Fox News

President-elect Trump flipped six highly competitive states in his election victory last week. But as a Fox News analysis showed last week, his gains with voters were not limited to the battlegrounds. 

This list covers the 10 states where Trump most outperformed his 2020 margins.

Notably, conservative strongholds aren’t the only states that made the list. The top 10 also includes deeply Democrat areas. Trump didn’t win these states, but they swung to the right.

Vote counting continues in some highly populated states on this list, including California and New York.

IN ELECTION VICTORY, TRUMP’S GAINS WENT BEYOND THE BATTLEGROUNDS

Note: As of this writing, approximately 3% of ballots have not yet been counted in New York.

So far, New York has swung 11 points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 6.3-point improvement on his 2020 vote share, while his Democrat opponent, Vice President Harris, slipped by five points.

He gained across the state, with his largest swings in New York City and Long Island.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 97% of the vote counted, she is winning by 12 points.

TRUMP TRAIN CHUGS PAST 2020 MARGINS, PARTICULARLY AMONG HISPANICS, URBAN NORTHEASTERNERS

Note: As of this writing, approximately 1% of ballots have not yet been counted in New Jersey.

So far, New Jersey has swung 10 points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 4.7-point improvement on his 2020 vote share, while Harris slipped by 5.3 points.

He gained across New Jersey, with his largest swings in the northeast corner of the state. Hudson and Passaic counties lead the pack.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, she is winning by six points.

Florida swung 10 points toward Trump.

‘FASCIST’: LIBERAL CRITICS MELT DOWN AFTER FLORIDA VOTERS REJECT ABORTION RIGHTS AMENDMENT

The president-elect posted a 4.9-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by the same amount.

He gained across the state. The most notable swing was in Miami-Dade County, which flipped to the GOP for the first time since 1988.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump would win the state. With the results certified, he won by 13 points.

Massachusetts swung nine points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 4.2-point improvement on his 2020 vote share and Harris slipped by 4.6 points.

ABORTION SUPPORTERS AT WOMEN’S MARCH IN BOSTON TURN OUT IN DROVES TO SUPPORT HARRIS PRESIDENCY

He gained across the state, with double-digit swings in Suffolk County, which includes Boston, and Bristol County.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, she is winning by 25 points.

Note: As of this writing, approximately 5% of ballots have not yet been counted in California.

So far, California has swung nine points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 3.8-point improvement on his 2020 vote share as Harris slipped by 4.8 points.

He gained in many areas across the state, including the two most populated cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 95% of the vote counted, she is winning by 21 points.

DEMOCRAT WINS HOUSE RACE TO RETAIN SEAT IN CALIFORNIA’S 21ST DISTRICT

Texas swung eight points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 4.2-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by roughly the same amount.

He gained across Texas, with the largest swings concentrated in the southern parts of the state. Webb County, for example, home to Laredo, moved 25 points toward Trump. That gave Republicans their first win there in over a century.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, he is winning by 14 points.

Note: As of this writing, approximately 2% of ballots have not yet been counted in Mississippi.

So far, Mississippi has swung eight points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a four-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by roughly the same amount.

EX-TRUMP OFFICIAL PREDICTS ‘ENTIRE MINDSET CHANGE’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER, HAILS ‘FANTASTIC’ PICK TO LEAD DHS

He gained across the state, including in Yazoo County, a majority-Black county that last voted for the GOP in 2004.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump would win the state. With 98% of the vote counted, he is winning by 24 points.

Rhode Island swung seven points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 3.3-point improvement on his 2020 vote share, while Harris slipped by four points.

He gained across the state, led by Providence, the city’s highest-populated area.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 98% of the vote counted, she is winning by 14 points.

REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Tennessee swung 6.5 points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 3.5-point improvement on his 2020 vote share, while Harris slipped by three points.

He gained across the state, including a double-digit swing in Trousdale County, a rural area outside the Nashville metropolitan area.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, he is winning by 30 points.

Note: As of this writing, approximately 1% of ballots have not yet been counted in Illinois.

