy then asked Vance if he’d ever visited Ukraine, prompting Vance to question again if Zelenskyy disagreed that Ukraine has had challenges recruiting new troops. "And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?" Vance said. Zelenskyy replied that everyone faces challenges during wartime, and that although an ocean protected the U.S. from Russia, he cautioned that the U.S. would feel the threat eventually. The implication that the U.S. would one day be vulnerable seemed to set Trump off. "Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump said. "We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel. "You are in no position to dictate that, remember that." Vance and Zelenskyy also sparred when Vance asked if Zelenskyy had ever said "'thank you' once this entire meeting," prompting Zelenskyy to assert that Vance was speaking "loudly." Trump then snapped at Zelenskyy and warned him that Ukraine was in "big trouble." "Wait a minute," Trump said. "No, no, you've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble." TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE Zelenskyy visited Washington amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and was expected to sign a minerals agreement that would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for support the U.S. has provided the country since Russia's invasion in 2022. But after the tense exchange in the Oval Office, Trump announced a halt to peace negotiations and said that Zelenskyy could return to the White House when he was "ready for Peace." Additionally, Zelenskyy left the White House without signing the minerals deal. "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday. "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace." Zelenskyy also followed up with a social media post on X expressing gratitude to the U.S. for its support. "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit," Zelenskyy said. "Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that." The exchange prompted mixed reactions from those on Capitol Hill. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said Zelenskyy should resign, while Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that "Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work." The Associated Press and Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. Continue reading...

The Trump administration’s efforts to broker a peace negotiation ending the war in Ukraine came to a halt Friday following a testy exchange between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The encounter ultimately led to a canceled press conference, Trump requesting Zelenskyy to leave the White House, and the failure to sign a rare-earth minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine that would have allowed the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals. Tensions escalated in the Oval Office after Zelenskyy challenged Vance, who said that the path forward was through diplomacy. Instead, Zelenskyy issued a caution and noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken other agreements in the past. "What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?" Zelenskyy said. "What do you mean?" In response, Vance said: "I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country." "Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance told Zelenskyy. "Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country." Trump also snapped at Zelenskyy and warned him that Ukraine was in "big trouble" and was "gambling with World War III." TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE Following the encounter, Trump announced a pause to peace negotiations and said that Zelenskyy could return to the White House when he was "ready for Peace." Additionally, Zelenskyy left the White House without signing the minerals deal. "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday. "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace." Zelenskyy also followed up with a social media post on X expressing gratitude to the U.S. for its support. "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit," Zelenskyy said. "Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that." Despite the fallout from the meeting, Zelenskyy told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Friday that the relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. could be salvaged. Here’s what else happened at the White House this week: The Trump administration also sent a memo instructing agencies across the federal government to launch plans for "large-scale reductions in force" and construct reorganization plans by mid-March. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management sent a memo on Wednesday ordering agencies to prepare to cut staffers and share reorganization plans by March 13. "The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt," the memo said. "At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public." Several federal government roles are exempt from the order, including those "necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities," according to the memo. Trump held his second administration's first meeting with Cabinet members Wednesday, where he shared plans to massively cut the Environmental Protection Agency and seek to retrieve military equipment left in Afghanistan. Trump revealed that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is eyeing cutting 65% of federal employees from the agency. WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENKSYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT "I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from Environmental, and we’re going to speed up the process too at the same time," Trump said. "He had a lot of people that weren’t doing their job, they were just obstructionists, and a lot of people that didn’t exist." Trump also shared that he wanted back the military equipment U.S. troops left behind when withdrawing from Afghanistan, but didn’t share plans on how the U.S. would retrieve the equipment. "We left billions, tens of billions of dollars worth of equipment behind, brand new trucks," Trump said Wednesday. "You see them display it every year, or their little roadway, someplace where they have a road and they drive the, you know, waving the flag and talking about America ... that’s all the top of the line stuff. I think we should get a lot of that equipment back." The Taliban seized most of the more than $7 billion worth of equipment U.S. troops left in Afghanistan at the time of the withdrawal in August 2021, according to a Department of Defense report released in 2022. Trump signed an executive order Friday mandating English as the official language of the U.S. The order eradicates a previous mandate from President Bill Clinton in 2000 requiring federal agencies and recipients of federal funding to issue language assistance to those who don’t speak English. The executive order allows each federal agency to determine whether it will offer services in languages besides English. The U.S. is an anomaly in that it has never had an official language, whereas roughly 180 countries out of the 195 countries in the world have official languages, a White House official told Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. Continue reading...

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are gearing up to blame each other for a potential partial government shutdown next month, even as negotiations to avoid the pitfall continue. "The federal government will run out of money on March 14. Republicans, who control Congress and thus decide whether the government shuts down, will bring to the floor tomorrow arguably one of the worst budget bills ever," Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, wrote on X recently. With just over 10 days left in session before the deadline, congressional Republicans are tentatively looking at passing a short-term extension of last year's federal funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), while potentially modifying it to account for priorities set by President Donald Trump, Fox News Digital was told. It could also include extra funding for military readiness to ease defense hawks' concerns. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS Trump himself weighed in on Truth Social on Thursday night: "We are working very hard with the House and Senate to pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill ("CR") to the end of September. Let's get it done!" But Republicans have drawn a red line at Democrats' demands for added assurances that Trump will not move to unilaterally cut cash flows already appropriated by Congress. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a closed-door GOP meeting last week that the Democrats' price was too high, a lawmaker at the meeting told Fox News Digital. On Friday, the top two Democratic negotiators released a blistering statement accusing Republicans of "walking away from bipartisan negotiations to fund the government — and raising the risk of a shutdown in so doing." And Democratic lawmakers for weeks have already been positioning to place the blame on Republicans if no agreement is reached. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dodged a question from Fox News Digital earlier this week about whether Democratic leaders would encourage their members to reject a funding bill if it did not meet their demands. "The appropriations process at this moment is in the hands of [House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.] on behalf of House Democrats," he said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X this week, "Republicans are spending precious time trying to cater to the wishes of Trump’s billionaire buddies INSTEAD OF working to avoid a disastrous government shutdown that would hurt tens of millions of American families. Democrats are fighting for families." Since Republicans took back control of the House in 2023, any government funding bill that's been signed into law has needed Democratic support in both chambers to pass. But this year, some Democrats are arguing that Republicans will fully own a shutdown, since they now control both chambers of Congress and the White House. KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Republicans, however, have accused Democrats of being unreasonable and are readying to blame them if a shutdown occurs. "If that happens, that's because the Democrats do not want to do the necessary work of getting waste and inefficiency out of our government," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Fox News' Bill Hemmer. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., suggested liberals were still playing hardball earlier this week during his weekly press conference. "If they are interested in collaborating with us and us putting up votes to fund government, then they have to work with us. If they walk away, that is a signal that they have this on their own… We're not interested in putting up votes just because," he said. "We're interested in funding a government that protects vulnerable populations, protects our communities, makes investments in our national security and defense. Those are the things that Democrats care about. If Republicans don't want to partner with us, then, clearly they must have a strategy to fund this on their own, using their own votes." Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Democrats "are at the table negotiating in good faith to fund the government." "But Republicans are the majority in the House and Senate. If they want our votes, they need to work with us," she said, warning Republicans not to "follow [Elon Musk] toward a shutdown." Continue reading...

