The White House News

Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign spent more than $1 billion in three months, highlighted by several expenditures that have drawn intense criticism, including spending on celebrity influencers, radical activist groups and private jets.

FEC filings show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Oprah Winfrey’s production company, first reported by the Washington Examiner, 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.

Conservatives on social media widely criticized the move, accusing Harris of buying the famous endorsement that ultimately did not yield a victory.

“Unconscionable,” GOP Rep. Greg Murphy posted on X. “Oprah, a billionaire, sells her soul for a measly $1M.”

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“Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort told Fox News he was “shocked” when he heard about the campaign contribution and likened the campaign’s actions to “money laundering.”

Oprah pushed back on the criticism when confronted by TMZ, saying she was “paid nothing.”

A Harpo spokesperson acknowledged that Harpo Productions took money from the campaign but claimed it was for “production costs” and said, “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”

Giving money to prominent celebrities was a theme of the Harris campaign, which gave almost $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.

The controversial spending habits of the campaign also included contributions to radical activist groups.

The Harris campaign cut multiple six-figure checks in September for left-leaning groups that have been vocal about defunding the police, reparations and are tied to radical activists who have supported notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The Black Voters Matter Fund, which received $150,000 from the Harris campaign on Sept. 19, has repeatedly called for defunding the police and has been vocal about pushing for reparations.

The Black Church PAC, which also received $150,000 from the Harris campaign in September, has multiple controversial religious leaders on its board and recent social media posts show it is partnering with a defund the police group to help with “Get out the vote” efforts in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Despite running a campaign warning of the effects of climate change, which she has previously called an “existential threat”, Harris gave over $4 million to Advanced Aviation to fly on private jets, FEC filings show.

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The campaign, according to FEC filings, also spent north of $56 million on payroll and payroll taxes in just three months.

Filings also show the campaign gave in excess of $100 million to various consulting and marketing firms, including Gambit Strategies LLC, DuPont Circle Strategies LLC, and Bully Pulpit Interactive LLC. 

The Harris-Walz campaign is reportedly $20 million in debt, having raised more than $1 billion and had $118 million in the bank as of Oct. 16, according to Politico reporter Christopher Cadelago. 

News of the campaign debt sparked a social media troll from President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested he could cover the $20 million.

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“I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 (sic) Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn’t have lots of $’s left over,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth.

“Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others. Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do,” Trump added.

“We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media,’ and that doesn’t cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of two House Republicans to serve in his administration could pose issues if the GOP’s majority in the chamber ends up critically thin.

Trump has selected House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., as his ambassador to the United Nations, while a source told Fox News Digital that he picked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to be his National Security Adviser.

Both represent Republican stronghold districts that have little chance of falling into Democratic hands in special elections.

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However, those special elections could take place weeks or months after the new term begins in January 2025, which could slow down Trump’s plans for an ambitious first 100-day agenda.

“That’s an agenda we’ve been working on with President Trump for months now. We didn’t wait until the day after the election to start planning this, and this shows the relentless focus of Donald Trump,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during a press conference on Tuesday.

“I know he’s already pulled a few really talented people out of the House – hopefully no more for a little while until special elections come up, but it shows you the talent that we have and the ability we have.”

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., similarly said he did not believe Trump would select any more House members for his administration and said he and Trump broached the topic in discussions.

“President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here, and it’s just a numbers game. You know, we believe we’re going to have a larger majority than we had last time. It’s too early to handicap it, but we are optimistic about that,” Johnson said.

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“But every single vote will count, because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the votes on the floor. So, I think he and administration are well attuned to that. I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving, but I’ll leave that up to him.”

House Republicans are on track to win a single-digit majority in the chamber.

It is not much different than it was during the 118th Congress, but GOP leaders will likely face more pressure to keep members in line when working to enact Trump’s will.

National security minds in Washington, D.C., are awaiting President-elect Donald Trump’s decision for defense secretary.

Trump’s pick of Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., as his national security adviser and his expected pick of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state, set a tone for his foreign policy that is expected to be hawkish on China and Iran. 

Whoever Trump picks for defense secretary will oversee major changes within the Pentagon, both a reorienting of troop posture abroad and an across-the-board stripping of DEI provisions they believe caused the Pentagon to go “woke” under President Biden. 

A litany of names has been tossed around for who could lead the government’s largest agency, with one running theme: while his pick needs to pass a Senate confirmation, Trump is expected to appoint a loyalist who will not undermine him. 

During his first term, five men held the job as Pentagon chief only to resign, be fired or serve briefly as a stopgap.

“I don’t think [Trump] really knows yet who he wants for defense secretary,” one source familiar with the transition process said. “I don’t think he’s decided.”

One possibility is Robert Wilkie, Trump’s former Veterans’ Affairs secretary. Prior to his VA confirmation in 2018, he served as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness under Trump and served in both the Navy and Air Force Reserve. Wilkie has been leading the Trump transition team with Pentagon staffing. 

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Wilkie is a fellow at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute and a military analyst for Newsmax. 

