The White House News

President-elect Donald Trump said his election victory “gives me a very big mandate to do things properly” in a newly released video by Indonesia’s president. 

Prabowo Subianto could be heard congratulating Trump, adding, “Wherever you are, I am willing to fly to, to congratulate you personally sir.” 

“We had a great election in the U.S…. Amazing what happened, we had tremendous success. The most successful in over 100 years they say. It’s a great honor and so it gives me a very big mandate to do things properly,” Trump told him at one point in the conversation. 

Subianto also told Trump, “We were all shocked when they tried to assassinate you, but we are very happy that the almighty protected you sir.” 

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“Yes, I got very lucky. I just happened to be in the right place in the right direction otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” Trump responded. “I got quite lucky actually, somebody was protecting me I guess.” 

Subianto, a former Indonesian military general and defense minister, was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Oct. 20. 

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“Whenever you are around you let me know and I’d like to also get to your country sometime, it’s incredible, the job that you are doing is incredible,” Trump told Subianto during the call. “You’re a very respected person and I give you credit for that, it’s not easy.” 

“Please send the people of Indonesia my regards,” he added. 

In a statement on X alongside the video, Subianto said, “I am looking forward to enhance the collaboration between our two great nations and to more productive discussions in the future.”

One week after Election Day, control of the House of Representatives is still up in the air with votes continuing to be counted in 17 House races.

Republican Donald Trump won the presidency again and the GOP will have the Senate majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, is still waiting to learn whether he will get to keep his job and President-elect Trump will soon find out whether Republicans will have full control of the government to enact his agenda over the next two years (before the 2026 midterm elections).

Here’s where things stand with the uncalled House races: 

Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola is in a tight race in Alaska’s at-large congressional district, where she is trailing Republican entrepreneur Nick Begich.

As of Tuesday morning, Begich holds a 4-point lead at 49.5% of the vote compared to Peltola’s 45.5%. The vote count sits at 125,222 to 115,089, with roughly 80% of the vote counted.

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The race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District is tight, with the Republican candidate narrowly ahead. 

Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a first-term lawmaker, is barely leading former Democratic state lawmaker Kirsten Engel in a 49.5% to 48.2% race as of Tuesday morning. The vote count sits at 189,692 to 184,787 with 86% of votes counted.

Democratic incumbent Josh Harder leads Republican challenger Kevin Lincoln by fewer than 3 points.

The district had about 74% of the vote recorded as of Tuesday, and Harder’s lead expanded to 7,124 votes. 

Republican Rep. John Duarte is leading former Democratic state assembly member Adam Gray in California’s 13th Congressional District, but the highly contested race remains uncalled as of Tuesday.

Roughly 62% of the vote has been counted, and Duarte holds a 51.1% to 48.9% lead. The pair is separated by just under 3,000 votes.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. John Costa leads his Republican challenger, Michael Maher, in a 50.5% to 49.5% race as of Tuesday morning.

So far, 66% of the vote has been counted, and Costa’s lead is just over 1,000 votes.

Republican incumbent Rep. David Valado leads Democratic Challenger Rudy Salas in a 53.6% to 46.6% race as of Tuesday. Valado holds a lead of just under 10,000 votes with 77% of the vote counted.

Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Garcia is trailing Democratic challenger George Whitesides by about 2 points as of Tuesday morning.

With 83% of the votes counted, Whitesides’ lead sits at just under 7,000 votes.

Though the race has not been called, Garcia conceded in a statement Monday evening.

“I spoke with George Whitesides this evening to congratulate him, and I will ensure a smooth handoff of open constituent case work packages to him and his team,” Garcia said. 

Republican incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert holds a 51.3% to 48.7% lead over Democratic challenger Will Rollins. Roughly 75% of the vote has been counted as of Tuesday, and Calvert’s lead sits at roughly 7,500 votes.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel leads her Democratic challenger Derek Tran with 50.7% of the vote as of Tuesday. A little more than 83% of the votes have been counted, and Steel’s lead has shrunk to 3,908 votes.

The race to succeed outgoing Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in California’s 47th Congressional District is also razor-thin.

Republican Scott Baugh, a former state assembly member, and state Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat, are vying for the open seat, and Min holds a about a 1% lead.

Nearly 82% of the vote has been counted, and Min’s lead sits at just over 3,000 votes.

Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike Levin holds a 4-point lead over Republican challenger Matt Gunderson as of Tuesday morning.

With 82% of votes counted, Levin’s lead sits at roughly 14,000 votes.

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Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, is trailing Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District by less than 1% with 96% of the vote counted.

Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannet Miller-Meeks holds a less than 1% lead over challenger Christina Bohannan with 99% of the vote counted. Miller-Meeks’ lead sits at just under 1,000 votes.

Democratic incumbent Jared Golden holds a razor-thin lead over Republican challenger Austin Theriault as of Tuesday.

With 98% of the votes counted, Golden’s lead sits at less than 800 votes.

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Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur leads her Republican challenger, Derek Merrin, by less than 1 point with 99% of the votes counted. Kaptur’s lead sits at just over 1,000 votes as of Tuesday.

Republican incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is trailing her Democratic challenger, Janelle Bynum by nearly 3 points with 87% of the votes counted Tuesday.

Bynum’s lead sits at just over 10,000 votes.

Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse leads his top opponent, fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler, by about 5 points with 86% of the votes counted.

Newhouse’s lead sits at just over 13,000 votes as of Tuesday morning.

Because this undecided district is a contest between two Republicans, it has already been counted toward the GOP’s total.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the role of Homeland Security secretary, a source confirms to Fox News Digital.

Noem, who was thought to be a potential running mate on the Trump ticket earlier in the year, has served as governor of the Mount Rushmore State since 2019.

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The Department of Homeland Security oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

If selected, Noem would work with Tom Homan, who was announced as Trump’s “border czar” on Sunday, and Stephen Miller, who was announced as the White House deputy of staff for policy on Monday.

It was also announced Monday night that Trump is expected to choose Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as his secretary of state.

An official announcement from Trump or Noem has not been made as of Tuesday morning.

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday is expected to decide whether to uphold or dismiss President-elect Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, but was found guilty in May after a six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial in New York. 

Merchan is expected to issue a written opinion Tuesday on the president-elect’s request to toss his conviction. Merchan could order a new trial or dismiss the indictment and charges altogether. 

Merchan was expected to rule in September, but wanted to “avoid any appearance” he was trying to influence the 2024 presidential election. 

Trump is currently scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 26. The sentencing was first set for July 11th, but then was delayed until September 18. Merchan delayed that sentencing date again until after the election. 

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Trump’s attorneys have requested that Merchan overturn the guilty verdict, citing the United States Supreme Court’s decision that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. Trump’s legal team argued that certain evidence presented by Bragg and New York prosecutors during the trial should not have been admitted, as they were “official acts.” 

Specifically, Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout; testimony regarding The Special Counsel’s Office and Congressional Investigations and the pardon power; testimony regarding President Trump’s response to FEC Inquiries; his presidential Twitter posts and other related testimony was impermissably admitted during trial. 

Trump attorneys also pointed to Trump’s disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics as president. 

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Blanche said that “official-acts evidence” that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented to the grand jury “contravened the holding in Trump because Presidents ‘cannot be indicted based on conduct for which they are immune from prosecution,'” the motion read. “The Presidential immunity doctrine recognized in Trump pertains to all ‘criminal proceedings,’ including grand jury proceedings when a prosecutor ‘seeks to charge’ a former President using evidence of official acts.”

Blanche argued that Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.” 

“Because an Indictment so tainted cannot stand, the charges must be dismissed,” Blanche argued. 

Blanche also explained that the Supreme Court’s decision does not allow for an “overwhelming evidence” or “harmless error” exception to “the profound institutional interests at stake.” 

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity came from a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to the events on Jan. 6, 2021 and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in that case. 

Smith is winding down his cases against Trump following his election as the 47th president of the United States. 

Smith’s classified records case against Trump was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida earlier this year, who ruled that the special counsel was unlawfully appointed. 

A federal judge in Ohio is rescinding his partial retirement after President Biden’s administration failed to nominate a replacement for him.

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley had announced plans to take on senior status in October 2023, which allowed him to take a lighter case load until a replacement could be appointed. His decision to rescind his retirement now blocks President-elect Trump from naming a replacement once he enters office.

Marbley is an appointee of President Bill Clinton. He announced plans to rescind his retirement in a letter to the White House on Friday.

“A successor has not been confirmed, and I have therefore decided to remain on active status and carry out the full duties and obligations of the office,” Marbley wrote in the letter.