A Texas state lawmaker introduced legislation that would amend the state's ban on gender transition procedures or treatment for minors to also apply to adults in the Lone Star State. H.B. 3399 filed by Rep. Brent Money, a Republican, would change the language in the current law banning gender-transitioning procedures or treatment for children by replacing the word "child" with "person." Money's proposal would prohibit medical procedures "for the purpose of transitioning a person's biological sex" or "affirming the person's perception of the person's sex" if the perception is not consistent with the person's biological sex. PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT AN EXCEPTION Surgeries and puberty-blocking drugs would be banned for all Texans under the bill, with exceptions for a doctor prescribing puberty-blocking drugs to a child with parental consent to normalize puberty and for surgery on a person born with a "verifiable genetic disorder of sex development." People who have already started puberty-blocking medications must be weaned off the drugs in a "medically appropriate" manner that "minimizes the risk of complications." Texas has an estimated 93,000 transgender adults, making it the state with the third-most, behind only California and Florida, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA's School of Law. About 30,000 Texans between the ages of 13 and 18 are transgender, also making it the state with the third-most, behind California and New York. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a bill in 2023 banning gender-transitioning treatment for transgender youth after the measure was approved by the state legislature. The law was challenged in the Texas Supreme Court, with the lawsuit that sought to block the law arguing that the ban has devastating consequences for transgender teenagers who are unable to obtain treatment recommended by their doctors and parents, according to Fox 7. WASHINGTON TEEN REFUSES TO COMPETE AGAINST TRANS BASKETBALL PLAYER, FACES CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT But the court upheld the ban last summer in an 8-1 decision. Only one justice dissented, saying the state Supreme Court was allowing the state to "legislate away fundamental parental rights." Texas is one of at least 25 states with laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatment for transgender minors. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump reclaimed items seized during a 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which was executed by former special counsel Jack Smith. Trump staff members were seen loading boxes onto Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews Friday after the Department of Justice (DOJ) returned them to the president’s possession. "The Department of Justice has just returned the boxes that Deranged Jack Smith made such a big deal about. They are being brought down to Florida and will someday be part of the Trump Presidential Library," Trump said in a post on Truth Social Friday evening. "Justice finally won out. I did absolutely nothing wrong. This was merely an attack on a political opponent that, obviously, did not work well. Justice in our Country will now be restored." JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID The FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents in August 2022 from Mar-a-Lago, spurring a legal battle that Trump has called a "scam." Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to oversee the investigation, resulting in 40 felony counts against Trump, including his alleged violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The FBI at the time told a judge there was "probable cause to believe" that classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were being improperly stored and that investigators would find "evidence of obstruction." Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and slammed the case as an "Election Inference Scam" promoted by the Biden administration and "Deranged Jack Smith." "The FBI is giving the President his property back that was taken during the unlawful and illegal raids," White House communications director Steven Cheung said. "We are taking possession of the boxes today and loading them onto Air Force One." TRUMP LAWYERS CLAIM MAR-A-LAGO SEARCH DONE WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE AS PROSECUTORS SLAM ‘CONSPIRACY THEORY’ Trump counselor Alina Habba told reporters during a gaggle Friday the boxes were with the FBI and contained personal items. For example, Habba said the FBI raided Trump’s son Barron’s closet and wife Melania’s closet and went through drawers, making a mockery of the justice system. She reiterated that personal items like pictures, newspaper articles and things "completely irrelevant" to lawsuits were removed from the home and are now being returned to Trump. FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP'S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE Returning the items to the president, she explained, brought the issue full circle. "I personally actually carried some of the boxes with the team to get them back to where they belong, which is where they were unlawfully taken from, and that is Florida," Habba said. "So, it is truly an honor and full circle to be on this trip. "The boxes are going back, and frankly, this was a hoax, as we knew. So, I think that the biggest message in America today is that justice is going to be restored." Continue reading...

