The White House News

Top Democratic Party officials are concerned that the Harris-Walz campaign crossed the finish line with tens of millions of dollars in debt that could now be the party’s problem.

Party officials are now scrutinizing how the campaign spent its funds, having raised over $1 billion before Election Day. FEC filings already show shocking payments to celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and tens of millions in event spending and social media influence.

“How do you raise a historic amount of money and not win a single swing state?” one Harris aide told Axios. “The honest answer is: I don’t know. It seems we lost the national narrative, and that’s what we need to diagnose.”

Reports say the Harris campaign expected a delayed result on Election Day, and officials were planning to continue fundraising as votes were counted in the following days.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN REPORTEDLY SPENT 6 FIGURES ON ‘CALL HER DADDY’ PODCAST WITH FEWER THAN 1 MILLION YOUTUBE VIEWS

That reality never materialized, however, as it quickly became apparent that President-elect Trump ran away with the victory.

FEC filings show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Oprah Winfrey’s production company, Harpo, on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey appeared with Harris at a town hall event and weeks before Oprah was on stage with Harris at a Philadelphia rally before Election Day.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN AND ALLIES SPENT MORE THAN $1.4B ON POLITICAL ADS IN LOSING RACE AGAINST TRUMP

While Winfrey herself denied accepting any payment, Harpo claimed the payments were meant to cover production costs for the surrounding event.

The campaign also gave $4 million to Village Marketing Agency, a company that connects clients with social media influencers.

The long list of celebrities that joined Harris on the campaign trail included Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen.

The Washington Examiner also reported that the Harris campaign spent over $12 million on digital media consultants and “spent six figures on building a set for Harris’s appearance on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast with host Alex Cooper.”

The campaign spent at least $15 million on “event production,” FEC records show, with many payments lining up with high profile events and concerts with celebrity attendees or performers.

“The truth is this is just an epic disaster, this is a $1 billion disaster,” Lindy Li, Harris surrogate and DNC National Finance Committee member, told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced his endorsement of Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Wednesday morning ahead of the 9:30 a.m. leadership elections.

“This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago. In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again.

“For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will,” he wrote on X.

The last minute endorsement comes as a blow to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is from Cruz’s home state and also running for leader.

REPUBLICANS TO HUDDLE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS TO ELECT MCCONNELL’S SUCCESSOR WEDNESDAY

Cornyn’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.

On Tuesday night, after a leader candidate forum led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Cruz told reporters, “We had a robust and very substantive conversation.”

However, he would not say whether he was decided on his vote or if he was planning to support Cornyn.

REPUBLICANS 2 SEATS AWAY FROM HOUSE MAJORITY, GIVING TRUMP LEEWAY TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., is also running for leader, alongside Cornyn and Scott.

Both Thune and Scott were endorsed by their home state counterparts, Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., respectively.

Scott is also publicly endorsed by Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

Thune has the support of Rounds, Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Steve Daines, R-Mont.

Cornyn has been publicly backed by Sen. Josh Hawley.

With three candidates vying for a 27-vote majority in the 53 member conference, it’s possible that the secret ballot election could advance to a second ballot.

If one of the candidates is knocked out on the first ballot, it is very likely that some candidates, even those who have endorsed others, will choose to back a different candidate.

FIRST ON FOX: Former first lady Melania Trump said she questions whether current first lady Jill Biden’s “concern was genuine” following the first assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump in July, due to her rhetoric about her husband in the days leading up to the incident. 

Trump, in an interview with French publication “Paris Match” last month, said that Biden “took the initiative to contact me directly” after “someone tried to murder my husband in Pennsylvania” during his rally on July 13.

“I do question, however, whether Jill’s concern was genuine as a few days prior she referred to my husband as ‘evil’ and a ‘liar,’” Trump said. “It was obvious that the onslaught of rhetoric from Democrat leaders and the mainstream media was so deeply embedded in our nation’s consciousness it prompted an attempt to assassinate Donald.” 

Trump’s interview was conducted before President-elect Trump won the 2024 presidential election. 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

President-elect Trump is in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for meetings with House Republicans on Capitol Hill, and he will return to the White House for the first time since leaving in 2021 Wednesday for a meeting with President Biden. 

