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The cost of Pennsylvania’s Senate recount is expected to top $1 million as Republicans seek to prevent three Democratic-friendly counties from counting ballots against the apparent wishes of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Republican appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, said Thursday that automatic recounts are triggered if the unofficial margin is within 0.5%.

GOP Sen.-elect David McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. were separated by 0.43% with a maximum 80,000 provisional and mail-in ballots to be counted, Schmidt said in a video address.

In a press call, McCormick representatives analyzed raw data and calculated “zero” path for Casey — recount or not — to overtake their boss.

FETTERMAN DEFENDS CASEY-MCCORMICK RECOUNT; DINGS KARI LAKE

Schmidt said the last automatic recount, between McCormick and cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz, cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1.053 million and resulted in Oz moving on to the general election against John Fetterman.

In Casey’s case, about 7 million ballots will be subject to recount, and counties must report their data to Schmidt by Nov. 27.

The trailing candidate in three of the state’s previous eight automatic recounts waived the opportunity.

Pennsylvania’s top legislative Republican also slammed the incumbent for declining to waive the costly recount.

HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE AMID TOLL REBOOT BEFORE TRUMP CAN BLOCK IT

“Throughout his entire career, Sen. Casey has publicly called for the enforcement of the rule of law and the upholding of judicial norms,” said House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster.

“The facts and the law are clear: The election was free and fair; Dave McCormick is our new U.S. senator; a costly, statewide recount is unnecessary and duplicative; and Democrat-controlled counties are now openly defying the courts and the plain language of the election law to try and overturn a legal election result.”

Cutler said Casey should “immediately” concede and halt the recount and multiple cases of litigation across the state relating to the race.

McCormick’s campaign call foreshadowed news from Bucks, Centre and Philadelphia counties that their boards of election were prepared to count small numbers of undated or misdated ballots. 

Republicans said that runs counter to a recent ruling from the 5-2 Democratic majority Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 

The high bench declined to rule on the September case’s merits in tossing a lower court ruling that Philadelphia and Allegheny counties should count misdated or undated ballots from a prior election.

The RNC filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court, urging it to reaffirm its recent decision.

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While the Casey campaign did not immediately return a request for comment, campaign manager Tiernan Donohue told PennLive the campaign was working to ensure all “Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard.”

“McCormick and his allies are working to disenfranchise voters in Pennsylvania and spread misinformation,” Donohue said.

Fox News Digital reached out to officials in Bellefonte, where the Centre County elections board reportedly signaled its intent to count undated ballots. 

McCormick and the Pennsylvania GOP have sued Centre County, and a hearing was scheduled for Friday in Bellefonte. The plaintiffs alleged Centre’s decision is “legally erroneous.”

The mostly rural county, home to Penn State University, had been ground zero for Republicans seeking to make inroads in Democratic-friendly areas.

Philadelphia’s city commissioners also voted 2-1 to count about 607 questioned ballots. 

In a response to Fox News Digital, the board said several counties voted to count a “relatively small number of undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots” and acknowledged GOP litigation.

“We are reviewing the filings,” Board Chairman Omar Sabir and Lisa Deeley, both Democrats, and Republican Seth Bluestein said in a joint statement. 

In Doylestown, Bucks County Board of Elections Chairman Bob J. Harvie Jr. told KYW he’d rather “be on the side of counting ballots than not counting them.”

“The courts, I believe, will take this up. So, we’re going to get sued either way,” he said.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — FOX Business host Larry Kudlow has no plans to leave his media role amid reports detailing that President-elect Trump was eyeing him for a position in the administration. 

“Larry Kudlow recently signed a new deal to continue hosting his eponymous program on FOX Business and has no plans to leave his current role helming one of the highest rated shows on the network,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said Friday. 

Kudlow is the host of FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” and previously served as the director of the National Economic Council under Trump’s first administration. He had been floated as a top contender to join Trump’s second administration, as reports spread that the former and upcoming president was eyeing him for a top economic role in his administration, such as ​​overseeing the Treasury Department or again reclaiming his role on the National Economic Council. 

Following Trump’s massive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week — when he swept the seven battleground states and earned 312 electoral votes and the popular vote — Kudlow praised Trump’s economic policies, shutting down criticisms that the second Trump administration would further drive inflation that spiraled under the Biden administration. 