Tulsi Gabbard, the new director of national intelligence, thanked President Donald Trump Friday for his "unwavering leadership" after his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in the Oval Office earlier in the day. "Thank you @realDonaldTrump for your unwavering leadership in standing up for the interests of the American people, and peace," Gabbard wrote on X Friday evening, hours after the fiery exchange. "What you said is absolutely true: Zelensky has been trying to drag the United States into a nuclear war with Russia/WW3 for years now, and no one has." Tensions increased during the Oval Office meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance about a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine after Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn't be trusted and had breached other agreements. ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’ Trump and Vice President JD Vance then accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the support the U.S. has provided over the years and said the Ukrainian leader was in a "bad position" at the negotiating table. "You're playing cards," Trump said. "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country." After Vance told Zelenskyy Ukraine had manpower and military recruiting problems, Zelenskyy said war means "everybody has problems, even you," adding the U.S. would feel the war "in the future." "Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump responded. "We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel." Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House after the exchange, a press conference was canceled and a deal for Ukraine to give the U.S. its rare earth minerals was left unsigned. Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for America’s help after the meeting. "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit," he wrote on X. "Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that." The Ukrainian president told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview after the meeting he believes Ukrainian-U.S. ties can be salvaged. "Yes, of course, because it's relations more than two presidents," he said in the exclusive interview on "Special Report." "It's the historical relations, strong relations between our people. And that's why I always began … to thank your people from our people. "Of course, thankful to the president and, of course, to Congress," he said, "But, first of all, to your people … we wanted very much to have all this strong relations and where it counted. We will have it." Zelenskyy said he was "not sure we did something bad" when asked about the heated exchange but conceded the dustup was "bad for both sides." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump also received support from Republicans like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Trump was "standing up for America," while Democrats like Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly wrote on X, "To be clear, the only winner in this shouting match in the Oval Office is Putin. Almost can’t believe this happened." Continue reading...

During a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova appeared distraught with her head in her hand. The moment was captured in a number of viral photos and videos as Trump questioned Zelenskyy about not wanting a ceasefire with Russia at a live White House press event. As shaky microphones hovered above the spatting leaders, Markarova lowered her head to her right hand and closed her eyes. ZELENSKYY BREAKS SILENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER FIERY OVAL OFFICE EXCHANGE WITH TRUMP: 'THANK YOU AMERICA' President Trump addressed Zelenskyy, saying, "You're saying you don't want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire because you get a ceasefire faster than an agreement." The Ukrainian president chimed in, "I said to you … with guarantees. Ask our people about [a] ceasefire, [about] what they think." Trump starkly halted the conversation, saying "that wasn't with me." ZELENSKYY LEAVES WHITE HOUSE AFTER BEING ‘KICKED OUT’ FOLLOWING HEATED MEETING The leaders were expected to sign a deal sharing Ukraine's rare earth minerals and discuss a peace deal with Russia when the conversation turned contentious. After questions were posed by Zelenskyy about diplomacy, Vice President JD Vance reprimanded him for "try[ing] to litigate" in front of the American media, calling his actions "disrespectful." "Do you think that it's respectful to come into the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country," Vance asked Zelenskyy. Sources close to Zelenskyy noted tensions were high prior to the meeting, Fox News Digital previously reported. Zelenskyy reportedly rejected the mineral security agreement before Friday's meeting due to the absence of security guarantees protecting Ukraine from another Russian invasion. Even though the Ukrainian president warned he would need those assurances to sign the deal, sources said the dismissal angered Trump and Vance. Just minutes after reporters asked their first questions, the heated disagreement unfolded. Reporters watched in shock as the meeting came to an abrupt halt, and Zelenskyy was rushed out of the White House. Minutes later, Trump posted to Truth Social, saying, "President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE." Zelenskyy subsequently posted to X, thanking America and Trump for their support and allowing the visit. "Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that," he wrote in the post. Markarova was ambassador for roughly a year when Russia invaded Ukraine, thrusting her into the spotlight. In September, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter to Zelenskyy seeking Markarova's firing after she allegedly organized a U.S. taxpayer-funded tour of an American manufacturing site for Zelenskyy in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Johnson, R-La., said the tour "purposely excluded" Republicans, calling it "election interference." "The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris and failed to include a single Republican because — on purpose — no Republicans were invited," Johnson wrote in the letter. He said the "shortsighted and intentionally political move" prompted Republicans to "lose trust" in Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat. "She should be removed from her post immediately," Johnson wrote. The Embassy of Ukraine to the United States of America did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. Continue reading...

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that removes protections for transgender people in the state’s civil rights code. While not every state has protections for transgender people, Iowa Democrats added them to the civil rights code in 2007. Iowa is the first state to remove gender identity protection from its state civil rights code. The new law follows President Donald Trump's executive orders only recognizing two sexes, restricting sex change operations and restricting trans people in the military, as well as state efforts to ban trans women from women’s bathrooms and women’s sports. TRUMP ORDER RESTRICTING SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES FOR MINOR IN LINE WITH ‘DO NO HARM,’ DOCTOR SAYS The bill also defines male and female based on the person’s reproductive organs at birth. Iowa’s civil rights code will still include protections for race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and disability status. Reynolds described the bill in a video she uploaded to X on Friday. "Today I’m signing into law a bill that safeguards the rights of women and girls," she said. "It’s commonsense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it’s necessary to secure genuine equal protection for girls. It’s why we have men and women’s bathrooms, but not men and women’s conference rooms. Girls' and boys' sports, but not girls' math, boys' math." She said that "these commonsense protections were at risk because, before I signed this bill, the civil rights code blurred the biological line between the sexes." Reynolds acknowledged that it is a "sensitive issue for some, many of whom have heard misinformation about what this bill does. The truth is that it simply brings Iowa in line with the federal civil rights code, as well as most states." She added that every Iowan, "without exception, deserves respect and dignity. We are all children of God and no law changes that." Trump signaled his approval of the law on Thursday, shortly before it was signed. PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT AN EXEMPTION "Iowa, a beautiful State that I have won BIG every time, has a Bill to remove Radical Gender Ideology from their Laws," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Iowa should follow the lead of my Executive Order, saying there are only two genders, and pass this Bill – AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Thank you Iowa!" Critics of the law say it will allow transgender people to be discriminated against in all aspects of life. Democratic Iowa state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, who identifies as a transgender woman, said, "The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence. The sum total of every anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal." Protesters also filled the state Capitol’s rotunda on Thursday, holding up signs like "Trans rights are human rights" and shouting, "No hate in our state!" CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Keenan Crow, who directs policy and advocacy for the LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa, told The Associated Press that the group will take any legal action "available," adding that they’re still trying to understand how the law will be enforced. All Democrats in the state House and Senate voted against the bill and were joined by five House Republicans. The law goes into effect July 1. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Continue reading...