So far, Illinois has swung six points toward Trump.

The president-elect posted a 3.4-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by 2.9 points.

He gained across Illinois, with a notable eight-point swing in Cook County, home to Chicago.

On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Harris would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, she is winning by 11 points.

MARCO ISLAND, FL – EXCLUSIVE – After some high-profile battles with President Biden’s administration the past three years, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin says that President-elect Trump’s decisive election victory earlier this month means he now has “a friend in the White House.”

Youngkin, the popular Virginia governor who’s entering his final year in office, argued in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview that “as a governor who’s been driving pro-business and strong education and safe communities and lower tax rates, we now have someone in the White House who believes in all of that.”

“I look forward to us having the wind at our backs as opposed to in our face,” Youngkin said as he spoke Tuesday on the sidelines of the Republican Governors Association annual winter meeting, which is being held this year at a southwestern Florida waterfront resort.

And pointing to his final year steering Virginia, Youngkin said “I can’t wait to see what we’re going to do having the wind at our back from the Trump administration.”

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION

There was plenty of speculation regarding Youngkin potentially serving in a top position in the second Trump administration, but the governor in a recent call with the president-elect made it clear he intends to finish out his term.

But he doesn’t sound like he’s ruling out serving in the Trump administration after he finishes up in Richmond 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 said.

TRUMP FAR AHEAD OF HIS FIRST TERM PACE IN NAMING HIS CABINET

Youngkin energized Republicans nationwide three years ago, as the first-time candidate who hailed from the party’s business wing edged out 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 towards the Democrats over the previous decade.

The governor instantly became a Republican rock star and speculation stirred about a possible 2024 White House run.

But Youngkin and his party suffered a setback a year ago in legislative elections that grabbed outsized national attention, as Democrats retained control of the Virginia state Senate and flipped the House of Delegates.

While Youngkin wasn’t on the ballot, he had plenty riding on the results, after investing plenty of political capital on behalf of Republican legislative candidates. The results also meant Youngkin wouldn’t have a free hand during his final two years in office to push through a conservative agenda.

Youngkin returned to the campaign trail this year in Virginia and a couple of key battleground states, to help campaign on behalf of Republicans up and down the ballot.

And he spoke at a large rally Trump held in conservative southwest Virginia the weekend before Election Day. 

While Vice President Kamala Harris carried the Commonwealth in the White House race, her margin over Trump was 4.5 points narrower than President Biden’s victory in the state four years earlier, as Trump and Republicans over performed expectations.

The results appear to have given Youngkin more clout ahead of his final legislative session. Democrats who over the past year were united in opposition to the governor’s proposed tax cuts, may now be receptive to negotiating.

Asked if the Democrats are now ready to play ball, Youngkin said “I’m hoping they are. I think that the recognition that Virginians want to keep more of their hard-earned money has really engaged everyone in a dialogue on how to provide tax relief.”

He argued the election results “demonstrated record job growth which has created surplus after surplus after surplus is driven by pro-business standards.”

And he emphasized that “we’re going to come back with a big tax package again, and we’re going to make sure we’re standing strong for education and strong for public safety.”

“I’m optimistic,” he added, but acknowledged that “it will be a normal legislative process. We have a legislative – we’re a one seat minority in the House and the Senate – so we have to go to work to get things done.”

All political eyes will be on Virginia in 2025, as the Commonwealth and New Jersey are the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections in the year after a presidential election.

But Virginia governors, by law, are prevented from running for re-election to a second straight term.

That doesn’t mean Youngkin will disappear from the campaign trail in 2025. He says it’s just the opposite.

VIRGINIA’S YOUNGKIN ENDORSES HIS LT. GOVERNOR TO SUCCEED HIM

“You’re going to see me a lot,” he touted. “We’ve got a very aggressive agenda for being governor in the last 14 months. 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 back as our attorney general and a super lieutenant governor who we will pick at our primaries.”

Youngkin predicted that “Virginians are going to make clear that they want to keep doing more of what we’re doing that’s proving record job growth and opportunity and great outcomes in schools and safe communities.”