LARRY KUDLOW: PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP IS MOVING AT WARP SPEED TO FORM HIS ADMINISTRATION

“The day after the election, on Wednesday, November 6, the stock market registered its largest rally in history. Mr. Trump is an avid follower of the stock market, as I can attest during his first term — when almost any time I went into the Oval Office, no matter what the agenda, his first question to me would be the stock market,” Kudlow said earlier this week on “Kudlow.” 

TRUMP GOES FULL MAGA AS HE PICKS ALLIES AND LOYALISTS TO FILL HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION

“Stocks can change their minds, but Mr. Trump is well aware that they are a predictor of the future economy — and send thumbs up or thumbs down regarding economic policy. All these Nobel Prize winning economists keep telling people how bad Trump’s agenda is, but the stock market begs to differ. Tax cuts, deregulation, and energy dominance — three key pillars of Mr. Trump’s economic plan — are very bullish for future economic growth and profits. Hence, stocks keep rallying,” he added. 

Kudlow joined the first Trump administration in 2018, succeeding Gary Cohn as director of the National Economic Council until 2021. He then joined FOX Business, following the conclusion of the first Trump administration. 

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

In addition to his career in the media, Kudlow served as associate director for economics and planning in the Office of Management and Budget under the Reagan administration, and also as Bear Stearns’ chief economist in the late 1980s and into the ’90s. 

Kudlow currently serves as vice chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, a ​​nonprofit research institute led by former senior leaders from the Trump administration. The group works to advance “policies that put the American people first.” 

Trump has been on an announcement blitz since last week as he rolls out his picks for his second administration, including naming high-profile choices such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to lead the State Department; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general.

Ranked choice voting suffered a blow as several states, including Nevada, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho rejected measures last week. 

In Colorado, Proposition 131 would have created an open primary system for candidates of any party and the top four vote-getters would move on to the general election, after voters ranked their choices from first to last. 

“The ranked choice voting movement has pushed really hard to convince everyone it’s a great idea,” data scientist Seth Werfel told Colorado Public Radio. “It has some merits but it’s not a slam dunk, and I think voters are skeptical of anything that they can’t immediately understand.”

In Idaho, Proposition 1 would also have ended the party primary system. 

RANKED CHOICE VOTING AND THE LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS HAVE WITH IT

It was rejected by nearly 70% of the voters. 

“You need a scandal, you need corruption, you need something that’s happening statewide to make the case to pass something complicated like this,” CalTech professor Michael Alvarez told Boise State Public Radio. “I’m not super deeply immersed in the politics of these various states, but I don’t see that common ‘why’ there.”

Oregon’s ranked choice voting measure, Proposition 117, was rejected by 58% of the voters. 

“Voters this year were reluctant to make dramatic changes to the way they vote,” Chandler James, who teaches political science at the University of Oregon, told Oregon Public Radio. “But I don’t think that it spells the end for ranked choice voting in the future.”

TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

A similar measure in Nevada was rejected by 53% of voters. The same measure was passed by nearly 6% in 2022, but Nevada measures that require amendments to the state constitution don’t go into effect until they’re passed in two consecutive elections, according to the Nevada Independent. 

Ranked choice voting is already used statewide in Alaska and Maine and places like New York City, but in Alaska a measure to repeal it looks like it could pass narrowly. Hawaii uses ranked choice voting for some special elections. 

And in Missouri, voters approved a constitutional amendment banning ranked choice voting. 

“We believe in the one person, one vote system of elections that our country was founded upon,” Missouri state Sen. Ben Brown, who sponsored the measure, previously said in an interview, according to NPR. 

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Other states that have bans on ranked choice voting include Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee and Florida. 

The office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., shouldn’t be able to “resign away” an ethics investigation into misconduct allegations, citing Gaetz’s nomination to serve as U.S. attorney general under President-elect Trump. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pushed for the House Ethics Committee not to release a potentially damaging report on a three-year probe of Gaetz amid allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and illicit drug use. 

Gaetz has denied the claims against him.

Gaetz’s resignation effectively ended the investigation because he is no longer a member of Congress. Speaking with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Friday, Johnson said releasing the report would “open a dangerous Pandora’s box.”

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

Durbin spokesperson Josh Sorbe said the senator, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pushed 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 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.