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to announce a run for governor in his home state of Ohio by the last week of January, a source close to the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur told Fox News Digital. The development on his timetable comes two days after multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Ramaswamy, who along with Elon Musk is co-leader of President-elect Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, was likely to launch a gubernatorial campaign "shortly." "Vivek’s base plan remains [the] same: to get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly," an Ohio operative familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking told Fox News on Friday. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026. DeWine on Friday announced that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by former Sen. JD Vance until earlier this month, when the vice president-elect stepped down ahead of Monday's inauguration. MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED WORKER IMIMGRATION Before the Senate announcement, Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. Ramaswamy, for his part, had expressed interest in serving in the Senate. DeWine's decision to choose Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to accelerate Ramaswamy's move toward launching a run for governor. Ramaswamy, 39, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, saw his stock rise as he went from a long shot to a contender for the Republican nomination. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON VIVEK RAMASWAMY Ramaswamy campaigned on what he called an "America First 2.0" agenda and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the field of rivals, calling Trump the "most successful president in our century." He dropped his White House bid a year ago after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail. Ramaswamy was named along with Musk, the world's richest person, to lead DOGE, in an announcement in November by Trump. Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections. Continue reading...

See photos of the preparations in ahead of the Inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Top members of the three branches of government will come together in a rare display of national unity and tradition when the presidential and vice-presidential oaths of office are delivered at Monday's inauguration. A swear-in rookie, and perhaps funny hats, will be indispensable parts of the ceremonies. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh will continue a nearly 240-year-old tradition of administering the oaths to President-elect Trump and his No. 2, JD Vance. The other seven members of the high court are expected to attend the event in the Capitol Rotunda, all in their judicial robes. Whatever political differences exist, they surely will not be on display at this most cordial and dignified of ceremonies. After all, the first person the president thanks will likely be the chief justice. But an undercurrent of tension remains. During his first run for high office in 2016, candidate Trump took the unusual step of attacking a member of the federal judiciary, labeling Roberts "an absolute disaster" among other personal insults. This will be the "Chief's" fifth presidential swearing-in, his second with Trump. HOW TO WATCH, STREAM TRUMP'S 2025 INAUGURATION ON JANUARY 20TH The choice of Kavanaugh is no surprise: incoming second lady Usha Vance clerked for Kavanaugh when he was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. She then went on to a prestigious law clerkship at the Supreme Court with Roberts. Sources say Kavanaugh gave an especially strong job recommendation for Usha Vance to his now bench colleague. In an August interview with "Fox and Friends," Usha Vance said Kavanaugh was "such a good boss" and "decent person" who "hired people from all over the political spectrum." "My experience working for him was overwhelmingly positive," she added. Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas are among recent justices who have performed similar vice-presidential swear-in honors. While chief justices have normally sworn in the president, a broader mix of officials have handled the vice-presidential duties. Then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert swore in Vice President Dick Cheney in 2005. Thomas did the honors when Mike Pence was sworn in 2017 as vice president for Trump's first term. TRUMP SWEARING-IN TO MOVE INDOORS DUE TO COLD WEATHER, SOURCE TELLS FOX NEWS Article VI of the Constitution requires executive officers, including the president, as well as members of Congress and federal judges, to "be bound by oath or affirmation," but nothing mandates that a Supreme Court justice administer it. When it comes to the presidential inauguration, they just have, most of the time. There was no Supreme Court yet formed when George Washington took the first oath of office in 1789, so New York's highest ranking judge did the honors at Federal Hall on Wall Street. Four years later, Associate Justice William Cushing swore in Washington for a second term, beginning the Supreme Court tradition. Early swear-ins were usually conducted in the House or Senate chamber. The 1817 inaugural was held outdoors for the first time when James Monroe took the oath in front of the Old Brick Capitol, where the legislature met temporarily after the original Capitol was burned by invading British troops in the War of 1812. The Monroe swear-in site is now occupied by the Supreme Court, which opened its building in 1935. The man who handled the duties more than 200 years ago was John Marshall, widely acknowledged as the most influential chief justice in U.S. history. He participated in a record nine swear-ins, from Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson. For Roberts, this will be his fifth. The Constitution lays out the exact language to be used in the 34-word oath of office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Many judges have tacked on four little words, "so help me God." It is not legally or constitutionally required, unlike other federal oaths that invoke the words as standard procedure. Historians have been at odds over whether President Washington established precedent by adding the phrase on his own during his first acceptance, but contemporary accounts mention no such ad-libbing. Abraham Lincoln was reported to have said it spontaneously in 1861, and other presidents over the years have followed suit. A Bible is traditionally used, with the president placing one hand on it while raising the other during the oath of office. The 16th president and Chief Justice Roger Taney shared a mutual animosity. When the oath was administered just days before the Civil War erupted, many attending the ceremony noticed the frosty demeanor both men showed each other, befitting the late winter chill. Several historians have said Lincoln later that year secretly issued an arrest warrant for Taney, who tried to block the president's suspension of habeas corpus during the conflict. The warrant was never served. President Barack Obama used Lincoln's Bible for his two swear-ins. Trump is expected to again use the Lincoln Bible and a family Bible. TRUMP, VANCE OFFICIAL PORTRAITS RELEASED AHEAD OF INAUGURATION Roberts, administering his first presidential oath in 2009, strayed slightly from the text, which prompted its re-administration for protective purposes the following day, in a private White House ceremony. Those Jan. 20 ceremonies at the Capitol also ran long, so that the presidential oath was not completed until five minutes past noon. Nonetheless, Obama under the 20th Amendment had officially assumed the presidency at noon. At the time, a California atheist, Michael Newdow, objected and went to federal court to prevent Roberts from prompting Obama to repeat the "so help me God" phrase. Newdow, along with several non-religious groups, argued the words violated the constitutional ban on government "endorsement" of religion. The high court ultimately rejected the lawsuit, and no such legal challenges are expected this time. Four years later, Justice Sonia Sotomayor swore in Biden for a second term as vice president in 2013. She was asked by Vice President Harris to do the honors again, with the first female vice president citing the fact both women once served as government prosecutors. Pence used the family Bible of the late President Ronald Reagan, telling Fox News at the time, "It's just very humbling for me. We are approaching it with prayer, but with deep, deep gratitude to the president-elect for his confidence and deep gratitude to the American people." Trump also broke tradition by not attending the swear-in of his successor four years ago. Lyndon Johnson's swear-in from 1965 marked a change from tradition. His wife Claudia – known as Lady Bird – held the Bible, a job previously managed by the high court's clerk. Spouses have since had the honor, and Melania Trump and Usha Vance are expected to continue that role. Hopefully, nerves won't result in a repeat of the 1941 goof, when then-clerk Elmore Cropley dropped the Bible just after Franklin Roosevelt took the oath to begin his third presidential term. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP'S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? It usually is not hard at the inauguration to spot the justices, who are normally shielded from broad public view in the camera-barred court. They are announced as a group, arrive wearing their black robes – usually covering bulky winter coats – and are given prominent seats on the specially built platform on the West Front of the Capitol. Before Marshall took over the court in 1801, the justices wore red robes with fur trim and white wigs in all public settings. His practice of a simple black silk robe without wig remains the American judicial standard. And if there is any doubt about their identities, look for some unusual-looking headgear several justices may be sporting. The large black "skullcaps" have no brims and can be made of wool, silk or even nylon. Perhaps to keep them from looking like a Jewish yarmulke, the hats are usually pleated upward, which one federal judge privately told Fox News made him look like he was wearing a dirty napkin. Given the inauguration ceremony is indoors this year because of expected frigid weather, the skullcaps may be an afterthought. They have been around in British courts since the 16th century, and at least a century in the United States. Only judges wear them, and only at formal ceremonies, not in court. Official records are hazy on the hats, but Chief Justice Edward White proudly wore one in 1913 when Woodrow Wilson became president. The "age of the skullcap" peaked in 1961 when seven of the nine justices wore them at the bitterly cold inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. The last time around, only now-retired Justice Stephen Breyer was brave enough to sport one, though Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, and the late Antonin Scalia had worn them previously. None of the six current or former women justices ever used them. Scalia told an audience a few years ago why he favored skullcaps. "If you've ever seen an inauguration, you will see me wearing the old hats judges used to wear. It's a ridiculous-looking hat, but it's a tradition. Yes, it's silly looking." Scalia's headgear was a replica of one worn by St. Thomas More, a gift from the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond, Virginia The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist also sported them, not surprising, given his role as an unofficial historian of court procedure and tradition. He made one of the most dramatic appearances in inaugural history while suffering from thyroid cancer in 2005. There was speculation he would be too ill to attend, but he assured officials he would be there, and he kept his word. After three months away from the public eye while he received chemotherapy, the ailing 81-year-old chief was introduced to the audience just before President George W. Bush was to take the oath. Using a cane, Rehnquist walked slowly to the podium without assistance – wearing a dark baseball cap – and did the honors. His voice was clear but raspy, because of a trachea tube in his throat, which was hidden by a scarf. Afterward, Rehnquist wished Bush good luck, then was quickly escorted out of the cold. Rehnquist also swore in President Bill Clinton eight years earlier. Unbeknownst to Clinton or the public, the justices days earlier had taken a private vote in Clinton v. Jones. Their ruling said the president could not refuse to testify in an ongoing civil lawsuit against him by Paula Jones, who alleged sexual harassment. That triggered a series of events leading to Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, presided over by Rehnquist himself, without the skullcap. Continue reading...

