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Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has reportedly approved the use of long-range American missiles by Ukraine to strike within the Russian mainland, in a move which may escalate the conflict two months before President-Elect Donald Trump comes into office with a mandate for seeking a peace settlement to the war.
The post WWIII Watch: Biden Reportedly Approves Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes in Russia Before Trump Comes to Power appeared first on Breitbart.
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Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in an interview Sunday that Republicans should “be working with” President-elect Trump “to try and achieve his objectives.”
“As we record this, the Republican majority in the 119th Congress looks like it’ll be about the same size as it is in the current Congress — 222, maybe 221 — but … in the same space,” NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt said on “The Hill Sunday.”
“Narrow majorities make for hard work,” Stirewalt continued. “What do you tell your fellow Republicans about navigating these spaces?”
“Well, first of all, I tell them, you have your majority because of President Trump,” Cole said. “Look, he’s won the popular vote … for the first time in 20 years any Republican’s been able to do that. And so, we ought to be working with him to try and achieve his objectives.”
Republicans will have control of both the House and Senate next year, as well as the presidency. The election results mirror those of around four years ago in which the party that won the presidency, the Democrats, also won the House and Senate.
“I think it will be a little bit different this Congress, simply because we’ve got a little bit of discipline,” Cole said in his NewsNation interview. “You know, President Trump is not shy about expressing his opinions. I think all of my members have a very healthy respect for him.”
The Republicans’ win in the House this year is a victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has led the House GOP through tumultuous times for a little more than a year. Johnson has overseen rough patches for the GOP conference in the lower chamber, including the period following former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ouster and fierce debates over foreign aid.
Trump’s return to the White House, as well as having a friendlier neighbor in a GOP-controlled Senate, may make things easier for House Republicans, who have recently been dealing with Democrats leading the Senate and President Biden.
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The former White House coronavirus response coordinator on Sunday said she is looking forward to the Senate confirmation hearing of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who President-elect Trump tapped for his secretary of Health and Human Services, as a unique opportunity to have a transparent discussion on the health of Americans.
Dr. Deborah Birx, who served in Trump’s first administration, appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where she was asked at length about Kennedy potentially leading the agency. and his views on health issues such as vaccines.
“That’s why when he talks about transparency, I’m actually excited that in a Senate hearing he would bring forward his data and the questions that come from the senators would bring forth their data,” Birx said of Kennedy. “What I know for sure is he’s a very smart man who can bring his data and his evidence base forward.”
When Birx was asked about Kennedy’s past controversial comments on vaccines, she said he has raised concerns about issues that “many Americans believe already is a problem.”
“Every mom is seeing a classroom of kindergartners where one of the children has autism,” she said. “That’s scary to moms and dads. They want to know why. So it’s not good enough for us to just say vaccines don’t cause autism. It’s us finding what is the cause of autism.”
Birx, who served under Trump from 2020 to 2021, said a Senate confirmation hearing would be a great forum to see data from both sides of the argument.
“That hearing would be a way for Americans to really see the data that you’re talking about that we can’t see that causation right now, but what is causing it?” Birx said, adding that addressing the cause of autism in children will be “critical.”
DEMOCRATIC COLORADO GOVERNOR COMMENDS TRUMP FOR NOMINATING RFK JR. AS HHS SECRETARY
Birx said the White House’s messaging surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine did not help matters.
“I think what has confused people is we weren’t clear about what COVID vaccines do and don’t,” she said. “And so now people are questioning, well, what are my childhood vaccines do and don’t. And they don’t understand that some of the vaccines that their children are getting protect them from both disease and create herd immunity. And some of them that they get are just for their child, like H Flu and pneumovax to prevent their child from getting very serious illness.”
“And we’re just not explaining all of this correctly,” she added of vaccines and what they do.
As for Kennedy’s potential appointment, Birx said there’s one important thing Kennedy can do to help him achieve success.
“I think the most important thing is what team he would bring with them, because you’re talking about really a large cap corporation with a highly diverse group, which you have to really bring together and, frankly, eliminate some of the duplications between these agencies to really become more cost-effective.”
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Vivek Ramaswamy said on this week’s broadcast of FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the soon-to-be-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will “delete” some government agencies.
The post Vivek Ramaswamy: Some Government Agencies Will Be ‘Deleted Outright’ appeared first on Breitbart.
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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., says Democrats cannot afford to “freak out” over everything President-elect Trump says or does.
“It’s still not even Thanksgiving yet,” Fetterman told CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper on Sunday. “If we’re having meltdowns, you know, every tweet or every appointment or all those things, I mean, it’s going to be four years.”
Fetterman said he previously warned of the “jackpot” for Trump, where Republicans gained control of the White House, House of Representatives and the Senate, along with a Supreme Court that has a “conservative slant.”
“They have the absolute ability to run the table at least for the next two years, and that’s what I think we should all be concerned on, not small tweets or random kinds of appointments,” Fetterman said.
TRUMP FLANKED BY TOP ALLIES, CABINET PICKS AT UFC 309: ‘USA, USA’
He added that he is looking forward to voting for some of Trump’s picks, including Fetterman’s “colleague from Florida” Sen. Marco Rubio, who was tapped to be the next secretary of state, and “the representative from New York,” referring to Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is Trump’s choice to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
“And then there are others that are just absolute trolls, just like Gaetz and those things,” the senator said, referring to the selection of former-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who resigned from Congress last week as Trump tapped him to be his attorney general
TRUMP GOES FULL MAGA AS HE PICKS ALLIES AND LOYALISTS TO FILL HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION
Gaetz may face a tough confirmation path because he was previously under Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into sex trafficking allegations. Last year, Gaetz’s office said the DOJ ended their investigation and determined he would not be charged with any crimes.