The 2025 Virginia gubernatorial showdown is shaping up as a contest between Sears and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer. The winner will make history as the state’s first ever female governor. And Sears, if she wins, will also make history as the nation’s first Black female elected governor.

Youngkin pushed back when asked if Sears, who served in the Marine Corps and made history as the first woman in Virginia to hold statewide office, is too conservative for voters. 

“Not at all,” the governor quickly responded. “And Winsome is a commonsense conservative leader. We have been partners literally from day one. We campaigned together. We were elected together. We have governed together. And I look forward to seeing Virginians embrace her as the next governor of Virginia.”

As for his own political future, Youngkin was less revealing about any future runs for elective office.

Asked about a possible but unlikely run for the Senate in 2026 against longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Waner, or a future White House campaign, Youngkin quickly pivoted to his day job as governor.

“I have a huge year and a few months ahead of me and that’s where my focus is, and I need to finish strong, so Virginia can really continue to soar. And that’s what I’m going to spend my time on.”

After that, he said “we’ll see what’s next.”

Facing a follow-up question, Youngkin stayed on script, saying “we’ll see what happens down the road, but right now my sights are set on finishing strong.”

The House Ethics Committee may meet on Wednesday to discuss its investigation into allegations against now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz one week after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be the next attorney general.

The meeting comes after a woman reportedly told the Ethics Committee that she had sexual relations with Gaetz when she was 17 years old, according to ABC News.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously spoken to the woman, now in her 20s, as part of its yearslong investigation into Gaetz related to accusations of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice, according to the outlet.

The House Ethics Committee was investigating the accusations and was expected to vote on whether to release the committee’s report into Gaetz last Friday. However, the meeting did not take place after Gaetz announced his immediate resignation from Congress just two days prior.

JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’

Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., chair of the House Ethics Committee, told reporters after Gaetz’s nomination that his panel would lose jurisdiction over the Florida Republican if he left Congress.

“If Mr. Gaetz were to resign because he is taking a position with the administration as the attorney general, then the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction at that point,” Guest said before news of Gaetz leaving. “Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued. That’s not unique to this case.”

MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Following his resignation from Congress, officials debated whether the investigation findings should be released ahead of Gaetz’s confirmation hearing.

Several Republicans, including GOP senators critical in determining his confirmation, have said the report should be released if Gaetz were to go through the attorney general vetting process.

A spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who presides over the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he has advocated for the report’s release to the public.

“There is longstanding precedent for releasing ethics investigation materials after a member resigns, whether in the House or Senate,” said Josh Sorbe. “The now-former congressman shouldn’t be able to resign away an ethics investigation involving allegations of grave misconduct, especially when he will be nominated to be our country’s top law enforcement officer.”

A House Republican told Politico on condition of anonymity that Gaetz was stepping down from Congress to “stymie the ethics investigation that is coming out in one week.”

MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT

However, at a press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Gaetz told him he resigned abruptly to expedite the process of filling his House seat through a special election.

The House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz, which began in 2021, stems from accusations of illicit drug use and sex with a minor. The DOJ, which Gaetz has been tapped to lead, ultimately did not press charges, and Gaetz has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

Johnson has said he does not believe the report should be released.

“The speaker of the House is not involved with those things. I am reacting to media reports that a report is currently in some draft form and was going to be released on what is now a former member of the House. I do not believe that that is an appropriate thing,” the House speaker said.

“That would open up Pandora’s box, and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the institution, so that’s my position.”

Fox News’ Daniel Scully contributed to this report.

David French, the conservative New York Times contributor and longtime anti-Trumper, has a provocative take on why the president-elect won.

It’s the economy and the border, stupid.

“I can’t help but think that if the withdrawal from Afghanistan hadn’t been a bloody mess (that’s when President Biden’s approval rating went underwater, and it never came back), if inflation hadn’t spiked and if migration hadn’t surged at the border, then we’d be having a different conversation.