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Senior status is available to judges over the age of 65 who have completed at least 15 years on the federal bench.

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Marbley’s decision comes as the Biden administration is scrambling to appoint as many judges as possible before the Trump administration takes power in January.

There are currently 47 vacant seats in the federal judiciary, and there are 19 more justices who have announced plans to retire. Marbley was among the latter group.

The Biden administration has candidates to fill 28 of those seats, if their confirmation processes can be completed in time.

As of September, the Biden administration was barely out-pacing the number of judges confirmed by Trump in his first term. Trump had appointed 204 federal judges by Sep. 5, 2020, while Biden had appointed 205 by the same point in his term.

Both Biden and Trump have put a renewed emphasis on the federal judiciary, each focusing on quickly facilitating as many appointments as they could during their terms. Their appointments during one term have rivaled those of their predecessors, who had double the time to confirm them.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who endorsed Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., for Senate Majority Leader, has endorsed Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., for House Republican Conference Chair. 

House Republicans are slated to vote in leadership elections on Wednesday, according to reports.

“@Kat_Cammack is a proven champion of liberty with a strong track record of defending our freedoms and empowering Americans. Her commitment to the Constitution makes her the best choice for the next House Conference Chair,” Paul declared in a post on X.

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President-elect Donald Trump selected current House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Cammack is one of the House Republicans who have announced a bid for the House GOP Conference Chair role. 

Stefanik was tapped by House Republicans to fill the slot after they ousted Rep. Liz Cheney from the post in 2021.

“There is no doubt that we will accomplish many of our America First goals during the 119th Congress. We are unified, we are energized, and we are equipped to deliver on the very platforms we campaigned on during this cycle,” Cammack said in a message to colleagues, according to a copy shared on X by Melanie Zanona of Punchbowl News. “I would be honored to earn your vote and take our country back.”

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GOP Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan and Erin Houchin of Indiana have also mounted bids to succeed Stefanik.

Scott, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., are vying for the role of Senate GOP Leader.

“I will be supporting Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader. The status quo of $2 Trillion annual deficits is unsustainable,” Paul tweeted last week.

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Republican senators are slated to vote on Wednesday.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., gained two endorsements in the Senate Republican leader race, as both North Dakota Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven threw their support behind him.

Cramer will be voting for Thune in the first secret ballot on Wednesday morning.

“I told both Rick Scott and John Cornyn today that I’ll be casting my first vote for John Thune,” the North Dakota senator said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. 

Thune is competing against Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as Republican leader in the upper chamber. McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. 

“Thune has never lied to me,” Cramer said of the leader candidate. “I can’t say that of everybody.” 

Despite this comment, he maintained he has no “enemies” within the conference, which he said is a “good group.”

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He said making an endorsement was “the way to do it,” in his opinion. “There’s 53 of us. We all sought these positions of influence and, you know, appearing neutral seems sort of cowardice, if you will.”

As his reasoning for supporting Thune, the senator explained their long history, both coming from a Dakota. “I’ve known John Thune since we were children, basically,” he said, referencing the 1990 election cycle in both North and South Dakota when they were Republican Party directors. 

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“All four of us from the Dakotas, of course, are supporting him,” he added. Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., are publicly backing the former, but Hoeven hadn’t previously made a public endorsement. 

Hoeven’s office confirmed on Monday to Fox News Digital that he is backing Thune.

“I mean, John and I have a long personal relationship. He’s a good friend. He is from the neighborhood,” Cramer said. 

According to the North Dakota Republican, he thinks the leader race will need to go to a second secret ballot, as one candidate must reach 27 votes in order to win. 

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As for the high-profile endorsements of Scott coming from external figures frequently aligned with President-Elect Donald Trump, Cramer said, “Everybody has an opinion. I mean, I have people in my own party in North Dakota that would like me to do one thing or another.”

But, he stressed that the Republican conference as a whole is in line with Trump. “I endorsed Donald Trump and Donald Trump endorsed me,” the senator said. 

“[W]hen it comes to the—literally the issue of governing, we’re all on the same team. The Republican majority in the Senate to a T is in sync with Donald Trump’s agenda.”

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Trump notably has not endorsed a leader candidate, despite the pressure coming from those in his orbit, such as billionaire X owner Elon Musk. 

Thune has also been endorsed by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. Cornyn was recently backed by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Scott is being supported by Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.