A House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz was also expected to be released soon, but Gaetz’s resignation means the House report may not become public.
A full list of Trump’s publicly announced Cabinet picks for his second administration can be found here.
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President Biden approved Ukraine’s military to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles on targets inside Russian territory, the New York Times reported Sunday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that such an escalation would constitute an act of war. He has yet to react to Biden’s announcement Sunday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
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Alec Baldwin portrayed President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in the latest “Saturday Night Live” episode this weekend.
The cold open, set in what looked like the Oval Office, portrayed this past week’s meeting between President Biden, played by Dana Carvey, and President-elect Trump, played by James Austin Johnson.
The sketch poked fun at some of Trump’s controversial nominees. During the fictionalized meeting, Baldwin, as Kennedy, interrupted the meeting between the two presidents.
“Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt you,” Baldwin, as Kennedy, said to audience applause. “I just wanted to tell you again I’m so honored to be the head of the Health and Human Services Department.
“Americans need someone to teach them how to be healthy, someone like me: a 70-year-old man with movie-star looks and a worm in his brain,” Baldwin added, in a nod to the parasite that Kennedy has said doctors told him ate part of his brain in 2010.
“Bobby, I love ya. I can’t wait to see what you do with this country, in terms of health and with regard to measles outbreak,” Johnson, as Trump, responded.
Mocking Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism, Baldwin continued, in character: “I care deeply about a woman’s right to choose — to choose to give her child polio. I just wish people would take my appointment more seriously. Alright, I got to go. I got a dead dolphin in my car. I think I might saw it in half and dump it in Central Park. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the job, man.”
Baldwin has played other political figures on SNL, most notably portraying Trump for years. He also recently portrayed Fox News journalist Bret Baier in a spoof on his interview with Vice President Harris last month.
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Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) declined to say on Sunday whether he intends to vote to confirm President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth, saying he will allow him to explain his controversial past comments.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” anchor Jake Tapper noted that Hegseth has said women should not serve in combat roles and that the Joint Chiefs chair should be fired for being “too woke.”
“I’m going to give him an opportunity to, number one, explain himself, and I’ll give that to all these Cabinet members,” Gallego said when asked about those comments in the interview and whether he will vote for confirmation.
Gallego, who deployed to Iraq with the Marines, said he will approach each confirmation hearing and vote from the perspective of what is best for his Arizona constituents.
“The most important things that I’m going to use for all the metrics of everybody that’s running is, number one, are you going to protect and serve the Constitution of the United States? Number two, is this going to be beneficial to Arizona, and are you, where relevant, you know, going to help us bring down the cost of everything that’s in Arizona and the country in general?”
“So, you know, I’m not going to jump ahead and say yes or no,” Gallego continued. “I’ll give him his opportunity as part of my constitutional duties, but I think he has to answer for a lot of what he has said in the past.”
Hegseth is one of several controversial picks that Trump has made for his Cabinet.
In addition to reports about Hegseth’s past comments, news that Hegseth was investigated in 2017 for an alleged sexual assault incident has come into focus in recent days since Trump announced his appointment.
The Monterey Police Department confirmed an investigation of an “alleged sexual assault” at a home in October 2017 between the late-night hours and early morning. A summary of the report said the victim suffered a contusion to their right thigh, but the city did not release the report or additional details. The city did not indicate whether charges were filed in the case nor whether Hegseth was named the aggressor.
Vanity Fair reported that Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, along with attorneys, spoke with Hegseth about the sexual assault allegation Thursday.
Hegseth told Trump’s team the allegation stemmed from a consensual encounter, according to Vanity Fair.
Hegseth was an infantry officer in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021. After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, he went on to serve tours in Guantanamo Bay from 2004 to 2005, in Iraq from 2005 to 2006 and in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, according to the Army National Guard.
For the past decade, he has been a Fox News personality and host of its weekend “Fox & Friends” program.
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Leaders in Dearborn, Michigan, who helped power President-elect Trump to victory in the critical swing state penned a letter urging him to make good on his promise to bring peace to Gaza.
“We are urging your administration and transition team to apply your political influence in demanding an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon and Palestine,” reads a letter to Trump released by the MENA (Middle East North Africa) American Chamber of Commerce. “This aligns to the commitment toward lasting peace which you made.”
The letter comes after a movement in Dearborn that started as a protest to President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza eventually resulted in Trump’s shocking victory in both Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, two cities with large Arab American populations.
JOE MANCHIN: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE PICKED TRUMP. NOW IS THE TIME TO DELIVER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYONE
Those votes contributed to Trump’s victory in the critical swing state of Michigan, which the president-elect won by just under 1.5 percentage points.
Trump made outreach to the Muslim community in Michigan a priority in the stretch run of his successful campaign, earning the endorsement of multiple community leaders in the Dearborn and Metro Detroit areas.
But while Trump has yet to take office, the MENA American Chamber of Commerce argued that the president-elect’s significant political influence could be useful in bringing a quicker end to the conflict.
IN ELECTION VICTORY, TRUMP’S GAINS WENT BEYOND THE BATTLEGROUNDS
“We urge you to call for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon and Palestine while crafting a long-lasting peace in the region,” the letter reads. “Further, we believe your team’s leadership will be instrumental in advancing productive U.S.-Lebanese relations.”
The group also acknowledged Trump’s commitment to peace, noting that it aligned with the values of the Arab American community.
“Dearborn, Michigan, a city with the highest concentration of Arab Americans outside the Middle East, turned red in this presidential election due to your genuine outreach to our community and our belief that you are the optimal choice for our democracy, economy, and matters of foreign policy,” the letter said. “The over 3.5 million MENA Americans, some of whom reside in the swing states, are proud to have contributed to your margins of victory, particularly in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Your success is a testament to your resonance with the values and concerns of MENA Americans.”
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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