MATT GAETZ RESIGNS FROM CONGRESS OVER TRUMP NOD TO BE ATTORNEY GENERAL, JOHNSON SAYS

“There is bipartisan support for the Senate Judiciary Committee having access to this information,” he added. “Chair Durbin will continue pursuing it so members of the committee can fulfill their constitutional obligation of advice and consent on this deeply problematic nominee.”

After news broke Wednesday that Gaetz was chosen for the Trump Cabinet, House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters the investigation would end if Gaetz were to step down from Congress. 

On Friday, Johnson said he won’t be reaching out or speaking with the Ethics Committee to ask it not to release the report when asked by Fox News. 

“I don’t know anything about the investigation. The speaker of the House is not involved with those things,” Johnson said. “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.”

He added that he didn’t believe releasing the report would be “appropriate.”

“It doesn’t follow our rules and traditions, and there is a reason for that,” said Johnson. “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.”

Gaetz’s nomination has come under fire by some considering the allegations against him. Some GOP members of the Senate have said he faces an uphill battle to get confirmed. 

Conservatives are pushing back after Democrats have criticized President-elect Trump’s Cabinet appointments for not being “qualified” by pointing to several examples of members of the Biden-Harris administration and campaign having questionable qualifications for their roles.

In recent days, Democrats in Congress and in the media have blasted Trump Cabinet nominees over their qualifications, including combat veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. 

“Three recent Trump nominees – Gaetz, Hegseth, and Gabbard – are far less qualified than Senate confirmation rejects like Bork, Tower, and Mier,” Harvard Professor Lawrence Summers, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, posted on X. “I hope that the Senate will do its duty.”

“Pete Hegseth is not remotely qualified to be Secretary of Defense,” Dem. Rep. Jason Crow posted on X.

BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE UNDER FIRE FOR ALLEGED LACK OF LEGAL KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE

“[Pete Hegseth] is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense. I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, omitting his decades-long military career. “I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”

Democrats have also slammed Trump for nominating Kennedy as his HHS secretary despite a resurfaced Politico report revealing that Kennedy was being considered by Obama for Environmental Protection Agency during his 2008 presidential transition.

Since taking office in 2021, Biden has faced criticism from Republicans over several members of his administration who were believed to be lacking key attributes needed to perform the duties they were assigned in addition to scandals. 

“The Democrats are melting down over Trump‘s cabinet picks so far, but they had no problem with ‘Mayor Pete’ being appointed Secretary of Transportation with no prior qualifications,” Link Lauren, conservative influencer and political commentator, who served as senior adviser to the Kennedy campaign, told Fox News Digital. 

“Trump won the popular vote, the electoral college, the House and the Senate. That is a mandate from the American people that they want systemic change. I understand some of Trump‘s appointees have garnered mixed reactions — even from Republicans. But let’s give Trump’s appointees a chance, then verify in time that they are doing a great job.”

Buttigieg was appointed Biden’s transportation secretary after serving as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for eight years, with some questioning at the time whether he had enough related experience for the job. Since taking office, Republicans have amplified those concerns after a series of perceived missteps from Buttigieg, including the fallout from the supply chain crises and the devastating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

WHO ARE TRUMP’S LIKELY TOP CONTENDERS TO LEAD COMMS TEAM, INTERACT WITH THE MEDIA?

“Take Secretary Buttigieg — his only qualifications for the job was a failed presidential campaign and time spent as a university-town mayor,” Bradley Devlin, Politics Editor at The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital. “From East Palestine to electric chargers, it hasn’t gone well for ‘Mayor Pete,’ but Buttigieg has retained his job because he’s remained loyal to the Biden administration’s attempted radical energy and transportation policies.”

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who worked as a lawyer before serving as counsel to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., then an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rose through the ranks into high-profile positions in the Obama administration but has been maligned as unqualified by Republicans over a series of national security blunders that occurred during his tenure, including the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and falsely claiming that the “Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades” days before Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis in a vicious attack.

Republicans criticized Sullivan’s role as Biden’s national security adviser, the youngest in history, due to his previous pushing of the “Russia collusion hoax” as part of the Clinton campaign and his role in her State Department office amid the Benghazi cover-up.

Several other Biden officials have faced heated criticism over their qualifications in recent years, including former senior Department of Energy official Sam Brinton, who identifies as nonbinary and was arrested multiple times for baggage theft at airports.

Eric Lipka, who served as a deputy press secretary on the Biden-Harris campaign, sparked controversy earlier this year over his drag queen alter ego “Erotica the Drag Queen.”