President Biden vowed to stick around in public life following his departure from the White House, telling a South Carolina church congregation on Sunday, "I'm not going anywhere." On his last full day in office, Biden traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, where he spoke at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate Martin Luther King Day early. On the topic of clemency, Biden commended himself for issuing more commutations and individual pardons than "any other president in American history," adding that he also aspired to "end the federal death penalty" by commuting most sentences to life in prison without parole. The president also said he commuted the sentences of individuals "serving disproportionately hard, long, and harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenses" and showed "mercy" for individuals who did their time or served a significant amount of time and "have shown significant remorse and rehabilitation." BIDEN PARDONS LATE BLACK ACTIVIST MARCUS GARVEY, 4 OTHERS "These decisions are difficult. Some have never been done before, but, in my experience, with my conscience, I believe taking together justice and mercy requires as a nation to bear witness, to see people's pain, not to look away and do the work, to move pain to purpose, to show we can get a person, a nation, to a day of redemption," Biden said. "We know the struggle to redeem the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing." "This is the shore between peril and possibility. But faith, faith teaches us the America of our dreams is always closer than we think. That's the faith we must hold on to for the Saturdays to come. We must hold on a hope. We must stay engaged. Must always keep the faith in a better day to come," Biden said, adding: "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not kidding… The people in South Carolina, thank you for keeping the faith. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president." "As I close out this journey with you, I'm just as passionate about our work as I was as a 29-year-old kid when I got elected," Biden added. "I'm in no ways tired." HOW TO WATCH, STREAM TRUMP'S 2025 INAUGURATION ON JANUARY 20TH Biden, who turned 82 in November, must be back in Washington, D.C., on Monday for the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Trump. After a disastrous debate performance against Trump over the summer, Biden suspended his re-election campaign amid serious concerns within the Democratic Party over his age and mental fitness. Vice President Kamala Harris headed the Democratic ticket in Biden's place and suffered a decisive defeat by Trump in November. Biden was the oldest U.S. president sworn into office four years ago. Trump, 78, will eclipse that record by a few months on Monday. Earlier Sunday, Biden granted clemency to an additional five people, including pardoning political activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. Continue reading...