Another name is Robert O’Brien, Trump’s former national security adviser who has also been involved with the transition team. O’Brien told Fox News Digital that “of course” he would return to a Trump administration. 

O’Brien has been outspoken about the need to pivot U.S. defenses to China. He said the way to force Russia to the negotiating table with Ukraine was through steeper sanctions – and bringing Ukraine into NATO “risks World War III.” 

Richard Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and German ambassador, was also expected to land a national security role in this administration. With the state and national security adviser roles filled, he, too, could land at the Department of Defense. 

Throughout the campaign, Grenell advised Trump on foreign policy and political issues, and led outreach to Arab Americans in Michigan. He appeared with Trump in September when he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Grenell was a pro-Trump antagonist to Europe during his time in Germany, with the former president joking about former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s happiness when Grenell was moved to the national security role. 

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Sen. Joni Ernst, the defense-minded Iowa Republican and current GOP conference chair, has also been floated as a possibility, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital, but she remains “laser-focused” on her GOP conference chair race. She also served in the Army Reserve and Iowa Army National Guard. 

If picked, she would be the first female defense secretary. 

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., head of the House Armed Services Committee, was also under consideration and has been contacted by the transition team, a source familiar confirmed. 

However, two sources said that Trump is likely to pull from the private sector for this role. Picking from Congress would whittle away narrow GOP majorities in those chambers, at least until seats were filled. 

Rogers is also a staunch supporter of aiding Ukraine – a position that might put him at odds with Trump. 

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who held high-level national security posts during Trump’s first term, has also been named as a possibility. 

“The president is going to make the call on who is in his administration,” Kellogg recently told Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson, while suggesting he would say yes if the president called. “It’s going to be a very loyal team.” 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., had been a lead contender for an administration role, likely defense secretary or CIA head, but pulled his name from the running, a source confirmed. He is running for Republican Conference chair and is likely to take over Rubio’s position as head of the Intelligence Committee.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been floated, but on Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Pompeo would not be joining this administration – and neither would former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., fielded dozens of answers after asking her followers why they supported both her and President-elect Donald Trump in last week’s election.

“I voted Trump, but I like you and Bernie. I don’t trust either party’s establishment politicians,” one of Ocasio-Cortez’s Instagram followers told the New York lawmaker Monday during a livestream.

The comment came in response to Ocasio-Cortez asking followers “who supported both Trump and me” or “Trump/Democrat” to explain their decision-making.

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Comments were quick to flow in, with Ocasio-Cortez attempting to appear non-judgemental while assuring followers she was genuinely curious about their rationale.

“I feel that you both are outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less establishment,” one comment said.

“You signified change. Trump signified change. I’ve said lately, Trump sounds more like you,” added another.

The comments also come as Trump performed significantly better in the Bronx and Queens, which make up much of Ocasio-Cortez’s district, in 2024. Trump lost Queens by nearly 24 points and the Bronx by around 45 points last week, a drastic improvement from his losses of 45 and 67 points in the two boroughs, respectively, in 2020.

The result was a curious one for Ocasio-Cortez, who noted that many people who sent her to a nearly 38-point victory in the district must have also voted for the former president.

The progressive lawmaker explained she was seeking to “understand and adapt” to the reality, noting the livestream session was a way to “dig in” to what her supporters were feeling.

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 “Trump is going to get us the money and lets men have a voice. You’re brilliant and have amazing passion,” one follower told her.

“It’s real simple… Trump and you care for the working class,” another said.

“I feel like Trump and you are both real,” added another.

“You are focused on the real issues people care about. Similar to Trump populism in some ways,” one follower reasoned.

Another theme of the livestream session was the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza, with many of the lawmaker’s followers arguing that Trump was better equipped to bring an end to the situation.

“I voted for Trump and you, not genocide Harris. Dems need Bernie,” one commenter said.

“I know people that did this and it was bc of Gaza,” added another.

“Because of Gaza,” one follower plainly stated.

“I voted Trump and dems because he reached out to Muslims,” noted one comment.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has called Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap to serve as secretary of state, a “strong choice” for the cabinet-level role.

“Unsurprisingly, the other team’s pick will have political differences than my own,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X. “That being said, my colleague @SenMarcoRubio is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation.”

If Rubio does take on the job next year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be able to appoint a temporary replacement to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat until a special election is held for the seat.

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Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has called Rubio “an outstanding choice.”

“Senator Rubio has a proven record of promoting freedom, defending American interests on the global stage, and standing firm against threats from the CCP. His leadership will be invaluable in advancing our nation’s values and priorities abroad,” Steube said in a tweet.

Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., said in a statement that, “President Trump has made a truly historic and brilliant choice in selecting Senator Marco Rubio as our nation’s Secretary of State.”

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Rubio has announced that he is supporting fellow Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott for the role of Senate Republican Leader. 

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D. are also vying for the role. 

Senate Republicans are slated to hold the vote on Wednesday. 

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Rubio has served in the Senate since 2011.