Tyler Cherry, who worked in both the Biden White House and the Department of Interior, was hired and promoted despite several social media posts comparing police to “slave patrols,” promoting conspiracies about Russia colluding with Trump and supporting the anti-Israel movement.

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., when asked on Thursday about the controversy surrounding Trump’s appointment of Gaetz, held up a photo of assistant HHS Secretary Rachel Levine and Brinton asked, “Did you ask Democratic senators about this?”

Levine, the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, has faced criticism from Republicans on various issues such as sex change surgeries for minors and was labeled by a New York Post op-ed as “America’s No.1 gender extremist.”

Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups pushed for the removal of the head of Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacked the educational background required to run the agency despite securing Senate confirmation.

“Liberals and progressives bemoaning these nominees’ alleged lack of qualifications are simply looking to protect the system they created — a government of, by and for the ‘experts’ — and that benefits them politically,” Devlin told Fox News Digital.

“This can be seen well beyond Biden’s cabinet picks, too. For example, the first 10 Biden-appointed appellate judges averaged merely 14 authored opinions each from the bench. Trump’s first 12 appellate judges, meanwhile, had averaged 34 over a similar time period — twice as many as Biden’s nominees.”

In 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blasted the qualifications of Biden’s judicial appointments saying in a press release, “The American people deserve the best and brightest. The Democrats are producing… something else.”

“Xavier Becerra, HHS – not a doctor, he’s a lawyer, ex-attorney general of California Jared Bernstein, Chair of Council of Economic Advisors – not an economist, Bachelor’s degree in music, masters in sociology,” FOX Business Evening Edit anchor Liz McDonald posted on X.

“Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secy – no energy background, Michigan Governor Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary – No trade background, Gov of Rhode Island Deb Haaland, Interior Secy – New Mexico Congressman,” she continued.

Conservative radio host and Fox News host Mark Levin pointed to Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz as evidence that Democrats have been hypocritical on the issue of cabinet qualifications. 

“The Democrat Party nominated and supported Tim Walz for vice president,” Levin posted on X.

“I don’t want to hear from that party or its media that any of the Trump nominees are unqualified for their posts. They have demonstrated that they have no standards at all when it comes to selecting even a vice-presidential candidate. Every Trump nominee has a solid record. Perspective is very important.”

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden’s Department of Education is trying to push through a new federal rule during the final weeks before President-elect Trump takes over to provide additional student loan forgiveness for 8 million borrowers who face financial hardships. 

If finalized, the new rule would authorize student debt forgiveness on a one-time basis for people who the department considers to have at least an 80% chance of defaulting on loans based on a “predictive assessment using existing borrower data.”

The rule would also allow people, including potential “future borrowers,” to apply for relief that will be awarded based on “a holistic assessment of the borrower’s hardship.”

Negotiated rulemaking for higher education between 2023 and 2024 began last year, and this latest rule was discussed in committee as early as November 2023. However, the rule was not proposed until Oct. 31 and is working its way through a public notice and comment period expected to end Dec. 2.

GOP-LED STATES ASK SCOTUS TO TEMPORARILY BLOCK BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT PROGRAM

“For far too long, our broken student loan system has made it too hard for borrowers experiencing heartbreaking and financially devastating hardships to access relief, and it’s not right,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The rules proposed by the Biden-Harris administration today would provide hope to millions of struggling Americans whose challenges may make them eligible for student debt relief.”

While a handful of Biden’s previous attempts to wipe out student debt have been struck down as an overreach of power by the courts, and despite federal rulemaking typically taking anywhere from a few months to a few years to be completed, the Biden administration has not been dissuaded from initiating additional attempts to eliminate Americans’ student loan debt during its final weeks.

In 2023, Biden announced his administration’s greatest effort to wipe out student debt for millions of borrowers through a new “SAVE” plan that sought to reduce borrowers’ debt obligations based on their economic circumstances. However, the effort was shot down by the Supreme Court after it was determined Biden did not have authority under a 2003 federal law to unilaterally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt.

KEVIN O’LEARY TORCHES BIDEN STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT AS UNFAIR’ AND ‘UN-AMERICAN’: ‘I REALLY REALLY HATE THIS’

In addition to the SAVE program, other efforts by the Biden administration to cancel student debt relief remain tied up in the courts.