“I know that the Harris campaign had answers for all these criticisms. The American people wanted to end the Afghan war, and Biden was saddled with Trump’s terrible deal with the Taliban. Inflation was a global phenomenon, and it was unfair to entirely blame Biden when, by 2023, America had the lowest inflation rate among the Group of 7 countries. The Biden administration had finally cracked down on the border and had endorsed a tough new border bill.” 

WHY TRUMP IS STICKING WITH GAETZ, HEGSETH DESPITE NEW ACCUSATIONS – AND HIS ‘MORNING JOE’ MEETING

He adds that “they also rightly argued that Trump nostalgia was misplaced. It was wrong to give the former president a pass for the pandemic or for the chaos and murder spikes of 2020. His term did not end in 2019, with peace and prosperity. It ended near the beginning of 2021 with disease, violence and cultural decay. Even the memories of the time before Covid are idealized.”

So it was really Joe Biden who lost the election by letting inflation spiral – he was, in fairness, digging out of the pandemic – and turning the border into a free-for-all zone. He was also a terrible salesman for a series of bipartisan victories.

When his mental decline became obvious at the debate, and he stepped aside for Kamala Harris, she had to run on that record – and famously told “The View” that she couldn’t think of a single thing where she differed with the president.

So the powerless Democrats may be more screwed than you think.

THE PODCAST CAMPAIGN: IS IT CURTAINS FOR MAINSTREAM MEDIA?

Given the party’s evolution from champion of the working class to representing the highly educated coastal elites in politics, academia and journalism, the Dems are left without a winning coalition they once took for granted.

In a Times news story, Jennifer Medina writes:

“The working-class voters Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign needed were not moved by talk of joy. They were too angry about feeling broke.

“The losses up and down the ballot leave Democrats in crisis. Voters without a college degree make up a solid majority of the electorate. Without them, the White House could be out of reach. And for a party that stands for and takes pride in its diversity, the erosion of support from voters of color calls its identity into question.”

What’s more, in interviewing hundreds of working-class minority voters, Medina found that “for many, hope had already hardened into cynicism. Promises about affordable housing fell flat and promoting accomplishments on insulin prices failed to break through. Simply put, their trust in the Democratic Party was gone.”

MEDIA LIBERALS SAVAGE KAMALA AS TRUMP PICKS EXPERIENCED HARD-LINERS

Now that brings us to Donald Trump’s self-proclaimed mandate, even if CNN was happy to report that Trump’s vote share had dropped slightly below 50% (Who cares? He’s the 47th president.)

Now comes news, first reported by ABC, that an unidentified hacker has obtained the sworn testimony of Matt Gaetz accusers from the House ethics probe and apparently plans to make it public.

The hacker accessed the file through a law firm involved in a civil suit against Joel Greenberg, a former Gaetz pal now serving an 11-year prison term for sex trafficking. The file includes testimony under oath by a woman who says she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17, back in 2017, and from another woman saying she witnessed the sexual encounter.

Asked for comment, Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer said: “Matt Gaetz will be the next attorney general. He’s the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system. 

“These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing. The only people who went to prison over these allegations were those lying about Matt Gaetz.”

Trump is making calls on behalf of Gaetz, and J.D. Vance is escorting him and other nominees around the Hill. 

The Times reports that Trump realizes that Gaetz may not be confirmed. This is a matter of simple math, since most GOP senators have not committed to supporting him. Yet the president-elect will not back off or force Gaetz to withdraw the nomination.

But if Gaetz falls short, it would be hard for the Senate to reject a replacement nominee, who might have the same views on disrupting and perhaps politicizing the DOJ, but without the ex-congressman’s baggage. 

The House ethics panel, while stymied by Gaetz’s abrupt resignation, is meeting today on the report.   

One new disclosure that could hurt him: Gaetz used his adopted son’s PayPal account to pay one of the women, who was not a minor. Doesn’t that sound like someone with something embarrassing to hide? 

The Democrats have some influence in this process, as they’d only have to pick off four of the 53 GOP senators to block Matt Gaetz. But they are also consumed by their election shellacking and will have a hard time defeating Trump on just about anything.