Mrs. Trump, however, will not attend the meeting at the White House. 

“Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success,” her spokesperson said. 

Meanwhile, in the interview, Trump said that while she was “relieved to learn my husband was safe, it was evident that the forces behind this wicked behavior won’t come to an end.” 

“Simply put, they want Donald out.  They won’t stop. Has the concept of ‘respect’ become antiquated?  Can opposing sides prioritize decency, come together, and coexist?” she questioned. “Doubtful, as the Democrat political engine peddles harsh words, vile names, and labels our nation’s 45th President ‘a threat to democracy.’” 

She added, “People today are so desensitized they actually joke about killing a former U.S. President.” 

Mrs. Trump said that “it is undeniable that this type of speech created a toxic political environment.” 

BIDEN-TRUMP WHITE HOUSE MEETING REVIVES PRESIDENTIAL TRADITION SKIPPED 4 YEARS AGO

“This relentless vilification deepened the political divide in America, and now compromises those individuals who dare to stand-up for their own beliefs,” she said. “We are dangerously close to the edge of a different type of societal change.  It is time to be introspective, rewire ourselves, and discover the root cause of this egoism.  It is incumbent upon every American to begin posing these questions in order to ensure the survival of our nation. We now live in a post-respect world.” 

She added, “I guess nothing in politics is sacred anymore.” 

President-elect Trump, after the second assassination attempt against him in September, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, also blamed Democrats’ rhetoric for the violence. 

“Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” Trump said in September.

An estimated 4,000 additional police officers are expected to be on hand in Washington, D.C., in January for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the city’s police chief says. 

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith says her agency has been “in the planning process for the inauguration since the mid-summer.” 

“We have reached out to several police agencies across the United States of America and the majority of them have been very, very intentional about supporting us during the inauguration,” Smith said Tuesday. “We hope we can get to 4,000 police officers to assist us in this process. We are close to that number. 

“We do have other agencies who are continuing to reach out to us. And as they reach out, we will accept their request to provide mutual aid support for the District of Columbia during the inauguration process,” Smith added. 

SECRET SERVICE TO RAMP UP SECURITY ON JAN. 6, 2025, TO AVOID ANOTHER RIOT AT THE CAPITOL 

The police chief also said her department has been in touch with local partners such as DC Fire and EMS and the Office of Unified Communications on a “regular basis.” 

“With our federal partners, we have been meeting with them on a bi-weekly basis. And sometimes on a weekly basis to determine what intelligence information that may arise, not just in D.C. but across the U.S.,” Smith said. “And we will continue with those efforts as we progress into the certification of the election as well as the inauguration.” 

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH PLANS TO RESIGN, FILE REPORT BEFORE TRUMP CAN FIRE HIM: REPORT 

The certification of the election results is set for Jan. 6, 2025, while the inauguration will happen two weeks later on Jan. 20. 

The U.S. Secret Service previously announced in September that the “2025 Counting and Certification of Electoral Votes in Washington, DC on Jan. 6, 2025, has been designated a National Special Security Event by the Secretary of Homeland Security.” 

“National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said at the time. “The U.S. Secret Service, in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners are committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.” 

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday predicted the GOP could win liberal states like California and New York in the next election — and mused about running a fourth time. 

“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something else, unless you say he’s so good we’ve got to figure something out,” he told a gathering of House Republicans ahead of their closed-door leadership elections in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. 

“It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win. A lot of good friends in this room. So, you know, we had, like, historic kind of numbers, especially for the president,” Trump said. “But the House did very well, and I think we’re responsible for helping you.”

REPUBLICANS 2 SEATS AWAY FROM HOUSE MAJORITY, GIVING TRUMP LEEWAY TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA

Trump’s appearance came as lawmakers returned to Washington for a lame duck session before the next term. Republicans are poised to keep their narrow majority in the House, and have won control of the Senate, granting them far greater ease next term at getting conservative legislation to the president’s desk.

Trump went on: “We won, which is great because Republicans aren’t supposed to be winning the majority.” 

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“We won it every way — all seven swing states by a lot … New Jersey is right, just a few points. It’s got them very worried because they said, well, next time if we go up even a fraction of what we went up, you’re going to win New York, you’re going to win new Jersey, you’re going to win places that weren’t winnable. California too.”