President-elect Trump has described Biden’s attempts to wipe out debt for student borrowers “a total catastrophe.”

“They didn’t even come close to getting student loans,” Trump said during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, referring to the courts shooting down Biden’s student debt forgiveness attempts. 

“They taunted young people and a lot of other people that had loans. They can never get this approved.”

The White House did not respond with an on-the-record comment when reached by Fox News Digital. 

President-elect Trump made it official on Friday, announcing that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will lead the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“I am thrilled to announce that Doug Burgum, the Governor of North Dakota, will be joining my Administration as both Secretary of the Interior and, as Chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy,” Trump said in a news release Friday, fewer than 24 hours after he spilled the beans on Bergum’s appointment during an America First Policy Institute and America First Works gala Thursday evening at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

The president-elect said in the statement that the newly formed National Energy Council “will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”

TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

Trump lauded Bergum on Thursday.  

“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said. “We’re going to reduce regulation waste, fraud and inefficiency,” Trump said. “We’re going to clean out the corrupt, broken and failing bureaucracies. And we’re going to stop child sexual mutilation. We’re going to stop it because it’s time.”

Burgum, a multi-millionaire former software company CEO turned two-term governor, launched a White House bid in June 2023. 

Burgum made energy and natural resources a key part of his campaign for the GOP nomination.

After making the stage at the first two GOP presidential debates, Burgum failed to qualify for the third showdown, in autumn of last year, and he dropped out of the White House race last December. A month later, he appeared in Iowa with Trump and endorsed the former president for the GOP nomination, days ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Burgum became a high profile surrogate for the former president, appearing on the campaign trail and in media hits on Trump’s behalf.

He was in consideration as Trump’s running mate this past summer before Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was picked as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee.

WATCH:

Burgum, in an interview with “Fox and Friends” last week, said Trump’s election victory was “game changing” and that “we’ve got a new sheriff in town.” 

The governor added that a Trump victory also “means that America is going to be dominant in energy.”

“America is going to be dominant in energy which is key to all the diplomacy we do all over the world,” he said.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to be abolished, but described the prospect as “unlikely,” he told Politico.

“I’d like to eliminate it,” Paul told the outlet. “The First Amendment is pretty important, that’s why we listed it as the First Amendment, and I would have liked to, at the very least, eliminate their ability to censor content online.”

“While it’s unlikely we could get rid of CISA, we survived for what, 248 years without them,” Paul said, according to Politico. “I think a lot of what they do is intrusive, and I’d like to end their intrusions into the First Amendment.”

RAND PAUL HITS ‘BIDEN/HARRIS CDC’ OVER COVID-19 VACCINE GUIDANCE FOR 6-MONTH-OLDS

“CISA does not and has never censored speech or facilitated censorship,” CISA senior adviser for public affairs Ron Eckstein asserted in a statement, according to the outlet. “Such allegations are riddled with factual inaccuracies. Every day, the men and women of CISA execute the agency’s mission of reducing risk to U.S. critical infrastructure in a way that protects Americans’ freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy,” he asserted.

CISA was established in 2018 during President-elect Trump’s White House tenure. 

“On November 16, 2018, the President signed into law the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018,” which established CISA, according to cisa.gov.

RAND PAUL BACKS KAT CAMMACK FOR HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIR, RICK SCOTT FOR SENATE MAJORITY LEADER

Republicans won the Senate majority during the 2024 election, and Paul, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is slated to become the chair during the next session of Congress. 

“I chose to chair this Committee over another because I believe that, for the health of our republic, Congress must stand up once again for its constitutional role,” the senator noted, according to a press release. 

FBI, CISA SAY CHINESE HACKERS BREACHED MULTIPLE US TELECOM PROVIDERS IN TARGETED ATTACK

“This Committee’s mission of oversight and investigations is critical to Congress reasserting itself. Our first hearing will examine reinstating the successful Remain in Mexico policy from the first Trump Administration,” he said.

Paul has served in the Senate since 2011.

Fox News Digital has reached out to CISA for comment.

First Lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary blasted Democrats who label opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as racist this week after an MSNBC guest called President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee a “White supremacist.”

“This s— has to stop,” Michael LaRosa, who served as the first lady’s press secretary from 2021 to 2022, posted on X in response to an MSNBC guest calling President-elect Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee and former Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, a “White supremacist” in response to his opposition to DEI policies.