The incoming Trump administration has reinvoked chatter about the possibility of the United States purchasing Greenland, an idea floated during the president-elect’s first term in office.

In his first term, Trump tweeted an image of coastal Greenland with an edited, glossy Trump tower building superimposed on the landscape. It was captioned, “I promise not to do this to Greenland!”

In August 2019, President Trump confirmed to reporters that he was interested in purchasing Greenland, an idea that raised both curiosity and debate.

“Denmark essentially owns it,” Trump said. “We’re very good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So the concept came up and I said, ‘Certainly I’d be.’ Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that.”

TRUMP SAYS MEDIA IS ‘VITAL’ TO MAKING AMERICA ‘GREAT AGAIN,’ VOWS TO WORK WITH ‘FREE, FAIR AND OPEN’ PRESS

The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump’s interest, citing sources who said he had mentioned the idea with “varying degrees of seriousness.”

The idea was shelved after Joe Biden took office in 2021, but has resurfaced online in the wake of Trump’s victory earlier this month.

Republican Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia posted what appears to be an electoral map featuring Greenland on November 7, with the territory voting GOP. It was captioned, “Project 2029.”

TRUMP NAMING CABINET OFFICIALS AT ‘WARP SPEED,’ FAR HEAD OF FIRST TERM PACE

Since then, a member of parliament in Denmark has pushed back on the idea of the United States purchasing Greenland as an American territory. According to a post from Rasmus Jarlov, the Danish parliament does not intend to offer the territory to anyone, especially the United States. 

“Greenlandic independence requires approval by the Danish parliament[sic] and a change of our constitution,” wrote Jarlov. “I can guarantee you that there is no way we would approve indepence[sic] so that you could buy Greenland. Nice fantasy but forget it.”
 

This is far from the first time that the United States has considered purchasing the strategically beneficial Arctic landmass.

After World War II, President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million for it in 1946, but Denmark refused.

The idea actually came up earlier in 1945, when Senator Owen Brewster, R-Maine, called Greenland a “military necessity” supported by American military leaders. 

In 1946, a State Department official noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff believed the U.S. should aim to purchase the territory. That December, Secretary of State James Byrnes even made an offer directly to Denmark’s Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen, suggesting a sale might be the simplest solution.

American interest in Greenland goes back even further. In 1867, the State Department explored buying both Greenland and Iceland, recognizing their strategic importance.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

If Denmark hypothetically agrees to sell Greenland to the United States, it would be the largest expansion of American territory in history, topping 1803’s Louisiana Purchase.

President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday night that he intends to appoint Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to lead the Department of Education.

His announcement, which was posted on Truth Social, came hours after two sources told Fox News that McMahon was likely to be picked.

“It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” Trump’s statement read.

“As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” the press release added. “Linda served for two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of fifteen members overseeing all Public Education in the State, including its Technical High School system.”

TRUMP TAPS FCC MEMBER BRENDAN CARR TO LEAD AGENCY: ‘WARRIOR FOR FREE SPEECH’

McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration, is the wife of Vince McMahon. The couple both co-founded WWE in 1980.

“Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World,” Trump’s statement concluded. “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

McMahon served in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. When she resigned, she wrote that the role had been “immensely rewarding.”

FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS

“While it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve our country in this Administration, it is time for me to step down and return to the private sector,” McMahon wrote in 2019. “I wish to thank the President and I will continue to be a strong advocate for him and his policies.”

Trump has previously floated the idea of disbanding the Department of Education, which began operating in 1980. The agency’s website says that its mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.”

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told Fox News host Martha MacCallum last week that the Department of Education “doesn’t really add any value anywhere. DeVos advised that the opportunity for Trump to radically change the department is “wide open.”

“Take the power away from the Department of Education, block-grant those funds, continue to invest in education, but get it down to a much more local level where better decisions are made on behalf of students,” DeVos said. “The bureaucrats at the Department of Education aren’t doing the job. They haven’t done the job for more than four decades to close the achievement gaps — they’ve only widened.”