President-elect Donald Trump Vice President-elect JD Vance participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Sunday, the eve of his return to the White House. Trump was participating in a series of Washington events prior to his return to office. The president-elect's wife, Melania Trump, was also there, as were his children: Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump. Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, was also in attendance. NELLY DEFENDS PERFORMING AT TRUMP'S INAUGURATION, SAYS 'IT'S AN HONOR' Some of Trump’s Cabinet picks were in the crowd, including Pete Hegseth, his pick for defense secretary; Marco Rubio, his pick for secretary of state; Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence; and Elise Stefanik, his pick for United Nations ambassador. Trump appeared solemn as he placed a wreath on an easel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in drizzly rain and in front of a silent crowd. Moments later, Vance did the same. Trump held a salute while Vance held a hand over his heart during the ceremony. HOW TO WATCH, STREAM TRUMP'S 2025 INAUGURATION ON JANUARY 20TH The two left Arlington National Cemetery once the ceremony was complete. Trump is set to hold a campaign-style "MAGA Victory" rally at Capitol One Arena on Sunday evening. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Continue reading...

A newly built segment of border wall in southern Arizona will keep out more than just illegal immigrants, a nonprofit conservation organization says. The border wall segment and a "paved road across Arizona's California Gulch is blocking streamflow critical to the survival of one of only two U.S. populations of Sonora chub," a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity reads. The "rare desert fish" is a "small, moderately chubby fish that feasts on a variety of native food sources and has a unique and distinctly red coloration on the underside when in breeding condition," the organization says. "The new wall and road will push these imperiled fish to the brink of extinction," Krista Kemppinen, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. LINDSEY GRAHAM DEFENDS KASH PATEL IN HEATED EXCHANGE WITH CBS HOST "The Sonora chub’s survival depends on being able to access scarce desert water on both sides of the border, exchange genetic material with nearby populations in Mexico, and bolster its populations with upstream migrations of fish from Sonora after droughts. The new construction makes all that impossible," she continued. The organization drew attention to the matter just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to retake office and ramp up his border security efforts. TRUMP TO BE SWORN IN ON BIBLE GIVEN TO HIM BY HIS MOTHER, AND THE LINCOLN BIBLE "Designating California Gulch as critical habitat is more urgent than ever to minimize other threats, such as by keeping cows out of the Sonora chub’s pools," Kemppinen said in the statement. "It’s also imperative that carefully designed culverts be added to the new border infrastructure to allow at least some semblance of a natural streamflow and migration. If federal officials are serious about saving this fish, they need to act now." Earlier this month, Trump set off a fiery debate over whether Democrats should be to blame for California's wildfires after he accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of caring more about protecting endangered fish species known as smelt than protecting the state's residents from wildfires. Trump set off a firestorm on Wednesday when he called out Newsom on his Truth Social platform for wanting "to protect an essentially worthless fish" over protecting the water needs of Californians. The comments are not new, however. In the run-up to the November election, Trump made the claim during an October interview with podcaster Joe Rogan. Neither the Center for Biological Diversity nor the Trump transition team responded to a request for comment regarding this story. Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. Continue reading...

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday denied that President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan could cost trillions of dollars, though said that there is no better investment than restoring the safety and security of the country. Johnson made the remarks during an appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press" when he was asked about the border crisis and grocery prices, the two issues that Trump says helped him win the election. "I cannot think of a better dollar for dollar investment than to restore the security and the safety of the country," Johnson said. "We've had a wide-open border for four years and millions upon millions of illegal persons. We have dangerous illegals in the country, criminals who have already committed crimes here, violent crimes against American citizens." The speaker cited crime and "the untold humanitarian cost in terms of trafficking and fentanyl deaths" in the U.S. as important reasons to tackle border security, saying, "getting rid of that criminal element … is something the American people want us to do." IMMIGRATION HAWKS URGE CONGRESS, TRUMP TO ‘BEGIN IMMEDIATELY’ ON MASS DEPORTATION PLEDGE "The number one job of the federal government is protecting the citizenry," he said. "And when you have a wide-open border, you don't have safety, security or even sovereignty, for that matter. President Trump is going to follow through on his campaign promises and the promises that we all made on the campaign trail. It costs money to do that. But there is a small investment in terms of what it costs us." When asked whether the plan would come with a price tag in the trillions of dollars, Johnson rejected the notion. "It won't cost trillions of dollars. I think we don't yet know the dollar figure," he said. "But I will tell you that the American people are going to support that effort. And we're going to begin with the most dangerous elements. And you're going to see a dramatic change in the country because of it." Johnson did not provide an estimated cost for the deportation plan. BIDEN HAD NO IDEA HE SIGNED NATURAL GAS EXECUTIVE ORDER, JOHNSON SAYS Regarding grocery prices, Johnson said those costs would unquestionably come down under Trump with the return to "fiscal sanity" and "common sense." Johnson said that Congress and the Trump administration will "turn the economic engines back on" like during the first Trump term when lawmakers "reduced the tax burden on the American people, but even more importantly, the regulatory burden." "That's going to be a major theme of the upcoming administration in this Congress, because if you release the red tape, you unleash the free market again. And that's good for everybody," he said. Continue reading...