“Opposing DEI initiatives does not make you a white supremacist. Conversations and demonization like this are a big part of the reason we got our a–es kicked,” he continued.

“The answer to extremism is not more extremism.  Voices like this on the left are turning the Democratic Party into a joke. We’ve got to knock it off and get serious guests who are going to diagnose politics, not make it worse,” LaRosa continued. “Name calling, vilifying, and defaming nominees you oppose, even if there is very good reason to oppose them,  represents everything the Democratic Party should be RUNNING away from.”

MELANIA TRUMP QUESTIONS ‘WHETHER JILL’S CONCERN WAS GENUINE’ FOLLOWING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

LaRosa explained that Democrats should “fight back with strategy and tactics” rather than “pointless, defamatory and juvenile incentive.” 

“We need to get serious people opining about policy and politics, not one-upping each other or competing for who can make the most provocative insult about a Trump nominee you oppose.”

The MSNBC guest speaking on Chris Hayes’ show, Former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill, drew widespread condemnation from conservatives on social media.

JILL BIDEN’S APPARENT COLD SHOULDER FOR KAMALA HARRIS IGNITES SOCIAL MEDIA

“Shame on  @chrislhayes and @comcast for this pathetic attack,” former Trump acting Director of National Intelligence RIchard Grenell posted on X.

“Sue her,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “Enough of this crap.”

“Appalling smear,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. 

LaRosa told Fox News Digital on Friday that “there are too many on the left who preach at everyone, and if you disagree, then you are not only wrong, but you’re a bad human being as well.”

“The Democratic Party I’ve always known is the party that represents the values of inclusiveness and tolerance,” LaRosa continued. “But that means inclusiveness and tolerance of diverse views, too, not just diversity for diversity’s sake. Let’s have a spirited disagreement or a debate but stop tagging people you disagree with as Hitler, fascists or white supremacists. It’s not a serious contribution to the path forward in opposing Trump, his policy or his nominees.”

“If politics is about addition, conversations like that are precisely why we’re doing more subtraction lately, as Democrats.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ifill for comment but did not receive a response.

In recent days, Democrats and pundits in the media have been searching for answers and explanations for VP Kamala Harris’ presidential election loss, with many concluding that the campaign alienated voters with identity politics.

“This kind of obsession made Democrats view people too much through their ethnic or racial or gender identity and made them miss, for example, that working-class Latinos were moving toward Trump, perhaps, because they were socially conservative or liked his macho rhetoric or even agreed with his hard-line stance on immigration,” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said after the election. 

“The problem is deeper than one about nouns and pronouns. The entire focus on identity has morphed into something deeply illiberal. Judging people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character.”

President-elect Trump announced two more additions to his White House staff on Friday, promoting his campaign spokesman to lead the communications shop.

Trump announced that Steven Cheung would return to the White House as assistant to the president and director of communications. Cheung previously served as communications director for the Trump-Vance campaign and was the White House director of strategic response in Trump’s first term.

Additionally, Trump confirmed that Sergio Gor will join the White House as director of the presidential personnel office. Gor, an ally and business partner of Donald Trump Jr.’s, was in charge of the pro-Trump political action committee Right For America and previously worked in Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s office. 

“Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted Advisors since my first Presidential Campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion America First principles throughout my First Term, all the way to our HIstoric Victory in 2024,” Trump said in a statement. “I am thrilled to have them join my White House, as we Make America Great Again!” 

DONALD TRUMP JR ALLY SERGIO GOR OFFERED TOP WHITE HOUSE PERSONNEL JOB: REPORT

Gor’s impending appointment was first reported by Semafor on Thursday and was welcomed by Trump Jr. 

“Awesome news. Sergio will be great!” the first son posted on X. 

Both Cheung and Gor are loyal to the president-elect.

TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

Trump has previously said that the biggest mistake of his first presidency was picking disloyal people to join his administration.

“The biggest mistake I made was I picked some people – I picked some great people, you know, but you don’t think about that. I picked some people that I shouldn’t have picked,” Trump said last month on the “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

“I picked a few people that I shouldn’t have picked,” he said.

TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS

The president-elect has also picked, among others, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., for national security adviser and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state. 

Tesla CEO and billionaire endorser Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are expected to lead Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency.

Controversially, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. has been tapped to be Trump’s attorney general and campaign surrogate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.