Fox News Digital’s Joshua Comins contributed to this report.

A Syrian national was charged after allegedly funneling more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid to terrorist organizations — including al Qaeda.

According to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office, District of Columbia, 53-year-old Mahmoud Al Hafyan was charged in a 12-count indictment for allegedly diverting more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid intended for Syrian civilians to armed combatant groups.

The groups included the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), which is a designated foreign terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq, the release said.

“This defendant not only defrauded the U.S. government, but he also gave the humanitarian aid he stole to a foreign terrorist organization,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said. “While this foreign terrorist organization fought with the cruel al-Assad regime, the people who were supposed to receive the aid suffered.”

IRAN-LINKED ATTACKS AGAINST US SKYROCKET BY 600% SINCE OCT 2023 HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL: REPORT

According to the indictment, Al Hafyan had access to U.S.-funded humanitarian aid after positioning himself as the head of a non-governmental organization (NGO). Authorities said that he managed 160 NGO employees at the humanitarian station in Syria.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the NGO Alf Hafyan headed was awarded $122 million between January 2015 through November 2018. The agency noted that the money was intended to provide food and medical supplies in the war-torn country.

Along with at least two co-conspirators, Al Hafyan directed food kits valued at millions of dollars to commanders leading ANF. The designated foreign terrorist organization’s primary objective was the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has a long-documented history of conducting mass executions of civilians, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

IRAN THREATENS TO USE MORE POWERFUL WARHEADS AGAINST ISRAEL IN NEXT ATTACK: REPORT

To make it look like NGO was dispersing the kits to war-affected families in Syria, they allegedly inflated the amount of food kits received and falsified beneficiary logs, the agency said.

According to the affidavit, obtained by Fox News, Al Hafyan threatened the NGO’s employees who refused to comply to follow his orders to defraud. Along with threatening noncompliant workers, Al Hafyan forced employees at the NGO to donate portions of their salaries to support the terrorist organization.

“Not only was Al Hafyan supporting violent terrorists, but he was stealing money from the U.S. government that was meant for humanitarian efforts. This public indictment is the culmination of years of work,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division.

Authorities said that the Syrian national sold the humanitarian kits on the black market to ANF commanders for this personal benefit.

“Al Hafyan and his coconspirators falsified beneficiary logs and inflated the number of food kits received by war-affected families in the Syrian villages of Bweiti, Lof, [and] Mazratt-Sh,” the agency said.

Vice President-elect JD Vance will be making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, arranging meetings between key GOP senators and Trump cabinet picks Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, a source told Fox News Digital. 

“President Trump’s incoming administration is moving at an accelerated schedule in order to make good on getting key nominees confirmed in order to start delivering for the American people,” Brian Hughes, a Trump-Vance Transition spokesman, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Rep. Collins (VA), Rep. Gaetz (DOJ), Pete Hegseth (DOD), and Rep. Stefanik (UN) will all begin their meetings this week with additional Hill visits to continue after the Thanksgiving recess.”

GOP senators say Vance, a Republican from Ohio elected to the Senate in 2022, is taking the lead in reaching out to gather support for Trump’s controversial nominees.

MATT GAETZ ‘WORKING THE PHONES,’ SPEAKING TO GOP SENATORS DESPITE DIFFICULT CONFIRMATION ODDS

President-elect Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for attorney general Wednesday, an unexpected selection that took many, including fellow House Republicans, by surprise.

Gaetz almost immediately resigned from Congress after Trump tapped him for the job.

If confirmed, Gaetz will head the Justice Department after Trump is sworn in for his second term in January.

TRUMP NOMINEE FOR FCC CHAIR SAYS LEGACY MEDIA ‘STATUS QUO’ NEEDS TO CHANGE

Gaetz, a longtime Trump ally, had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which subpoenaed him as recently as September for an ongoing investigation into alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Gaetz in response told the panel he would “no longer voluntarily participate” in its probe.