On Jan. 20 2025, the nation and the world will be watching as President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will officially begin their four-year tenure in the White House. Thousands will flock to the U.S. Capitol to see the historic moment in-person. For those watching from home, Fox News Media has a lineup of live broadcasts straight from Washington, D.C., as well as around-the-clock commentary for viewers. On Jan. 20, Fox News Channel and FoxNews.com will broadcast a live stream of the inauguration ceremony, where Trump and Vance will each officially be sworn into office. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP'S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? The swearing-in ceremony is slated to begin at noon. Additionally, throughout the ceremony, and at other events occurring on the day, there will be several live performances by A-list stars, including Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Lee Greenwood, Village People, Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum and others. After the swearing-in ceremony, Trump will make his second inaugural address following his first presidency, with an inaugural parade following soon after along Pennsylvania Avenue. JD VANCE JOKES ABOUT SKIPPING INAUGURATION TO WATCH OHIO STATE IN TITLE GAME Later in the day, there will be three different official inaugural balls where Trump is expected to give remarks; the Commander in Chief Ball, Liberty Inaugural Ball and Starlight Ball. Surrounding live broadcasts of the events unfolding throughout the day on FOX News Channel and FoxNews.com will be Washington-based programming with commentary from Fox hosts. Fox News Channel's Jan. 20 Inauguration Day coverage begins at 4 a.m., with "Fox & Friends First" with Carley Shimkus and Todd Piro and "Fox & Friends" with Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Lawrence Jones airing after. TRUMP, VANCE OFFICIAL PORTRAITS RELEASED AHEAD OF INAUGURATION At 9 a.m., Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer will take over coverage on "America’s Newsroom," followed by "The Faulkner Focus" with Harris Faulkner. At 11 a.m., just shortly before the swearing-in ceremony is set to begin, Fox News Channel will air special coverage, "Inauguration of Donald Trump" until 5 p.m,, with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum at the helm. Perino, Brit Hume, Harold Ford Jr., Faulkner and many others will contribute to this coverage throughout the afternoon into the evening. Fox coverage goes late into the night, with "The Five," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "Jesse Watters Primetime," "Hannity," "Gutfeld!" and "Fox News @ Night" with Trace Gallagher. FOX Business Network will also be providing live coverage on Inauguration Day, with Larry Kudlow live from Washington, D.C., beginning at 4 p.m. For those who wish to stream Inauguration Day events from their phone, tablet or computer, FoxNews.com will have a live broadcast available. Continue reading...

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had a tense interaction on Sunday during a live interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation." Graham told Brennan he was "ready" to vote to confirm Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for FBI director, and believes Patel's confirmation hearing "will expose him to be a very qualified man of the law." The remarks came after Brennan quoted former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr's memoir about Patel. "Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency," Barr wrote in his 2022 memoir. INAUGURATION DAY IS TOMORROW – HERE’S A COMPLETE GUIDE TO FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S COVERAGE AND WHAT TO EXPECT Graham said Barr was wrong when he wrote it, and wrong now about Patel. He said he takes his advice on the nominee from former Rep. Trey Gowdy, who worked with Patel. "Kash was a public defender, he was a prosecutor, he worked with Trey Gowdy about the Russia hoax," Graham said. "So I do think he has the experience. He has the trust of the president." TRUMP TO BE SWORN IN ON BIBLE GIVEN TO HIM BY HIS MOTHER, AND THE LINCOLN BIBLE "I'm ready to vote for him because I know him too. See [you] never asked about the Russia hoax that he exposed," Graham continued. "People on the right believe that he was part of the solution, not the problem." Graham then began to talk about this situation in the Middle East and its relation to the "world stage." "You took me all the way to Israel from Kash Patel," Brennan said. "You shouldn't worry about Kash Patel," Graham responded when Brennan asked about Patel "going after journalists." "You should worry about reporting the news fairly, which you don't do when it comes to everything Trump," Graham concluded. The CBS host then reminded Graham he is a guest on the show because "we wanted to hear you out," before cutting to a commercial break. Continue reading...

During a busy week in the nation's capital, far from the action, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had no trouble keeping his name in the political spotlight. "This is a time for action. And a time for Washington, D.C., to deliver results to the American people. There are no more excuses for Republicans," the conservative two-term governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate said Thursday as he named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate. Two days earlier, President-elect Trump gave his onetime bitter GOP primary rival a shout-out after the governor called for a special state legislative session to implement Trump's expected immigration crackdown. "Thank you Ron, hopefully other governors will follow!" the president-elect said in a social media post. VANCE IS THE EARLY FRONTRUNNER, BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028 Due to the national profile he's built over the past four years, the governor of one of the country's most important states will likely continue to stay in the headlines as he takes a lead on some of the nation's most consequential issues. The spotlight should help DeSantis if he ends up launching a second straight GOP presidential nomination run in 2028, a race in which soon-to-be Vice President JD Vance will be considered the clear early frontrunner as the perceived America First and MAGA heir apparent to Trump. "He needs to do what he did in 2022, which is pick good fights. And he’s shown a lot of capability to pick good fights with the left both in Florida and nationally," longtime Republican strategist David Kochel said of DeSantis. RNC CHAIR SAYS GOP HAS ‘DEEP BENCH’ FOR 2028 "I think he’ll be in demand to come do stuff in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina," Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, predicted, pointing to the three key early voting states in the Republican presidential primaries. "I wouldn’t change a lot from how he did the run-up to his 2024 campaign. The problem was he basically ran against an incumbent president. He didn’t have the wrong playbook. He had the wrong cycle." While the initial moves in the 2028 White House run will likely start in the coming months, including some early state visits, most Americans won't be paying a lick of attention until after the 2026 midterms, when the next presidential campaign formally gets under way. And that's when DeSantis will be wrapping up his second and final four-year term steering Florida, allowing him to concentrate 100% on a White House run if that's in his cards. But what about another high-profile Republican governor who likely has national ambitions in 2028? HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 The Virginia Constitution doesn't allow for incumbent governors to run for a second consecutive term, so Gov. Glenn Youngkin will be out of office in Richmond in a year. Compared to DeSantis, who also enjoys large GOP majorities in his state legislature, which will allow him to continue to enact a conservative agenda, Virginia is a purple state where Democrats have a slight upper hand in the legislature. "It might be a little tougher for Youngkin, a little tougher for him to find ways to stay in the news" after he leaves office in a year, Kochel suggested. But, Younkin predicted, "You’re going to see me a lot." "We’ve got a very aggressive agenda for being governor in the last 14 months," he said in a Fox News Digital interview in November. "But part of that agenda that I have is to make sure that we have [Lt. Gov.] Winsome Sears as our next governor. [Virginia Attorney General] Jason Miyares is back as our attorney general and a super lieutenant governor who we will pick at our primaries." Youngkin, who energized Republicans nationwide in 2021 as a first-time candidate who hailed from the party’s business wing, edged former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe to become the first GOP candidate in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election in the one-time swing state that had trended toward the Democrats over the previous decade. He could also potentially end up in the Trump administration after his term in Richmond sunsets in a year. "I told the president when I called him and told him that I wanted to finish my term that I would be available to help him at any time while I’m governor and afterwards," Youngkin told Fox News Digital, referring to a call he held with Trump right after the November election. But if he doesn't enter the Trump administration, another route for Youngkin to stay in the spotlight in 2026 would be criss-crossing the country on behalf of fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections. It's a role Youngkin previously played in 2022, helping fellow Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates. "He’s got to do the blocking and tackling, go state by state, help a lot of candidates, raise a lot of money for them. Get a bunch of governors elected," Kochel suggested. "That’s the playbook for him." What about NIkki Haley, the former two-term Republican governor of South Carolina and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Trump's first administration, who was the last rival standing against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries? Out of office and shut out of the Trump world while still facing social media zingers by the president-elect, Haley's ability to grab attention should she seek the presidency again may be a more difficult climb within a party once again on bended knee to the former and future president. Haley does have a weekly national radio show on Sirius XM, where she noted a few weeks ago, "I had no interest in being in [Trump's] Cabinet." But a lot can happen in the two years until the next White House race officially gets under way. There could be some buyer's remorse among voters if the new administration is not successful in enacting some of its goals. "While JD Vance starts as the presumed frontrunner right now, there’s a million miles to go between now and then," seasoned Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News. And Kochel added that for some Republicans mulling a 2028 presidential bid, "I think a little strategic distance is not a bad idea. Because you don’t know what’s going to happen over the next two years." But holding statewide office — either as a governor or senator — doesn't guarantee favorable coverage. "Having a day job cuts both ways. It gives you a platform, a megaphone, and an ability to make news whenever you want. But it also carries with it the responsibilities of governing or legislating or being part of government bodies, whether it’s Congress or the state you are running, where things can go wrong and end up on your doorstep and become political baggage," Reed noted. Reed warned that "history is littered with those officeholders who ran and won for a second term only to have political baggage at home become political headaches on the campaign trail." Continue reading...

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Friday recounted a meeting with President Biden from early last year when the president appeared to forget he signed an executive order pausing the export of liquified natural gas (LNG). Johnson publicly recalled the story for the first time to Bari Weiss during an episode of her podcast "Honestly" for The Free Press after saying that through his "personal observation" in dealing with Biden, the president "has not been in charge for some time." Johnson’s story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in June, though the newspaper’s reporting relied on anonymous sources at the time. When Weiss asked Johnson to elaborate on his observations, the speaker began his tale of how Biden’s staff kept brushing off his attempts to schedule a meeting with the president in January 2024 amid "big national concerns" that Johnson said he "was losing sleep over." Johnson said that Biden’s staff finally relented after some pressure from the media and invited him to the Oval Office to meet with the president. Johnson, however, said the meeting did not start as expected. ‘WRONG-HEADED’: ENERGY INDUSTRY LEADERS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN REPORT ON NATURAL GAS EXPORTS "I show up and I realize it's actually an ambush 'cause it's not just me and the president," Johnson said. "It's also Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem, you know, The CIA Director." Johnson said the group began to "hot box" him on Ukraine funding when Biden asked if he could have the room with him, a request that Johnson said left the president’s staff visibly concerned. Once Biden and Johnson were alone in the Oval Office, the speaker asked the president about his pause on LNG exports. "I cannot answer this from my constituents in Louisiana," Johnson recalled telling Biden. "Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that? Cause you understand we just talked about Ukraine, you understand you are fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine, because they gotta get their gas from him." Johnson recounted how a stunned Biden replied: "I didn’t do that." Biden initiated a pause on new LNG export permits in January 2024, a move which has been widely criticized by the oil community and bipartisan lawmakers in the House. Johnson said that when he reminded the president of the executive order he had signed just weeks ago, Biden denied that what he had signed was a pause on LNG. BIDEN ISSUES SWEEPING OFFSHORE OIL, GAS DRILLING BAN IN 625M ACRES OF FEDERAL WATERS AHEAD OF TRUMP TRANSITION Johnson said he argued that the pause would do "massive damage to our economy, national security," and he even suggested that the president’s secretary print out a copy of the order so that the two of them could read it together. "He genuinely did not know what he had signed," Johnson said. "And I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, ‘We are in serious trouble—who is running the country?’ Like, I don't know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know." Biden’s LNG pause threatens nearly 1 million jobs over the next two decades if the restriction remains in place, according to a study by the National Association of Manufacturers, which Fox News Digital previously reported on. The export ban would stifle the U.S. GDP by between $122.5 billion and $215.7 billion in 2044, while between $26.9 billion and $47.7 billion in tax and royalty revenues to federal, state and local governments would be at risk in 2044 if the permit pause persists, the study found. President-elect Trump, however, reportedly "plans to go strong on the issue" of LNG exports when he assumes office, sources told Reuters in November. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Eric Revell contributed to this report. Continue reading...

President-elect Donald Trump will have his hand on two Bibles during his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, the culmination of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. Trump will use his Bible, given to him by his mother in 1955, to "mark his Sunday Church Primary School graduation at First Presbyterian Church, in Jamaica, New York," a press release from his inaugural committee states. The religious text is a 1953 revised standard version that was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York. Trump's name is embossed on the lower portion of the front cover, and inside the cover are signatures of church officials, an inscription of the president's name and details of when it was presented to him. In addition to the sentimental Bible, the Lincoln Bible, first used in 1861 to swear-in the 16th U.S. president, will be used. INAUGURATION DAY IS TOMORROW – HERE’S A COMPLETE GUIDE TO FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S COVERAGE AND WHAT TO EXPECT "It has only been used three times since, by President Obama at each of his inaugurations and by President Trump at his first inauguration in 2017," Trump's team states. "The burgundy velvet-bound book is part of the collections of the Library of Congress." President Obama also took the oath of office on two Bibles back in 2013, the Associated Press reported. One was owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and the other was the Lincoln Bible. When Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Continue reading...