It is unlikely the investigation itself would block Gaetz’s path to confirmation in the Republican-led Senate, though it could make it more difficult.

Trump also nominated former FOX personality Pete Hegseth to serve as his secretary of defense. 

NEW CANDIDATE EMERGES IN CROWDED FIELD AS POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT FOR VANCE’S OHIO SENATE SEAT

Hegseth, 44, an Army National Guard veteran who served tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, previously hosted FOX Nation’s “Patriot Awards,” which is the network’s version of a Hollywood awards show honoring heroes like first responders. 

Hegseth was nominated even though he has no senior military or national security experience.

Vance, who missed all of Monday night’s votes in addition to the first vote on Tuesday, received backlash from several senators.

The Vice President-elect initially said his reasoning for missing the meetings was to join Trump and be part of the interviews for potential candidates for the next FBI director, among other open spots. 

“I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance wrote in a post on X. 

Vance has since backtracked and deleted the post from X. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

President-elect Trump is expected to choose Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of the Department of Education in his new Cabinet.

Two sources familiar with the situation confirmed the pick to Fox News on Tuesday evening.

McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration, is the wife of Vince McMahon. The couple both co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1980.

McMahon served in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. When she resigned, she wrote that the role had been “immensely rewarding.”

TRUMP TAPS FCC MEMBER BRENDAN CARR TO LEAD AGENCY: ‘WARRIOR FOR FREE SPEECH’

“While it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve our country in this Administration, it is time for me to step down and return to the private sector,” McMahon wrote in 2019. “I wish to thank the President and I will continue to be a strong advocate for him and his policies.”

Trump has previously floated the idea of disbanding the Department of Education, which began operating in 1980. The agency’s website says that its mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.”

FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told Fox News host Martha MacCallum last week that the department “doesn’t really add any value anywhere.”

DeVos advised that the opportunity for Trump to radically change the department is “wide open.”

“Take the power away from the Department of Education, block-grant those funds, continue to invest in education, but get it down to a much more local level where better decisions are made on behalf of students,” DeVos said. “The bureaucrats at the Department of Education aren’t doing the job. They haven’t done the job for more than four decades to close the achievement gaps — they’ve only widened.”

Fox News Digital’s Joshua Comins contributed to this report.

Votes are still being counted in California two weeks after the election, and a Democratic challenger in a key U.S. House race has just taken the lead against the Republican incumbent.

With 94% of the votes counted, Democrat Derek Tran now leads GOP Rep. Michelle Steel by 102 votes in California’s 45th Congressional District after Steel had maintained a lead since Election Day. 

Steel, born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Japan, has represented the 45th District since 2023 and represented the 48th Congressional District before that, from 2021 to 2023.

The district spreads across Los Angeles County and Orange County and includes the cities of Cerritos, Garden Grove, Buena Park and parts of Brea, Lakewood and Fullerton. 

SIZE OF SLIM REPUBLICAN HOUSE MAJORITY HANGS ON 5 UNCALLED RACES

“I am so thankful to all those who continue to support our campaign as we count the remaining votes in #CA45,” Tran posted on X Monday. “Over 10,000 lawfully cast ballots are outstanding, and we owe it to every Californian to ensure their voice is heard.”

A victory for Tran, the son of Vietnamese refugees, would be a crucial flip for Democrats, who will not control the House in January but are attempting to chip away at a Republican margin that stands at 218 to 212 with several races still to be called.

YOUNGEST HOUSE REPUBLICAN-ELECT REVEALS HOW GOP WON BACK AMERICA’S YOUTH

President-elect Trump endorsed Steel in October, calling her one of the nation’s “strongest congresswomen.”

The race between Steel and Tran was the most expensive House race in the country with more than $46 million spent, LAist reported.

Five House races have yet to be called across the country. Democrats lead in two of them, and Republicans lead in three.

In addition to California’s 45th, Democrats lead in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur is up by roughly 1,000 votes with 99% of ballots counted. 

Republicans hold leads in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, California’s 13th District and Alaska’s At-Large Congressional District. 

The Steel campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.